THE DISAPPEARANCE OF JOHN ACKLAND.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 13, Issue 1114, 31 December 1869, Page 3

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF JOHN ACKLAND.

A TRUE STORY. IN THIRTEEN CHAPTEBS .—-CHAPTER 1. (From "All the Year Bound.")?' In tho following extraordinary narrative nothing is fioLifcious but the names of the persons. About thirty-five or forty years ago, before the border territory of Texas had. become a state of the great American Union, a Virginian gentleman, living near .Richmond, received from a gentleman of. Massachusetts, living near Boston, a letter pressing for punctual payment of a debt owing to the writer of it by the person to whom it was addressed. The debt was a heavy one. It was a loan for a limited period, contracted partly on mortgage and partly on other less valid securities. The period for which it was originally contracted had been frequently renewed at increasing rates of interest. The whole capital would shortly be due ; and renewal of the loan (which seems., to. have been asked for) was firmly declined, on the ground that the writer of the letter was now winding up his business at Boston preparatory to the undertaking, of. an entirely new business at Charleston ; whither it was his intention to proceed very shortly. Such was the general purport of this letter. The tone of it was, courteous? but peremptory. The name of* the gentleman who received it we ..shall-sup-pose to have been Cartwright, and that of ithe gentleman who wrote 1 it to haV^iaeen Ackland. JMr. Cartwright -was the'^ner! •of a~n".~esta'te~, not a- very large ovLe i('wjfi(jh, "with the reader's. permission, we will cjall' Glenoak), on the. banks, of \tho "Jiames Biver. The Cartwrights were an old Virginian family, much esteemed for their antiquity. Three generations Pf male Cartwright babies had been christened Stuart (because, sir, the Cartwrights had always fought for the Stuarts, sir, in the old country), and in Virginia a very moderate amount of family antiquity has always . commanded for the representative of it as much consideration as is accorded in England to the lineage of a Beaufort or a Howard. The personal reputation of this present Philip Stuart Cartwright, however, was not altogether satisfactory. It was regretted that a man of his parts and property, should have contributed nothing to the strength and dignity of the territorial aristooracy of old Virginia in the legislature of his state — a legislature of which the Virginians were justly proud. The estate of Glenoak, if well managed, would have doubtless yielded more than the income which was spent, not very reputably, by the owner of it, whenever he had a run of luck at faro. But the estate was not well managed, and, between occasional but extravagant hospitalities on this estate, and equally extravagant indulgence in the stimulant of high stakes and strong liquors at the hells and bars about Eichmond, Mr. Philip Cartwright passed his time unprofitably enough ; for pulling the devil by the tail is a fatiguing exercise, even to a strong man. Mr. Cartwright was a strong man, however, and a handsome man, and a tall. " Quite a fine man, sir," said his friends. " You may have seen Philip S. Cartwright as drunk as a hog, sir, but you will have always found him quite the cavalier." And, in truth, he had grand manners, and pleasant manners, too, this hard-living, devil-may-care gentleman, which embellished the impression of his vices. And he was a bold rider and a crack shot ; accomplishments which, in all Anglo-Saxon communities, ensure easy, popularity to their possessor. Then, too, he had been left, early in life, a widower ; and if, since then, he had lived too hard or lived too loose, this wns an extenuating circumstance. More* <>\ -i v. ho had but one child, a pretty little .;:;'l ; and to her he had ever been a careful, tender, and devoted father. That was another extenuating circumstance. He was doubtless no "man's enemy but his own.; and the worst ever said of him Was, that "Philip S., sir, is a smart man, smart and spry ; but wants ballast." . Mr. Cartwright lost no time in answering Mr. Ackland's letter. He answered it with, the warmest expressions of gratitude^Or the consideration and forbearance which lie had hitherto received from the writer in the matter of this large, and all too long outstanding debt. He confessed that only a month ago he had been greatly embarrassed how to meet the obligations now falling due ; but he was all the more rejoiced, for that reason, to be now enabled to assure his correspondent, that in consequence partly of the unusual excellence of the present rice harvest, and partly owing to other recent and unexpected receipts to a considerable amount, the capital and interest of the debt would be duly paid off at the proper time. As, however, Mr. Ackland, in his letter, had expressed the intention of going to Charleston about that time, he' (Mr. Cartwright) begged to remind him that he could not reach Charleston without passing through Richmond on his way thither. He trusted, therefore, that Mr. A. would afford him that opportunity of offering to his New England friend a sample of the hospitality for which old Virginia was justly celebrated. He was naturally anxious to be tho first southern gentleman to entertain his distinguished correspondent on Virginian soil. He, therefore, trusted that his esteemed friend would honour him by being his guest:at Gleuoakfor a few^days ; the more so, as he was desirous not only of introducing Mr. A. to some of the most distinguished irien of Virginia, but also of furnishing him with letters to many influ-; .eniial friends of his ia. South ' Carolina,' whose acquaintance Mr. A. would pro-f bably find useful in the course of hisbusi- : ness at Charleston. . If, therefore, Mr. A. could manage to be at on the proximo, he (Mr. C.) would. meet him there/ and conduct him to Glenoak, where all would be in readiness for tho immediate and satisfactory settlement of their accounts. When Mr. Ackland received this letter, he was sitting in his office at Boston, and conversing with his cousin, Tom Ackland. Tom Ackland was a rising young law3 r er, and the only living relative of our Mr. John Ackland, of tho firm of Ackland Brothers. AolriaucVs other brother, who was also Ackland senior, had died some years ago, and Ackland junior had since then been carrying on tho business of the firm, not very willingly, and not very successfully. " What do you think of that, Tom ?" said Mr. John Ackland, tossing over the letter to his cousin. "Well," said Tom, after reading it through, hastily enough, "I think you had better accept the invitation, for I suspect it is about the only thing you will over get out of Philip Cartwright. As to his paying up, I don't believe a word of what ho says on that score." "I don't, onuch believe. in it neither," said Mr. John, " and I'm sadly afraid the debt is a bad one. But I can't afford to lose it : and 'twill be a great bore to have to foreclose. Even then, too, I shan't recover half of tho capital. What do you think, Tom ?" ' ' . Mr. Arkland spoke with a weary tone of voice and an undecided manner, like a man who is tired of some load which he is either too weak or too lazy to shake off. "Well, you must pass through. Richmond, Jack, and Glenoak will be as pleasant a halt as you can have. Drink as

much, of Oartwright's vrme, and. smo^e=;st)k. f "j. many of bis cigars as>-ypu pahr'forl^ ; doubt if you'll get back, any o^.^ouV : money except in that kirid;; Hbwe^r,. : you can afford to lose it, so don't be" sd downhearted, man. And as, fbr^tHi^, Charleston business-—^" „.,;■ " Oh I" said ; John Ackland, impatiently,. " the best of the Charleston business is that it is not Boston business. lam longing, Tom, to be away from here, and the sooner I can start v the better. Have you heard (I did yesterday at the Albion) that Mary, I mean Mrs. Mordent, and her husband, are expected back in Boston next month ?" "Ab, Jack, Jack!" exclaimed Tom, ". you will get over this sooner than '-ydu think, man, and come, back to us one of I these days with a, bouncing, black-eyed Carolinian beauty, and half-a-dozen littler * Ackland brothers and sisters too.""" ** *'%■ ■** <( I have got over it, Tom. At my time of life I don't think there is much to get over." "Tow' time of life, Jack! What nofi* sense." . : v: " Well, I am not a patriarch, certainlyi'* said Mr. John Ackland. .*> Bu¥ I ddtt ? t want to be a patriarch, Tom; <ahsl; £ dost think I ever shall be. a patriarch. }„The best part of my life wasf short enough, Heaven knows, and I hope (noW'^SSt; is over) that the worst-part of M very long. I don't think it idll b,#serylong, Tom. Anyhow, I have np_. miijd 'to meet Mr. and Mrs. Mordent again^just, now, so I shall accept Car.fcwrfgKt:a;iiy'ita?. tibn, : an'd-fcow^ W^!lsMk>about businesVlSr to-day, Tbmi ?i - '^- : flfflffiff& He did accept the : .invitation: ■[ ana^^y the date proposed, John ar^f<lq| at I^chmorid late in the eyemngjofT^.\||^ June" day. He* was much'.faSgue^y Ws long journey and the heat'of tne'weathei?; and not at all ..sorry to accept an invitation (which he received through Cartwright, who met him on his arrival) from Mir. D., the accomplished editor of the Richmmct Conner, to sup and.sleep at that gentleman's house before going on "to ©reneak., Mr. D. having heard from Cartwright of " Mr. Acklano/s intended visit to the south, and knowing that he co^ld not;amwriu Richmond till late in the ovening,--had, with true' Virginian hospitaUty,' insisted on the two gentlemen passing the night at his house in town ; and it had been arranged that Cartwright should drive Mr. D. and Mr. Ackland over to Glenoak on the following day. Mr. Ackland was very cordially received by his Eichmond host, an agreeable and cultivated ;i£a*ilV'.' . The fatigue of his long journey seeutfdd^ ' him a good night's rest ; and. Oi^Hg;m;; early riser, he had indulged his eoi'dl3il;y'' : by a solitary stroll through the to wti,' be- " fore the three gentlemen met at breakfast ' the next morning. After breakfast/ He was conducted by his two frieifds to see the lions of the place. When "they had visited the court-house and the senatehouse, . ' *V.,:l " Now, Mr. Editor," said Cartwrigh't, "I shall ask permission to leave my friend here under your good care for an hour or so. lam going to fetch my little girl from school. You know she ia at Miss Grindley's finishing establishment for young ladies ; and though she is. only ten years old, Miss G. assures me that Vir- : ginia Cartwright is her most forward pupil. We will take this little puss with us, if you please. What o'clock is it now?" Cartwright looked at his watch, and Mr. D. looked at his watch. Yawning and looking at your watch are infectious gestures. John Ackland also put his hand ■ j to his waistcoat-pbcket, and then suddenly remembering that his watch was nofc.there, he felt awkward, and blushed, for- John Ackland was a shy man, and a lazy man in everything but the exercise of self-torment. I He was in the habit of interpreting every trifle to his own disadvantage. • This unfortunate way of regarding all external phenomena was constantly disturbing his otherwise habitual languor with an internal sensation of extreme awkwardness. And whenever John Ackland felt awkward he blushed. . " Twenty minutes to one," said Mr. D, " Good ;. then," said Gartwright,, .".in one hour, as near as- may be, I and 7 my little girl will be at your door with the waggon, and phaeton. Can you be ready by then?" * •":- --" All right," answered the editor, "we shall just have time for a light luncheon," " Will it be out of your way, Mr. D.," said Ackland, after Cartwright hacpleft them, " to pass by D'Oiley's, the watchmaker's, in street?" " Not at all. How do you happen to know the name of that store, though ? " " I noticed it, whilst strolliug through the town this morning. My chronometer has been losing time since I came south ; and I asked Mr. D'Oiley to look., at ij;, saying I would call or send for it; before leaving town thisafternoon." When the watchmaker handed back the chronometer to Mr. Ackland. ,'l.That watch was never made in the S:rJ.tes;: I reckon, sir ? " said he. . . "No. It is English." "Geneva works, though. I'll. warrant your chronometer, sir, to go right. for six years now. Splendid piece of workmanship, sir." ' . _ — Mr. Ackland was much' pleased with his pretty little new acquaintance, Virginia Cartwright. She was a dark-eyed lively child, who. promised to become a very beautiful woman, and was singularly graceful for that awkward age in the li£e of a yottrig lady which closes her firstilecade. Her luther seemed to be immensely proud of, as well as tenderly attachja^ji . the little girl. Every little inciden%sn their way to Glenoak suggested to him some anecdote of her childhood which he related to his guest in terms, no doubt inadequately expressed, of her.extrao.r-di-navynierits. Orice he said; " When tbliutk what would become of that child if anything were to happen " But he finished the sentence only by whipping on the horses. A large assembly of Virginia notables had been invited to Glenoak to meet Mr. Cartwright's New England guest.- " I am. going to bo shown off," thought John Ackland to himself; and he entered, the house, hot and blushing, like the sun rising through a fog. Among these notables ■ was Judge Gritßn, "Our greatest legal . authority, sir," whispered Cartwright, , as he pushed his guest forward, and presented him to tho judge with expressions of overflowing eulogy and friendship. Mr. Ackland, of Boston city, was a representative man, he said, " a splendid specimen, sir, of our gronfc merchant princes of the North, whom he was- proud to receive under his roof. Move thau that, he himself was under deep obligations (why should he be ashamed to avow it ?) the very deepest obligations to his worthy friend and honoured guest, John IL. Ackland !" Hero Mr. Cartwright, apparently - under the impression that he had been proposing a toast, paused, and prepared to lift his glass to. his lips, but fiudiug that " ho had, just then, no glass to lift, he in. : formed the 1 judge and his other gftfests that dinner would soon be served, .and expressed a hope that in the meanwhile ,Mr. Acklapd would favour, him with a. fpi^mo,ments,.of his private attention for the\s^tiem^ut L of a matter of business t tq whioH/p^d, ,he partly owed tWhonor^of^ visit. The two gentlemen , wfr^/'taen/ closeted together for nearly; an^^yv

tlw rest of the com- - appeared ■ g^^^-^iie^iiinng-, their, recent' interWmS^S^"^; ft^o&ble impressio^ c% his v^f liest. Host and giiest .i ■ f 'wp%Me&y.on te^ms of the most cordial j\ ,V& lltt^py 1 ynti. 'took other, find Oartwrj^ht i^sdt was iat^e highest possible spirits. ••.=-■ one of the company present on that oc- ; ' fission, a very gentleman, who had hadv some betting transactions with the dyrner: of ■ Glenoak ?— trahsacfcions from which lie had derived a very high appro•ciation of the remarkable 'cuteness of that gentleman— expressed to his neighbour at itable a decided opinion that his friend Philip S. must certainly have succeeded, before dinner, in getting a pot o' money out of the Yankee, who looked as well pleased as people usually do when they nave done something foolish. After dinner, when the gentlemen lit their cigars, and Strolled into the garden, Cartwright link-&-y mg : one arm in tlmt of Judge Griffin, and #obe other in that of John Ackland, ex- .,. -.*f I wish, judge, that you, whose powers of persuasion are irresistible, would induce % I^Pnend here to listen to reason. No, , lib:!*? he continued as John Ackland made l^^lgesture of impatience, "no, .my es- * fji&&a Mend, why should I conceal the ; ||pt ; Thefict is, judge, that Mr. Ack- '. have had some pecuniary : traMaglfions with each other, ia which he ■ has'i|^n creditor, let me add, the most for- . * tj#|pi And considerate .creditor that ever , man* had, and I, of course, debtor — — " „ -.. : "jA honourable one," put in John Ackland. ■|iy:'^ear iir^that.is the veiy point in Iftpn". Alldw me to dSferye the flatter--2s>it&iet. Judge Griffia shall decide the' ? Y6umustknow, judge, that the unInate force of circumstances, (why ; snonld Ibe ashamed to own itP) has comi polled me to keep this gentleman waiting • ment of a considerable sum of money which he has been good enough to advance to me, • vpatrt|y. on my personal security. Under t&ese circumstances, I was naturally anjdbus that he should not, finally, be a loser by the generosity of his patience. It „ is, therefore, needless to say#hat the rate of interest offered by myself for the renewed postponement of the liquidation of this loan was, in the last instance, a high d&e. ram happy to say that I have, this afternoon, had the pleasure of refunding to my friend the entire capital of the debt. , On that capital, however, a year's interest was still owing. Of coulee J added the amount of it to that of the capitak But lie (wonderful man !) refuses— abfolutely refuses-- to receive it. Tell him, judge (you know me), that he is depriving me of a luxury \whicn I have too seldom enjoyed —rthe luxury of paying my debts—and that the capital- 4 -—" " Waafa very large one," interrupted Mr. AcHand, who had been listening with growingimpatience to this speech. " Pardon me if I confess that I had not counted on the entire recovery of it— especially so soon/ The interest to which My. Cartwright has referred was fixed in accordance with that erroneous impression. For which— ahem— my jexease must be, sir, that — well,thatlamnot — never was-— aman of sanguine temperament. Sir, Mr. Gartwright has greatly embarrassed me. Under present circumstances, I really— l could not-r-ahem- — tax my friend here so heavily on a debt of— of— -well, yes— of that amount, which has been so unexpectedly— ahem. I really— l— am not a usurer, sir, though I am a merchant." . Mr; Ackland said all this with the diffi. cult hesitation of ari exceedingly shy man, which/he was, and blushing up to the roots of his hair. As soon as he had struggled through, the effort of saying it, and thereby worked himself into a state of feeling so defensive as to be almost offensive, he extricated his arm from the embrace of his host, and, with an awkward bow, hastened to join the ladies in the arbour. " Odd man, that," said Judge Griffin. "Shy and proud," said Cartwright* " but as fine a Mow as ever lived." , Tohn Ackland wrote from Grlenoak to his fc : u Tom, expressing much pleasure in Cousi- . "" there. The change of scene «nd Ms visiv "" ee d with him, notwithstanding air had ag* f< °f the season, and he already the greathea. and spirits than when felt in better ht He related the result of he left Boston. + had taken place be- [ the interview which host on the day of ■ tween hlmsejf and his . Tie had the cash his arrival, at Grlenoak. - N it the amount now wlliifliim in notes. !bu P course exwas so^llge that he should Oi "*ank for a change them at the Eichmond h. credit on their correspondents at (a. I^. ton. It was a strange notion rfU - n Wright's to insist on paying the momey iv notes. , , ,1 •■ 1 " He seems to have been under the lffiv pression that I should not have been equally well satisfied with his signature. Which made me feel very awkward, my _ dear Tom." . x He had felt still more awkward in con- 1 senting totake the last year's interest on that loan at the rate originally stipulated. Tom knew that he would not have raised it so high if he had ever had any hope of recovering the entire capital at the expira- .. tion of the term. However, there was no help for it. Cartwright would have it. - Cartwright had behaved exceedingly well. Very much like a gentleman, lie had really conceived a great regard for his present h6st. In despite of some obvious faults of character, and he feared also of conduct, there was so much good ia tW<mani Cartwright wo» a most pleal^^igpmpauion, and had shown the ..gf^^^fl^licacy in this matter. The mil^Piction for his daught^i;pp; %$/ quitfelduching ; arid the child herself was charming. John Ackland then, described his impressions of a slave plantation at ( some length. His abhorrence of the whole system was even more intense than before. Not because he had noticed any great crueltyM the treatment of the slaves on this plantation, but because the system , was one which rendered even kindness itself an instrument of degradation ; and these unfortunate blacks appeared to him to be. iv a mental and moral condition! whichi without justifying it, gave a hideous plausibility to the cool assertion of their owners that coloured humanity is not humanity at all. He avoided --all discusBion on this subject, however, for, as Tom Jcnew, there was nothing he hated so much as controversy. At first he had felt " a little awkward " at being the only Northerner amongst so many slave proprietors. But now he felt quite at his ease with them all. Especially with Cartwright. 'Twas a pity that man had been born South. He had been brought up there to idleness and arrogance, but his natural disposition fitted him for better things. Glenoak was a very pleasant place. So pleasant, that he was reluctant to leave it. And in fact, there was no real necessity for going to Charleston so soon. The 1 weather was, horribly hot. He had nob yefc been ufiio the exertion even of going t? Bichmpiidio deposit the notes he had yebeifed^-pm Cartwright. ,He thought : he : sßpula^probably remain some days V- :J 'v % J^^rpern»pß--a fortnight longer— at : ,<sfefioafc.' ; - : L\:_. i -'. the eveiaaig of the day he wrote this '■'■■'■■'• detterVhowejrer, an incident occurred which, i qhaiige^ Mp f j&kland's disposition to pro- & ioMw stay^at Glenoak. ;