I had no fears lest I should remain undetected and unnoticed among the great crowd of ragamuffins that thronged the streets. There was an unmistakable stamp of vagabondism about me that defied all rivalry and all imitation. It would be strange, indeed, if, with the advantages of three years' travel, I had not acquired a decided superiority over those who had had no such opportunity of improving their natural capacity. I exulted at the thought of the despairing envy with which I should be regarded by all the tatterdemalions of the metropolis, and the futility of all their efforts to catch the secret of a shabbiness matured and perfected by a long course of severe and untiring study by land and sea. I should be the leader of the fashions for the Five Points, the Beau Brummel of beggars, the D'Orsay of the kennel.
But as the Broadway fop, though drest in the height of the fashion from top to toe, yet prides himself especially on his spotless beaver, so I, though it was hard to say that one part of my attire was less worthy of admiration than another, yet rested my claims to distinction principally on my hat. It had belonged originally to that species denominated the Californian, and bearing a strong resemblance to that patronized, under the cognomen of Kossuth, by the blacklegs of the metropolis and the shop-boys of our smaller cities; but when I landed in New York, it was a simple individual—the only one of its kind—and no longer susceptible of classification. For six weeks it had been my faithful companion. Through all that time it had been in constant use either as a drinking cup, a night-cap, a sun-shade, or an umbrella. But its spirit and vitality had forsaken it, and the glory of its brim had departed. It flapped over my ears, it flapped over my neck, it flapped, worst of all, over my eyes. Yet if a curve is the line of beauty, my hat must have been the most beautiful object in existence. It had as many curves as a ram's horn or a grape-vine, or any other, the most curvedest thing in nature.
"Where do you wish to go?" inquired the hack driver, with even more than characteristic politeness, and surveying us from head to foot with undisguised admiration.
"No. ——, Avenue ——."
The driver stared again, harder than ever, and a crowd of ragged boys—those observing beings—standing by, repeated the words in a tone of incredulous wonder. But away we went—the hack drew up before the house, and we walked up the steps with an air intended to show the driver that we were somebody. A servant answered our ring, but started back at sight of two such desperate villains, and was about to close the door in our faces, when, feeling that it was necessary to make a determined effort, we pushed past her into the house, and requested to see the lady. At that moment she appeared, summoned by the sound of voices, but stopt half way down the stairs, while two little children, half hidden in the folds of her dress, peeped timidly forth at the ugly strangers. After enjoying the scene a moment in silence, we pronounced the familiar name, and claimed the rights of our relationship.
"Why, Mrs. ——!" whispered Bridget involuntarily, and holding up her hands, "are those awful looking men your brothers!!"
I was glad to hear the answer, for I had begun to doubt my own identity. But twenty-four hours wrought a wondrous revolution not only with us, but with the greater part of our fellow passengers. At the end of that time it was no longer possible to find in the streets of New York a solitary survivor of the three hundred scarecrows that had landed from the Prometheus the day before. There was a sudden accession of trade to the dealers in ready-made clothing. The rag merchants grew rich with unexampled rapidity, and began to think of enlarging their operations. Our long life of entire freedom and independence was at length over, and we hastened to resume the shackles of civilization. A single day sufficed to convert us from the careless, slouching Californian, into the precise and angular citizen. Our romance is ended—our little episode is complete—and we sink, like a drop of water in the ocean, into the flat monotony of our commonplace existence. Ah loque es el mundo.
THE END.
[Transcriber's Notes]
The cover image, created from the title page, is placed in the public domain.
The Table of [Contents] has been added and is not part of the original book.
Minor punctuation errors have been silently corrected.
Author's spelling preferences and creative words have been retained except for the following noted changes:
Pages [17] and [20]: Changed three occurrences of "birth" to "berth."
(Orig: and soon slunk away to my birth, with a heart heavy)
(Orig: My birth was an upper one, and its already alarming)
(Orig: For three days and nights I lay in my birth, dressed)
Page [24]: Retained possibly unneeded duplicate "as."
(Orig: ladies, considered simply as as an abstract idea,)
Page [37]: Retained "Goliah;" possibly a typo for "Goliath."
(Orig: stolen from some thick-witted Goliah,)
Page [42]: Changed "somtimes" to "sometimes."
(Orig: somtimes interrogatively, sometimes affirmatively,)
Page [44]: Changed "diminitive" to "diminutive."
(Orig: galloping after him on diminitive horses,)
Page [53]: Changed "enought" to "enough."
(Orig: before it was light enought to see)
Page [55]: Changed "turkies" to "turkeys."
(Orig: beef, turkies, chickens, and pigeon pie;)
Page [60]: Removed duplicate "the."
(Orig: hardly enough difficulty in the the work to make it pleasant)
Page [63]: Changed "independant" to "independent."
(Orig: as independant as our unfavourable circumstances)
Page [71]: Changed "acqaintance" to "acquaintance" and
"unmistakeable" to "unmistakable."
(Orig: Humboldt, our new acqaintance, was equally unmistakeable.)
Page [75]: Retained "past," meaning "passed."
(Orig: The time had past when a pinch of gold dust)
Page [84]: Changed "Ater" to "After."
(Orig: Ater many unlooked for delays, a half-barrel)
Page [112]: Changed "abadoned" to "abandoned."
(Orig: whole scheme was then and there abadoned.)
Page [116]: Changed "CHAPTER XII" to "CHAPTER XI."
Page [127]: Changed "mimlc" to "mimic."
(Orig: Colonel Oldbuck was an excellent mimlc)
Page [128]: Changed "Brobdignags" to "Brobdingnags."
(Orig: Gulliver from among the Brobdignags)
Page [153]: Changed "Colloma" to "Coloma."
(Orig: a violent snow storm soon after leaving Colloma)
Page [221]: Retained "griping," meaning "gripping."
(Orig: with the other hand, griping fast the bushes.)
Page [224]: Retained "gripe," meaning "grip."
(Orig: to gripe fast hold of the soil.)
Page [310]: Retained "Brahmah;" probably typo for "Bramah."
(Orig: combination lock of Brahmah or Hobbs,)
Page [320]: Changed "Brobdignagian" to "Brobdingnagian."
(Orig: some clumsy Brobdignagian boor.)