McTeague: A Story of San Francisco

Sieppe household had been turned upside down. The little box of a house vibrated with excitement and confusion, for not only were the p

ge, Mr. Sieppe having bought a third interest in an upholstering business in the

d planned and fretted, organizing and reorganizing, projecting and devising. The trunks were lettered, A, B, and C, the packages and smaller bundles numbered. Each member of the family had his especial duty to perform, his particular bundles to oversee. Not a detail was forgotten-fares, prices, and tips were calculated to two places of decimals. Even the

ude; obedience and punctuality became cardinal virtues. The vast importance of the undertaking was insisted upon w

r of unfamiliar voices resounded from the front steps; bonnet-boxes and yards of dress-goods littered the beds and chairs; wrapping paper, tissue paper, and bits of string strewed the floor; a pair of white satin

when she should have been slicing cold chicken in the kitchen. Mr. Sieppe packed his frock coat, which he would have to wear at the wedding, at

breadths of silk; he tried to help carry the packing-boxes, and broke the hall gas fixture; he came in upon Trina and t

red among the packing-boxes. The twins clattered about on the carpetless floors of the denuded rooms. Owgooste was smacked from hour to hour, and wept upon the front stairs; the dressmaker called over the banisters for a hot flatiron; expressmen tramped up and down t

It was business now. They haunted the house-furnishing floors of the great department houses, inspecting and pricing ranges, hardware, chi

s of this amount should be devoted to the establishment of the new household. Now that Trina had made her great winning, Mr. Sieppe no longer saw

hing miraculous, a god-from-the-machine, suddenly descending upon the stage of her humble little life; she regarded it as something almost sacred and inviolable. Never,

the dentist often asked her about it, but Trina invariably laughed i

e told Trina about his affair with

He wouldn't of dared stand up to you lik

h of my head," put

eek; part of my five thousand! Why, it's mine, every single penny of it. Marcus ha

y been drinking a good deal and didn't know what he was about. He h

e reconciled. Mrs. Sieppe brought them toget

't be dot foolish. Schake

rrassed, rolled his eyes about the room, murmuring,

enewed violence. Ah, no! ah, NO! He'd make up with the dentist now that he was going away, but he'd

ed Marcus, "but I'll not stand up with um.

e only Miss Baker and Heise the harness-maker. The Sieppes sent cards to Selina, wh

her new home-the remodelled photographer's rooms. The B Street house was deserted; the whole family came over to the city on the last day of May and stopped over ni

itation, frightened out of his wits eac

s wedding in which he was to figure filled his mind with vague ideas and half-formed thoughts. He found hims

to McTeague. "The-the foundation of society. It is not good that m

e air, hardly hearing him. "Do you think the rooms

ew rooms were situated, and the dentis

ing-room, which was also the dining-room; then

orner stood the parlor melodeon, a family possession of the Sieppes, but given now to Trina as one of her parents' wedding presents. Three pictures hung upon the walls. Two were companion pieces. One of these represented a little boy wearing huge spectacles and trying to smoke an enormous pipe. This was called "I'm Grandpa," the title being printed in large black letters; the companion picture was entitled "I'm Grandma," a little girl in cap and "sp

hundreds and hundreds of tiny Japanese mandarins, all identically alike, helping hundreds of almond-eyed ladies into hundreds of impossible junks, while hundreds of bamboo palms overshadowed the pair, and hundreds of long-legged storks trailed contemptuously away from t

en, with its range, its porcelain-lined sink, its copper boiler, and its overp

aria had already put in an appearance. The fire was crackling in the new stove, that smoked badly; a smell of

roughout. Most of the sitting-room and bedroom furniture went with the suite; a few

dwood that answered the purposes of a paper weight. Marcus Schouler-after impressing upon Trina that his gift was to HER, and not to McTeague-had sent a chatelaine watch of German silver; Uncle Oelbermann's present, however, had been awaited with a good deal of curiosity. Wh

d he send us toys? We have no need of toys." Scarlet to her hair, Trina

ing at her in perplexity. Old Grannis smiled di

d with withes at the edges, t

f Monopole. What a wonder! None of them had seen the like before. Ah, this Uncle Oelbermann! Tha

g a last look around to see that everything was ready, they returne

efore the hand-glass that was hung against the woodwork of the b

love, non

in this world

r the cobbles in front of the house. He rushed to the window. Trina had arrived with her fa

saw again, as if for the first time, her small, pale face looking out from beneath her royal tiara of black hair; he saw again her long, narrow blue eyes; her lips, nose, and tiny

McTeague heard Trina and her mother come up the stairs and go int

atter with him, that he should have doubted it for an instant? The great difficulty was that she

dressed in his one black suit of broadcloth, much wrinkl

announced, "and the minist

es, striped "blue" trousers, and new patent leather shoes-veritable instruments of torture. Around his collar was a wonderful

able period of waiting, Mr.

cution. Mr. Sieppe preceded them into the hall, moving at a funereal pace. He paused. Suddenly, in the di

ts!" he

mendous state of nervous tension, fearful lest something should go wrong. He had employed the period of waiting in going through his part for the f

rmann; Miss Baker, in her black grenadine, false curls, and coral brooch; Marcus Schouler, his arms folded, his brows bent, grand and gloomy; Heise the harness-maker, in yellow gloves, intently studying the pattern of the matting; and Owgooste, in his Fauntleroy "costume," stupefied and a little frightened, rolling his eyes from face

ently. It was a signal. Selina pulled open

irst time-her veil reached to the floor. Her face was pink, but otherwise she was calm. She looked quietly around the room

She was crying; her handkerchief was rolled into a wad. From time to time she looked at the train of Trina's dress through her tears. Mr. Sieppe marched his daughter to the exact middle o

ed "Call Me Thine Own," very softly, the tremulo stop pulled out. She looked over her shoulder from time to time. Between the pauses of the music one could hear the low tones of the minister, the responses of the participants, and the suppressed soun

efully, setting her dress and train with a little gesture of her free hand. The company bowed their heads, Mr. Sieppe shutting his eyes tight. But Mrs. Sieppe took advantage of the moment to stop crying and make furtive gestures towards Ow

were finished. But the couple faced the room, Trina throwing back her veil. She-perhaps McTeague as well-felt that there was a certain inadequateness about the ceremony. Was that all there was to it? Did just thos

ner of a man of the world, who knew how to act in every situation, st

noble and heroic. The strain of the previous moments was relaxed immediatel

you pull down

two together, I said, 'What a pair!' We're to be neighbors now; y

g on all the time? I declare i

, crying a little herself as she s

eat gravity, kissed his cousin upon the forehead. Heise w

roups, filling the little sitting-room with a great cha

moved from the extension table and the table drawn out to its full length. The cloth was laid, the chairs-rented from the dancing academy hard by-drawn up,

sitting-room. Trina, who was allowed to do nothing, sat in the

the right-hand dra

m. Where do you ge

lates are h

ere a corkscrew? What is

ble drawer, in the

rks you want to u

ome silver forks.

Marcus and Mr. Sieppe took their coats off. Old Grannis and Miss Baker passed each other in the hall in a constrained silence, her grenadine brushing against the elbow of his wrinkled frock coat.

was ready. Marcus Schouler resumed his

e been doing CHO

e!" commande

t beside Selina, towards which Old Grannis was directing himself. There was but one other chair vacant, and that at the side of Miss Baker. Old Grannis hesitated, putting his hand to his chin. Howe

red a muffled shriek. The waiter from the cheap restaurant, hired as Maria's assistant, rose fr

he said, reassuringl

rose and drank. Hardly one of them had ever tasted champagne before. The moment's silence after the toast

of mirth, banging the table with his fist, laughing until his eyes watered. All through the meal he kept breaking

nd sweet potatoes-Miss Baker called them "yams." There was calf's head in oil, over which Mr. Sieppe went into ecstasies; there was lobster salad; there were rice pudding,

ement of jaws and heard the same uninterrupted sound of chewing. Three times Heise passed his plate for more roast goose. Mr. Sieppe devoured the calf's head w

the company to have his or her plate refilled. They were constantly employed in dishing potatoes or carving the goose or ladling gravy. The hired waiter circled around the room, his limp napkin over his arm, his hands full of plates and dishes. He was a great joker; he had names of his own for different articles of food, that sent gales

Trina, "let me give you a

s voice when he addressed him. At the beginning of the meal he had nudged the harness-maker and had whispered behind h

uch to say,"

his way; never

uttoned their vests. McTeague's cheeks were distended, his eyes wide, his huge, salient jaw moved with a machine-like reg

some more oaf dat-what y

-"bubble-water." The guests had shouted applause, "

the corks were drawn. All of a sudden the dentist uttered an excl

it?" cried T

e," he cried, his eyes waterin

ain't ut?" sh

just shut up; that isn't funny any more. I don't want you should

the black walnut table before which the ceremony had taken place. The little dressmaker was continually turning about in her place, in

essmaker turned to Old

fond of lit

ry interesting. I'm v

sion. What! They had spoken to each other after all these years of

me to speak? She had neither planned nor wished it. Suddenly the words had

delightful acquaintance which was only to ripen at some far distant time, he could not exactly say when-behold, it had suddenly come to a head, here in this over-crowded, over-heated room, in the midst of all this feeding, surrounded by odors of hot dishes, accompanied by the sounds

ng of each other and they were conscious of it. Timid, with the timidity of their second childhood, constrained and embarrassed by each other's presence, they were, nevertheless, in a little Elysium of

cetious waiter had called them-lined the mantelpiece. Nothing of the stewed prunes remained but the juice, which was given to Owgooste and the twins. The platters were as clean as if they had been washed; crumbs of bread, potato parings

ing back, "I haf eatun und eat

ured her husband, passing

o the washboard of the sink, feasting off the remnants of the supper, slices of goose, the remains of

raised his tea-cup, bowing to Maria across the

one of them knew any of the words beyond the first line of the chorus. Finally they pitched upon "Nearer, My God, to Thee," as the only song which they all knew. Selina sang the "alto," very

my Gahd,

h to T

ut on his hat without a word of warning. I

tely. He only nodded. Marcus sprang forward to help him with

cular phrase. No doubt he had been meditating it

a daughter, but h

ken the entire evening. He departed;

entertaining the guests by eating almonds, shells a

"Attention! Der dime haf arri

ely threw off his previous air of relaxation, the calf's head w

ommanding gestures. The sleeping twins were suddenly shaken into a dazed consciousness; Owgooste, whom the alm

guests-the mere outsiders-should depart before the family began its leave-taking of Trina. He withdrew

Francisco till the fall. Of late he had entertained ambitions of a ranch life, he would breed cattle, he had a little money and was only looking for some one "to go in with." He dreamed of a cowboy's life and saw himself in a

t on, speaking to Mr. Sieppe, "that wants t

ieppe abstractedly, peerin

gether. One heard them, as they descended the stairs, disc

Trina on both cheeks. Selina went wit

increasing feeling of uneasiness and vagu

. Sieppe, "goot-py; perhaps

e began cr

n shall I efer

in spite of herself. She pu

The twins and Owgooste clung to Tri

om the group, in a corner. None of them s

a, and tell me about everythi

say goot-py, den we must go. Goot-py, Trina." He kissed her. Owgooste and the

re is der doktor-Doktor, pe goot to her, eh? pe vairy goot, eh, won't you? Zu

e. Mr. Sieppe, half way down the stairs, k

m through her tears. They were going, going. When would she ever see them again? She was to be left alone with this man to whom she h

ispered in her mother's ear, sob

though she were a child again. "Poor leetle scairt girl, don' gry-soh-soh-soh, dere's nuttun

n the stairs. Trina leaned over the banis

is ut,

od-by,

e, we miss

, oh,

is ut,

od-

leetle d

good-by,

closed. The sile

s dark. There was nobody. They-her father, her mother, the children-had left her, left her alone. She

a and the hired waiter were gone. On one of the floors above she heard a baby crying. She stood there an instant in the dark h

door of the sitting-room, going on

elf, abandoned, deserted, presented to view the vague confusion of its dishes, its knives and forks, its empty platters and crumpled napkins. The dentist sat there leaning on his elbows, his back towar

the door after her. At the sound,

t you,

d in the middle of the room,

e portieres, and came in. He came toward her quickly, ma

eminine fear of the male-her whole being quailed before him. She was terrified at his huge, squ

ed, drawing back from him to

y. "What are you afraid of, Trina? I'm not

after all? Who was this man that had come into her life, who had taken her from her home a

id. I'm afrai

at down beside her and

a?" he said, reassuringly. "I

rimming in her narrow blue eyes. Then her glance took on a certain intent

fraid

him-the joy of possession. Trina was his very own now. She

d to life, shouting and clamoring, not to be resisted. He loved her. Ah

Then her great love for McTeague suddenly flashed up in Trina's breast; she gave up to him as she had done before, yielding all at on

very good to me, dear-for you're