He was somewhat above medium height, well proportioned, not unusually well dressed, but still appeared presentable in good society, and had a countenance which, while not decidedly handsome, was regular and of that caste which attracts attention; his voice was quite pleasant, his natural conversational faculty proved to be good, and he was so well fortified with current facts and all the pleasantries of the day, that before the meal was over he was quite in harmony with the hostess, who was not only happy to answer any question he asked, but look advantage of every opportunity to propound queries for herself. Within an hour from the time of arrival, the new guest seemed to be nearly as well acquainted as if he had been an inmate of the house for a month at least. This ability of rapidly forming acquaintance is very rare; and particularly in the case of travelers, no amount of money or graces can recompense its absence. Those who possess it do not need an extended reference to its usefulness to be made aware thereof, while those who are not in possession of it can never be made fully to understand its value by means of cold type and white paper.
The landlady has learned the name of the latest arrival before the reader has—it is Charles Durant, aged thirty, and he comes from the West—a rather indefinite abiding place to those of us who are residents of, or are familiar with, that division of our country. It is satisfactory, however, to a majority of our eastern and southern brethren who have never placed feet upon the shores of the Missouri, or crossed its waters, and who seem to entertain a vague idea that Westerners all come from one place, and are all alike in most respects.
Later in the day Durant took a stroll through the suburbs of the town, and returning was introduced to Mr. Marshall, to the guests, as they appeared one by one, with all of whom he was soon on the most cordial terms, and finally to the young lady, the sole representative on earth of her devoted parents, who, being twenty years of age, as pretty as a dream, well informed, and altogether attractive, was not likely to bear their name much longer, albeit at this time reveling in "maiden meditation, fancy free."
It was truly an interesting circle and the interest did not abate in the least by reason of the latest arrival.
CHAPTER III.
NEW ACQUAINTANCES AND AN AGREEABLE DISCUSSION.
The evening of the first day that marked the stranger's advent into Westminster saw the entire personnel of Harmony Place on the veranda; the new moon smiled benignly upon them, the evening was cool and the "ripe harvest of the new-mown hay" gave to the air a "sweet and wholesome odor." One subject after another was taken up, discussed and disposed of, or at least laid aside to give way to some other, and in each and all of them our hero (for such we may as well commence to recognize him) took a part, and exhibited a fund of information and an aptitude of presentation which gave him the preference without a contest whenever he chose to speak. This became more and more frequent as the night wore on, for there was no disguising the fact that he was, like the others, already one of the household. If any one of the party wondered what it was that he had come for, how he expected to get it, or how long he was to stay, the conjecture never found expression; for they all experienced so much of general satisfaction in hearing him, and took such genuine pleasure in his word-painting of western scenes and events, that they were all willing to have him stay indefinitely. He was literally chosen as one of their number without opposition, and the mere matters of detail regarding his purposes might be left to the future or be entirely undiscovered; he was now decidedly the architect of his own fortune so far as retaining the good will of that little group was concerned.
The conversation proceeded from point to point until the topics of the quiet gathering assumed more the aspect of an intellectual melange than anything else; the Sepoy rebellion made way for the Dakota blizzard, the signal failure of the first laying of the Atlantic cable was shelved to make place for Webster's artistic destruction of Dr. Parkman, and Cromwell's career of conquests and crimes was followed by a brief discussion of the science and practice of silver mining. (Variety and scope enough, surely!) It must be noticeable that the two subjects which agitate us nationally and sometimes locally more than any others—politics and religion—had so far escaped; they had not, however, been unthought of, and presently the latter was begun by the minister saying:
"Representing to some extent as I do, the church, I am compelled to admit that in the matters of organization, discipline and places of worship, America is thoroughly Christianized. Look at the profusion of church buildings wherever you go. To me such rivalry is gratifying in the extreme, representing as it does the highest type of good citizenship."
"I partially concur with you," said the lawyer, "and yet I belong to no church at all—do not, in fact, endorse Christianity as a department of civilized life."