The Portland daily press., 1872-01-06
SELECTED STORY.
CAUGHT BY AN HEIRESS.
BY JUSTIN MCCARTHY.

There was quite pleasant thrill of excite
ment on board the Mississippi steamer Col
umbia, bound from New Orleans TO st. Louis, |
as she Law at the quay of the former city lido |
they call it a quay at New Orleans, or Gre
vase, or what?) just before starting on her |
voyage. The passengers were nearly all on
board; the seemingly interminable process of |
rolling in casks of sugar and bales of cotton |
by vociferous, awkward negroes had really
come to an end; but the captain still stood on
the quay, wharf, crevaSSe, or whatever 1t was,
and the specified hour for departure had long
passed away. The sun had gone dOwn-it
was in the latter part OF April, before the
fierce heats had set in to make Canal street a
solitude and Carrollton bowling wilderness
and the crew and the porters did their
work by the light of the demoniac looking lit
tie furnaces or braZierS filled with blazing pine
wood which were fixed at the steamers bow.
Among the impatient passengers the rumor
was that the steamer was only waiting now
to take on board young heiress of immense
wealth and social dignity, who was going up
somewhere north and thence to Europe.
Some few of the passengers protested to
know all about the matter. Their accounts,
of course, did not agree in many particulars;
but they all generally bore out one broad con-
clusion. The young heiress had only recent
ly become enriched The death OF distant
relative, who amassed huge fortune in
South America, had made her, quite unex-
pectedly an heiress. She had been brought
up in a New Orleans convent, her mother be-
ing dead. Her father was travelling with her.
Except as her father, he was quite poor
man, ruined in the war. Was she pretty?
everybody asked. Nobody knew. Several
on board were acquainted, more or less, with
the father; not one ever protested to have
seen the daughter.
While general anxiety was felt to see the
heiress, the ladies were much more eager ON
the subject than the gentlemen. Men are
very seldom curious about woman whom
they have not seen; women are just the re-
verse. The men on board the Columbia who
felt or expressed the greatest desire to see the
expected heiress were Colonel Sharpe, Hon.
Captain Decides (of England) and Phil Penn
broke.
These three ought to be clearly described.
Colonel Sharpe was small, dark-haired man,
with eyes that cleaned like Jewels. He was
handsomely, perhaps floridly dressed; had an
emerald in his shirt, and wore elegant glazed
boots, small and dainty enough to have peep
ed beneath a petticoat. l should not have
cared to have played billiards or euchre with
Colonel Sharpe, who was almost always play
ing one or the other. 1t is doubtful whether
the military authorities at Washington could
have furnished any explanation as to how Mr.
Sharpe came by his title of Colonel; and l
don't suppose Jefferson Davis knew anything
more about the matter than General Grant,
The manners of Colonel Sharpe to the ladies
on board were deliberately polite and chival-
rous, with an ostentatious dash of tenderness
in them. When he took off his hat and bow
ed to lady there was an air of sentimental
confidence about the motion which seemed to
hint that it was an act of homage paid to her,
and her alone. Colonel Sharpe went up and
down the Mississippi very often, and played
cards immensely all the way, and drank many
sherry-cobblers and much champagne and
brandy, and he was ready to offer you wager
on any assertion whatever.
The Hon. Captain Decides (whose regiment
was stationed in Toronto) was an English
younger son. He was a handsome forid
man, of thirty-fve, with neat brown NOUS
tache and brown whiskers and shaven chin,
and hair lavishly oiled and carefully parted
down the middle. He was especially remark
Abe for his unalterable composure and i'm
penetrable self-possession. Nothing on earth
or sea could disturb him, or shake his calm
faith in his own superiority and that of his
class to all humanity outside. He was poor,
as BELTS younger son; and, like a true arts
tocrat, he cared not farthing who knew it.
He wanted to marry woman with money;
and he frankly acknowledged that, given the
money, he would not be very particular about
the beauty or intellect of the woman.
Phil Pembroke was handsome young
American, who had gone creditably, not per-
haps very splendidly, through his university
course, and had not yet quite found out what
to do with himself in life. He was Won
derfully slow young American in that way
for he was twenty years old, and yet had
hardly begun the world. He had very little
money. His father and mother were dead.
He had forced upon him, through family in
fuence, consulship in one of the British
possessions, and, not liking the utter absence
of real work he had actually flung up the APP
pointment, declaring himself disguised with
. Office seeking, and vowing that he would live
by his own brains and exertions or not at
all. He was a manly young fellow, with a
dash of the romantic about him; and he had
still poetic reverence for a woman, even
when she wore high heels and assumed the
Grecian bend-which | take to be the severest
test of mans devotion to woman ever de-
vised by fashion.
Colonel Sharpe thought something could
be made out of the heiress or the father
somehow. Captain Decides thought he might
have a try for the girl and her ''tin.''
Phil Pembroke was anxious to see what the
young lady might be like. In the weary
hours before the steamers departure these
three had been thrown together good
deal. Colonel Sharpe had won two bets
from the Britisher and played cards with him,
but found that in the latter manly sport the
Britisher could hold his own.
At last three carriages ratified down to the
wharf Several huge trunks and boxes and
elderly gentleman handing in two ladies, both
young apparently; then a smart French dam
sci, evidently lady's maid, and then a color
ed man carrying little dog in his arms
The ladies have their wells down, and nobody
can make anything of them. The whole par
ty passes in and presently disappears, absorb
ed into staterooms. At last the plank or
''stage" is hauled in, the gun is fired and the
steamer begins slowly to make its way through
crowding craft of all kinds up the Mississip-
pi.
The elderly gentleman and the ladies did
not appear that night, and there was consid-
cradle disappointment among the company in
consequence. Colonel Sharpe offered to bet
drinks that the taller lady was the heiress.
Captain Decides would not bet, for he assumed
with ayawn, that it must be SO, seeing that
the smaller of the two had shown in passing
very pretty foot and ankle; and girls with
lots of money are almost sure to be ''beef to
the heels" Phil Pembroke thought that as
the taller girl passed him he had caught
through her veil the CLEAN of two very bright
eyes; and he hoped these belonged to the
heiress, although, as he said, rather grimly,
within himself, it didn't matter much to
him; a woman with beauty and fortune
would not be likely to give herself much con-
Germ for poor devil like him.
The French waiting-maid and the colored
men both were seen fitting about the saloon,
and from this state-room to that, during the
evening. Colonel Sharpe privately ''inter-
viewed'' them both, and came back to his
fellow-passengers triumphant with his news.
The tall young lady was the heiress; she was
immensely beautiful and awfully rich The
school girl was only travelling companion,
school friend of the heiress's convent DAYS,
now taken with her out of kindness and char
ity. The father was a quite old gentleman.
who didn't amount to much anyhow The
daughter ruled the party. As Colonel Sharpe
expressed it, ''she bossed the whole lot.''
The morning rose beautiful and bright over
the yellow waters and the rich green shores.
The heiress and her party had emerged from
their state-rooms, and were graciously ming
ling with the general company. The heiress
was really very handsome girl-tal pale,
quiet. with transparent complexion, long
straight muse and magnificent fair hair. The
other girl was bright, pleasant little thing
without much pretensions, or any pretension
to beauty, but with pretty and compact lit
tie figure, just the person to be a very tidv
and agreeable teacher or mistress in a well
kept school, apparently. The father was a
rather handsome, very gentlemanly gray
haired man, who talked willingly and agreea-
bly, enough, but had, every now and then
an odd, uncomfortable way of looking nm
easily about him, as if he had sometime on
his mind, or were in fear of some manner of
detection. Our trio of tavelling companions
observed all these facts at first from a dis
lance, at breakfast. 1t was de rioueur on
the hoat fh of a oan tJaman trovaI;,.s til -