The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1877-09-14
An indignation Meeting.


The moon was shining into the
south windows of the White House
when Mr.. Hayes got up from his bed
in order to look at the clock. 1t was
nearly three in the morning, and he
had not yet slept. The bed was COM
Portable enough, but what long, dreary
hours since eleven!
"God bless me-" said Mr.. Hayas,
passing his hand wearily over his
forehead. "I used to sleep like a top
at Columbus"
He sat down in a chair and tried to
think of his approaching journey
through the Southern States, and of
the speeches to be made along the
way. He would take SchurZ along
this time, but not Key. 1t would not
be polite to take Key. Key'speculiar
humOr would not I've appreciated in
Tennessee and in Virginia. In intro
ducing SciIurz to audiences in the
Southern States, he would speak of
him as a man who had fought OH the
wrong side at Gettysburg and slSc-
where, but who had seen the error of
his ways, and was now prepared to
acknowledge his mistake in the pres
ence of his eX-COnfederate brethren.
~ will quote Scripture" thought Mr..
Hayes, 'when / introduce SchurZ,
and will say" But his mind was
not in trim for continuous thinking.
1t wandered back to Evarts and the
Green Mountains, and to StOughtOn,
and to Judge Jerry Black, and then
to the unwelcOme memory of the Flee
tOral Commission. And the clock Oh
the mantel, its rapid pendulum strokes
oppressively loud in the perfect still
ness of the night, seemed TO say, and
to keep saying, "Eight-tO-sev-en,
Eight-tO-scv -en, Eight to -sev en-,
Eight-tO-sev-en, Eight-tO sew en-"
Try as he did, his ears could make it
say nothing else.
Mr.. Hayes went to a window, drew
the curtain, and looked up at the
broad face of the moon. For the first
time in his life he noticed that the
moons face bore Il weird likeness to
the face of Gen. Butler. As he re-
marked this strange resemblance with
amaZement, the outer corners of the
eyes seemed to draw themselves still
further down, and the mouth lines to
take on an expression of sardonic glee,
as if the fIce said, Congress meets
on the 18th of October, Mr.. Hayes,
and I shall be there"
He was turning away disgusted from
a spectacle that afforded him no salts
faction, when he was startled by a
deep, ringing voice, apparently close
to his ear, uttering with solemn en-
phasis this word of reprOach:
"Fraudu ~
And again, almost before he could
recover his suspended breath:
"FraudW
"Sonsense," thought Mr.. Hayes,
''my nerves are getting the better OF
my sense. am "a"
'Fraud!n said the voice for the third
and last time. 1t was only the bell of
church clock, striking the hour, but
if it had been the voice of doom pro-
nOuncing judgment, its effect upon
Mr.. Hayes's ears could not have been
more terrifying. He left the window
and began to walk the floor, keeping
time uncOnsciously with the monOtO-
nous Eight-to-seV-en of the mantel
clock, and drawing the palm of his
hand to and fro across his forehead, a
gesture that had become habitual with
with him of late.
In this restless mood Mr.. Hayes
passed out of the apartment cOnsecret-
ed to a deity who refused to bless his
pillow, and paced the long corridor
for time. The door of the Executive
room, where he and his predecessors
in the White House have been ac-
custOmed to meet their counsellors,
was ajar. He pushed it open and en-
| tered. 1t was not the first time that
he had visited the apartment at this
hour. He unlocked a cabinet, and his
| hand CROPPED about in the darkness un-
til it had found a wine glass and a
small vial. at will bring me sleep"
said Mr.. Hayes to himself. "1he
dreams are bad enough, but not so bad
as wakefulness."
The drowsiness of the brown liquid
came over him as he sat in the great
easy chair at the head of helOng table.
1t was hardly sleep, for he was CON
| scious of the objects surrounding him,
| conscious of the moonlight, and con-
scious of his own acute wTetchedneSs.
| While Mr.. Hayes sat in the easy
| chair, waiting for the laudanum TO
close his heavy eyelids, an astOnish-
ing thing happened. The door of the
| Executive room swung on its hinges,
| and procession of dim figures enter
ed, marching two by two. A dozen,
| fourteen, sixteen he counted, and last
| of all came one alone, taller, graveT,
| and more noble in form and carriage
\ than any of the rest. Mr.. Hayes start
| ed up from his chair to question his
| dim visitors rather than TO welcome
them. But they paid no attention to
1 him or to his movements, and he
! shrunk back into a corner of the room
| unnOticed. Some of the strange
! figures seated themselves around the
| table. Others stood in groups, con-
versing in low, earnest tones. He
| who had entered last took the chair
which Mr.. Hayes had occupied. Just
! then the moon came out from behind a
| cloud, and by the better light Mr..
Hayes saw that he was in the presence
! of the Presidents Ofthe United States.
"Since we were here last" said a
courtIy old gentleman with a big head
and broad forehead and stout legs in
| knee breeches-''since we were here
last there has been perpetrated in the
name of Government a crime 50
! atrocious that ] am unable to find
| words to express my amaZement and
indignation. Gentlemen, perhaps my
| tongue is sometimes DER nasty to con-
! denim, hut when my blood bOils it
were folly for me to attempt torestrain
utterance, +" and the speaker brought
-down his heavy cane with a vehem-
ence that shook the room and caused
/ Mr.. Hayes to shrink closer into the
shadow that sheltered him.
fright, father, right % exclaimed a
rather pOmpous parsonage who stood
little apart from the others, "Macte