“It is only me.”
“Ah, come in, sit down,” and the Senator closed the book and laid it down. “I wanted to see you. Time to report progress from the committee of the whole,” and the Senator beamed with his own congressional wit.
“In the committee of the whole things are working very well. We have made ever so much progress in a week. I believe that you and I together could run this government beautifully, uncle.”
The Senator beamed again. He liked to be called “uncle” by this beautiful woman.
“Did you see Hopperson last night after the congressional prayer meeting?”
“Yes. He came. He’s a kind of—”
“Eh? he is one of my friends, Laura. He’s a fine man, a very fine man. I don’t know any man in congress I’d sooner go to for help in any Christian1 work. What did he say?”
“Oh, he beat around a little. He said he should like to help the negro, his heart went out to the negro, and all that—plenty of them say that but he was a little afraid of the Tennessee Land bill; if Senator Dilworthy wasn’t in it, he should suspect there was a fraud on the government.”
“He said that, did he?”
“Yes. And he said he felt he couldn’t vote for it. He was shy.”
“Not shy, child, cautious. He’s a very cautious man. I have been with him a great deal on conference committees. He wants reasons, good ones. Didn’t you show him he was in error about the bill?”
“I did. I went over the whole thing. I had to tell him some of the side arrangements, some of the—”
“You didn’t mention me?”
“Oh, no. I told him you were daft about the negro and the philanthropy part of it, as you are.”
“Daft is a little strong, Laura. But you know that I wouldn’t touch this bill if it were not for the public good, and for the good of the colored race; much as I am interested in the heirs of this property, and would like to have them succeed.”
Laura looked a little incredulous, and the Senator proceeded.
“Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t deny that it is for the interest of all of us that this bill should go through, and it will. I have no concealments from you. But I have one principle in my public life, which I should like you to keep in mind; it has always been my guide. I never push a private interest if it is not Justified2 and ennobled by some larger public good. I doubt if a Christian would be justified in working for his own salvation3 if it was not to aid in the salvation of his fellow men.”
“Yes, and he seemed to have a new light on the measure: I think will vote for it.”
“I hope so; his name will give tone and strength to it. I knew you would only have to show him that it was just and pure, in order to secure his cordial support.”
“That’s good, that’s good,” said the Senator; smiling, and rubbing his hands. “Is there anything more?”
“You’ll find some changes in that I guess,” handing the Senator a printed list of names. “Those checked off are all right.”
“Ah—’m—’m,” running his eye down the list. “That’s encouraging. What is the ‘C’ before some of the names, and the ‘B. B.’?”
“Those are my private marks. That ‘C’ stands for ‘convinced,’ with argument. The ‘B. B.’ is a general sign for a relative. You see it stands before three of the Hon. Committee. I expect to see the chairman of the committee to-day, Mr. Buckstone.”
“So, you must, he ought to be seen without any delay. Buckstone is a worldly sort of a fellow, but he has charitable impulses. If we secure him we shall have a favorable report by the committee, and it will be a great thing to be able to state that fact quietly where it will do good.”
“Oh, I saw Senator Balloon”
“He will help us, I suppose? Balloon is a whole-hearted fellow. I can’t help loving that man, for all his drollery7 and waggishness8. He puts on an air of levity9 sometimes, but there aint a man in the senate knows the scriptures10 as he does. He did not make any objections?”
“Certainly.”
“He said he had no doubt it was a good thing; if Senator Dilworthy was in it, it would pay to look into it.”
The Senator laughed, but rather feebly, and said, “Balloon is always full of his jokes.”
“I explained it to him. He said it was all right, he only wanted a word with you,”, continued Laura. “He is a handsome old gentleman, and he is gallant12 for an old man.”
“My daughter,” said the Senator, with a grave look, “I trust there was nothing free in his manner?”
“Free?” repeated Laura, with indignation in her face. “With me!”
“There, there, child. I meant nothing, Balloon talks a little freely sometimes, with men. But he is right at heart. His term expires next year and I fear we shall lose him.”
“He seemed to be packing the day I was there. His rooms were full of dry goods boxes, into which his servant was crowding all manner of old clothes and stuff: I suppose he will paint ‘Pub. Docs’ on them and frank them home. That’s good economy, isn’t it?”
“Yes, yes, but child, all Congressmen do that. It may not be strictly13 honest, indeed it is not unless he had some public documents mixed in with the clothes.”
“It’s a funny world. Good-bye, uncle. I’m going to see that chairman.”
And humming a cheery opera air, she departed to her room to dress for going out. Before she did that, however, she took out her note book and was soon deep in its contents; marking, dashing, erasing14, figuring, and talking to herself.
“Free! I wonder what Dilworthy does think of me anyway? One . . . two . . . eight . . . seventeen . . . twenty-one . . . ’m’m . . . it takes a heap for a majority. Wouldn’t Dilworthy open his eyes if he knew some of the things Balloon did say to me. There . . . . Hopperson’s influence ought to count twenty . . . the sanctimonious15 old curmudgeon16. Son-in-law . . . sinecure17 in the negro institution. . . . That about gauges18 him. . . . The three committeemen . . . sons-in-law. Nothing like a son-in-law here in Washington or a brother-in-law. . . . And everybody has ’em. . . .Let’s see: . . . sixty-one. . . . with places . . . twenty-five . . . persuaded—it is getting on; . . . . we’ll have two-thirds of Congress in time . . . Dilworthy must surely know I understand him. Uncle Dilworthy . . . . Uncle Balloon!—Tells very amusing stories . . . when ladies are not present . . . I should think so . . . .’m . . . ’m. Eighty-five. There. I must find that chairman. Queer. . . . Buckstone acts. . . . Seemed to be in love . . . . . I was sure of it. He promised to come here . . . and he hasn’t. . . . Strange. Very strange . . . . I must chance to meet him to-day.”
Laura dressed and went out, thinking she was perhaps too early for Mr. Buckstone to come from the house, but as he lodged19 near the bookstore she would drop in there and keep a look out for him.
While Laura is on her errand to find Mr. Buckstone, it may not be out of the way to remark that she knew quite as much of Washington life as Senator Dilworthy gave her credit for, and more than she thought proper to tell him. She was acquainted by this time with a good many of the young fellows of Newspaper Row; and exchanged gossip with them to their mutual20 advantage.
They were always talking in the Row, everlastingly21 gossiping, bantering22 and sarcastically23 praising things, and going on in a style which was a curious commingling24 of earnest and persiflage25. Col. Sellers liked this talk amazingly, though he was sometimes a little at sea in it—and perhaps that didn’t lessen26 the relish27 of the conversation to the correspondents.
It seems that they had got hold of the dry-goods box packing story about Balloon, one day, and were talking it over when the Colonel came in. The Colonel wanted to know all about it, and Hicks told him. And then Hicks went on, with a serious air,
“Colonel, if you register a letter, it means that it is of value, doesn’t it? And if you pay fifteen cents for registering it, the government will have to take extra care of it and even pay you back its full value if it is lost. Isn’t that so?”
“Yes. I suppose it’s so.”.
“Well Senator Balloon put fifteen cents worth of stamps on each of those seven huge boxes of old clothes, and shipped that ton of second-hand28 rubbish, old boots and pantaloons and what not through the mails as registered matter! It was an ingenious thing and it had a genuine touch of humor about it, too. I think there is more real talent among our public men of to-day than there was among those of old times—a far more fertile fancy, a much happier ingenuity29. Now, Colonel, can you picture Jefferson, or Washington or John Adams franking their wardrobes through the mails and adding the facetious30 idea of making the government responsible for the cargo31 for the sum of one dollar and five cents? Statesmen were dull creatures in those days. I have a much greater admiration32 for Senator Balloon.”
“Yes, Balloon is a man of parts, there is no denying it”
“I think so. He is spoken of for the post of Minister to China, or Austria, and I hope will be appointed. What we want abroad is good examples of the national character.
“John Jay and Benjamin Franklin were well enough in their day, but the nation has made progress since then. Balloon is a man we know and can depend on to be true to himself.”
“Yes, and Balloon has had a good deal of public experience. He is an old friend of mine. He was governor of one of the territories a while, and was very satisfactory.”
“Indeed he was. He was ex-officio Indian agent, too. Many a man would have taken the Indian appropriation33 and devoted34 the money to feeding and clothing the helpless savages35, whose land had been taken from them by the white man in the interests of civilization; but Balloon knew their needs better. He built a government saw-mill on the reservation with the money, and the lumber36 sold for enormous prices—a relative of his did all the work free of charge—that is to say he charged nothing more than the lumber would bring.” “But the poor Injuns—not that I care much for Injuns—what did he do for them?”
“Gave them the outside slabs37 to fence in the reservation with. Governor Balloon was nothing less than a father to the poor Indians. But Balloon is not alone, we have many truly noble statesmen in our country’s service like Balloon. The Senate is full of them. Don’t you think so Colonel?”
“Well, I dunno. I honor my country’s public servants as much as any one can. I meet them, Sir, every day, and the more I see of them the more I esteem38 them and the more grateful I am that our institutions give us the opportunity of securing their services. Few lands are so blest.”
“That is true, Colonel. To be sure you can buy now and then a Senator or a Representative but they do not know it is wrong, and so they are not ashamed of it. They are gentle, and confiding39 and childlike, and in my opinion these are qualities that ennoble them far more than any amount of sinful sagacity could. I quite agree with you, Col. Sellers.”
“Well”—hesitated the Colonel—“I am afraid some of them do buy their seats—yes, I am afraid they do—but as Senator Dilworthy himself said to me, it is sinful,—it is very wrong—it is shameful40; Heaven protect me from such a charge. That is what Dilworthy said. And yet when you come to look at it you cannot deny that we would have to go without the services of some of our ablest men, sir, if the country were opposed to—to—bribery. It is a harsh term. I do not like to use it.”
The Colonel interrupted himself at this point to meet an engagement with the Austrian minister, and took his leave with his usual courtly bow.
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1
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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4
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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6
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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7
drollery
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| n.开玩笑，说笑话；滑稽可笑的图画（或故事、小戏等） | |
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8
waggishness
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levity
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| n.轻率，轻浮，不稳定，多变 | |
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10
scriptures
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| 经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典 | |
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furtively
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| adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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14
erasing
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| v.擦掉( erase的现在分词 )；抹去；清除 | |
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15
sanctimonious
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| adj.假装神圣的，假装虔诚的，假装诚实的 | |
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curmudgeon
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| n. 脾气暴躁之人，守财奴，吝啬鬼 | |
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sinecure
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| n.闲差事，挂名职务 | |
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18
gauges
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| n.规格( gauge的名词复数 )；厚度；宽度；标准尺寸v.（用仪器）测量( gauge的第三人称单数 )；估计；计量；划分 | |
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lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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everlastingly
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| 永久地，持久地 | |
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bantering
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| adj.嘲弄的v.开玩笑，说笑，逗乐( banter的现在分词 )；（善意地）取笑，逗弄 | |
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sarcastically
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| adv.挖苦地，讽刺地 | |
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commingling
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| v.混合，掺和，合并( commingle的现在分词 ) | |
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persiflage
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| n.戏弄；挖苦 | |
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lessen
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| vt.减少，减轻；缩小 | |
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relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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second-hand
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| adj.用过的，旧的，二手的 | |
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ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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facetious
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| adj.轻浮的，好开玩笑的 | |
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cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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appropriation
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| n.拨款，批准支出 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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lumber
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| n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动 | |
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slabs
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| n.厚板，平板，厚片( slab的名词复数 )；厚胶片 | |
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esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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39
confiding
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| adj.相信人的，易于相信的v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的现在分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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