by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER III
A FRIEND AT COURT
Lieutenant Somers sat down in one corner of the car, near the seatsoccupied by Miss Guilford and her father. He was just beginning to beconscious of the fact that he had done a "big thing;" not because he hadhelped one of God's suffering creatures, but because she happened to be aSenator's daughter. But he still had the happy reflection, that what hehad done had been prompted by motives of humanity, not by the love ofapplause, or for the purpose of winning the favor of a great man whocould dispense the "loaves and fishes" when he should need them.
He was rather sensitive. He was a young man of eighteen, and he had notyet become familiar with the grossness and selfishness of thiscalculating world. He was rather offended at the patronage which theSenator had proposed to bestow upon him, and he even regretted that hehad so readily given him his address.
Lieutenant Somers regarded himself as emphatically a fighting officer;and the idea of working his way up to distinction by the favor of amember of Congress was repulsive to him. He really wished the Hon. Mr.Guilford had only thanked him for what he had done, and not said a wordabout having it in his power to be of service to him.
While he was meditating upon the events which had transpired, and theSenator's patronizing offer, he saw Captain de Banyan enter the forwarddoor of the car through which the gentleman who had taken so much painsto compliment the young officer had disappeared a short time before. Thedistinguished captain walked through the car directly to the seat of thelieutenant, who had not even yet ceased to blush under the praises whichhad been bestowed upon him.
"Somers, your hand," said he, extending his own. "I have heard all aboutit, and am proud that our regiment has furnished so brave and devoted aman. Oh, don't blush, my dear fellow! You are a modest man. I sympathizewith you; for I am a modest man myself. I didn't get over blushing forthree weeks after his imperial majesty, the Emperor of France,complimented me for some little thing I did at the battle of Palestro."
"I thought that was at Magenta," added Somers.
"So it was. The fact is, I have been in a great many battles, and I getthem mixed up a little sometimes. But you are in luck, Somers," continuedthe captain in a lower tone, as he seated himself by the side of hisfellow-officer.
"Why so?"
"They say she is the daughter of a Senator."
"What of that?"
"What of that! Why, my dear fellow, you are as innocent as a school girl.Don't you see he can get you on some general's staff, and have youpromoted every time there is a skirmish?"
"I don't want to be promoted unless I earn it."
"Of course you don't; but every officer that earns it won't get it. Bythe way, Somers, can't you introduce me to the old gentleman?"
"I never saw him before in my life."
"No matter for that. I'll warrant you, he'll be glad to make all yourfriends his friends."
"But I don't feel enough acquainted with him to introduce a gentlemanwhom I never saw in my life till two hours ago."
"You are right, my dear fellow; excuse me," replied Captain de Banyan,looking very much disappointed. "I dare say, if I should show him theautograph of the Emperor of France, he would be very glad to know me."
"No doubt of it. At any rate, I recommend you to make the trial."
"Yes; but the mischief of it is, I have left all those papers at home."
"That's unfortunate," added Lieutenant Somers, who had some seriousdoubts in regard to the existence of those papers.
"So it is. If I had been lucky enough to have made the acquaintance ofthat young lady, as you have, I would not let my aspirations stop shortof the stars of a major-general."
"You need not as it is, if you do your duty."
"Ah! my dear fellow, you are as sentimental as a girl of sixteen. I am amodest man; but, in my estimation, there are ten thousand men in the armyas good as I am. They can't all be major-generals, can they?"
"Certainly not."
"Then, if you live a few months longer, you will find out how good athing it is to have a friend at court. You are a modest young man; but Isuppose you think there isn't another man in the army who is quite yourequal, and that your merit and your bravery will make a brigadier of youin less than a year. It's a good thing to think so; but----"
"I don't think so. That would be modesty with a vengeance."
"I was a sentimental boy like you once, and I was just as certain that Ishould be made a field-marshal, and have the command of the French armyin the Crimea----"
"I thought you were in the English army in the Crimea," interposed theyoung lieutenant, eager to change the subject.
"Certainly, in the English army; that's what I said," continued thegallant captain, entirely unmoved by the interruption. "I was just assure of having the command of the British army in the Crimea as you areof becoming a brigadier by the time we get into Richmond. But I have nofriends at court as you have now."
"I never thought of such a thing as being a brigadier," protested Somers."I never even expected to become a second lieutenant."
"It isn't much to be a brigadier. I served with 'Old Rosey' in WestVirginia for a time. We had a captain there who didn't know any moreabout military than a swine does about Lord Chesterfield's tableetiquette. He went into action with a cane in his hand, hawbucking hiscompany about just as a farmer does a yoke of cattle. That fellow is abrigadier-general now; and there's hope for you and me, if we can onlyhave a friend at court."
"I am higher now than I ever expected to be, and I wouldn't give a strawfor fifty friends at court."
"That's because you are sentimental; but you'll get over that."
"Lieutenant Somers," said Senator Guilford, who had risen from his seat,and approached that occupied by the two officers, "I shall leave thetrain at the next stopping-place, in order to procure proper medicalattendance for my daughter. I desire again to express my thanks to youfor the signal service you have rendered to my daughter."
Our hero blushed again, and stammered out some deprecatory remark.
"When you are in Washington, you must call and see me. You must promisethis for Emmie's sake, if not for mine," added the Senator.
"I should be very happy to call," replied the young officer.
"My friend Lieutenant Somers is as bashful as a maiden of sweet sixteen,"interposed Captain de Banyan. "I beg your pardon, Mr. Guilford; thoughyour name and fame are familiar to me, I have not the honor of yourpersonal acquaintance; but, under the circumstances, I shall make it partof my duty to see that my friend does not neglect your reasonablerequest."
"Thank you, sir," replied the Senator.
"Captain de Banyan, at your service," added the modest officer who hadserved in Italy and the Crimea.
"Thank you, Captain de Banyan. I see you are in the same regiment withLieutenant Somers."
"Yes, sir, I have that honor; and I assure you there is not a nobler andbraver young officer in the Army of the Potomac. He reminds me very muchof a splendid fellow I served with in the Crimea."
"Ah! you were in the Crimea?"
"I was, sir; and he looks very much like Captain de Waite, whom I sawmade a major on the field of Magenta, for the most daring bravery, by theEmperor of France."
"You have seen service, captain," added the Senator.
"A little, sir."
"You must speak with my daughter, lieutenant, before we part," continuedMr. Guilford. "Her gratitude has no limit."
Lieutenant Somers was astounded by the effrontery of his militarycompanion, who had claimed to be his friend, and forced himself upon theacquaintance of the powerful man on the strength of that intimacy; hadeven brought to his notice the fact--if it was a fact--that he had beenat Magenta and in the Crimea. The simple-minded young man had seen nosuch diplomacy in Pinchbrook, or in the course of his travels in Marylandand Virginia; and he was fearful that the audacious fellow would dare toaddress the daughter as he had the father.
"Be seated," said the Senator, as he pointed to the
seat in front of MissEmmie.
She was pale, and appeared to be suffering from the pain of her brokenarm; but she bestowed a sweet smile upon him as he took the profferedseat.
"Lieutenant Somers, after what I have heard from Mr. Holman"--that wasthe gentleman who had spoken so handsomely of him--"I feel sure that Iowe my life to you."
"I think not, Miss Guilford," replied the lieutenant, very muchembarrassed. "I only pulled you out from the ruins; I couldn't havehelped doing it if I had tried; and I hope you won't feel under anyobligations to me."
"But I do feel under very great obligations to you, and I assure you I amhappy to owe my life to so brave and gallant a soldier."
Somers felt just as though he was reading an exciting chapter in asensational novel; though he could not help thinking of Lilian Ashford,and thus spoiling all the romance of the affair. He made no reply to MissEmmie's pretty speech; it was utterly impossible for him to do so; andtherein he differed from all the heroes of the novels.
"I want to hear from you some time, and even to see you again. You mustpromise to call and see me when we get to Washington."
"I may not be able to leave my regiment at that time."
"Oh! my father will get you a furlough any time you want one."
Lieutenant Somers thought he would like to see himself asking a furloughto enable him to visit a young lady in Washington, even if she was aSenator's daughter; but he promised to call at Mr. Guilford's whenever hehappened to be at the capital, which was entirely satisfactory to theyoung lady. Though Emmie was by this time suffering severely, she managedto say several pleasant things; and among them she hinted that her fathercould make a brigadier as easily as a tinker could make a tin kettle.
The train arrived at the stopping-place; and Mr. Guilford, with theassistance of Lieutenant Somers, placed his daughter in a carriage.Captain de Banyan was very anxious to assist in the operation; but thesufferer declined. They parted with a renewed promise on the part of theyoung officer to visit her in Washington, whenever his duty called him tothat city. The cars arrived in New York two hours behind time--too lateto connect with the train for Philadelphia. Captain de Banyan proposed,as they were obliged to remain in the city over night, that they shouldstop at the "Fifth Avenue," declaring that it was the best hotel in NewYork. Somers objected; hoping that he should thus escape the society ofthe captain, who appeared to be altogether too "fast" for his time.
De Banyan was accommodating; and, when the lieutenant mentioned a smallhotel downtown, he readily agreed to the proposition, and Somers found ituseless to attempt to get rid of him. The captain, for some reason orother, appeared to have taken a decided liking to our officer. Perhaps hehoped to share with him the powerful patronage of Senator Guilford.
After supper, Captain de Banyan proposed that they should go out and seethe "elephant;" but Somers, having no taste for the study of thisdescription of natural history, positively declined to see themetaphorical monster.
"We must go somewhere," persisted the captain, taking up a newspaper."Here's a 'Lecture on the Battle of Bull Run, by Lieutenant-ColonelStaggerback, who participated in that memorable action,'" he continued,reading from the paper.
"I was in that battle myself; I don't object to that," replied Somers.
"Good! Then we'll go."
They walked up Broadway till they came to one of those gaudy saloonswhere rum and ruin are tricked out in the gayest of colors.
"We are early for the lecture, Somers. Let's go in here, and see whatthere is to be seen."
"No, I thank you; I don't care about going into any of these dens of viceand sin."
"'Vice is a monster of so frightful mien, As, to be hated, needs but to be seen,'"
repeated the captain with dramatic force.
"'But seen too oft----'
You needn't see it but once. Don't you want to see the lions of themetropolis?"
"Don't object to the lions; but, in my opinion, you will find only thedonkeys in there."
"Let us see, at any rate."
"I will go in for a moment," replied Somers, who did not like to seemover-squeamish.
They entered this outer gate to ruin. There was a bar at the end next tothe street, while at the other end a band of music was playing thenational airs. It looked like a very pleasant place to the younglieutenant, who had never entered one of these saloons before.