THE BARNABYS IN AMERICA.

BY MRS. TROLLOPE.

CHAP. XXVIII.

"My dear," said Major Allen Barnaby, on waking the morning after Colonel Beauchamp's dinner party, "I am afraid I won rather too much last night."

"Won too much? What can you mean, good man?" replied his wife, rousing herself from sleep that had produced many delightful dreams. Does your tender conscience reproach you, my Donny? If so, make over your winnings to me, and the generosity shall atone for-for whatever you reproach yourself with, my dear."

"I don't think it would answer," he returned, in a tone rather too grave for jesting. "The thirst which gets hold of one in this hateful climate forces a man to drink, whether he will or no, and I have a sort of confused recollection of having got rather excited last night, and going it, may be, a trifle too fast."

"Mercy on me! I hope you did no such thing!" she replied, looking a good deal alarmed. "Just think of the horror of having our beautiful smooth-sailing here spoilt by such a piece of folly as that!"

"Think of it? I can't bear to think of it," said he. "Our only hope is that the others were in the same condition as myself, and will recollect nothing very clearly. But tell me," he added, "wasn't that stiff young Egerton buzzing about me all the time? He looks like one that might be as dry as Etna before he'd ever think of recruiting himself by a dram. Wasn't he hanging about the table, wife? I have a confused sort of notion of having been bothered by it."

"He did nothing the whole evening but watch the players," she replied, looking considerably alarmed. "If this is to be the Curzonstreet business over again, what is to become of us?"

"Don't lose your courage, my dear," said he, with a degree of composure that he thought was well calculated to reassure her, "if things don't prosper here, we must go ahead, as the natives say."

"It may be easier to say than to do, Major Allen," she replied, not a little provoked by the indifference with which he appeared ready to sacrifice all the advantages which she had obtained with so much ability. You may go ahead, as you call it, with such a stone thrown after you, as may pretty speedily bring you to a standstill."

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"Very likely, my dear; especially if you get a fancy to forget the name I ought to go by. I must beg you won't take to calling me Major Allen, Mrs. Barnaby, or mischief will be sure to come of it. But don't let you and I quarrel, wife. It is too late in the day for either of us to profit by that now. I think we had better change our quarters, I won't deny that; but I dare say that your cleverness will find out some excuse for doing it, that will set all right again. That is to say, if we once fairly get off; for I won't stay, mind that, if you please, so don't waste your wit in trying to contrive it."

"Good Heaven! have you really brought matters to such a pass as that, major?" said the unfortunate lady, her eyes flashing, and her Nov.-VOL. LXVI. NO. CCLXIII.

X

cheeks becoming redder than ever rouge made them.

"What a return for all my enormous exertions for you! And such unequalled success too! It is enough to drive one mad!"

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"Not enough to drive such a woman as you are, mad, my charming Barnaby," said he, with a coaxing smile. Besides, my dear, you have never yet asked how much this rather bold winning may amount to. If we get clear off with it, that may make some considerable difference, I promise you."

"What difference," said she, "can it make to me, sir, I should like to know? You have taken care to keep your winnings pretty snugly to yourself, you will please to remember; whereas I have been labouring, as you well know, to make the great and honourable celebrity I have obtained as advantageous to you as to myself, and this is the return I get for it."

To do my heroine justice, she was not a weeping lady; but at this moment, and especially as she pronounced the word honourable, which not only set off with great effect the indiscreet proceedings of her spouse, but brought fresh upon her memory the delightful feelings with which she had listened to the demands for her autograph, at this moment tears certainly started to her eyes, and she seemed determined to make the most of them, blowing her nose a good deal, and even producing at intervals something very like a sob.

Major Allen Barnaby had left his bed when this conversation began, and had been employing himself from the moment he had thrown on his dressing-gown in the necessary operation of shaving, but upon observing the condition of his wife, and at the same time feeling the force of the words she had spoken, he laid aside the instrument which he was employing upon his chin, walked across the room to the spot where he had deposited the garments he had worn the night before, and extracting his pocket-book from the receptacle in which it was lodged, walked back again to the bed, and laid it unopened on her pillow.

"There, my dear," he said, as he quietly renewed his shaving; "there! you never had that little book in your hands before, to the best of my knowledge and belief; and now I recommend you to dry your handsome eyes, and look at it. It is just the first packet you will come to that you will find the most worthy of observation.”

The mind of my admirable heroine was not formed to dissolve in watery woe at such a moment as this. She instantly sat up in bed, opened the pocket-book, and obeying exactly the instructions she had received, came upon a packet of exceedingly dirty papers, among which however was one little scrap newly written upon, and looking like a bit of first-rate letter-paper. The dirty papers were, as the lady well knew, uncleanly thumbed bank-notes, and their whole amount was seven hundred and eighty dollars, but the scrap of letter-paper was worth them all put together, and a pretty considerable bit of money besides; being an order, payable at sight, upon a bank at Washington, and signed "Themistocles Joseph John Hapford," a name already well known to the attentive ears of Mrs. Allen Barnaby as that of a senator of first-rate standing, a very wealthy planter, and lastly, as one of the brilliant company who had been invited to meet them on the preceding day. The paper thus satisfactorily inscribed might,

therefore, be fairly estimated at the value indicated by the figures it bore, which amounted to the pleasant sum of one thousand five hundred and fifty dollars. For a moment the countenance of Mrs. Allen Barnaby became radiant, but in the next it faded again, and she exclaimed with a deep sigh,

"Yes, Donny, yes! This might atone for much! but what did you find the paper you got in Curzon-street worth?"

"I don't wonder it should come into your head, my dear," replied her husband; "but I am happy to say that we have a considerably better chance this time. I am sure, my dear, that I shall be as sorry as you can be to take you away from all the honour and renown that you are so cleverly making for yourself here, and indeed I shan't think of doing it, whatever I may be obliged to do myself, if upon reflection you prefer remaining behind. But the state of the case is this-I remember it all perfectly now that I have dipped my head in cold water, and set about recollecting a little-the state of the case is this, my Barnaby the bank-notes that you find there, were lost between Colonel Beauchamp and his other playing friend, Judge Wilkins, who lives close by; but the draught came, as you see, from Mr. Hapford, who drove above fifteen miles to his own house, after the table broke up, that I well remember, for there was a deal of talking about wanting him to stay. Well now, it strikes me, that the only safe thing for me to do, is to declare this morning that either you, or I, or Tornorino (Patty must know nothing about it), but some one of us three must be taken ill with a terrible complaint that we have perhaps been long used to, and set off, without losing a moment, bag and baggage, to look for the best medical assistance. We may promise to come back again, you know, and so we can, if we like it; that is to say if nothing comes of what passed last night, besides the quiet cashing of this neat check. Half of that whole sum of two thousand three hundred and fifty dollars I mean to present to you, Mrs. Allen Barnaby, for your own particular use and benefit, to make up to you for any inconvenience which this accident may have occasioned."

He

These last words were pronounced with a low bow performed at the bottom of the bed, where the major stood wiping his razor upon the sleeve of his dressing-gown, while his eyes were fixed with a slight expression of anxiety upon the august countenance of his wife. had, however, no longer any thing to fear in that quarter; the noble generosity of purpose which he thus announced not only stifled every sentiment of anger, but created an emotion of admiration which in her generous heart left room for no other.

"You may at times be thoughtless and indiscreet, my dear major," she replied, in a tone of deep feeling," but there is a fund of just and honourable delicacy about you, sufficient to redeem a thousand such trifling errors. I accept your present as frankly as it is offered, and will not deny that it is as just as it is generous; for the blunder you have made has certainly stopped me short in a very glorious career. Not that I mean to abandon my project, observe. It is much too well imagined, and has in fact already been far too successful to be given However, we need not talk about that now, I shall be able to manage the bringing it forward again, I dare say. What we must think of now, my dear Donny, is how to get off with flying colours here:

up.

and that too, I dare say I shall be able to manage; your generous conduct will inspire me with spirit to get through it all. But it is I who must be sick, major. I should not like, my dear, to see you undertake such a troublesome job. All you need do, is to be in a dreadful agony of terror about me, and insist upon having me removed to some of the great cities directly-you understand?"

"Oh yes, my dear, I understand most perfectly well, you may depend upon it, and the only improvement I can suggest is, that whatever city we decide upon going to before we set out, we should hear something as we go along that should make us change our minds and send us to another."

Mrs. Allen Barnaby looked grave.

"Indeed! Was the circumstance that occurred last night so-so very much out of the common way?" said she.

Her husband laughed.

"Why no, my dear," he replied, "I can't say that it was any thing very extraordinary; but it is always impossible to say, you know, how a joke of that kind may be taken by strangers. Some people think a good deal of it, while others again treat it quite lightly. But we ought to be prepared for the worst. If I can but get that bit of paper honoured however, I shall care very little what any of the folks in this nasty, frizzing, frying, burnt-up, negro-driving country, may think, or feel, on the subject. We have nothing to do but keep moving, my dear, and I have a notion that you and I, between us, may snap our fingers at the whole world."

"All I can say in return, major, is, that we must do our best," replied the lady, with an encouraging smile. "And now, my dear," she continued, "set off directly, catch hold of one of the blackymoors, and send in word to madam that you must beg to speak to her without delay. She won't keep you waiting, you may depend upon it, and when you see her just look and speak as a devoted husband ought to do when he thinks himself in danger of losing the best of wives, and then send her to me, and you shall find every thing beautifully arranged for our setting off in the twinkling of an eye."

"How many more times shall I have to tell you that you were born for me?" cried the major, suddenly saluting her with all the fervour of young affection, "though I can never hope to equal you in any thing," he added, "you shall see at least that your example is not altogether lost. If I do not enact the agonized husband with spirit, then never trust me again. But upon my soul, my Barnaby, I shall only have to fancy that the thing is real in order to be in cue for acting despair to perfection."

This tender assurance was received with a very charming smile, and then the fond husband tore himself away, to perform the part assigned him. This part, as it speedily appeared, was instantly acted by the alert major, and with undoubted success; for almost before Mrs. Allen Barnaby had time to arrange every thing about her in proper order for her own part of the drama, her door was opened with a hurried and agitated hand, and Mrs. Beauchamp stood before her.

Short as the interval had been, however, Mrs. Allen Barnaby had found time to wash all traces of rouge from her cheeks, and the effect