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    The Gilded Age, Part 4.
    The Gilded Age, Part 4.
    The Gilded Age, Part 4.
    Ebook163 pages1 hour

    The Gilded Age, Part 4.

    By Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner

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    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArchive Classics
    Release dateNov 26, 2013
    The Gilded Age, Part 4.
    Author

    Mark Twain

    Mark Twain (1835-1910) was the pen name and alter ego of Samuel Clemens, an American humorist, satirist, social critic, lecturer and novelist. He is considered one of the fathers of American literature and is remembered most fondly for his classic novels The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

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      Book preview

      The Gilded Age, Part 4. - Mark Twain

      THE GILDED AGE, Part 4

      The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Gilded Age, Part 4.

      by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) and Charles Dudley Warner

      This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

      almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or

      re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

      with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

      Title: The Gilded Age, Part 4.

      Author: Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) and Charles Dudley Warner

      Release Date: June 20, 2004 [EBook #5821]

      Language: English

      *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GILDED AGE, PART 4. ***

      Produced by David Widger

      THE GILDED AGE

      A Tale of Today

      by

      Mark Twain

      and

      Charles Dudley Warner

      1873

      Part 4.

      CONTENTS

      CHAPTER XXVIII

      Visit to Headquarters in Wall Street—How Appropriations Are Obtained and Their Cost

      CHAPTER XXIX

      Philip's Experience With the Rail—Road Conductor—Surveys His Mining Property

      CHAPTER XXX

      Laura and Col Sellers Go To Washington On Invitation of Senator Dilworthy

      CHAPTER XXXI

      Philip and Harry at the Boltons'—Philip Seriously Injured—Ruth's First Case of Surgery

      CHAPTER XXXII

      Laura Becomes a Famous Belle at Washington

      CHAPTER XXXIII

      Society in Washington—The Antiques, the Parvenus, and the Middle Aristocracy

      CHAPTER XXXIV

      Grand Scheme For Disposing of the Tennessee Land—Laura and Washington Hawkins Enjoying the Reputation of Being Millionaires

      CHAPTER XXXV

      About Senators—Their Privileges and Habits

      CHAPTER XXXVI

      An Hour in a Book Store

      ILLUSTRATIONS

      CHAPTER XXVIII.

      Whatever may have been the language of Harry's letter to the Colonel, the information it conveyed was condensed or expanded, one or the other, from the following episode of his visit to New York:

      He called, with official importance in his mien, at No.— Wall street, where a great gilt sign betokened the presence of the head-quarters of the Columbus River Slack-Water Navigation Company. He entered and gave a dressy porter his card, and was requested to wait a moment in a sort of ante-room. The porter returned in a minute; and asked whom he would like to see?

      The president of the company, of course.

      He is busy with some gentlemen, sir; says he will be done with them directly.

      That a copper-plate card with Engineer-in-Chief on it should be received with such tranquility as this, annoyed Mr. Brierly not a little. But he had to submit. Indeed his annoyance had time to augment a good deal; for he was allowed to cool his heels a frill half hour in the ante-room before those gentlemen emerged and he was ushered into the presence. He found a stately dignitary occupying a very official chair behind a long green morocco-covered table, in a room with sumptuously carpeted and furnished, and well garnished with pictures.

      Good morning, sir; take a seat—take a seat.

      Thank you sir, said Harry, throwing as much chill into his manner as his ruffled dignity prompted.

      We perceive by your reports and the reports of the Chief Superintendent, that you have been making gratifying progress with the work.—We are all very much pleased.

      Indeed? We did not discover it from your letters—which we have not received; nor by the treatment our drafts have met with—which were not honored; nor by the reception of any part of the appropriation, no part of it having come to hand.

      Why, my dear Mr. Brierly, there must be some mistake, I am sure we wrote you and also Mr. Sellers, recently—when my clerk comes he will show copies—letters informing you of the ten per cent. assessment.

      Oh, certainly, we got those letters. But what we wanted was money to carry on the work—money to pay the men.

      Certainly, certainly—true enough—but we credited you both for a large part of your assessments—I am sure that was in our letters.

      Of course that was in—I remember that.

      Ah, very well then. Now we begin to understand each other.

      Well, I don't see that we do. There's two months' wages due the men, and——

      How? Haven't you paid the men?

      Paid them! How are we going to pay them when you don't honor our drafts?

      Why, my dear sir, I cannot see how you can find any fault with us. I am sure we have acted in a perfectly straight forward business way.—Now let us look at the thing a moment. You subscribed for 100 shares of the capital stock, at $1,000 a share, I believe?

      Yes, sir, I did.

      And Mr. Sellers took a like amount?

      Yes, sir.

      Very well. No concern can get along without money. We levied a ten per cent. assessment. It was the original understanding that you and Mr. Sellers were to have the positions you now hold, with salaries of $600 a month each, while in active service. You were duly elected to these places, and you accepted them. Am I right?

      Certainly.

      Very well. You were given your instructions and put to work. By your reports it appears that you have expended the sum of $9,610 upon the said work. Two months salary to you two officers amounts altogether to $2,400—about one-eighth of your ten per cent. assessment, you see; which leaves you in debt to the company for the other seven-eighths of the assessment—viz, something over $8,000 apiece. Now instead of requiring you to forward this aggregate of $16,000 or $17,000 to New York, the company voted unanimously to let you pay it over to the contractors, laborers from time to time, and give you credit on the books for it. And they did it without a murmur, too, for they were pleased with the progress you had made, and were glad to pay you that little compliment—and a very neat one it was, too, I am sure. The work you did fell short of $10,000, a trifle. Let me see—$9,640 from $20,000 salary $2;400 added—ah yes, the balance due the company from yourself and Mr. Sellers is $7,960, which I will take the responsibility of allowing to stand for the present, unless you prefer to draw a check now, and thus——

      Confound it, do you mean to say that instead of the company owing us $2,400, we owe the company $7,960?

      Well, yes.

      And that we owe the men and the contractors nearly ten thousand dollars besides?

      Owe them! Oh bless my soul, you can't mean that you have not paid these people?

      But I do mean it!

      The president rose and walked the floor like a man in bodily pain. His brows contracted, he put his hand up and clasped his forehead, and kept saying, Oh, it is, too bad, too bad, too bad! Oh, it is bound to be found out—nothing can prevent it—nothing!

      Then he threw himself into his chair and said:

      "My dear Mr. Brierson, this is dreadful—perfectly dreadful. It will be found out. It is bound to tarnish the good name of the company; our credit will be seriously, most seriously impaired. How could you be so thoughtless—the men ought to have been paid though it

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