Sister Carrie: A Novel
numerous. The sea was already full of whales. A common fish must needs
disappear wholly from view—remain unseen. In other words, Hurstwood was
nothing.
There is a more subtle result of such a situation as this, which,
though not always taken into account, produces the tragedies of the
world. The great create an atmosphere which reacts badly upon the
small. This atmosphere is easily and quickly felt. Walk among the
magnificent residences, the splendid equipages, the gilded shops,
restaurants, resorts of all kinds; scent the flowers, the silks, the
wines; drink of the laughter springing from the soul of luxurious
content, of the glances which gleam like light from defiant spears;
feel the quality of the smiles which cut like glistening swords and of
strides born of place, and you shall know of what is the atmosphere of
the high and mighty. Little use to argue that of such is not the
kingdom of greatness, but so long as the world is attracted by this and
the human heart views this as the one desirable realm which it must
attain, so long, to that heart, will this remain the realm of
greatness. So long, also, will the atmosphere of this realm work its
desperate results in the soul of man. It is like a chemical reagent.
One day of it, like one drop of the other, will so affect and discolour
the views, the aims, the desire of the mind, that it will thereafter
remain forever dyed. A day of it to the untried mind is like opium to
the untried body. A craving is set up which, if gratified, shall
eternally result in dreams and death. Aye! dreams unfulfilled—gnawing,
luring, idle phantoms which beckon and lead, beckon and lead, until
death and dissolution dissolve their power and restore us blind to
nature’s heart.
A man of Hurstwood’s age and temperament is not subject to the
illusions and burning desires of youth, but neither has he the strength
of hope which gushes as a fountain in the heart of youth. Such an
atmosphere could not incite in him the cravings of a boy of eighteen,
but in so far as they were excited, the lack of hope made them
proportionately bitter. He could not fail to notice the signs of
affluence and luxury on every hand. He had been to New York before and
knew the resources of its folly. In part it was an awesome place to
him, for here gathered all that he most respected on this earth—wealth,
place, and fame. The majority of the celebrities with whom he had
tipped glasses in his day as manager hailed from this self-centred and
populous spot. The most inviting stories of pleasure and luxury had
been told of places and individuals here. He knew it to be true that
unconsciously he was brushing elbows with fortune the livelong day;
that a hundred or five hundred thousand gave no one the privilege of
living more than comfortably in so wealthy a place. Fashion and pomp
required more ample sums, so that the poor man was nowhere. All this he
realised, now quite sharply, as he faced the city, cut off from his
friends, despoiled of his modest fortune, and even his name, and forced
to begin the battle for place and comfort all over again. He was not
old, but he was not so dull but that he could feel he soon would be. Of
a sudden, then, this show of fine clothes, place, and power took on
peculiar significance. It was emphasised by contrast with his own
distressing state.
And it was distressing. He soon found that freedom from fear of arrest
was not the _sine qua non_ of his existence. That danger dissolved, the
next necessity became the grievous thing. The paltry sum of thirteen
hundred and some odd dollars set against the need of rent, clothing,
food, and pleasure for years to come was a spectacle little calculated
to induce peace of mind in one who had been accustomed to spend five
times that sum in the course of a year. He thought upon the subject
rather actively the first few days he was in New York, and decided that
he must act quickly. As a consequence, he consulted the business
opportunities advertised in the morning papers and began investigations
on his own account.
That was not before he had become settled, however. Carrie and he went
looking for a flat, as arranged, and found one in Seventy-eighth Street
near Amsterdam Avenue. It was a five-story building, and their flat was
on the third floor. Owing to the fact that the street was not yet built
up solidly, it was possible to see east to the green tops of the trees
in Central Park and west to the broad waters of the Hudson, a glimpse
of which was to be had out of the west windows. For the privilege of
six rooms and a bath, running in a straight line, they were compelled
to pay thirty-five dollars a month—an average, and yet exorbitant, rent
for a home at the time. Carrie noticed the difference between the size
of the rooms here and in Chicago and mentioned it.
“You’ll not find anything better, dear,” said Hurstwood, “unless you go
into one of the old-fashioned houses, and then you won’t have any of
these conveniences.”
Carrie picked out the new abode because of its newness and bright
wood-work. It was one of the very new ones supplied with steam heat,
which was a great advantage. The stationary range, hot and cold water,
dumb-waiter, speaking tubes, and call-bell for the janitor pleased her
very much. She had enough of the instincts of a housewife to take great
satisfaction in these things.
Hurstwood made arrangements with one of the instalment houses whereby
they furnished the flat complete and accepted fifty dollars down and
ten dollars a month. He then had a little plate, bearing the name G. W.
Wheeler, made, which he placed on his letter-box in the hall. It
sounded exceedingly odd to Carrie to be called Mrs. Wheeler by the
janitor, but in time she became used to it and looked upon the name as
her own.
These house details settled, Hurstwood visited some of the advertised
opportunities to purchase an interest in some flourishing down-town
bar. After the palatial resort in Adams Street, he could not stomach
the commonplace saloons which he found advertised. He lost a number of
days looking up these and finding them disagreeable. He did, however,
gain considerable knowledge by talking, for he discovered the influence
of Tammany Hall and the value of standing in with the police. The most
profitable and flourishing places he found to be those which conducted
anything but a legitimate business, such as that controlled by
Fitzgerald and Moy. Elegant back rooms and private drinking booths on
the second floor were usually adjuncts of very profitable places. He
saw by portly keepers, whose shirt fronts shone with large diamonds,
and whose clothes were properly cut, that the liquor business here, as
elsewhere, yielded the same golden profit. At last he found an
individual who had a resort in Warren Street, which seemed an excellent
venture. It was fairly well-appearing and susceptible of improvement.
The owner claimed the business to be excellent, and it certainly looked
so.
“We deal with a very good class of people,” he told Hurstwood.
“Merchants, salesmen, and professionals. It’s a well-dressed class. No
bums. We don’t allow ’em in the place.”
Hurstwood listened to the cash-register ring, and watched the trade for
a while.
“It’s profitable enough for two, is it?” he asked.
“You can see for yourself if you’re any judge of the liquor trade,”
said the owner. “This is only one of the two places I have. The other
is down in Nassau Street. I can’t tend to them both alone. If I had
some one who knew the business thoroughly I wouldn’t mind sharing with
him in this one and letting him manage it.”
“I’ve had experience enough,” said Hurstwood blandly, but he felt a
little diffident about referring to Fitzgerald and Moy.
“Well, you can suit yourself, Mr. Wheeler,” said the proprietor.
He only offered a third interest in the stock, fixtures, and good-will,
and this in return for a thousand dollars and managerial ability on the
part of the one who should come in. There was no property involved,
because the owner of the saloon merely rented from an estate.
The offer was genuine enough, but it was a question with Hurstwood
whether a third interest in that locality could be made to yield one
hundred and fifty dollars a month, which he figured he must have in
order to meet the ordinary family expenses and be comfortable. It was
not the time, however, after many failures to find what he wanted, to
hesitate. It looked as though a third would pay a hundred a month now.
By judicious management and improvement, it might be made to pay more.
Accordingly he agreed to enter into partnership, and made over his
thousand dollars, preparing to enter the next day.
His first inclination was to be elated, and he confided to Carrie that
he thought he had made an excellent arrangement. Time, however,
introduced food for reflection. He found his partner to be very
disagreeable. Frequently he was the worse for liquor, which made him
surly. This was the last thing which Hurstwood was used to in business.
Besides, the business varied. It was nothing like the class of
patronage which he had enjoyed in Chicago. He found that it would take
a long time to make friends. These people hurried in and out without
seeking the pleasures of friendship. It was no gathering or lounging
place. Whole days and weeks passed without one such hearty greeting as
he had been wont to enjoy every day in Chicago.
For another thing, Hurstwood missed the celebrities—those well-dressed,
_élite_ individuals who lend grace to the average bars and bring news
from far-off and exclusive circles. He did not see one such in a month.
Evenings, when still at his post, he would occasionally read in the
evening papers incidents concerning celebrities whom he knew—whom he
had drunk a glass with many a time. They would visit a bar like
Fitzgerald and Moy’s in Chicago, or the Hoffman House, uptown, but he
knew that he would never see them down here. Again, the business did
not pay as well as he thought. It increased a little, but he found he
would have to watch his household expenses, which was humiliating.
In the very beginning it was a delight to go home late at night, as he
did, and find Carrie. He managed to run up and take dinner with her
between six and seven, and to remain home until nine o’clock in the
morning, but the novelty of this waned after a time, and he began to
feel the drag of his duties.
The first month had scarcely passed before Carrie said in a very
natural way: “I think I’ll go down this week and buy a dress.’
“What kind?” said Hurstwood.
“Oh, something for street wear.”
“All right,” he answered, smiling, although he noted mentally that it
would be more agreeable to his finances if she didn’t. Nothing was said
about it the next day, but the following morning he asked:
“Have you done anything about your dress?”
“Not yet,” said Carrie.
He paused a few moments, as if in thought, and then said:
“Would you mind putting it off a few days?”
“No,” replied Carrie, who did not catch the drift of his remarks. She
had never thought of him in connection with money troubles before.
“Why?”
“Well, I’ll tell you,” said Hurstwood. “This investment of mine is
taking a lot of money just now. I expect to get it all back shortly,
but just at present I am running close.”
“Oh!” answered Carrie. “Why, certainly, dear. Why didn’t you tell me
before?”
“It wasn’t necessary,” said Hurstwood.
For all her acquiescence, there was something about the way Hurstwood
spoke which reminded Carrie of Drouet and his little deal which he was
always about to put through. It was only the thought of a second, but
it was a beginning. It was something new in her thinking of Hurstwood.
Other things followed from time to time, little things of the same