CHAPTER THIRD.
MR. HORACE AWTRY.
Mr. Horace Awtry was a native of the State of New York, and was, atthe time of writing, about thirty-live years of age. He was a tall andwell-formed man, with light hair clustering in curls on a broad andnoble looking forehead; his features were well chiselled, and hisupper lip was ornamented with a mustache of the same color as hishair. Notwithstanding his handsome features and extravagant display ofdress, there was an expression in his dark blue eyes, which, thoughlikely to captivate the young and innocent portion of the fair sex,was not deemed elegant by those who are accustomed to read thefeatures of man. He was very wealthy, but was a perfect type of the_roue_, although a good education and remarkable control of himselfrendered it difficult for his acquaintances to charge him withdissipation, or any conduct unworthy of ft gentleman. As thisgentleman will occupy a somewhat conspicuous position in our tale, wedeem it necessary to go into these particulars.
Some seven years previous to her marriage, and while yet a child, Mrs.Wentworth, with her father, the only surviving relative she had, spentthe summer at Saratoga Springs in the State of New York, and there metMr. Awtry, who was then a handsome and dashing young man. Struck byher beauty, and various accomplishments, he lost no time in making heracquaintance, and before her departure from the Springs, offered herhis hand. To his utter astonishment, the proposal was rejected, withthe statement that she was already engaged to a gentleman of NewOrleans. This refusal would have satisfied any other person, butHorace Awtry was not a man to yield so easily; he, therefore, followedher to New Orleans on her return, and endeavored, by every means inhis power, to supplant Alfred Wentworth in the affections of EvaSeymour--Mrs. Wentworth's maiden name--and in the confidence of herfather. Failing in this, and having the mortification of seeing themmarried, he set to work and succeeded in ruining Mr. Seymour inbusiness, which accounts for the moderate circumstances in which wefind Mrs. Wentworth and her husband at the commencement of this book.Worn out by his failure in business and loss of fortune, Mr. Seymourdied shortly after his daughter's marriage, without knowing who causedhis misfortunes, and Horace Awtry returned to the North. After beingabsent for several years, he came back to New Orleans some monthsbefore the departure of Mrs. Wentworth's husband, but never calledupon her until after he had left, when she was surprised at the visitnarrated in the foregoing chapter.
This gentleman was seated in the portico of the St. Charles Hotel afew mornings after his visit to Mrs. Wentworth, and by his movementsof impatience was evidently awaiting the arrival of some one. At lasta young man ran down the steps leading from the apartments, and herose hurriedly to meet him.
"You are the very man I have been waiting to see," said Horace Awtry;"you must excuse my apparent neglect in not calling on you before."
"Certainly, my dear fellow," replied the gentleman. "I am certain yourreasons are good for not attending to your arrangement punctually--bythe way," he continued, "who the deuce was that lady I saw youescorting to church last Sunday?"
"An acquaintance of mine that I had not seen for years, until a fewdays ago chance threw me in her path and I paid her a visit."
"Ha, ha, ha," laughed his companion. "I understand; but who is she,and her name? She is very pretty," he continued, gravely.
"Hush, Charlie!" replied Horace; "come to my room in the St. LouisHotel, and I will tell you all about it."
"Wait a moment, my friend, and let me get some breakfast," he replied.
"Pooh!" said Horace, "we can have breakfast at Galpin's after I haveconversed with you at my room; or," he continued, "I will order abreakfast and champagne to be brought up to my room."
"As you like," said the other, taking a couple of cigars from hispocket and offering one to his companion.
After lighting their cigars, the two men left the hotel, andpurchasing the New York _Herald_ and _News_ from the news-dealerbelow, proceeded to the St. Louis Hotel, where Horace ordered abreakfast and champagne for himself and guest.
Throwing himself on one of the richly-covered couches that ornamentedthe apartment, Charles Bell--for that was the name of thegentleman--requested his friend to inform him who the lady was that heescorted to church.
"Well, my dear friend," said Horace, "as you appear so desirous toknow I will tell you. I met that lady some seven years ago at SaratogaSprings. If she is now beautiful she was ten times so then, and Iendeavored to gain her affections. She was, however, engaged toanother young man of this city, and on my offering her my hand inmarriage, declined it on that ground. I followed her here with theintention of supplanting her lover in her affections, but it was of noavail; they were married, and the only satisfaction I could find wasto ruin her father, which I did, and he died shortly after without adollar to his name."
"So she is married?" interrupted his companion.
"Yes, and has two children," replied Horace.
"Where is her husband?"
"He left for Virginia some time ago, where I sincerely trust he willget a bullet through his heart," was the very charitable rejoinder.
"What! do you desire to marry his widow?" asked his friend.
"No, indeed," he replied; "but you see they are not in very goodcircumstances, and if he were once dead she would be compelled to workfor a living, as they have no relatives in this State, and only a fewin Baltimore. To gain my object, I should pretend that I desired tobefriend her--send the two children to some nurse, and then have herall to myself. This," continued the villain, "is the object with whichI have called upon her"--
"And paid a visit to church for the first time in your life," saidBell, laughing; "but," he resumed, "it is not necessary for you towish the husband dead--why not proceed to work at once?"
"Well, so I would, but she is so very particular, that on theslightest suspicion she would take the alarm and communicate to herhusband the fact of my having renewed my acquaintance with her, whichwould, perhaps, bring him home on furlough."
"Nonsense," replied his friend, "the secessionists need every man toassist them in driving back McDowell, and there is no chance of anyfurloughs being granted; besides which, we are on the eve of a greatbattle, and for any of the men to ask for a furlough would lay himopen to the charge of cowardice."
"That may be all true," said Horace, "but I shall not venture onanything more as yet. As far as I have gone, she believes me actuatedby no other motives than the remembrance of my former affection forher, and, with that belief, places implicit trust in me."
The conversation was here interrupted by the appearance of twowaiters, one carrying a waiter filled with different descriptions offood, and the other a small basket containing six bottles ofchampagne. After setting them on a table, Horace inquired what thecharges were.
"Twelve dollars, sah," was the reply.
Horace took out his pocket book, and throwing the man a twenty dollargold piece, told him to pay for the breakfast and champagne, andpurchase cigars with the remainder.
The negroes having left, Horace Awtry and his friend proceeded todiscuss their breakfast and champagne. After eating for a few minutesin silence, Horace suddenly said:
"Charlie, what do you think of this war?"
"My opinion is, that the South has got in a pretty bad dilemma,"replied that gentleman.
"That is identically my impression, but for heaven's sake do not letany one hear you say so. The people are half crazed with excitement,and the slightest word in favor of the North may lay you at the mercyof an infuriated mob."
"What do you intend doing, now the ports are blockaded, and no one canleave the country?" asked his friend.
"Why, remain here and pretend all the friendship possible for theSouth. Maybe I will get a contract or two, which will further thedesign of covering my opinions on this contest."
"Such was my idea, but I am afraid that the secesh government willissue their cotton bonds until all the gold is driven from the States,and then we will have nothing but their worthless paper money,"replied Bell.
> "I have thought of that, and made up my mind to convert all theproperty I have here into gold at once, which will give me betweensixty and seventy thousand dollars, and as fast as I make any of thebonds from contracts, I will sell them for whatever gold they willbring."
"That's a capital idea, my dear follow," said Bell, rising from hischair and slapping Awtry on the shoulder; "I think I shall follow yourplan."
The cigars having been brought in, after a few minutes of unimportantconversation, Charles Bell left his friend, with the arrangement tomeet at the Varieties theatre in the evening, and Horace Awtry,divesting himself of his clothing, retired to sleep until the eveningshould come.