THE HINDERED HAND; OR, THE REIGN OF THE REPRESSIONIST Sutton Elbert Griggs The Hindered Hand; or, the Reign of the Repressionist Copyright © 1905 by Sutton Elbert Griggs. This eBook belongs to the Public Domain and was originally digitized as part of another project in the digital humanities. It is presented here in a more readable format for educators and students alike to employ as an Open Educational Resource at the secondary and post-secondary levels. Formatting and typesetting by Troy E. Spier (2020). CONTENTS DEDICATION ......................................................................................................... 2 SOLEMNLY ATTESTED .................................................................................... 3 TUNING THE LYRE ............................................................................................. 4 CHAPTER 1: OCCURRENCES THAT PUZZLE .......................................... 6 CHAPTER 2: HIS FACE WAS HER GUIDE ................................................ 14 CHAPTER 3: WHEREIN FORESTA FIRST APPEARS ........................... 19 CHAPTER 4: THE WAYS OF A SEEKER AFTER FAME ....................... 25 CHAPTER 5: RATHER LATE IN LIFE TO BE STILL NAMELESS .... 31 CHAPTER 6: FRIENDLY ENEMIES ............................................................. 41 CHAPTER 7: OFFICERS OF THE LAW ...................................................... 48 CHAPTER 8: A MESSENGER THAT HESITATES .................................. 57 CHAPTER 9: A PLOTTER IS HE ................................................................... 62 CHAPTER 10: ARABELLE SEABRIGHT ..................................................... 67 CHAPTER 11: UNUSUAL FOR A MAN ......................................................... 72 CHAPTER 12: A HONEYMOON OUT OF THE USUAL ORDER ....... 77 CHAPTER 13: SHREWD MRS. CRAWFORD ............................................. 83 CHAPTER 14: ALENE AND RAMON .......................................................... 89 THE HINDERED HAND ; OR, THE REIGN OF THE REPRESSIONIST CHAPTER 15: UNEXPECTED DEVELOPMENTS .................................. 94 CHAPTER 16: AN EAGER SEARCHER ..................................................... 102 CHAPTER 17: PECULIAR DIVORCE PROCEEDINGS ......................... 107 CHAPTER 18: MISTS THAT VANISH ........................................................ 110 CHAPTER 19: THE FUGITIVES FLEE AGAIN .........................................116 CHAPTER 20: THE BLAZE ............................................................................ 123 CHAPTER 21: PLANNING TO ACT ............................................................ 132 CHAPTER 22: THE TWO PATHWAYS ..................................................... 136 CHAPTER 23: THEY GRAPPLE ....................................................................157 CHAPTER 24: OUT OF JOINT WITH HIS TIMES ................................ 162 CHAPTER 25: A JOYFUL FAREWELL ....................................................... 174 CHAPTER 26: GUS MARTIN ........................................................................ 178 CHAPTER 27: TIARA MYSTIFIES US ........................................................ 183 CHAPTER 28: POOR FELLOW .................................................................... 187 CHAPTER 29: A REVELATION .....................................................................191 CHAPTER 30: MR. A. HOSTILITY .............................................................. 198 CHAPTER 31: TWO OF A KIND .................................................................. 203 CHAPTER 32: WORKING AND WAITING ............................................... 211 CHAPTER 33: BACK IN ALMAVILLE ........................................................ 217 CHAPTER 34: A GREAT DAY IN COURT ................................................ 221 CHAPTER 35: EUNICE! EUNICE! ............................................................... 236 CHAPTER 36: ENTHUSIASTIC JOHN BLUE ........................................ 247 CHAPTER 37: POSTPONING HIS SHOUT OF TRIUMPH ............... 259 CHAPTER 38: HE CANNOT, BUT HE DOES! ........................................ 264 CHAPTER 39: A SON OF THE NEW SOUTH ......................................... 271 CHAPTER 40: SORROW AND GLADNESS............................................ 284 NOTES FOR THE SERIOUS ......................................................................... 288 2 SUTTON E. GRIGGS NOTES TO THE THIRD EDITION ........................................................... 294 SUPPLEMENTARY TO THE HINDERED HAND ................................ 296 THE POOR WHITE AND THE NEGRO .................................... 297 HARNESSING HATRED ................................................................ 300 A SERIOUS HANDICAP .................................................................. 302 MR. DIXON SCOFFS ........................................................................ 304 MR. DIXON STABS TO KILL ........................................................ 307 WHERE MR. DIXON’S POWER FAILS ..................................... 309 AS TO INTERMARRIAGE .............................................................. 310 PRIDE OF RACE .................................................................................. 312 BACKWARD AFRICA ........................................................................ 313 RECONSTRUCTION DAYS ............................................................ 315 MR. DIXON VS. HON. JAMES G. BLAINE................................. 318 MR. DIXON’S WIDE HEARING .................................................... 327 MR. DIXON’S BORROWED POWER .......................................... 331 THE REAL PROBLEM ..................................................................... 334 A FINAL WORD ................................................................................. 336 3 DEDICATION To a devoted father, of rugged strength of character, and, withal, pre-eminently a man of peace, and to a loving mother, ever tender and serene of soul— To these twin moulders of the hearthside, who have ever been anxious that their children should contribute naught but what is good to the world, this volume is most affectionately dedicated by their son, THE AUTHOR SUTTON E. GRIGGS SOLEMNLY ATTESTED Upon a matter of such tremendous importance to the American people as is the subject herein treated, it is perhaps due our readers to let them know how much of fact disports itself through these pages in the garb of fiction. We beg to say that in no part of the book has the author consciously done violence to conditions as he has been permitted to view them, amid which conditions he has spent his whole life, up to the present hour, as an intensely absorbed observer. If in any of these pages the reader comes across that which puts him in a mood to chide, may the author not hope that the wrath aroused be not wasted upon the inconsequential painter, but directed toward the landscape that forced the brush into his hand, stretched the canvas, and shouted in irresistible tones: “Write!” Very respectfully, Sutton E. Griggs Nashville, Tenn., May, 1905 3 THE HINDERED HAND ; OR, THE REIGN OF THE REPRESSIONIST T U N I N G T H E L Y R E In the long ago when the earth was in process of formation, it must have been that those forces of nature most expert in the fashioning of the beautiful were ordered to come together as collaborators and give to the world Almaville! Journeying toward the designated spot, they halted on the outskirts of the site of the contemplated city, and tossed up a series of engirdling hills, whose slopes and crests covered with verdure might afford in the days to come a beautiful sight to the inhabitants when riding forth to get a whiff of country air. These same forces of nature, evidently in love with their work, arranged, it seems, for all the beautiful clouds with their varying hues to pass in daily review over the head of the city to be born. In all that appertains to physical excellence Almaville was made attractive, and somewhere, perhaps behind yon hills, the forces rested until man set his foot upon the soil and prepared to build. They so charged the air and all the environments with the spirit of the 4 SUTTON E. GRIGGS beautiful, that the men who later wrought in building the city found themselves the surprised and happy creators of a lovely habitation. On an eminence crowning the center of the area whereon the city is planted, the State has builded its capitol, and from the tower thereof one can see the engaging network of streets, contemplate the splendid architecture of the buildings, and gaze upon the noble trees that boldly line the sidewalks, and thus testify that they are not afraid of civilization. Even in the matter of climate Almaville is highly favored, it would seem. Her summers are not too hot nor her winters too cold, and many a fevered brow finds solace in her balmy breezes. The war gods saw and admired her, and decreed that one of the famous battles of the Civil War should be fought within her environs, that their memory might ever be cherished here. Philanthropy, it seems, singled out Almaville for special attention, granting unto her opportunities for learning that well might cause proud Athens to touch her crown to see that it was still there and had not been lifted by her modern rival. A murky river runs through Almaville and a dark stream flows through the lives of all of us who dwell upon its banks. But yonder! yonder! is the ocean! Where? THE AUTHOR 5 THE HINDERED HAND ; OR, THE REIGN OF THE REPRESSIONIST