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Chapter 2

  Narrative of the Washington gentleman

  I can’t imagine how such a respected family as the Hansons became involved in a scandal. The Hansons have been established in Washington so long that the whole family seems as much a part of the city as the cherry blossoms in the spring and the frozen mud in the winter. The eldest child, Faith, has grown into quite a lovely creature. She was precocious as a young woman and awkward at times. Her mother, Patricia, had an influence that helped her to become more modest and a shade more retiring. Indeed Patricia’s ability to entertain and act the part of the gracious hostess is, in part, responsible for her husband’s successful holding office for so long. If only common people really knew how politics were played in Washington. For quite a few years, the people holding invitations to the Hanson’s house were envied by the less fortunate.

  But I am digressing here, as I had been thinking of the newspaper reports regarding the disappearance of Lawrence Hanson. Lawrence is the older child of Daniel and Patricia. He has seemed content to be unaccomplished in life. While his father was a senator, his mother among the most gracious hostesses in the City, and his sister intelligent and attractive, Lawrence has remained unnoticed. Missus Hanson’s final illness and passing seemed to have affected him more than I would have expected. It was possible that he was favored and sheltered by her. At any rate, his father has in recent years felt the need to forward the boy’s career. Lawrence had all the access to money for his hobbies previous to his mother’s death - which had alarmingly started to include gambling, horses, women, and drinking.

  After a rumored scandal, Mister Hanson had issued an ultimatum: no further excesses would be tolerated, and in what was seen as a suggested penance for his offenses, Lawrence was placed in a position in government offices to give him more to do with his idle hours. To all appearances this action has worked, but according to my acquaintances, (and the knowledge of that particular social circle) Lawrence merely became more cautious in his habits, frequenting other drinking establishments and keeping his hours at home more regular so as not to raise his family’s suspicions. I myself would refrain from gaining this information first hand, but I can trust the thoroughness of my acquaintances regarding it. A man of my social standing cannot be seen to be seeking idle gossip regarding such establishments nor their patrons. One would wonder whether Lawrence might be better off to leave the City altogether, but perhaps he was afraid to be too far away from his father and his money, or perhaps the city held another attraction for him.

  The news of Lawrence Hanson’s disappearance staggers me. Perhaps Mister Forsythe has more information about this mystery than he admitted to in the newspaper reports. A number of missing documents was hinted at also in the article but would not be verified by government sources. In fact, it was a typical newspaper account for these times. Since publishers are afraid of being accused of slander and personally feel the possibility of dueling upon someone’s honor, they seldom publish all the facts. Readers need to use their deductive faculties at times. Indeed, when the previous scandal involving Lawrence was printed, it merely stated that “A certain Mister H of the Georgetown area had been seen too often in someone’s company than was good for his health." Unless one knew the parties concerned it could be difficult to read between the lines of that social page entry.

  With the approaching Southern conflict, newspapers are even worse. While every soul is eager to buy each issue, and it is read voraciously, not much actual news can be gained. Rumored assassination plots to prevent Mister Lincoln from arriving in Washington were all over the front page for weeks after his election. His entry into Washington was kept secret in case the plots were true, and it seemed too many people that he entered office more of a coward than a leader for that behavior. Newspapers insinuate that anyone with a Southern background seems to be entertaining suspicion, regardless of the fact that Washington is so very close to Southern states, and also regardless of where their actual loyalties may lie. I personally have felt that the federal government ought not to interfere so much in the way business is done in the South, but I might shy from openly stating this in public. A state ought to be able to decide for itself how a person can do business there.

  There also seems to be a feeling recently that so many secretly Secesh persons exist in Washington and that something should be done to ferret these people out. In view of my own long establishment in the city I had assumed certain gentlemen and ladies of the area would be definitely pro-Union, yet I have been mistaken before, and I expect to be mistaken again regarding this. Presently I am preoccupied with this Secessionist business, mostly because I have been reading another account of the actions at Fort Sumter. The rebels are organized enough to be able to fight instead of merely fomenting for their cause.