LiL^ARY K--./fV^ ///ttit^ / Given Loaned ^ Shelf No. by T-HOURHERALOP ! ST., CM.CAJlO D UKE UNIVERSIT Y LIBRARY The Glenn Negley Collection of Utopian Literature Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2010 with funding from Duke University Libraries : littp://www.arcliive.org/details/csarscolumnstoOOdonn CAESAR'S Column. A SS>ry of tl^e l^er^tietli ^ei^tiiry. EDMUND BOISGILBERT, M. D. ^1 lt!^,-n'U-<-'^f^J K^^y) yf ^-^n^ , c^- " The true poet is only a masked father-conf essor , whose special function it is to exhibit what is dan^ei-ous in sentiment and pernicious in action by a vivid picture of their consequences. ' ' — Goethe. CHICAGO: F. J. SCHULTE & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS. Copyright, 1S90, By FRANCIS J. SCHULTE. All Rights Reserved. TO THE PUBLIC. It is to you, O thoughtful and considerate pub- lic, that I dedicate this book. May it, under the providence of God, do good to this generation and posterity ! I earnestly hope my meaning, in the writing thereof, may not be misapprehended. It must not be thought, because I am constrained to describe the overthrow of civilization, that I desire it. The prophet is not responsible for the event he foretells. He may contemplate it with profoundest sorrow. Christ wept over the doom of Jerusalem. Neither am I an anarchist : for I paint a dreadful picture of the world-wreck which successful anarchism would produce. I seek to preach into the ears of the able and rich and powerful the great truth that neglect of the sufferings of their fellows, indifference to the great bond of brotherhood which lies at the base of Christ^ ianity, and blind, brutal and degrading worship of mere wealth, must — given time and pressure enough — eventuate in the overthrow of society and the de- struction of civilization. I come to the churches with my heart filled vrith the profoundest respect for the essentials of religion ; I seek to show them why they have lost their hold 5236'41 4 CESAR'S COLUMN. upon the poor, — upon that vast multitude, the best- beloved of God's kingdom,— and I point out to them how they may regain it. I tell them that if Religion is to reassume her ancient station, as crowned mis- tress of the souls of men, she must stand, in shining armor bright, with the serpent beneath her feet, the champion and defender of mankind against all its oppressors. The world, to-day, clamors for deeds, not creeds; for bread, not dogma; for charity, not ceremony; for love, not intellect. Some will say the events herein described are ab- surdly impossible. Who is it that is satisfied with the present un- happ3^ condition of society ? It is conceded that life is a dark and wretched failure for the great mass of mankind. The man}^ are plundered to enrich the few. Vast combinations depress the price of labor and in- crease the cost of the necessaries of existence. The rich, as a rule, despise the poor; and the poor are coming to hate the rich. The face of labor grows sullen; the old tender Christian love is gone; stand- ing armies are formed on one side, and great com- nmnistic organizations on the other; society divides itself into two hostile camps; no white flags pass from the one to the other. They wait only for the drum-beat and the trumpet to summon them to armed conflict. These conditions have come about in less than a. century; most of them in a quarter of a century. Multiply them by the years of another century, and who shall say that the events I depict are impossible? ThcM'e is an acceleration of movement in human affairs even as there is in the operations of gravity. The CESAR'S COLUMN. 5 dead missile out of space at last blazes, and the very air takes fire. The masses grow more intellip;eiit as they grow more wretched; and more capable of co- operation as they become more desperate. The labor organizations of to-day would have been impossible fifty years ago. And what is to arrest the flow of effect from cause? What is to prevent the coming of the night if the earth continues to revolve on its axis? The fool ma}'' cry out: "There shall be no night!" But the feet of the hours march unrelentingly toward the darkness. Some may think that, even if all this be true, " Csesafs Column " should not have been pubhshed. Will it arrest the moving evil to ignore its presence? What would be thought of the surgeon who, seeing upon his patient's lip the first nodule of the cancer, tells him there is no danger, and laughs him into se- curity while the roots of the monster eat their way toward the great arteries? If my message be true it should be spoken ; and the world should hear it. The cancer should be cut out while there is yet time. Any other course " Will but skin and film the ulcerous place, While rank corruption, mining all beneath, Infects unseen." Believing, as I do, that I read the future aright, it would V)e ciiminal in me to remain silent. I plead for higher and nobler thoughts in the souls of men ; for wider love and ampler charity in their hearts ; for a renewal of the bond of brotherhood between the classes; for a reign of justice on earth that shall obliterate the cruel hates and passions which now divide the world. 5236^^1 6 CESAR'S COLUMN. If God notices an;yi:hing so insignificant as this poor book, I ]iray that he may use it as an instru- meutahty of good for mankind ; for he knows I love his human creatures, and would help them if I had the power. CONTENTS. CHAPTER. fAljlt. I. The Great City 9 II. My Adventure 23 III. The Beggar's Home 29 IV. The Under-world 42 V. EsTELLA Washington 51 YI. The Interview 58 YII. The Hiding-place 70 VIII. The Brotherhood 77 IX. The Poisoned Knife 85 X. Preparations for To-night 99 XI. How THE World Came to be Ruined . . 103 XII. Gabriel's Utopia 116 XIII. The Council of the Oligarchy . . . 134 XIV. The Spy's Story 142 XV. The Master of "The Demons" . . . 152 XVI. Gabriel's Folly 158 XVII. The Flight and Pursuit 161 XVIII. The Execution 168 XIX. The Mamelukes of the Air .... 178 XX.^ The Workingmen's Meeting 186 XXI. A Sermon of the Twentieth Century . . 207 XXII. EsTELLA and I . . . . . . . .223 XXIII. Max's Story— The Songstress .... 231 XXIV. Max's Story Continued — The .Iourneyman Printer 238 XXV. Max's Story Continued— The Dark Shadow 248 XXVI. Max's Story Continued — The Widow and her Son 257 XXVII. Max's Story Continued —The Blacksmith Shop 262 XXVUI. Max's Story Concluded— The Unexpected Hap- pens 265 7 8 CONTENTS. CHAPTER. PAGE. XXIX. Elysium 273 XXX. Upon the Housetop 284 XXXI. "Sheol" 289 XXXII. The R.\t-trap 294 XXXIII. "The Ocean Overpeers its List" . . 299 XXXIV. The Puixce Gives his Last Bkihe . . . 305 XXXV. The Liberated Prisoner 310 XXXVI. Cesar Erects his Monument .... 317 XXXVII. The Second Day 327 XXXVIII. The Flight 334 XXXIX. Europe 344 XL. The Garden in the Mountains .... 350 CAESAR'S COLUMN. CHAPTER I. THE GREAT CITY. [This book is a series of letters, from Gabriel Weltstein, in New York, to bis brother, Heinrich Weltstein, in the State of Uganda, Africa.] New York, Sept. 10, 1988. My Dear Brother: Here I am, at last, in the great city. My eyes are weary with o^azing, and my mouth speechless with admiration; but in my brain rings perpetually the thought : Wonderful ! — wonderful ! — most wonder- ful! What an infinite thing is man, as revealed in the tremendous civilization he has built up! These swarming, laborious, all-capable ants seem great enough to attack heaven itself, if they could but find a resting-place for their ladders. Who can fix a limit to the intelhgence or the achievements of our species? But our admiration may be here, and our hearts elsewhere. And so from all this glory and splendor I turn back to the old homestead, amid the high moun- tain valley's of Africa ; to the primitive, simple shep- herd-life ; to my beloved mother, to you and to all our dear ones. This gorgeous, gilded room fades away, and I see the leaning hills, the trickling streams, the deep gorges where our woolly thousands graze ; 9 10 CESAR'S COLUMN. and I hear once more the echoing Swiss horns of our herdsmen reverberating from the snow-tipped moun- tains. But my dream is gone. The roar of the mighty city rises around me like the bellow of many cata- racts. New York contains now ten million inhabitants ; it is the largest city that is, or ever has been, in the world. It is difficult to say where it begins or ends: for the villas extend, in almost unbroken succession, clear to Philadelphia; while east, west and north noble habitations spread out mile after mile, far be- yond the municipal limits. But the wonderful city ! Let me tell you of it. As we approached it in our air-ship, coming from the east, we could see, a hundred miles before we reached the continent, the radiance of its millions of magnetic lights, reflected on the sky, like the glare of a great conflagration. These lights are not fed, as in the old time, from electric dynamos, but the magnet- ism of the planet itself is harnessed for the use of man. That marvelous earth-force which the Indians called "the dance of the spirits," and civilized man designated "the aurora borealis." is now used to illuminate this great metropolis, with a clear, soft, white light, like that of the full moon, but many times brighter. And the force is so cunningly con- served that it is returned to the earth, without any loss of magnetic power to the planet. ^lan has simply made a temporary loan from nature for which he pays no interest. Night and day are all one, for the magnetic light increases automatically as the day-light wanes ; and the business parts of the city swarm as much at mid- CjESAR'S column. 11 night as at high noon. In the old times, I am told, part of the streets was reserved for foot-paths for men and women, while the middle was given up to horses and wheeled vehicles ; and one could not pass from side to side without danger of being trampled to death by the horses. But as the cit}^ grew it was found that the pavements would not hold the mighty, surging multitudes; they were crowded into the streets, and many accidents occurred. The authorities were at length compelled to exclude all horses from the streets, in the business parts of the city, and raise the central parts to a level with the sidewalks, and give them up to the exclusive use of the pedestrians, erect- ing stone pillars here and there to divide the multi- tude moving in one direction from those flowing in another. These streets are covered with roofs of glass, which exclude the rain and snow, but not the air. And then the wonder and glory of the shops ! They surpass all description. Below all the business streets are subterranean streets, where vast trains are drawn, by smokeless and noiseless electric motors, some carrying passengers, others freight. At every street corner there are electric elevators, by which passengers can ascend or descend to the trains. And high above the house-tops, built on steel pillars, there are other raih'oads, not like the unsightly elevated trains we saw pictures of in our school books, but crossing diagonally over the city, at a great height, so as to best economize time and distance. The whole territory between Broadway and the Bowery and Broome Street and Houston Street is occupied by the depot grounds of the great inter-con- tinental air-lines; and it is an astonishing sight to see the ships ascending and descending, like monstrous 12 CJESAR'S COLUMN. birds, black with swarming masses of passengers, to or from England, Europe, South America, the Pacific Coast, Australia, China, India and Japan. These air-lines are of two kinds : the anchored and the independent. The former are hung, bj'' revolving wheels, upon great wires suspended in the air; the wires held in place by metallic balloons, fish-shaped, made of aluminium, and constructed to turn with the wind so as to present always the least sur- face to the air-currents. These balloons, where the lines cross the oceans, are secured to huge floating islands of timber, which are in turn anchored to the bottom of the sea by four immense metallic cables, extending north, south, east and west, and powerful enough to resist any storms. These artificial islands contain dwellings, in which men reside, who keep up the suppl}^ of gas necessary for the balloons. The independent air-lines are huge cigar-shaped balloons, unattached to the earth, moving by electric power, with such tremendous speed and force as to be as little aifected by the winds as a cannon ball. . In fact, unless the wind is directly ahead the sails of the craft are so set as to take advantage of it like the sails of a ship ; and the balloon rises or falls, as the birds do, by the angle at which it is placed to the wind, the stream of air forcing it up, or pressing it down, as the case may be. And just as the old- fashioned steam-ships were provided with boats, in which the passengers were expected to take refuge, if the ship was about to sink, so the upper decks of these air-vessels are supplied with parachutes, from which are suspended boats; and in case of accident two sailors and ten passengers are assigned to each parachute; and long practice has taught the bold CESAR'S COLUMN. 13 craftsmen t?o descend gently and alight in the sea, even in stormy weather, with as much adroitness as a sea-gull. In fact, a whole population of air-sailors has grown up to manage these ships, never dreamed of by our ancestors. The speed of these aerial vessels is, as you know, very great— thirty-six hours suffices to pass ft'om New York to London, in ordinary weather. The loss of life has been less than on the old-fashioned steam-ships ; for, as those which go east move at a greater elevation than those going west, there is no danger of collisions ; and they usuall}^ fly above the fogs which add so much to the dangers of sea-travel. In case of hurricanes they rise at once to the higher levels, above the storm ; and, with our in- creased scientific knowledge, the coming of a cyclone is known for many days in advance ; and even the stratum of air in which it will move can be foretold. I could spend hours, my dear brother, telling you of the splendor of this hotel, called The Darwin, in honor of the great English philosopher of the last century. It occupies an entire block from Fifth Ave- nue to Madison Avenue, and from Forty-sixth Street to Forty-seventh. The whole structure consists of an infinite series of cunning adjustments, for the de- light and gratification of the human creature. One object seems to be to relieve the guests from all ne- cessity for muscular exertion. The ancient elevator, or "lift," as they called it in England, has expanded until now whole rooms, filled with ladies and gentle- men, are bodily carried up from the first story to the roof; a professional musician playing the while on the piano — not the old-fashioned thing our grand- mothers used, but a huge instrument capable of giv- ing forth all sounds of harmony from the trill of a 14 CESAR'S COLUMN. nightingale to the thunders of an orchestra. And when you reach the roof of the hotel you find yourself in a glass-covered tropical forest, filled with the per- fume of many flowers, and bright with the scintillating plumage of darting birds ; all sounds of sweetness fill the air, and many glorious, star-eyed maidens, guests of the hotel, wander half seen amid the foliage, like the houris in the Mohammedan's heaven. But as I found myself growing hungry I descended to the dining-room. It is three hundred feet long : a vast multitude were there eating in perfect silence. It is considered bad form here to interrupt digestion with speech, as such a practice tends to draw the vital pow- ers, it is said, away from the stomach to the head. Our forefathers were expected to shine in conversation, and be wise and witty while gulping their food be- tween brilliant passages. I sat down at a table to which I was marshaled by a grave and reverend seign- ior in an imposing uniform. As I took my seat my weight set some machinery in motion. A few feet in front of me suddenly rose out of the table a large upright mirror, or such I took it to be ; but instantly there appeared on its surface a grand bill of fare, each article being numbered. The whole world had been ransacked to produce the viands named in it; neither the frozen recesses of the north nor the sweltering regions of the south had been spared: every form of food, animal and vegetable, bird, beast, reptile, fish; the foot of an elephant, the hump of a buffalo, the edible bird-nests of China ; snails, spiders, shell-fish, the strange and luscious creatures lately found in the extreme depths of the ocean, and fished for with dyna- mite ; infact, every form of food pleasant to the palate of man was there. For, as you know, there are men CESAR'S COLUMN. 15 who make fortunes now by preserving and breeding the game animals, like the deer, the moose, the elk, the buffalo, the antelope, the mountain sheep and goat, and many others, which but for their care would long since have become extinct. They select barren regions in mild climates, not fit for agriculture, and enclosing large tracts with wire fences, they raise great quantities of these valuable game animals, which they sell to the wealthygourmandsof the great cities, at very high prices. I was perplexed, and, turning to the great man who stood near me, I began to name a few of the ar- ticles I wanted. He smiled complacently at my country ignorance, and called my attention to the fact that the table immediately before me contained hundreds of little knobs or buttons, each one num- bered ; and he told me that these were connected by electric wires with the kitchen of the hotel, and if I would observe the numbers attached to any arti- cles in the bill of fare which I desired, and would touch the corresponding numbers of the knobs before me, my dinner would be ordered on a similar mirror in the kitchen, and speedily served. I did as he di- rected. In a little while an electric bell near me rang ; the bill of fare disappeared from the mirror; there was a slight clicking sound ; the table parted in front of me, the electric knobs moving aside ; and up through the opening rose my dinner carefully arranged, as upon a table, which exactly filled the gap caused by the recession of that part of the original table which contained the electric buttons. I need not say I was astonished. I commenced to eat, and immediately the same bell, which had announced the disappearance of the bill of fare, rang again. I looked up, and the 16 CESAR'S COLUMN. mirror now contained the name of every state in the Kepublic, from Hudson's Bay to the Isthmus of Darien ; and the names of all the nations of the world ; each name being numbered. My attendant, perceiving my perplexity, called my attention to the fact that the sides of the table ^Yhich had brought up my dinner contained another set of electric buttons, corresponding with the numbers on the mirror ; and he explained to me that if I would select any state or country and touch the corresponding butt on the news of the day, from that state or countr^^ would appear in the mirror. He called my attention to the fact that every guest in the room had in front of him a similar mirror, and many of them were reading the news of the day as they ate. I touched the knob cor- responding with the name of the neAv state of Uganda, in Africa . and immediately there appeared in the mirror all the doings of the people of that state — its crimes, its accidents, its business, the output of its mines, the markets, the sayings and doings of its prominent men ; in fact, the whole life of the community was un- rolled before me like a panorama. I then touched the button for another African state, Nyanza ; and at once I began to read of new lines of railroad ; new steam- ship fleets upon the great lake ; of large colonies of white men, settling new states, upon the higher lands of the interior ; of their colleges, books, newspapers; and particularly" of a dissertation upon the genius of Chaucer, written by a Zulu professor, which had cre- ated considerable interest among the learned societies of the Transvaal. I touched the button for China and read the important news that the Republican Congress of that great and highly ci^nlized nation had decreed that English, the universal language of the rest CMSAR'S COLUMN. 17 of the globe, should be hereafter used in the courts of justice and taught in all the schools. Then came the news that a Manchurian professor, an iconoclast, had written a learned work, in English, to prove that Georo-e Washington's genius and moral greatness had been much over-rated bythe partiality of his country- men He was answered by a learned doctor of Japan, who argued that the greatness of all great men con- sisted simply in opportunity, and that for every illus- trious name that shone in the pages of history, associated with important events, a hundred abler men had lived and died unknown. The battle was raging hotly, and all China and Japan were dividing into contending factions upon this great issue. Our poor ignorant ancestors of a hundred years ago drank alcohol in various forms, in quantities which the system could not consume or assimilate, and it de- stroyed their organs and shortened their lives. Great agitations arose until the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages was prohibited over nearly all the world. At length the scientists observed that the craving was based on a natural want of the system ; that alcohol was found in small quantities in nearly every article of food ; and that the true course was to so increase the amount of alcohol in the food, without gratifying the palate, as to meet the real necessities of the system, and prevent a decrease of the vital powers. It is laughable to read of those days when men were drugged with pills, boluses and powders. Now our physic is in our food; and the doctor prescribes a series of articles to be eaten or avoided, as the case may be. One can see at once by consulting his " vital- watch," which shows every change m the magnetic 2 18 CESAR'S COLUMN. and electric forces of the body, just how his physical strength wanes or increases ; and he can modify his diet accordingly ; he can select, for instance, a dish highly charged with quinine or iron, and yet perfectly palatable; hence, among the wealthier classes, a man of one hundred is as common now-a-days as a man of seventy was a century ago; and many go far beyond that point, in full possession of all their facul- ties. I glanced around the great dining-room and in- spected my neighbors. They all carried the appear- ance of wealth; they were quiet, decorous and courteous. But I could not help noticmg that the women, young and old, were much alike in some particulars, as if some general causes had molded them into the same form. Their brows were all fine— broad, square, and deep from the ear forward ; and their jaws also were firmly developed, square like a soldier's ; while the profiles were classic in their regu- larity, and marked by great firmness. The most peculiar feature was their eyes. They had none of that soft, gentle, benevolent look which so adorns the expression of my dear mother and other good women whom we know. On the contrary, their looks were bold, penetrating, immodest, if I may so express it, almost to fierceness : the}^ challenged \'ou ; they invited you ; they held intercourse with your soul. The chief features in theexpressionof the men were incredulity, unbelief, cunning, observation, heartless- ness. I did not see a good face in the whole room : powerful faces there were, 1 grant you ; high noses, resolute mouths, fine brows; all the marks of shrewd- ness and energy; a forcible and capable race; but that was ail. I did not see one, my dear brother, of CESAR'S COLUMN. 19 whom I could sav, "That man would sacrifice himself for another; that man loves his fellow man." I could not but think how universal and irresisti- ble must have been the influences of the age that could mold all these men and women into the same soulless hkeness. I pitied them. I pitied mankind, caught in the grip of such wide-spreading tendencies. I said to myself: " Where is it all to end? What are we to expect of a race without heart or honor? What may we look for when the powers of the highest civili- zation supplement the instincts of tigers and wolves? Can the brain of man flourish when the heart is dead?" I rose and left the room. I had observed that the air of the hotel was sweeter, purer and cooler than that of the streets out- side. 1 asked one of the attendants for an explana- tion. He took me out to where we could command a view of the whole building, and showed me that a great canvas pipe rose high above the hotel, and, tracing it upwards, far as the eye could reach, he pointed out a balloon, anchored by cables, so high up as to be dwarfed to a mere speck against the face of the blue sky. He told me that the great pipe was double; that through one division rose the hot, ex- hausted air of the hotel, and that the powerful draft so created operated machineiy which pumped down the pure, sweet air from a higher region, several miles above the earth; and, the current once established, the weight of the colder atmosphere kept up the move- ment, and the air was then distributed by pipes to every part of the hotel. He told me also that the hospitals of the city were supplied in the same man- ner; and the result had been, he said, to diminish the mortality of the sick one-half; for the air so brought 20 CESAR'S COLUMN. to them was perfectl}' free from bacteria and full of all life-giving properties. A company had been organized to supply the houses of the rich with this cold, pure air for so much a thousand feet, as long ago illuminating gas was furnished. I could not help but think that tliore was need that some man should open connection with the up- per regions of God's charity, and bring down the pure beneficent spirit of brotherly love to this afflicted earth, that it might spread through all the tainted hospitals of corruption for the healiug of the hearts and souls of the people. This attendant, a sort of upper-servant, I suppose, was quite courteous and polite, and, seeing that I was a stranger, he proceeded to tell me that the whole city was warmed with hot water, drawn from the profound depths of the earth, and distributed as drinking water was distributed a century ago, in pipes, to all the houses, for a fixed and very reason- able charge. This heat-supply is so uniform and so cheap that it has quite driven out all the old forms of fuel — wood, coal, natural gas, etc. And then he told me something which shocked me greatly. You know that according to our old-fash- ioned ideas it is unjustifiable for any person to take his own hfe, and thus rush into the presence of his Maker before he is called. "We are of the opinion of Hamlet that God has '" fixed his canon 'gainst self- slaughter." Would you believe it, my dear brother, in this city they actually facilitate suicide! A race of })hilosophers has arisen in the last fifty 3'ears who argue that, as man was not consulted about his com- ing into the world, he has a ])(M-f('ct right to leave it whenever it becomes uncomfortable. These strange CESAR'S COLUMN. 21 arguments were supplemented b}^ the economists, always a powerful body in this utilitarian land, and they urg-ed that, as men could not be prevented from destro^-ing themselves, if they had made up their minds to do so, they might just as well shuffle off the mortal coil in the wa}^ that would give least trouble to their surviving fellow-citizens. That, as it was, they polluted the rivers, and even the reservoirs of drinking-water, with their dead bodies, and put the city to great expense and trouble to recover and iden- tify them. Then came the humanitarians, who said that many persons, intent on suicide, but knowing nothing of the best means of effecting their object, tore themselves to pieces with cruel pistol shots or knife wounds, or took corrosive poisons, which sub- jected them to agonizing tortures for hours before death came to their relief; and they argued that if a man had determined to leave the world it was a mat- ter of humanity to help him out of it by thepleasant- est means possible. These views at length prevailed, and now in all the public squares or parks they have erected handsome houses, beautifully furnished, with baths and bed-rooms. If a man has decided to die, he goes there. He is first photographed : then his name, if he sees fit to give it, is recorded, with his residence; and his directions are taken as to the disposition of his body. There are ta])les at which he can write his farewell letters to his friends. A doctor explains to him the nature and effect of the different poisons, and he selects the kind he prefers. He is expected to bring with him the clothes in which lie intends to be cre- mated. He swallows a little pill, lies down upon a bed, or, if he prefers it, in his coffin; pleasant music is played for him ; he goes to sleep, and wakes up on the 22 CESAR'S COLUMN. other side of the oreat line. Every day hundreds of people, men and women, perish in this way; and they are borne off to the great furnaces for the dead, and oonsunied. The authorities assert that it is a marked improvement over the old-fashioned methods ; but to my mind it is a shockino- combination of impiety and mock-philanthropy. The truth is, that, in this vast, over-crowded city, man is a drug, — a superfluity, — and I think many men and women end their lives out of an overwhelming sense of their own insignificance ; — in other words, from a mere weariness of feeling that they are nothing, they become nothing. I must bring this letter to an end, but before re- tiring I shall make a visit to the grand parlors of the hotel. You suppose I will walk there. Not at all, my dear brother. 1 shall sit down in a chair ; there is an electric magazine in the seat of it. I touch a spring, and away it goes. I guide it with my feet. I drive into one of the great elevators. I descend to the drawing- room floor. I touch the spring again, and in a lew moments I am moving around the grand salon, steer- ing myself clear of hundreds of similar chairs, occu- pied by fine-looking men or the beautiful, keen-ejTd, unsympathetic women I have described. The race has grown in power and loveliness — I fear it has lost in lovableness. Good-by. "With love to all, I remain your affec- tionate brother, GABRIEL WELTSTEIN. CHAPTER II. my adventure. My Dear Heinrich : I little supposed when I wrote you j^esterday that twenty-four hours could so completely change my circumstances. Then I was a dweller in the palatial Darwin Hotel, luxuriating in all its magnificence. Now I am hiding in a strange house and trembling for my liberty ; — but I will tell you all. Yesterday morning, after I had disposed by sample of our wool, and had called upon the assa^^er of ores, but without finding him, to show him the specimens of our mineral discoveries, I returned to the hotel, and there, after obtaining directions from one of the clerks at the "Bureau of Information," I took the elevated train to the great Central Park. I shall not pause to describe at length the splen- dors of this wonderful place ; the wild beasts roaming about among the trees, apparently at dangerous liberty, but really inclosed by fine steel wire fences, almost invisible to the eye; the great lakes full of the different water fowl of the world ; the air thick with birds distinguished for the sweetness of their song or the brightness of their plumage ; the century-old trees, of great size and artistically grouped ; beautiful chil- dren playing upon the greensward, accompanied by nurses and male servants : the whole scene constituting: a holiday picture. Between the trees everywhere I saw the white and gleaming statues of the many 23 24 CJESAR'S COLUMN. hundreds of great men and women who have adorned the history of this country during the last two hundred years — poets, painters, musicians, soldiers, philanthropists, statesmen. After feasting my eyes for some time upon this charming picture of rural beauty, I left the Park. Soon after I had passed through the outer gate, — guarded by sentinels to exclude the ragged and wretched multitude, but who at the same time gave courteous admission to streams of splendid carriages, — I was startled by loud cries of "Look out there!" 1 turned and saw a sight which made m3' blood run cold. A gTay-haired, hump-backed beggar, clothed in rags, was crossing the street in front of a pair of handsome horses, attached to a magnificent open car- riage. The burly, ill-looking flunkey who, clad in gorgeous livery, was holding the lines, had uttered the cry of warning, but at the same time had made no effort to check the rapid speed of his powerful horses. In an instant the beggar was down under the hoofs of the steeds. The flunkey laughed ! I was but a few feet distant on the side-walk, and, quick as thought, I had the horses by their heads and pushed them back upon their haunches. At this moment the beg-g-ar, who had been under the feet of the horses, crawled out close to the front wheels of the carriage; and the driver, indignant that anything so contempt- ible should arrest the progress of his magnificent equipage, struck him a savage blow with his whip, as he was struggling to his feet. I saw the whip wind around his neck ; and, letting go the horses' heads, who were now brought to a stand-still, I sprang for- ward, and as the whip descended for a second blow I caught it, di-agged it from the hand of the miscreant, CESAR'S COLUMN. 25 and with all my power laid it over him. Each blow where it touched his flesh brought the blood, and two long red gashes appeared instantaneously upon his face. He dropped his lines and shrieked in terror, holding his hands up toprotecthis face. Fortunately a crowd had assembled, andsome poorly dressed men had seized the horses' heads, or there would have been a run-away. As I raised my hand to lash the brute again, a feminine shriek reached my ears, and I be- came aware that there were ladies in the open ba- rouche. My sense of politeness overcame in an instant my rage, and I stepped back, and, taking off my hat, began to apologize and explain the cause of the diffi- culty. As I did so I observed that the occupants of the carriage were two young ladies, both strikingly handsome, but otherwise very unlike in appearance. The one nearest me, vrho had uttered the shrieks, was about twenty 3'ears of age, I should think, with aquiline features, and black eyes and hair ; every detail of the face w^as perfect, but there was a bold, common- place look out of the bright ej-es. Her companion instantly arrested all m}- attention. It seemed to me I had never beheld a more beautiful and striking countenance. She was 3'ounger, by two or three years, than her companion ; her complexion was fairer ; her long golden hair fell nearly to her waist, enfolding her like a magnificent, shining garment ; here^^es were blue and large and set far apart : and there was in them, and in the whole contour of the face, a look of honest}^ and dignity, and calm intelligence, rarelj'' witnessed in the countenance of woman. She did not appear to be at all alarmed ; and when I told my story of the driver lashing the aged beggar, her face lighted up, and she said, with a look that thrilled me, 26 CESAR'S COLUMN. and in a soft and gentle voice : "We are much obliged to you, sir; you did perfectly right." I was about to reply, when I felt some one tugging fiercely at my coat, and, turning around, I was sur- prised to find that the beggar was drawing me away from the carriage by main force. I was astonished also at the change in his appearance. The aspect of decrepi- tude had disappeared, a green patch that I had noticed covering one of his eyes had fallen off, and his black eyes shone with a look of command and power that was in marked contrast with his gray hair, his crooked back, and his rags. "Come," he said, in a hoarse whisper, "come quickly, or you will be arrested and cast into prison. " "What for?" I asked. "I wdll tell you hereafter — look!" I looked around me and saw that a great crowd had collected as if by magic, for this city of ten mill- ions of people so swarms with inhabitants that the slightest excitement will assemble a multitude in a few minutes. I noticed, too, in the midst of the mob, a uniformed policeman. The driver saw him also, and, recovering his courage, cried out, "Arrest him — ar- rest him." The policeman seized me by the collar. I observed that at that instant the beggar whispered something in his ear: the officer's hand released its hold upon my coat. The next ni oment the beggar cried out, " Back ! Back ! Look out ! Dynamite ! " Thecrowd crushed back on each other in great confusion ; and I felt the beggar dragging me off, repeating his cry of warning— "Dynamite! Dynamite!" — at every step, until the mob scattered in wild confusion, and I found myself breathless in a small alley. ' ' Come, come, ' ' cried my companion, "there is no time to lose. Hurry, CESAR'S COLUMN. 27 hurry ! " We rushed along, for the manner of the beg- gar inspired me with a terror I could not explain, until, after passing through several back streets and small alleys, with which the beggar seemed perfectly familiar, we emerged on a large street and soon took a corner elevator up to one of the railroads in the air which I have described. After traveling for two or three miles we exchanged to another train, and from that to still another, threading our way backward and forward over the top of the great city. At length, as if the beggar thought we had gone far enough to baffle pursuit, we descended upon a busthng business street, and paused at a corner ; and the beggar ap- peared to be looking out for a hack. He permitted a dozen to pass us, however, carefully inspecting the driver of each. At last he hailed one, and we took our seats. He gave some whispered directions to the driver, and we dashed off. " Throw that out of the window^" he said. I followed the direction of his eyes and saw that I still held in my hand the gold-mounted whip w^hich I had snatched from the hand of the driver. In my ex- citement I had altogether forgotten its existence, but had instinctively held on to it. "I will send it back to the owner," I said. "No, no; throw it away: that is enough to con- vict you of highway robbery." I started, and exclaimed : "Nonsense; highway robbery to w^hip a black- guard?" "Yes. You stop the carriage of an aristocrat ; jou drag a valuable whip out of the hand of his coachman ; and you carry it off. If that is not high- way robbery, what is it? Throw it away." 28 CESAR'S COLUMN. His manner was imperative. I dropped the wliip out of the window and fell into a brown study. I oc- casionally stole a glance at my strange companion, who, with the di-ess of extreme poverty, and the gray hair of old age, had such a niauncr of authority and such an air of promptitude and decision. After about a half-hour's ride we stoyjped at the corner of two streets in front of a plain but respect- able-looking house. It seemed to be in the older part of the town. My companion paid the driver and dis- missed him, and, opening the door, we entered. 1 need not say that I began to think this man was something more than a beggar. But why this dis- guise? And who was he? CHAPTER III. THE beggar's home. The house we entered was furnished with a degi'ee of splendor of which the external appearance gave no prophecy. We passed up the stairs and into a hand- some room, hung- around with pictures, and adorned with book-cases. The beggar left nie. I sat for some time looking at my surroundings, and wondering over the strange course of events which had brought me there, and still more at the ac- tions of my mysterious companion. I felt assured now that his rags were simpl}^ a disguise, for he entered the house with all the air of a master ; his language was well chosen and correctly spoken, and possessed those subtle tones and intonations which mark an educated mind. 1 was thinking over these matters when the door opened and a handsome young gentle- man, arra3'ed in the height of the fashion, entered the room. I rose to my feet and began to apologize for my intrusion and to explain that I had been brought there b}' a beggar to whom I had rendered some trifling service in the street. The young- gentleman listened, with a smiling face, and then, ex- tending his hand, said : "I am the beggar; and I do now what only the hurry and excitement prevented me from doing before — I thank you for the life ^''ou have saved. If you had not come to my rescue I should probably have been trampled to death under the feet of those 30 CESAR'S COLUMN. vicious horses, or sadly beaten at least by that brutal driver." The expression of my face doubtless showed my ex- treme astonishment, for he proceeded : "I see 3'pu are surprised; but there are many strange things in this great city. I was disguised for a particular purpose, which I cannot explain to 3'ou. But may I not request the name of the gentleman to whom I am under so many obligations? Of course, if you have any reasons for concealing it, consider the question as not asked." " No," I replied, smiling, "I have no concealments. My name is Gabriel Weltstein ; I live in the new state of Uganda, in the African confederation, in the mountains of Africa, near the town of Stanley; and I am engaged in sheep-raising, in the mountains. I be- long to a colony of Swiss, from the canton of Uri, who, led by m^'^ grandfather, settled there seventy years ago. I came to this city yesterday to see if I could not sell my wool directly to the manufacturers, and thus avoid the extortions of the great Wool Ring, which has not only our country but the whole Avorld in its grasp; but I find the manufacturers are tied hand and foot, and afraid of that powerful combination ; they do not dare to deal with me; and thus I shall have to dispose of my product at the old price. It is a shameful state of affairs in a country which calls itself free." "Pardon me for a moment," said the young gentleman, and left the room. On his return I resumed : *' But now that I have told you who I am, will you be good enough to tell me something about yourself? " "Certainly," he replied, " and with pleasure. I am CJESAR'S COLUMN. 31 a native of this city ; my name is Maximilian Petion ; by profession I am an attorney ; I live in this house with my mother, to whom I shall soon have the pleasure of introducing you." "Thank 3'ou," I replied, still studying the face of my new acquaintance. His complexion was dark, the eyes and hair almost black ; the former very bright and penetrating; his brow was high, broad and square ; his nose was prominent, and there was about the mouth an expression of firmness, not unmixed with kindness. Altogether it was a face to inspire re- spect and confidence. But I made up my mind not to trust too much to appearances. I could not forget the transformation which I had witnessed, from the rags of the ancient beggar to this well-dressed young gentleman. I knew that the criminal class were much given to such disguises. I thought it better there- fore to ask some questions that might throw light upon the subject. "May I inquire," I said, "what were j^our reasons for hurrying me away so swiftly and mysteriously from the gate of the Park? " "Because," he replied, "you were in great danger, and you had rendered me a most important service. I could not leave 3^ou there to be arrested, and punished with a long period of imprisonment, because, follow- ing the impulse of your heart, you had saved my life and scourged the wTetch who w^ould have driven his horses over me." "But whj' should I be punished with a long term of imprisonment? In my own country the act I performed Avould have i-eeeived the applause of every one. Why did you not tell me to thi-ow away that whip on the instant, so as to avoid the appearance of 32 CESAR'S COLUMN. stealing it, and then remain to testify in my behalf if I had been arrested? " "Then you do not know," he replied, "whose driver it was 3'ou horsewhipped? " "No," I said; "how should I? I arrived here but yesterday." "That was the carriage of Prince Cabano, the wealthiest and most vindictive man in the city. If you had been taken you would have been consigned to imprisonment for probably many years." " Many years," I replied ; " imprisoned for beating an insolent driver! Impossible. No jury would con- vict me of such an offense." " Jury!" he said, with a bitter smile ; " itis plain to see you are a stranger and come from a newly settled part of the world, and know nothing of our modern civilization. The jury would do whatever Prince Ca- bano desired them to do. Our courts, judges and juries are the merest tools of the rich. The image of justice has slipped the bandage from one eye, and now uses her scales to weigh the bribes she receives. An ordi- nary citizen has no more prospect of fair treatment in our courts, contending with a minionaire,than a new- born infant would have of life in the den of a wolf." "But," I replied, rather hotly, "I should appeal for justice to the public through the newspapers." "The newspapers! " he said, and his face darkened as he spoke; " the newspapers are simpl}^ the hired mouthpieces of power; the devil's advocates of mod- ern civilization ; their influence is alwa3's at the serv- ice of the highest bidder ; it is their dutj^ to suppress or pervert the truth, and they doit thoroughly. They are paid to mislead the people under the guise of de- fending them. A century ago this thing began, and CESAR'S rOLUMX. 33 it has gone on, growing worse and worse, until now the people laugh at the opinions of the press, and doubt the truth even of its reports of occurrences." " Can this be possible? " I said. "Let me demonstrate it to you," he replied, and, stepping to the wall, he spoke quietly into a telephone tube, of which there were a number ranged upon the wall, and said : "Give me the particulars of the whipping of Prince Cabano's coachman, this afternoon, at the south gate of Central Park." Almost immediately a bell rang, and on the op- posite wall, in what I had supposed to be a mirror, appeared these words : From the Evening Guardian: A Horrible Outrage ! Highway Robbery!— O.xe Thousand Dollars Reward! This afternoon, about three o'clock, an event transpired at the south gate of Central Park which shows the turbulent and vicious spirit of the lower classes, and reinforces the demand we have so often made for repressive measures and a^stronger gov- ernment. As the carriage of our honored fellow-citizen Prince Cabano, containing two ladies, members of his family, was quietly entering the Park, a tall, powerful ruffian, apparently a stranger, with long yellow hair, reaching to his shoulders, suddenly grasped a valuabh^ gold-mountf^il whip out of the hands of the driver, and, because lie resisted the robbery, boat him across the face, inflicting very severe wounds. The horses became very much terrified, and but for the fact that two worthy men, John Henderson of 5222 Delavan Street, and William Brooks of 7322 Bismarck Street, seized them by the head, a terrible accident would undoubtedly have occurred. Policeman number B 17822 took the villain prisoner, but he knocked the guardian of the law down and escaped, accompanied by a ragged old fellow who seemed to have been his accomplice. It is believed that the purpose of the thieves was to rob the occupants 3 34 CESAR'S COLUMN. of tho carriage, as the taller one approaxjhed the ladies, but just then his companion saw the policeman cominjj: and gave him warning, and they fled together. I'rince (,'abano i.s naturally very much incensed at this outrage, and has offered a reward of one thousand dollars for the apprehension of either of the ruffians. They have been tracked for a considerable distance by the detectives; but after leaving the elevated cars all trace of them was suddenly and mysteriously lost. The whip was subsequently found on Bomba Street and identified. Neither of the criminals is known to the police. The taller one was quite young and fairly well dressed, and not ill-looking, while his couijjanion had the appearance of a beggar, and seemed to be about seventy years of age. The Chief of Police will pay liberally for any information that may lead to the arrest of the robbers. "There," said m^' companion, "what do you think of that?" I need not say that I was paralyzed with tliis adroit mingling of fact and falsehood. I realized for the first time the perils of my situation. I was a stranger in the great city, without a friend or ac- quaintance, and hunted like a felon ! While all these thoughts passed through m^'^ brain, there came also a pleasing flash of remembrance of that fair face, and that sweet and gentle smile, and that beaming look of gratitude and approval of my action in whipping the brutal driver. But if my new acquaintance was right ; if neither courts nor juries nor newspapers nor public opinion could be appealed to for justice or protection, then indeed might I be sent to prison as a malefactor, for a term of years, for performing a most righteous act. If it was true, and I had heard something of the same soit in my far-away African home, that money ruled everything in this great country; and if his offended lordship desired to crush me, he could certainly do so. While I was buried in these reflections I had not failed to notice that an CESAR'S COLUMN. 35 electric bell rang upon the side of the chamber and a small box opened, and the young gentleman advanced and took from the box a sheet of tissue paper, closely written. I recognized it as a telegram. He read it carefull}", and I noticed him stealing glances at me, as if comparing the details of m^^ appearance with something written on the paper. When he finished he advanced toward me, with a brighter look on his face, and, holding out his hand, said : "I have already hailed you as my benefactor, my preserver; permit me now to call you my friend." "Why do you say so?" I asked. "Because," he replied, "I now know that every statement you made to me about yourself is literally true ; and that in your personal character you deserve the respect and fi-iendship of all men. You look per- plexed. Let me explain. You told me some little time since your name and place of residence. I be- long to a society which has its ramifications all over the world. When I stepped out of this room I sent an inquiry to the town near which you reside, and asked if such a person as j^ou claimed to be lived there ; what w-as his appearance, standing and char- acter, and present residence. I shall not shock your modesty by reading the reply I have just received. You will pardon this distrust, but we here in the great city are suspicious, and properly so, of strangers, and even more so of each other. I did not know but that you were in the emplo^^ment of the enemies of our society, and sought to get into my confidence by rendering me a service,— for the tricks to which the detectives resort are infinite. I now trust you implicitly, and you can command me in every- thing." 36 CESAR'S COLUMN. I took his hand warmly and thanked him cordially. It was impossible to longer doubt that frank and beaming face. " But," I said, "are we not in great danger? Will not that hackman, for the sake of the reward, inform the police of our whereabouts? " "No!" he said; "have no fears upon that score. Did you not observe that I permitted about a dozen hacks to pass me before I hailed the one that brought us here? That man wore on his dress a mark that told me he belonged to our Brotherhood. He knows that if he betra^'s us he will die within twenty-four hours, and that there is no power on earth could save him ; if he fled to the uttermost ends of the earth his doom would overtake him with the certainty of fatt^. So have no uneasiness. We are as safe here as if a standing army of a hundred thousand of our defenders surrounded this house." "Is that the explanation," I asked, "of the police- man releasing his grip upon my coat? " "Yes," he replied, quieth'. "Now," said I, "who is this Prince Cabano, and how does he happen to be called Prince? I thought your Republic eschewed all titles of nobilit^'.*' " So it does," he replied, " by law. But we have a. great many titles which are used socially, by courtesy. The Prince, for instance, when he comes to sign his name to a legal document, writes it Jacob Isaacs. But his father, when he grew exceedingly rich and ambitious, purchased a princedom in Italy for ;i large sum, and the government, being hard up for money, conferred the title of Prince with the estate. His son, the present Isaacs, succeeded, of course, to his estates and his title." CESAR'S COLUMN. 37 " ' Isaacs,' " I said, " is a Jewish name? " '' Yes," he repHed, ''the aristocracy of the world is now ahnost altogether of Hebrew origin." "Indeed," I asked, "how does that hajjpen?" " Well," he replied, "it was the old question of the survival of the fittest. Christianity fell upon the Jews, originalh^ a race of agriculturists and shep- herds, and forced them, for many centuries, through the most terrible ordeal of persecution the history of mankind bears any record of. Only the strong of body, the cunning of brain, the long-headed, the per- sistent, the men with capacity to live where a dog would starve, survived the awful trial. Like breeds like; and now the Christian world is paying, in tears and blood, for the sufferings inflicted by their bigoted and ignorant ancestors upon a noble race. When the time came for liberty and fair play the Jew was master in the contest with the Gentile, who hated and feared him. "They are the great money-getters of the world. They rose from dealers in old clothes and peddlers of hats to merchants, to bankers, to princes. Thej^ were as merciless to the Christian as tlie Christian had been to them. They said, with Shylock : ' The villainy you teach me I will execute; and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.' The 'wheel of fortunehas come full circle;' and the descendants of the old peddlers now own and inhabit tlie palaces where their ancc^stors once begged at the back doors for vsecond-hand clothes; while the posterity of the former lords have been, in many cases, forced down into the swarming misery of the lower classes. This is a sad world, and to conteiujtlate it is enough to make a man a philosopher ; but he will scarcely know 38 CESAR'S COLUMN. whether to belong to the laughing or the weeping school — whethei- to follow the example of Demorritiis orHeraditus.'" "And may I ask," I said, "what is the nature of your society?" "I cannot tell you nioi-e at this time," he replied, " than that it is a political secret society having a membership of milHons, and extending all over the world. Its purposes are the good of mankind. Some day, I hope, you may learn more about it. Come," he added, "let me show you my house, and introduce you to my mother." Touching a secret spring in the wall, a hidden door flew open, and we entered a small room. I thought I had gotten into the dressing-room of a theater. Around the walls hung a multitude of costumes, male and female, of different sizes, and suited for all condi- tions of life. On the table were a collection of bottles, holding what I learned were hair dyes of different colors; and there was also an assortment of wigs, beards and mustaches of all hues. I thought I recognized among the former the coarse Avhite hair of the quondam beggar. I pointed it out to him. "Yes." he said, with a laugh, "I will not be able to wear that for some time to come." Upon another table there was a formidable array of daggers, pistols and guns; and some singular-look- ing iron and copper things, which he told me were cartridges of dynamite and other deadly explosives. I realized that my companion was a conspirator. But of what kind? I could not believe evil of him. There was a manliness and kindliness in his face which forbade such a thought : although the square chin and projecting jaws and firm-set mouth indicated a r.ICSAR'S COLUMN. 39 nature that could be most daiigei-ons : and T noticed sometimes a restless, wild look in his eyes. I followed him into another room, where he intro- duced me to a sweet-faced old lady, with the same broad brow and determined, but gentle, mouth wiiich so distinguished her son. It was evident that there was jrreat love between them, althouii'h hor face wore a troubled and anxious look, at times, as she regarded him. It seemed to me that she knew he was engaged in dangerous enterprises. She advanced to me with a smile and grasped both my hands with her ow^n, as she said : " 'My son has already told me that you have this day rendered him and me an inestimable service. I need not say that I thank you with aU my heart." I made light of the matter and assured her that I was under greater obligations to her son than he was to me. Soon after we sat dow-n to dinner, a sumptuous meal, to which it seemed to me all parts of the world had contributed. We had much pleas- ant conversation, for both the host and hostess were persons of ripe information. In the old da^^s our an- cestors wasted years of valuable time in the study of languages that were no longer spoken on the earth ; and civilization was thus cramped by the shadow of the ancient Roman Empire, whose dead but sceptered sovereigns still ruled the spirits of mankind from their urns. Now every hour is considered precious for the accumulation of actual knowledge of facts and things, and for the cultivation of the graces of the mind ; so that mankind has become wise in breadth of knowledge, and sweet and gentle in manner. I ex- pressed something of this thought to Maximilian, and he replied : 40 CESAR'S COLUMN. "Yes; it is the greatest of pities that so noble and beautiful a civilization should have become so hollow and rotten at the core." "Rotten at the core!" I exclaimed, in astonish- ment; "what do YOU mean?" " What I mean is that our civihzation has grown to be a gorgeous shell; a mere mockery; a sham; outwardly fair and lovely, but inwardly full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. To thinkthat man- kind is so capable of good, and now so cultured and })olished, and yet all above is cruelt3' , craft and de- struction, and all below is suffering, wretchedness, sin and shame." " What do you mean?" I asked. " That civilization is a gross and dreadful failure for seven-tenths of the human family; that seven- tenths of the backs of the world are insufficiently clothed ; seven-tenths of the stomachs of the world are insufficiently fed ; seven-tenths of the minds of the world are darkened and despairing, and filled with bit- terness against the Author of the universe. It is piti- ful to think what society is, and then to think what it might have be^n if our ancestors had not cast away their magnificent opportunities— had not thrown them into the pens of the swine of greed and gluttony." "But," I replied, "the world does not look to me after that fashion. I have been expressing to my family my delight at viewing the vast triumphs of man over nature, by which the most secret powers of the universe have been captured and harnessed for the good of our race. Why, my friend, this city preaches at every pore, in every street and alley, in every shop and factory, the greatness of humanity, the splendor of civilization! " CESAR'S COLUMN. 41 **True, my friend," replied Maximilian ; " but you see only the surface, the shell, the crust of life in this great meti-opolis. To-morrow we will go out to- gether, and I shall show you the fruits of our modern civilization. I shall takeyou,not upon the upper deck of society, where the flags are flying, the breeze blow- ing, and the music playing, but down into the dark and stuffy depths of the hold of the great vessel, where the sweating gnomes, in the glare of the furnace- heat, furnish the power which drives the mighty ship resplendent through the seas of time. We will visit the Under- World.'" But I must close for to night, and subscribe my- self affectionately vour brother, GABKIEL. CHAPTER IV. the under-world. My Dear Heinrich: Since I wrote you last nio;ht I have been through dreadful scenes. I have traversed death in life. I have looked ^nth my ver}^ eyes on Hell. I am sick at heart.. My soul sorrows for humanity. Max (for so I have come to call my new-found friend) woke me very early, and we breakfasted by lamp-light. Yesterday he had himself dyed my fair locks of a dark brown, almost black hue, and had cut off some of my hair's superfluous length. Then he sent for a tailor, who soon arrayed me in garments of the latest fashion and most perfect fit. Instead of the singular- looking mountaineer of the day before, for whom the police were diligently searching, and on whose head a reward of one thousand dollars had been placed (never before had my head been valued so highly), there was nothing in my appearance to distinguish me from the thousands of other gallantyoung gentle- men of this great city. A carriage waited for us at the door. We chatted together as we drove along through the quiet streets. I asked him : "Are the degraded, and even the vicious, members of your Brotherhood?" " No ; not the criminal class," he replied, " for there is nothing in their wretched natures on which you can CESAR'S COLUMN. 43 build confidence or trust. Only those who have fiber enough to persist in labor, under conditions which so strongly tend to drive them into crime, can be mem- bers of our Brotheihood." '•May I ask the number of your membership?" "In the whole world they amount to more than one hundred millions." I started with astonishment. "But amid such numbers," I said, "there must certainly be some traitors?" "True, but the great multitude have nothing to tell. They are the limbs and members, as it were, of the organization; the directing intelligence dwells elsewhere. The multitude are like the soldiers of an army ; they will obey when the time comes ; but they are not taken into the councils of war." A half hour's ride brought us into the domain of the poor. An endless procession of men and women with pails and baskets — small-sized pails and smaller baskets — streamed along the streets on their way to work. It was not 3'et six o'clock. I observed that both men and women were undersized, and that they all very much resembled each other; as if similar circumstances had sc^ueezed them into the same likeness. There was no spring to their steps and no laughter in their eyes ; all were spare of frame and stolid or hungry- looking. The faces of the middle-aged men were hag- gard and wore a hopeless expression. Many of them scowled at us, with a look of hatred, as we passed by them in our carriage. A more joyless, sullen crowd I never beheld. Street after street they unrolled be- fore us; there seemed to be millions of them. They were all poorly clad, and many of them in rags. The 44 CESAR'S COLUMX. women, with the last surviving instinct of the female heart, had tried to decorate themselves; and here and there I could observe a bit of bright color on bonnet or apron ; but the bonnets represented the fashions of ten years past, and the aprons were too often frayed and darned, the relics of some former, more opulent owners. There were multitudes of children, but they were without the gambols which chai-acter- ize the young of all animals ; and there was not even the chirp of a winter bird about them ; their faces were prematurely aged and hardened, and their bold eyes revealed that sin had no surprises for them. And every one of these showed that intense look which marks the awful struggle for food and life upon which they had just entered. The multitude seemed, so far as I could judge, to be of all nations com- mingled—the French, German, Irish, English — Hun- garians, Italians, Russians, Jews, Christians, and even Chinese and Japanese; for the slant eyes of many, and their imperfect, Tartar-like features, re- minded me that the laws made by the Republic, in the elder and better days, against the invasion of the Mongolian hordes, had long since become a dead letter. What struck me most was their incalculable multi- tude and their silence. It seemed to me that I was witnessing the resurrection of the dead; and that these vast, streaming, endless swarms were the con- demned, marching noiselessly as shades to unavoida- ble and everlasting misery. They seemed to me merely automata, in the hands of some ruthless and unrelenting destiny. They lived and moved, but they were without heart or hope. The illusions of the imagination, which beckon all of us forward, even CESAR'S COLUMN. 45 over the roughest paths and through the darkest valleys and shadows of life, had departed from the scope of their vision. They knew that to-morrow could bring them nothing better than to-day— tlie same shameful, pitiable, contemptible, sordid struggle for a mere existence. If they produced children it was reluctantly or unmeaningly; for they knew the wretches nmst tread in their footsteps, and enter, like them, that narrow, gloomy, high- walled pathway, out of which they could never climb; which began almost in infancy and ended in a pauper's grave — nay, I am wrong, not even in a pauper's grave; for they might have claimed, perhaps, some sort of own- ership over the earth which enfolded them, which touched them and mingled with their dust. But pub- lic safety and the demands of science had long ago decreed that they should be whisked off, as soon as dead, a score or two at a time, and swept on iron tram-cars into furnaces heated to such intense white heat that they dissolved, crackling, even as they entered the chamber, and rose in nameless gases through the high chimney. That towering structure was the sole memorial monument of millions of them. Their graveyard was the air. Nature reclaimed her own with such velocity that she seemed to ginidge them the very dust she had lent them during their wretched pilgTimage. The busy, toiling, rushing, roaring, groaning universe, big with young, appeared to cry out: "Away with them! Away with them! They have had their hour! They have performed their task. Here are a billion spirits waiting for the substance we loaned them. The spirits are boundless in number ; matter is scarce. Away with them !" I need not tell you, m}' dear brother, of all the 46 C'^XIA'.S' COLUMX. shops and faotorieswe visited. It was the samp story everywhere. Here we saw exempUfied, in its full per- fection, that " iron law of wages " which the old econ- omists spoke of; that is to say, the reduction, by competition, of the wat»es of the worker to the least sum that will maintain life and muscular strength enough to do the work required, with such little sur- plus of vitality a« might be necessary to perpetuate the wretched race; so that the world's work should not end with thedeath of one starved generation. I do not know if there is a hell in thespiritual univers<% but if there is not. one should certainly be created for the souls of the men who originated, or justified, or en- forced that damnable creed. It is enough, if nothing else, to make one a Christian, when he remembers how diametrically opposite to the teaching of the grand doctrine of brotherly love, enunciated by the gentle Nazarene, is this devil's creed of cruelty and murder, with all its steadily increasing world-horrors, before which to-day the universe stands api)alled. Oh ! the pitiable scenes, my brother, that I have witnessed! Room after room ; the endless succession of the stooped, silent toilers; old, young; men, women, children. And most pitiable of all, the leering, shameless looks of invitation cast upon us by the women, as they saw two well-dressed men pass by them. It was not love, nor license, nor even lust ; it was degradation, — willing to exchange everything for a little more bread. And such rooms — garrets, sheds — dark, foul, gloomy; overcrowded; with such a stench in the thick air as made us gasp when entering it ; an atmosphere full of life, hostile to the life of man. Think, my brother, as you sit upon 3'our mountain side; youi- gentle sheep feeding around CESAR'S COLUMN. 47 you ; breathing the exquisite air of those elevated re- o-ions; and looking off over the mysterious, ancient world, and the great river valleys leading down to that marvelous Nile-land afar, — land of temples, ruins, pyramids, — cradle of civilization, grave of buried empires, — think, I sa}', of these millions con- demned to live their brief, hopeless span of existence under such awful conditions! See them as they eat their mid-day meal. No delightful pause from pleasant labor; no brightly arrayed table; no laughing and loving faces around a plenteous board, with delicacies from all parts of the world ; no agreeable interchange of wisdom and wit and courtesy and merriment. No ; none of these. Without stop- ping in their work, under the e3'es of sullen task-mas- ters, tliey snatch bites out of their hard, dark bread, like wild animals, and devour it ravenously.* Toil. toil. toil, from early morn until late at night; then home they swarm; tumble into their wretclied beds ; snatch a few hours of disturbed sleep, battling with vermin, in a polluted atmosphere; and then up again and to work ; and so on, and on, in endless, mirthless, hopeless round ; until, in a few years, con- sumed with disease, mere rotten masses of painful wretchedness, they die, and are wheeled off to the great furnaces, and their bodies are eaten up by the flames, even as their lives have bpen eaten up b^' society. I asked one ot the foremen what wages these men *The testimony taken before the Parliamentary Commission in 1888 phows that the workers in the "sweating" shops of Lon- don worked in this way, even at that time, for fifteen and sixteen hours a day, and ate their meals in the manner described in the text. 48 CESAR'S COLUMy. and women received. He told me. It seemed impos- sible that human life could be maintained upon such a pittance. I then asked whether they ever ate meat. " No," hesaid, "except when they had arator mouse.'' "A rat or mouse!" I exclaimed. "Oh yes," he replied, "the rats and mice were impoitant articles of diet,— just as they had been for centuries in China. The little children, not yet able to work, fished for them in the sewers, with hook and line, jjrecisely as they had done a century a<;o in Paris, duringtlie great German siege. A dog," he added, "was a great treat. When the authorities killed thevagTant hounds there was a big scramble among the poor for the bodies." I was shocked at these statements ; and then 1 remembered that some philosopher had argued that cannibalism had survived almost to our own times, in the islands of the Pacific Ocean, because they had contained no animals of large size with which the in- habitants could satisfy the dreadful craving of the system for flesh-food ; and hence they devoured their captives. "Do these people ever marry?" I inquired. " Marry ! " he exclaimed, with a laugh ; " why, they could not afford to pay the fee required by law. And why should they marry? There is no virtue among them. No," he said, "they had almost gotten down to the condition of the Australian savages, who. if not prevented by the police, would consummate their animal-like nuptials in the public streets." Maximilian told me that this man was one of the Brothei'hood. T did not wonder at it. From the shops and mills of honest industry, Maxi- milian led me— it was still broad daylight — into the criminal quarters. We saw the wild beasts in their CJSSAR'S COLUMN. 49 lairs ; in the iron cages of circumstance which civiliza- tion has built around them, from Avhich they too readily break out to desolate their fellow-creatures. But here, too, were the fruits of misgo vernment. If it were possible we might trace back from yonder robber and murderer — a human hj'ena — the long ancestral line of brutalitj', until we see it starting from some poor peasant of the Middle Ages, trampled into crime under the feet of feudalism. The Httle seed of weak- ness or wickedness has been carefull}^ nursed by so- ciety, generation after generation, until it has blos- somed at last in this destructive monster. Civilization has formulated a new variety of the genus homo — and it must inevitabl3' perpetuate its kind. The few prey on the many ; and in turn a few of the many prey upon all. These are the brutal viola- tors of justice, who goto prison, or to the scaffold, for breaking through a code of laws under which peaceful but universal injustice is wrought. If there were enough of these outlaws they might establish a system of jurisprudence for the world under which it would be lawful to rob and murder by the rule of the strong riglit hand, but criminal to reduce millions to wretchedness by subtle and cunning arts; and, hoity- toity, the prisous would change their tenants, and the brutal plunderers of the few would give place to the cultured spoilers of the many. And when you come to look at it. my brother, how shall we compare the condition of the well-to-do man, who has been merely robbed of his watch and jiurse, even at the cost of a broken head, which will heal in afewda^'s, with the awful doom of the poor multitude, who from the cradle to the grave work without joy and live without hope? Who is there that would 4 50 CESAR'S COLUMN. take back his watch and purse at the cost of chang- ing; places with one of these wretches? And who is there that, if the choice were presented to him, would not prefer instant death, which is but a change of conditions, a flight from world to world, or at worst annihilation, rather than to be hurled into the living tomb which I have depicted, there to grovel and writhe, pressed down by the sordid mass around him, until death comes to his relief? And so it seems to me that, in the final analysis of reason, the great criminals of the world are not these wild beasts, who break through all laws, whose selfishness takes the form of the bloody knife, the fire- brand, or the bludgeon; but those who, equally selfish, corrupt the fountains of government and create laws and conditions by which millions suffer, and out of which these murderers and robbers naturally and un- avoidablj' arise. But I must bring this long letter to a conclusion, and subscribe myself, with love to all. Your afiectionate brother, GABRIEL. CHAPTER V. estella washington. My Dear Heinrich: One morning after breakfast, Max and I were seated in the librarj^, enjoying our matutinal cigars, when, the conversation flagging, I asked Maximihan whether he had noticed the two 3^oung ladies who were in the Prince of Cabano's carriage the morning I whipped the driver. He replied that he had not ob- served them particularly, as he was too much excited and alarmed for my safety to pay especial attention to an3'thing else; but he had seen that there were two young women in the barouche, and his* glance had shown him thej' were l^oth handsome. ''Have you any idea who they were?" I asked after a pause, for I shrank from reveahng the interest I took in one of them. "No," said he, indifferently; "probably a couple of the Prince's mistresses." The word stung me hke an adder ; and I half rose from my chair, my face suffused and my eyes indignant. "Why, what is the matter?" asked Maximilian; "I hope I have said nothing to offend you." I fell back in my chair, ashamed of the exhibition of feeling into which I had been momentarily be- trayed, and replied : "Oh, no; but I am sure you are \\Tong. If you had looked, for but a moment, at the younger of the two, you would never have made such a remark." 52 CJESAR'S COLUMN. "I meant no harm,'.' he answered, " but the Prince is a widower; he has a perfect harem in his palace; he has his afi:ents at work everywhere buyino; n]) handsome women ; and when I saw two such in his carriage, I naturally came to the conclusion that they wore of that character." " Buying up women ! " I exclaimed ; " what are you talking about? This is free America, and the twen- tieth century. Do you dream that it is a Moham- medan land?" " It isn't anything half so good," he retorted ; "it is enslaved America; and the older we grow the worse for us. There was a golden age once in America — an age of liberty ; of comparatively equal distribution of wealth; of democratic institutions. Now we have but the shell and semblance of all that. We are a Republic only in name; free only informs. Moham- medanism — and we must do the Arabian ])ro])lipt tli(> justice to say that he established a religion of temper- ance and cleanliness, without a single superstition — never knew, in its woi'st estate, a more complete and abominable despotism than that under which we live. And as it would be worse to starve to death in sight of the most delicious viands than in tlio midst of a food- less desert, so the very assertions, constantly dinned in our ears by the hireling newspapers, that we are the freest people on earth, serve only to make our slavery more bitter and unbearable. But as to the buying up of women for the harems of the wealthy, that is an old story, my dear friend. j\Iore than a century ago the editor of a leading journal in London was imprisoned for exposing it. The virtuous com- munity punished the man who protested against the sin, and took the sinners to its loving bosom. And CESAR'S COLUMN. 53 in this last century matters have grown every day worse and worse. Starvation overrides all morali- ties; the convictions of the mind f>ive way to the necessities of the bod}' . The poet said long ago : " ' "Women are not In their best fortunes strong, but want will perjure The ne'er-touched vestal.' "But he need not have confined this observation to women. The strongest resolves of men melt in the fire of want like figures of wax. It is simply a ques- tion of increasing the pressure to find the point where virtue inevitably breaks. Morality, in man or woman, is a magnificent flower Avhich blossoms only in the rich soil of prosperity : impoverish the laud and the bloom withers. If there are cases that seem to you otherwise, it is simply because the pressure has not been great enough ; sufficient nourishment has not yet been withdra\^ll from the soil. Dignity, decency, honor, fade away when man or woman is reduced to shabby, shameful, degrading, cruel wretchedness. Be- fore the clamors of the stomach the soul is silent." "I cannot believe that," I replied; "look at the martyrs who have perished in the flames for an opinion." "Yes," he said, "it is easy to die in an ecstasy of enthusiasm for a creed, with all the world looking on ; to exchange life for eternal glory ; but put the vii'gin, who would face without shrinking the flames or the wild beasts of the arena, into some wretched garret, in some miserable alley, surrounded by the low, the ignorant, the vile ; close every avenue and'prospect of hope; shut off" every ennobling thought or vsight or deed ; and then subject the emaciated frame to end- 54 a£SAR'S COLUMN. less toil and hopeless hunger, and the very fibers of the soul Avill rot under the debasing ordeal; and there is nothing left but the bare animal, that must be fed at whatever sacrifice. And remember, my dear fellow, that chastity is a flower of civilization. Barbarism knows nothing of it. The woman with the least is, among nmny tribes, most highly es- teemed, and sought after by the young men for wedlock." "My dear Maximilian," I said, "these are debas- ing views to take of life. Purity is natural to woman. You will see it oftentimes among savages. But, to recur to the subject Ave were speaking of. I feel very confident that the younger of those two women I saw in that carriage is pure. God never placed such a majestic and noble countenance over a corrupt soul. The face is transparent ; the spirit looks out of the great eyes ; and it is a spirit of dignity, nobleness, grace and goodness." "Why," said he, laughing, "the barbed arrow of Master Cupid, my dear Gabriel, has penetrated quite through all the plates of your philosoplw." "I will not confess that," I replied ; "but I will ad- mit that I would like to know something more about that young lady, for I never saw a face that inter- ested me half so much." " Now," said he, " see what it is to have a friend. I can find out for you all that is known about her. We have members of our society in the household of every rich man in New York. I will first find out who sheis. I will ask the Master of the Servants, who is a member of our Brotherhood, who were the two ladies out rid- ing at the time of our adventure. I can communicate with him in cipher." CESAR'S COLUMN. 55 He went to the wall; touched a spring; a door flew open; a receptacle containing pen, ink and paper appeared ; he wrote a message, placed it in an interior cavity, which connected with a pneumatic tube, rang a bell, and in a few minutes another bell rang, and he withdrew from a similar cavity a written message. He read out to me the following : "The elder lady, Miss Frederika Bowers; the younger. Miss Estella Washing-ton ; both members of the Prince of Cabano's household." " Estella Washington," I repeated ; " a noble name. Can you tell me an^^thing about her ? " " Certaiu.ly," he replied ; "we have a Bureau of In- quiry connected with our society, and we possess the most complete information, not orAj as to our own members, but as to almost every one else in the community of any note. Wait a moment." He opened the same receptacle in the wall, wrote a few Avords on a sheet of paper, and dispatched it by the pneumatic tube to the central office of that dis- trict, whence it was forwarded at once to its address. It was probably fifteen minutes before the reply ar- rived. It read as follows : Miss Estella Washixgtox. — Aged eighteen. Appearance: Per- son tall and graceful; complexion fair; eyes blue; hair long and golden; face handsome. Pedigree: A lineal descendant of Law- rence Washington, brother of the first President of the Rejjublic. Parents: William Washington and Sophia, his wile. Father, a graduate of the University of Virginia; professor of Indo-Euro- pean literature for ten years in Harvard University. Grandfather, Lawrence Washington, a judge of the Supreme Court of the United States for fifteen years. Sophia, mother of Estella, nee Wain- wright, an accomplished Greek and Sanscrit scholar, daughter of Professor Elias Wainwright, who occupied the chair of psychologi- cal science in Yale College for twenty years. Families of both 56 CESAR'S COLUMN. parents people of pcrpat learning and social position, but not wealthy in any of the brancht's. History: Father died wlien Estella was eight years old, leaving his family poor. Her motlier, after a hard struggle with poverty, died two j'ears later. Estella, then ten years old, was adopted by Maria, widow of George Washington, brother of Estella's father, who had subsequently married one Ezekiel Plunkett, wlio is also dead. Maria Pluukett is a woman of low origin and sordid nature, with a large share of cunning; she lives at No. 2682 Grand Avenue. She had ob.served that Estella gave promise of great beauty, and as none of the other relatives put in a claim for the child, she took ])os.se.ssion of her, with intent to educate her highly, improve her appearance bj' all the arts known to such women, and eventually sell her for a large sum to some wealthy aristocrat as a mistre.ss; believing that her hon- orable descent would increase the price which her personal charms would bring. On the oth day of last month shesoldhor, for $5,000, to the Master of the Servants of theso-c.-illed Prince of Cabano; and she was taken-to his house. E.stella, who is quite ignorant of the wickedness of the world, or the true character of her aunt, for whom she entertains a warm feeling of gratitude and affection, be- lieves that slie is to serve as lady-comi)anion for Miss Frederika Bowers, the favorite mistress of the Prince, but whom Estella supposes to be his niece. You can iinao-ine, my dear brother — for joii have a kind and sen.sitive heart, and love your wife— the pangs that shot through me, and distorted my very soul, as I listened to this dreadful narrative. Its calm, dispassionate, official character, while it confirmed its truth, added to the horrors of the awful story of crime ! Think of it! a pure, beautiful, cultured, confiding girl, scarcely yet a woman, consigned to a terrible fate, by one whom she loved and trusted. And the lurid light it thi-ew on the state of society in which such a sacrifice could be possible! I forgot everj'^ pre- tense of indifference, w'hich I had been trying to main- tain before Maximilian, and, springing up, every fiber quivering, I cried out : CESAR'S COLUMN. 57 " She must be saved ! " Maximilian, too, although colder-blooded, and hardened by contact with this debased age, was also stiri'cd to his depths; his face was flushed, and he seized me by the hand. He said : "I will help you, my friend." '' But what can we do ? " I asked. " We should see her at once," he replied, "and, if it is not yet too late, carry her away from that damn- able place, that house of hell, and its devilish owner, who pi^eys on innocence and youth. We have one thing in our favor: the Master of the Servants, W'ho bought Estella, is the same person who answered my first message. He belongs, as I told you, to our Brotherhood. He is in m,y power. He will give us ac- cess to the poor girl, and w-ill do whatever is necessary to be done. Come, let us go !" Those thin, firm lips were more firmly set than ever ; the handsome e^'es flashed with a fierce light ; he hurried for an instant into his secret room. "Take this magazine pistol," he said, "and this knife," handing me a long bowie-knife covered with a handsome, gold-embossed sheath ; "we are going into a den of infamy where everything is possible. Never unsheathe that knife until you are compelled to use it, for a scratch from it is certain and instant death ; it is charged with tlie most deadly poison the art of the chemist has been able to produce ; the secret is known only to our Brotherhood ; the discoverer is an Italian professor, a member of our society." CHAPTER VI. THE I NT i:i{ VIEW. Mounting to one of the electrical railroads, we were soon at the house of the Prince. Passino- around to the servants' entrance of the palace, Maximilian sent in his card to the Master of the Servants, who soon appeared, bowing deferentially to my friend. AVe were ushered into his private room. Maximilian first locked the door; he then examined the room carefully, to see if there was anyone hidden behind thetapestry or furniture; for the room, like every part of the pal- ace, was furnished in the most lavish and extravagant style. Satisfied with his search, he turned to Ru- dolph, as the Master of the Servants was called, and handed him the message he had received, which gave the history of Estella. ''Read it,'' he said. Rudolph read it with a troubled countenance. "Yes," he said, ''I am familiar with most of the facts here stated, and believe them all to be true. What would you have me do?" "First," said Maximilian, "we desire to know if Estella is still in ignorance of the purpose for whicli she was brought here." "Yes," he replied ; " Frederika is jealous of her, as I can see, and has contrived to keep her out of the Prince's sight. She has no desire to be supplanted by a younger and fairer woman." "God be praised for that jealousy," exclaimed s8 CESAR'S COLUMN. 59 Maximilian. ' ' We must see Estella ; can you manage it for us?" "Yes," he said, " I will bring- her here. I know she is in the palace. I saw her but a few moments since. AVait for me." "Stop," said Maximilian, " have you the receipt for the $5,000 signed by Mrs. Plunkett?'' "No; but I can get it." " Do so, praj^; and when you bring her here intro- duce me to her as Mr. Martin, and my friend lieie as Mr. Henry. She may refuse our assistance, and we nmst provide against the revenge of the Prince." " I will do asyou command," replied Rudolph, who acted throughout as if he felt himself in the presence of a superior officer. As we sat waiting his return I was in a state of considerable excitement. Delight, to know that she was still the pure angel I had worshiped in m^^ dreams, contended with trepidation as I felt I must soon stand in her presence. The door opened and Rudolph entered ; behind him came the tall form of the beautiful girl I had seen in the carriage : she seemed to me fairer than ever. Her eyes first fell upon me; she started and blushed. It was evident she recognized me: and I fancied the recognition was not unpleasant to her. She then turned to Maximilian and then to Rudolph, who introduced us as we had requested. I offered her a chair. She sat down, evidently astonished at such an interview, and yet entirely mistress of herself. Af- ter a moment's pause, — for Maximilian, as he told me afterwards, was too bewildered with her splendid beauty to speak, — she said, in a sw^et and gentle voice : GO CESAR'S COLUMN. "Mr. Rudolpli tells me that you desire to speak to me on matters of importaiife.'' At a sign from Maximilian Rudolph closed and locked the door. She started, and it seemed to me that her e^'es turned to me with more confidence than to either of the others. "Miss Washington," said Maximilian, "it is true we desire to speak with you on matters of the great- est moment to yourself. But we shall say things so surprising to you, so harsh and cruel, so utterly in conflict with your present opinions, that I scarce know how to begin." She had grown paler during this speech, and I then said: "Be assured that nothing but the profound re- spect we feel for you, and the greatest desire to serve you, and save you from ruin, could have induced us to intrude upon you." Her face showed her increasing alarm ; she placed her hand on her heart, as if to still its beatings, and then, with constrained dignity, replied : "1 do not undei'stand you, gentlemen. 1 do not know what the dangers are to which you allude. Can you not speak plainly? " "My friend here, Mr. Henry," said Maximilian, looking at me, "you have, I perceive, already recog- nized." "Yes," she said, with another blush, "if I am not mistaken, he is the gentleman who saved the life of a poor beggar, some days since, and punished, as he deserved, our insolent drivei-. Miss Frederika, the Prince's niece, has, at my request, i^efused since that time to permit him to drive us when we go out together, as we often do. I am glad to thank you again," she CESAR'S COLUMN. 61 said, with arhanniiijLily ingenuous air, for your noble act in saving that poor man's Hfe." "It was nothing," I said, "but if the service was of any value it has been a thousand times repaid by your kind words." "Toucan easily imagine," said Maximilian, "that my friend here, after that interview, was naturally curious to find out something about you." She blushed and cast down her eyes; and the thought flashed across my mind that perhaps she had been likewise curious to find out something about me. "I am a member," said Maximilian, "of a secret society. AVehavea 'Bureauof Inquiry' whose business it is to collect information, for the use of the society, concerning every person of any note. This informa- tion is carefully tabulated and preserved, and added to from day to da^^; so that at any moment it is subject to the call of our officers. When my friend desired to know something about you" (here the blue, wondering eyes were cast down again), "1 sent a message to our Bureau of Inquiry, and received a reply which I have here. I fear to show it to you. The shock will be too great to learn in a moment the utter baseness of one in whom you have trusted. I fear you have not the courage to endure such a blow ; and at the same time I know of no better way to com- municate to your purity and innocence the shocking- facts which it is mj^ duty to disclose." Estella smiled, and reached forth her hand for the paper with the dignity of conscious courage and high blood. "Let me read it," she said; "I do not think it can tell me anything I cannot endure." 62 CESAR'S COLUMN. Maximilian delivered the paper into her hand. T watched her face as she read it. At first there was a look of wonder at the minuteness of the knowledge of her family which the paper revealed ; then the interest became more intense; then the eyebrows began to rise and the blue eyes to dilate with horror; then an expression of scorn swept over her face; and as she read the last word she flung the paper from her as if it had been a serpent, and rising up, yes, towering, a splendid image of wrath, she turned upon u^ and cried out: "This is a base falsehood ! A cowardly trick to wound me! A shameful attempt to injure my dear aunt." And, wheeling around on Rudolph, her eyes blaz- ing, she said : " Unlock that door ! I shall reveal at once to the Prince this attack on his good name and i\Iiss Fred- erika. How dare you bring these men here with such falsehoods?" Rudolph, alarmed for himself, hung his head in silence. He was trembling violentl3^ "Rudol])h," said Maximilian, solemnly, "I call upon 3^ou, by the oath you have taken, to say to this lady whether or not the contents of that paper are true." " I believe them to be true," responded Rudolph, in a low tone. It was wonderful to see the fine indignation, the keen penetration that shone in Estella's eyes, as she looked first at Rudolph and then at Maxi- milian. "Rudolph," said ]\Iaximilian. "by the oath you have taken, tell Miss "Washington whether or not you CESAR'S COLUMN. 63 paid |5,000 to her aunt, Maria Plunkett, for the pur- chase of her body, as set forth in that paper." •' It is true,'" replied Rudolph, inthesanie low tone. "It is false!" cried Estella,— and yet I thought there was that in her tone which indicated that the hideous doubt had begun to enter her soul. ••Rudolph,'' said Maximihan, "tell this lady whether you took a receipt from her aunt for the money you paid for her." "I did," replied Rudolph. "Miss Washington," said Maximihan, like a law- yer who has reached his crucial question, for he was a trained attorney, "would you recognize your aunt's signature if you saw it?" "Certainly." "You have often seen her write?" "Yes; hundreds of times." " Have you any reason to distrust this good man, Rudolph? Do you not know that in testif}- ing to the truth he runs the risk of his own destruction?" "Yes, yes," she said, and there was a wild and wor- ried look in her ej'es. "Read the receipt, Rudolph," said Maximilian. Rudolph read, in the same low and almost tremb- ling tones, the following : New York, August 5th, 1988.— Received of Matthew Rudolph, for the Prince of Cabano, the sum of five thousand dollars, in con- sideration of which I have delivered to the said Prince of Cabano the body of my niece, Estella "Washington ; and I hereby agree, as the custodian of the said Estella Washington, never to demand any further payment, from the said Prince of Cabano, on account of my said niece, and never to reclaim her; and I also pledge myself never to reveal to any of the relatives of the said J^stella Washington her place of residence. (Signed) MARIA PI.UNKETT. 64 CESAR'S COLUMN. As he finished reading Estella seized the receipt quickly out of his hands, and fixed her e^'es eagerly upon the signature. In a moment she became deadly pale, and would have fallen on the floor, but that 1 caught her in my arms — (()h.])re(ious burden!) — and bore her to a sofa. Rudol})li brought some waterand bathed her face. In a few minutes she recovered con- sciousness. She looked at us curiously at first, and then, as memory returned to her, an agonized and distraught look passed over her features, and I feared she would faint again. I held some water to her lips. She looked at me with an intense look as I knelt al her side. Then her eyes passed to Maximilian and Rudol])h, who stood res])ectfully a httle distance from her. The tears flowed down her face. Then a new thought seemed to strike her, and she rose to a sit- ting postui-e. "It cannot be true. My aunt could not do it. You are strangers to me. It is a conspiracy. I will ask Frederika." ''No! no!" said Rudol])h; "not Frederika; it would not l)e to hei- interest to tell you the truth. Hut is there any one of the servants in whom you have more confidence than all the others?" "Yes," she said, "there is Mary Callaghan, an honest girl, if there is one aiiywh(M-(\ I think she loves me; and I do not believe she would deceive me." "Then," said Iludolph, "you shall send for her to come here. None of us shall s])eak to her lest you might think we did so to prompt her. We will hide behind the tai)estry. Dry youi- tears; ring for a ser- vant, and re(]uest Mary to come to you, and then ask her such questions as you choose." This was done, and in a few moments Mary ap- CESAR'S COLUMN. 65 peared — an honest, stout, rosy-cheeked Irish girl, with tlie frank blue eyes and kindly smile of her people. "Mary," said Estella,"you have always been kind to me. Do you love me sufficiently to tell me the truth if I ask you some questions?" "Sure, and you may do so, my dear," said Mary, "Then, Mary, tell me, is Frederika the Prince of Cabano's niece?" " Niver a drop's blood to him," replied Mary. "TMiat is she doing in his house, then?" asked Estella. "Sure, it would be as much as my place is worth, ma'am, to answer that question ; and hard enough it is for an honest girl to get a place now-a-daj'S. If it hadn't been for Barney McGuiggan, who married my brother's sister-in-law, and who is own cousin to Mr. Flaherty, the butler's second assistant, I couldn't have got the place I have at all, at all. And if I said a word against j\Iiss Frederika, out I would go, and where would I find another place?" "But, Mary, if you speak the truth no harm shall follow to you. I shall never repeat what you say. I do not ask out of idle curiosity, but much depends on your answer." "Indeed, ma'am, "replied Mary, "if you weren't as innocent as ye're purty, you would have found out the answer to your own question long ago. Faith, an' don't everybody in the house know she's" — here she approached, and whispered solemnly in her ear — "she's the Prince's favorite mistress?" Estella recoiled. After a pause she said : "And, Mary, who are the otheryoung ladies wecall the Prmce's cousins — Miss Lucy, Miss Julia and the rest?" 5 66 CESAR'S COLUMN. *' Ivery one of them's the same. It's just as I told Hauuah, the cook's scullion ; I didn't belave ye knew a word of what was jjoiug on in this house. And didn't I tell her that Miss Frederika was contriving to kape YOU out of the Prince's sight ; and that was the rason she took you out riding for hours ivery day, and made you sleep in a remote part of the palace; for if the Prince ever clapped his two ougly ej^es upon you it would be all up wid Madame Fred- erika." I could see from where I was hidden that Estella grasped the back of a chair for support, and she said in a low voice : "You may go, Mary; I am much obliged to you for your friendship and honesty." We found her sitting in the chair, with her hands over her face, sobbing convulsively. At last she looked around upon us and cried out : "Oh, my God! What shall I do? lam sold — sold — a helpless slave. Oh, it is horrible !" "You will never be without frieuds while we live," I said, advancing to her side. "But I must fly," she cried out, "and how — where?" "My dear Miss Washington," said Maximihan, in his kindest tones, " I have a dear mother, who will be glad to welcome you as her own child; and in our quiet home you can remain, safe from the power of tlie Prince, until you have time to think out your future course of life; and if 3'ou conclude to remain with us forever you will be only the more welcome. Here is Rudolph, who will vouch for me that I am an honorable man, and that you can trust yourself to me with safety." CESAR'S COLUMN. 67 "Yes," said Rudolpli; "Maximilian Petion is the soul of honor. His simple Avord is more than the oath of another." "Then let us fly at once," said Estella. "No," replied Rudolph, "that would not do; this house is guarded and full of spies. You would be fol- lowed and reclaimed." "What, then, do you advise?" asked Maximihan. "Let me see," replied the old man, thinking; "this is Thursday. On Monday night next the members of 'the government' have their meeting here. There will be a number of visitors present, and more or less confusion ; more guards will be necessary'' also, and I can contrive to have one of the Brotherhood act as sentinel at the door which opens into a hall which connects with this room ; for you see here is a special entrance which leads to a stairway and to tlie door I speak of. I will procure a gentleman's dress for Miss Estella ; she is tall and will readily pass in the dark for a man. I wull secure for you a permit for a carriage to enter the grounds. You will bring a close carriage and wait with the rest of the equipages, near at hand. But I must have some one who will accom- pany Miss Estella from this room to the carriage, for I must not show myself." I stopped forward and said, "I will be here." "But there is some danger in the task," said Ru- dolph, looking at me critically. " If detected, j^our life would pay the forfeit." "I would the danger were ten times as great," I replied. Estella blushed and gave me a glance of gratitude. "There is one difficulty I perceive," said Maxi- milian. 68 CJESAR'S COLUMN. "What is that?" asked Rudolph. "I hesitate about leavinp; Miss Washiugton ex- posed to the danger of reiuaining four days longer in this horrible house." " I wilUook afterthat," replied Rudolph. " Shehad better pretend ill health, and keep her room during that time. It is on an upper floor, and if she remains there the danger will be very slight that the Prince will see her." "Miss Washington," I said, handing her the dag- ger which Max had given me, "take this weapon. It is poisoned with the most deadly virus known to the art of man. A scratch from it is certain death. Use it to defend yourself if assailed." "I know how I shall use it in the last extremity," she said, meaningly. "Better," I replied, "purity in death than degra- dation in life." She thanked me with her eyes, and took the dag- ger and hid it in her bosom. "There is one other matter," said Rudolph to Max ; " the meeting next Monday night is to be a very important one, I think, from certain indications. It is called to prepare for an expected outbreak of the people. It would be well that some reliable person should be present, as heretofore, wdio can report to you all that occurs. If you can send me a discreet man I can hide him whore I have before hidden our brethren." " Why could I not serve the purpose?" I said. " I will be here anyhow ; and as I would have to remain until the gathering broke up. I might just as well witness the proceedings." "He is not one of us," said Rudolph, doubtfully. CESAR'S COLUMN. 60 "No," replied Max; "but I will vouch for his fidel- ity with Diy life." " Then be it so," said Riidolpli. •' Let Miss Wash- in,2,-toii withdraw by the farther door; and after a reasonable delay we will pass through into a com- municating series of rooms, and I will then show your friend where lie is to be concealed." CHAPTER VII. THE HIDING-PLACE. I HAD seen something of the mng-nificence of this age, and of the splendor of its k^rdly habitations; but I was not prepared for the grandeur of tlie rooms through which Rudolph led me. It would be in)pos- sibleto adequately describe them. We moved noise- lessly over carpets soft and deep as a rich sward, but tinted with colors and designs, from the great looms of the world, beside which the comparison of nature's carpets seemed insignificant. We passed up great winding stairs, over which, it seemed to me, three carriages might have been driven abreast; we were surrounded at every step by exquisite statuary and ro3^al paintings ; our course led through great libra- ries where the softened light fell on the endless ari-ays of richly-bound books. But they were as dead intelli- gence under thespell of a magician. No pale students sat at the tables here, availing themselves of the treasures which it had taken generations to assemble, and some of which could scarcely be found elsewhere. Men and women passed and I'epassed us; for the house w^as so full of servants that it seemed like a town in itself. Here and there were quiet-looking watchmen, who served the place of police in a great city, and whose duty it was to keep watch and ward over the innumerable articles Avhich everywhere met the eye — costly books, works of art, bronzes, jeweled boxes, musical instruments, small gi-oups of exquisite CESAR- S COLUMN. Tl statuary, engTavino's, curios, etc., from all quarters of the earth. It represented, in short, the very ])rofligacy and abandon of unbounded wealth. Each room seemed to contain a king's ransom. I could not help but contrast this useless and extravagant luxury, which served no purpose but display and vanity, with the dreadful luunes and working-places of the poor I had visited the day before. And it seemed to me as if a voice pierced my heart, crying out through all its recesses, in strident tones, "How long, O Lord, how long? " And then I thought how- thin a crust of earth separated all this splendor from that burning hell of misery beneath it. And if the molten mass of horror should break its limitations and overflow the earth ! Already it seemed to me the planet trembled ; I could hear the volcanic explosions; I could see the sordid flood of wrath and hunger pouring through these halls; cataracts of misery bursting through everydoor and window, and sweep- ing away all this splend(n- into never-ending black- ness and ruin. I stood still, lost in these engrossing reflections, when Rudolph touched me on the arm, and led the way through a great hall, covered with ancestral portraits, into a magnificent chamber. In the center stood a large table, and around it about two score chairs, all made of dark tropical wood. It was like the council chamber of some great government, with the throne of the king at one end. "This," said Rudolph, in a solemn whisper, "this is where they meet. This is the real center of govern- ment of the American continent; all the rest is sham and form. The men who meet here determine the condition of all the hundreds of millions who dwell on 72 CESAR'S COLUMK. the great land revealed to the world by Columbus. Here political parties, courts, juries, j^^overnors, legis- latures, congresses, presidents are made and unmade; and from this spot they are controlled and directed in the discharge of their multiform functions. The decrees formulated here are echoed by a hundred thousand newspapers, and many thousands of ora- tors ; and they are enforced by an uncountable army of soldiers, servants, tools, spies, and even assassins. He who stands in the way of the men who assemble here perishes. He who would oppose them takes his life in his hands. You are, 3'oung man, as if I had led you to the center of the earth, and I had placed your hand upon the very ])ivot, the well-oiled axle, upon which, noiselessly, the wholegreat globe revolves, and from which the awful forces extend which hold it all together." I felt myself overawed. It was as if mighty spirits even then inhabited that dusky and silent chamber; hostile and evil spirits of whom mankind were at once the subjects and the victims. I followed Ru- dolph on tiptoe as he advanced to the end of the room. " Here," he said, entering through a wide arch, ' is a conservatory which is constantly kept supplied and renewed, from the hot-houses of the palace, with the most magnificent flowers. The only humanizing trait the Prince seems to possess is an affection for flowers. And he especially loves those strange Mexican and South American plants, t\\Qcactacese, which unite the most exquisite flowers to the most grotesque and re- ])nlsive forms, covered with great s])ear-like spines, and which thrive only in barren lands, and on the poorest soil. I have taken advantage of the presence CESAR'S COLUMN. 73 of these plants to construct the hiding-place about which I spoko to you. Here are some which are fifteen feet high. They touch the ceiling of the room. Around them I have arranged a perfect hedge or breast-work of smaller plants of the same family, growing in large boxes. Nothing could penetrate through this prickl}^ wall ; and I have united the boxes by hooks and staples on the inside. There is, however, one which a strong man can move aside; and through the openingthus formed he can crawl to the center of the barricade, and, having replaced the hooks, it would be almost impossible to reach him; while he could not be seen unless one were immediately over him and looked down upon him. Then between him and the council room I have arranged a screen of flowers, which will hide you when you stand up, while between the blossoms you can see everything with little risk of being seen. But in case jou should be detected you will observe behind 3^ou a window, which, as the weather is warm, I shall leave open. On the outside is a great ivy vine that will bear your weight. You will have to dare the spines of the cacti behind you; make a great leap to the window and take your chances of escaping the fusillade of pistol shots, by flying in the darkness, into the garden. I will show you the grounds so that you will not be lost in them, if you get that far. If caught, you will have to pretend to be a burglar who entered at the window for purposes of plunder. It would do you no good to inculpate me, for it would doom us both to instant death as spies; while a supposed burglar would be simpl}' turned over to the law and punished by a term of imprisonment. I give you these instructions although I hope there will be no necessity for them. 74 CESAR'S COLUMN. This hiding-place has been several times used, and the deepest secrets of the aristocracy revealed to our Brotherhood, without detection; and if you are pru- dent and careful there will be little to fear. The coun- cil will meet at eight o'clock; at half past seven it will be my duty to see that the rooms are in order, and to make sure that there are no spies or intruders on the premises, and to so report in person to the Prince, and deliver him the key of the outer door. I shall cover your dress with the garments of one of the household servants, and take you with me to help make that last examination ; and, watching an op- portunit}', you will slip into the hiding-place; having first taken ofi" the disguise I have lent you, which we will hide among the plants. You must be armed and prepared for every emergency. I will meet you in the garden at half past six ; before we part I will furnish you with a key to an outer gate, by which you can enter. As soon as the council has broken up, I will return to the room and again disguise j'ou in the servant's dress. The Prince always entertains his guests with a lunch and champagne before they sep- arate. "In the meantime I will bring Estella to my room ; you can then pass out together and boldly advance to your carriage. You will first have to agree with Maximilian where it will stand ; and the guard at the door will show you to it. "When once in it, drive like the wind. You must arrange with Maximilian as to what is to be done in case you find you are followed, for in that event it will not do to drive directly to his house. You must enter the house of some one of the Brotherhood and pass rapidly through it, with Miss Washington, to a carriage thnt will be in waiting in CESAR'S COLUMN. 75 a rear street. And you must be prepared with one or more such subterfuges, for you are dealing with men of terrible power and cunning, whose arms reach every- where; and on the night of their councils — and in fact upon all other nights — the place abounds with spies. Come with me and I will show you the garden and how to enter it." I was struck with the intelligence, sagacity and ex- ecutive capacity of the man ; and I said to him : "How comes it that 3'ou, holding such a position of trust and power, where your compensation nmst be all you can ask, are, at the same time, a member of a society which, if I understand aright, threatens to overtm'n the existing order of tilings. You are not driven to rebellion by want or oppression." "No," he said; "I was educated at Heidelberg; I come of a wealthy family ; but in my youth, while an enthusiastic lover of liberty and humanity, I became a member of a German branch of this now universal Brotherhood. I had my dreams, as many have, of re- forming the world. But my membership, by a strange accident, became known, and I was forced to fly in disgrace, discarded by m}^ relatives, to America. Here I lived in great poverty for a time, until the Brotherhood came to my assistance and secured me a. servant's place in this house. I have gradually risen to my present position. While I am not so enthusi- astic as I once was, nor so sanguine of the good re- sults of the promised revolution of the proletariat, I have nevertheless seen enough within these walls to show me the justice of our cause and the necessity for some kind of reformation. I could not draw back now, if I desired to ; and 1 do not know that I would if I could. We are all moving together on the face of 76 CESAR'S COLUMN. the torrent, and whither it will eventually sweep us no one can tell. But come," he added, "to the garden, or our long conversation may be noticed, and arouse suspicion." CHAPTER Vm. THE BROTHERHOOD. I c^VNXOT give 3^ou, m3^ dear brother, a detailed account of every day's occurrences, although I know that your love for me would make every incident of interest to you. I shall, however, jot down ni}^ reflec- tions on sheets, and send them to you as occasion serves. The more I have seen, and the more I have conversed with Maximilian, the more clearly I perceive that the civilized world is in a desperate extremity. This Brotherhood of Destruction, with its terrible purposes and its vast numbers, is a reality. If the I'uling class had to deal only with a brutalized peasantry, they might, as they did in other ages, trample them into animal-like inability to organize and defend them- selves. But the public school sj'-stem, which, with the other forms of the Republic, is still kept up, has made, if not all, at least a very large percentage of the un- happy laboring classes intelligent. In fact, they are wonderfully intelligent; their organizations have been to them clubs, debating societies and legislatures. And you know that all the greatest minds of the earth have come out of the masses, if not directly, at least after one or two removes. The higher aristoc- racy have contributed but very few to the honored catalogue of men of pre-eminent genius. And there- fore you will not be surprised to hear that in these great organizations there have arisen, from among 77 78 CESAR'S COLUMN. the very laborers, splendid orators, capable orc^aniz- ers, profound students of politics and political econ- omy, statesmen and masterly' politicians. Nature, which knows no limit to her capacity for the crea- tion of new varieties, and, dealing with hundreds of millions, has innumerable elements to mingle in her combinations, has turned out some marvelous lead- ers among these poor men. Their hard fortunes have driven out of their minds all illusions, all imagi- nation, all poetry ; and in solemn fashion they have bent themselves to the grim and silent struggle with their environment. Without imagination, I say, for this seems to me to be a world without a song. And it is to the credit of these great masses that they are keen enough to recognize the men of ability that rise up among them, and even out of their poor, hard-earned resources to reheve them of the ne- cessit}' for daily toil, that they may devote them- selves to the improvement of their minds, and the execution of the great tasks assigned them. There is no doubt that if the ruling classes had been willing to recognize these natural leaders as men of the same race, blood, tongue and capacity as themselves, and had reached down to them a helping and kindly hand, there might have been long since a coming together of the two great divisions of society ; and such a re- adjustment of the values of labor as would, while it insured happiness to those below, have not materially lessened the enjoyments of those above. But the events which preceded the great war against the aris- tocracy in 1640, in England; the great revolution of 1789, in France ; and the greater civil war of 18(31, in America, all show how im]iossible it is, by any process of reasoning, to induce a privileged class to peacefully CESAR'S COLUMN. 79 yield up a single tittle of its advantages. There is no bigotiy so blind or intense as that of caste; and long established wrongs are only to be rooted out by fii'e and sword. And hence the future looks so black to me. The upper classes might reform the world, but they will not; the lower classes would, but they can- not ; and for a generation or more these latter have settled down into a sullen and unanimous conviction that the only remedy is world-wide destruction. AVe can say, as one said at the opening of the Crom- wellian struggle, "God help the land where ruin must reform!" But the proletariat are desperate. They are ready, like the blind Samson, to pull down the pillars of the temple, even though they themselves fall, crushed to death amid the ruins; for "The grave is brighter than their hearths and liomes." I learn from Maximilian that their organization is most perfect. Every one of their hundred millions is now armed with one of the newest improved maga- zine rifles. The use of the white powder reduces very much the size of the cartridges ; the bullets are also much smaller than they were formerly, but they are each charged with a most deadly and powerful ex- plosive, which tears the body of the victim it strikes to pieces. These small cartridges are stored in tlie steel stock and barrel of the rifles, which will hold about one hundred of them; and every soldier therefore carries in his hand a weapon almost equal to the old- time Gatling or Armstrong gun. The mode in which these guns were procured shows the marvelous nature of the organization and its re- sources. Finding that the cost of the guns was greatly increased by the profits of the manufacturer and 80 CESAR'S COLUMN. tho middleman, and that it was, in fact, very doubt- ful whether the government would permit them to purchase them in any large quantities, they re- solved to make them for themselves. In the depths of abandoned coal mines, in the wildest and most mountainous part of Tennessee, they established, years ago, their armories and foundries. Here, under pretense of coal-miniug and iron-working, they brought members of their Brotherhood, workmen from the national gun-works; and these, teaching hundreds of others the craft, and working day and night, in double gangs, have toiled until every able-bodied man in the whole vast Brotherhood, in America and Europe, has been supplied with his weapon and a full accompauiment of ammunition. The cost of all this was reduced to a minimum, and has been paid by each member of the Brotherhood setting aside each week a small percentage of his earn- ings. But, lest they should break out prematurely, before the leaders gave the word, these guns have not been delivered directly to their owners, but to the "commanders of tens," as they are called; for the Brotherhood is divided into groups of ten each ; and it is the duty of these commanders to bury the weap- ons and ammunition in the earth in rubber sacks, furnished for the purpose, and only to deliver them when the signal comes to strike. In the mean- time the men are trained with sticks in all the evolu- tions of soldiers. You can see how cunning is all this system. A traitor cannot betray more than nine of his fellows, and his own death is certain to follow. If the commander of a squad goes over to the enemy, he can but deliver up nine men and ten guns, and per- haps reveal the supposed name of the one man who, CESAR'S COLUMN. 81 in a disguise, has communicated with him from the parent society. But when the signal is given a hun- dred miUion trained soldiers will stand side by side, armed with the most efficient weapons the cunning of man is able to produce, and directed by a central authority of extraordinary ability. Above all this dreadful preparation the merry world goes on, sing- ing and dancing, marrying and giving in marriage, as thoughtless of the impending catastrophe as were the people of Pompeii in those pleasaSt August days in 79, just before the city was buried in ashes; — and yet the terrible volcano had stood there, in the im- mediate presence of themselves and their ancestors, for generations, and more than once the rocking earth had given signal tokens of its awful pos- sibilities. If I believed that this wonderful Brother-hood was capable of anji^hing beyond destruction,! should not look with such terror as I do upon the prospect. But after destruction there must come construction — the erection of law and civilization upon the ruins of the present order of things. Who can believe that these poor brutalized men will be capable, armed to the teeth with deadly weapons, and full of passions, hates and revenges, to recreate the slaughtered so- ciety? In civilized life the many must work ; and who among these liberated slaves will be ready to lay down their weapons and take up their tasks? When the negroes of San Domingo brokeout, in that world- famous and bloody insurrection, they found them- selves, when they had triumphed, in a tropical land, where the plentiful bounties of nature hung abundant supplies of food upon every tree and shrub. But in the temperate regions of America and Europe these 6 82 CESAR'S COLUMN. vast populations can only live by great toil, and if none will toil all must starve ; but before tbej- starve they ^vill slay each other, and that means universal conflict, savagery, barbarism, chaos. I tremble, my brother, 1 tremble with horror when I think of what is crawling toward us, with noiseless steps ; couchant, silent, treacherous, pard- like; scarce rustling the dry leaves as it moves, and yet with bloodshot, glaring e^^es and tense-drawn limbs of steel,' ready for the fatal spring. When r-omes it? To-night? To-morrow? A week hence? Who can say? And the thought forever presses on me, Can I do nothing to avert this catastrophe? Is there no hope? For mankind is in itself so noble, so beautiful, so full of all graces and capacities; with aspirations fitted to sing among the angels ; with comprehension fitted to embrace the universe! Consider the exqui- site, hthe-limbed figures of the first man and woman, as they stood forth against the red light of their first sunset — fresh from the hand of the Mighty One — His graceful, perfected, magnificent thoughts ! What love shines out of their great eyes ; what goodness, like dawn-awakened flowers, is blooming in their singing hearts ! And all to come to this. To this ! A hell of injustice, ending in a holocaust of slaughter. God is not at fault. Nature is not to blame. Civil- ization, signifying increased human power, is not responsible. But human greed, — blind, insatiable human greed, — shallow cunning; the basest, stuff- grabbing, nut-gathering, selfish instincts, these have done this work ! The rats know too much to gnaw through the sides of the ship that carries them ; but those so-called wise men of the world have eaten away CESAR'S COLUMN. 83 the walls of society in a thousand places, to the thin- ness of tissue-paper, and the great ocean is about to pour in at every aperture. And still they hoot and laugh their insolent laugh of safety and triumph above the roar of the greedy- and boundless waters, just read3^ to overwhelm them forever. Full of these thoughts, which will not permit me to sleep at night, and which haunt my waking hours, I have gone about, for some days, accompanied by Maximilian, and have attended meetings of the workingmen in all parts of the city. The ruling class long since denied them the privilege of free speech, under the pretense that the safety of society required it. In doing so they have screwed down the safety- valve, while the steam continues to generate. Hence the men meet to discuss their wTongs and their reme- dies in underground cellars, under old ruined brewer- ies and warehouses; and there, in large, low-roofed apartments, lighted by tallow candles, flaring against the dark, damp, smoky walls, the swarming masses assemble, to inflame each other mutually against their oppressors, and to look forward, with many a secret hint and innuendo, to that great day of wrath and revenge which they know to be near at hand — "And with pale lips men say, To-morrow, perchance to-day, Enceladus may arise!" But as an,y member is permitted to bring in a friend — for these are not meetings of the Brother- hood itself, but simply voluntary' gatherings of workmen, — and as any man may prove a traitor, their utterances are guarded and enigmatical. More than once I havespoken to them in thosodim 84 CESAR'S COLUMN. halls ; and while full of sympathy for their sufferings, and indignant as they themselves can be against their oppressors, I have pleaded with them to stay their hands, to seek not to destroy, but to reform. I preach to them of the glories of civilization : I trace its history backward through a dozen eras and many nations; I show them how slowl}' it grew, and by what small and gradual accretions; 1 tell them how radiantly it has burst forth in these latter centuries, with such magnificent effulgence, until to- day man has all nature at his feet, shackled and gyved, his ])atient logman. I tell them that a ruffian, with one blow of his club, can destroy the life of a man; and that all the doctors and scientists and philoso- phers of the world, working together for ages, could not restore that which he has so rudely extinguished. And so, I say to them, the civilization which it has taken ten thousand years to create may be swept away in an hour ; and there shall be no power in the wit or wisdom of man to re-establish it. Most of them have listened respectfully; a few have tried to answer me; some have mocked me. But it is as if one came where grouped convicts stood, long im- prisoned, who heard — with knives in their hands — the thunderous blows of their friends as they battered down the doors of their prison-house, and he should beg them not to go forth, lest they should do harm to society! They will out, though the heavens and the earth came together! One might as well whisper to Niagara to cease falling, or counsel the resistless cj^clone, in its gyrating and terrible advance, to have a care of the rose-bushes. CHAPTER IX. THE POISONED KNIFE. AVhen we returned lioiiie. on Sundaj^ evening, Max found the receptacle in the wall which communicated with the pneumatic-tube system standing open. In it he found a long communication in cipher. He read a few lines with a startled look and then said : " Here is important news, Gabriel. It is written in one of the ciphers of the Brotherhood, which I will translate to 3'ou. The number is that of Rudolph — the number it is addressed to is my own. We know each other in the Brotherhood, not bj^ our names, but b}^ the numbers given us when we became mem- bers. Listen : "From number 28,263 M 2, to No. 160,053 P 4. Dated this 7:9, from the house of the condemned, No. 826 B." "That," said Maximihan, "means the Prince Cabano. " He continued to read : "Startling events have occurred since I saw you. The former favorite mistress of 826 B, who was dis- placed b}^ Frederika, is a French girl, Celestine d' Aublay . She resented her d ownfall bitterly, and she hates Frederika with the characteristic vehemence of her race. She learned from the talk of the servants that a new victim — Estella— had been brought into the house, a girl of great beauty ; and that Frederika was trying to prevent 826 B from seeing her. A sudden thought took possession of her mind; she 8s 86 CESAR'S COLUMN. would overthrow Frederika just as she herself had been overthrown. Yesterday, Saturday afternoon, slie watched for 820 B in the hallways and chambers. The snufHinri: old wretch has a fashion of prying around in all ])arts of the house, under the fear that he is being robbetl by the servants ; and it was not long; until Celestine encountered him. She threw herself in his way. "'AVell, little one,' he said, chucking her under the chin, ' how have you been? I have not seen your pretty face for a long time.' "'Indeed,' said she, 'you care very little now for my pretty face, or that of any one else, since you have your new toy, Estella.' " ' Estella ! ' he repeated, ' who is Estella? ' "'Come, come,' she said laughing; 'that will not do ! Master Rudolph brings into the house a young girl of ravishing beauty, and weeks afterwards you ask me who she is! I am not to be deceived that way. I know you too well.' '"But really,' he replied, 'I have not seen her. This is the first I have ever heard of her. Who is she?' " ' Her name is Estella Washington,' replied Celes- tine ; ' she is about eighteen years old.' " ' Estella Washing-ton,' he said respectfully ; 'that is a great name. What is she like? ' "'I have told you already,' was the reply, 'that sliP is of magnificent beauty, tall, fair, stately, grace- ful and innocent.' " ' Indeed, I must see her. ' " ?Ie Inn lied to his library and rang my bell. "' Rudolph,' he said, when I appeared, 'who is this I]st('lla Washington that you brought into the CESAR'S COLUMN. 87 house some weeks since? Celestine has been tellino- me about her. How comes it I have never seen her? ' " 'My heart came into my mouth with a great leap ; but I controlled my excitement and replied : *"Mj lord, I reported to ^^ou the fact of the pur- chase some time since, and the payment of f 5,000 to an aunt of Estella.' '''True,' he said, 'I remember it now; but I was much occupied at the time. How comes it, however, that she has been in the house and I have never seen her?' "I determined not to betray Frederika, and so I replied : "'It must have been by accident, your lordship; and, moreover, Estella is of a very quiet, retiring dis- position, and has kept her room a great part of the time since she came here.' " ' Go to her and bring her here,' he said. "There was no help for it; so I proceeded to Estella's room. " ' ]\riss Washington, ' I said, 'I have bad news for you. The Prince desires to see you ? ' " She rose up, very pale. " ' My God,' she said, ' what shall I do ? ' "And then she began to fumble in the folds of her dress for the knife j^our friend gave her. "'Be calm and patient,' I said; 'do nothing des- perate. On the night after next your friend will come tor 3'ou. We must delay matters all we can. Keejj your room, and I will tell the Prince that you are too sick to leave your bed, but hope to be well enough to pay your respects to him to-morrow afternoon. We will thus gain twent\'-four hours' delay, and we may be able to use the same device again to-morrow.' 88 CjESARS column. "But she was very much excited, and paced the room witli hurried steps, wrinoiug her hands. To cahn her I said : " 'You are in no danger. You can lock jour door. And see, come here,' I said, and, advancing to one of the window sills, I lifted it up and disclosed, neatly coiled within it, a ladder of cords, with stout bamboo rounds. 'As a last resort,' I continued, 'you can drop this out of the window and fly. All the rooms in this older part of the palace are furnished with similar fire-escapes. You see that yellow path below us; and there be,yond the trees you may perceive a part of the wall of the gardens; that path terminates at a little gate, and here is a key that will unlock it. Study the ground well from your windows. Your es- cape would, however, have to be made by night; but as you would run some risk in crossing the grounds, and, when you passed the gate, would find yourself in the midst of a strange world, without a friend, you must only think of flight as your last resource in the most desperate extremity. We must resoit to cunning, until your friends come for you, on Monday night. But be patient and courageous. Remember, 1 am your friend, and my life is pledged to your service.' "She turned upon me, and her penetrating eyes seemed to read my xevy soul. "'How.' she said, 'can I trust you? You area stranger to mc Woi-se than that, you are the hired instrument of that monster — that dealer in flesh and blood. You bought me and brought me here; and who are your friends? They too are strangers to me. \Viiy should I believe in strangers when the one whom I loved, and in whom I placed unquestioning trust, has betrayed me, and sold me to the most dreadful fate? ' CESAR'S COLUMN. 89 " I hiinji' my head. '• ' It chances,' I rephed. humbly, 'that the iiifstni- ments of vice may sometimes loathe the workthej^ do. The fearful executioner may, behind his mask, hide the traces of grief and pity. I do not blame you for your suspicions. I once had aspirations, perhaps as high, and purity of soul nearly as great as your own. But what are we? The creatures of fate ; the victims of circumstances. ^Ye look upon the Medusa-head of destiny, with its serpent curls, and our wills, if not oui" souls, are turned into stone. God alone, who knows all, can judge the heart of man. But I am pledged, by ties the most awful, to a society which, however terrible its methods may be, is. in its grand conceptions, charitable and just. ]\Iy life would not be worth a day's purchase if I did not defend you. One of your friends stands high in that society.' " ' Which one is that?' she asked, eagerly. " ' The smaller and darker one,' I replied. " ' Can you tell me anything about the other? ' she asked, and a slight blush seemed to mantle her face, as if she were ashamed of the question. " ' Very httle,' I replied ; ' he is not amember of our Brotherhood ; but he is a brave man, and the friend of Mr. Maximilian can not be a bad man.' "'No,' she said, thoughtfully; 'he is of agood and noble nature, and it is in him 1 trust.' "'But,' said T. "I must leave 3'ou, or the Prince will wonder at my long absence.' ••As I took ni}' departure I heard her locking the door behind me. I reported to the Prince that Miss Washington was quite ill, and confined to her bed, but that she hoped to do herself the honor of calling upon him the next day. He looked glum, but assented. 90 CESAR'S COLUMN. Upon leaving him, I called upon Frederika and re- quested her to come to my room. In a few moments she appeared. After seating her I said : '"Miss Frederika, will you pardon me if I ask you a few questions up(in matters of importance to both of us?' " ' Certainly,' she rephed. '"In the first place,' I said, 'you regard me as your friend, do you not? Have I not always shown a disposition to serve you?' ''She i-eplied with some pleasant smiles and assur- ances of friendship. '" Now let me ask you another question,' I con- tinued. 'Do you entertain friendh' sentiments to MissEstella?' "'Indeed I do,' she replied; 'she is a sweet-tem- pei-ed, innocent and gentle girl.' " ' I am glad to hear it,' I said ; ' did you know that the Prince has discovered her, and has just sent me for her?' " Her large black eyes fairly blazed. '"AVhohas told him of her?' she asked, fiercely, and her voice rose high and shrill. •• 'Your enemy. Miss Celestine,' I i-eplied. " ' I suspected as much,' she said. '"I need not tell you, ' I said, 'that Celestine's motive was to supplant and humble you.* '"I understand that,' she replied, and her hands twitched nervously, as if she would like to encounter her foe. "'Now let me ask you another question,' I con- tinued. ' AVould you not be glad to see Estella safely out of this house? ' " 'Indeed I would,' she replied, eagerly. CESAR'S COLUMN. 91 *" If I place my life in your hands, will you be true to me?' I asked. " She took me earnestly by the hand, and replied : " ' Neither in life nor in death will I betray you.' "'Then,' said I, 'I will tell you that Estella has friends who are as anxious to get her away from this place as you are. They have arranged to come for her on Moudaj"^ night next. You must help me to protect her from the Prince in the meantime, and to facili- tate her escape when the time comes.' "'I will do so,' she said; 'tell me what I can do now?' " 'Make yourself very entertaining to the Prince,' I replied, 'and keep his thoughts away from the stranger. Estella pleads sickness and keeps her room; and w^e may be able to protect her in that way until the fateful night arrives. And remember,' I said, touching her upon the breast and looking earnestly into her eyes, for I have Uttle faith in such natures, ' that I am a member of a great secret society, and if any mishap were to happen to me, through your agency, your own life would pay the immediate forfeit.' "She shrank back affrighted, and assured me again of her good faith. And as she desires to be quit of Estella, I think she will not betray us." "Sunday Evening, seven o'clock. "I resume my narrative. I have gone through dreadful scenes since I laid down my pen. "This afternoon about fiveo'clock the Prince rang for me. • " 'Bring Estella,' he said. "I went at once to hoi- room. I found her looking 92 CMSAR'S COLUMN. paler than usual. She had the appearance of one that had not slept. "'Estella,' I said, 'the Prince has a^^ain sent for you. I shall return and make the same excuse. Do not worry — all will be well. We are one day nearer your deliverance.' " I returned and told the Prince that Estella was even worse than the day before; that she had a lii<:h fever; and that she apologized for not obeyinj^- Ills summons; but that she hoped by to-morrow to be well enough to pay her respects to him. "He was in one of his sullen fits. I think Fred- erika had been overdoing her blandishments, and he had become suspicious ; for he is one of the most cun- ning of men. " ' Frederika is behind this business,' he said. "'Behind what business, my lord?' I asked. '"This sickness of Estella. Bring her to me, ill or well,' he replied ; ' I want to see her.' " He was in no humor to be trifled with; and so I returned to my room to think it over. 1 saw that Estella would have to barricade herself in her I'ooni. How could she snp])ort life in the meantime? The first requisite was, therefore, food. I went at once to Michael, the Cook's assistant, who is a trusty friend of mine, and secured from hi m , secretly and under a ])ledge of silence, food enough to last until the next night. I hurried to Estella, told her of her danger, and gave her the basket of provisions. I instructed her to lock her door. " ' If they break it in.' I said, ' us(^ your knife on the first man that touches you. If they send you food or drink, do not use them. If they attemjjt to chloro- form you, stop up the i)ipe with soap. If the w^oret CESAR'S COLUMN. 93 comes to the worst, use the rope-ladder. If you man- age to get outside the garden gate, call a hack and drive to that address.' Here I gave her your direc- tion on a small piece of tissue paper. 'If you are about to be seized, cliew up the paper and swallow it. Do not in any event destroy yourself,' I added,' until the last desperate extremity is reached; for 3'ou have a powerful organization behind you, and even if recaptured you will be rescued. Good-by.' "She thanked me warmly, and as I left the room I heard her again lock the door. •'I returned to the Prince, and told him that Es- teUa had said she was too ill to leave her room, and that she refused to obey his summons. Unaccus- tomed to contradiction, especialh' in his own house, he grew furious. " 'Call the servants,' he shouted; ' we will see who is master here ! ' "A few of the men came running; Frederika en- tered with them; some of the women followed. We proceeded up stairs to Estella's door. The Prince shook it violentl3\ '"Open the door,' he cried, 'or I will break it down.' " I began to hope that he would rush to the doom he has so long deserved. "The calm, steady voice of Estella was now heard from within the room ; speaking in a high and ringing tone: " ' I appeal to my country. I demand the right to leave this house. I am an American citizen. The Constitution of the United Stntes forbids human slavery. My fathers helped to found this government. No one has the right to sell me into the most hideous 94 CESAR'S COLUMN. bondage. I come of a great and noble race. I de- mand my release.' '"Come, come, open the door,' cried the Prince, flinging himself against it until it quivered. " The voice of Estella was heard again, in solemn tones : " * The man who enters here dies ! ' "The cowardly brute recoiled at once, with terror on every feature of his face. " ' Who will break down that door,' he asked, ' and bring out that woman?' "There was a dead silence for a moment: then Joachim, a broad-shouldered, superserviceable knave, who had always tried to ingratiate himself with the Prince by spying upon the rest of the servants and tattling, stepped forward, with an air of bravado, and said, ' I will bring her ont.' " ' Go ahead,' said the Prince, sullenly. "Joachim made a rush at the door; it trembled and creaked, but did not yield; he moved farthei" back, drew his breath hard, and, — strong as a bull, — went at it witli a furious rush ; the lock gave way, the door flew open and Joachim sprawled upon the floor. I could see Estella standing back near the win- dow, her right arm was raised, and I caught the glit- ter of something in her hand. In an instant Joachim was on his feet and approached her; 1 saw him grasji her; there was a slight scuffle, and the next moment .loachim rushed out of the room, pale as death. wiMi his hand to his breast, crying out : " ' Oh ! my God ! she has stabbed me.' " He tore open his shirt bosom, and there upon his hairy breast was a bloody spot; but the knife* had struck the breast-bone and inflicted onlv a shallow a^SAR'S COLUMN. 9^ flesh-wound. Joacliiin laughed, replaced his shirt, and said : •••Ah! I might have known a girl's hand could not strike a deadly blow. I will bring her out, my lord. Get me a rope.' '•He turned toward me, as he spoke; but on the instant I saw a sharp spasm contract his features ; he clapped his hand to his heart ; a look of surprise and then of terror came over his face. " ' Oh, my God ! ' he cried, ' I am poisoned.' "The most awful shrieks I ever heard broke fi-om him ; and the next moment his limbs seemed to lose their strength, and he fell in a heap on the floor; then he rolled over and OA^er ; mighty convulsions swept through him; he groaned, cried, shrieked, foamed at the mouth ; there was a sudden snorting sound, and he stiffened out and was dead. "We fell back appalled. Then in the doorway appeared the figure of Estella. her blue eyes bright as stars, her long golden hair falling like a cloak to her waist, the red-tipped knife in her hand; she looked like a Gothic priestess— a Vala of Odin — with the reek- ing human sacrifice already at her feet. The blood of a long line of heroic ancestors thrilled in her veins. Stepping over the dead body, already beginning to swell and grow spotted with many colors, like a snake, she advanced toward the Prince, who stood in his dressing-gown, tremblinji'. and nearly as bloated, pale and hideous as the wretched Joachim. "'Is it you,' she said — 'you. the dealer in hu- man flesh and blood, that has bought me? Come to me, and take possession of your bond-woman ! " "With a cry of terror the Prince turned his back and fled as fast as his legs would carry him, while all 96 CESAR'S COLUMN. the rest of ns followed pell-mell. At the end of the hall is a lai' who wanted to borrow?" 118 CESAR'S COLUMN. " The necessity to borrow is one of tne results of borrowing:. The disease produces the syin])ton)s. The men who are enriched by borrowing are in- finitel}'^ less in number than those who are ruined by it; and every disaster to the- middle class swells the number and decreases the opjjortuiiities of the helplessly poor. Money in itself is valueless. It becomes valuable only by use — by exchan.iie for things needful for life or comfort. If money could not be loaned, it would have to be put out by the owner of it in business enterprist's, wliicli would employ labor; and as the enterprise would not then have to support a double burden — to wit, the nmn engaged in it and the usurer who sits securely upon his back — but would have to maintain oidy the former usurer — that is, the present employer — its success would be more certain ; the general prosperity of the com- munity would be increased thereby, and there would be therefore more enterprises, more demand for labor, and consequently higher wages. Usury kills off the enterprising members of a community by bankrujjtiug them, and leaves only the very rich and the very poor; for every dollar the eiii])l()yers of laltor pay to the lenders of money has to come cveiituctlly out of the pockets of the laborers. Usury is therc^fore the cause of the first aristocracy, and out of this grow all the other aristocracies. Inquire where the money came from that now oppresses mankind, in the shape of gi-eat corporations, combinations, etc.. and in nine cases out often you will trace it back to the fountain of interest on money loaned. The coral island is built out of the bodies of dead coral insects: large fortunes are usually the accumulations of wreckage, and every dollar represents disaster." CESAR'S COLUMN. 119 " Well," said Maximilian, " having abolished usury, in your Utopia, what would you do next? " " I would set to work to make a Ust of all the laws, or parts of laws, or customs, or conditions which, either b}'- commission or omission, gave any man an advantage over any other man ; or which tended to concentrate the wealth of the comniunity in the hands of a few. And having found out just what these wrongs or advantages were, I would abolish them instanter." "AVell, let us suppose," said Maximilian, "that you were not immediatel^nnurdered by the men whose privileges you had destro\'ed — even as the Gracchi were of old — what would you do next? Men differ in every detail. Some have more industry, or more strength, or more cunning, or more foresight, or more acquisitiveness than others. How are .you to prevent these men from becoming richer than the rest?" "I should not try to," I said. "These differences in men are fundamental, and not to be abolished by legislation ; neither are the instincts you speak of in themselves injurious. Civilization, in fact, rests upon them. It is only in their excess that they be- come destructive. It is right and wise and proper for men to accumulate sufficient wealth to maintain their age in peace, dignity and plenty, and to be able to start their children into the arena of life suffi- ciently equip]ie(l. A thousand men in a community worth .f 10.000 or .*r>0,()0(), or even |1 00.000 each, may be a benefit, perhaps a blessing; but one man worth fifty or one hundred millions, or, as we have them now-a-days, one thousand millions, is a threat against the safety and happiness of every man in the 120 (•.{':SM{'< COU'MN. world. I slioiild ostablisb a iiiaxiiiiuin beyond which no man could own })ioi)ei'ty. I should not stop his accumulations when he had reached that point, for with many men accumulation is an instinct; but I should recpiiie him to invest tiie suiplus, under the direction of a governmental board of nmnagement, in great works for the benefit of the laboiing classes. He should estabhsh schools, colleges, orphan asy- lums, hosjntals, model residences, gardens, })arks, libraries, baths, ]>laees of amusement, music-halls, sea-side excursions in hot weather, fuel societies in cold weather, etc., etc. I should peiinit liini to secure immortality by affixing his name to liis benevolent works; and 1 sliould honor liini still further by plac- ing his statue in a great national gallery set apart to perpetuate forever the meuKjry of the benefactors of the race." ^'But," said Maxinniian, with a smile, "it would not take long for your rich men, with their surplus wealth, to estaldish all those works you speak of. What would you do with the accumulations of the rest?" " Well,'" said I. " we should find plenty to do. We would put their money, foi- instance, into a great fund and build national railroads, that would bring the productions of the farmers to the workmen, and those of the workmen to the farmers, at the least cost of transportation, and free from the exactions of speculators and middlemen. Thus both farmers and workmen would live better, at less expense and with less toil." "All very pretty," said he; "but your middlemen would starve." " Not at all," I rejilied : "the cunning never starve. CESAR'S COLUMN. 121 There would be such a, splendid era of universal pros- perity that they would simply turn their skill and shrewdness into some new channels, in which, how- ever, they would have to give something of benefit, as an equivalent for the benefits they received. Now they take the cream, and butter, and beef, while some one else has to raise, feed and milk the cow." "But," said he, "all this would not help our farmers in their present condition — they are blotted off the land." "True," I replied ; "but just as I limited a man's possible wealth, so should I limit the amount of land he could own. I would fix a maximum of, say, 100 or 500 acres, or whatever amount might be deemed just and reasonable. I should abolish all corpora- tions, or turn them back into individual partner- ships. Abraham Lincoln, in the great civil war of the last century, gave the Southern insurgents so many days in which to lay down their arms or lose their slaves. In the same way I should grant one or two years' time, in which the great owners of land should sell their estates, in small tracts, to actual occupants, to be paid for in installments, on long time, without interest. And if they did not do so, then, at the end of the period prescribed, I should confiscate the lands and sell them, as the govern- ment in the old time sold the public lands, for so much per acre, to actual settlers, and turn the pro- ceeds over to the former owners." " But, as you had abolished interest on money, there could be no mortgages, and the poor men would starve to death before they could raise a crop." "Then," I replied, "T should invoke the power of 122 CESAR'S COLUMN. the nation, as was done in that great civil war of 1861, and issue paper money, receivable for all taxes, and secured by the guarantee of the faith and power of five hundred million people; and make advances to carry these ruined peasants beyond the first years of distress — that money to be a loan to them, without interest, and to be repaid as a tax on their land. Government is only a machine to insure justice and help the people, and we have not yet developed half its powers. And Ave are under no more necessity to limit ourselves to the govern- mental precedents of oui- ancestors than we are to confine ourselves to the narrow boundaries of their knowledge, or their inventive skill, or their theologi- cal beliefs. The trouble is that so many seem to regard government as a divine something which has fallen down upon us out of heaven, and therefore not to be improved upon or even criticised ; while the truth is, it is simply a human device to secure human happiness, and in itself has no more sacredness than a w^heelbarrow or a cooking-i)ot. The end of everything earthly is the good of man ; and there is nothing sacred on earth but man, because he alone shares the Divine conscience." •'But," said he, "would not your paper money have to be redeemed in gold or silver? " "Not necessarily," i replied. "The adoration of gold and silver is a superstition of whicli the bank- ers are the high priests and mankind the victims. Those metals are of themselves of little value. What should make them so? " "Are they not the rarest and most valuable pro- ductions of the world?" said Maximilian. "By no means," I replied; "there are many CESAR'S COLUMN. 123 metals that exceed them in rarity and value. While a kilogTam of gold is Avorth about |730 and one of silver about f43.o0, the same weioht of iridium (the heaviest body known) costs |2,400; one of palladium, f 3,075 ; one of calcium nearW flOjOOO; one of stibidium, .f 20,000; while vanadium, the true 'king of metals,' is worth $25,000 per kilogram, as against f 730 for gold or |43.50 for silver. " " Why, then, are they used as money? " he asked. "AVho can tell? The practice dates back to pre- historic ages. Man always accepts as right any- thing that is in existence when he is born." "But are they not more beautiful than other metals? And are they not used as money because acids will not corrode them? " " No," I replied ; " some of the other metals exceed them in beauty' . The diamond far surpasses them in both beauty and value, and glass resists the action of acids better than either of them." " What do 3^ou propose? " he asked. "Gold and silver," I said, "are the bases of the world's currency. If they are abundant, all forms of paper money are abundant. If they are scarce, the paper money nmst shrink in proportion to the shrinkage of its foundation ; if not, there come panics and convulsions, in the effort to make one dollar of gold pay three, six or ten of paper. For one hundred and fifty years the production of gold and silver has been stendily shrinking, wliile the pop- ulation and business of the world have been rapidly increasing. "Take a child a few years old; let a blacksmith weld around his waist an iron band. At first it causes him little inconvenience. He plays. As he 124 r.f;,svi/?"N roijwfx. grows older it becomes lighter; it causes him pain; he scarcely knows what ails him. He still «i,rows. All his internal organs are cramped and displaced. He grows still larger; he has the head, shoulders and limbs of a man and the waist of a child. He is a monstrosity. He dies. Tliis is a picture of the world of to-day. bound in the silly superstition of some prehistoric nation. Hut this is not all. Evei-y decrease in the quantity, actual or relative, of gold ajid silver increases the purchasing power of the dollars made out of them; and the dollar becomes the equivalent for a larger amount of the labor of man and his productions. This makes the rich man richer and the poor man poorer. The iron band is disi)lacing the organs of life. As the dollar rises in value, man sinks. Hence the decrease in wages; the increase in the power of wealth ; the luxury of the few; the misery of the many." " How would you hel]) it? '' he asked. "I would call the civilized nations together in council, and devise an interntitional paper money, to be issued by the different nations, but to be receiva- ble as legal tender for all debts in all countries. It should hold a fixed ratio to population, never to be exceeded ; and it should be secured on all the prop- erty of the civihzed world, and acceptable in ]jay- ment of all taxes, national, state and municipal, everywhere. I should declare gold and silver legal tenders only for debts of five dollars or less. An international greenback that was good in New York, London, Berlin, Melbourne, Paris and Amsterdam, would be good anywhere. The world, released from its iron band, would leap forward to marvelous prosperity; there would be no financial panics, for CESAR'S COLUMN. 125 there could be no contraction; there would be no more torpid ' middle ages,' dead tbi- lack of cur- rency, for the money of a nation would expand, pari passu, side by side with the ing, steal- ing, trickery, knavery. Let me give you an example : ''It is recorded that when the great war broke out in this country against slavery, in 1861, there was a rich merchant in this city, named A. T. Stewart. Hundreds of thousands of men saw in the war only the great questions of the Union and the abolition of human bondage— the freeing of four millions of CESAR'S COLUM^I. 127 human beinjrs, and tho preservation of the honor of tlie fiag; and they rushed forward eag'er for the fray. Tliey were ready to die that the Nation and Liberty inither we would esca})e in safety. Then my thoughts dwelt on the words she had spoken of me, and I remembered the pleased look upon her face when we met in Rudolph's room, and my visions bp- «34 CESAR'S COLUMN. 135 came very pleasant. Even the dead silence and oppressive solitude of the two great rooms could not still the rapid beatings of my heart. I forgot my mission and thought only of Estella and the future. 1 was recalled to earth and its duties by the un- locking of the farther door. I heard Rudolph say, as if in answer to a question : "Yes, my lord, I have personally examined the rooms and made sure that there are no spies con- cealed anywhere . ' ' "Let me see," said the Prince; "lift up the tapestry." 1 could hear them moving about the council- chamber, apparently going around the walls. Then I heard them advancing into the conservatory. I shrank down still lower; they moved here and there among the flowers, and even paused for a few moments before the mass of floAvering cacti. "That flagelliformis," said the Prince, "looks sickly. The soil is perhaps too rich. Tell the gar- dener to change the earth about it." "I shall do so, my lord," said Rudolph; and to my great relief they moved off. In a few minutes I heard them in the council-chamber. With great caution I rose slowly. A screen of flowers had been cunningly placed b}' Rudolph between the cacti and that apartment. At last, half-stooping, I found an aperture in the rich mass of blossoms. The Prince was talking to Rudolph. I had a good view of his person. He was dressed in an evening suit. He was a large man, somewhat corpulent; or, as Rudolph had said, bloated. He had a Hebraic cast of coun- tenance; his face seemed to be all angles. The brow was square and prominent, projecting at the corners ; 180 CyESAirS €01 J MX. the nose was (]uile hioh and aquiline; tlie hair had the look of bein«»: dyed ; a lonjr, thick black mustache covei-ed his u])])er lip, but it could not quite conceal the hard, cynical and sneering exj)ression of his mouth; great bags of flesh hung beneath the small, furtive eyes. Altogethei- the face reminded me of the porti-aits of Napoleon the Tliird, who was thought by many to have had little of Napoleon in liim except the name. There was about Prince Cabano that air of confi- dence and command which usually accompanies great wealth or success of any kind. Extraordinary jjower produces always the sanu^ typ^ of counte- nance. You see it in the high-nosed mummied kings of ancient Egypt. There is about them an aristo- cratic hauteur which even the shriidcing of the dry skin for four thousand years has not been able to quite subdue. We feel like taking off our hats even to their parched hides. You see it in the cross-legged monuments of the old crusaders, in the venerable churches of Eui'O])?: a splendid breed of ferocious barbarians they were, who struck ten blows for con- quest and plund(M' where tli(\v struck oiu^ foi' Christ. And you can see the same type of countemince in the present rulers of the world — the great bankers, the railroad president s. .the gigantic speculators, the uncrowned monarchs of commerce, whose golden chariots drive recklessly* over the prostrate bodies of the people. And then thei-e is another class who are every- where the aitls and ministers of these o])pi'essors. You can tell tliein at a glance — large, coarse, corpu- lent men; red-faced, brutal : decorated with vulgar taste; loud-voiced, sellish, self-assertive; cringing CJiSAIVS COLUMN. 137 sycophants to all above them, slave-drivers of all below them. The\' are determined to live on the best the world can afford, and they care nothing if the miserable perish in clusters around their feet. The howls of starvation will not lessen one iota their ap- petite or their self-satisfaction. These constitute the great man's world. He mistakes their cringings, posturings and compliments for the approval of mankind. He does not perceive how shallow and temporary and worse than useless is the life he leads ; and he cannot see, beyond these well-fed, corpulent scamps, the great hungry, unhappy millions who are suffering from his misdeeds or his indifference. While I was indulging in these reflections the mem- bers of the government were arriving. They were accompanied by servants, black and white, who, with many bows and flexures, relieved them of their wraps and withdrew. The door was closed and locked. Rudolph stood without on guard. I could now rise to my feet with safety, for the council-chamber was in a blaze of electric light, w'hile the conservatory was but partially illuminated. The men were mostly middle-aged, or advanced in years. They were generally large men, with finely developed brows — natural selection had brought the great heads to the top of affairs. Some were clean- cut in feature, looking merely like successful busi- ness men ; others, like the Prince, showed signs of sensuality and dissipation, in the bagg}', haggard features. They were unquestionably an able as- sembly. There were no orators among them ; they possessed none of the arts of the rostrum or the platform. They spoke sitting, in an awkward, hesi- tating manner ; but what they said was shrewd and 138 CESAR'S COLUMN. always to the point. They had no secretaries or re- porters. They could ti'ust no one with their se- crets. Their conclusions were conveyed by the presi- dent — Prince Cabano — to one man, who at once comnmnicatod what was needful to their g-reater agents, and these in turn to the lesser agents ; and so the streams of authority flowed, with lightning- like speed, to the remotest parts of the so-called Re- public; and many a man was struck down, ruined, crushed, destroyed, who had little suspicion that the soundless bolt which slew him came from that far- away chamber. The Prince W(^lcomed each newcomer pleasantly, and assigned him to his place. When all were seated he spoke : "I have called you together, gentlemen," he said, "because we have xery important business to trans- act. The evidences multiply that we are probably on the eve of another outbreak of the restless canaille ; it may be upon a larger scale than any we have yet encountered. The filthy wretches seem to grow more desperate everj' year ; othei-wise they would not rush upon certain death, as tlioy seem disposed to do. "I have two men in this house whom I thought it better that you should see and hear face to face. The first is General Jacob Quincy, commander of the forces which man our ten thousand air-ships, or Demons, as they are p()])ularly called. I think it is understood by all 'of us that, in these men, and the deadly bombs of poisonous gas with which Ihoir ves- sels are e(|uip]icd, we must find our chief dependence for salety and continued power. AVe must not forget that we are outnumbered a thousand to one, and the W'Orld grows very restive under our domination. If CESAR'S COLUMN. 139 it were not for the Demons and the poison-bombs, I should fear the results of the coming contest — with these, victory is certain. "Quincy, on behalf of his men, demands another increase of pay. We have alread}' several times 3'ielded to similar applications. We are some\vhat in the condition of ancient Rome, Avhen the praetorians murdered the emperor Pertiuax, and sold the impe- rial crown to Didius Julianus. These men hold the control of the continent in their hands. Fortunately for us, they are not yet fulh^ aware of their own power, and are content to merely demand an inci-ease of pay. We cannot quarrel with them at this time, with a great insurrection pending. A refusal might drive them over to the enemy. I mention these facts so that, whatever demands General Quincy may make, however extravagant they may be, you Avill express no dissatisfaction. When he is gone we can talk over our plans for the future, and decide what course we will take as to these troublesome men when the outbreak is over. I shall have something to propose after he leaves us." There was a general expression of ap[)roval around the table. " There is another party here to-night," continued the Prince. " He is a very shrewd and cunning spy ; a member of our secret police service. He goes by the name of Stephen Andrews in his intercourse with me. What his real name may be I know not. "You are aware we have had great trouble to ascertain anything definitely about this new organiza- tion, and have succeeded but indifferently. Their plans seem to be so well taken, and their cunning so great, that all our attempts have come to naught. 140 CESAR'S COLUMN. Many of our spies have disappeared; the pohce can- not learn what becomes of them; they are certainly dead, bnt none of their bodies are ever found. It is supposed that they have been murdered, loaded with wei<2:hts and sunk in the river. This man Andrews has so far escaped. He works as a mechanic — in fact, he really is such — in one of the shops; and he is apparently tlio most violent and bitter of our enemies. He will hold intercourse with no one but me, for he suspects all the city police, and he comes here but seldom — not more than once in two or three months — when I pay him liberallj' and assign him to new work. The last task I gave him was to dis- cover who are the leaders of the miserable creatures in this new conspiracy. He has found it very difficult to obtain any positive information upon this point. The organization is very cunningly contrived. The Brotherhood is made up in groups often. No one of the rank and file knows more than nine other members associated with him. The leaders of these groups often are selected b3' a higher power. Thes(- leaders are again organized in groups of ten, undei- a leader again selected by a higher power; but in this sf'cond gioup often no man knows his fellow's name or face; they meet always masked. And so the scale i-ises. The highest body of all is a group of one hun- dred, selected out of thtMvhole foree by an executive committee. Andrews has at length, after j'ears of patient waiting and working, been selected as one of this upjjcr hundred. He is to be initiated to-morrow niffht. He came to nn> for moremonev: for he feels he is placing himself in gi-eat danger in goinginto the den of the chief consjni-ators. I told him that I thought you would like to question him, and so he CESAR'S COLUMN. 141 has returned again to-night, disguised in the dress of a woman, and he is now in the Hbrary awaiting your pleasure. I think we had better see him before we hear what Quincy has to sa^'. Shall I send for him?" General assent being given, he stepped to the door and told Rudolph to bring up the woman he would find in the library. In a few moments the door opened and a tall personage, dressed hke a woman, with a hea\\y veil over her face, entered. The Prince said: " Lock the door and come forward." The figure did so, advanced to the table and re- moved the bonnet and veil, disclosing the dark, bronzed face of a workman — a keen, shrewd, observ- ant, watchful, strong face. CHArTER XIV. THE spy's story. ''Andrews," said the Prince, ''tell these "entlemen what you have found out about the extent of this organization and the personaHt\' of its leaders? "' " M}' lord,'' repHed the man, " I can speak only by hearsay — from whispers which I have heard in a thousand places, and by piecing together scraps of information which I have gathered in a great many ways. I do not yet speak positively. After to-mor- row night I hope to be able to tell jon everything." " I understand the difficulties you have to contend with," replied the Prince; "and these gentlemen will not hold you to a strict accountability for the cor- rectness of what you have gathered in that way." "You can have no idea," said Andrews, '"of the difficulty of obtaining information. It is a terrible organization. I do not think that anything like it has ever existed before on the earth. One year ago there were fifteen of us engaged in this work ; I am the only one left alive to-night." His face grew paler as he s])oke. and there was a visible start and sensation about the council board. "This organization," he continued, "is called '27ve Brotlifi-hood of Destruction.'' It extends all over Europe and America, and numbers, I am told, one hundred rniUion members.'' "Can that be possible?" asked one gentleman, in astonishment. 143 CESAR'S COLUMN. 143 "I believe it to be true," said Andrews, solemnly. "Nearly every workman of good character and sober habits in New York belongs to it ; and so it is in all our great cities; while the blacks of the South are members of it to a man. Their former masters have kept them in a state of savagery, instead of civil- izing and elevating them; and the result is they are as barbarous and bloodthirsty as their ances- tors were when brought from Africa, and fit subjects for such a terrible organization." ''What has caused such a vast movement?" asked another gentleman. "The universal misery and wretchedness of the working classes, in the cities, on the farms — every- where," replied Andrews. ''Are they armed?" asked another of the Council. "It is claimed," said Andrews, "that every one of the hundred millions possesses a magazine rifle of the most improved pattern, nvith abundance of fixed ammunition." "I fear, my good man," said another member of the Council, with a sneer, "that you have been fright- ened by some old woman's tales. Where could these men buy such weapons? What would they buy them with? Where would they hide them? Our armories and manufacturers are forbidden by law to sell fire- arms, unless under special permit, signed by one of our trusty officers. The value of those guns would in itself be a vast sum, far beyond the means of those miserable wretches. And our police are constantly scouring the cities and the country for weapons, and they report that the people possess none, except a few old-fashioned, worthless fowling-pieces, that have come down from father to son." 144 CESAR'S rnr.nrx. '•As 1 said before," replied Andrews, '*I tell you only what I have gleaned among,- the workmen in those secret whispers which pass from one man's mouth to another man's ear. I may be misin- formed : but I am told that these rifles are manufact- ured by the men themselves (for, of course, all the skilled work of all kinds is done by workingmen) in some remote and desolate ])arts of Europe or Anjer- ica; they are furnished at a very low price, at actual cost, and paid for in small installments, during; many years. They are delivered to the captains of tens and by them buried in rubber bags in the earth." "Then that accounts," said one man, who had not yet spoken, "for a curious incident which oc- curred the other day near the town of Zhitomir, in the province of Volhynia, Russia, not very far from the borders of Austria. A |)easant made an offer to the police to deliver up, for 200 rubles, and a prom- ise of pardon for himself, nine of his fellow conspira- tors and their rifles. His terms were acce])te(l and he was paid the money. He led the officers to a i)lace in his barnyard, where, under a manure-heap, they dug up ten splendid rifles of American make, with fixed ammunition, of tlie most improved kind, the whole inclosed in a I'ubber bag to keej) out the damp. Nine other peasants were arrested ; they were all subjected to the knout ; but neither they nor their captain could tell anything more lliau he had at first revealed. The Russian news])a])ers have been full of speculations as to how the riflc^s came there, but could arrive at no reasonable ex i)la na- tion." "What became of the men?" asked Andrews, curiously. CESAR'S COLUMN. 145 "Nine of them were sent to Siberia for life; the tenth man, \\\\o had revealed the hiding'-place of the g:iins, was murdered that night with his wife and all his family, and his house burned up. Even two of his brothers, who lived near him, but had taken no part in the matter, were also slain." "I expected as much," said Andrews quietly. This unlooked-for corroboration of the spy's story produced a marked sensation, and there wns profound silence for some minutes. At last the Prince spoke up : "Andrews," said he, "what did you learn about the leaders of this organization ? " "There are three of them, I am told," replied the spy; "they constitute what is known as 'the Execu- tive Committee.' The commander-in-chief, it is whis- pered, is called, or was called— for no ou(^ can tell what his name is now — Csesar Lomellini; a man of Italian descent, but a native of South Carolina. He is, it is said, of immense size, considerable abihty, and the most undaunted courage. His history is singular. He is now about forty-five years of age. In his youth, so the stor^^ goes, he migrated to the then newly settled State of Jefferson, on the upper waters of the Saskatchewan. He had married early, like all his race, and had a family. He settled down on land and went to farming. He was a quiet, peaceable, industrious man. One year, just as he was about to harvest his crops, a discharge of light- ning killed his horses; they were the only ones he had. He was without the means to purchase another team, and without horses he could not gather his harvest. He was therefore forced to mortgage his land for enough to buy another pair of 10 146 CESAR'S COLUMN. horses. The money-lender demanded large interest on the loan and an exorbitant bonus besides; and as the ' bankers,' as they called themselves, had an or- ganization, he could not get the money at a lower rate anywliere in that vicinity. It was the old story. The cro])s failed sometimes, and when they did not fail the combinations and trusts of one sort or another swept away Ciesar's profits; then he had to renew the loan, again and again, at higher rates of interest, and with still greater bonuses; then the farm came to be regarded as not sufficient security for the debt; and the horses, cattle, machiner^^ everj'thing he had was covered with mortgages. Cjpsar worked like a slave, and his family toiled along with him. At last the crash came; he was driven out of his home ; the farm and all had been lost for the price of a pair of horses. Right on the heels of this calamity, Caesar learned that his eldest daughter — a beautiful, dark-eyed girl — had been se- duced by a lawj'-er — the agent of the money-lender — and would in a few months become a another. Then all the devil that lay hid in the depths of the man's nnture broke forth. That night the lawyer was at- tacked in his bed and literally hewed to pieces: the same fate overtook the money-lender. Before morn- ing CiTesar and his family had fled to the inhospitable mountain regions north of the settlement. There he gathered around him a band of men as desperate as himself, and waged bloody and incessant war on so- ciety. He seemed, however, to have a method in liis crimes, for, while he spared the poor, no man who preyed upon his fellow-men was safe for an hour. At length the government massed a number of troops in the vicinity ; the place got too hot for him ; C*sar CESAR'S COLUMN. 147 and his men fled to the Pacific coast; and nothing more was heard of him for three or four years. Then the terrible negTO insurrection broke out in the lower Mississippi A^alley, which you all remember, and a white man, of gigantic stature, appeared as their leader, a man of great daring and enterprise. When that rebellion had been suppressed, after many battles, the white man disappeared; and it is now- claimed that he is in this city at the head of this ter- rible Brotherhood of Destruction ; and that he is the same Caesar Lomellini who was once a peaceful farmer in the State of Jefferson." The spy paused. The Prince said : " Well, who are the others? " "It is reported that the second in command, but really 'the brains of the organization,' as he is called by the men, is a Russian Jew. His name I could not learn; very few have seen him or know anj^thing about him. He is said to be a cripple, and to have a crooked neck. It is reported he was driven out of his synagogue in Russia, years ago, for some crimes he had committed. He is believed to be the man who organized the Brotherhood in Europe, and he has come here to make the two great branches act together. If what is told of him be true, he must be a man of great ability, power and cunning." "Who is the third? " asked the Prince. •'There seems to be more obscurity about him than either of the others," replied the spy. "I heard once that he was an American, a young man of great wealth and ability, and that he had fur- nished much of the money needed to carry on the Brotherhood. But this again is denied by others. Jenkins, who was one of our party, and who was 148 CESAR'S COLUMN. killed some months since, told nic in our last inter- view, that he had penetrated far enough to find out Avho the third man was ; and he told me this curious story, which may or may not be true. He said that several j'ears ago there lived in this city a man of large fortune, a lawyer by education, but not en- gaged in the practice of his profession, by the name of Arthur Phillips. He was a. benevolent man, of scholarly tastes, and something of a di-eamer. He had made a study of the works of all the great socialist writers, and had become a convert to their theories, and very nmch interested in the cause of the working people. He established a monthly jour- nal for the dissemination of his views. He s])oke at the meetings of the workmen, and was very much beloved and respected by them. Of course, so Jenkins said, all this was very distasteful to the rul- ing class (I am only rep(»ating the story as it was told to me, your lordships will please remember), and they began to persecute him. First he was ostracised from his caste. I'lit this did not ti'ouble him much. He had no family but his wife and one son who was away at the univei-sity. He redoubled his exertions to benefit the working classes. At this time he had a lawsuit about some property with a. wealthy and influential man, a member of the government. In the course of the trial Phillips produced a writing, which piiii)or1ed to be signed by two men, and witnesser.came up and swore, point- blank, that their alleged signatures were foigeries. There were four oaths against one. Phillips lost his CESAR'S COLUMN. 149 case. But this was not tlie worst of it. The next day he was indicted for forgery and perjury; and, despite his Avealth and tlie efforts of the ablest coun- sel he could employ, he was convicted and sentenced to twenty years' penal servitude in the state prison. His Mends said he was innocent; that he had been sacrificed by the ruling class, who feared him and desired to destroy him; that all the witnesses had been suborned by large sums of money to swear as they did ; that the jury was packed, the judge one of their tools, and even his own lawyers corrupted. After several years his son — who bore the same name as himself — Arthur Phillips— returned from the university; and Jenkins told me that he had learned, in some m.ysterious way, that this was really the man who, out of revenge for the wrongs inflicted on his father, was now the third member of the Executive Committee of the Brotherhood, and had furnished them with large sums of money." As this story progressed, listened to most attent- ively by all, I noticed that one large man, flashily dressed, flushed somewhat, and that the rest turned and looked at him. When Andrews stopped, the Prince said, cjuietly : "Count, that is your man." "Yes," replied the man spoken to, very coolly. "There is, however, no truth," he added, "in the lat- ter part of the story; fori have had detectives shadow young Phillips ever since he returned to the city, and they report to me that he is a shallow, dissipated, drunken, worthless fellow, who spends his time about saloons and running after actresses and singers; and that it will not be long until he will have neither health nor fortune left." 150 CESAR'S COLUMN. I need not say that I was an intent listener to everytliing, and especially to the latter part of the spy's story. I pieced it out with what Maximilian had told me, and felt certain that Maximilian Petion and Arthur Phillips were one and the same person. I could now understand why it was that a gentleman so intelligent, frank and kindly by nature could have engaged in so desperate and bloody a conspiracy. Nor could I, with that awful narrative ringing in my ears, blame him much. What struck me most forcibly was that there was no attempt, on the i)art of the Count, to deny the sinister part of Jenkins' story ; and the rest of the Council evidently had no doubt of its truth; nor did it seem to lessen him a particle in their esteem. In. fact, one man said, and the rest assented to the sentiment : "Well, it is a lucky thing the villain is locked up, anyhow." There were some among these men whose faces were not bad. Under favorable circumstances they might have been good and just men. But they were the victims of a pernicious system, as fully as were the poor, shambling, ragged wretches of the streets and slums, wiio had been ground down by their acts into drunkenness and crime. ''When will the outbreak come? " asked one of the Council. " That I cannot tell," said Andrews. " They seem to be waiting for something, or there is a hitch in their plans. The men are eager to break forth, and are only held back by the leaders. By their talk they are confident of success when the insurrection does come." " What are their plans? " asked the Prince. CESAR'S COLUMN. 151 "They have none," replied Andrews, "except to burn, rob, destroy and murder. They have long lists of the condemned, 1 am told, including all those here present, and hundreds of thousands besides. They will kill all the men, women and children of the aristocracy, except the young girls, and these will be reserved for a worse fate — at least that is what the men about the beer-houses mutter between their cups." The members of the government looked uneasy ; some even were a trifle pale. "Can you come here Wednesday night next and tell us what you learn during your visit to their 'Council of One Hundred '?" asked the Prince. " Yes," replied Andrews — "if I am alive. But it is dangerous for me to come here." "Wait in the library," said the Prince, "until I am at liberty, and I will give you an order for the thousand dollars I promised you ; and also a key that will admit you to this house at any hour of the day or night. Gentlemen," he said, turning to his associates, "have 3^ou an}' further questions to ask this man? " They had none, and Andrews withdrew. "I think," said the Prince, "we had better reas- semble here on Wednesday night. Matters are grow- ing critical." This was agreed to. The Prince stepped to the door and whispered a few w'ords to Kudolph. CHAPTER XV. THE MASTER OF "THE DEMONS." The door, in a few minutes, opened, and closed l)t'liind a tall, handsome, military -looking man, in a hiight uniform, with the iusig-nia of a brigadier-gen- eral of the United States army on his shoulders. The Prince greeted him respectfully and invited him to a seat. "General Quincy," said the Prince, "I need not introduce you to these gentlemen; you have met them all before. I have told them that you desired to speak to them about matters relating to your command ; and they are ready to hear you." "Gentlemen," said the General, rising to his feet, "I regret to have to approach ^-ou once more in reference to the pay of the officers and men of my command. I fear you will think them impoi-tunate, if not uni-easonable. I am not here of my own volition, but as the mouthpiece of others. Neither have I incited them to make these demands for in- creased pay. The officers and men seem to have a high sense of their great importance in the present condition of public affairs. They openly dcviai-e that liiose they maintain in power are enjoying royal affluence, which they could not possess for a single day without their aid; and therefore they claim that they should be well paid." The General paused, and the Prince said, in his smoothest tones : CJ^SAR'S COLUMN. 153 "That is not an unreasonable view to take of the matter. What do they ask ? ' ' "I have here," rephed the General, drawing a paper from his pocket, "a schedule of their de- mands, adopted at their last meeting." He handed it to the Prince. "You will see," he continued, "that it ranges from |5,000 per 3'ear, for the common soldiers, up through the different grades, to f 25,000 per year for the commanding officer." Not a man at the Council table winced at this extraordinary demand. The Prince said : "The salaries asked for are high; but they will come out of the public taxes and not from our pock- ets ; and if you can assure me that 3'our command, in view of this increase of compensation, will work with increased zeal, faithfulness and courage on behalf of law, order and society, I, for one, should be disposed to accede to the demand you make. What say you, gentlemen? " There was a general expression of assent around the table. The commander of the Demons thanked them, and assured them that the officers and men would be glad to hear that their request was granted, and that the Council might depend upon their valor and devotion in any extremity of affairs. "Have you an abundant supply of the death- bombs on hand? " asked the Prince. "Yes, many tons of them," was the reply. " Are they well guarded ? " "Yes, with the utmost care. A thousand men of my command watch over them constantly." " Your air-vessels are in perfect order? " 154 CESAR'S COLUMN. "Yes; we drill and exercise with them evecy day." "You anticipate an outbreak?" "Yes ; we look for it any hour." "Have you any further questions to ask General Quincy ? " inquired the Prince. "None." ' He was bowed out and the door locked behind him. The Prince returned to his seat. " Gentlemen," he said, "that matter is settled, and we are safe for the present. But you can see the ticklish o-round we stand on. Those men will not rest satisfied with the immense concessions we have made them ; they will demand more and more as the con- sciousness of their power increases. They know we are afraid of them. In time they will assume the absolute control of the government, and our power will be at an end. If we resist them, they will have but to drop a few of their death-bombs through the roofs of our palaces, and it is all over with us." "What can we do? " asked two or three. "AVe must have recourse to history," he replied, "and profit by the experience of others similarly situated. In the thirteenth century the sultan of Egypt, Malek-ed-Adell the Second, organized a body of soldiery made up of slaves, bought from the Mon- gols, who had taken them in battle. They were called the Babri Mamelukes. They formed the Sultan's body-guard. They were mounted on the finest horses in the world, and clad in the most magnificent dresses. They were of oui- own white race — Circas- sians. But Malek had unwittingly created, out of the slaves, a dangerous power. They, not nmny years afterward, deposed and murdered his son, and placed their general on the throne. For several CESAR'S COLUMN. 155 generations they ruled Egypt. To circumscribe their power a new army of jNIamelukes was formed, called the Borgis. But the cure was as bad as the disease. In 1382 the Borgi Mamelukes rose up, overthrew their predecessors, and made their leader, Barkok, supreme ruler. This d3'nasty held power until 1517, when the Ottoman Turks conquered Egypt. The Turks perceived that they must either give up Egypt or destroy the Mamelukes. They massacred them in great numbers; and, at last, Mehemet Ali beguiled four hundred and seventy of their leaders into the citadel of Cairo, and closed the gates, and ordered his mercenaries to fire upon them. But one man escaped. He leaped his horse from the ramparts and escaped unhurt, although the horse was killed by the prodigious fall. '' Now, let us apply this teaching of history. I pro- pose that after this outbreak is over we shall order the construction of ten thousand more of these air- vessels, and this will furnish us an excuse for sending a large force of apprentices to the present command to learn the management of the ships. We will select from the circle of our relatives some young, able, reliable man to 'command these new troops. We will then seize upon the magazine of bombs and arrest the officers and men. We will charge them with treason. The officers we Avill execute, and the men we will send to prison for life; for it would not be safe, with their dangerous knowledge, to liberate them. After that we will keep themagazine of bombs and the secret of the poison in the custody of men of our own caste, so that the troops commanding the air-ships will never again feel that sense of power which now possesses them." 156 CESAR'S COLFMX. These plans met v:\th j^eneral approval. "lUit what are we to do with the coining out- break?" asked one of the councilors. "I have thought of that, too," replied the Prince. "It is our interest to make it the occasion of a tre- mendous massacre, such as the world has never before witnessed. Thei-e are too many people on the earth, anyhow. In this way we will strike such terror into the hearts of the canaille that thc}^ will remain submissive to our will, and the domination of our children, for centuries to come. " "But how will you accomplish that?" a.sked one. " Easily enough," replied the Prince. " You know that the first step such insurgents usually take is to tear up the streets of the city and ei-ect barricades of stones and earth and everything else they can lay their hands on. Heretofore we have tried to stop them. My advice is that we let them alone — let them build theii- bai'ricades ns high and as strong as the}' please, and if they leave any outlets unob- structed, let our soldiers close them uj) in the same way. We have then got them in a rat-t^'ap, sur- rounded by barricades, and every street and alley outside occupied by our troops. If there are a million in the trap, so much the better. Then let our flock of Demons sail up over them and begin to drop their fatal bombs. The whole streets within the barricades will soon be a sea of invisible poison. If the insurgents try to fly th(\v will find in their own barricades the walls of their prison-house; and if they attempt to scale them they will be met, face to face, with our massed troo])s, who will be instructed to take no prisonei-s. If they break into the adja- cent houses to escape, our men will follow from the CESAR'S COLUMN. 157 back streets and gardens and bayonet them at their leisure, or fling them back into the poison. If ten milhons are slain all over the world, so much the better. There will be more room for what are left, and the world will sleep in peace for centuries. "These plans will be sent out, with your ap- proval, to all our cities, and to Europe. When the rebellion is crushed in the cities, it will not take long to subdue it among the v^'retehed peasants of the country, and our children will rule this world for ages to come." CHAPTER XVI. Gabriel's folly. While the applause that followed this diabolical scheme rang loud and long around the council- chamber, I stood there paralyzed. My eyes dilated and my heart beat furiously. I was overwhelmed with the dreadful, the awful prospect, so coolly pre- sented by that impassive, terrible man. My imag- ination was always vivid, and I saw the whole horrid reality unrolled before me hke a panorama. The swarming streets filled with the oppressed peo- ple; the dark shadows of the Demons floating over them ; the first bomb ; the terror; the confusion ; the gasping of the dying; the shrieks, the groans — another and another bomb falling here, there, ever3'where; the surging masses rushing from death to death; the wild flight; the barricades a line of fire and bayonets; the awful and contin- uous rattle of the guns, sounding like the grinding of some dreadful machinery that crunches the bones of the living; the recoil from the bullets to the poison; the wounded stumbling over the dead, now covering the streets in strata several feet thick; and still the bombs crash and the poison spreads. Death ! death ! nothing but death ! Ten millioD fiend ! Oh, my God ! I clasped my head — it felt as if it would burst. I must save the world from such a calamity. These men are human. They cannot be insensible to an appeal for mercy— for justice! CESAR'S COLUMN. 159 Carried awav bv these thoughts, I stooped down and unc'las))cd the hooks; I pushed aside the box; I crawled out ; the next moment I stood before them in the full glare of the electric lamps. "For God's sake," I cried, "save the world from such an awful calamity! Have pity on mankind; even as you hope that the Mind and Heart of the Universe will have pity on you. I have heard all. Do not plunge tiie earth into horrors that will shock the very stars in their courses. The world can be saved! It can be saved! You have power. Be pitiful. Let me speak for you. Let me go to the leaders of this insurrection and bring you together." " He is mad," said one. "No, no," I replied, "I am not mad. It is you that are mad. It is the wretched people who are mad — mad with suffering and misery, as you with pride and hardness of heart. You are all men. Hear their demands. Y'ield a little of your surperflu- ous blessings ; and touch their hearts with kindness, and love will spring up like flow^ers in the track of the harrow. For the sake of Christ Jesus, who died on the cross for all men, I appeal to you. Be just, be generous, be merciful. Are they not your breth- ren? Have they not souls like yourselves? Speak, speak, and I will toil as long as I can breathe. I will wear the flesh from off my bones, if I can reconcile the castes of this wretched society, and save civiliza- tion."" The Prince had recoiled with terror at my first entrance. He had now rallied his faculties. " How did you come here? " he asked. Fortunately the repulsive coldness with which the Council had met my earnest appeals, which I had 160 CESAR'S COLUMN. fairly shrieked at them, had restored to some extent the balauce of my reason. The thought flashed over me that I must not betray Rudolph. " Through yonder open Avindow," I replied. " How did you reach it? " asked the Prince. '• 1 climbed up the ivy vine to it." " What did you come here for? " he asked. *'To appeal to you, in the name of God, to pro- vent the coming of thia dreadful outbreak." "The man is a religious fanatic," said one of tlu' Council to another; "probably one of the street preachers." The Prince drew two or three of the leaders together, and they whispered for a few minutes. Then he went to the door and spoke to Rudolph. 1 caught a few words: "Not leave— alive — send foi- Macarius — midnight — garden. " Rudolph advanced and took me by the arm. Tln^ revulsion had come. I was dazed — overwhelmed. There swept ov<'r me, like the rush of a flood, th(^ dreadful thought: "What will become of Kstella?"' I went with him like a child. I was armed, but an infant might have slain me. When we wei-e in the hall, Rudolph said to me, in n hoarse whisper: " I heard everything. You meant nobly ; but yon were foolish — wild. You might have ruined us all. P>ut there is a chance of escape yet. It will ho an hour before the nssassin will arrive. I can secure that much delay. In the meantime, be prudent and silent, and follow my directions imphcitly." I promised, very humbly, to do so. CHAPTER XVII. THE FLIGHT AND PURSUIT. He opened the door of a room and pushed me into it. '' Wait," he whispered, "for my orders." 1 looked around me. It was Rudolph's room — the one I had been in before. I was not alone. There was a young- gentleman standing at a window, looking out into the garden. He turned around and advanced toward me, with his hand extended and a smile on his face. It was Estella! looking more charming than ever in her masculine dress. I took her hand. Then my heart smote me ; and I fell upon my knees before her. "O Estella," I cried, "pardon me. I would have sacrificed you for mankind — you that are dearer to me than the whole human race. Like a fool I broke from my hiding-place, and appealed to those hearts of stone — those wild beasts — those incarnate fiends — to spare the world the most dreadful cal^amity it has ever known. They proposed to murder ten mill- ion human beings! I forgot my task — my duty — you — my own safety — everything, to save the world." Her eyes dilated as I spoke, and then, without a trace of mock modesty, without a blush, .she laid her hand upon rn,y head and said simply : "If you had done less, I should have loved you less. What am I in the presence of such a catas- trophe? But if you are to die we can at least perish 11 '6i 162 CESAR'S COLUMN. • together. In that we have the mastery of our ene- mies. Our liberty' is beyond their power." "But you shall not die," I said, wildly-, apriuging to my feet. " The assassin comes ! Give me the poisoned knife. When he opens the door I shall slay him. I shall bear 3'ou with me. AVho will dare to arrest our departure with that dreadful weapon — that in- stantaneous death — shining in m}' hand. Besides, I carry a hundred lives at my girdle. Once in the streets, we can escape." She took from the pocket of her coat the sheathed dagger and handed it to me. " We must, however, be guided by the counsels of Rudolph," she quietly said; "he is a faithful friend." "True," I replied. We sat near each other. I presumed nothing upon the great admission she had so gravely made. This was a woman to be worshiped rather than wooed. I told her all the story of my life. I described my liomeinthat strange, wild, ancient, lofty land; my mother, my brothers; the wide, old, room}^ house; the trees, the flowers, the clustering, bleating sheep. A half hour passed. The door opened. A burst of laughter and the clinking of glasses resouuded through it. Rudolph entered. "The Prince and his friends," he said, "make merry over their assui-ed victory. If you wiU tell Maximilian all you have heard to-night, the result may be different from what they anticipate. Come with me." He led the way through a suite of two or three rooms which communicated with his apartment. "We must throw the hounds off the sCent of the fox," he said ; and, to our astonishment, he proceeded CJESAR'S COLUMN. 163 to tear down the heavy nirtaiiis from two windows, having first locked the door and closed the outer shut- ters. He then tore the curtains into long strips, knotting them together; we pulled upon them to test their strength. He then opened one of the windows and dropped the end of the long rope thus formed out of it, fastening the other end to a heavy piece of furniture, within the room. "That will account for your escape," he said. "I have already thrown the rope ladder from the win- dow of the room Estella occupied. These precautions are necessary for my own safety." Tlien, locking the communicating doors, we re- turned to his room. " Put this cloak over your shoulders," he said; "it will help disguise you. Walk boldly down these stairs," opening another door— not the one we had entered by ; "turn to the right— to the right, remem- ber — and on your left hand 3'ou will soon find a door — the first you will come to. Open it. Say to the man on guard : ' Show me to the carriage of Lord Southworth." There is no such person; but that is the signal agreed upon. He will lead you to the carriage. ^Maximilian is the footman. Farewell, and may God bless you." We shook hands. I followed his directions ; we met no one; I opened the door; the guard, as soon as I uttered the pass-word, led me, through a mass of car- riages, to where one stood somewhat back under some overhanging trees. The footman hurried to open the door. I gave my hand to Estella; she sprang in; I followed her. But this little movement of instinctive courtesy on my pai't toward a woman had been noticed by one of the many spies 164 CESAR'S COLUMN. hanging around. He thought it strange that one man sliould offer his hand to assist another into a carriage. He whispered his suspicions to a comrade. We had hardly gone two blocks from the palace when Maximilian leaned down and said: "I fear we are followed." Our carriage turned into another street, and then into another. I looked out and could see — for the streets werevery bright with the magnetic light — that, some distance behind us, came two carriages close together, while at a greater distance, behind them, I caught sight of a third vehicle. Maximilian leaned down again and said : " We are certainly pursued by two carriages. The third one I recognize as our own — the man with the bombs. We will drive to the first of the houses we have secured. Be ready to spring out the moment we stop, and follow me quickly into the house, for all depends on the rapidity of our mov^ements." In a little while the carriage suddenly stopped. T took Estella's hand. She needed no help. Maximil- ian was ascending the steps of a house, key in hand. We followed. I looked back. One of our ]Mirsuers was a block awa}^; the other a little behind him. The carriage with the bombs I could not see — it might be obscured by the trees, or it might have lost us in the fierce speed with which we had tiaveled. "Quick," said Maximilian, pulling us in and lock- ing the door. We followed him, running through a long, lighted hall, out into a garden ; a gate flew open; we rushed across the street and sprang into another cari-iage; Maximilian leaped to his jjlace; crack went the whip, and away we fiew ; but on the CJESAR'S COLUMN. 165 instant tlie (]ni<'k eyes of my friend saw, rapidly whirling;- around llie next conier, one of the carriages that had been pursning- ns. "They suspected our tiick," said he. "Where, in heaven's name, is the man with the bombs? " he add- ed, anxiously. Our horses were swift, but still that shadow clung to us ; the streets were still and deserted, for it was after midnight ; but the\^ were as bright as if the full moon shone in an unclouded sky. "Ah! there he comes, at last," said Maximilian, with a sigh of relief. "I feared we might meet an- other carriage of the police, and this fellow behind us would call it to his help, and our case would be desperate, as they would know our trick. We should have to fight for it. Now observe what takes place." Estella, kneeling on the cushions, looked out through the glass window in the back of the car- riage ; I leaned far out at the side. "See, Estella," I cried, "how that hindmost team flies! They move like race-horses on the course." Nearer and nearer they come to our pursuers; they are close behind them ; the driver of the front carriage seems to know that there is danger; he lashes his horses furiously; it is in vain. Now they are side by side — side by side for a tiine; but now our friends forge slowly ahead. The driver of the beaten team suddenly pulls his horses back on their haunches. It is too late. A man stands up on the seat of the front carriage — it is an open barouche. I could see his arm describe an arc through the air ; the next instant the whole street was ablaze with a flash of brilliant red light, and the report of a tre- 166 CESAR'S COLUMN. mendous explosion rang in ray ears. Through the smoke and dust I could diml^^ see the horses of our pursuers piled in a heap upon the street, kicking, plunging, dying. "It is all right now," said Maximilian quietly; and then he spoke to the driver: "Turn the next corner to the left." After having made several changes of direction — with intent to throw any other possible pursuers off the track — and it being evident that we were not followed, except by the carriage of our friends, we drove slowly to Maximilian's house and alighted. The sweet-faced old lady took the handsome, seeming boy, Estella, in her arms, and with hearty cordiality welcomed her to her new home. We left them together, mingling tears of joy. Max and I adjourned to the library, and there, at his request, I told him all that had hajipened in the council-chamber. He smoked his cigar and listened attentively. His face darkened as I repeated the spy 's story, but he neither admitted nor denied the truth of that part which I thought related to himself. When I told him about the commander of the air- ships, his interest was so great that his cigar went out; and when I narrated the conversation which occurred after General Quincy had left the room his face lighted up with a glow of joy. He listened intently to the account of the Prince's plan of battle, and smiled grimly. But when I told how I came from my hidiiig-]»lac<' and appealed to the Oligarchy to spare mankind, he rose from his chair and walked the room, profoundly agitated; and when I had fin- ished, by narrating how Rudolph led me to his room, to the presence of Estella, he threw his arms around CESAR'S COLUMN. 167 my neck, and said, "You dear old fool! It was just like you;" but I could see that his eyes were wet with emotion. Then he sat for some time in deep thought. At last he said : "Gabriel, would you be willing to do something more to serve me? ". "Certainly," I replied; "anything." "Would you go with me to-morrow night and tell this tale to the council of our Brotherhood? ]\Iy own life and the lives of my friends, and the liberty; of one dear to me, may depend upon your doing so." " I shall go with you most wilhngly," I said. "To tell you the truth," I added, " while I cannot approve of your terrible Brotherhood, nevertheless what I have seen and heard to-night satisfies me that the Plutocrats should no longer cumber the earth with their presence. j\len who can coollj^ plot, amid laugh- ter, the death of ten million human beings, for the purpose of preserving their ill-gotten wealth and their ill-used power, should be exterminated from the face of the planet as enemies of mankind — as poison- ous snakes — vermin." He grasped m}^ hand and thanked me. It was pleasant to think, that night, that Estella loved me ; that I had saved her ; that we were undoi- the same roof; and I wove visions in my brain brighter than the dreams of fairyland ; and Estella moved everywhere amid them, a radiant angel. CHAPTER XVIII. THE KXKCITIOX. "Now, (lAniMHi./' said Max, ''I will have to blind- fold you — not that I mistrust you, but that I have to satisfy the laws of our society and the scruples of others." This was said just before we opened the door. He folded a silk handkerchief over ni}^ face, and led me down the steps and seated me iu a carriage. He gave some whispered directions to the driver, and away we rolled. It was a long- drive. At last I ob- served that peculiar salty and limy smell in the air, which told me we were approaching the river. The place was very still and solitary'. There were no sounds of vehicles or foot-passengers. The carriage slowed up, and we stopy)ed. "This waj''," said Max, opening the door of the carriage, and leading me by the hand. Wo walked a few steps; we paused; there were low whisperings. Then we descended a long flight of steps ; the air had a heavy and subterranean smell ; we hurried forward through a large chamber; I imagined it to be the cel- lar of some abandoned warehouse; the light came faintly through the bandage over my face, and I in- ferred that a guide was carrying a lantern before us. Again we stoi)y)ed. There was more whispering and the rattle of paper, as if the guards were examin- ing some document. Tiie whispering was renewed ; then^we entered and descended again a flight of steps, i6S CESAR'S COLUMN. 169 and again went forward for a short distance. The air was very damp and the smell earthy. Again I heard the whispering and the rattling of paper. There was delay. Some one within was sent for and came out. Then the door was flung open, and we en- tered a room in which the air api)eared to be drier than in those we had passed through, and it seemed to be lighted up. There were little movements and stirrings of the atmosphere which indicated that there were a number of persons in the room. I stood still. Then a stern, loud voice said : " Gabriel Weltstein, hold up your right hand." I did so. The voice continued : "You do solemnly swear, in the presence of Al- mighty God, that the statements you are about to make are just and true; that you are incited to make them neither by corruption, nor hate, nor any other unworthy motive; and that you will tell the truth and all the truth ; and to this you call all the terrors of the unknown world to witness ; and 3^ou willingly accept death if you utter anything that is false." I bowed my head. " What brother vouches for this stranger? " asked the same stern voice. Then I heard Maximilian. He spoke as if he was standing near my side. He said : "I do. If I had not been wilHng to vouch for him with my life, I should not have asked to bring him — not a member of our Brotherhood — into this presence. He saved my life ; he is a noble, just and honorable man — one who loves his kind, and would bless and help them if he could. He has a story to tell which concerns us all." 170 CESAR'S COLUMN. "Enough." said the voicp. "Were you present in the council-chamber of the Prince of Cabano last night ? If so, tell us what you saw and heard ? " Just then there was a slight noise, as if some one was moving quietly toward the door behind me, by which I had just entered. Then came another voice, whicli I had not before heard — a thin, shrill, strident, imperious voice — a voice that it seemed to me I shoud recognize again among a million. It cried out: ''Back to your seat! Richard, tell the guards to permit no one to leave this chamber until the end of our meeting." There was a shuffling of feet, and whispering, and then again profound silence. "Proceed," said the stern voice that had first spoken. Concealing all reference to Estella, and omitting to name Rudolph, whom I referred to simply as one of their Brotherhood known to Maximilian, I told, in the midst of a grave-like silence, how I had been hid- den in the room next to the council-chamber; and then I went on to give a concise history of what I had witnessed and heard. " Uncover his eyes ! " exclaimed the stern voice. Maximilian untied the handkerchief. For a mo- ment or two I was blinded by the sudden glare of light. Then, as my eyes recovered their function, I could see that I stood, as I had supposed, in the mid- dle of a large vault or cellar. Around the room, on rude benches, sat perhaps one hundred men. At the end, on a sort of dais, or raised platform, was a man of gigantic stature, masked and shrouded. Below him, upon a smaller elevation, sat another, whose head, I noticed even then, was crooked to one side. CESAR'S COLUMN. 171 Still below him, on a level with the floor, at a table, were two men who seemed to be secretaries. Every man present wore a black mask and a long cloak of dark material. Near me stood one similarly shrouded, who, I thought, from the size and figure, must be Maximilian. It was a solemn, silent, gloomy assemblage, and the sight of it thrilled through my very flesh and bones. I was not frightened, but appalled, as I saw all those eyes, out of those expressionless dark faces, fixed upon me. I felt as if they were phantoms, or dead men, in whom only the eyes lived. The large man stood up. He was indeed a giant. He seemed to uncoil himself from his throne as he rose. " Unmask,'' he said. There was a rustle, and the next moment the masks were gone and the cloaks had fallen down. It was an extraordinary assemblage that greeted my eyes; a long array of stern faces, dark and toil- hardened, with great, broad brows and solemn or sinister eyes. Last night I had beheld the council of the Plu- tocracy. Here was the council of the Proletariat. The large heads nt one end of the line were matched by the large heads at the other. A great injustice, or series of wrongs, working through many genera- tions, had wrought out results that in some sense duplicated each other. Brutality above had pro- duced bi'utality below ; cunning there was answered by cunning here; cruelty in the aristocrat was mir- rored by cruelty in the workman. High and low were alike victims— unconscious victims— of a sys- tem. The crime was not theirs: it lay at the door 172 CESAR'S COLUMN. of the shallow, indilTerent, silly generations of the past. My eyes soiijrht the officers. I noticed that Max- imilian was disiiuised — out of an excess of caution, as 1 supposed — with ej'e-glasses and a large dark mustache. His face, I knew, was really beardless. I turned to t\\e president. Such a man I had never seen before. He was, I should think, not less than six feet six inches high, and broad in propor- tion. His great arms hung down until the monstrous hands almost touched the knees. His skin was quite dark, almost negroid ; and a thick, close mat of curly black hair covered his huge head like a thatch. His face was muscular, ligamentous; with great bars, ridges and whelks of flesh, especiall3' about the jaws and on the forehead. But the e^'es fascinated me. They were the eyes of a wild beast, deep-set, sullen and glaring; they seemed to shine like those of the cat-tribe, with a luminosity of their own. This, then — I said to myself — must be CfBsar, the commander of the dreaded Brotherhood. A movement attracted me to the man who sat be- low him; he had spoken to the president. He was in singular contrast with his superior. He was old and withered. One hand seemed to be shrunken, and his head was pernmnently crooked to one side. The face was mean and sinister ; two fangs alone remained in his mouth ; his nose was hooked ; the eyes were small, sharp, penetrating and rest- less ; but the expanse of brow above them was grand and noble. It was one of those heads that look as if they had been packed full, and not an inch of space wasted. His person was unclean, however, and the hands and the long flnger-nails were black CESAR'S COLUMN. 173 with dirt. I should have picked him out anywhere as a very able and a very dan^^erous man. He was evidently the vice-president of whom the spy had spoken— the nameless Russian Jew who was ac- counted "the brains of the Brotherhood." "Gabriel Weltstein," said the giant, in the same stern, loud voice, "each person in this room will now pass before you,— the officers last; and,— under the solemn oath you have taken,— I call upon you to say whether the spy you saw last night in the council- chamber of the Pi-ince of Cabano is among them. But first, let me ask, did you see him clearly, and do you think you will be able to identify him? " "Yes," I replied; "he faced me for nearly thirty minutes, and I should certainly know him if I saw him again." " Brothers," said the president, "you will now — " But here there was a rush behind me. I turned toward the door. Two men were scuffling with a third, who seemed to be trying to break out. There were the sounds of a struggle ; then muttered curses ; then the quick, sharp report of a pistol. There was an exclamation of pain and more oaths; knives flashed in the air; others rushed pell-mell into tlie melee; and then the force of numbers seemed to triumph, and the crowd came, dragging a man forward to where I stood. His face was pale as death ; the blood streamed from a flesh wound on his forehead; an expression of dreadful terror glared out of his eyes ; he gasped and looked from right to left,. The giant had descended from his dais. He strode forward. The wretch was laid at ray feet. "Speak," said Cuesar, " is that the man? " "It is," I replied. 174 CJESARS COLUMN. The g:iant took another step, and he towered over the prostrate wretch. ''Brothers," he asked, "what is your judgment upon the spy ? '•' " Death !" ran,i>- the cry from a hundred throats. The giant put his hand in his bosom; there was a light in his terrible face as if he had long waited for such an hour. " Lift him up," he said. Two strong men held the spy by his arms ; they lifted him to his feet; he writhed and struggled and shrieked, but the hands that held him were of iron. "Stop!" said the thin, strident voice I had heard before, and thecrij)ple advanced into the circle. He addressed the prisoner: " Were you followed to this place? " "Yes, yes," eagerly cried the spy. "Spare me, spare me, and 1 will tell 3^ou everything. Three mem- bers of the police force were appointed to follow, in a carriage, the vehicle that brought me here. They were to wait about until the meeting broke up and then shadow the tallest man and a crook-necked man to their lodgings and identify them. They are now waiting in the dark shadows of the warehouse." "Did you have any signal agreed upon with them?" asked the cripple. "Yes," the wretch replied, conscious that he was giving up his associates to certain death, but willing to sacrifice the whole world if ho might save his own life. " Spare me, spare me, and I will tell you all." "Procppd," said the cripple. "I w(juld not trust myself to be known by them. I agreed with Prince Cabano upon a signal between CESAR'S COLUMN. 175 lis. I am to come to them, if I need their help, and say: '(lood evening, what time is it?' The reply is, ' It is thieves' time.' Then 1 am to say, 'Th(> more the better;' and they are to follow me.'' " Richard," said the cripple, " did 3^011 hear that? " -Yes." " Take six men with you ; leave them in the brew- house cellar; lead the police thither; throw the bodies in the river." The man called Richard withdrew, with his men, to his work of murder. The prisoner rolled his eyes appealingly around that dreadful circle. "Spare me!" he cried. "1 know the secrets of the banks. I can lead you into the Prince of Cabano's house. Do not kill me."» " Is that all ? " asked the giant. "Yes," replied the cripple. In an instant the huge man, hke some beast that had been long held back fi'om its prey, gave a leap forward, his face revealing terrible ferocity ; it was a tiger that glares, jjlunges and devours. I saw some- thing shining, brilliant and instantaneous as an elec- tric flash ; then there was the sound of a heavy blow. The spy sprang clean out of the hands that were holding him, high up in the air; and fell, close to me, stone dead. He had been dead, indeed, when he made that fearful leap. His heart was split in twain. His spring was not the act of the man ; it was the pro- test of the body against the rush of the departing spirit ; it was the clay striving to hold on to the soul. The giant stooped and wiped his bloody knife upon the clothes of the dead man. The cripple 176 CESAR'S COLUMN. laughed a crackling, hideous laugh. I hope God will never ]»ennit me to hear such a laugh again. Otheis took it up — it echoed all around the room. I could think of nothing but the cachinnations of the fiends as the black gates burst open and new- hordes of souls are flung, startled and shrieking, into hell. ''Thus die all the enemies of the Brotherhood!" cried the thin voice of the cripple. And long and loud they shouted. "Kemove the body through the back door,'' said the giant, "and throw it into the river." " Search his clothes first," said the cripple. They did so, and found the money which the Prince had ordered to be given him — it was the price of his life — and also a bundle of papers. The former was handed over to the treasurer of the Brother- hood ; the latter were taken possession of by the vice- president. Then, resuming his seat, the giant said : "Gabriel Weltstein, the Brotherhood thank you for the great service you have rendered them. We regret that your scruples will not permit you to become one of us; but we regard you as a, friend and we honor you as a man ; and if at any time the Brotherhood can serve you, be assured its full powers shall be put forth in your behalf." I was too much shocked by the awful scene I had just witnessed to do more than bow my head. "There is one thing more," he continued, " we shall ask of you ; and that is that you will repeat your story once again to another man, wdio will soon be brought here. We knew from Maximilian what you were about to tell, and we made our arrangements CESAR'S COLUMN. 177 accordingly. Do not start," he said, "or look alarmed — there will be no more executions." Turning to the men, he said: "Resume your masks. " He covered his own face, and all the rest did likewise. CHAPTER XIX. THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR. The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room. A seat was given me. There was a pause of perhaps ten min- utes. Not a whisper broke the silence. Then there came a rap at the door. The other secretary went to it. There was whispering and consultation ; then the door opened and the secretary and his two com- panions entered, leading a large man, blindfolded. He Avore a military uniform. They stopped in the middle of the room. "General Jacob Quincy,"' said the stern voice of the president, "before we remove the bandage from your e^^es I ask you to repeat, in this presence, the pledge you made to the representative of the Brotherhood, who called upon you to-day." The man said : "I was informed by your messenger that you had a communication to make to me which involved the welfare, and perhaps the lives, of the officers and men commanding and manning the air-vessels, or war-ships, called by the people 'TliP Demons.' You invited me heie under a ph^dge of safe conduct; you left your messenger with my men, as hostage for my return ; and I promised never to reveal to mor- tal ear anylhing that I might see or hear, except so far as it might be necessary, with your conseut, to »78 CESAR'S COLUMN. 179 do SO to warn my command of those dangers which you assure me threaten them. This promise I here renew, and swear by the Ahnighty God to keep it forever inviolate." '' Remove his bandage," said the president. They did so, and there stood before me the hand- some and intelligent officer whom 1 had seen last night in the Prince of Cabano's council-chamber. The president nodded to the cripple, as if by some pre-arrangement, and said, "Proceed." "General Jacob Quincy," said the thin, penetrat- ing voice of the vice-president of the Order, "you visited a certain house last night, on a matter of business, connected with your command. How many men knew of your visit? " "Three," said the general, with a surprised look. "I am to communicate the results to a meeting of my command to-morrow night; but I thought it better to keep the matter pretty much to myself until that time." " May I ask who were the men to whom you spoke of the matter?" "I might object to your question," he said, "but that I suppose something important lies behind it. The men were my brother, Col. Quincy; my adjutant- general, Captain Underwood, and my friend Major Hart Wright." "Do you- think any of these men would tell your story to any one else? " "Certainly not. I would venture my life upon their prudence and secrecy, inasmuch as I asked them to keep the matter to themselves. But why do you ask such questions? " "Because," said the wily cripple, "I have a wit- 180 CESAR'S COLUMN. ness here who is about to reveal to jou everj'thing you said and did iu that council-chamber last nioht, even to the minutest detail. If you luid told your story to many, or to untrustworthy persons, there mif led the culprit out, too much stunned to yet realize that he was free. "'What does this mean, Christina?' I asked, in a tone that expressed indignation, if not anger. 260 CESAR'S COLUMN. " She took her tablet and wrote : " ' What good would it do to send that poor, fool- ish boy to prison for many years? He was drunk or he would not have hurt me. It will do no good to bring disgrace on a respectable family. This great lesson may reform him and make him a good man.' "At that moment I made up my mind to make Christina my wife, if she would have me. Such a soul was worth a mountain of rubies. There are only a few of them in each generation, and fortunate be- yond expression is the man who can call one of them his own ! "But I was not going to see my poor love, or her family, imposed on by that scheming old widow. I hurried out of the house; I called a hack, and drove to Mrs. Brederhagan's house. I found her and her son in the first paroxysm of joy — locked in each other's arms. "'Mrs. Brederhagan,' I said, '3'our vicious little devil of a son here has escaped punishment so far for his cruel and cowardl}^ assault upon a poor girl. He has escaped through her unexampled magna- nimity and generosity. But do you know what he has done to her? He has silenced her exquisite voice forever. He has ruthlessly destro^'ed that which a million like him could not create. That poor girl will never sing again. She was the sole su])i)ort of her family. This imp here has taken the bread out of their mouths — they will starve. You owe it to her to make a deed of gift whereby you will endow her with the amount she was earning when your son's dagger pierced her poor throat and silenced her voice; th.-it is — tift v dollars a week.' "The widow rallied up her feathers, and said she CESAR'S COLUMN. 261 did not see why she should give Christina fifty dol- lars a week. She had declared that her son was not the one who had assaulted her, and he was a free man, and that w^as the end of their connection with the matter. " ' Ha ! ha ! ' said I, ' and so, that is your position? Now you will send at once for a notary and do as I tell 3'ou, or in one hour your son shall be arrested again. Christina's mother knows him perfectly well, and will identify him; and Christina herself will not swear in court to the generous falsehood she told to screen you and 3'ours from disgrace. You are a worthy mother of such a son, when you cannot ap])reeiate one of the noblest acts ever performed in this world.' " The widow grew pale at these threats ; and after she and her hopeful son — who was in a great fi-ight — had whispered together, she reluctautlj^ agreed to my terms. A notary was sent for, and the deed drawn and executed, and a check g'iven, at mj de- mand, for the first month's payment. "'Now,' said I, turning to Master Nathan, 'per- mit me to say one word to 3'ou, 3'oung man. If you ever again approach, or speak to, or molest in any way. Miss Christina Carlson, I will,' — and here I drew close to him and put my finger on his breast, — 'I will kill you like a dog.' " With this parting shot I left the happy pair." CHAPTER XXVII. MAX 'S STORY CONTINUED — THE BLACKSlSnTH SHOP. "I NEED not describe the joj there was in the Jansen family when I brought home Mrs. Breder- hagau's deed of gift and the mone^-, Christina did not yet know that her voice was destroyed, and hence was disposed to refuse what she called 'the good lady's great generosity.' But we reminded her that the widow was rich, and that her son had in- flicted great and painful wounds upon her, which had caused her weeks of weary sickness, to say nothing of the doctor's bills and the other expenses they had been subjected to; and so, at last, she consented, anxl agreed that, for the present at least, she would receive the widow's money, but only until she could resume her place on the boards of the theater. But the deed of gift drove the brooding shadows out of the heart and eyes of poor Mrs. Jansen. "I need not tell you all the details of Christina's recovery. Day by day she grew stronger. She be- gan to speak in whispers, and gradually she recov- ered her power of speech, although the voice at first sounded husky. She was soon able to move about the house, for youth and youthful spirits are great medicines. One day she placed her hand on mine and thanked mo for all mygieat kindness to her; and said, in her arch way, that I was a good, kind- hearted friend, and it was a pity I had any weak- nesses; and that I must not forget my promise to CESAR'S COLUMN. 263 her about the next New Year's da,y. But she feared that 1 had neglected my business to look after her. "At length she learned from the doctor that she could never sing again ; that her throat was par- alyzed. It was a bittei" grief to her, and she wept quietly for some hours. And then she comforted her- self with the reflection that the provision made for her by Mrs. Brederhagan had placed herself and her family beyond the reach of poverty. But for this I think she would have broken her heart. " I had been cogitating for some days upon a new idea. It seemed to me that these plain, good people would be much happier in the country than in the city ; and, besides, their income would go farther. They had country blood in their veins, and it takes several generations to get the scent of the flowers out of the instincts of a family ; they have subtle promptings in them to walk in the grass and behold the grazing kine. And a city, after all, is only fit for temporary purposes— to see the play and the shops and the mob — and wear one's life out in nothing- nesses. As one of the poets says : " ' Thus is it in the world-hive; most where men Lie deep in citi<>s as in drifts — death drifts — Nosing each other like a flock of sheep ; Not knowing and not caring whence nor whither They come or go, so that they fool together.' "And then I thought, too, that Mr. Jansen was unhappy in idleness. He was a great, strong mau, and accustomed all his life to hard work, and his muscles cried out for exercise. "So I started out and made little excursions in all directions. At last I found the very place I had been looking for. It was about twelve miles beyond 264 CESAR'S COLUMN. the built-up portions of the suburbs, in a high and airj neighborhood, and contained about ten acres of land. There was a little grove, a field, a garden, and an old-fashioned, roomy house. The house needed some repairs, it is true ; but beyond the grove two roads ci-ossed each other, and at the angle would be an admirable place for a blacksmith shop. I pur- chased the whole thing very cheaply. Then I set carpenters to work to repair the house and build a blacksmith shop. The former I equipped with furni- ture, and the latter with anvil, bellows and other tools, and a supplj^ of coal and iron. "AVhen everything was ready I told Christina another of my white lies. I said to her that Mrs. Brederhagan, learning that her voice was ruined for- ever by her son's dagger, had felt impelled, by her conscience and sense of right, to make her a present of a little place in the country, and had deputed me to look after the matter for her, and that I had bought the very place that I thought would suit them. "And so we all started out to view the premises. It would be hard to say who was most delighted, Christina or her mother or her father; but I am in- clined to thiuk the latter took more pure hajjpiuess in his well-equipped httle shop, with the big sign, 'Caul J.\nsi:n, Blacksmith,' and the picture of a man shoeiug a horse, than Christina did in the flower-bed, or her mother in the comfortable house- hold arrangements. "Soon aftci- the whole family moved out. I was riirht A rac(? that has lived for several generations in the country is an exotic in a city." CHAPTER XXVIII. MAX's STORY CONCLUDED — THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS. *'I USED to run out every other da}'', and I was as welcome as if I had been really a member of the fam- i\y. The day before yesterday I found the whole household in a state of joyous excitement. Christina had been enjoined to put the baby to sleep ; and while rocking it in its cradle she had, all unconsciously, begun to sing a little nursery song. Suddenly she sprang to her feet, and, running to her mother, cried out: '"Oh, mother! I can sing! Listen.' "She found, however, that the voice was still quite weak, and that if she tried to touch any of the higher notes there was a pain in her throat. "I advised her to forbear singing for sometime, and permit the organs of the voice to resume their natural condition. It might be that the doctor was wrong in his prognosis of her case ; or it might be that the injured nerve, as he had said was possible, had resumed its function, through the curative power of nature: But it was a great delight to us all, and es- pecially to the poor girl herself, to think that her grand voice might yet be restored to her. "To-day I went out again. "I thought that Mr. Jansen met me with a con- strained manner; and when Mrs. Jansen saw me, instead of welcoming me with a cordial smile, as was usual with her, she retreated into the house. And 266 CESAR'S COLUMN. when I went into the parlor, Christina's manner was still more embarrassing;. She blushed as she ex- tended her hand to me, and seemed very much con- fused ; and yet her manner was not unkind or un- friendly. I could not understand it. " ' What is the matter, Christina? ' I asked. "The little woman was incapable of double-deal- ing, and so she said : "'You know it came into my head lately, very often, that Mrs. Brederhagan had been exceedingly, I might say extraoi-dinarily, kind to me. It is true her son had done me a great injury, and might have killed me; and I refused to testify against him. But she had not only given me that deed of gift you brought me, but she had also presented papa with this charming home. And so I said to myself that she must think me very rude and ungrateful, since I had never called upon her to thank her in person. And so, knowing that Nathan had been sent to Eu- rope, I made up my mind, yesterday, that I would go into town, and call upon Mrs. Brederhagan, and thank her for all her kindness. "'I took a hack to her house from the station, and sent up my card. She received me quite kindly. After a few inquiries and commonplaces I thanked her as I had intended doing. She smiled and nmde light of it ; then I spoke of the house, and the gar- den, and the blacksmith shop, and how grateful we all were to her. " ' " W^liy," said she, "what on earth are you talk- ing about? I never gave 3'ou a house, or a garden, or a blacksmith shop." " ' You may inmgine my surprise. "'"Why," said I, "did you not give Mr. Frank CjESAR'S column. 267 Montgomery the monej* to purchase it, and tell him to have the deed made out to my father ? " " ' "My dear," said she, "you bewilder me; I never in all my life heard of such a person as Mr. Frank Montgomery; and I certainly never gave him any money to buy a house for anybody." •""Why," said I, "do you pretend you do not know Mr. Frank Montgomer3% who brought me your deed of gift?" "'"That," she said, "was not Mr. Frank Mont- gomery, but Mr. Arthur Phillips." "'"No, no," I said, "you are mistaken; it was Frank ^Montgomery, a ]:)rinter by trade, who owns the house we used to live in, at 1252 Seward Street. I am well acquainted with him." " ' " Well," said she, "this is certainly astonishing! Mr. Arthur Phillijjs, whom I have known for years, a young gentleman of large fortune, a lawyer hj pro- fession, comes to me and tells me, the very day 3'ou said my son was not the man who assaulted you, that unless I settled fifty dollars a week on you for life, by a deed of gift, he would have Nathan rear- rested for an attempt to murder you, and would prove his guilt by 3^our mother; and now you come and tr}^ to make me believe that Arthur Phillips, the lawyer, is Frank Montgomery, the printer; that he lives in a little house on Seward Street, and that I have been giving him money to buy you houses and gardens and blacksmith shops in the country! I hope, my dear, that the shock you received, on that dreadful night, has not affected your mind. But I would advise you to go home to \o\\v parents." " 'And therewithal she politely bowed mo out.' "'I was very much astonished and bewildered. I 268 CESAR'S COLUMN. stood for some time on the doorstep, not knowing what to do next. Then it occurred to me that I would go to your house and ask you what it all meant; for I had no doubt Mrs. Brederhagan was wrong, and that 3'ou were, indeed, Frank Montgom- ery, the printer. I found the house locked up and empty. A bill on the door showed that it was to rent, and referred inquirers to the corner grocery. They remembered me very well there. I asked them where you were. They did not know. Then I asked whether they were not agents for you to rent the house. Oh, no; you did not own the house. But had you not lived in it for years? No; yoii rented it the very morning of the same day we moved in. I was astounded, and more perplexed than ever. What did it all mean? If you did not own the house and had not been born in it, or lived there all 3'our life, as you said, then the rest of your story was prob- ably false also, and the name you boi-e was assumed. And for what purpose? And why did you move into that house the same day we rented it from you? It looked like a scheme to entrap us ; and yet you had always been so kind and good that I could not think evil of 3'ou. Then it occurred to me that I would go and see Peter Bingham, the proprietor of the the- ater. I desired, anyhow, to tell him that I thought 1 would recover my voice, and that I might want another engagement with him after awhile. When I met him I fancied there was a shade of insolence in his manner. When I spoke of singing again he laughed, and said he guessed I would never want to go on the boards again. Why? I asked. Then he laughed again, and said "Mr. Phillips would not let me; " and then he began to abuse you, and said you CESAR'S COLUMN. 269 "had forced him to give me fifty dollars a week for my singing when it wasn't worth ten dollars ; but he understood then what it all meant, and that now every one understood it; — that you had lived in the same house with me for months, and now you had purchased a cage for your bird in the country." At first 1 could not understand what he meant; and when at last I comprehended his meaning and burst into tears, he began to apologize ; but I would not listen to him, and hurried home and told everything to papa and mamma. " ' Now,' she continued, looking me steadily in the face with her frank, clear eyes, ' we have talked it all over for hours, and we have come to several conclu- sions. First, you are not Francis Montgomery, but Arthur Phillips; second, 3'OU are not a poor printer, but a rich 3'oung gentleman; third, you have done me a great many kindnesses and attributed them to others. You secured me a large salary from Bing- ham ; you made Mrs. Brederhagan settle an income upon me; you nursed me through all my sickness, with the tenderness of a brother, and you have bought this beautiful place and presented it to papa. You have done us all nothing but good; and you claimed no credit for it; and we shall all be gTate- ful to you and honor you and pray for you to the end of our lives. But,' and here she took my hand as a sister might, 'but we cannot keep this place. You will yourself see that we cannot. You a poDr printer, we met on terms of equality. From a rich young gentleman this noble gift would be universally considered as the price of my honor and self-respect. It is so considered already. The deed of gift from Mrs. Brederhagan I shall avail myself of until I am 270 CESAR'S COLUMN. able to resume my place on the stao:e ; but here is a deed, signed by my fatlior and mother, for this place, and to-morrow we must leave it. We may not meet again' — and here the large eyes began to swim in tears — 'but — but — I shall never forget your good- ness to me.' "'Christina,' I said, 'suppose I had really been Frank Montgomery, the printer, would you have driven me awa\^ from you thus ? ' "'Oh! no! no!' she cried; 'you are our dearest and best friend. And 1 do not drive you away. I must leave j'ou. The world can have only one inter- pretation of the relation of two people so differently situated — a very wealthy young gentleman and a poor little singer, the daughter of a poor, foreign- born workman.' "'Well, theu,' said I, taking her in my arms, 'let the blabbing, babbling old world know that that poor little singer sits higher in my heart, yes, in my brain and judgment, than all the queens and prin- cesses of the world. I have found in her the one ines- timable jewel of the earth — a truly good and noble woman. If I deceived you it was because I loved you; loved you with my whole heart and soul and all the depths of my being. I wanted to dwell in the same house with you; to study you; to see you always near me. I was happier when I was nursing you through your sickness than I have ever been before or since. I was sorry, to tell the truth, when you got well, and were no longer dependent on me. And now, Christina, if you will say yes, we will fix the day for the wedding.' "I knew as soon as I began to speak that I had won my case. There was no struggle to escape from CESAR'S COLUMN. 271 my arms; and, as I "went on, she relaxed even her rigidity, and reposed on my breast with trusting confidence. "'Frank,' she said, not looking up, and speaking in a low tone — 'I shall alwa3's call j^ou Frank — I loved the poor printer from the very first ; and if the rich man can be content with the affection I gave the poor one, my heart and life are yours. But stop,' she added, looking up with an arch smile, 'you must not forget the promise 3'ou made me about New Year's day ! ' '"Ah, my dear,' I replied, 'that was part of poor Frank's character, and I suppose that is what you loved him for; but if you TTi77 marry a rich man you must be content to forego all those attractions of the poor, foolish printer. I shall not stand up next New Year's day and make a vow to drink no more; but I make a vow now to kiss the sweetest woman in the world every day in the year.' "And, lest I should forget so sacred an obligation, I began to put my vow into execution right then and there. "Afterward the old folks were called in, and I told them my whole story. And I said to them, moreover, that there was storm and danger ahead ; that the great convulsion might come an}'' day; and so it is agreed that we are to be married, at Christina's home, the day after to-morrow. And to-morrow I want my dear mother, and you, my dear friends, to go with me to visit the truest and noblest little woman that ever promised to make a man happy." 272 CESAR'S COLUMN. When Max had finished his long story, his mother kissed and cried over him; and Estella and I shook hands with him ; and we were a very hap[)y party ; and no one would have thought, from our jests and laughter, that the bloodhounds of the aristocracy w^ere hunting for three of us, and that we were sitting under the dark presaging shadow of a storm that was ready to vomit fire and blood at any moment. Before we retired that night Estella and I had a private conference, and I fear that at the end of it I made the same astonishing vow which Max had made to Christina. And I came to another surpris- ing conclusion — that is, that no woman is worth worshiping unless she is worth wooing. But what I said to Estella, and what she said to me, will never be revealed to any one in this world; — the results, however, will appear hereafter, in this veracious chronicle. CHAPTER XXIX ELYSIUM. It was a bright and sunny autumn day. We were a very happy party. Estella was disguised with gold spectacles, a black wig and a veil, and she looked like some middle-aged school-teacher out for a holiday. We took the electric motor to a station one mile and a half from Mr. Jansen's, and walked the rest of the way. The air was pure and sweet and light; it seemed to be breathed right out of heaven. The breezes touched us and dallied with us and de- lighted us, like ministering angels. The whole panoply of nature was magnificent; the soft-hued, grass}^ fields; the embowered trees; the feeding cattle; the children playing around the houses; — " Clowns cracking jokes, and lasses with sly eyes, And the smile settling on their sun flecked cheeks Like noon upon the mellow apricot." My soul rose upon wings and swam in the ether like a swallow; and I thanked God that he had given us this majestic, this beautiful, this surpassing world, and had placed within us the delicate sensi- bility and capability to enjoy it. In the presence of such things death — annihilation — seemed to me impossible, and I exclaimed aloud : " ilast thou not heard That thine existence, here on earth, is but The dark and narrow section of a life Which was with God, long ere the sun was lit. And shnll be yet, when all the bold, bright stars Are dark as death-dust?" 18 273 274 CESAR'S COLUMN. And oh, what a contrast was all this to the clouded world we had left behind us, in yonder close- packed city, with its poverty, its misory, its sin, its injustice, its scramble for gold, its dark hates and terrible plots. But, I said to myself, while God permits man to wreck himself, he denies him the power to destroy the world. The grass covers the graves; the flowers grow in the furrows of the cannon balls; the graceful foliage festoons with blossoms the ruins of the prison and the torture- chamber; and the corn springs alike under the foot of the helot or the yeoman. And I said to myself that, even though civilization should commit suicide, the earth would still remain — and with it some remnant of mankind ; and out of the uniformity of universal misery a race might again arise worthy of the splendid hei'itage God has bestowed upon us. Mr. Jansen had closed u]) his forge in honor of our visit, and had donned a new broadcloth suit, in which he seemed as comfortable as a whale in an overcoat. Christina ran out to meet us, bright and handsome, all in white, with roses in her cAwly hair. The sweet-faced old lady took her to her arms, and called her "my daughter," and kissed her, and ex- pressed her pleasure that her son was about to marry so good and noble a girl. Mi-s. Jansen held back modestly at first, a little afraid of "the great folkSj" but she was brought forward by Chiistina, and introduced to us all. And then we had to make the acquaintanceof the whole flock of blue-eyed, curly- haired, rosy-cheeked little ones, gay in white dresses and bright ribbons. Even Master Ole forgot, for a time, his enrapturing hammer and nails, and stood, with eyes like saucers, contemplating the irruption of CESAR'S COLUMN. 275 outside barbarians. We went into the house, and there, with many a laugh and jest, the spectacled school-teacher was transformed into my own bright and happy Estella. The two girls flowed into one another, by natural affinity, like a couple of drops of quicksilver; each recognized the transparent soul in the other, and in a moment they w^ere friends for life. We were a jollj^ party. Care flew far away from us, and many a laugh and jest resounded. "There is one thing, Christina," said Max, "that I cannot comprehend, and of which I demand an ex- planation. Your name is 'Christina Jansen,' and yet 3^ou appeared in public by the name of ' Christina Carlson.' Now I refuse to marry you until this thing is explained ; for I may be arrested and charged with bigamy for marrying two women at once ! I am will- ing to -wed 'Christina Jansen' — but what am I to do with ' Christina Carlson ' ? I could be ' happy with either were t'other dear charmer awa3\' " Christina laughed and blushed and said : " If you do not behave yourself you shall not have either of the Christinas. But I will tell you, my dear friend, how that happened. You must know that in our Sweden, especially in the northern part of it, where father and mother came from, we are a very primitive people — far 'behind the age,' you will sa3^ And there we have no family names, like Brown or Jones or Smith ; but each man is simply the son of his father, and he takes his father's flrst name. Thus if 'Peter' has a son and he is christened 'Ole,' then he is 'Ole Peterson,' or Ole the son of Peter; and if his son is called 'John,' then he is 'John Ole- son.' I think, from what I have read in the books 276 CAESAR'S COLUMN. you gave me, Frank, that the same practice pre- vailed, centuries ago, in England, and that is how all those English names, such as Johnson, Jackson, AVil- liamson, etc., came about. But the females of the family, in Sweden, are called 'daughters' or 'd ot- ters ; ' and hence, by the custom of my race, I am 'Christina Carl's Dotter.' And when Mr. Bingham asked me my name to print on his play bills, that is what I answered him ; but he said ' Christina Carl's Dotter ' was no name at all. It would never do ; and so he called me 'Christina Carlson.' There you have the explanation of the whole matter." "I declare," said Frank, "this thing grows worse and worse! Why, there are three of you. I shall have to wed not only 'Christina Jansen,' and 'Christina Carlson,' but 'Christina Carl's Dotter.' Why, that would be not onl}- bigamy, but trigamy! " And then Estella came to the rescue, and said that she felt sure that Max would be glad to have her even if there were a dozen of her. And Frank, who had become riotous, said to me: "You see, old fellow, you are about to marry a girl with a pedigree, and I another without one." "No," said Christina, "I deny that charge; with us the very name we bear declares the pedigree. I am 'Christina Carl's Dotter,' and 'Carl' was the son of 'John,' who was the son of 'Frederick,' who was the son of 'Christian : ' and so on for a hundred gener- ations. 1 have a long pedigree; and I am very proud of it; and, what is more, they were all good, honest, virtuous people." And she heightened up a bit. And then Frank kissed her before us all, and she boxed his ears, and then dinner was announced. .\n(l what a pleasant dinner it was; the vegeta- CESAR'S COLUMN. 277 bles, crisp and fresh, were from their own garden ; and the butter and milk and cream and schmearkase from their own dair^^ ; and the fruit from their own trees ; and the mother told us that the pudding- was of Christina's own making; and thereupon Frank ate more of it than was good for him ; and every- thing was so neat and bright, and everybody so happy; and Frank vowed that there never was before such luscious, golden butter; and Mrs. Jan- sen told us that that was the way they made it in Sweden, and she proceeded to explain the whole pro- cess. The only unhappy person at the table, it seemed to me, was poor Carl, and he had a Avretched premonition that he was certainly going to drop some of the food on that brand-new broadcloth suit of his. I feel confident that when we took our de- parture he hurried to take off that overw'helming grandeur, with very much the feeling with which the dying saint shuffles off the mortal coil, and soars to heaven . But then, in the midst of it all, there came across me the dreadful thought of what was to burst upon the world in a few days ; and I could have groaned aloud in anguish of spirit. I felt we were like silly sheep gamboling on the edge of the volcano. But why not? We had not brought the w^orld to this pass. Why should we not enjoy the sunshine, and that glorious light, brighter than all sunshine— the love of woman? For God alone, who made woman —the true woman — knows the infinite capacities for good which he has inclosed within her soul. And I don't believe one bit of that orthodox story. I think Eve ate the apple to obtain knowledge, and Adam devoured the core because he was hungry. 278 CESAR'S COLUMN. And these thoughts, of course, were suggested by my looking at Estella. She and Christina were in a ]>i-of()und conference; the two shades of golden hair mingling- curiously as they whispered to each other, and blushed and laughed. And then Estella came over to me, and smiled and blushed again, and whispered : "Christina is dehghted with the plan." And then I said to Max, in a dignified, solemn way: "My dear Max, or Frank, or Arthur, or whatever thy name may be — and 'if thou hast no other name to call thee by I will call thee devil ' — I have observed, with great regret, that thou art ver}- much afraid of standing up to-morrow and encountering in wed- lock's ceremony the battery of bright eyes of the three Christinas. Now I realize that a friend should not only 'bear a friend's infirmities,' but that he should stand by him in the hour of danger; and so to-mor- row, 'when fear comes down upon you like a house,' Estella and I have concluded to stand with you, in the imminent deadly breach, and share your fate; and if, when you get through, there are any of the Christinas left, I will — with Estella's permission — even marry them myself! For I am determined that such good material shall not go to waste." There was a general rejoicing, and Max embraced me ; and then he hugged Christina ; and then I took advantage of the excuse — I was very hai)py in find- ing such excuses — to do likewise by m.y stately beauty ; aiid then there was hand-shaking by the old folks all around, and kisses from the little folks. Not long afterward there was much whispering and laughing between Christina and Estella; they were in the garden ; they seemed to be reading some paper, CESAR'S COLUMN. 279 which they held between them. And then that scamp, Max, crept quietly behind them, and, reaching' over, snatched the paper out of their hands. And then Estella looked disturbed, and glanced at me and blushed; and Max began to dance and laugh, and cried out, "Ho! ho! we have a poet in the family!" And then I realized that some verses, which I had given Estella the da}- before, had fallen into the hands of that mocker. I would not give much for a man who does not grow poetical when he is making- love. It is to man what song is to the bird. But to have one's weaknesses exposed — that is another matter ! And so I ran after Max ; but in vain. He climbed into a tree, and then began to recite my love poetry : "Listen to this," he cried; "here are fourteen verses; each one begins and ends with the word ' thee.^ Here's a sample : "'All thought, all fear, all grief, all earth, all air, Forgot shall be ; Knit unto each, to each kith, kind and kin, — Life, like these rhyming verses, shall begin And end in — tbeel' "And here," he cried, "is another long poem. Phoebus ! what a name — 'Artesian Waters ! ' Here Christina, Estella and I pelted the rogue with apples. "J know why they are called 'Artesian Waters,'" he cried; "it is because it took a great bore to pro- duce them. Ha 1 ha ! But listen to it : " ' There is a depth at which perpetual springs Fresh water, in all lands : The which once reached, the buried torrent flings Its treasures o'er the sands.' 280 CESAR'S COLUMN. "Ouch!" he cried, "that one hit me on the nose: I mean' the apple, not the verse. '"One knows not how, bonoath the dark, deep crust. The clear flood there has come: One knows not wliy, amid eternal dust, Slumbers that sea of foam.' "Plain enough," he cried, dodging the apples; "the attraction of gravitation did tlio business for it. "'Dark-buried, sepulchred, entombed and deep. Away from mortal ken, It lies, till, summoned froTn its silent sleep, It leaps to light again.' "Very good," he said, "and now here comes the Application, the moral of the poem. " ' So shall we find no intellect so dull. No soul so cold to move. No heart of self or sinfulness so full. But still hath power to love.' " Of course," he said ; " he knows how it is himself; the poet fills the bill exactly. "'It lives immortal, universal all, The tenant of each breast ; Locked in the silence of unbrok(Mi thrall, And d(!cp and pulseless rest; Till, at a touch, with burst of power and pride. Its swollen torrents roll. Dash all the trapi)ings of the mind aside. And ride above the soul.' " Hurrah ! " he cried, " that's splendid ! But here's some more : * To Estella.' " But I could stand no more, and so began to climb the tree. It was an apple-tree, and not a very big one at that, and Max was forced to r(>treat out upon CJESAR'S COLUMN. 281 a limb, and then drop to the ground. But the young ladies were too quick for him; they pounced upon him as lie fell ; and very soon my precious verses were hidden in Estella's bosom, whence, in a burst of confi- dence and pride, they had been taken to exhibit to Christina. "Yes," said Estella, it was nothing but mean jeal- ousy, because he could not write such beautiful po- etry to Christina. "Exactly," said Christina, "and I think I will re- fuse to marry him until he produces some verses equally fine." "Before I would write such poetry as that," said Max, "I would go and hang myself." "No man ought to be allowed to marry," said Estella, "until he has written a poem." " If you drive Max to that," I said, " other people will hang themselves rather than hear his verses." And thus, with laugh and jest and badinage, the glorious hours passed away. It was growing late ; but we could not go until we had seen the cows milked, for that was a great event in the household; and "Bossy" especially was a wonderful cow. Never before in the world had there been such a cow as "Bossy." The children had tied some ribbons to her horns, and little Ole was astride of her broad back, his chubby legs pointing directly to the horizon, and the rest of the juveniles danced around her: while the gentle and patient animal stood chewing her cud, with a profound look upon her peaceful face, much like that of a chief-justice considering " the rule in Shelley's case," or some other equally solemn and momentous subject. And I could not help but think how kindly we 282 CESAR'S COLUMN. should feel toward these good, serviceable ministers to man ; for I remembered how many millions of our race had been nurtured through childhood and ma- turity' upon their generous largess. I could see, in my imagination, the great bovine procession, low- ing and moving, with their bleating calves trotting by their side, stretching away backward, farther and farther, through all the historic period ; through all the conquests and blood}' earth-staining battles, and all the sin and suffering of the race; and far beyond, even into the dim, pre-historic age, when the Aryan ancestors of all the European nations dwelt together under the same tents, and the blond-haired maidens took their name of ''daughters" (the very word we now use) from their function of milk- maidens. And it seemed to me that we should love a creature so intimately blended with the history of oui' race, and which had done so much, indirectly, to give us the foundation on which to build civilization. But we must away ; and Carl, glad to do some- thing in scenes in which he was not much fitted to shine, drove us to the station in his open spring wagon; Estella, once more the elderl^^ spectacled maiden, by my side; and the sunny little Christina beside Max's mother— going to the station to see us off; while that gentleman, on the front seat, talked learnedly with Carl about the pedigree of the famous horse "Lightning," which had just trotted its mile in less than two minutes. And I thought, as I looked at Carl, how little it takes to niak<» a happy household; and what a beautiful thing the human race is under favora^)le circumstances; and what a wicked and cruel and utterly abominable thing is the man who could CESAR'S COLUMN. 283 oppress it, and drive it into the filth of sin and shame. I will not trouble you, my dear brother, by giving you a detailed account of the double marriage the next day. The same person married us both — a Scandinavian preacher, a friend of the Jansen family. I was not very particular who tied the knot and signed the bill of sale of Estella, provided I was sure the title Avas good. But I do think that the union of man and wife should be something more than a mere civil contract. Marriage is not a part- nership to sell dry goods — (sometimes, it is true, it is principally an obhgation to buy them) — or to practice medicine or law together; it is, or should be, an intimate blending of two souls, and natures, and lives; and where the marriage is happy and perfect there is, undoubtedly, a growing-together, not only of spirit and character, but even in the physical ap- pearance of man and wife. Now as these two souls came — we concede — out of heaven, it seems to me that the ceremony which thus destroys their indi- viduality, and blends them into one, should have some touch and color of heaven in it also. It was a very happy day. As I look back upon it now it seems to me like one of those bright, wide raj'S of glorious light which we have sometimes seen bursting through a rift in the clouds, from the setting sun, and illuminating, for a brief space of time, the black, perturbed and con- vulsed sky. One of our poets has compared it to — "A dead soldier's sword athwart his pall." But it faded away, and the storm came down, at last, heavy and dark and deadly. CHAPTER XXX. UPON THE HOUSE-TOP. A FEW days after our joint wedding Max came running iu one day, and said : "It is to be to-morrow." He gave each of us a red cross to sew upon our clothes. He was very much excited, and hurried out again. I had said to him, the morning of our marriage, that I desired to return home before the outbreak came, for I was now responsible for Estella's life and safety; and I feared that all communication of one part of the world with another would be cut off by the threatened revolution. He had begged me to re- main. He said that at the interview with General Quincy it had been made a condition of the con- tract that each of the executive committee — Caesar, the vice-president and himself — should have one of the flying air-ships placed at his disposal, after the outbreak, well manned and equipped with bombs and arms of all kinds. These "Demons" were to be subject to their order at any time, and to be guarded by the troops at their magazine in one of the suburbs until called for. The committee had several reasons for making this arrangement : the outbreak might fail and they would have to fly; or the outbreak might succeed, but become ungovernable, and they would have to escape from the tempest they had themselves in- 2S4 CESAR'S COLUMN. 285 voked. Max had alwa3^s had a dream that after the Plutocracy was overthrown the insurgents would re- construct a purer and better state of societ}' ; but of late my conversations with him, and his own ob- servations, had begun to shake his faith in this par- ticular. He said to me that if I remained he would guar- antee the safety of mj'self and wife, and after I had seen the outbreak he would send me home in his air- ship ; and moreover, if he became satisfied that the revolution had passed beyond the control of himself and friends, he would, after rescuing his father from the prison where he was confined, accompany me with his whole family, and we would settle down to- gether in my distant mountain home. He had, ac- cordingly, turned all his large estate into gold and silver, which he had brought to the house ; and I had likewise filled one large room full of a great library of books, which I had purchased to take with me — literature, science, art, encyclopedias, histories, phi- losophies, in fact all the treasures of the world's genius — together with type, printing presses, tele- scopes, phonographs, photographic instruments, elec- trical apparatus, eclesions, phemasticons, and all the other great inventions which the last hundred years have giv^i us. For, I said to myself, if civil- ization utterly perishes in the rest of the world, there, in the mountains of Africa, shut out from at- tack by rocks and ice-topped mountains, and the cordon of tropical barbarians yet surrounding us, we will wait until exhausted and prostrate mankind is ready to listen to us and will help us reconstruct society upon a wise and just basis. In the afternoon Max returned, bringing with him 286 CESAR'S COLUMN. Carl Jansen and all his family. A dozen men also came, bearing great boxes. They were old and trusted servants of his father's family; and the boxes contained magazine rifles and pistols and fixed ammunition, together with hand-grenades. These were taken out, and we were all armed. Even the women liad pistols, and knives strapped to their girdles. The men went out and again returned, bear- ing quantities of food, sufficient to last us during a siege, and also during our flight to my home. Water was also collected in kegs and barrels, for the supply might be cut of. Then Max came, and under his orders, as soon as night fell, the lower windows, the cellar openings and the front door were covered with sheathings of thick oak plank, of three thicknesses, strongly nailed ; then the second story windows were similarly protected, loop-holes being first bored, through which our rifles could be thrust, if necessary. Then the upper windows were also covered in the same way. The back door was left free for ingress and egress through the j^ard and back street, but powerful bars were arranged across it, and the oak ])lank left ready to board it up when required. The hand-grenades — there were a pile of them — were car- ried up to the flat roof. Then one of the men went out and painted red crosses on the doors and win- dows. We ate our supper in silence. A feeling of awe was upon all of us. Every one was told to pack up his goods and valuables and be ready for instant flight when the word was given ; and to each one were assigned the articles he or she was to carry. About ten o'clock Max returned and told us all to come up to the roof. The house stood, as I have al- CESAR'S COLUMN. 287 ready said, upon a corner; it was in the older part of the city, and not far from where the first great battle would be fought. Max whispered to me that the blow would be struck at six o'clock in Europe and at twelve o'clock at night in America. The fighting therefore had already begun in the Old World. He further explained to me something of the plan of bat- tle. The Brotherhood at twelve would barricade a group of streets in which were the Sub-Treasury of the United States, and all the principal banks, to-wit: Cedar, Pine, AVall, Nassau, AVilliam, Pearl and Water Streets. Two hundred thousand men would be assembled to guard these barricades. They would then burst open the great moneyed institutions and blow up the safes with giant powder and Hecla pow- der. At daybreak one of Quincy's air-ships would come and receive fifty millions of the spoils in gold, as their share of the plunder, and the price of their support. As soon as this was delivered, and carried to their armory, the whole fleet of air-vessels would come up and attack the troops of the Oligarchy. If, however. General Quincy should violate his agree- ment, and betray them, the\^ had provided a large number of great cannon, mounted on high Avheels, so that they could be fired vertically, and these were to be loaded with bombs of tlie most powerful explo- sives known to science, and so constructed with ful- minating caps that, if they struck the air-ship at any jioint, they would explode and either destroy it or so disarrange its machinery as to render it use- less. Thus they were provided, he thought, for every emergency. At eleven he came to me and whispered that if anything happened to him he depended on me to 288 CESAR'S COLUMN. take his wife and mother and his father, if possible, with me to Africa. I grasped his hand and assured him of my devotion. He then embraced Christina and his motlier and left them, weejjiiig bitterly, in each other's arms. There was a parapet around the roof. I went to the corner of it, and, leaning over, looked down into the street. Estella came and stood beside me. She w-as very calm and quiet. The magnetic lights 3'et burned, and the streets below me were almost as bright as day. There were comparatively few per- sons moving about. Here and there a carriage, or a man on horseback, dashed furiously past, at full speed ; and I thought to myself," The Oligarchy have heard of the tremendous outbreak in Europe, and are making preparations for another here." It was a still, clear night ; and the great solemn stars moved over the face of heaven unconscious or indifferent as to what was going forward on this clouded little orb. I thought it must be nearly twelve. I drew out my watch to look at the time. It lacked one minute of that hour. Another instant, and the whole city was wrapped in profound darkness. Some of the workmen about the Magnetic Works were members of the Brotherhood, and, in pursuance of their orders, they had cut the connections of the works and blotted out the light. CHAPTER XXXI. "SHEOL." I LOOKED down into the dark street. I could see nothing; but immediately a confused buzz and mur- mur, of motion everywhere, arose from the depths below me. As it grew louder and clearer I could hear the march of thousands of feet, moving rapidh' ; and then a number of wagons, heavily loaded, creaked and groaned over the pavements. I surmised that these wagons were loaded with stones, and were to be used in the construction of the barricades. There was no music, no shouting, not even the sound of voices ; but tramp, tramp, tramp, in endless multitude, the heavy feet went by; and now and then, where the light yet streamed out of the window of some house, I could see the glitter of the steel barrels of rifles ; and here and there I caught a glimpse of men on horse- back, officers apparently, but dressed in the rough garb of workmen. Along the line of the houses near me, I could see, at opened, lighted windows, an array of pale faces, looking out with astonishment and terror at this dark and silent procession, which seemed to have arisen out of the earth, and was so vast that one might dream that the trumpet of the archangel had been blown, and all the dead of a thousand battle-fields had risen up for one last grand review. And not alone past our doors, but through all the streets near us, the same mighty, voiceless procession moved on; all converging to the 19 289 290 CESAR'S COLUMN. quarter where the treasures of the great city lay, heaped up in safe and vault. And then, several blocks away, but within the clear range of my vision, a light appeared in the street — it blazed — it rose higher and higher. I could see shadowy figures moving around it, heap- ing boxes, barrels and other combustibles upon the flame. It Avas a bonfire, kindled to light the work of building a barricade at that point. Across the street a line of wagons had been placed ; the tail of each one touching the front of another, the horses having been withdrawn. And then hundreds of busy figures were to be seen at work, tearing up the pave- ments of the street and heaping the materials under the wagons; and then shovels flew, and the earth rose over it all ; a deep ditch being excavated quite across the street, on the side near me. The men, lit by the red light, looked, at the distance, like hordes ' of busy black insects. Behind them swarmed, as far as I could see, thousands upon thousands of dark forms, mere masses, touched here and there by the light of the bonfire, gleaming on glittering steel. They were the men within the barricades. There was a confused noise in other quarters, which I supposed was caused by the erection of a number of similar barricades elsewhere. Then the tramp of the march- ing nmsses past our doors ceased ; and for a time the silence was profound. So far not a soldier or policeman had been visible. The Oligarchy were evidently carrying out the ]>lan of the Prince of Cabano. They were permitting the insurgents to construct their "rat-tra])" without interruption. Only a few stragglers were upon the street, drawn there doubtless by curiosity; and CESAR'S COLUMN. 201 still the pale faces were at the Avindows; and some even talked from window to window, and wondered what it all meant. Suddenly there was a terrific explosion that shook the house. I could see a shower of stones and brick and timbers and dust, rising like a smoke, seamed with fire, high in the air, within the lines of the barri- cades. Then came another, even louder; then another, and a!iother, and another, until it sounded like a bombardment. Then these ceased, and after a little time came the sounds of smaller explosions, muffled as if under ground or within walls. "They are blowing open the banks," I whispered to Estella. Then all was quiet for a space. In a little while the bombardment began again, as if in another part of the territory inclosed in the barricades. And still there was not a soldier to be seen in the deserted streets near me. And again came other explosions. At last I saw the red light beginning to touch the clouds along the eastern horizon with its crimson brush. The fateful day was dawning. And then, in a little while, far awa^^ to the north, soft and dull at first, but swelling gradually into greater volume, a mighty sound arose; and through it I could hear bursts of splendid melody, rising and fallingand fluttei'ing, like pennons, above the tumult ; and I recognized the notes of that grand old Scotch air, "The Campbells are Coming." It was the defenders of society advancing with the swinging step of assured triumph. Oh, it was a s])lendid sight ! In all the bravery of banners, and uniforms, and shining decorations, and 292 CESAR'S COLUMN. amidst the majestic and inspiriting outpouring of music, they swept along, the thousands moving as one. How tliey did contrast with that gloomy, dark, ragged, sullen multitude who had preceded them. And with them came, rattling along, multi- tudes of those dreadful machine guns — those cata- racts of fire and death — drawn by prancing, well-fed, shining horses. And the lips of the gunners were set for carnage ; for they had received orders to take no prisoners! The world was to be taught a lesson to- day — a bloody and an awful lesson. Ah! little did they think how it would be taught ! In the gray light of the breaking day they came — an endless multitude. And all the windows were white with waving handkerchiefs, and the air stormy with huzzas and cries of -'God bless you." And at the head of every column, on exuberant steeds, that seemed as if they would leap out of their very skins with the mere delight of living', rode handsome offi- cers, smiling and bowing to the ladies at the win- dows; — for was it not simply holiday work to slay the canaille — the insolent canaille — the unreason- able dogs — who demanded some share in the world's delights — who were not willing to toil and die that others might live and be hapin'? And the very music had a revengeful, triumphant ring and sting to it, as if every instrument cried out: "Ah, we will give it to them! " But it was splendid ! It was the very efflorescence of the art of war — the culmination of the evolution of destruction — the perfect flower of ten thousand years of battle and blood. But I heard one officer cry out to another, as they passed below me : CMS AW S COLUMN. 293 '' What's the matter with the Demons? Why are they not here?" "I can't say," replied the one spoken to; "but they will be here in i>:ood time." The grand and mighty stream of men poured on. They halted close to the high barricade. It was a formidable structure at least fifteen feet high and many feet in thickness. The gray of dawn had turned into red, and a pale, clear light spread over all nature. I heard some sparrows, just awakened, twittering and conversing in a tall tree near me. They, too, wondered, doubtless, what it all meant, and talked it over in their own language. The troops deployed right and left, and soon the insurgent mass was closely surrounded in every di- rection and every outlet closed. The "rat-trap" Avas set. Where were the rat-killers? I could see many a neck craned, and many a face lifted up, look- ing toward the west, for their terrible allies of the air. But they came nofc. There was a dead pause. It was the stillness be- fore the thunder. CHAPTER XXXII. THE KAT-TRAP. Some of the troops advanced toward the barri- oade. In.stantly the long line of its top bristled with fire; the fire was returned; the rattle was contin- uous and terrible, mingled with the rapid, grinding noise of the machine guns. The sound spread in every direction. The barricades were all attacked. Suddenly the noise began to decrease. It was as if some noble orator had begun to speak in the midst of a tumultuous assembly. Those nearest him catch his utterances first, and become quiet; the wave of silence spreads like a great ripple in the water ; until at last the whole audience is as hushed as death. So something — some extraordinary thing — had arrested the battle; down, down, dropped the tumult; and at last there were only a lew scattering shots to be heard, here and there; and then these, too, ceased. I could see the soldiers looking to the west. I swept the sky with nn^ glass. Yes, something por- tentous had indeed happened ! Instead of the whole dark flight of thousands of air-ships for which the soldiers had been looking, there came, athwart the sky, like a gi-eat black bird, a single Demon. As it approached it seemed to be signaling some one. Little flags of different colors were run up and taken down. 1 turned and looked to the barricaded district. And there on the top of a very high build - 294 CESAR'S COLUMN. 295 ing, in its midst, I could see a group of men. They, too, were raising and lowering little flags. Nearer and nearer swept the great bird ; every eye and many a field-glass in all that great throng were fastened upon it, with awe-struck interest— the insurgents re- joicing; the soldiers pei-plexed. Nearer and nearer it comes. Now it pauses right over the tall building; it be- gins to descend, like a sea-gull about to settle in the waves. Now it is but a short distance above the roof. I could see against the bright sky the gossa- mer traces of a rope ladder, falling down from the ship to the roof. The men below take hold of it and steady it. A man descends. Something about him glitters in the rising sun. He is probably an officer. He reaches the roof. They bow and shake hands. I can see him wave his hand to those above him. A line of men descend; they disappear in the build- ing; they reappear; they mount the ladder; again and again they come and go. "They are removing the treasure," I explain to our party, gathering around me. Then the officer shakes hands again with the men on the roof; they bow to each other; he reascends the ladder; the air-ship rises in the air, higher and higher, like an eagle regaining its element; and away it sails, back into the west. An age of bribery terminates in one colossal crime of corruption ! I can see the officers gathering in groups and tak- ing counsel together. They are alarmed. Then they write. They must tell the Oligarchy of this singular scene, and their suspicious, and put them on their guard. There is danger in the air. In a moment 296 CJESAR'S COLUMN. orderlies dash down the street in headlonj^ race, bearino; dispatches. In a little while they come back, hurrying, agitated. I look to the north. 1 can see a black line across the street. It is a high barri- cade. It has been quietly constructed while the fight raged. And beyond, far as my eyes can penetrate, there are dark masses of armed men . The orderlies report — there is movement — agita- tion. I can see the im]3erious motions of an officer. lean read the signs. He is sajang, "Back — back — for your lives ! Break out through the side streets ! " They rush away; they divide; into every street they turn. Alas! in a few minutes, like wounded birds, they come trailing back. There is no outlet. Every street is blockaded, barriea(3ed, and filled with huge masses of men. The rat-trap has another rat-trap outside of it I The Ohgarchy will wait long for those dispatches. They will never read them this side of eternity. The pear has ripened. The inevitable has come. The world is about to shake off its masters. There is dead silence. Why should the military renew the fight in the midst of the awful doubt that rests upon their souls? Ah! Ave will soon know the best or worst; for, far away to th(> west, dark, portentous as a thiindor- cloud — spread out like the wings of mighty armies- moving like a Fate over the bright sky, comes on the vast array of the Demons. "AVill they be faithful to their bargain?" I ask myself; "or-Nvill old loyalty and faith to their mas- ters rise up in their hearts? " No, no, it is a rotten age. Corruption sticks faster than love. CESAR'S COLUMN. 297 On they come! Tlionsaiids of them. They swoop, they circle; they pause above the insurgents. The sohliers rejoice! Ah, no ! No bomb falls, a meteor of decith. The}' separate ; they move north, south, east, west; the\' are above the streets packed full of the troops of the government I May God have mercy on them now ! The sight will haunt me to my dying day. I can see, like a great black rain of gigantic drops, the lines of the falling bombs against the clear blue sky. And, oh, my God! what a scene below, in those close-packed streets, among those gaily dressed mul- titudes! The dreadful astonishment! The crash — the bang — the explosions; the uproar, the con- fusion ; and, most horrible of all, the inevitable, in- visible death by the poison. The line of the barricade is alive with fire. "With my glass I can almost see the dj-namite bullets ex- ploding in the soldiers, tearing them to pieces, like internal volcanoes. An awful terror is upon them. The}- surge back- ward and forward ; then they rush headlong down the streets. The farther barricades open upon them a hail of death; and the dark shadows above— so well named Demons— slide slowly after them; and drop, drop, drop, the deadh^ missiles fall again among them. Back they surge. The poison is growing thicker. They scream for mercy; they throw away their guns; they are panic-stricken. They break open the doors of houses and hide themselves. But even here the devilish plan of Prince Cabano is folloAved out to the very letter. The triumphant mob pour in through the back yards; and they baj'onet the 298 CJESAR'S COLUMN. soldiers under beds, or in closets, or in cellars ; or toss them, alive and shrieking, from windows or roofs, down into the deadly gulf bolow. And still the bombs drop and crash, and drop and crash ; and the barricades are furnaces of living fire. The dead lie in heaps and layers in the invisi- ble, pernicious poison. But, lo! the fire slackens; the bombs cease to fall; only now and then a victim flies out of the houses, cast into death. There is nothing left to shoot at. The grand army of the Plutocracy is annihilated; it is not. "The Demons" moved slowly off. They had earned their money. The Mamelukes of the Air had turned the tables upon the Sultan. They retired to their armory, doubtless to divide the fifty milHons equitablj^ between them. The mob stood still for a few minutes. They could scarcely realize that they were at last masters of the city. But quickly a full sense of all that their tremendous victory signified dawned upon them. The city lay prostrate, chained, waiting to be seized upon. CHAPTER XXXIII. "the ocean overpeers its list," And then all avenues were open. And like a huge flood, long dammed up, turbulent, turbid, muddy, loaded with wrecks and debris, the gigantic mass broke loose, full of foam and terror, and flowed in Qverv direction. A foul and brutal and ravenous multitude it was, dark with dust and sweat, armed with the weapons of civilization, but possessing only the instincts of wild beasts. At first they were under the control of some spe- cies of discipline and moved toward the houses of the condemned, of whom printed catalogues had been furnished the officers. The shouts, the yells, the delight Avere appalling. Kow and then some poor wretch, whose sole of- fense was that he was well-dressed, would take fright and start to run, and then, like hounds after a rab- bit, they would follow in fullcrj-; and when he was caught a hundred men would struggle to strike him, and he would disappear in a vortex of arms, clubs and bayonets, literally torn to pieces. A sullen roar filled the air as this human cj^clone moved onward, leaving only wrecks behind it. Now it pauses at a house. The captain consults his cata- logue. "This is it," he cries; and doors and win- dows give way before the thunderous mob ; and then the scenes are terrible. Men are flung headlong, alive, out of the windows to the ravenous wretches 299 300 CESAR'S COLUMN. below ; now a dead body comes whirling down ; then the terrified inhabitants fly to th(» roofs, and are pursued from house to house and butchered in sij^ht of the delighted spectators. But when the con- demned man — the head of the house — is at last found, hidden perhaps in some coal-liolc or cellar, and is brought up, black with dust, and wild with terror, his clothes half torn from his back ; and he is thrust forth, out of door or window, into the claws of the wild beasts, the very heavens ring with ac- clamations of dehght; and happy is the man who can reach over his fellows and know that he has struck the victim. Then up and away for another vengeance. Before them is solitude ; shops and stores and residences are closed and barricaded; in the distance teams are seen flying and men scurrying to shelter; and through crevices in shutters the horrified peo])le peer at the mob, as at an invasion of barbarians. Behind them are dust, confusion, dead bodies, hammered and beaten out of all semblance of hu- manity; and, worse than all, the criminal classes — that wretched and inexplicable residuum, who have no grievance against the world except their own existence — the base, the cowardly, the cruel, the sneaking, the inhuman, the horrible ! These flock like jackals in the track of the lions. They rob the dead bodies ; they break into houses ; they kill if they are resisted; they fill their pockets. Their joy is un- bounded. Elysium has descended upon earth for them this day. Pickpockets, sneak-thieves, confi- dence-men, burglars, robbers, assassins, the refuse and outpouring of grog-slioj)s and brothels, all are here. And women, too — or creatures that pass for CESAR'S COLUMN. 301 such — having the bodies of women and the habits of ruffian.s; — harpies — all claws and teeth and greed — bold — desperate — shameless — incapable of good. They, too, are here. They dart hither and thither ; they swarm — they dance — i^ej howl — they chatter — they qnarrel and battle, like carrion-vultures, over the spoils. Civilization is gone, and all the devils are loose! No more courts, nor judges, nor constables, nor prisons! That which it took the Avorld ten thou- sand years to create has gone in an hour. And still the thunderous cyclones move on through a hundred streets. Occasionally a house is fired ; but this is not part of the programme, for they have decided to keep all these fine residences for themselves! They will be rich. They will do no more work. The rich man's daughters shall be their handmaidens; they will wear his purple and fine linen. But now and then the flames rise up — perhaps a thief kindles the blaze — and it burns and burns; for who would leave the glorious work to put it out? It burns until the streets stop it and the block is con- sumed. Fortunately, or unfortunately, there is no wind to breed a general conflagration. The storms to-day are all on earth ; and the powers of the air are looking down with hushed breath, horrified at the exceeding wickedness of the little crawlers on the planet we call men. They do not, as a rule, steal. Revenge— revenge —is all their thought. And why should they steal? Is it not all their own? Now and then a too auda- cious thief is caught and stuck full of ba3'onets; or he is flung out of a window, and dies at the hands 302 CESAR'S COLUMN. of the mob the death of the honest man for whom he is mistaken ; and thus, by a horrible travesty of fate, he perishes for that which he never was nor could be. Think of the disgust of a thief wlio finds himself being murdered for an honest man. an aristocrat, and can get no one to believe his asseverations that he is simply and truly a thief — and nothing- more ! It is enough to make Death grin ! The rude and begrimed insurgents are raised by their terrible purposes to a certain dignity. They are the avengers of time — the God-sent — therighters of the world's wrongs — the punishers of the ineffably wicked. They do not mean to destroy the world; they will reform it — redeem it. They will make it a world where there shall be neither toil nor oppres- sion. But, poor fellows! their arms are more po- tent for evil than their brains for good. They are omnipotent to destroy; the}^ are powerless to create. But still the work of ruin and slaughter goes on. The mighty city, with its ten million inhabitants, lies prostrate, chained, helpless, at the mercy of the enraged canaille. The dogs have become lions. The people cannot comprehend it. They look around for their defenders — the police, the soldiery. " Where are they? Will not this dreadful nightmare pass awaj^?" No; no; never — never. This is the culmination — this is the chmax — "the century's aloe flowers to-day." These are ''the grapes of wrath" which God has stored up for the day of his vengeance; and now he is trampling them out. and this is the red juice — look you! — that flows so thick and fast in the very gutters. You were blind, you were callous, you were indif- CESAR'S COLUMN. 303 ferent to the sorrows of your kind. The cry of the poor did not toucli you, and every pitiful appeal wrung from human souls, every groan and sob and shriek of men and women, and the little starving chil- dren — starving in body and starving in brain — rose up and gathered like a great cloud around the throne of God ; and now, at last, in the fullness of time, it has burst and comes down upon your wretched heads, a storm of thunderbolts and blood. You had money, you had power, you had leisure, you had intelligence, you possessed the earth ; all things were possible unto you. Did you say to one another: "These poor souls are our brethren. For them Christ died on Calvary. What can we do to make their lives bright and happy?" No; no; you cried out, " * On with the dance!' Let them go down into the bottomless pit ! " And 3^ou smiled and said to one another, in the words of the first murderer, when he lied to God: "Am I my brother's keeper? " Nay, you said further to one another, "There is no God!" For you thought, if there was one, surely He would not permit the in- justice manifest in the world. But, lo! He is here. Did you think to escape him? Did you think the great Father of Cause and Effect — the All-knowing, the universe-building God, — would pass you by? As you sowed, so must \'ou reap. Evil has but one child — Death ! For hundreds of years you have nursed and nurtured Evil. Do you complain if her monstrous progeny is here now, with sword and torch? What else did you expect? Did aou think she would breed angels? Your ancestors, more than two centuries ago, estabhshed and permitted Slavery. What was the 304 CjESAR'S column. cry of the bondmaD to them? What the sobs of the mother torn from licr child — the wife from her husband — on the auction block? Who among them cared for the lacerated bodies, the shameful and hopeless lives? They were merry; they sang and they danced ; and they said, " God sleeps." But a day came when there was a corpse at every fireside. And not the corpse of the black stranger — the African — the slave; — but the corpses of fair, bright-faced men; their cultured, their manly, their noble, their best-beloved. And, North and South, they sat, rocking themselves to and fro, in the midst of the shards and ashes of desolation, crying aloud for the lives that would come back to bless them never, nevermore. God wipes out injustice with suffering; wrong with blood; sin with death. You can no more get beyond the reach of His hand than you can escape from the planet. CHAPTER XXXIV. THE PRINCE GIVES HIS LAST BRIBE. But it was when the inob readied the wealthier parts of the city that the horrors of the devastation reall^^ began. Here almost every grand house was the abode of one of the condemned. True, many of them had fled. But the cunning cripple — the vice- president — had provided for this too. At the rail- road stations, at the bridges and ferries, even on the yachts of the princes, men were stationed who would recognize and seize them ; and if they even escaped the dangers of the suburbs, and reached the country, there they found armed bands of desperate peasants, ranging about, slaying every one who did not bear on his face and person the traces of the same wretch- edness which they themselves had so long endured. Nearly every rich man had, in his own household and among his ow^n servants, some bitter foe, who hated him, and who had waited for this terrible day and fol- lowed him to the death. The Prince of Cabano, through his innumerable spies, had early received word of the turn affairs had taken. He had hurriedly filled a large satchel with diamonds and other jewels of great value, and, sling- ing it over his shoulders, and arming himself with sword, knife and pistols, he had called Frederika to him (he had really some httle love for his hand- some concubine), and loading her pockets and his own with gold pieces, and taking her by the hand, he 20 305 306 CESAR'S COLUMN. had fled in o:Teat terror to the river side. His fine yacht lay off in the stream. He called and shouted until he was hoarse, but no one replied from the ves- sel. He looked around. The -svharves were deserted ; the few boats visible were chained and ])adlocked to their iron rings. The master of many servants was helpless. He shouted, screamed, tore his hair, stamped and swore viciously. The man who had coolly doomed ten million human beinp;s to death was horribly afraid he would have to die himself. He ran back, still clinging to Frederika, to hide in the thick shrubber}' of his own garden ; there, per- haps, he might find a faithful servant who would get him a boat and take liim off to the yacht in safety. But then, like the advancing thunder of a hurri- cane, when it champs the earth and tears the ti-ees to pieces with its teeth, came on the awful mob. Now it is at his gates. He buries himself and companion in a thick grove of cedars, and they crouch to the very ground. Oh, how humble is the lord of millions! How all the endowments of the world fall off from a man in his last extremity ! He shivers, he trembles— yea, he prays! Through his bloodshot eyes he catches some glimpses of a God — of a merciful God who loves nil his creatures. Even Frederika, though she has neither love nor respect for him, pities him, as the bloated mass lies shiv^ering be- side her. Can this be the same lordly gentleman, every hair of whose mustache bespoke empire and dominion, who a few da^'s since plotted the abase- ment of mankind ? But, hark! the awful tumult. The crashing of glass, the breaking of furniture, the beating in of CESAR'S COLUMN. 307 doors with axes ; the canaille have taken possession of the palace. The^^ are looking- for him everywhere. They fiud him not. Out into the grounds and garden; here, there, everywhere, they turn and wind and quarter, like bloodhounds that have lost the scent. And then the Prince hears, quite near him, the piping voice of a little ragged boy — a bare-footed urchin — saying: "They came back from the river; they went in here." (He is one of the cripple's spies, set upon him to watch him.) "This way, this way! " And the next instant, like a charge of wild cattle, the mob bursts through the cedars, led by a gigantic and ferocious figure, black with dust and mantled with blood — the blood of others. The Prince rose from his lair as the yell of the pursuers told he was discovered : he turned as if to run; his trembling legs failed him; his eyes glared wildly; he tried to draw a weapon, but his hand shook so it was in vain. The next instant there was a crack of a pistol in the hands of one of the mob. The ball struck the Prince in the back of the neck, even in the same spot where, a century before, the avenging bullet smote the assassin of the good Presi- dent Lincoln. WJth a terrible shriek he fell down, and moaned in the most exquisite torture. His suffering was so great that, coward as he was, he cried out : 'Kill me! kill me!" A workman, stirred by a hu- mane sentiment, stepped forward and pointed his pistol, but the cripple struck the weapon up. " No, no," he said ; "let him suffer for a few hours something of the misery he and his have inflicted on mankind during centuries. A thousand years of tor- ture would not balance the account. The wound is 308 CESAR'S COLUMN. mortal — his body is now paralyzed — only the sense of pain remains. The damned in hell do not suffer more. Come away." But CsBsar had seen a prize worth pursuing. Fred- erika had risen, and when the Prince was shot she fled. CiEsar pursued her, crashing through the shrub- bery like an enraged mammoth; and soon the cripple laughed one of his dreadful laughs — for he saw the giant returning, dragging the fair girl after him, b}' the hair of her head, as we have seen, in the pictures, ogres hauling off captured children to de- struction. And still the Prince lay upon his back ; and still he shrieked and moaned and screamed in agony, and begged for death. An hour passed, and there was dead silence save for his cries ; the mob had swept off to new scenes of slaughter. The Prince heard the crackling of a stick, and then a stealthy step. A thief, hunting for plunder, was approaching. The Prince, by a great effort, hushed his outcries. "Come here," said he, as the pale, mean face peered at him curiously through the shrubbery. "Come nearer." The thief stood close to him. " Would you kill a man for a hundred thousand dollars?" asked the Prince. The thief grinned, and nodded his head; it signi- fied that he would commit murder for the hundred thousandth part of that sum. "I am mortally wounded and in dreadful pain," growled the Prince, the suppressed sobs interrupt- ing his speech. "If 1 tell you where you can find a CESAR'S COLUMN. 309 hundred thousand dollars, will you drive my knife through my heart? " "Yes," said the thief. "Then take the knife,'' he said. The thief did so, eying it rapaciously — for it was diamond-studded and gold-mounted. "But," said the Prince— villain himself and an- ticipating all villainy in others,— "if I tell you where the money is you will run away to seek it, and leave me here to die a slow and agonizing death." "No," said the thief; "I promise you on my honor." A thief's honor! "I tell you what you must do," said the Prince, afterthinking a moment. "Kneel down and lean over me; put your arms around me; I cannot hold you with my hands, for they are paralyzed ; but put the lapel of your coat between my teeth. I will then tell you where the treasure is; but I will hold on to you by my teeth until you kill me. You v.ill have to slay me to escape from me." The thief did as he was directed ; his arms were around the Prince; the lapel of his coat was between the Prince's teeth; and then through liis shut teeth, tight clenched on the coat, the Prince muttered : " It is in the satchel beneath me." Without a word the thief raised his right hand and drove the knife sidewise clear through the Prince's heart. The last of the accumulations of generations of wrong and robbery and extortion and cruelty had sufficed to purchase their heritor a miserable death, — in the embrace of a thief I CHAPTEE XXXV. THE LIBERATED PRISONER. About two o'clock that day Maximilian returned home. He was covered with dust and powder-smoke, but there was no blood upon him. I did not see him return ; but when I entered the drawing-room I started back. There was a stranger present. I could not long doubt as to who he was. He was locked in the arms of Max's mother. He was a pitiful sight. A tall, gaunt man ; his short hair and stubby beard white as snow. He was prematurely aged — his back was stooped — his pallid complexion reminded one of plants gTown in cellars ; he had a dejected, timorous look, like one who had long been at the merc3' of brutal masters; his hands were seamed and calloused with hai-d work ; he was without a coat, and his nether garments had curious, tiger-like stripes upon them. He was sobbing like a child in t he arms of his wife. He seemed very weak in body and mind. Maximilian gave him a chair, and his mother sat down by him, weejnng bitterly, and hold- ing the poor calloused hands in her own, and pat- ting them gently, while she nmrmured words of com- fort and rejoicing. The poor man looked bewildered, as if he could not quite collect his faculties; and occasionally he would glance anxiously at the door, as if he expected that, at any moment, his bi-utal masters would enter and take him back to his tasks. CESAR'S COLUMN. 311 "Gabriel," said Maximilian,— and his face was flushed and working— " this is— or was— my father." I took the poor hand in my own and kissed it, and spoke encouragingly to him. And this, I thought, was once a wealthy, handsome, portly, learned gen- tleman; a scholar and a philanthropist; and his only crime was that he loved his fellow-men ! And upon how many such men have the prison doors of the world closed — never to open again? They took him away to the bath ; they fed him ; they put upon him the clothes of a gentleman. He smiled in a childish way, and smoothed the fine cloth with his hands ; and then he seemed to realize, for the first time, that he was, indeed, no longer a prisoner— that his jailers had gone out of his life forever. "I must go now," said Maximihan, hurriedly; "I will be back this evening. I have a duty to perform." He returned at nightfall. There was a terrible light in his eyes. "I have avenged my father," lie said to me, in a hoarse whisper. " Come this way." He took me into the library, for he would not have the Avomen hear the dreadful story. I shut the door. He said : "I had made all the necessary arrangements to prevent the escape of the Count and his accomplices. I knew that he would fly, at the first alarm, to his yacht, which hes out in the harbor. He had ruined my father by bribery ; so I brought his own instru- ment to bear upon him, and bribed, with a large sum, his confidential friend, who was in command of his vessel, to deliver him up to me. As I had antici- pated, the cunning wretch fled to the yacht; they 312 CESAR'S COLUMN. took nim on board. Then they made him prisoner. He was shackled and chained to the mast. He begged for his life and liberty. He had brought a fortune with him in gold and jewels. He offered the whole of it to his friend, as a bribe, for he surmised what was coming. The faithful officer replied, as I had instructed him, that the Count could not offer that treasure, for he himself had already appropri- ated it to his own purposes. The miscreant had al- ways had a lively sense of the power of money for evil; he saw it now in a new light — for he was penni- less. After taking my father from the prison and bringing him home, I arranged as to the other pris- oners and then went to the yacht. I introduced m^'self to the Count. I told him that I had de- ceived his spies — that I had led a double life; that I had joined the Brotherhood and had become one of its leading spirits, wath but two objects: — to punish him and his villainous associates and to rescue my father. That, as they had destroyed my father for money, the same instruments should now destroy him, through fear. That they were all prisoners, and should die together a fearful death ; but if they had a hundred lives they could not atone for the suffering they had caused one good and great-hearted man. They had compelled him, for years, to work in the society of the basest of his species — at work too hard for even a young and strong man ; they had separated him from his fam- ily; they had starved his mind and heart and body; they had beaten and scourged him for the slightest offenses. He had suffered a thousand deaths. It would be no equivalent to simply kill them. They should die in prolonged agony. And as he — the CJESAR'S COLUMN. 313 Count— "had alwa3^s gone upon the principle that it was right to work upon tlie weaknesses of others to accomplish his purposes, I should imitate him. I should not touch him myself. "I then ordered the captain and his men to put him in the boat and carry him ashore. "He begged and pleaded and abased himself; he entreated and shrieked ; but he addressed hearts as hard as his own. "On the river-bank were a body of my men. In the midst of them they had the other prisoners — the corrupt judge, eight of the jurymen— four had died since the trial— and the four lying witnesses. They were all shackled together. A notary public was present, and they signed and acknowledged their confessions, that they had been bribed to swear against my father and to convict him ; and they even acknowledged, in their terror, the precise sums which they had received for their dreadful acts. "'Spare me! spare me!' shrieked the Count, groveling on the ground; 'only part of that money came from me. I was but the instrument of the government. I was commanded to do as I did.' " ' The others have already gone to their account,' I replied, 'every man of them. You will overtake them in a little while.' "I ordered the prisoners to chain him to a stout post which stood in the middle of one of the wharves. They were unshackled and did so with alacrity; my men standing around ready to shoot them down if they attempted to fly. The Count writhed and shrieked for help, but in a little while he was securely fastened to the post. There was a ship loaded with lumber lying beside the next wharf. I 314 CESAR'S COLUMN. ordered them to bring the lumber ; they quickly piled it up in great walls around him, within about ten feet of him ; and then more and more was heaped around tliese walls. The Count began to realize the death that awaited him, and his screams were appall- ing. But I said to him : " ' Count, be calm. This is not as bad as a sen- tence of twenty years in the penitentiary for an hon- est and innocent man. And, remember, my dear Count, how you have enjoyed yourself all these 3'ears, while my poor father has been toiling in prison in a striped suit. Think of the roast beef you have eaten and the wine you have consumed ! And, more- over, the death you are about to die, my dear Count, was once fashionable and popular in the world ; and many a good and holy man went up to heaven from just such a death-bed as j^ou shall have — a death-bed of fire and ashes. And see, my good Count, how willingly these honest men, whom you hired, with your damnable money, to destroy'' my father — see how willingly they work to prepare your funeral pile ! What a supple and pliant thing, O Count, is human baseness. It has but one defect- it may be turned upon ourselves! And then, O my dear Count, it shocks us and hurts our feelings. But say your prayers, Count, say your prayers. Call upon God, for He is the only one likely to listen to you now.' " ' Here,' I said to the judge, ' put a match to the pile.'" "The miserable wretch, trembling and hoping to save his own life by his superserviceable zeal, got down upon his knees, and lighted a match, and puffed and blew to make the fire catch. At last it CESAR'S COLUMN. 315 started briskly, and in a few minutes the Count was screaming in the center of a roaring furnace. " I gave a jjreconcerted signal to my men. In the twinkling of an eye each of the prisoners was man- acled hand and foot, shrieking and roaring for mercy. "'It was a splendid joke, gentlemen,' I said to them, ' that you played on my father. To send that good man to prison, and to go home with the price of his honor and his liberty jingling in your pockets. It was a capital joke ; and 3-ou will now feel the finest point of the witticism. In with them ! ' "And high above the walls of fire they were thrown, and the briber and the bribed — the villain and his instruments — all perished howling together," I listened, awestruck, to the terrible story. There was a light in Max's eyes which showed that long- brooding over the wrongs of his father and the sight of his emaciated and wretched form had "worked hke madness in his brain," until he was, as I had feared, a monomaniac, with but one idea — revenge. "Max, dear Max," I said, "for Heaven's sake never let Christina or your mother hear that dread- ful story. It was a madman's act! Never think of it again. You have wiped out the crime in blood ; there let it end. And leave these awful scenes, or you will become a maniac." He did not answer me for a time, but looked down thoughtfully ; and then he glanced at me, furtively, and said : "Is not revenge right? Is it not simply justice?" "Perhaps so, in some sense," I replied; "and if you had killed those base wretches witli your own hand the world could not have much blamed you. 316 CESAR'S COLUMN. Remember, however, ' Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, and I will repa}'.' But to send them out of life by such dreadful tortures ! It is too terrible." "But death,"' he said, "is nothing; it is the mere end of life — perhaps of consciousness; and that is no atonement for years of suffering, every da^' of which was full of more agony than death itself can wring from the human heart." "I will not argue with 3'ou, Max," I rei)lied, "for you are wrong, and I love you; but do you not see, when a heart, the kindest in the world, could conceive and execute such a terrible revenge, that the condition of the mind is abnormal? But let us change the gloomy subject. The dreadful time has put 'tricks of desperation' in your braiii. And it is not the least of the crimes of the Oligarchy that it could thus pervert honest and gentle natures, and turn them into savages. And that is what it has done with millions. It has fought against goodness, and developed wickedness. " CHAPTER XXXVI. C^SAR ERECTS HIS MONUMENT. "What other news have you? " I asked. "The strangest you ever heard," rephed Max. "AVhatisit?" "Caesar," said Max, "has fallen upon a scheme of the most frenzied and extraordinary kind." "Are the meuiliers of the Executive Committee all going crazy together? " I asked, "Surely," replied Max, "the terrible events we are passing througli would be our excuse if we did. But you shall hear. After I had avenged mj father I proceeded to find Caesar. I heard from members of the Brotherhood, whom I met on the streets, that he was at Prince Cabano's palace. I hurried there, as it was necessary I should confer with him on some matters. A crowd had reassembled around the build- ing, which had become in some sort a headquar- ters; and, in fact, Caesar has confiscated it to his own uses, and intends to keep it as his home hereaf- ter. I found him in the council-chamber. You never saw such a sight. He was so black with dust and blood that he looked like a negro. He was hatless, and his mat of hair rose like a wild beast's mane. He had been drinking; his eyes were wild and rolling; the great sword he held in his right hand was caked with blood to the hilt. He was in a feai-ful state of excitement, and roared when he spoke. A king-devil, 3'7 318 CESAR'S COLUMN. come fresh out of hell, could scarcely have looked more terrible. Behind him in one corner, crouching and crj'ing together, were a bevy of young and hand- some women. The Sultan had been collecting his harem. When he caught sight of me he rushed for- ward and seized my hand, and shouted out: " 'Hurrah, old fellow! This is better than rais- ing potatoes on the Saskatchewan, or hiding among the niggers in Louis — hie — iana. Down with the Oligarchy. To hell with them. Hurrah! This is my palace. I am a king! Look-a-there,' he said, with a roll and a leer, pointing over his shoulder at tlie shrinking and terrified women ; ' ain't they beauties, — hie — all mine — every one of 'em.' "Here one of his principal officers came up, and the following dialogue occurred : " 'I came, General, to ask you what we are to do with the dead.' " 'Kill 'em,' roared Caesar, 'kill 'em, d n 'em. ' " ' But, General, they are dead already,' replied the officer, who was a steady fellow and perfectly sober. " 'Well, what's the matter with 'em, then?' replicnl Caesar. 'Come, come. Bill, if they're dead, that's the end of them. Take a drink,' and he turned, unstead- ily, toward the council-table, on which stood several bottles and demijohns. " ' But some of us have talked it over,' said the officer. 'A number of the streets are impassable al- ready with the dead. There must be a quarter of a million of soldiers and citizens lying about, and the number is being added to every minute. The weather is warm, and they will soon breed a pestilence that will revenge them on their slayers. Those killed by the poison are beginning to smell already. We CESAR'S COLUMN. 319 couldn't take any action without your authority, and so I came to ask you for j^our orders.' " 'Burn 'em up,' said Caesar. " 'We can't,' said the man; 'we would have to burn up the city to destroy them in tliafc way ; there are too many of them; and it would be an immense task to bury them.' " ' Heap 'em all up in one big pile,' said Caesar. " 'That wouldn't do — the smell they would make in decaying would be unbearable, to say nothing of the sickness they would create.' "Caesar was standing unsteadily, looking at us \^ath lack-luster eyes. Suddenly an idea seemed to dawn in his monstrous head — an idea as monstrous and uncouth as the head itself. His eyes lighted up. " 'I have it!' he shouted. 'By G— d, I have it! Make a pyramid of them, and pour cement over them, and let it stand forever as a monument of this da^' 's glorious work ! Hoorrah ! ' " 'That's a pretty good idea,' said the officer, and the others present, courtier-like — for King Cae- sar already has his courtiers — applauded the idea vociferously. " 'We'll have a monument that shall last while the earth stands,' cried Caesar. 'And, hold on. Bill,' he continued, '3'ou vshall build it ; — and — I say — we won't make a pyramid of it —it shall be a column — Csesafs Column — by G— d. It shall reach to the skies! And if there aren't enough dead to build it of, why, we'll kill some more ; we've got plenty to kill. Old Thingumbob, who used to live here — in my palace — said he would kill ten million of us to-day. But he didn't. Not much! Max's friend — that 320 CJESAR'S COLUMN. d d lono^-legged fellow, from Africa— he dished him, for he told old Quincy all about it. And now I've got old Thingumbob's best girl in the corner yonder. Oh, it's jolly. But build the column, Bill — build it high and strong. I remember — hie — how they used to build houses on the Saskatchewan, when I was grubbing for potatoes there. They had a board frara'e the length of a wall, and three or four feet high. They would thi-ow in stones, bowlders, pebbles, dirt, anything, and, when it was fiill,the3' would pour cement over it all; and when it hardened — hie — which it did in a few minutes, they lifted up the frame and made another course. I say. Bill, that's the way 3'ou must build Caesar's column. And get Char- ley Carpenter to help you; he's an engineer. And, hold on, Bill, put a lot of djniamite — Jim has just told me they had found tons of it — put a lot of dy- namite — hie — in the middle of it, and if they try to tear down my monument, it will blow them to the d 1. And, 1 say. Max, that long-legged, preaching 8on-of-thunder — that friend of yours — he must write an inscri])tion for it. Do3'onhear? He's the man to do it. Something fine. B3' G — d, we will bnild a monument that will beat the pyramids of all the other Caesars. Caesar ' s Column ! Hoorrah I " "And the great brute fairly jumped and danced with delight over his extraordinary conception. " Bill hurried out. They have sixt3' thousand pris- oners — men who had not been among the condemned — but merchants, professional men, etc. They were debating, when I came up, whether they would kill them, but I suggested that they be set to w^ork on the construction of C;Bsar's Column, and if they worked well, that their lives be spared. This was CESAR'S COLUMN. 321 a2creed to. They are now building the monument on U.iion Square. Thousands of wagons are at work bringing in the dead. Other wagons are hauUng cement, sand, etc. Bill and his friend Carpenter are at work. They have constructed great wooden boxes, about forty feet from front to rear, about four feet high and fifty feet long. The dead are to be laid in rows — the feet of the one row of men near the center of the monument, and the feet of the next row touching the heads of the first, and so on. In the middle of the column there is to be a cavity, about five feet square, running from the top to the bottom of the monument, in wdiich the dynamite is to be placed ; while wires will lead out from it among the bodies, so arranged, with fulminating charges, that any attempt to destroy the monument or remove the bodies will inevitabh' result in a dread- ful explosion. But we will go up after dinner and look at the work," he said, "for they are to labor night and day until it is finished. The members of the Brotherhood have entered with great spirit into the idea of such a monument, as a symbol and memorial of their own glory and triumph." "I remember," said I, "reading somewhere that, some centuries ago, an army of white men invaded one of the Barbary states. They were defeated by the natives, and were every one slain. The Moors took their bodies and piled them up in a great mon- ument, and there the white bones and grinning skulls remain to this day, a pyramid of skeletons ; a ghastly warning to others who might think to make a like attempt at invasion of the country. Caesar must have read of that terrible trophy of victory." "Perhaps so," said Maximilian; "but the idea 21 322 CESAR'S COLUMN. may have been original with him ; for there is no tell- ino- what such a monstrous brain as his, fired by whisky and battle, might or might not produce." At dinner poor ]\Ir. Phillips was looking somewhat better. He had a great many questions to ask his son about the insurrection. "Arthur," he said, "if the bad man and his ac- complices, who so cruelly used me, should be made prisoners, I beg you, as a favor to me, not to punish them. Leave them to God and their own con- sciences." "I shall," said Max, quietly. Mrs. Phillips heartily approved of this sentiment. I looked down at my plate, but before my eyes there came a dreadful picture of that fortress of flame, with the chained man in the midst, and high above it I could see, swung through the air by powerful arms, manacled figures, who descended, shrieking, into the vortex of fire. After many injunctions to his guards, to look well after the house, Max and I, well armed and wearing our red crosses, and accompanied by two of our most trusted men, sallied forth through the back gate. What a scene! Chaos had come. There were no cars or carriages. Thieves and mnrderei-s wei-c around us; scenes of rapine and death on every hand. We moved together in a body ; our magazine I'ifles ready for instant use. Our red crosses protected us from the members of the Brotherhood ; and the thieves gave our guns a wide berth. At a street crossing we encountered a wagon-load of dead bodies ; they were being hauled to the monument. The driver, one of the Brother- hood, recognized Max, and invited us to seats beside CESAR'S COLUMN. 323 him. Familiarity makes death as natural as life. We accepted his offer — one of our men sitting on the tail-board of the wagon; and in this gory chariot we rode slowly through Broadway, deserted now by everj'thing but crime. The shops had all been broken open ; dead bodies lay here and there ; and occasion- ally a burned block lifted its black arms appealingly to heaven. As we drew near to Union Square a w^on- derful sight — such as the world had never before be- held — expanded before us. Great blazing bonfires lighted the work ; hundreds of thousands had gath- ered to behold the ghastly structure, the report of which had already spread everywhere. These men nearly all belonged to the Brotherhood, or were mem- bers of the lower orders, who felt that they had noth- ing to fear from insurrection. There were many women among them, and not a few thieves, who, drawn by curiosit,y, for awhile forgot their opportu- nities and their instincts. Within the great outer circle of dark and passionate and exultant faces, there was another assemblage of a ver^' different appear- ance. These were the prisoners at work upon the monument. Many of them were gra^'-haired ; some were bloody from wounds upon their heads or bod- ies ; they w^ere all pale and terrified ; not a few were in rags, or half naked, their clothes having been literally torn from their backs. They were dejected, and yet moved with alacrity, in fear of the whips or clubs in the hands of their masters, who passed among them, filling the air with oaths. Max pointed out to me prominent merchants, lawyers and clergy- men. They were all dazed-looking, like men after a terrific earthquake, who had lost confidence in the stability of everything. It was Anarchy personified : 324 CESAR'S COLUMN. — the men of intellect were doing; the work ; the men of muscle were giving the orders. The under-rail had come on top. It reminded me of Swift's story of the country- where the men were servants to the horses. The wagons rolled up, half a dozen at a time, and dumped their dreadful burdens on the stones, with no more respect or ceremony than if they had been cord-wood. Then the poor trembling prisoners seized them b}' the head and feet, and carried them to other prisoners, who stood inside the boxes, and who ar- ranged them like double lines from a central point : — it was the many-rayed sun of death that had set upon civilization. Then, when the box was full and closed packed, they poured the liquid cement, which had been mixed close at hand, over them. It har- dened at once, and the dead were entombed forever. Then the box was lifted and the work of sepulture went on. While I stood watching the scene I heard a thrill- ing, ear-piercing shriek — a dreadful cry! A young man, who was helping to carr^^ a corpse, let go his hold and fell down on the pavement. I went over to him. He was writhing and moaning. He Imd observed something familiar about the form he was bearing — it was the body of a woman. He had peered througU the disheveled hair at the poor, ago- nized, blood-stained features, and recognized — Iiis wife!'' One of the guards raised his whip to strike him, and shouted : "Here! Get up! None of this humbugging." I caught the ruffian's arm. The poor wietch was embracing the dead body, and moaning pitiful ex- CESAR'S COLUMN. 325 pressions of love and tenderness into the ears that would never hear him more. The ruffian threatened me. But the mob was moved to merev, and took my part; and even permitted the poor creature to carry off his dead in his arms, out into the outer darkness. God only knows where he could have borne it. I grew sick at heart. The whole scene was awful. I advanced toward the colunm. It was already several feet high, and ladders were being made, up which the dead might be borne. Coffee and bread and meat were served out to the workers. I noticed a sneaking, ruffianly fellow, going about among the prisoners, peering into every face. Not far from me a ragged, hatless, gray-haired nian, of over seventy, was helping another, equally old, to bear a heavy body to the ladders. The ruffian looked first into the face of the man at the feet of the corpse; then he came to the man at the head. He uttered an exclamation of delight. '•Ha! you old scoundrel,'' he cried, drawing his pistol. "So I've found you. You're the man that turned my sick wife out of your house, because she couldn't pay the rent. I've got 3'ou now." The old man fell on his knees, and held up his hands, and begged for mercy. I heard an explosion — a red spot suddenly appeared on his forehead, and he fell forward, over the corpse he had been carrying — dead. "Come! move lively!" cried one of the guards, snapping his whip; "carry them both to the work- men." I grew dizzy. Maximilian came up. "How pale you are," he said. 826 CESAR'S COLUMN. "Take me away!" I exclaimed, "or I shall faint." "We rode back in another chariot of revolution — a death-cart. CHAPTER XXXVII. THE SECOND DAY. It was a dreadful night. Crowds of farmers from the surroundiiiii; country kept pouring into the city. They were no longer the honest yeomanry who had filled, in the old time, the armies of Washington, and Jackson, and Grant, and Sherman, with brave and patriotic soldiers; but their brutalized descendants — fierce serfs — cruel and bloodthirsty peasants. Every man who owned anything was their enemy and their victim. They invaded the houses of friend and foe alike, and murdered men, women and children. Plunder ! plunder ! They had no other thought. One of our men came to me at midnight, and said: " Do 3'ou hear those shrieks? " "Yes," I replied. "They are murdei-ing the family next door." These were pleasant, kindly people, who had never harmed any one. But this maelstrom swallows good and bad alike. Another came running to me, and cried : " They are attacking the house ! "' "Where?" I asked. "At the front door." "Throw over a hand-grenade," I said. There was a loud crash, and a scurrying of flying feet. The cowardly miscreants had fled. They were murderers, not warriors. 327 328 CJESAR'S COLUMN. All night long the awful Bedlam raged. The dark streets swarmed. Three times we had to have re- course to the hand-grenades. Fires sprang up all over the city, licking the darkness with their hideous tongues of flame, and revealing by their crimson glare the awful sights of that unparalleled time. The dread came upon me : What if some wretch should fire a house in our block? How should we choose between the conflagration and those terrible streets ? Would it not be better to be ashes and cinders, than to fall into the hands of that demoniacal mob? No one slept. Max sat apart and thought. Was he considering — too late! — w^hether it was right to have helped produce this terrible catastrophe? Early in the morning, accompanied by three of his men, he went out. We ate breakfast in silence. It seemed to me we had no right to eat in the midst of so much death and destruction. There was an alarm, and the firing of guns above us. Some miscreants had tried to reach the roof of our house from the adjoining buildings. We rushed up. A lively fusillade followed. Our magazine rifles and hand-grenades were too much for them; some fell dead and the rest beat a hasty retreat. They were peasants, searching for ])lunder. After awhile there came a loud rapping at the front door. I leaned over the parapet and asked who was there. A rough-looking man replied : '' I have a letter for you." Fearing some trick, to break into the house, I lowered a long cord and told him to tie the letter to it. He did so. I pulled u]) a large sheet of dirty wrapping-paper. There were some lines scrawled CESAR'S COLUMN. 329 upon it, in lead-pencil, in the large band of a school- boy — almost undecipherable. With some study I made out these words : Mister Gabriel, Max's Friend: — Caesar wants that thing to put on the front of the column. Bill. It took me a few minutes to understand it. At last I realized that Caesar's officer — Bill — had sent for the inscription for the monument, about which Caesar had spoken to Max. I called down to the messeno-er to wait, and that I would give it to him. I sat down, and, after some thought, wrote, on the back of the wrapping-paper, these words : This Great Monument IS ERECTED BY CiESAR LOMELLINI, Commanding General of THE BROTHERHOOD OF DESTRUCTION, IN commemoration of The Death and Burial of MODERN CIVILIZATION. It is composed of the bodies of a quarter of a million of human beinirs, who were once the rulers, or the instruments of the rulers, of this mighty, but, alas! this ruined city. They were dominated by leaders who were altogether evil. They corrupted the courts, the juries, the newspapers, the legi.s- latures, the congresses, the ballot-boxes and the hearts and souls of the people. They formed gigantic combinations to plunder the poor; to make the miserable more miserable; to take from those who had least and give it to those who had most. 330 CJESAR'S COLUMN. They used the machinery of free government to effect oppres- sion; they made liberty a mockery, and its traditions a jest; they drove justice from the land and installed cruelty, ignorance, de- spair and vice in its place. Their hearts were harder than the nether mill-stone; they d(^ graded humanity and outraged God. At length indignation stirred in the vasty courts of heaven; and overburdened human nature rose in universal revolt on earth. By the very instruments which their own wiekednoss had cre- ated they perished; and here they lie, sepulchred in stone, and heaped iiround explosives as destructive as their own lives. We execrate their vices, while we weep for their misfortunes. They were the culmination of centuries of misgovernment; and they paid an awful penalty for the sins of generations of short-sighted and selfish ancestors, as well as for their own cruelty and wicked- ness. Let this monument, O man I stand forever. Should civilization ever revive on earth, let the human race come hither and look upon this towering shaft, and learn to re- strain selfishness and live righteously. From this ghastly pile let it derive the great lesson, that no earthly government can endure which is not built on mercy, justice, truth and love. I tied the paper to the cord and lowered it down to the waiting messenger. At noon Max returned. His clothes were torn, his face pale, his eyes wild-looking, and around his head he wore a white bandage, stained with liis own blood. Christina screamed and his mother fainted. " What is the matter, Max ? " I asked. "It is all in vain," he replied despairingly; "1 thought 1 would be able to create order out of chaos and reconstruct society. But that dream is past." " What has liappened ? " I asked. '' I went this morning to Prince Cabano's palace to got Ctesar to help me. Ho had held high carnival all night and was beastly drunk, in bed. Thou 1 went out to counsel with the mob. But another aESAR'S COLUMN. •"^•^I calamity had happened. Last iiio:ht the vice-presi- dent—the Jew— fled, in one of tlie Demons, carrying away one hnndred niilhon doUars that had been left in his charge." " Where did he go ? " 1 asked. "No one knows. He took several of his trnsted followers, of his own nation, with him. It is rumored that he has gone to Judea; that he proposes to nmke himself king in Jerusalem, and, with his vast wealth, re-establish the glories of Solomon, and revive the ancient splendors of the Jewish race, in the midst of the ruins of the world." "What effect has his flight had on the mob?" I asked . "A terrible effect. They are wild with suspi- cions and full of rumors. They gathered, in a vast concourse, around the Cabano palace, to prevent Cgesar leaving them, like the cripple. They beheve that he, too, has another hundred millions hid- den in the cellars of the palace. They clamored for him to appear. The tumult of the mob was frightful. "I rose to address them from the steps of the palace. I told them they 7ieed not fear that Ca3sar would leave them — he was dead drunk, asleep in bed. If they feared treachery, let them appoint a committee to search the palace for treasure. But— I went on— there was a great danger before them which they had not thought of. They must estab- lish some kind of government that they would all obey. If they did not they would soon be starving. I explained to them that this vast city, of ten mill- ion inhabitants, had been fed by thousands of car- loads of food which were brought in, every day, from 332 CESAR'S COLUMN. the outside world. Now the cars had ceased to run. The mob had eaten up all the food in the shops, and to-morrow they would begin to feel the pangs of starvation. And I tried to make them understand what it meant for ten. million people to be starving- together. " They became very quiet. One man cried out : " * What would 3'ou have us do? ' " 'You must establish a provisional government. You must select one man to whose orders you will all submit. Then you must appoint a board of coun- selors to assist him. Then the men among you who are engineers and conductors of trains of cars and of air-lines must reassume their old places; and they must go forth into the country and ex- change the spoils you have gathered for cattle and flour and vegetables, and all other things necessary for hfe.' " 'He wants to make himself a king,' growled one ruffian. "'Yes,' said another, 'and set us all at work again.' "'He's a d d aristocrat, anyhow,' cried a third. " But there were some who had sense enough to see that I was right, and the mob at once divided into two clamorous factions. Words led to blows. A number were killed. Three wretches rushed at me. I shot one dead, and wounded another; the third gave me a flesh wound on the head with a sword ; my hat broke the force of the blow, or it would have made an end of me. As he raised his wea]>on for a second stroke, I shot him dead. My friends forced me through the door of the palace, in front of which I CESAR'S COLUMN. 333 had been standing; we double-locked it to keep out the surging wild beasts; I fled through the back door, and reached here. "All hope is gone," he added sadly; "I can do nothing now but provide for our own safety." CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE P^LIGHT. "Yes," I replied, "we cannot remain here another night. Think what wonld be the effect if a lire broke out anywhere in this block ! " ' He looked at me in a startled way. " True," he said ; " we must fly. I would cheerfully give my life if its sacrifice would arrest these horrors; but it would not." Ciiristina came and stood beside him. He wrote a letter to General Quincy. He made three copies of it. Selecting three of his best men, he gave each a copy, and told them to make their v:ay together, well armed, to the armory of the air-ships. It was a perilous journey, but if either of them reached his destination, he was to deliver his copy of the letter to the general. In it Max asked General Quinc}' to send him one of the "Demons," as promised, that night at eight o'clock; and he also recpiested, as a signal that the messengers had reached him and that the air-ship would come, that he would send up a single Demon, higli in the' air, at once on receiving the letter. We went to the roof with our field-glasses. In two hours, we thought, tiie messengers, w'alking rapidly, would reach the armory. Two hours passed. Nothing was visible in the heavens in the direction of the armory, although we swept the whole region with our glasses. What if oui- messengers had all been slain? 334 CJESAR'S COLUMN. 335 What if General Quincv refused to do as he had agreed, for no promises were likely to bind a man in such a dreadful period of anarchy? Two hours and a quar- ter — two hours and a half passed, and no signal. We began to despair. Could we survive another night of horrors? At last Estella, who had been quietly look- ing to the west with her glass, cried out : "See! there is something rising in the air." We looked. Yes, thank heaven! it was the signal. The Demon rose like a great hawk to a considerable height, floated around for awhile in space, and then slowh^ descended. It would come ! All hands were set at work. A line was formed from the roof to the rooms below ; and everything of value that we desired to carry with us was passed from hand to hand along the line and placed in heaps, ready for removal. Even the women joined eagerly in the w^ork. We did not look for our mes- sengers; they were to return to us in the air-ship. The afternoon was comparativeh' quiet. The mobs on the street seemed to be looking for food rather than treasure. They were, however, generally resting, worn out; they were sleeping — preparing for the evening. With nightfall the saturnalia of death would begin again with redoubled force. We ate our dinner at six : and then Mr. Phillips suggested that we should all join in family prayers. We might never have another opportunity to do so, he said. He prayed long and earnestly to God to save the world and protect his dear ones ; and we all joined fervently in his supplications to the throne of grace. At half past seven, equipped for the journey, we 336 CuESAR'S COLUMN. were all upon the roof, looking out in the direction of the west for the coniino- of the Demon. A little before eight we saw it rise thiough the twilight above the armory. Quiricy, then, was true to his pledge. It came rapidly toward us, high in the air; it circled around, and at last began to descend just over our heads. It paused about ten feet above the roof, and two ladders were let down. The ladies and Mr. Phil- lips were fii'st helped up to the deck of the vessel ; and the men began to carry up the boxes, bales, trunks, money, books and instruments we had collected to- gether. Just at this moment a greater burst of tumult reached my ears. I went to the parapet and looked down. Up the street, to the north, came a vast con- course of people. It stretched far back for many blocks. My first notion was that they were all drunk, their outcries w'ere so vociferous. They shout- ed, yelled and screamed. Some of them bore torches, and nt their head marched a ragged fellow with a long pole, which he carried upright before him. At the top of it was a black mass, which I could not make out in the twilight. At this instant they caught sight of the Demon, and the uproar redoubled ; they danced like madmen, and I could hear Max's name shouted from a hundred lips. " What does it mean ? " I asked him. " It means that they are after me. Hurry up, men," he continued, "hurry up." We all sprang to work ; the women stood at the top and received the smaller articles as a line of men passed them up. Then came a thunderous voice from below: " Open the door, or we will break it down." CESAR'S COLUMN. 337 Max replied by casting a bomb over the parapet. It exploded, killing- half a dozen men. But this mob was not to be intimidated like the thieves. The bul- lets began to fly ; fortunately the gathering darkness protected us. The crowd grew blacker, and more dense and turbulent. Then a number of stalwart fel- lows appeared, bearing a long beam, which they pro- posed to use as a battering-ram, to burst open the door, which had resisted all previous attacks. "Bring down one of the death bombs," said Max to the men in the Demon. Two stout fellows, belonging to the air-ship, car- ried down, carefully, between them, a great black sphere of iron. " Over with it ! '' cried Max. There was a crash, an explosion; the insurgents caught a whiff of the poisoned air; the men dropped the beam ; there was a rush backward amid cries of terror, and the street was clear for a considerable space around the house. "Hurry, men, hurry! " cried Max. I peeped over the parapet. A number of the in- surgents were rushing into a house three doors dis- tant. In a few moments they poured out again, looking behind them as they ran. " I fear they have fired that house,"! said to Max. "I expected as much," he replied, quietly . "Hurry, men, hurry," he again cried. The piles on the roof were diminishing rapidl3'. I turned to pass up bundles of my precious books. Another sound broke on my ears ; a roaring noise that rapidly increased— it was the fire. The mob cheered. Then bursts of smoke poured out of the windows of the doomed house ; then great arms and 22 338 CESAR'S COLUMN. hands of flame reached out and snapped and chitched at the darkness, as if they would drag' down ancient Night itself, with all its crown of stars, upon the pal- pitating breast of the passionate conflagration. Then the roof smoked ; then it seemed to burst open, and vast volumes of flame and smoke and showers of sparks spouted forth. The blaze brought the mob into fearful relief, but fortunately it was between us and the great bulk of our enemies. "My God," said Max, " it is Ceesar's head ! " I looked, and there, sure enough, upon the top of the long pole I had before noticed, was the head of the redoubtable giant. It stood out as if it had been painted in gory characters by the light of the burn- ing house upon that background of darkness. I could see the glazed and dusty eyes ; the protruding tongue; the gi-eat lower jaw hanging down in hideous fashion ; and from the thick, bull-like neck were sus- pended huge gouts of dried and blackened blood. "It is the first instinct of such mobs,'' said Max, quietly, "to suspect their leaders and sla^^ them. They killed Caesar, and then came after me. When they saw the air-ship they were confii-med in their suspicions; they believe that I am carrying awa}' their treasure." I could not turn my eyes from that ferocious head. It fascinated me. It waved and reeled with the surging of the mob. It seemed to me to be execut- ing a hideous dance in mid-air, in the midst of that terrible scene; it floated over it like a presiding demon. The protruding tongue leered at the blazing house and the unspeakable horrors of that assem- V)lage, lit up, as it was, in all its awful features, by the towering conflagration. CESAR'S COLUMN. H89 The crowd yelled and the fire roared. The next house was blazing now, and the roof of the one near- est us was suiokin":. The mob, perceiving that we did not move, concluded that the machinery of the air-ship was broken, and screamed with joy as the flauK'S approached us. Up, up, went bundle and package and box ; faster, and faster, and faster. We \\'ere not to be intimi- dated by fire or mobs ! The roof of the house next us was now blazing, and we could hear the tire, like a furnace, roaring within it. The work is finished ; every parcel is safe. ''Up. up. men! " Max and I were the last to leave the roof; it had become insufferably hot. We stood on the deck; the engineer touched the lever of the electric engine; the great bird swayed for an instant, and then began to rise, like a veritable Phoenix from its nest of flame, surrounded by cataracts of sparks. As the mob saw us ascend, veiled diml}^, at first, by that screen of confiagration, they groaned with dismay and disap- pointment. The bullets flew and hissed around us, but our metallic sides laughed them to scorn. Up, up, straight and swifts as an arrow we rose. The mighty city la}' unrolled below us, like a great map, starred here and there with burning houses. Above the trees of T'nion Square, my glass showed me a white line, lighted by the bon-fires, where Ciesar's Column was towering to the skies, bearing the epi- taph of the world. I said to Max : " What will those millions do to-morrow ? " "Starve," he said. " What will thev do next week? " 340 CJESAR'S COLUMN. " Devour each other," he replied. There was silence for a time. "Will not civil government rise again out of this ruin? "1 asked. "Not for a long time," he replied. "Ignorance, passion, suspicion, brutality", crinnnality, will be the Uons in the path. Men who have such di-eadful mem- ories of labor can scarcely be forced back into it. And who is to employ them? After about three-fourths of the human family have died of hunger, or been killed, the remainder, constituting, by the law of the survival of the fittest, the most powerful and brutal, ^^iIl find it necessary, for self-defense against each other, to form squads or gangs. The greatest fighter in each of these will become chief, as among all sav- {\ges. Then the history of the world will be slowly repeated. A bold ruffian will conquer a number of the adjacent squads, and become a king. Gradually, and in its rudest forms, labor will begin again ; at first exercised principally by slaves. Men will ex- change liberty for protection. After a century or two a kind of commerce may arise. Then will follow other centuries of wars, between provinces or nations. A new aristocracy will spring up. Cultui-e will lift its head. A great power, like Rome in the old world, may arise. Some vast superstition may take pos- session of the world ; and Alfred, Victoria and AVash- ington may be worshiped, as Saturn, Juno and Her- cules were in the past; with perhaps dreadful and bloody rites like those of the Carthaginians and an- cient Mexicans. And so, step by step, mankind will re-enact the great human drama, which begins al- ways with a trag:edy, runs through a comed}'', and terminates in a catastrophe." CESAR'S COLUMN. 341 The city was disappearing — we were over the ocean — the cool salt breeze was refreshing. We both looked back. "Think," I said, "what is going on yonder." Max shuddered. There was a sullen light in his eyes. He looked at his father, who was on his knees praying. "I would destro}^ the world," he said, "to save bim from a living death." He was justifying himself unto himself. "Gabriel," he said, after a pause, "if this out- break had not occurred now, yet would it certainly have come to pass. It was but a question of time. The breaking-strain on humanity was too great. The world could not have gone on; neither could it have turned back. The crash was inevitable. It may be God's wa^' of wiping off the blackboard. It may be that the ancient legends of the destruction of oar race by flood and fire are but dim remem- brances of events like that which is now happening." "It may be so. Max," I replied; and we were silent. Even the sea bore testimony to the ruin of man. The light-houses no longer held up their fingers of flame to warn the mariner from the treacherous rocks. No air-ship, brilliant with many lights shin- ing like innumerable eyes, and heavy with passen- gers, streamed past us with fierce swiftness, splitting the astonished and complaining air. Here and there a sailing vessel, or a steamer, toiled laboriously along, little dreaming that, at their journey's end, starving creatures would swarm up their sides to kill and devour. How still and peaceful was the night — the great, 342 CESAR'S COLUMN. 8olemii, patient night! How sweet and pure the air! How deli