 | CHAPTER XXXIII. The new purchase, or, Seven and a half years in the far West |  |
33. CHAPTER XXXIII.
“Why should a man, whose blood is warm within,
Sit like his grandsire cut in alabaster?”
“Where should this music be? i' the air, orthe earth?”
Important changes to the Glenville settlement soon followed
the death of Mrs. Glenville. It was found necescessary
to connect a store with the tannery; and hence,
after due deliberation, it was decided that Mr. Carlton
should now remove to Woodville and open the store;—
the ex-legislator, J. Glenville, to remain and conduct the
leather department with old Dick, and also buy up produce
for the Orleans market, and all along shore there.
He—(not Dick, but Glenville)—was now also a candidate
for Prothonotary; although not from elevated and pure
patriotism, as in his other campaign; the fact is we had
had honour enough and—loss. An eye was now fixed on
the salary; we wished to serve the people, provided like
other great patriots, we could also serve ourselves; bad
men serve only themselves, good ones both themselves and
the people.
Uncle John and Aunt Kitty were to stay with Glenville
in the patriarchal cabin; but Miss Emily Glenville was to
go with us to Woodville, where she and Mrs. Carlton
would set up an Institute for Young Ladies!—the very first
ever established in the New Purchase.
In due season, and after innumerable dividings and packings
of goods and chattels, off we set; a good two horse
wagon and its owner and driver, a robust youth of the timber
world, having been hired to take us and “the plunder.”
Aunt Kitty insisted on going over to see us safe at our
looked so wistfully at me, that I agreed to ride the honest
creature to Woodville, if he would consent to come back
tied to the tail of the wagon; and to that he made no objection
whatever. And so he went along too.
Nothing important occurred on the journey, only a curious
complimentary mistake of the bustling hostess during the
night we were compelled to pass on the road. This sagacious
lady, seeing a baby in the party, inferred, in Pillbox's
style, that somebody was married; and as Aunt Kitty carried
the little “crittur,” and made an awful deal of fuss,
and Mr. C. used once or twice nursery diminutives, the
landlady concluded that if I was “faddywaddy,” Aunt
Kitty must be “mammywammy.” Hence, about bed time,
she considerately said--“I want to 'commodate near about
as well as we can fix it, and so him—(pointing to Mr. Carlton)—and
you ma'am—(speaking to Aunt Kitty)—kin have
the room up loft thare; and them young folks—(Mrs. Carlon,
Emily C. and the driver)—kin have this room down
here all alone to 'emselves!”
Now, reader, had I a very grave and solemn countenance
in my youth, or was Aunt Kitty then just thirty-five
years and six months my senior, a very pretty, youthful,
looking woman? And what could have deceived our Hoosierina?
that when informed of her error, she should have
exclaimed:—
“Well! now! I never seed the like on it! Why if I
didn't sentimentally allow you was the two old folkses, and
them two likely young gals, your two oldenmost daters—
and that leetle crittur, you look'd like you was a nussin
your last and youngenest!”
Awh! come now, reader, act fair; for Aunt Kitty was
after all a right down good looking body, and as lively as
a young lady of plus-twenty. And do not fine, handsome
very rich?
However, spite of this, next day we came safe to Woodville.
But now, alas! was to be the parting with old Dick!
True, he let them tie him to the tail of the wagon—but
evidently, he was trotted off contrary to his secret wishes,
and a good deal faster than he was accustomed to go; for
our driver, desirous of reaching the river by night, and
having no return load, drove away at a Jehu gait. I, standing
at our upper story back window, cried out, as he
wheeled into his retrograde position—“Good bye, Dick,
good bye! and, would you have believed it? He cocked
back his ears!—rolled up his eyes!—and with head and
neck almost horizontal, he made not only desperate efforts
not to trot, but to slip his halter! In vain! The brute
horses in front, were too many for the poor fellow, and away,
away they jerked him; till the party, entering the woods,
turned suddenly into the road to Glenville, and he was
forced round with an ample sweep of his rear quarters;
and the last I ever saw of my poor dear old comrade was
a most indignant flourish of his venerable tail! For, before
my visit to the former home, Dick who would not grind
bark alone, and John could not be constantly with him, was
sold to a neighbouring teamster; and then, in about a year
after, he ended his earthly career as he had begun it—a
wheel-horse to a wagoner! Whether from the infirmity
of age, or heart-broken at quitting our family, he dropped
dead, holding back in his place, on the descent of a precipitous
hill!! * * * * * * Poor Dick!
poor Dick!—Don't pshaw at me, reader! I'm not crying,
any such thing—yes! he's dead now! I shall never see him
again! and you will never hear of him. If he has plagued
you some in this work, he will not, like some bipedalic and
quadrupedal heroes in certain other books, plague you all
through!
Behold us, then, one step back towards the worldly
world. And so now we shall have a little backwoods town
life, with an occasional excursion to our country seat at
Glenville, like great shop-keepers of eastern cities.
Our first step at Woodville was to write and fasten up at
the post-office, court-house, jail, doctor's office and other
public places, copies of our prospectus for the Woodville
young ladies' institute. This was necessary for sixteen
reasons; firstly, there was no printing office nearer (then)
than one hundred miles; secondly,—Oh! I see you are
satisfied—I'm not going on. Wonderful care, however,
had been used to make our notice a specimen, both of penmanship
and patriotism; and hence more was accomplished
in our favour than could nave been done by sixteen line
pica and long primer. For instance, heading the foolscap
was a superb American eagle, in red ink flourish, and holding
in his bill, a ribbon, inscribed—“Young Ladies Institute.”
Then came the mistresses' names in large round
hand—then the location in letters, inclining backward, like
old Dick when wheel-horse—Oh! pardon, he shall not hold
back for us again—I was off my guard; and then the word
PROPOSE that introduced the page-like matter, in capitals
of german text, with heads and tails curled and crankled
and interlaced, so as nearly to bewilder the reader about
the meaning! And yet, so adroitly was this word contrived,
that if one pertinaciously and judiciously kept on through
all the windings, he would emerge safe enough at the final
flourish of the E; and be not a little triumphant at twisting
unhurt and unscared through the labyrinth of “sich a
most powerful hard and high larn'd hand write!”
Leaving this prospectus to produce its own effects, I set
out for Louisville to lay in goods, and also to bring out for
our school-purposes, a piano. Now this was the very first
that “was ever heern tell of in the Purchus!” and hence
no small sensation was created, even by the bare report
was backed up to our door to be removed from the
wagon, expectation was on tip-toe, and conjecture never
weary. “A pianne! what could it be? Was it a sort a
fiddle-like—only bigger, and with a powerful heap of
wire strings? What makes them call it a forty pianne?—
forty—forty—ah! yes, that's it—it plays forty tunes!”
Some at Woodville knew well enough what a piano was,
for there, as elsewhere, in the far west, were oddly congregated,
a few intelligent persons from all ends of the
earth: but these did all in their power to mislead conjecture,
enjoying their neighbours' mistakes. After a narrow
escape of being backed, wagon and all, into the creek,
already mentioned, as having the ford just seven feet deep,
and notwithstanding the roughness, or as my friend, lawyer
Cutswell used to say, “the asperities” of the road, the instrument
reached us, and in tune,—unless our ears were
lower than concert pitch. At all events, we played tunes
on it, and vastly to the amazement and delight of our native
visitors; who, considering the notes of the piano as those
of invitation, came by day or night, not only around the window,
but into the entry, and even into the parlour itself, and
in hosts! Nor did such ever dream of being troublesome, as
usually it was a “sorter wantin to hear that powerful pianne
tune agin!” But often the more curious “a sort o' wanted
the lid tuk up like to see the tune a playin, and them little
jumpers (dampers) dance the wires so most mighty darn'd
powerful smart!”
All this was, indeed, annoying, yet it was amusing. Beside,
we might as well have bolted the store, and left the
Purchase, as to bolt our door, or quit playing: and beyond
the ill-savour of such conduct in a backwood's republic, it
would have been cynical not to afford so many simple people
a great pleasure at the cost of a little inconvenience
and some rusting of wires from the touches of perspiring
may, for the present, be dismissed.
One day, a buxom lass dismounted, and after “hanging
her crittur” to my rack, walked not, as was usual, into the
store first, but direct into our parlour, where she made herself
at home, thus:—
“Well! ma'am, I'm a sort a kim to see that 'are thing
thare—(pointing to the piano)—Jake says its powerful—
mought a body hear it go a leetle ma'am?”
Of course, Mrs. Carlton let it “go a leetle,” and then it
was rapturously encored, rubbed, patted, wondered at,
asked about, &c. for one good solid hour, when our familiar
made the following speech and retired:—
“Well!—pianne tunes is great! I allow that pianne
maybe prehaps cost near on to about half a quarter section,
(forty acres, valued at fifty dollars.) I wish Jake and me
was rich folks, and I'd make him go half as high as yourn,
however, I plays the fiddle, and could do it right down
smart, only some how or nuther I can't make my fingers
tread the strings jist ezactly right!”
A very respectable woman, wife of a wealthy farmer
seven miles from Woodville, having been one day in town
till towards evening, thought she would step over, and for
the first time hear the famous piano; and that, although
she was to ride home by herself, and by a very long and
lonesome road. Our best tunes were accordingly done,
and with flute accompaniments; at which our honest-hearted
neighbour, raising both hands, and with a peculiar nod of
the head and wonderful naivete, exclaimed:—
“Compton—(her husband)—Compton said it was better
nor the fiddle!—but I'm sentimentally of opinion its as fur
afore a fiddle, as a fiddle's afore a jusarp!!”
Illustrious shade of Paganini! what say'st thou to that?
Once, however, a fine, yet unpolished young man came,
but evidently with an impression that some invitation was
enter till invited by Mrs. Carlton. She was playing at the
time, and well knowing the cause of the visit, she soon
asked if he was fond of music, to which he answered:
“Oh! most powerful fond, ma'am; and as I heern tell
of the pianne, I made a sort a bold to step in—and maybe
prehaps you'd play a tune.”
Tune after tune was accordingly played; while the
young man, who, abashed at his entrance, remained near
the door, now arose and advancing, as if drawn by some
enchantment, little by little, he stood at the end of the instrument,
absorbed in the music, and his eyes fixed with
an intense gaze on the lady's countenance—and at last,
when the music ceased at the conclusion of some piece of
Beethoven's, he heaved a profound sigh, and thus fervently
said:—
“If I had a puttee wife and such a fixin, I'd never want
nothing no more no how!”
Reader! that man had a soul! Sweet sounds and a fair
face—(my mother-in-law had been a very beautiful woman,
—now touched chords in his heart never before so vibrated;
and there came ill-defined but enrapturing visions—so lofty!
so aerial! so unlike his cabin, his sisters, and, perhaps,
his sweetheart! Wo to the fop who then should even have
looked impertinence towards the musician! Ah! sweetheart!
for an instant thy image was away! Thy lover had
caught a dim glimpse of a region and atmosphere where a
more refined lady-love only could live!
And so we were now fully under weigh at Woodville,
selling, buying, keeping school, and playing the piano—
the last important affair being sadly interrupted by the duties
of house-keeping. Mrs. C. began more clearly to understand
an elegant phrase, addressed to her at our entrance
into the wooden country—“the working of one's own ash-hopper.”
A girl was indeed caught, (although the creatures
the success was only small relief to the mistress. It might
be a kind of relief from rough scrubbing and washing; from
little else, however, as other work must be rectified and
often re-cleaned. Did a girl fancy, too, herself undervalued?—was
she not asked to the first table with company?
—not included in invitations sent us from “big bug” families?—not
called Miss Jane or Eliza?—she was off in a
moment! Real malice is often mixed with the dudgeons;
dough half kneaded is deserted by the young lady—clothes
abandoned in the first suds—batter left, and that at the instant
you invite your company to sit up, and expect “the
young woman that goes out to help her neighbours in a
pinch” to be coming in with the first plate of flannel cakes!
But if one unfortunately catches a girl who is a mad devotee
to some false form of the Christian religion, the employer
will be systematically cheated, under the vile plea
of higher obligations to attend the thousand and one meetings
got up by self-righteous revival makers. We have by
such been left on a sick-bed, and when it was by some supposed
we were actually dying!—her spiritual advisers held
a fanatical meeting that hour, and off she hurried, though
paid to nurse! Such a thing would not now be thought
worthy record, if we were not too well apprised that even
in here, girls, gals, helps, servants, and apprentices, are but
poorly instructed by some flaming religionists as to the sacred
duties of their offices; and that some of these helps,
although paid, fed, clothed, and nursed in sickness by the
employers, are, if not expressly taught, yet really encouraged,
to slight their work—to be impertinent—and to pay
no respect to proper family hours at night, or even to the
solemnities of a domestic religion!
Hence a New Purchase is not the most pleasant place in
the world for boarding-school young ladies—or indeed for
an ox. Let then, no fair lady who can remain in an old
settlement, venture into a new one from mere poetical reasons;
or till she has long and deeply pondered this phrase
and its cognates—“to work your own ash-hopper!” And
if a nice young gentleman engaged to be married to a pretty
delicate lily-flower of loveliness, is meditating “to flit” to
a bran new settlement, let him know that out there rough
men, with rare exceptions, regard wives as squaws, and as
they often expressed their views to Mr. Carlton, “have no
idee of sich weak, feminy, wimmin bodies as warnt brung
up to sling a dinner-pot—kill a varmint—and make leather
brichises!”
MORAL.
Better to marry in the Range.
| CHAPTER XXXIII. The new purchase, or, Seven and a half years in the far West | |