He could hold
himself above appetite and deny its cravings if left to the contest
alone. The drinking-saloons whose hundred doors he had to pass daily
did not tempt him, did not cause his firm steps to pause nor linger.
His sorrow and shame for the past and his solemn promises and hopes
for the future were potent enough to save him from all such
allurements. For him their doors stood open in vain. The path of
danger lay in another direction. He would have to be taken unawares.
If betrayed at all, it must be, so to speak, in the house of a
friend. The Delilah of "good society" must put caution and
conscience to sleep and then rob him of his strength.
The rising man at the bar of a great city who had already served two
terms in Congress could not long remain in social obscurity; and as
it gradually became known in the "best society" that Mrs. Ridley
stood connected with some of the "best families" in the State, one
and another began to call upon her and to court her acquaintance,
even though she was living in comparative obscurity and in a humble
way.
At first regrets were returned to all invitations to evening
entertainments, large or small. Mr. Ridley very well understood why
his wife, who was social and naturally fond of company, was so
prompt to decline. He knew that the excuse, "We are not able to give
parties in return," was not really the true one. He knew that she
feared the temptation that would come to him, and he was by no means
insensible to the perils that would beset him whenever he found
himself in the midst of a convivial company, with the odor of wine
heavy on the air and invitations to drink meeting him at every turn.
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