Manuel Pereira; Or, The Sovereign Rule of South CarolinaAdams, F. Colburn (Francis Colburn)
General
Manuel Pereira; Or, The Sovereign Rule of South Carolina
Adams, F. Colburn (Francis Colburn)
African Americans -- Fiction; Biographical fiction; Pereira, Manuel -- Fiction; South Carolina -- Fiction
IN Charleston, such an adjournment at a bar-room or an eating-house,
when parties are enjoying what is termed a “pleasant occasion,” does not
mean an adjournment to the domestic fireside; nor are the distinctions
between married and single men regarded, though domestic attachments
may be considered as governing the thoughts and feelings. The practical
definition of such an adjournment means to some place where beauty
secludes itself to waste in shame.
The party descended into the lower bar-room, which, though rather
thinned, presented a picture of characters stimulated to the tottering
point. A motion had been made and strongly seconded to visit the
voluptuous house of a certain lady, which it is considered a stranger
has not seen Charleston until he has visited. The Captain remonstrated
against this, assuring the party that he must go to the ship and needed
rest. Again and again they insisted, setting forth the charms and beauty
of the denizens, but he as often declined in the most positive manner.
Unable to move him in his resolution, one by one began to give him a
hearty shake of the hand and bid him good-night, leaving little Master
George to the exclusive honor of seeing him home.
Standing in the centre of the room, surrounded by five or six persons
well-dressed but very weak in the knees, was a portly-looking gentleman;
with very florid countenance, keen dark eyes, and aquiline nose which
he frequently fingered. There was an air of respectability about him,
though his countenance was not marked with any particularly prominent
feature to distinguish him from the ordinary class of respectable men.
He spoke well, yet without taste or discrimination in his language, was
rather bald and gray, with small head and low perceptive powers; and
judging from the particular tone of his voice and the cant terms he
used, we should think he had figured among the Kentucky horse-traders,
or made stump speeches in Arkansas. His dress was inclined to the gaudy.
He wore a flashy brown-colored frock-coat with the collar laid very far
back, a foppish white vest exposing his shirt-bosom nearly down to
the waistbands of his pants, which were of gray stripes. But the more
fanciful portions of his dress were a large and costly fob-chain, which
hung very low and supported an immense seal containing a glistening
stone, which he seemed very fond of dangling with his left hand.
Attached to this was a very prominently displayed black ribbon,
answering the purpose of a guard-chain, and laid with great contrasting
care over the bosom of his shirt. This, with a neckerchief of more
flashy colors than Joseph's coat, and a late style Parisian hat, with
the rim very exquisitely turned upon the sides, make up our man.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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