The White Rose of Memphis

CHAPTER XXXI

“I escorted Lottie to the jail, and when she and Miss Bramlett rushed into each other’s arms, I was so deeply moved by the affectionate meeting of those two devoted friends that I felt the tears begin to trickle down my cheeks. For full five minutes they remained silently clasped in each other’s strong embrace.

“‘Heaven bless you, my precious, true, unselfish friend!’ exclaimed Miss Bramlett, still holding Lottie to her heart; ‘God has answered my prayers, for on my knees I have spent four hours every day in sending up my supplications in behalf of my darling Lottie. I am one of those who have unlimited confidence in the goodness and mercy of God, and believe He answers the prayers of those who ask in the spirit of true faith. Every time I knelt down to pray for the recovery of my darling friend, I thought of that precious promise which our dear Saviour made with His own lips, when He said: “Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.” Now, Lottie, when I prayed, I did honestly believe that our dear Jesus would remember His precious promise; and sure enough He has. Oh, dear God, receive my humble, but sincere, thanks for this great blessing!’

“Lottie then came to me, smiling through her tears and looking supremely happy.

“‘You may go to see Miss Clattermouth now, Edward; and you must not fail to return here punctually at four o’clock, for I am going to order another one of those cozy dinners, to be served in Viola’s room; therefore you must not keep us waiting. Remember the instructions, and let no consideration or circumstance prevent the success of our enterprise, which you know to be of such great importance.’

“Pressing her hand to my lips, and promising to put in my appearance punctually at four o’clock, I jumped into the carriage and ordered the coachman to drive to the residence of Miss Clattermouth. As the vehicle went rumbling over the rough road, I began to reflect on the business before me, with a view of arranging my plans so as to be ready to act promptly at the proper time.

“The carriage halted in front of the house before any definite scheme was arranged in my mind. Walking up to the door, I gave the bell a vigorous pull, and a moment after I heard the slamming of innumerable doors, and then the front one flew open, and there appeared a living creature. It would be a misnomer to say it was a woman; yet it was not a man or monkey; and not being a believer in witches, I am at a loss to describe the horrible looking object that stood with glaring eyes riveted on me. Miss Cushman’s representation of the Gypsy in ‘Guy Mannering’ would be a fairy when compared with the hideous object who darkened that door. I ran back eight or ten paces, while an involuntary shudder darted through my body. I did not smell brimstone, see fire, or hear thunder, but the same feelings of horror seized upon me that I had experienced once upon a time when I went to see the infernal regions in a museum. This she-demon (a name I think most proper to give her) held out her long bony arm toward me, and began to work her claw-like fingers as if she wanted to grab me.

“‘What do ye stand there for, staring at a body like an idiot?’ she growled; ‘are ye dumb? Can’t ye tell what ye want?’

“‘I wish to see Miss Clattermouth,’ I stammered with no little difficulty.

“‘Get along with ye to Tadpoddle’s then!’ and the door was closed with a slam, and I felt very much relieved. I was pleased to learn that I should find Miss Clattermouth and Miss Tadpoddle together, as I imagined that this circumstance would facilitate the important business which I was so anxious to transact. I lost no time, you may be sure, in leaping into the carriage, and as I did so, I gave the coachman instructions to hasten to the Tadpoddle mansion. I found the front hall door open when I arrived, and being well acquainted with the premises, I immediately and without ceremony passed through the hall, and made my appearance at the door of Miss Tadpoddle’s boudoir, which I also found standing wide open. As I entered the house my ears were pierced with a succession of the most doleful and heart-rending cries that I had ever heard. Miss Tadpoddle was lying on the sofa in the middle of the room, and her mother was bathing her temples with some sort of liquid, while Miss Clattermouth was holding a smelling bottle to her nose.

“‘Oh, mother! how can I live when my sweet, precious little darling is dead? Oh, ho! ho! ho! it will kill me, I know it will! Every time I shut my eyes I can see the pretty little darling in his tiny coffin, wrapped in his little ruffled shroud, with his sweet little eyes closed just as if he was asleep. Oh, ho! ho! ho! shall I never see him again in this world? Oh, mother, let me die! I do not want to live now, since my little angel is gone from me forever. He loved me so much, and was such a comfort to me – he was always crying after me when I was away from him.’

“My heart was deeply moved to hear the poor lady’s sorrowful lamentations, and it was with some difficulty that I restrained my tears. I began to look round for a little coffin, but it was not there. I then cast a glance up and down the hall, expecting to see an empty baby carriage or tenantless crib, but I saw them not. No little baby shoes or baby frocks were in sight; no baby hats; no broken toys, or any article such as pleases little boys, were to be seen. That a boy baby was dead I concluded was certain, for I heard her speak of his little coffin, and his little shroud. Now what does it all mean? was a question which naturally presented itself to my mind. Who is the little angel that has been taken back to Heaven? Ah, I have it now! She has adopted some sweet little orphan child, and just as she began to love it dearly, the little darling has laid down and died.

“‘I beg pardon, ladies,’ said I, as I bowed to Miss Clattermouth, ‘I did not know that death had entered this house, else I should not have intruded.’

“‘Oh! doctor,’ exclaimed Miss Tadpoddle, wringing her hands and tossing her head from side to side, as if suffering untold anguish, ‘I am so glad you have come; do pray put me to sleep as soon as you can, for my poor heart is forever crushed – I never shall survive this awful calamity. Ah! doctor, my poor little darling is taken from me, and no one will ever love me as he did; he was always crying to get in my lap; for Heaven’s sake give me a sleeping drug; I don’t care what it is; anything to make me forget this melancholy dispensation of Providence. Oh, me! it is more than I can bear – to think that I never shall see poor little Tottie any more; it will be the death of me; I know it will!’

“Now I was perfectly amazed when I heard Tottie’s name mentioned, for the whole mystery was then cleared up. All this nonsense was produced by the death of an eight-ounce poodle dog; and I hastened to a pitcher of water, poured out a glass and pretended to get strangled, so I might have a chance to conceal the mirth that was about to precipitate me into a fit of laughter. I was compelled to walk out into the hall, in order to gain time to get control of myself, as I did not wish to appear rude. Miss Tadpoddle seemed to be growing worse all the time, and continued to implore me for a sleeping drug; and I concluded that it was best to make a show of compassion, which I did, but not without a considerable effort. I requested Miss Clattermouth to procure me a spoonful of flour, and while she went after it, I took out my medicines and scattered them about on the top of a bureau that stood in one corner of the room; and as I was thinking more about the proof which I wanted to make by Miss Clattermouth than anything else, I took out the letter and laid it down among the medicines, where I knew she could see it when she brought the flour. My mind was wrought up to a high pitch of anxiety; because I had been led by Lottie to believe that the fate of Miss Bramlett depended entirely on the success or failure of my enterprise. Consequently, an unusual degree of excitement seized upon me when I saw her eyes fixed on the letter as she handed me the flour. I felt my heart thumping violently in my breast, while I held my breath and tried to assume a careless air, as I began to finger my drugs. There was a large mirror swinging on the top of the bureau, which enabled me to watch Miss Clattermouth without letting her know what I was up to; and I could see that her little round eyes were intently fixed on the letter, while an expression of curiosity mantled her face. I felt my knees knocking against each other, and my whole frame began to shake from the intense anxiety that possessed me. When Banquo’s ghost ‘shook its gory locks’ at Macbeth, at the banquet, he did not tremble more than I did on that important occasion.

“‘Oh, doctor!’ exclaimed Miss Tadpoddle, ‘are you going to let me die? Why don’t you put me to sleep? Are you going to save my life or not?’

“‘My dear madame, I beg you to command a little patience – you shall soon be relieved; it is our duty to submit humbly to the decrees of Providence.’

“‘Yes! yes! I know it is, doctor, but those who never felt the heavy hand of affliction laid upon them, as it is now laid on poor me, cannot understand or appreciate the awful calamity.’

“I hastily prepared three wheat dough pills, and persuaded her to swallow them, assuring her that they would put her to sleep in a very short while; and in less than five minutes she declared that she felt a great deal better.

“‘Ah! doctor, you are such a good physician; you seem to comprehend the nature of one’s complaint at a glance. Now you know I never exaggerate; there is nothing I despise more than I do exaggeration; still I do believe my nervous system is completely destroyed; but if anybody can restore my shattered system, you are the man to do it. I declare, I begin to feel drowsy now. Oh, what a relief! Just run your hand through my hair and over my throbbing temples. Oh, that is delicious! indeed it is! You do not know how much good it is doing me!’

“At the end of twenty minutes from the time I administered my pills Miss Tadpoddle was happy in the arms of Morpheus, probably dreaming sweetly about poodle dogs. Now, my friends, I wish to say that, as a practicing physician, I am able to recommend wheat dough pills as an infallible remedy for hysterics – especially when that dangerous disease is caused by the death of poodle dogs.

“As soon as I had succeeded in silencing Miss Tadpoddle, I turned my attention to Miss Clattermouth and the important letter, on which I noticed she every now and then cast an inquiring look. I was waiting for her to propound the question, which I inferred from her restlessness she was on the eve of doing. After eying the letter for some time, she picked it up and, after scrutinizing it carefully, when she imagined I was not observing her movements (for I was watching her through the mirror by a side glance), she turned her back toward me, and began to slip the letter out of the envelope. I knew that it would not do to allow her to see the contents of the letter; therefore, as soon as I divined her object, I went to the bureau, pretending to be collecting my scattered medicines, where she could see that I was in a position to observe her actions.

“‘Did you drop this letter here, doctor?’ she carelessly observed, as I came round so as to confront her.

“‘Yes, I believe I did; I must have dropped it when I took out my pocket case a while ago.’

“‘I should like to know what you are doing with that letter, Doctor Demar? I see that it was not addressed to you.’

“I was considerably puzzled by this question, because I did not know what sort of an answer I ought to make; but it occurred to my mind that it would be advisable to rouse her curiosity still higher if I could. Having made up my mind to act on that idea, I carelessly observed that there was a great secret connected with that letter, which I did not consider myself at liberty to reveal.

“‘Now I should like very much to know what great secret Ben Bowles could have to communicate to that woman?’

“‘Why do you mention Mr. Bowles’ name in connection with that letter, Miss Clattermouth?’

“‘Oh, that is a great secret, which I do not consider myself at liberty to reveal,’ she said in a tantalizing tone, which convinced me that she was piqued because I had mentioned a secret. ‘It is a mystery to me,’ she continued, ‘why Mr. Bowles should constitute you as his messenger, to carry his letters to that woman!’

“‘What has Ben Bowles got to do with it?’

“‘I hope, Doctor Demar, that you do not consider me an idiot?’

“‘Indeed, madame, I do not; but on the contrary, I have set you down in my mind as one of the cleverest ladies in Memphis; but what has that to do with the question I propounded to you?’

“‘Do you imagine that I do not know who wrote that letter?’

“‘Why should I take the trouble to imagine anything about it?’

“‘You are a real Yankee; you answer my questions by propounding others. We will let the subject drop unless you can make a candid answer to a simple question.’

“‘I crave your pardon, madame, and promise to furnish a direct answer to all your questions, provided you will agree to do the same with my interrogatories.’

“‘Very good! I consent to the agreement. Where did you get that letter?’

“Now I was completely nonplussed by that question, and entirely thrown off my guard, and did not know what answer to make. I began to stammer and halt; and despite all my efforts to invent a suitable answer, I made an absolute failure; my confusion proved to be the very lever that enabled me to pry the secret out of its hiding-place. When Miss Clattermouth saw my great confusion, her curiosity went up to the highest pitch, and she exclaimed:

“‘Ah, ha! Doctor Demar, you are caught in your own trap. You have been a carrier of a clandestine correspondence between Ben Bowles and his “Dulcinia del Toboso,” and I must say that I am surprised and mortified to make the startling discovery.’

“‘You may imagine that you know that handwriting, Miss Clattermouth, but I beg permission to inform you that you are very much mistaken.’

“‘I say, mistaken! indeed, I know that handwriting as well as I do my own; and if I were to find a line of Ben Bowles’ writing in the great Sahara Desert, I would know it – yes, I would swear on a stack of Bibles as high as this house that that was written by Ben Bowles.’

“‘Thanks be to Heaven!’ I mentally exclaimed; and it was all I could do to keep from shouting with joy. I seized the letter, and pretended that I had suddenly thought of an appointment down town; looking at my watch, I hurried from the house, leaving Miss Clattermouth angry and astonished at my conduct.

“Miss Tadpoddle recovered (thanks to my dough pills and a vigorous constitution); but she became misanthropic and sullen, resigning her office as vice-president of the Tramp Reform Association, which left that noble institution without her patronage, causing it to go into bankruptcy. The untimely death of an eight-ounce poodle dog caused many a forlorn tramp to seek a night’s lodging in the station-house, who, but for the sad event, would have found comfortable entertainment at the headquarters of the Tramp Reform Association.

“As soon as I left Miss Clattermouth, I hastened to the jail, being anxious to acquaint Lottie with the success that had crowned my efforts as to the proof desired.

“‘Eureka! Eureka!’ I exclaimed, as I went hurriedly into the room where Lottie and Viola were. ‘Our luck has changed at last; Miss Clattermouth says she will swear it is Bowles’ handwriting and she will kiss a stack of Bibles on it as high as Tadpoddle’s house, which you know is three stories high, not counting the cellar. She says she would recognize the writing if she were to find it in a desert, the name of which I do not just now remember, though it is situated somewhere on the other side of the globe.’

“‘Sit down, Edward, and give me the letter; I declare, you are excited.’

“‘Indeed I am excited; have I not good cause to be! Did you not tell me that Miss Bramlett’s fate depended on the proof that I have procured?’

“‘Yes, but sit down and tell us how you managed to succeed so well.’

“I then gave a graphic description of all that had occurred, dwelling eloquently on my splendid maneuvering; and the sweet smiles that were showered on me, and the numerous thanks tendered by those grateful girls, amply compensated me for all my trouble. The good-natured steward had an excellent dinner prepared, which was served in Miss Bramlett’s room at four o’clock. It was very late in the evening when Lottie and I took our departure from the jail.

“About a week after those events occurred, I received a note from Mr. Rockland, requesting an interview with me at his office. When I read the note, it caused a pang of uneasiness to dart through my breast, because I always expected bad news when the iron lawyer had anything to communicate.

“I found the iron lawyer, as usual, busily at work with innumerable old papers piled high before him.

“‘Take a seat, Demar,’ he said, without looking at me; ‘I will be at leisure in a moment.’

“He then began to dash the papers about as if he were angry with the inoffensive documents, while my mind was ill at ease, and full of curiosity. After the lapse of five minutes he wheeled his chair around so as to confront me.

“‘Demar, I have just received a telegram informing me that Miss Bramlett’s case has been reversed and another trial granted. This is no news to me, for you remember I told you that the Supreme Court was bound to reverse the case. I must confess, however, that I cannot see wherein this is going to benefit that unfortunate girl, because (as you have often heard me say) there is no possible chance to secure an acquittal under the mountain of testimony that will be adduced against her. I want you to understand, however, Mr. Demar, that I mean to do all I can for Miss Bramlett; but I do not hesitate to say that during thirty years’ practice at the bar I have never seen such a complete, unbroken chain of circumstantial evidence arrayed against a prisoner as was mustered on the trial against Miss Bramlett. If you will meet me at the criminal court-room in the morning at ten o’clock, we will arrange with Mr. Quillet to have a day set for the trial. Demar, you must watch Lottie, and not let her become entangled in this unfortunate affair. She may listen to you, but she outtalks me. The fact of the business is, I cannot have the heart to scold that dear girl; but she must be separated from Miss Bramlett, and I depend on you to do it.’

“‘Mr. Rockland, I think we had better let Lottie have her own way in this affair, for, if I am not very sadly mistaken, she will snap the strong chain of circumstantial evidence into a thousand pieces. You have always told me that you thought she possessed a high order of intellect; but, sir, when this case is tried you will have good cause to think she has a mind of a most extraordinary character.’

“‘Demar, I think you and Lottie both are on the direct road to the lunatic asylum, and I hope you will take Miss Bramlett with you, and not leave her here on my hands. It is the height of folly, to say Miss Bramlett did not murder her little brother; besides this, she has been guilty of other crimes so black that all the water in the Atlantic Ocean could not wash the stain from her character; though I believe she is insane, and intend to convince the Governor of it, and he will grant a pardon beyond question.’

“I felt a sensation of relief as soon as I stepped out of Mr. Rockland’s office. I hastened to convey the good news of a new trial to Lottie, and the first thing she did was to offer up thanks to Providence for this evidence of His favors.

“‘Have you heard from our Vicksburg witness lately, Edward?’

“‘Yes,’ I replied, ‘and he will come at any time when he is notified that we want him.’

“‘Very good, then; as soon as you ascertain the day the trial is to come off, you must send him a telegram immediately. We are ready for the grand battle, and victory will be ours!’

“‘Lottie, don’t be too sanguine of success; a good general always prepares for a retreat before he engages in battle, so that when the battle is lost, he can save his army.’

“‘Edward, you must not talk of defeat in connection with this case. I have a magic wand, with which I can perform more wonders than could Aladdin with his magic lamp. There is a good genius serving me in this business, whose powers will surprise and startle you.’

“‘Lottie, I do not think you are justifiable in keeping secrets from me in connection with this affair.’

“‘I want to test your faith in me, to see whether you can trust me as I have trusted you. My brother told me you were untrue to me, and had eloped with another woman; I had faith in you, and refused to believe his information.’

“‘Enough; keep your own secrets; I will serve you, and believe in you, as faithfully as Orlando believed in his Rosalind.’

“‘Thank you, Edward; and I promise you I will perform more wonders for you than Rosalind did for her Orlando. She changed a shepherd boy to a beautiful maiden; but I will show an angel of purity, where everybody sees a she-demon.’

“Mr. Rockland and I met Mr. Quillet promptly at ten o’clock next morning at the court-room, and the attorney-general kindly consented that Mr. Rockland should fix any day for the trial that he chose; consequently it was set for Thursday – that being Tuesday. I repaired immediately to the telegraph office, and sent a dispatch to the Vicksburg witness, requesting his attendance and asking him to answer whether he could come or not. The reply came – he promised to come without fail.

“‘Now,’ said Lottie, when I showed her the telegram, ‘I have ordered the carriage, and want you to escort me to the court-house. Do not look at me as if you were angry; I must go to the court-room immediately.’

“‘Lottie, you know I could not be angry with you; but will you be so good as to inform me why you wish to go to the court-house to be stared at by a motley crowd of very rough people?’

“‘I certainly have no wish to conceal my motive from you. In the first place, I am going to examine all the papers connected with Viola’s case, especially the evidence that was given in on the first trial.’

“‘I can get those papers and bring them to you, and you can have ample time to examine them.’

“‘Of course you could do that; but I have another reason for wishing to visit the court-house; I want you to introduce me to the judge, attorney-general and all the lawyers. I want to catch a few ideas in regard to the manner of proceeding in court, so that when Viola is put on trial I will not be very much embarrassed. I shall ask the judge to let me cross-examine some of the State’s witnesses; and you know I ought to see how it is done; and that is exactly what I am going to find out to-day.’