his brother; and, at their first recognition, he was assured it was one of Arthur's yesterday acquaintances, and felt a pang of disappointment at not seeing him differently received by his brother.
'Where are you strolling?' asked Mr. Clinton, breaking a pause, which had followed Guly's cool reception of himself.
'Merely out for a walk,' returned Arthur; 'it's only before and after business hours, you know, that we have time for recreation.'
'True, true,' replied the other, stroking his chin, and speaking in a commiserating tone. 'Ah, that must be terribly dull business, for young chaps like you. I always pity a clerk.'
'Indeed, sir,' said Guly, 'we neither deserve nor need pity; we have everything to make us contented and happy in our new situation, and appreciate it, I assure you.'
Mr. Clinton glanced for an instant keenly at the speaker, then answered, with a light laugh:-
'Yes, yes, just so; I didn't apply my remark beyond myself; in fact, it's something
'We have extended our walk as far as we intended for to-night, have we not, brother? Mr. Clinton, we bid you good evening,' said Guly, as they, for the third time, gained the gate by which they had entered the square.
Mr. Clinton looked up in astonishment.
'No! you don't mean to leave so? Come, let's just step over to Royal-street, and take a glass of soda-water. You will find it so refreshing.'
Poor Arthur 'felt his pockets bare,' and was about to refuse, when Mr. Clinton slipped a hand through his arm, and drew him with him, saying, as he did so:-
'You know it's
As Arthur moved away with him, Guly determined not to leave his side for an instant, while in the presence of so dangerous a companion, and though his heart went down as he saw Arthur thus forgeting all his new-formed resolutions, yet he hoped for the best, and went with him resolutely.
They entered a richly ornamented saloon, where all that could please the palate or tickle the taste was most temptingly displayed; and Clinton, tossing a gold half-eagle upon the marble counter, called for 'a few choice titbits and a bottle of wine.'
As the last desideratum was named, Guly glanced anxiously toward his brother, but Arthur's eye was turned another way, and when the collation was brought he sat readily down at the table by Clinton's side. Guly did not wish to appear ill-bred or impolite, and he accepted the hearty invitation of his new acquaintance to 'sit by,' with as good a grace as he could command. Of the wine, however, he could not be prevailed upon to touch a drop- though he did not fail to perceive the sneer that curled Mr. Clinton's thin lip at his refusal.
'You don't mean to say,' said the last mentioned gentleman, half-pityingly, 'that you expect to remain in New-Orleans any length of time without learning to drink wine?'
'I shall never touch a drop, sir, unless absolutely necessary in a case of sickness.'
'Bah! anybody would know you were from the North, my dear fellow, just by that speech. Nobody hesitates to drink wine here, unless those who are too poor to pay for it'-and the speaker glanced keenly, but slyly, at Guly's face, then added: 'Why, it's impossible here to avoid drinking, even if you would. A young man calls upon a lady, and the first thing she thinks of offering him after a seat is a glass of wine. It is always there on the sideboard, and to refuse would be an act of utter impoliteness. What could you do in such a case, my boy, eh?'
'I should, I hope, have sufficient courage to tell the young lady I never drank, and must be excused; and if she liked me the less for it, I would bear in mind that if such an act deprived me of her good will, her good will certainly was not worth retaining.'
'I should like to see you tried once, with a pretty girl in the case,' returned Clinton, gulping down a second glass.
'I cannot wonder at the depraved state of society in this city,' said Guly, earnestly, 'when woman, who should be the first to frown upon and discountenance such practices, not only is the tempter, but the hearty partaker of them. I am certain if the other sex were more strict-would positively refuse to attend places of amusement on Sabbath evenings, would refrain utterly from drinking wine themselves, and offering it to others- there would be a great change here for the better. Woman little thinks how much of man's depravity can be traced back to be laid upon her shoulders.'
'Nonsense!' said Clinton, with a short laugh. 'Women, you'll find when you've been here long enough, have less to do with it than rain-water full of wriggle-tails, as they call those young animals that fill our cisterns in summer time, and the no less disagreeable-to one not a native here-muddy water from the river as a beverage. One is absolutely forced to 'tip the goblet red,' in order to have something palatable to rinse down his food. Woman, indeed! Poh! come, have a glass, and be social.'
'No,' said Guly, firmly, drawing back; 'I will not drink. However you may scoff, Mr. Clinton, at woman's influence, it is to that I impute my strength to withstand temptation here. My last promise to my mother, was never to become a wine-bibber, and I shall keep it.'
'Bravo!' exclaimed Clinton. 'Here's a bumper to your resolution and your mother,' and touching glasses with Arthur, he swallowed the contents of his goblet; though his companion, with conscience awakened in his breast by his brother's words, scarcely touched the sparkling beverage to his lips.
'You spoke of the depravity of this city, also'-continued Clinton, shoving back from the table, and wiping his lips. 'It isn't, in my opinion, one-half, or, to say the least, any more depraved than any of your Northern cities. The only difference is, here everything is done open and above board; what sin there is, is before your eyes, and you don't feel when you tread our streets, that you are walking over hidden hells, and sunken purgatories, which is, I think, more than you can say in behalf of your Northern cities. Now, isn't it?'
'The fact of all the dissipation and Sabbath-breaking here being openly carried on, is the very worst argument, Mr. Clinton, you could bring forward. It proves how much worse the tendency, when it can so harden the heart of society as to regard it without a shudder, and to look upon such things as right. Sunday absolutely loses its identity here, in the manner in which it is kept; and a little more law, more rigidly enforced, would, I am certain, elevate the standard of society into a purer and more ennobling atmosphere. If men still persisted in sin, the fear of punishment would force them to keep out of sight of those who would be Christians, which, for some, must be really a hard matter now. Yesterday, in coming from church, I met a full company of soldiers, in complete uniform, out for a drill. I passed many stores thronged with customers, even as on a week-day, and received an invitation to attend a horse-race on the Metarie Course; all of which, you will admit, was in jarring discordance with the sermon upon which I was trying to reflect, and the Prayer-Book in my hand.'
Clinton burst into a loud laugh.
'The time will come when you'll know better than to reflect upon sermons here, and will put your Prayer-Book in your pocket, instead of carrying it in your hand. People go to church in this place to see and be seen; to learn the fashions and see new faces-not to remember sermons or read prayers. I heard a minister declare, the other day, that he could preach a sermon over every six weeks, and not one in twenty of his hearers would remember to have heard it before. I've had serious thoughts of turning minister myself; donning a gray wig and white cravat, and 'spounding the Bible, as the blacks say, to my deluded hearers. 'Pon honor, it's the most lucrative situation a poor devil can have. Preaching a short sermon, morning and night, to an inattentive but fashionable congregation, who are sure to make a minister popular among 'em, if he don't touch their peculiar sins too closely, give him an immense salary, let him off on full pay for four months in a year, and pay his debts when he accepts a call in another quarter.'
'A comfortable situation, I must confess,' said Arthur, with a smile. 'When you take a stand in the pulpit count upon me for one of your hearers.'
'A thousand thanks for your promised patronage,' returned Mr. Clinton, with a bow of mock gravity; 'but suppose we discuss the matter moving;' and rising, he led the way into the street.
As much as Guly wished to be rid of Mr. Clinton's society, he saw the thing was impossible, at least at present, and submitted to a farther endurance of it with as much suavity as possible. Still keeping by his brother's side, he walked on in silence, anxiously awaiting the moment when their companion should see fit to leave them.
'Hallo!' cried Clinton, suddenly stopping before an illuminated window, and peering earnestly into it, 'the new numbers for the next lottery are up; come on, let's go in, and take one jointly.'
Arthur thought of his lost portemonnaie, and felt strongly tempted to run the risk of recovering his money in
