University of Virginia Library

15. CHAPTER XV.
SARATOGA.

“Mrs. Worthington, daughter, and colored servant.
Spring Bank, Ky.”

“Dr. John Richards and mother, New York City.”

“Irving Stanley, Esq., Baltimore.”

These were the last entries made by the clerk at Union
Hall, which was so crowded, that for the new comers no
rooms were found except the small, uncomfortable ones
far up in the fourth story of the Ainsworth block, and
thither, in not the most amiable mood, 'Lina followed her
trunks, and was followed in turn by her mother and Lulu,
the crowd whom they passed deciphering the name upon
the trunks and whispering to each other, “From Spring
Bank, Kentucky. Haughty looking girl, wasn't she?”

From his little twelve by ten apartment, where the
summer sun was pouring in a perfect blaze of heat, Dr.
Richards saw them pass, and after wondering who they
were, gave them no farther thought, but sat jamming his
pen-knife into the old worm-eaten table, and thinking
savage thoughts against that capricious lady, Fortune,
who had compelled him to come to Saratoga, where rich
wives were supposed to be had for the asking. Too late
he had discovered the ruse imposed on him by Mr. Liston
— had discovered that Alice was the heiress of more than
$50,000, and following the discovery came the mortifying
knowledge that not one dime of it would probably ever
be used for defraying his personal expenses. Alice had
learned how purely sordid and selfish was the man whom
she had thought so misunderstood by the Snowdonites,
and in Dr. Richard's vest pocket there lay at this very moment
a note, the meaning of which was that Alice Johnson
declined the honor of becoming his wife. They would still
be friends, she said; would meet as if nothing had occurred,
but she could not be his wife. This it was which
had brought him to Saratoga, indignant, mortified and
desperate. There were other heiresses beside Alice Johnson
— others less fastidious; and he could find them, too.
Love was out of the question, as that had died with poor
Lily, so that now he was ready for the first chance that
offered, provided that chance possessed a certain style, and
was tolerably good-looking. He did not see 'Lina at all,
for she had passed the door before he looked up, so he
only saw the mother, with Lulu trudging obediently behind,
and hearing them enter the room, returned to his
cogitations.

From his pleasanter, airier apartment, on the other side
of the narrow hall, Irving Stanley looked through his
golden glasses, pitying the poor ladies condemned to that
slow roast, thinking how, if he knew them, he would surely
offer to exchange, as it did not matter so much where a

man was stowed away, he was so seldom in his room, while
ladies must necessarily spend half their time there at
least in dressing; and with a sigh for unfortunate ladies
in general, the kind-hearted Irving Stanley closed his door
and proceeded to make his own toilet for dinner, then only
an hour in the future.

How hot, and dusty, and cross 'Lina was, and what a
look of dismay she cast around the room, with its two
bedsteads, its bureaus, its table, its washstand, and its dozen
pegs for her two dozen dresses, to say nothing of her
mother's. She'd like to know if this was Saratoga, and
these its accommodations. It was not fit to put the pigs in,
and she wondered what the proprietor was thinking of
when he sent her up there.

“I s'pects he didn't know how you was an Airey,” Lulu
said, demurely, her eyes brimming with mischief.

'Lina turned to box her ears, but the black face was so
grave and solemn in its expression that she changed her
mind, thinking she had been mistaken in Lulu's ironical
tone.

How tired and faint poor Mrs. Worthington was, and
how she wished she had staid at home, like a sensible woman,
instead of coming here to be made so uncomfortable
in this hot room. But it could not now be helped, 'Lina
said; they must do the best they could; and with a for
lorn glance at the luxuriant patch of weeds, the most prominent
view from the window, 'Lina opened one of her
trunks, and spreading a part of the contents upon the bed,
began to dress for dinner, changing her mind three times,
driving her mother and Lulu nearly distracted, and finally
deciding upon a rich green silk, which, with its crimson
trimmings, was very becoming to her dark style, but excessively
hot-looking on that sultry day. But 'Lina meant
to make a good first impression. Everything depended
upon that, and as the green was the heaviest, richest thing
she had, so she would first appear in it. Besides that, the

two young men who had looked at her from the door had
not escaped her observation. She had seen them both, deciding
that Dr. Richards was the most distingue of the
two, though Irving Stanley was very elegant, very refined,
and very intellectual looking in those glasses, which gave
him so scholarly an appearance. 'Lina never dreamed
that this was Irving Stanley, or she would have occupied
far more time in brushing her hair and coiling among its
braids the bandeau of pearls borrowed of Ellen Tiffton.
As it was, the dinner bell had long since ceased ringing,
and the tread of feet ceased in the halls below ere she descended
to the deserted parlor, followed by her mother,
nervous and frightened at the prospect of this, her first
appearance at Saratoga.

“Pray, rouse yourself,” 'Lina whispered, as she saw
how white she was, when she learned that their seats
were at the extreme end of the dining-room — that in
order to reach it, nearly one thousand pair of eyes must
be encountered, and one thousand glances braved.
“Rouse yourself, do; and not let them guess you were
never at a watering-place before,” and 'Lina thoughtfully
smoothed her mother's cap by way of reassuring her.

But even 'Lina herself quailed when she reached the
door and caught a glimpse of the busy life within, the terrible
ordeal she must pass.

“Oh, for a pair of pantaloons to walk beside one, even
if Hugh were in them,” she thought, as her own and her
mother's lonely condition rose before her.

But Hugh was watching a flat boat on the Mississippi,
that summer afternoon, and as there was no other person
on whom she had a claim, she must meet her fate alone.

“Courage, mother,” she whispered again, and then advanced
into the room, growing bolder at every step, for
with one rapid glance she had swept the hall, and felt
that amid that bevy of beauty and fashion there were
few more showy than 'Lina Worthington in her rustling

dress of green, with Ellen Tiffton's bracelet on one arm;
and the one bought with Adah's money on the other.

“Here, madam,” and their conductor pointed to chairs
directly opposite Dr. Richards, watching them as they
came up to the hall, and deciding that the young lady's
arms were most too white for her dark skin, and her
cheeks a trifle too red.

“It's put on skillfully, though,” he thought, while the
showily dressed old lady beside him whispered,

“What elegant bracelets, and handsome point lace collar!”
just as 'Lina haughtily ordered the servant to move
her chair a little farther from the table.

Bowing deferentially, the polite attendant quickly drew
back her chair, while she spread out her flowing skirts to
an extent which threatened to envelop her mother, sinking
meekly into her seat, confused and flurried. But alas
for 'Lina. The servant did not calculate the distance
aright, and the lady, who had meant to do the thing so
gracefully, who had intended showing the people that she
had been to Saratoga before, suddenly found herself,
prostrate upon the floor, her chair some way behind her,
and the plate, which, in her descent, she had grasped unconsciously,
flying off diagonally past her mother's head,
and fortunately past the head of her mother's left-hand
neighbor.

Poor 'Lina! How she wished she might never get up
again. How she hoped the floor beneath would open and
swallow her up, and how she mentally anathematized the
careless negro, choking with suppressed laughter behind
her. As she struggled to arise she was vaguely conscious
that a white hand was stretched out to help her, that the
same hand smoothed her dress and held her chair
safely. Too much chagrined to think who it was rendering
her these little attentions, she took her seat, glancing
up and down the table to witness the effect of her
mishap.

There was a look of consternation on Dr. Richards'
face, but he was too well bred to laugh, or even to smile,
though there was a visible desire to do so, an expression,
which 'Lina construed into contempt for her awkwardness,
and then he went on with his previous occupation, that
of crumbling his bread and scanning the ladies near, while
waiting for the next course. There was also a look of
surprise in the face of the lady next to him, and then she
too occupied herself with something else.

At first, 'Lina thought nothing could keep her tears
back, they gathered so fast in her eyes, and her voice
trembled so that she could not answer the servant's question,

“Soup, madam, soup?”

But he of the white hand did it for her.

“Of course she'll take soup,” then in an aside, he said
to her gently, “Never mind, you are not the first lady
who has been served in that way. It's quite a common
occurrence.” There was something reassuring in his voice,
and turning toward him 'Lina caught the gleam of the
golden glasses, and knew that her vis-a-vis up stairs was
also her right-hand neighbor. How grateful she felt for
his kind attentions, paid so delicately, and with an evident
desire to shield her from remark, and how she wondered
who he was, as he tried, by numberless unobtrusive
acts, to quiet her.

Kind and gentle as a woman, Irving Stanley was sometimes
laughed at by his own sex, as too gentle, too
feminine in disposition; but those who knew him best
loved him most, and loved him, too, just because he was
not so stern, so harsh, so overbearing as men are wont to be.
A woman was a sacred piece of mechanism to him — a
something to be petted, humored and caressed, and still
treated as an equal. The most considerate of sons, the
most affectionate of brothers, he was idolized at home,
while the society in which he mingled, knew no greater

favorite, and 'Lina might well be thankful that her lot was
cast so near him. He did not talk to her at the table further
than a few commonplace remarks, but when after
dinner was over, and his Havana smoked, he found her
sitting with her mother out in the grove, apart from
everybody, and knew that they were there alone, he
went to them, and ere many minutes had elapsed discovered
to his surprise that they were his so called cousins from
Kentucky. Nothing could exceed 'Lina's delight. He
was there unfettered by mother or sister or sweetheart.
and of course would attach himself exclusively to her.
'Lina was very happy, and more than once her loud laugh
rang out so loud that Irving, with all his charity, had a
faint suspicion that round his Kentucky cousin, there
might linger a species of coarseness, not altogether
agreeable to one of his refinement. Still he sat chatting
with her until the knowing dowagers, who year after year
watch such things at Saratoga, whispered behind their
fans of a flirtation between the elegant Mr. Stanley and
that haughty-looking girl from Kentucky.

“I never saw him so familiar with a stranger upon so
short an acquaintance,” said Mrs. Buford, whose three
daughters would any one of them have exchanged their
name for Stanley. “I wonder if he knew her before. Upon
my word, that laugh of her's is rather coarse, let her
be who she will.”

“Yes, but that silk never cost less than three dollars a
yard at Stewart's. See the lustre there is on it,” and old
Mrs. Richards, who had brought herself into the field by
way of assisting her son in his campaign, levelled her glass
at 'Lina's green silk, showing well in the bright sunlight.
“Here, John,” she called to her son, who was passing,
“can you tell me who that young lady is — the one who
so very awkwardly sat down upon the floor at dinner?”

“I do not know, and I cannot say that I wish to,” was
the nonchalant reply, as the doctor took the vacant chair

his mother had so long been keeping for him. “I hardly
fancy her style. She's too brusque to suit me, though
Irving Stanley seems to find her agreeable.”

“Is that Irving Stanley?” and Mrs. Richards levelled
her glass again, for Irving Stanley was not unknown to
her by reputation. “She must be somebody, John, or he
would not notice her,” and she spoke in an aside, adding
in a louder tone, “I wonder who she is. There's their servant.
I mean to question her,” and as Lulu came near,
she said, “Girl, who do you belong to?”

“'Longs to them,” jerking her head toward 'Lina and
Mrs. Worthington.

“Where do you live?” was the next query, and Lulu
replied.

“Spring Bank, Kentucky. Missus live in big house,
most as big as this.” Then anxious to have the ordeal
passed, and fearful that she might not acquit herself satisfactorily
to 'Lina, who, without seeming to notice her, had
drawn near enough to hear, she added, “Miss 'Lina is an
airey, a very large airey, and has a heap of — of —,,
Lulu hardly knew what, but finally in desperation added,
“a heap of ars,” and then fled away ere another question
could be asked her.

“What did she say she was?” Mrs. Richards asked,
and the doctor replied,

“She said an airey. She meant an heiress.”

“Oh, yes, an heiress. I don't doubt it, from her appearance,
and Mr. Stanley's attentions. Stylish looking,
isn't she?”

“Rather, yes — magnificent eyes at all events,” and the
doctor stroked his mustache thoughtfully, while his mother,
turning to Mrs. Buford, began to compliment 'Linas
form, and the fit of her dress.

Money, or the reputation of possessing money, is an all
powerful charm, and in a few places does it show its power
more plainly than at Saratoga, where it was soon known

that the lady from Spring Bank was heiress to immense
wealth in Kentucky, how immense nobody knew, and various
were the estimates put upon it. Among Mrs. Buford's
clique it was twenty thousand; farther away and
in another hall it was fifty, while Mrs. Richards, ere the
supper hour arrived, had heard that it was at least a hundred
thousand dollars. How or where she heard it she
hardly knew, but she endorsed the statement as correct,
and at the tea table that night was exceedingly gracious
to 'Lina and her mother, offering to divide a little private
dish which she had ordered for herself, and into which
poor Mrs. Worthington inadvertently dipped, never
dreaming that it was not common property.

“It was not of the slightest consequence, Mrs. Richards
was delighted to share it with her,” and that was the way
the conversation commenced.

'Lina knew now that the proud man whose lip had
curled so scornfully at dinner, was Dr. Richards, and Dr.
Richards knew that the girl who sat on the floor was 'Lina
Worthington, from Spring Bank, where Alice Johnson
was going.

“I did not gather from Mr. Liston that these Worthingtons
were wealthy,” he said to himself, “but if the old
codger would deceive me with regard to Miss Johnson, he
would with regard to them,” and mentally resolving to
make an impression before they could see and talk with
Alice, the doctor was so polite that 'Lina scarcely knew
whose attentions to prefer, his or Irving Stanley's, who,
rather glad of a co-worker, yielded the field without a
struggle, and by the time tea was over the doctor's star
was in the ascendant.

How 'Lina wanted to stay in the crowded parlors, but
her mother had so set her heart upon seeing Alice Johnson,
that she was forced to humor her, and repaired to her
room to make a still more elaborate toilet, as she wished
to impress Miss Johnson with a sense of her importance.

A pale blue silk, with white roses in her hair, was finally
decided upon, and when, just as the gas was lighted,
she descended with her mother to the parlor, her opera
cloak thrown gracefully around her uncovered shoulders,
and Ellen Tiffton's glass in her hand, she had the satisfaction
of knowing that she created quite a sensation, and
that others than Dr. Richards looked after her admiringly
as she swept through the room, followed by her mother
and Lulu, the latter of whom was answering no earthly
purpose save to show that they had a servant.