CHAPTER XX.
A FOUNDER OF TOWNS AND CLUBS.
My ship of life was laden to the water's edge with labors of varying utility. We founded the Apollo Club, a musical and literary organization including in its membership the most prominent men and women of the city; we gave entertainments with our orchestra, singing society, and costumed dramatic stars, which gave us ample funds to pay for numerous delightful steamboat excursions, sleigh-rides and picnics, while developing our latent talents, and greatly enhancing the social life of our community.
I refer to this with much pleasure, as it led to the formation of similar societies in many surrounding towns, much to the benefit of all concerned. I made an elaborate report of my Florida observations which was printed entire by the United States Department of Agriculture, widely distributed, and stimulated many to benefit their condition by securing comfortable homes in that land of fruits, flowers and delightful climate.
That year the angel world sent us our bright-eyed, smiling little Elizabeth, thus making our trio of sweet singers a quartette to share our joys and lessen our sorrows, coming like the dews from that heaven to which we all return when our mission to refresh and inspire the earth life is ended. It is interesting to note the varying definitions of the word, baby, which have floated down to us in the literature of all nations. Here are some of them which I have culled from various authors:
"A tiny feather from the wing of love, dropped into the sacred lap
of motherhood."
"The bachelor's horror, the mother's treasure, and the despotic
tyrant of the most republican household."
"A human flower untouched by the finger of care."
"The morning caller, noonday crawler, midnight brawler."
"The magic spell by which the gods transform a house into a home."
"A bursting bud on the tree of life."
"A bold asserter of the rights of free speech."
"A tiny, useless mortal, but without which the world would soon be at a standstill."
"A native of all countries who speaks the language of none."
"A mite of a thing that requires a mighty lot of attention."
"A daylight charmer and a midnight alarmer."
"A wee little specimen of humanity, whose winsome smile makes a good man think of the angels."
"A curious bud of uncertain blossom."
"The most extensive employer of female labor."
"That which increases the mother's toil, decreases the father's cash, and serves as an alarm clock to the neighbors."
"It's a sweet and tiny treasure."
"A torment and a tease,"
"It's an autocrat and anarchist,"
"Two awful things to please."
"It's a rest and peace disturber,"
"With little laughing ways,"
"It's a wailing human night alarm,"
"A terror of your days."
And this final definition which exactly describes each of our quartette,
"The sweetest thing God ever made
And forgot to give wings to."
To crown the honors which this year were thrust upon me, my political party tendered me the nomination for mayor of the city; but when I ascertained the fact that I would be obliged to bribe the 300 roosters on the fence who held the balance of power, and who must be paid two dollars each to persuade them to come off their perch and vote, I preferred the $600 to the empty honor, and declined.
It is said that dame fortune knocks once at every man's door, but the old woman sent to mine later, her ugly-faced unmarried daughter, mis-fortune. At the request of some of the Boston newspapers, I wrote an account for the press of my Florida journey and observations, which attracted much attention and many callers, among whom were the F—— brothers, of Boston, who painted the attractions of a town of Orange County in such glowing colors, that I was induced to visit said place in summer accompanied by my friend, lawyer S—— of Newburyport.
We found even the summer climate very agreeable the location very attractive, and the general prospects for a northern colony there quite promising. We wandered through the woods far and wide, shooting quail, an occasional wild turkey, caught fish from the numerous beautiful lakes, sleeping sometimes under the pines, then in houses, whose owners were away visiting with no thought of locking their doors in this land where thieving was unknown. We led a real Bohemian life in Arcady, quietly bonding hundreds of acres of land, and having located a hotel and townsite between two charming lakes, leaving a Mr. G—— W—— a friend of the F—— brothers, as superintendent, to secure more lands and to cut avenues, we went home, where we formed a syndicate stock company of which I was elected general manager, with full powers to sell $50,000 of stock with which to pay for the bonded lands and the building of a hotel.
I sold the stock at $100 per share, giving one acre of land with each share of said stock. This would have been a very successful enterprise had it not been for the cunning duplicity and greed of our superintendent, who proceeded diligently to "feather his own nest" at our expense. I accomplished my task of raising funds very successfully, and the next winter moved with my family to A——, taking with us a competent engineer, a Mr. H——, to survey and stake the lands.
Here I unearthed the rascality of the superintendent, who, beside taking our salary and commission for buying lands, had extorted large commissions and bonuses from the sellers, which came out of our funds in increasing the prices for which the lands were charged to our company. In addition to this he had hired a large force of negroes at high wages, on which he drew a secret commission, opened a store, selling so called canned peaches,—which really contained much whiskey and few peaches—to his workmen, and thus getting all their wages.
I at once discharged all the superfluous negroes, built a fine hotel which was soon filled with a superior class of people from the north, set out orange groves for non-resident stockholders, and all would have been well, had it not been for the extraordinary action at the annual meeting of the stockholders.
While I was engrossed with my many duties, the superintendent cunningly went north and secured proxies in his name, and returning, beat me by two votes, secured for himself my position as general manager, and then proceeded to wreck the whole enterprise, much to his own pecuniary benefit, while my friends who had invested on my representations, blamed me for their losses though I was entirely innocent of any wrong whatever.
To cap the climax, this superintendent refused to make an accounting for several thousand dollars with which I had entrusted him to make purchases of lands on my personal account. I secured a warrant for his arrest, chased him half over the county with a sheriff, and brought him to the city for trial. On our way to the hotel, I was set upon by a crowd of roughs who had been dined and wined by said W——, and who threatened to lynch me. I backed up into a corner of the hotel piazza, laid my hand on an imaginary revolver, threatening to shoot, and was defending myself with a whirling chair, when the sheriff's posse rushed to my deliverance in the nick of time, and W—— was forced to hand over my money.
He then made life unbearable by sending negroes at night in my absence to annoy my family, who escaped injury only by the vigorous use of a revolver by my wife who defended the little ones by numerous shots which sent the tormentors flying to the woods. This unscrupulous superintendent secured by his cunning a large amount of our funds; but it was a curse to him for he squandered it in riotous living.
When he married he chartered a large steamer and brass band, took on board a crowd of guests, champagne flowed like water, every luxury was furnished liberally, and the excursion was a prolonged debauch.
To-day this fellow is a fugitive from justice, forsaken by wife and fair weather friends, and thus really, if not literally, is fulfilled the prophecy of the poet,
"Her dark wing shall the raven flap
O'er the false-hearted,
His warm blood the wolf shall lap
E'er life be parted,
Shame and dishonor sit
O'er his grave ever,
Blessing shall hallow it
Never, no never."