378
PARTISAN REVIEW
long time by himself, still smoking
his
pipe. In the living room I
asked Father if he supposed Uncle Jake was thinking about Uncle
Louis. He said he supposed he was thinking about Aunt Margaret
his
wife who had died so many, many years ago and about their
daughter who had been a prig and fanatic. Mother said that Father
should not talk that way before the children.
Virginia Ann had innumerable beaux. It used to seem on Sunday
afternoons that all the young men in Nashville had flocked to our
house, some for but a few minutes' visit, others to make an
all
after–
noon stay. Father called them the Arabs and the Indians. The Arabs
were the timid or sulky boys who stayed a short while and then moved
silently on to some other house. The Indians were those bold ones
who, he said, camped or squatted on his property for the eternity of
a whole Sunday afternoon.
· Father really did seem to despise the Indians. But it was the
Indians who were Uncle Jake's delight. He would sit and talk to
them while Virginia Ann gave her attention to those whose devotion
had not been proved. And when they all had finally gone, he never
failed to pretend that he was worried because Virginia Ann would
not choose what he called a steady from among them. He would
stop Virginia Ann as she was straightening up the parlor or perhaps
by the newel post at the foot of the stair and, rolling his eyes specu–
latively, he would enumerate the good and bad qualities of each of
those he considered potential steadies.
Virginia Ann would listen, pretending, like himself, to be in dead
earnestness. I could not have told that they were not speaking their
literal thoughts had it not been for the pompous gestures Uncle Jake
made with his hands whenever he was making fun and for the broad
smile that broke upon Virginia Ann's face whenever Uncle Jake men–
tioned the devotion to herself which some young Indian had confided
in him.
It was at the dinner table one night in the presence of all the
family that Uncle J ake began to describe a conversation he had had
with Bill Evers. He began by professing to believe that Bill Evers was
the beau whom Virginia Ann should choose as her steady. The things
he was saying were so much of the kind he had so often said to her
about other young men that I did not really listen at first. I only
remarked the mock seriousne..<;s in the tone of his voice and saw
him
batting his eyes as he concealed a smile behind his coffee cup. Several
times I watched him bring his cup up in rather a hurry to
his
lips and,
as often before, I studied the wide gold band on the third finger of
