' He put it in
barges, he floated down the river, and, as became a man of such
distinction, he was met by Governor-general Miro on the levee at New
Orleans. Where is that tobacco now, gentlemen?" Colonel Clark was here
interrupted by such roars and stamping that he paused a moment, and
during this interval Mr. Wharton leaned over and whispered quietly in my
ear:--
"Ay, where is it?"
I stared at Mr. Wharton blankly. He was a man nearing the middle age,
with a lacing of red in his cheeks, a pleasant gray eye, and a singularly
quiet manner.
"Thanks to the genius of General Wilkinson," Colonel Clark continued,
waving his hand towards the smilingly placid hero, "that tobacco has been
deposited in the King's store at ten dollars per hundred,--a privilege
heretofore confined to Spanish subjects. Well might Wilkinson return
from New Orleans in a chariot and four to a grateful Kentucky! This year
we have tripled, nay, quadrupled, our crop of tobacco, and we are here
to-night to give thanks to the author of this prosperity." Alas, Colonel
Clark's hand was not as steady as of yore, and he spilled the liquor on
the table as he raised his glass. "Gentlemen, a health to our
benefactor."
They drank it willingly, and withal so lengthily and noisily that Mr.
Wilkinson stood smiling and bowing for full three minutes before he could
be heard.
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