S SA
Selected and Edz·ted by
C• A L P H O N S O S M I T H
Late Head o
the Departme1zt o E1igti·sh, Unz·ted
States Naval Academy, Annapotz·s
,
STANDARD
ENGLISH
'fl
CLASSICS
G I N N AND
CO
p A Ny
C
S
I
IC
I N T RO
CT I O N
Every s ho rt story h as hree parts which may be ca lled
S ett ng
Backgro u nd P l ot
Plan and Characters
Char
acter If y ou are going to write a short story as I h pe
are y ou ill find it ne c essary to think thro u gh these t h ree
parts
as to re l ate t h e m i nteresti gly and natura ll y
to
the other and if yo u want to assimilate the best that i s in t h e
fo ll o w ing stories you will d o w e ll to appr o a ch them by the
sa m e three routes
The S etting
Backgr o und gives u s the time and the p l a c e
of t h e story wit h s u ch detai l s of c ustom scenery and dia l e c t
as time and place im ly It answers the questions
The lot te ll s u s w hat happened It gives u s t h e
in c idents and events the haps m ishaps that are interw o ven
to m ake u p t h e w arp and w oof the story S ometimes t h ere
is hard ly any interweaving j ust a p l ain p l an simple o u t l ine
is fo ll owed as in The Christmas Car ol
The Great S tone
Face
We
still call the core o f these two stories t h e P l ot
if we want to but P l an would be the more a c c u rate T hi s part
the story answers the question
Unde r the heading
the men
Characters or Character
study the pe r sonalities
and wom en
m ove through the story and give it unity and
co heren ce S ometimes as in
h ri stmas Car ol o r
The
characte r so do m inates t h e ot h ers t h at they
are m ere spokes in h is hub
i n c idents in his caree r But in
The Gift of the Magi
thoug h m ore spa c e i s g iven to De ll a
and Jim
from the same mo tive and contrib u te equ ally
to the deve lo p m ent
the story In o ne
our st ori es
S H OR T S T OR I E S
ma i n c h aracter is a dog but he is so human that we may sti ll
that the chief question to be answered under this heading
is
Many books h ave been wr i tten bout these three parts of a
short story but the great l esson to be learned is that the ex cel
lence
a story long or short consists
in the separate
exce l lence of the S etting
the P l ot
of t h e Characters
but in the perfect b l ending
the three to pr o duce a sing le
e fect or to impress a single truth If the S etting does not fit
the Plot if the Plot does not rise graceful l y from the S etting
if the Characters not move naturally and self revea l ingly
through both the story is a fai lu re E merson might well have
had our t h ree parts the short st o ry in m ind wh en he wro te
All n
N thi g
fair
ah
g d al n
CONTENT
I N T R O D CT I O N
ES TH R
Fr
T t
t
T H E H I S T O RY
A L I A B A A N D TH E
R OBB RS
Fr
Ar i n N i g t
WI N LE
W hingt Ir vin g
GO LD
E gar Allan
V A
C AR O L
Charl
ik
GR AT S T O N F A C
N tha i l H th r
RA B AND
FRI N DS
Dr h r w
T H E O TC A ST S
PO R FLAT
ret Hart
R rt L ui St v n n
T H E N E C LA C
Guy M
M AN
WO LD B E K I N G
R y r K i p li g
T H E GI T
TH E M AGI
H nry
FO R T Y
I
E
THER
AU TH R UN N WN
The events take p l ace in S usa the capita l Pers i a
This
in the reign of Ahasuerus or erxes
foreign locale intensifies the sp l endid Jewish patriotism that
breathes throug h the story from beginning to end If the
setting had been in Jerusalem E sther cou l d
h a v e preached
the noble do c trine When in R ome don t do as R ome does
but be tr u e to the Ol d idea l s Of home and race
E sther seems to me the best told story in the Bible
Observe how note O f empty Persian bigness versus Simple
Jewish faith is struck at the very beginning and is echoed to
the end Thus Ahasuerus ruled over
hundred and twenty
Se v en pro v inces the opening banquet l asted hundred and
eighty seven days the king s bulletins were as unalterab l e as
the tides the gal l ows erected was eighty three feet high the
beds were gold and si lv er upon a pavement red and blue
and white and black m arble the money wrested from the Jews
was to be eightee million dollars etc The word banquet
occurs twenty times in this short sto y and only twenty ti m es
in all the remaining thirty eight books of the O l d Testament
In other words Ahasuer u s and his trencher m ates ate and drank
as much in five days as had been eaten and drunk by all the
other O l d Testament characters fro m Genesis to Ma l achi
Note also the contrast between the two queens the two
pri m e ministers the two edicts and the two l ater ban q uets
F
T
A
V
S H OR T S T OR I ES
The mo st m aster l y part the plot is the h and l ing O f events
be ween these banquets R ead again from chapter v beginning
at verse through chapter vi and note how skil l fully the pen
is he l d In motivation as we l l as in symmetry and naturalness
the story is ithout a peer There is humor too in the solemn
deliberations over
N
chapter i verses
and
in the strange procession l ed by pedestrian Haman chapter
I
verses
The purpose
the story
to encourage the feast Of
Purim chapter ix verse s
and to promote national soli
darity It may be compared to A Christmas Carol which
written to restore the waning celebration
Christmas
to
Dec laration Of Independence which is
read
e v ery Fourth
July to quicken
sense Of national fellow
ship But E sther is more than an institution It is the
story
two conflicting civilizations
representing igness
the other greatness
standing for materialism the other
for idealism one enthroning the body the other the Spirit
These are finely individualized though each
seems to me a ype Ahasuerus is a tank that runs blood
wine according to the hand that turns the spigot He was u ed
for good but deserves and recei v es no credit for it No man
e v er missed a greater O pportunity He was brought face to
face with the two greatest world civilizations
histo y but
understanding neither he remains only a muddy place in the
road along which Greek and Hebrew passed to w or l d conq u est
Haman a blend
vanity and cruelty and cowardice but not
without some power Of initiati v e
a fit minister for his king
He li v es in history
who better than in Hamlet s illus
hoist with his own petard the petard in his case
being a gallows He typifies also the just fate
the man
S urred by the hate
one includes in his scheme
nation whole people Collective vengeance never recei ved a
better illustration nor a more exemplary punishment Mordecai
is altogether ad m irable in refusing to k o wtow to Haman and
ES TH ER
h is u nse l fish dev o tion to his fair cousin E st h er The nob l est
senti m ent in the book
Who knoweth whether thou art come
to the kingdom for such a time as this
comes from Mordecai
But the l eading character is E sther
because
fair and beautifu l but because
was hospitab l e to the
great thought suggested by Mordecai
None but a Je w could
have asked Who knoweth whether tho u art come to t h e king
dom for such a time as this
and none but a Jew cou l d have
answered as E sther answered The question implied a sense
persona l responsibi l ity and
divine guidance far beyond
the reach
Persian
Mede
Greek O f that time It cal l s
up many a quiet h our when E sther and Morde c ai talked
together
their strange l ot in this heathen l and and wondered
if the time would ever come when they could interpret their
trials in terms
nationa l ser v ice rather than O f meaningless
fate Imagine the blank and bovine expression that Ahasuerus
Haman w ould ha v e turned upon you if you had put such
a question to either
them But in the case
E sther
Mordecai s appea l unlocked an unused reservoir Of power
that has made h er
O f the world s heroines S he had her
faults
rather her limitations but Since her time m en ha v e
gone to the stake have built up and torn down principalities
and powers
the dynamic conviction that they had been
sent to t h e kingd om
s u ch a ti m e as
CHAPT ER I
T
V A S TI
it ca m e to pass in the days A h asuer u s t h is is
Ahasuerus whic h reigned from India even u nto E thiopia over
a hundred and se v en and twenty provinces
That in those days when the king Ahasuerus
the
throne his kingdom which
in S hushan the pa lace
I
S H OR T S T OR I ES
In the third year
his reign he made a feast u nto al l
his princes and his servants the power of Persia and Media
the nobles and princes the provinces being before him
When he shewed the riches O f his glorious kingdo m and
the honour of his excel l ent m ajesty many days even a h undred
and fo u rscore days
And w hen these days were expired the king made a feast
u nt o all the people that were present in S hushan the palace
both unto great and small seven days in the c ourt
the
garden O f the king s palace
Where were white green and blue hangings fastened
with cords O f fine l inen and purple to silver rin s and pi ll ars of
marble the beds w ere
gold and Silver upon a pave ment
red and blue and white and black marble
And they gave them drink in vessels gold the vessels
being diverse one from another and roya l wine in abundance
according to the state Of the king
And the drinking was according to the
none
did compe l
the king had appointed to
the o ficers
O f his house that they should do according to every man s
pleasure
Also Vashti the q u een made a feast for the wo m en in
the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus
On the seventh day when the heart Of the king was
merry with wine he commanded Mehuman Biztha Harbona
Bigtha and Abagtha Zethar and Carcas the seven chamber
lains that served in the presence O f Ahasuer u s the king
I I To ring Va hti the queen before the king with
crown royal to shew the eople and the princes her beauty
for she was fair to look
But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king s com
mandment by his chamberlain
therefore was the king very
wroth and his anger burned in him
E S TH ER
Then the king said to the wise men w hich knew the
times for was the king s manner toward all that knew law
and judg m ent
And the next u nto h im
Carshena S hethar Admat h a
Tarshish Meres Marsena and Memucan the seven princes
Persia and Media w hi ch
the king s face and which
the first in the kingdom
What sha ll we do u nto the queen Vasht i acc o rdi g to
law be c ause
hath
performed the commandment
the
king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains
And Mem u can answered before the king and the prin c es
Vasht i the queen hath not done wrong to the king only but
a l so to all the princes and to all the people that are in all the
pr o v i nces
the king Ahasuerus
For this deed O f the queen sha ll come abroad u nto all
w o m en that they sha ll despise their husbands in their eyes
hen it shall be reported The king Ahasuerus commanded
Vashti the queen
be brought in before him but
came not
Likewise shal l the ladies of Persia and Media
this day
unto all the king princes which have heard Of the deed of the
queen Thus shal l there arise
mu c h contempt and wrath
If it p l ease the king let there go a royal commandment
from him and let it be written among the l aws the Persians
and the Medes that it be not altered That Vashti come no
more before king Ahasuer u s and let the king give her royal
estate unto another that is better than
And when the king s decree whi h he shal l make shall
be p u b l ished throughout al l his empire
it is great all the
wives shall give to their husbands h o n o ur both to great and
small
And the saying p l eased the king and the p nces and
t h e king did a cco rd i ng to the word
Me m u can
OR T S T OR I E
Fo r he sent l etters into all the king s provin c es int o
every province according to the writing thereof and to every
peop l e after their language that every man should bear rule in
his house and that it should be published according to the
language Of every peop le
CHAPT ER II
ESTHER MA E
EEN
After these things when the wrath Of king Ahasuerus
was appeased he remembered V asht and what She had done
and what was decreed against her
Then said the king s servants that ministered unto him
Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king
And l et the king appoint o ficers in all the pro v inces O f
his kingdom that they may gather together all the fair young
virgins unto S hushan the palace to the house of the women
unto the custody
Hegai the king s C hamberlain keeper O f
the women and let heir things for purification be gi v en them
And let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen
instead
Vashti And the thing pleased the king and h e
did
Now in S hushan the palace there was a certain Jew
whose name was Mordecai the son Of Jair the son S himei
the son of Kis a Benja m ite
daughter for she had neither father nor mother and the maid
was fair and eauti ul whom Mordecai when her fat h er and
mother were dead took for his
daughter
ES T ER
it ca m e to pass w hen the king s co mm andment and
h is de c ree w as heard and when many m aidens were gathered
together u nt o S h u shan t h e pa l ace to the cust o dy Of Hegai
that E sther w as brought a l so unto the king s house to the
custody Of Hegai keeper
the women
the maiden pleased him and
O btained ki dness
him and he speedi l y gave her her things for p u rification
with such things as belonged to her and seven maidens which
were meet to be gi v en her out
the king s ho u se and he
preferred her and her maids unto the best p l ace
the h o use
O f the women
E ther had not shewed her people nor her kindred for
Mordecai had charged her that
should
she it
And Mordecai walked every day before the court the
women s house to kno how E sther did and what should
become
her
Now when e v ery maid s turn come to go in to king
Ahasuerus aft e r that
had been twelve months according
to the manner of the women for so were the days of their
accomplished to wit
months with
myrrh
and
months with sweet odours and ith other things for
the
the w omen
Then thus came every maiden unto the king whatso
ever
desired was given h er to go with her
the house
the women unto the king s house
In the evening She went and
morrow
returned
into the second house Of the women to the custody
gaz the king s C hamber l ain which kept the concubines
came in unto the king no more except the king delighted in
her and that She were ca ll ed by name
Now when the turn of E sther the daughter
Abihai l
the uncle O f Mordecai who had taken her for his daughter
w as come to go in unto the king
required nothing b u t what
S H OR T S T OR I E S
H gai t h e king s C h amber l ain the keepe of the women
appointed And E sther O btained favour in the sight
all them
that l o o ked up o n her
E sther w as taken unto king A h asuer u s into his ho u se
roya l in the tenth m onth whi c h is the m o nth Tebeth in t he
seventh year
h is reign
And the king l oved E sther ab o ve all the women and she
O btained grace and favo u r in his sight more than all the virgins
that he
the royal c rown upon
and made her
q u een i nstead Vashti
Then the king
ade a great feast unto all his prin c es
and h is servants even E sther s feast and he made a re l ease to
the pr o vinces and gave gifts according to the state
the king
And wh en the virgins were gathered together the se c ond
t i me t h en Mordeca i
in the king s gate
E st h e r had not yet shewed h er kindred no r h er people
as M o rde c a i h ad charged her for E sther did the c o mmand
m ent o f M or de c ai like as w hen
was br o ught with him
M R DE C AI S A V E S
KING S LI E
in the king s gate two
In t ho se days whi l e Mordecai
of the king s chamber lains Bigthan and Te resh
those which
kept the door w ere wroth and sought to lay hand the king
Ahasuerus
And the thing
known to Mordecai who to l d it u nt o
E sther the queen and E st er c ertified the king thereof in
Mordecai s name
the m atter it was
And w hen inqu i sition was m ade
found out therefore they were b o th hanged
a tree and it
was written in the book Of the chronicles before the king
S H OR T S T OR I ES
If it p l ease the king let it be written t h at th ey may be
destroyed and I w il l pay ten thousand talents of si lv er to the
hands of those that have th e charge o f the business to bring it
into the king s treas u ries
And the king took his ring from his hand and gave it
u nto Ha m an the so n of Ha m medatha the Agagite the Jews
ene m y
And the king said unto Ha m an The si l ver is g i ven to
thee the peop l e also to do w ith the m as it seemeth go o d
to t h ee
Then were the king s scribes ca ll ed
the thirteent h day
the first m onth and there was written according to all that
Haman had commanded unto the king s lieutenants and to
the governors that were over every pro v ince and to the ru l ers
every peop l e e v ery province according to the writing thereof
and to every peop l e after their language in the name
king
Ahasuerus
it written and sealed with the king s ring
I And the l etters were sent by posts into all the king s
provinces to destr o y to ki ll and to cause to perish all Jews
b o t h yo u ng and O ld little children and women in
day
even u pon the th i rteent h day the twe lfth month which is the
mo nt h Adar and to take the spoi l them
a prey
The copy the writing for a c ommandment to be given
in eve ry provin c e
published u nto al l peop l e that they
sh oul d be ready against that day
The posts went be i ng hastened by the k i ng s com
mand m ent and the decree w as given in S hushan
palace
And the king and Haman sat d ow n t o d r ink b u t the city
Shushan was perplexed
ES TH ER
CHAPT ER IV
FA S TI N AM N
EWS
When Mordecai perceived all that was done M o rde c ai
rent his clothes and put
sackcloth with ashes and went
into the midst O f the ci y and cried with a l oud and a
bitter
And came even before the king s gate
none might
enter into t h e king s gate c l othed with sackc l oth
And in eve y province whithersoever the king s
mandment and his de c ree ca m e there was great mou r i g
among the Jews and fasting and w eeping and w a il ng and
many lay in sa ck clot h and ashes
E sther s maids and her chamber l ains ca m e and told
it her Then
the queen exceedingly grieved and she sent
raiment to c l othe Mordecai and to take away his sa c kc l oth
fro m hi m but he re c eived it not
Then called E sther for Hatach
the king s chamber
l ains whom he had appointed to attend upon her and gave
him a co mm andment to Morde c ai to know wh at it
and
it was
Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of the
which was before the king s gate
And Mordecai told him
all that had happened unto
hi m and
the
of the money that aman had promised
to pay to the k ing s treasuries
the Jews to destr o y them
gave him the c o py
the writing
t h e de c ree
that
given at S hushan to destroy them to shew it u nt o
E sther and to dec l are it u nto her and to charge her that she
should go in u nto the king to make supp l i c at i on u nto him and
to make request before him for her peop l e
And Hatach ca m e and told E sther the w o rds Morde c ai
S H OR T S T OR I S
Again E st h er spake unto Hata c h and gave h im com
m andment unt o Mordecai
All the king s servants and the peop l e
the king s
provinces do know that whosoe v er whether man
w oman
sha ll come unto the king into the inner c ourt
is
called
there is
law his to p u t him death except such to whom
the king shal l ho l d
the go l den s c eptre that he may live
but I have not been c a ll ed to com e
unto the king these
thirty days
And they t o ld to Mordecai E sther s w ords
GREAT A
EA
Then M o rdecai c o m manded to answe r E st h er Th ink n o t
with thyse l f that tho u sha lt escape in the king s hou se mo re
than all the Jews
Fo r if th ou a l t o get h er h ol dest thy peace at this ti m e
then shall t h ere enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews
from an o ther place b u t thou and thy father s house shal l be
destroyed and
knoweth whether tho u art come to the
kingdo m for s u ch a time as this
Then E sther bade them return Mordecai this answe r
gather together all the Jews that are present in
S hushan and fast ye for me and neither eat nor drink three
da y s night
day I also and my maidens will fast likewise
and
will I go in unto the king which is not according to the
law and if I perish I perish
Mordecai went his way and did according to
that
E sther h ad com manded him
E S TH ER
CHAPT ER
C O RA E
ES TH ER
N
it came to pass
the third day that E sther put on
her roya l apparel and stood in the inner court of the king s
ho u se over against the king s house and the king
upon
his roya l throne in the royal house over against the gate O f the
h ouse
And it
when the king
E sther the queen
standing in the court that
O btained fa v our in his sight
and the king held
to E sther the golden sceptre that
in
his hand
E st h er drew near and touched the
O f the
s c eptre
Then said the king unto her What wi lt tho u queen
E sther and what is thy request
shall be e v en ven thee
to the half
the kingdom
And E sther answered If it seem good unto the king let
the king and Haman come this day u nto the banquet that I
have prepared for him
Then the king said Cause Haman to make haste that he
may do as E sther hath said
the king and Haman came to
the banquet that E sther h ad prepared
And the king said unt o E sther at the banquet of wine
What is thy petition and it shall be granted thee and what
is thy request e v en to the ha l f
the kingdom it shall be
performed
Then answered E sther and said My pe ition and my
request is
If I have found favour in the sight the king and if it
p l ease the king to grant my petition and to perform my request
l et the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shal l pre
pare fo r the and I w i l l do t morro w as the king hat h sa i d
S H O RT S T OR I E S
BET W EEN BAN U ET S
Then went Haman fort h that day joyfu l and with a glad
heart but w hen Haman
Mordecai in the king s gate that
he stood not up nor moved
him he
full
indignation
against Mordecai
I Ne v ertheless Haman refrained himself and when he came
home he sent and called for his friends and Zeresh his wife
I I And Haman told them
the glory Of his riches and
the multitude
his chi l dren and all the thin s wherein the
king had promoted him and how he had advanced him abo v e
the princes and ser v ants
the king
Haman said moreo v er Yea E sther the queen did let no
man come in with the king unto the banquet that
had pre
pared b u t myself and to morrow am I invited unto her also
with the king
Yet al l this availeth me nothing
long as I
Mordecai the Jew Sitting at the king s gate
Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him
Let a ga ll ows be made of fifty cubits high and t morrow
speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged
thereon then go thou in merri l y with the king unto the ban
quet And the thing p l eased Ha m an and he caused the
gal l o w s to be m ade
CHAPT ER VI
ET
N
AN
ET
C O N T IN
On that night could not the king sleep and he commanded
to bring the book O f records the chronicles and they w ere
read before the king
And it
found written that Mordecai had told
Bigthana and Teresh two
the kin s c hamber l ains
E S TH ER
keepers of the door who sought
lay h and on the king
Ahasuerus
And the king said What honour and dignity hath been
done to Mordecai this Then said the king s ser ants that
ministered u nto him There is nothing done
him
And the king said Who is in the court Now Ha m an
was come into the outward court the king s house to Speak
unto the king to hang Mordecai
the gall ws that he had
prepared for him
And the king s ser v ants said unto him Beho l d Haman
standeth in the court And the king said Let hi m come in
Haman came in And the king said unto him
What Shall be done unto the man whom the king delight
eth to honour
Now Haman thought in his h eart
whom would the king de ight to do honour m ore than to
m yself
And Haman answered the king
the man who m the
king delighteth
Let the roya l appare l be brought which the king useth
wear and the horse that the king rideth upon and the crown
royal which is
upon his head
And let this appare l and horse be de l ivered to the hand
one
t h e king s most noble princes that they may array
the man witha l whom the king delighteth to honour and bring
him on horseback through the street the city and proc l ai m
before him Thus shall it be done to man w ho m the king
delighteth to honour
Then the king said to Haman Mak haste
take the
appare l and the horse as thou hast sa d and do even
to
Mordecai t h e Jew that Sitteth at the k i ng s gate l et n o t hi ng
fail of all that thou hast spoken
I Then took Haman the apparel and the hor e and arrayed
Mordecai and bro ug h t h i m on horseback through the street
R T S T OR I ES
S
the city and pr o c l a im ed before him Thus sha ll it be done u nt o
the m an who m the king delighteth to honour
And M o rde c ai ca m e again t o the king s gate But Ha m an
hasted to his house mo urn i g and h a v ing
head covered
And Haman to l d Zeres h his wife and all his friends
every thing that h ad befa ll en him Then said his wise men
and Zeresh h is wife unto him If Mordecai be
the seed of
t h e Jews before w h o m thou hast begun to fall thou sha l t not
prevai l against hi m but s h a l t surely fall before him
And W hile they were yet talking with him came the
king s chamber l ains and hasted to bring Ha m an u nto the
ban qu et that E st h e r had prepared
CHAPT ER VII
TH ER S AN
ET
HA M A N HA N
the king and Haman came to banquet with E st h e r
t h e qu een
And t h e king said again unto E sther on the sec o nd day
at the banquet Of wine What is thy petition queen E sther and
it shal l be granted thee and what is thy request and it s h all
be performed even to the ha l f Of the kingdom
Then E sther the queen answered and said If I have found
favo u r in thy sight O king and if it p l ease the king let my
life be given me at my petition and my peop l e at my request
are sold I and my people to be destroyed to be
s l ain and to perish But if we had been sold bondmen and
bondw om en I had held my tongue although the enemy c o u ld
n o t cou nte r vai l the king s damage
Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said u nto E st h er
the queen
is he and where is he that durst presume in
his heart to do
S H OR T S T O R I ES
Then t h e k i ng held
the golden sceptre toward E st h er
E sther arose and stood before the king
And said If it please the king and if I ha v e found fa v our
in his S ight and the thing see
right before the king and I
be p l easing in his eyes l et it be written to reverse the l etters
e v ised by Haman t h e
Of Hammedatha the Agagite
which he wrote to dest ro y the Jews which are in all the king s
provinces
For h o w can I endure to
the e v il that Shall come unto
my peop l e
how can I endure to
the destruction my
kindred
Then the king Ahasuerus said u nto E sther the queen and
to Mordecai the Jew Behold I have gi v en E sther the house
Haman and
they have hanged upon the gallows because
he laid his hand upon the Jews
Write ye also for the Jews as it l iketh you in the king s
name and seal it with the king s ring for the writing which is
written in the king s name and sealed with the k ing s ring may
no man reverse
Then were the king s scri es called at that time in the
third month that is the month S i v an on the three and twentieth
day thereof and it was written according to all that Mordecai
c ommanded unto the Jews and to the lieutenants and the
deputies and ru l ers the provinces which are from India u nto
E thiopia a hundred twenty and se v en provinces u nto eve y
pr o vince a c cording to the writing thereof and unto every peop l e
after their l anguage and to the Jews ac c ording to thei r writing
and according to their langu age
And he w rote in the king Ahas u erus name and sea l ed
it with the king s ring and sent letters by posts on horseback
and riders on mules camels and young dromedaries
Wherein the king granted the Jews which were in eve y
city to gather the m se l ves together and to stand for t heir life
E TH ER
to destroy to s lay and to cause to peri h all
the
people and pro v ince that would assau l t them both little ones
and women and to take the spoi l
them for a prey
Upon
in al l the provinces king Ahasuerus
namely pon the thirteenth day O f the twe l fth month whic h is
month Adar
The copy the writing for a commandment to be given
in e v e y province
published unto all people and that the
Jews shou l d be ready against that day to avenge themselves
thei r enemies
S o the posts that r ode u pon m u l es and came l s w ent
being hastened and pressed
by the king s commandment
And the decree
gi v en at S hushan the palace
And Mordeca i went out from the presence of the king
in roya l appare l of blue and white and with a great crown
gol and w ith a garment
fine l inen and purple and the city
O f S hushan rej oiced and
glad
The Jew
light and gladness and j oy and h o nour
And in every province and in every city whit h ers o eve r
the king s commandment and his decree came the Jews had joy
and gladness a feast and a good day And many
the people
the land be c a m e Jews for the fear O f the Jews fel l upon
them
C HAPT ER
EWS
EFEN
THEMSELVES
No w in t h e twelft h month that is month Adar t he
thirteenth
of the same when the king s commandment and
his decree rew near to be put in execution i n the that the
enemies the Je w s hoped to ha v e power o v er them thoug h
it was turned to the contrary that the Jews h ad r ul e o ve r
t h e m that h ated them
S H OR T S T OR I ES
The Jews gathered the m se l ves together in their cities
h r ou ghout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus to lay hand
suc h as s ou g h t thei r h urt and
man could wi thstand
the m for the fea r O f h e m fe ll u pon all p op l e
And al l the ru lers t h e pro v inces and the lieutenants
and the deputies and O ficers O f the king h e l ped t h e Jews
because the fear
Mordecai fe ll u pon them
For Mordecai
great in the king s house and his fame
went o u t throughout all the provinces
this m an Mordeca i
waxed g r eater and greater
Thus the Jews smote all t h eir enem i es with the stroke Of
the s wo rd and slaughter and destruction and did what they
would u nto those that hated them
And in S hushan th e palace the Jews slew and destr o yed
five h undred men
And Parshandatha and Dalp h on and Aspatha
And Poratha and Adalia and Aridatha
And Par m ashta and Arisai and Aridai and Vaj ezatha
The ten sons
Ha m an the
Of Hammedatha the
enemy O f the Jews sle w they b u t o n t h e spo il l aid they not
their hand
On that day the number
those tha w ere slain in
S hushan the palace was brought befo e the king
And the king said unto E sther the queen The Jews have
slain and destroyed five hundred men in S hushan the palace
and the ten sons
Haman w hat h ave they done in the rest
O f the king s pro v inces now what is thy petition and it shall
be granted thee
what is thy req u est further and it sha ll
be done
Then said E sther If it please the king let it be granted
to the Jews whic h are in S hushan to do to or ow also accord
ing unto this day s decree and let Ha m n s ten sons be hanged
u pon the gal lows
E S TH ER
And t h e k i ng commanded it
to be d o ne and the
decree was given at S h u shan and they hanged Haman s ten
sons
For the Jews that were in S hushan gathered themse l ves
together
the fourteenth day a l so
the month Adar and
sle w three hundred men at S hushan but o n the prey they laid
not their h and
But the o ther Je w s that w ere in the king s provinces
gathered themse l ves together and sto o d for their lives and had
rest fr o m their enemies and slew O f their foes seventy and five
the prey
tho u sand b u t they laid not thei r hands
On the thirteenth day
the m o nth Adar and on the
f ou rteenth day the sa m e rested they and m ade it a day of
feasting and g l adness
But the Jews that w ere at S h u shan assembled t o gether
on the thirteenth day there o f and
the fourteenth there o f
and on the fifte nth day o f the sa m e they rested and m ade it
a day o f feasting and g l adness
Therefore the Jews O f the vi l lages that dwe l t in the
u nwa ll ed towns m ade the fo u rteent h day O f the m ont h Adar
a day gladness and feasting and a go o d day and sending
portions
to another
FEA S T
PURI
And Morde c ai wrote these things and sent lette r s unto
all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahas u erus
both nigh and far
To establish this among them that they should keep the
fourteenth day O f the m o nth Adar and the fifteenth day Of the
sa m e yearly
As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies
and the month which
turned unto them from sorro to j oy
and from m o urning into a go o d day that they s h o ul d m ake them
S H OR T S T OR I ES
days
feasting and j oy and sending portions o ne to an o t h e r
and gifts to the poor
And the Jews undertook to do as they had beg u n and
as Mordecai had written unto them
Be a u se Haman the
Hammedatha the Agag ite
the ene m y of all the Jews had devised against the Jews to
destroy them and had cast Pur that is the lot to co ns um e
them and to destroy them
But wh en E sther came before the king he c o mm anded
by l etters that his wicked device which he devised against the
Jews should return upon his o wn head and that he and his
s o ns should be hanged
the gal l ows
Wherefore they c a ll ed these days P ur im afte r the na m e
of Pur Therefore
all the words O f this le tter and
that
wh ich they had seen con c erning this matter and whic h had
co me u nto them
The Jews ordained and took u pon them and up o n their
seed and upon all such as j oined themselves u nto them so as
it sh o u ld
fail that they would keep these two days a c cord
ing to their w riting and according to their appoi ted ti m e every
year
And that these days shou l d be remembered and kept
throughout every generation ev ery family ev e y provin c e and
every ci y and that these days of Purim should not fail from
among the Jews
the memoria l
them perish from their
seed
Then E sther the queen the daughter O f Abihail and
Mordeca i the Jew wrote with all authority to confir m this
se c ond l etter O f Purim
And he sent the letters unto all the Jews to the hundred
twen y and seven provinces
the kingdo m
Ahasuer u s
with w ords
peace and tru th
T confirm these days P u ri m in their times appointed
ES T E R
according as Morde c a i the Jew and E sther the queen had
enjoined them
as they had decreed for th emse l ves and
their seed the mat ters
the fastings and their cry
And the de c ree
E sther confi rmed t h ese matters
Purim and it
written in the b oo k
CHAPT ER
OR E C AI PR I ME M I N I S T ER
And t h e king Ahasuerus laid a tribute up o n the l and and
upon the is l es
the
And all the acts O f his power and hi s might and the
declarati o n O f the greatness Morde c ai wh ereunto the k ng
advanced him are they not written in the bo o k the c hr o nic l es
the kings
Media and Persia
Mordecai the Jew was next u nt o king Ahas u er u s and
great among the Jews and accepted the m u l titude his
brethren seeking the w ea l t h o f his pe o p l e and S peak i ng pea c e
to all his seed
THE HI
TOR
OF
T H E F O RT
A
RO
A
ER
AUTH R UN N WN
T h is story l ike E sther takes p l a c e i n Persia The
sto r ies of The Arabian Nig h ts as a who l e probably origi ated in
India were modified and augmented by the Persians and had
the finishing tou c hes put upon them by the Arabians Bagdad
on the Tigris is the c ity that figures most pr om inent l y in the
stories and the g o od ca l iph Haroun
R aschid or
who uled fro m
to
A
is the m o nar c h mo st O ften
m entioned
A g ly pla a g ly ti
it
g l n pri
g d ar un
the germs
the stories are the form in which
However
have them hardly antedates the year
The absence
mention
coffee and tobacco precludes at least a date
much l ater They began to be translated into the languages
E urope d ring the reign
Queen Anne and with the
tion
the Old Testament have been the ch ief orientalizing
inf l uence in modern l iterature The setting Of Ali Baba
hows the four char cteristics O f all these Perso Arabian ta l es
it has to do with town life not country life it pre upposes
faith the Mohammedan it Shows a fondness
magic and
it takes for granted an audience interested not in mora l or
ethical distinctions but in story te ll ing
story telling s sake
F
A
Ng
S H OR T S T R I E S
C A SS I M
A A S R TH R
I LLE
R
I C OV RE
ERS
There once lived
a town O f Persia two brot h ers one
named Cassim and the other Ali Baba Their fathe r divided his
smal l property equally between them Cassi m m arried a very
rich w ife and beca m e a wealthy m erchant Ali Baba married
a w oman as p o or as himself and l ived by cutting w ood and
bringing it upon three asses into the town to sell
One day when Ali Baba had
just enoug h w ood in the
forest to load his asses he noticed far
a great cloud O f dust
As it drew nearer he saw that it
made by a body of horse
m en w ho m
suspected to be robbers Leaving the asses
he c l imbed a large tree which grew a high rock and had
branches thick enough to hide him completely w hile he
what passed beneath The troop forty in n m ber all wel l
m o unted and armed came to the foot
the rock
which
the tree stood and there dismo u nted E ach man unbridled his
horse tied him to a shrub and hung about his neck a bag
cor Then each of the m took Off his saddle bag w hich from
its weight seemed to Ali Baba full
gold and silver One
whom he took to be their captain came under the tree in which
Ali Baba
concea l ed and making his
through some
shrubs Spoke the words
Open S esame
soon as the
c ptain O f the robbers said this a door O pened in the rock and
a ter he had made all his troop enter before him he followed
them w hen the door shut again
itself
The robbers stayed some time within and Ali Baba fearful
bei g caught remained in the tree At l ast the door opened
again and the c aptain came
first and stood to
all
p
g
A A AN D
F OR TY RO
ERS
troop pass by him Then Ali Baba heard hi m make the doo r
close by saying S hut S esa m e Every man at once b r idled
his h o rse fastened his wallet and mo u nted again When t h e
c aptain
the m al l ready he put himse l f at their head and
they returned the way they had c ome
Ali Baba watched the m
sight and then w aited s o me
time before coming down Wishing to whether the captain s
words would have the same effect if he should speak them he
found the door hidden in the shrubs stood before it and said
Open S esame Instantly the door flew w ide open
Instead a dark dis m a l cavern Ali Baba was surprised to
see a large chamber we ll lighted from the top and in it all
sorts of provisions
bales O f silk brocade and car e ing
go l d and si l ver ingots in great heaps and money in bags
A l i Baba went bo l d l y into the cave and co l lected as muc h
the go l d coin which was in bags as he thought his asses
c o uld carry When he had loaded the m with the bags he laid
wo od over them that they could not be seen and passing
o ut O f the door
the last time sto o d before it and said
S hut S esame The d oo r c l osed O f itse l f and he m ade the
best
his way to town
When he reached home
careful ly closed t h e gate
his
little yard threw Off the w o od and carried the bags into the
house They were emptied before his wife and the great heap
Of gold dazzled her eyes Then he told her the whole adventure
and warned her above all things to keep it secret
Ali Baba wo u ld not l et h er take the time to count it out as
wished but said
w i l dig a hole
bu ry i t
But let us know as nearly as may be s h e said
how
much we have I will b o rrow a sm al l measure and m eas u re it
w hi le you dig a hole
Away
ran the wife O f Cassim
lived near by and
asked for a measure The sister law know i ng Ali Baba s
S OR T S T OR I ES
poverty w as c uri o us to l earn what sort of grain hi s w i fe wi s h ed
t o measure
and artfully managed to put some suet in the
b o tt om Of the measure before she handed it over Ali Baba
w fe wanted S h ow ho w carefu l
in smal l matters and
after
had m easured the gold hurried back even whi l e her
h sband
burying it with the b o rrowed m easure never
n o ti c ing that a coi had st u ck to its bott o m
What said
wife as so o n as her sister law had
left her has A li Baba gold in s u ch plenty that he measures
it Whence has he all this wea l th And envy possessed her
b r east
When Cassim c ame home she said to h im
Cass im
think yourself rich but A l i Baba is m uch richer He does not
count his m o ney he measures it
Then she exp l ained to hi m
how
had found it
and they l o o ked together at the piece
money w hich was so Ol d that they c oul d not te ll in wh at
pr i nce s reign it
c oined
Cassim since mar r y i ng the rich widow h ad never treated
Ali Baba as a brother but neglected him Now instead of
ing pleased he was filled with a base env y Early in the morn
ing after a s l eep l ess night he went to him and said Al i
Baba
pretend to be w retchedly poor and yet you measure
go ld My wife found this at the botto m the measure yo u
b o rrowed yesterday
A l i Baba
that there w as no u se O f t ying to concea l his
good fo r u ne and told the wh ol e sto ry offering his brother
part Of the treasure to keep the secret
I expect as m uch replied Cassi m haughti l y but I mu st
know j ust w here this treas u re is and
to visit it m yse l f
w hen I ch ose Otherwise I will inform against yo u and you
will l ose even what you have now
Ali Baba to l d hi m all he w ished kno w even to the wo rd
he mu st speak at the d o or of the cave
A LI
A A AND
F OR TY RO
ERS
Cassim rose before the
t h e next morning and
for the forest with ten m ules bearing great chests whi ch h e
meant to fill With l itt l e tr ou ble he fo u nd the rock and the
door and stand ng before it spoke the words Open S esa m e
The door O pened at once and w h en he was within cl o sed u pon
him Here indeed were the riches of wh i ch his bro t h er had
to ld He q u ickly brought as many bags
gold as he c o ul d
carry to the door
the c avern but h is t hou ghts were
full
t h e wo rd that
of his new wea l th that he c o u l d not think
sh ould let him
S e same he said Open
In stead
Barley and was m uc h amazed to find that the d o o r remained
fast shut He named severa l sorts Of grain b u t stil l the door
open
w ould
Cassi m had never expe c ted s u c h a disaster and was
fr i ghtened that the m ore he tried to recal l the word
S esame
the m ore conf u sed his mind became It was as if he had never
heard the word at all He threw down the bags in his h ands
and walked wildly u p and down with out a thought Of t he rich es
lyi g round about hi m
At noon the robbers visited their cave Fr o m afar they
mu l es straggling about the rock and ga ll oped fu ll
Speed to t h e cave Drivi g the m ul es
sight they went
at on c e with their naked sabres in their hands to the do o r
w h ich opened as soon as the captain h ad spoken t h e prope r
w ords before it
Cassim had h eard the no i se th e horses feet and guessed
that the robbers had co m e He resolved to make
effort for
his l ife As soon as the door O pened
rushed
and threw
pass the other robbers
the l eader down but cou l d
with their scimitars s o on put him to deat h
The first care the robbers was to examine the cave Th ey
found all the bags Cassim had br o ught to the door but did not
m iss what Ali Baba had taken As for Cass im him se l f they
S H O RT S T OR I E S
guessed right ly t h at once within he cou l d not get
agam
but
he had managed to l earn their secret words that let
hi m in they co u ld not te ll One thing
certain
there he
was and to wa n all others
might know their secret and
fo llo w in
footsteps they agreed to
his b o dy into
f o ur q u arters
to hang two
one Side and two
the other
within the door
the cave This they did at once and leaving
the p lace
their hoards wel l c l osed mounted their ho rses and
ou t to attack the c aravans they might meet
M A NN ER
EATH C O NC E AL E
When night c ame and Cassi m did not return his wife
ca m e ve y uneasy S he ran to Ali Baba for comfort and he
t ol d her that Cassi m wou l d certain l y think it u nwise to enter
the town till night
we l l advanced By midnight
wife w as still more alarmed and wept ti ll mo ning cursing her
desire to pry into the affairs
her brother and sister
law
In the early day
went again in tears to Ali Baba
He did not wait for her to ask him to go and what had
happened to Cassim but
at once the forest wit h his
three asses Finding some blood at the door
the ca v e he
took it
an ill omen but when he had spoken the words and
the door had O pened he w as struck with horror at the disma l
sight his brother s body He could not l ea v e it there and
hastened within to find something to wrap around it Laying
the body
his asses he covered it w ith wood The
o t h er two asses he loaded with bags of gold co v ering them also
with wood as before Then bidding the door shut he came
away but stopped some time at the edge of the forest that he
might not go into the town before night When
reached
h e left the two asses laden with gold in his litt le yar
A A AN D
F OR TY RO
ERS
fo r h is wife to un l oad and l ed the other to h is s i ster
la w s
ouse
Ali Baba knocked at the door which
O pened by Morgi
ana a clever s l ave full
devices to c onque r di ficu lties When
he came into the court and unloaded the
he took
aside and said to h er
Yo u m ust O bse ve a str i ct secrecy You r m aster s body is
contained in these two panniers We m ust bury hi m as if he
had died a natu ral death Go now and tel l your m istress I
leave the matter to your
and skillful devices
They p l aced the body in
house and charging
t o act we ll her part Al i Baba ret u rned h o m e with
his ass
Early the next morning
went to a d ru gg i st and
asked for a sort Of lozenge used in
most dangerous illness
wanted it she answered with
When he asked her for wh om
a sigh
My good maste r Cassim He can neither eat nor
speak
In the evening
went to the same drugg i st and
with tears in her eyes asked for an essence given to Sick per
sons for w hose l ife there is little hope
Alas sa i d
I
am afraid even th s wil l not save my good m aste r
All t h at day Ali Baba and his w ife were seen g o ing sadly
between their house and
and in the ev ening nobody
wife
sur prised to h ear the shrieks and cries
and
who told eve r ybody that he r m aste r w as dead
The next morning at daybreak
ent to an O ld cobbler
who
always early at work and p u tting a piece
go ld in
his hand said
Baba Mustapha
must bring you r sewing ta ck l e and
come with me but I must tell
I shall blindfo ld
we reach a certain place
do s om et hi ng
Oh Oh rep l ied
you w o ul d have
aga inst my co ns cience or my honor
S H OR T S T OR I ES
forbid
said
putting an o t h er piece
gold
in h is hand
only co e along with me and fear nothing
Baba M u stapha w ent with
and at a certain p l ace
bo u nd his eyes with a handkerchief which
never
l o o sed till they had ente red the room
her
where she had put the corpse toget h er
Baba Mustapha said
you m ust m ake h aste and
se w the parts of this body together and w hen you have d o ne
I w il l g ive you another piece of g o ld
After Baba Mustapha had finished his task
blindfo l ded
hi m again gave hi m the third piece O f gold
had promised
and charging hi m w ith secrecy took hi m back to the place
w here
had first bo u nd his eyes Taking
the bandage
w atched him till he
O f sight l est he sh oul d return
and dog h er then she w ent home
At
h ouse
m ade all things ready for th e funeral
which
duly performed by the imaum and other ministers
of the m osque
as a s l ave
the dead m an walked
in the procession w eeping beating h er breast and tearing her
hair
wife stayed at home uttering dolefu l cries wit h
the women
the neighborhood
according to custom
came
m ourn with her The w hole quarter
filled with
sounds
sorrow
Th u s the m anne r O f
deat h was hushed u p and
sides his w idow Al i Baba and
the slave n o body in
the city suspected the ca u se it Three or four days after the
funera l Ali Baba removed his few goods O penly to his sister
law s house in which he was to live in the future but the
m oney he had taken from the robbers
carried thither by
night As for
warehouse Ali Baba put it entirely
u nder the charge his eldest son
I
M
p
S OR T S T OR I ES
A dead b o dy exc l ai m ed the robber ama ed
answered Baba M u stap h a I
y ou w ant to
kno w m ore but you shal l not
The r o bber felt sure that he
the right track He put a
p i ece go ld into Baba
hand and said to him
I do not w ant to l earn you r secret though you could safely
tr u st m e with it The on ly thing I
O f you is to show me
t h e h ou se w here yo u stitched up the dead body
I c o ul d not do that replied Baba Mustapha if I wo u l d
I was taken to a certain place whence I was led blindfold to the
house and after w ards brought back again in the same m anner
Well replied the robber yo u may remember a l itt l e
the way that
w ere led blindfold Come let me b l ind yo u r
eyes at the same place We wil l walk together and perhaps y ou
may recal l the way Here is another piece gold for
This was enough to bring Baba Mustapha to his feet They
so o n reached the place where
had bandaged his eyes
and here h e was blindfolded again Baba Mustapha and the
robbe r w alked
til l they c ame to
house w here Ali
Baba now l i v ed Here the O ld m an stopped and w hen the
thief pulled
the band and found that his guide cou l d not
te ll
whose house it w as h e let
go But before he
started back for the forest h imself wel l pleased wit h w hat he
had l earned he marked the door with a piece of chalk which
he had ready in his h and
S oon after this
came
upon some errand and
when
returned
saw the mark the rob er had made
and stopped to look at it
So mebody
What
this me an
she said to herse l f
intends my master harm and in any case it is best to gua d
against the w orst
Then she fetched a piece of chalk and
marked two
three doors
each side in the same m anner
saying n o t hi ng to her master
mistress
A A AND
F OR TY RO
ERS
When the robber rejoined his troop in the forest and told
his good fortune in meeting the one man that could have helped
him they were all delighted
Comrades said the captain we have no time t o l ose
Let us
at once wel l armed and disguised enter the town
by twos and j oin at the great square Meanwhi l e our c o mrade
has brought us the good news and I wil l go and find
the house and decide w hat had best be done
by
they entered the town Last
al l went the
captain and the
When they came to the first O f the houses
which
had marked the spy pointed it
But the
captain noticed that the next door
chalked in the same
manner and asked his guide w h ich ho u se it
that o r the
first The guide knew not what answer m ake and was still
more puzzled when he and the captain
five
houses
marked after this same fashion He assured the captain with
an oath that he had marked but one and could n o t te ll
had c halked the rest nor could he
at w hich house the
cobb l er had stopped
There was nothing to do but to j oin the other robbers and
te l l t h em to go back to the ca v e Here they were to l d why
they had all returned and the guide was declared by all to be
wo thy Of death Indeed he conde m ned himself owning that
he ought to ha v e been more careful and prepared to recei v e
the stroke hich
to
Off his head
The safety the troop stil l demanded that t he second comer
to the cave shou l d be found and another
the gang offered
to it with the same penalty if he should ai l Like the other
robber he found
Baba Mustapha and through him the
house w hic h he marked in a p l a c e re mo te from sight with red
chalk
But nothing could escape
eyes and when
w ent out not long after and
the red chalk
argued
S H OR T S T OR I E S
with h erself as before and marked the other houses near by
the same place and manner
The robber when he to l d his comrades what he had done
prided himse l f
his carefulness and the captain and all the
troop th o ught they must succeed this time Again they entered
the town by twos but when the robber and his captain came
to the street they found the same trouble The captain
enraged and the robber as much confused as the former guide
had been Th u s the captain and his troop went back again to
the c ave and the r o bber w ho had failed w illingly gave himself
u p to deat h
RO
ERS E C EP T
C A P TAI N
I C VERE
I LL
The captain could
afford to l ose any more
his brave
fellows and decided to take upon himself the task in which two
had failed Like the others he went to Baba Mustapha and
was shown the house Un l ike them he put no mark
it but
studied it carefully and passed it O ften that he could not
possib l y mistake it
When he re urned to the troop who were waiting for him in
the cave he said
comrades nothing
prevent
full revenge as I
am certain
the house As I re rned I tho u ght Of a way to
do
work but if any
thinks Of a better l et h im speak
He told them his plan and as they thought it good he
ordered them to go int o the villages abo u t and buy nineteen
mules with thirty eight l arge l eather j ars
ful l O f and
the others empty Within two three days they ret u rned with
the mules and the j ars and as the mouths
the ars were
rather too narrow for the captain s purpose he caused them to
ALI A A AND
OR TY RO
ERS
be wi dened Having put
his men into each j ar with t h e
weapons which he thought fit and having a seam wide enough
O pen for each man to breathe he rubbed the j ars the o u tside
with from the fu ll vesse l
Thus prepared they
for the t o wn the nineteen mules
l oaded with the thirty seven robbers in j ars and the j ar Oil
with the captain as their driver When he reached Ali Baba s
door he found Ali Baba sitting there taking a little fres h air
after his supper The captain stopped his mules and said
I have brought some O il a great way to sel l at to morrow s
m arket and it is now so late that I do
know where to l odge
Wil l yo u d o me the favor to l et m e pass the night with
Thoug h Ali Baba had seen the captain in the forest and had
heard hi m speak he c o u l d not know h im in the disguise
an
mer c hant and bade him w e l come He opened his gates for
the m u l es to go into the yard and ordered a slave to put them
in a stab le and feed the m when they w ere u n l oaded and then
called
get a good supper for his g u est Afte r
supper he charged her afresh to take good care the stranger
and said to her
morrow morning I intend to go to the bath before day
take c are to have my bathing l inen ready give it to Abdalla
whi c h w as his Slave s name and make me some good broth
against my return
After this he went to bed
In the mean time the captain O f the robbers w ent into the
yard and took
the l id
each j ar
t ol d h is peop l e w hat
they m u st do To ea ch in turn h e said
As soon as I thr ow some stones
the chamber
dow where I lie d o n o t fail to come
and I will j oin
at once
Then h e went i nto the house and
sho wed him
his chamber where he soon put out the light and laid h im self
down in his clothes
S H OR T S T O R I ES
carry
Ali Ba a orders
got his bathing linen
eady and bade Abdalla to set on the pot for the broth but
soon the l amp went out and there
no more
in the ho u se
nor any candles S he knew not what to do till the slave
reminded her
the
j ars in the yard S he thanked him for
the thought took the
pot and went
When
came
nigh the first j ar the robber within said soft ly
Is it time
Of course
surprised to find a man in the jar instead
the Oil but
at once that
must keep silence as
Ali Baba his family and
herself were in great danger
Therefore
answered without showing any fear
Not yet
but presently In this manner
went to all the j ars and
gave the same answers til l
came to the j ar
By this means
found that her master had a mitted
to his house thirty eight robbers
whom the pretended
m erchant their captain was
S he made what haste
c oul d to fill her pot and returned to her kitchen lighted h er
l amp and taking a great kettle went back to the oil j ar and filled
it Then
the kett l e
a large wood fire and
soon as
it boi l ed went and poured enough into every j ar
and
destroy the robber within
When this deed worthy
the courage of
one without any noise as She had planned retur ed to the
kitchen with the empty kettle put
the lamp and left just
enough
the fire to ma k e the broth Then
silent
re ol v ing not to go to rest til l
had seen through the window
that O pened
the yard whate v er might happen there
It was not long before the capta i n
the robbers got up and
seeing that all was dark and quiet gav e the appointed signa l by
throwing little stones some
which hit the j ars as
doubted
by the sound they ga v e
there was no re ponse he
threw stones a second and a third time and cou l d not imagine
why there was no answer to his signal
A A AN D
F OR TY RO
ERS
Much alarmed he went softly down into the yard and going
to the first j ar to ask the robber if he w as ready smelt the
boiled
which sent forth a steam
the j ar From this
s u spected that his plot
found out and l ooking into the
j ars o ne by one he found that all his gang were dead E nraged
to despair he forced the l ock
a door that led fro m the yard
to the garden and
escape When
him
go s h e went to bed we ll p l eased that had saved he r m aster
and his family
A l i Baba rose before day and went to the baths without
knowing what had happened in the night When he returned
he was very much surprised to
the oil j ars in the yard and
the m ul es in the stable
G o d preserve you and al l your family said
when
she was asked what it meant
will know better when
have seen what I have to sh o w
S o saying
led him to the first j ar and asked him to
if there
any
When he
a man instead he started
back in alarm
not be afraid said
he
do neither you
nor anyb o dy else the l east harm He is dead Now look into
all the other j ars
Ali Baba was more and more amazed as he went
and
saw all the dead men and the sunken O i l j ar at the end
He stood looking from the j ars to
till he found
words to
And wha is become
the merchant
Merchant
answered
he is as muc h
as
I am
Then she l ed hi m into the house and told of all that
done from the first noticing
the chalk mark to the
death
the robbers and the flight
their captain On he r
ing
these brave deeds from
lips Ali Baba
said to her
OR T S T OR I E S
God by your means has delivered me fro m death
the
first token What I
you I give you your liberty from this
moment til l I can fully reward
as I intend
Near the trees at the end Ali Baba s long garden he and
Abdalla dug a trench l arge enough to hold the bodies the
robbers When they were buried there A l i Baba hid the j ars
and weapons and as the mules w ere no use to him he sent
the m at different times t o be so l d in the m arket by his slave
C A P TAI N
I S C OVERE
I LL
The captain
the forty robbers had returned to his cave in
the forest but found himself
lonely there that the p l ace
became frightfu l to him He reso l ved at the same time to
avenge the fate
his comrades and to bring about the death
Ali Baba
this purpose he returned to the town dis
guised as a merchant
Silks By degrees he brought fro m his
cavern many sorts fine stuffs and to di pose of these he took
a w arehouse that happened to be opposite
which
Ali Baba s son had occupied Since the death
his u nc l e
He took the name of
ogia Houssain and as a newcome r
w as very civil to the merchants near him Ali Baba s son was
the first to converse with him and the
merchant
m ost friendly Within two three days Ali Baba came to
see his
and the captain
the robbers knew him at once
and soon l earned from his
he was From that time
forth he w as stil l more po l ite to Ali Baba s
soon felt
bound to repay the many kindnesses
his new friend
As his
house
small he arranged with his father
that
a certain afternoon w hen he and the merchant were
OR T S OR E
a good dancer and
this occasion outdid herself in gra c efu l
and s u rprising motions At the last
took the tabor from
hand and held it out like those
dance for
money
Ali Baba put a piece Of g old into it and so did his
When ogia Houssain saw that She
coming to him he
pulled out his purse from his bosom to make her a present
but while he was putting his hand into it
with cour
age worthy
her elf plunged the poniard into his hea rt
Unhapp woman
exclaimed Ali Baba what have you
done to ruin me
my family
It was to preserve not to ruin you answered
Then she sho w ed the dag er in ogia
garment and
said L o ok wel l at him and you wil l that he is both the
pretended oil merchant and the captain
the band
forty
robbers
soon as you told me that he would eat no salt with
y ou I suspected who it was and when I
him I knew
Ali Baba embraced her and said
I gave you
y o ur l iberty before and promised you more in time now I
w o ul d make you my daughter law Consider he said turn
ing to his
that by m arrying
you arry the
preserver
my family and yours
The son
all the more ready to carry
his father s
wishes because they were the same as his
and within a
few days h e and
were married but before this the
captain
t h e robbers
buried with his comrades and
secretly
it done that their bones were not found till many
years had passed when no had any concern in making this
strange story kno
For a whole year Ali Baba did not visit the robbers cave
At the end of that time as nobody had tried to disturb him he
m ade another journey to the forest and standing before the
entrance to the cave said
Open S esame The door opene
A A AND
F OR TY RO
ERS
at once and fro m the appearance of everything within the
cavern j udged that nobody had been there since the captain
had fetched the goods for his shop From this time forth he
took
much
the treasure as his needs demanded S ome
years l ater he carried his
to the ca v e and taught hi m the
secret whic h
handed down in his family
used their
good fo tune wisely and l ived in great ho no r and sp l end o r
WA S HINGT N I RV ING
T h e H u ds o n Ri ver and the
M ou ntai ns
were first brought into l iterature through this story Irving
be i ng the first American m aster
loca l co l or and loca l tradi
ti o n S in ce
the A m erican short story fo ll o w ing the
exa m p le of Irving has been the l eading agency by whi ch the
South the West and Ne w England have m ade known and thus
perpetuated their local s c enery l egends c u stoms and dia l ect
Irving h o w ever see m ed afraid
dia le ct There were it is
tru e m any l egends about the H u ds o n before Irving was bo n
but they had fo u nd no expression in literature Mrs J o sia h
Quincy
made a voyage up the Hudson in
wrote
O u r captain had a legend for every scene either supernat u ra l
or traditiona l or o f actua l o ccurrence during the war and not
a m o untain reared its head u n c onnected w ith some m arvel l ous
story Irving therefore did
h ave to manufacture loca l
traditions he o nly gave them w ider currency and fitted t h em
more artistically into their nat ral settings
Irving c h o se for his setting the twenty years t h at e m bra c e
the R evo l utiona y War because the n um ero u s socia l and politica l
changes that took p l ace then enabled him to bring R ip back
after his Sleep into
world not realized
will appreciate
much better the art of this time setting if you wil l try you r
hand o n a somewhat Similar story and place it bet w een
F
I
y fy
p
Sk
k
gf
g p
k
gf
T y
k
g
R I P VAN WINKL E
and
w h en ra il r o ads te l egraph l ines and transat l antic
stea m ers m ade a
wor l d
the O ld
if your story
takes p l a c e in the S outh you m ight m ake your backgr o und
in c lude the interva l between
and
when slave r y
ab ol is h ed when the old plantation system was ch nged w hen
the na m es of new her o es emerged and w h en new socia l and
p oli ti c a l and industria l prob l ems h ad to be grapp l ed with
The p l ot i s divided i nto two al m ost equa l parts which
we may call befo r e and after taking
A recent critic has
said
The actua l forward movement
the p lo t does not
beg i n u nti l the sentence In a l ong ramb l e
the kind
a
fine autumna l day Rip had unconscious ly scramb led to
the highest parts o f the
M ou ntains
The critic has
m issed I think the main structural exce l len c e o f the story
Da m e Van Wink l e the c h i l dren who h u ng around Rip his
own ch ildren h is do g the socia l club at the inn w ith the por
trait
George the Third Van Bum m el and Ni c ho l as Vedder
a ll had t o be m ent ioned before R ip began the ascent
the
mountain Ot h erwise when he ret u rned we shou l d have had
no m eans of m easuring the swift passage
time during his
sleep E ach i s a skillful l y
timepiece
milepost w hich
R ip s return m isleads the poor fel low at every turn and thus
pr o duces the exact kind O f tota l ity
e fect that Irving
i ntended The forw ard m ove m ent of the p l ot beg ins with this
caref ul p l anning of the route that Rip is to take his return
trip wh en t w enty years sha ll have done their w ork Cut
these
and see h ow e fe c tively the forward
mo vement the p lo t i s retarded
R ip was the first chara c ter in American fi ction
t o be known far beyond
borders and he remains
the best known In the c l ass wit h hin be l ong Ja m es Feni
ore C o oper s Leatherstocking or Natty Bumppo Harriet
Beecher S towe s Unc l e Tom Joe l Chand l e r Harris s Unc l e
R emus and Mark Twain s Huckleberry Fi and
S awyer
He has been cal l ed
American and so he is and
Irving
OR T S T OR I ES
p l a in l y i ntended him to be If
insists find i ng a b it of
distinctive Americanism somewhere in the story he will find
it not in R ip b u t in the number and rapidity of the changes
that Amer i can l ife underwent during the twenty years that
se r ve as background to the story George Willia m Curtis calls
Rip the constant and unconsci o us satirist American life
but surely Irving would ha v e smiled at finding so purposefu l
a mission l aid upon the stooping shoulders
vagabond
ne er do w e ll hero R ip is no satirist conscious or nconscio u s
He i s a provincia l Dutch ype s uc h as Irving h ad seen a
h undred times but he is l o v able and is sketched lovingly
t h at we h ardly reali z e t h e consummate art the human
pat h y and the keen powers obse vation that have gone into
his m aking E very o the r character in the st o ry including Wo l f
is a side lig ht o n Rip Of The Legend o f Sl eepy Ho llo w
I r v i ng said
The sto ry is a mere whimsi c a l band to conne c t
t h e des c r i pt i ons
s c enery c stoms manners
The em
p h as i s in o ther w ords w as put
the setting Of R ip Van
Wink l e
ight
not have said The escriptions scenery
custo m s m anners etc are but many channels thr ou gh w hich
the ch aracte r o f R ip finds o u t l et and expressi o n
W ho eve r has m ade a v o yage up the Hudson m u st re m e m ber
the
M ou nta ns They are a dismembered branch of
the great Appa l a ch ian family and are seen away to the w est
o f the river swe lling u p to a nob l e h eight and l ording it over
t h e s u rr o und i ng co untry Eve y ch ange
season every change
of w eat h er i ndeed every h ou r
the day produces some
change in the magica l hues and s h apes
these mountains and
they are regarded by all the good wives far and near as per
baro m eters When the w eather is fair and settled they
are cl ot h ed in b l ue and purple and print their bold o u tlines
the c l ear evening
but sometimes when the rest
the l andscape is c l oudless they wil l gather a hood
gray
WI N KL E
vapors about their summits which in the last rays of the
setting
will glow and light up like a crown
glory
At the foot
these fairy m ountains the voyager may have
descried the light smoke curling up from a village whose shing l e
roofs glea m among the trees j ust w here the blue tints
the
up l and elt away into the fresh green
the nearer l andscape
It is a l ittle village
great antiquity ha v ing been founded by
s o me
the Dutch colonists in the early time
the province
just about the beginning of the government O f the good Peter
S tuyvesant may he rest in peace and there were some of the
houses of the original settlers standing within a
years built
smal l yellow bricks brought from Holland ha v ing latticed
windows and gable fronts surmounted with weathercocks
In that same village and in one of these very houses which
to te ll the precise truth was sadly time worn and weat h er
beaten there lived many years since while the country was
yet a pro v ince
Great Britain a simple good natured fel l ow
of the name
Van Wink l e He was a descendant
the
Van Winkles
figured so gallantly in the chivalrous days
Peter S tuy v esant and accompanied him to the siege of Fort
Christina He inherited however but l ittle the martia l char
acter of his ancestors I have observed that he w as a simple
good natured man he was m oreo v er a kind neighbor and an
obedient henpecked husband Indeed to the latter circu m stance
might be owing that m eekness of spirit which gained hi m such
uni v ersa l popularity for those men are most apt to be
and conciliating abroad
are under the discip line
shrews at home Their tempers doubtless are rendered p l iant
and malleable in the fiery furnace
domestic tribu l ation and
a curtain lect u re is worth all t h e ser m ons in the wor l d for
teaching the virtues
patience and l ong su fering A ter m a
gant wife may therefore in some respects be considered a
t ol rab l e blessing and if
Van Wink le was t hri ce b lessed
S O RT S T OR I E S
Certain it is that he was a great favorite among all the
good wives of the village
as usua l with the amiab l e
t o ok his part in all fami ly squabb l es and neve r fai l ed when
ever th ey a l ked those matters over in thei r even i ng gossipings
to lay all t h e blame o n Dame Van Wink l e
The c hildren
the vi ll age too w o ul d sho u t with j oy wh never he approached
He assisted at their sports made their p l aythings taught the m
to fly kites and shoot marb l es and to l d the m l ong stories
ghosts wit ch es and Indians Whenever he went dodging about
the vil l age he
s u rrounded by a troop
the m h anging
o n his skirts clambering on his back and playing a thousand
tricks
hi m with impunity and not a dog wou l d bark at
him throughout the neighborh o od
The great error in R ip s c omposition was an i ns u perab l e
aversion to all kinds of profitab l e labor It could not be fro m
the want
assiduity
perseverance for h e w ould sit
a
w et rock with a
as l ong and heavy as a Tartar s l ance
and fish all day w ithout a m urmur even tho u gh he should not
be encouraged by a Single nibb l e He would carry a fowling
piece
his shou l der for hours together t u dging t h rough
w oods and swamps and up hil l and down da le to sh o ot a few
squirre l s
wi l d pigeons He w ould ne v er refuse to assist a
neighbor even in the roughest toi l and was a foremost m an at
all c ountry fro l ics
husking Indian co rn
building stone
fences the women the village too used to employ
to
their errands and to do such litt l e
j obs as their l ess
obliging husbands would
do for them In a word R ip was
ready to attend to anybody s business b u t his
b u t as
to doing family duty and keeping his farm in o rder h e fo u nd
it impossible
In fact h e declared it w as of no
t o work on h is farm
it was the most pestilent litt le piece of ground in the whole
country eve rything ab o ut it went wrong and would go w rong
S H OR T S T OR I E S
R ip s so l e domestic adherent was
dog Wo l f who
as
much henpecked as his master for Dame Van Wink l e regarded
them as companions in id l eness and even l ooked upon Wo l f
with an evil eye as the cause
O ften
his master s going
astray True it is in all points of spirit befitting an honorable
dog he
as courageous an animal
e v er scoured the woods
but what courage can with tand the ever duri g and all
besetting terrors
a woman s tongue The moment Wolf
entered the house his crest fell his tail drooped to the ground
curled between his legs he sneaked about w ith a gallows
air ca ting many a Sidelong glance at Dame Van Winkle and
at the least flourish
a broom tick or ladle he wou l d fly to
the door with yelping precipitation
Times grew worse and worse with R ip Van Wink l e as years
of matrimony rolled
a tart temper ne v er mellows it h age
and a sharp tongue is the only edged too l that grows keener
with constant
For a l ong while he used to console himse l f
when dri v en fro m home by frequenting a kind of perpetua l
club of the sages philosophers and other idle personages
the village which held
ses ions
a bench be f ore a small
inn designated by a rubicund portrait of His Maj esty George
the Third Here they used to Sit in the shade through a l ong
lazy summer s day tal k ing l istlessly o v er v illage gossip or tel l
ing endless sleepy stories about nothing But it would have
been worth any statesman s money to ha v e heard the profound
discussions that sometimes took place when by chance an
newspaper fell into their hands from some passing tr a v e l ler
How solemnly they would listen to the contents as drawled out
by Derrick Van Bummel the school master a dapper l earned
litt le man
was not to be daunted by the most g i gantic
word in the dictionary and how sagely they would deliberate
upon public e v ents some months after they had taken place
The opinions of this j unto were completely contro l led by
W INKL E
Nic h o l as Vedder a patriarch of the vi l lage and l and l ord of the
inn at the door
which he took his seat from morning til l
night j ust moving su ciently to a v oid the and keep in the
shade
a large tree
that the neighbors c ou l d tel l the hour
by his movements as accurately as by a sun dial It is true he
was rarely heard to speak but smoked his pipe i ncessantly
His adherents h owe v er fo r e v ery great man
his
ents perfectly understood him and knew how to gather his
O pinions When anything that was read related displeased
him he was observed to smoke his pipe vehement l y and to
send forth s ho rt frequent and angry pu fs but w h en p l eased
he would i nha l e the smoke slowly and tra quilly and emit it
in light and placid cloud and sometimes taking the pipe from
his m outh and l etting the fragrant vapor curl about his nose
w ould gravely nod his head in toke
perfect approbation
Fro m even this stronghold the unlucky Rip
at l eng h
ro u ted by h is termagant wife who wo ld sudden l y break in
pon t h e tranquil l ity
the assemblage and cal l the members
all to naught nor was that august personage Nicho l as Vedder
himself sacre from the daring tongue
this terrible V irago
w h o charged him outright with encouraging h er hu sband in
habits of idleness
Poor R ip was at l ast reduced a l most to despair and his
on ly a l ternative to escape fro m the l abor Of the farm and
clamo r
his Wife was to take gun in hand and strol l away
into the woods Here he would someti es seat himse l f at th e
foot
a tree and share the contents
his wallet with W ol f
with who m he sympathized as a fel low su ferer in persecution
Poor Wo l f he w ou l d
thy mistress l eads thee a dog s
life it but never mind my lad whilst I li v e thou sha lt ne v er
w ant a friend to stand by thee Wo lf would wag his tail lo ok
wistfu ll y in his master s face and if dogs can feel pity I verily
believe h e recipro c ated the senti m nt wit h all h is he r
S OR T S T O R I E S
a fine autum nal day
In a l ong ramb l e
the kind
h ad unconscious ly scramb l ed to
the highest parts
the
Mountains He after his favorite spo r t sq u irre l
sh o oting and the stil l solitudes had echoed and echoed with
the reports his gun Panting and fatigued he threw himself
late in the afternoon a green knol l covered wit h mo u ntain
herbage that crowned the brow of a precipice Fro m an o pen
ing between the trees he could overlook all the lower co u ntry
for many a m ile
rich woodland He
at a distan c e the
lordly H u dson far far belo w him moving
its silent but
maj est ic course w ith the reflection
a purple cloud
the
sai l
a lagging bark here and there sleeping
its g lassy
boso m and at l ast l osing itse l f in the blue h ighlands
On the o ther Side he l ooked down into a deep mountain
g len w i l d l one l y and shagged the bottom fi l led with fra m ents
from the impending cliffs and scarcely lighted by the reflected
rays
the setting
For some time R ip lay m using
thi
scene evening
gradually ad v ancing the mountains began
to throw their long blue shadows over the valleys h e
that
it wo ul d be dark l ong before he could reach the vil l age and
he h eaved a heavy sigh when he thought o f encountering the
terrors of Dame Van Wink l e
As h e w as about to descend he h eard a voice fro m a dis
tance ha ll ooing R ip Van Wink l e R ip Van Wink l e
He
l ooked round but co ul d
nothing but a c row winging its
so l itary flight across the mountain He thought his fancy must
have deceived him and turned again to des c end w hen he h eard
the same cry ring through the sti ll evening air
Rip Van
Winkle R ip Van Wink l e l
at the same time Wolf bristled
u p his back and giving a
grow l skulked to his master s
side l ooking fearfully down into the glen R ip now felt a vag e
apprehension stealing o v er him he l ooked anxiously in the
ame direction and perceived a strange fig u re s lo wly toi l in
WI NKL E
u p the roc ks and bend i ng u nder the w eight s o met hi ng he
carried
his back He was surprised t o see any h u man be i ng
in this lo ne ly and unfrequented p l ace but supposing it to be
s om e one of the neig h borhood in need of his assistan c e he
h astened do w n to yie ld it
On nearer approa c h h e w as stil l m ore s u rprised at the singu
of t h e stranger s appearan c e He w as a short square
b u i l t Ol d fello w ith thick b u shy hai r and a grizz l ed beard
His dress w as of the antique D u t c h fashion a c l ot h j erkin
strapped round the w aist severa l pairs of breeches the oute r
o ne of a m p l e vo l u m e decorated w ith r ow s of b u ttons down the
sides and b u n ch es at t h e knees He bore
h is sho ul der a
st ou t keg t h at seemed full o f l iqu o r and made signs
R ip
to appr o a c h and assist hi m with the l oad Though rather shy
and distr u stfu l this ne w acquaintance R ip complied with his
usual alacrity and m ut u ally re l ieving another they clam
bered u p a narrow gu lly apparent l y the dry bed a mo untain
t o rrent As they ascended R ip every now and then h eard l ong
rol l ing peals l ike distant thunder t h at seemed to i ssue
a deep rav i ne o r r athe r c l eft between l ofty rocks t o ward which
the i r ru gged path c onducted He paused
a moment but
s u pp o sing it to be the m uttering
those transient
th u nder showers w hic h often take p l ace in m ountain h eig h ts
he pr oc eeded Passing thro u g h the ravine they came to a
ho llow l ike a s m al l amphitheatre s u rrounded by perpendicular
precipices over the brinks w hich i m pending trees shot thei r
branches
that
on l y caught glimpses
the azure
and the bright evening cl o u d During the w ho l e time R ip and
his c o m panion had labored on in silence thoug h the former
m a r vel l ed great ly w h at could be the obj ect car ying a keg
l iq u or up this wild mountain yet there w as something strange
in c o m prehensible ab o ut the u nkn o wn that i nspired
ch e c ked familiari y
S H OR T S T OR I E S
On enter i ng t h e a m p hi theatre new obj e c ts wonder pre
sented themsel v es On a l eve l spot in the center was a
pany
loo k ing pers o nages playing at ninepins They were
dressed in a quaint outlandish fashion some wore short doub
lets others j erkins w it h l ong kni v es in their belts and most
them had enormous breeches
similar style with that
the
guide s Their visages too were peculiar
had a large
beard broad face and small piggish eyes the face another
seemed to consist entirely nose and was surmounted by a
white sugar loaf hat
with a little red cock s tai l They all
had beards O f various shapes and colors There
o ne
seemed to be the commander He
a stout
gent l eman
with a weather beaten countenance he wore a laced doublet
broad belt and hanger high crowned hat and feather red stock
ings and high heeled Shoes with roses in them The who le gro up
reminded R ip O f the figures in an
Flemish painting in the
parlor
Dominie Van
the village parson which had
been brought over from Holland at the time
the sett l ement
What seemed particularly O dd to R ip
that t h oug h these
fo l ks were evidently amusing themselves yet they m aintained
the gravest faces the m ost mysterious silence and w ere witha l
the m ost me l ancholy party pleasure he had ever w itnessed
Nothing interrupted the stil l ness of the scene but the noise
the balls hich whenever they were ro l led echoed a l ong the
mo u ntains l ike rumbling peals O f thunder
R ip and his companion approached them they suddenly
desisted from their play and stared at him with such fixed
statue lik gaze and suc h strange uncouth lack l ustre
nances that his heart turned within him and h i s knees smote
togeth r His companion now emptied the contents the keg
into large
and made signs to him to wait upon the com
pany He obeyed with fear and trembling they quaffed the
liquor in pr o f ou nd silence and then retu ned to their game
WI NKL E
By deg r ees Rip s awe and appre h ension subsided He even
entured when no eye
fixed upon him to taste the bever
age which
found had much
the fla v or
excellent Hol
l ands He was naturally thirsty soul and
soon tempted
to repeat the draught One taste provoked another and he
reiterated his visits to the
O ften that at length his
senses were overpowered his eyes swam in head his head
gradually declined and he fel l into a deep Sleep
On waking he found himse l f on the green knol l w hence he
had first seen the
man of the glen He rubbed his eyes
it
a bright sunny morning The birds were
and
twittering among the bushes and the eagle was wheeling a l oft
and breasting the pure mountain breeze
S urely thought
R ip I ha v e not slept here all night He recalled the o c cur
before he fel l asleep The strange man with a keg
l iquor the ountain ra v ine the wild retreat am ng the
rocks the
begone party at ninepins
the
Oh
that
that wicked
thought Rip
wh at excuse
shall I make to Dame V an Wink l e
He looked round for his gun but in p l ace the clean well
oiled fowling piece he found an
lying by him the
barre l incrusted with rust the l ock falling
and the stock
worm eaten He now suspected that the gra v e roisterers of the
mountain had put a trick upon him and having dosed him
with liquor had robbed him
his gun Wolf too had
but he might h ave strayed aw y after a squirre l
partridge He whist l after him and shouted his name but
all in vain the echoes repeated h is whistle and shout b u t no
dog
to be seen
He determined to revisit the scene
the l ast evening s
gambol and if he m et w ith any
the party to demand his
dog and gun As he r ose to walk he found himself stiff in
the joints and w nt i ng his u sua l activity
These mountain
S H OR T S T O R I E S
beds do not agree with me t hou g h t R ip and if t h is fr olic
shou l d lay m e u p with a fit the rheumatism I shall have a
b l essed ti m e wit h Da m e Van inkle Wit h some dif cul y
he got down int o the glen he found the gully up w hic h h e
and his c o m panion h ad ascended the preceding evening but
to his ast o nish m ent a o u ntain strea m was now foaming down
it l eaping fr o m rock to rock and filling the glen with babb l ing
m urmu rs He h o wever made shift to scramble up its sides
wo rking his toi l s om e way through thickets birch sassafras
and w it ch hazel and someti m es tripped up entang l ed by the
w ld g r apev i nes that t w isted their c oi l s
tend ril s fr o m tree
to tree and spread a kind
network
his path
At l ength he reached to wh ere the ravine had opened thr o ug h
the cli fs to the a m phitheatre b u t n o traces suc h opening
re m a i ned The r o cks presented a high impenetrable wall o ver
w hich the t o rrent ca m e tumbling in a sheet feathery foam
and fell into a broad deep basin b l ac k from the shadows
the s u rr ou nding forest Here then p o or R ip
bro u ght to
a stand He again called and whist l ed after his dog he was
on ly answered by the cawing
a flock
idle crows sp or ti ng
high in air about a dry tree that overhung a sunny precipice
and w ho secure in their e l evation see m ed to look down and
scoff at t h e poor man s perp l exities What
to be d o ne
the m orning was passing away and Rip felt famished
want
h i s breakfast He
i eved to give up his
and
gun he dreaded to meet his wife but it would not do to
sta r ve among the mountains He shook his head shou l dered
the r u sty
and with a h eart ful l
trouble and anxiety
turned his steps homeward
As he appr o ached the village he m et a number of peop l e
but none whom he knew which somewhat surprised him for
he had thought himse l f acquainted with every
in the
country r o und Their dress too
o f a di ferent fashion
S OR T S T R I ES
and apparently abandoned This desolateness overcame all
connubial fears
called l oudly for his wife and chi l dren
the lone l y chambers ra g for a moment with his v o ice and
then again al l
silence
He now hurried forth and hastened to his O ld res o rt the
village inn but it too
gone A large rickety wooden
building stood in its place with great gaping windows some
of them broken and m ended with Old hats and petticoats and
over the door was painted The Union Hotel by Jonathan
D ool itt l e Instead
the great tree that used to shelter the
quiet litt l e D u t c h inn of yore there now
reared a tall
naked po l e wit something
the
that l ooked like a red
night cap and from it was fluttering a flag
which w as a
sing ul ar assemb l age of stars and stripes
all this was strange
and i ncomprehensib l e He recognized
the Sign however
the ruby face
King George under which he had smoked
m any a peacef ul pipe but even this
sing ularly m eta
The red coat
changed for one
blue and
bu f a sword was held in the hand instead
a sceptre the
head
decorated with a cocked hat and underneath
painted in large characters GENERAL WA S HINGT N
There was as u sual a crowd
folk about the door but
none that Rip reco l lected The ve y character the people
seemed changed There
a busy bustling disputatious
tone about it instead the accustomed phlegm and drowsy
tranquillity He looked in vain
the sage Nicho l as Vedder
with his broad face double chin and fair long pipe u ttering
clouds tobacco smoke instead idle speeches
Bum
mel the schoolmaster doling forth the contents
an ancient
newspaper In place of these a lean
looking fe l low
with his po c kets full
hand bills was haranguing vehemently
about rights
citizens elections members of congr s
liberty Bunker s Hill heroes
seventy six
and other
WINKL E
words w h ich were a perfect Babylonish j argon to the bewildered
Van Winkle
T h e appearance
Rip with his long grizzled beard his
rusty fowling piece his uncouth dress and an army
wo men
and children at his heels soon attracted the attention of the
tavern po l iticians They crowded round hi m eying h i m fro m
head to foot with great curiosity The orator bustled up to
him and drawing him partly aside inquired
which side he
voted
R ip stared in va c ant stupidity Another short but
busy l itt l e fe l low pulled him by the arm and rising o n tiptoe
inq u ired in his ear Whether he w as Federa l
De m ocrat
R ip w as equally at a l oss to comprehend the question when
a knowing se l f imp o rtant O ld gent l eman in a sharp cocked hat
made his
through the cro w d putting them to the right and
left w ith his elbows as he passed and planting himself before
Van Wink l e with
arm akimbo the other resting
his
c ane his keen eyes and Sharp hat penetrating as it were into
h is very soul demanded an austere tone w hat brought him
to the election with a gun
his shoulder and a mob at his
heels and whether he meant to breed a riot in the village
A l as gentlemen
cr ed R ip somewhat dismayed
I am
a poor quiet man a native
the pla c e and a loy s u bje c t of
the king God b ess him
Here a general shout burst from the bystanders
A tory
a to y a Spy a refugee hustle him away with him
It
was w ith great di ficulty that the self important m an in the
cocked hat restored order and having assumed a tenfold
austerity
brow demanded again
the unknown c ulprit what
he c ame there for and whom he was seeki g The poor m an
hu mb ly ssured him that he m eant no harm but mere l y came
there in searc h
so m e of h is neighbors who u sed to keep
abo u t the tavern
Well wh o are they
name them
S OR T S T OR I ES
R ip bet ho ught hi m se l f a moment and inqu i red W h ere
Nicho l as Vedder
T h ere w as a si l en c e for a l ittle wh i l e when an m an rep l ied
in a thin piping voice
Nicho l as Vedder
he is dead
and gone these eighteen years There was a wooden to m bstone
in the churchyard that used to te ll all abo u t him b u t that s
ro tten and g o ne too
Where s Br o m D u tcher
Oh h e w ent
to the army in the beg i nning
the
s om e say he was killed at the stor m ing S tony Point others
say he
drowned in a squal l at the foot
Ant o ny s Nose
I don t know
never came back again
Where Van Bummel the school m aster
He went
to the wars too was a great mil itia general
and is now in Congress
Rip s heart died away at hearing
these
c hanges in his
h o me and friends and finding himself thus alone in the w or l d
Every answer puzzled him too by treating
such enormous
l apses time and
matters which he c o uld
understand
war
Congress
S tony Point he had no courage to ask after
any more friends but cried
in despair Does nob o dy here
know Rip Van Winkle
Oh R ip Van Wink l e
exc l aimed two
three
Oh to be sure t h at s R ip Van Winkle yonder l eaning
against the tree
Rip l ooked and beheld a precise counterpart of himself as
he w ent up the mountain apparent l y as lazy and certainly as
ragged The poor fel lo w
now comp l etely confounded
He d ou bted his
identity and whether he was himse l f or
an o t h er m an In the midst of his bewilderment the m an in t h e
co cked hat de m anded who he
and what was his name
God knows exclaimed he at
wit s end
I m not
myself I m so m eb o dy e l se that me yonder n o that
VAN WI NKL E
somebody else got into my shoes I was myself l ast night but
I fel l asleep
the mountain and they v e changed my gun
and everything changed and I m changed
I can t tell
what s my name or
I am
The bystanders began now to look at each other
wink
Significant l y and tap their fingers ag ainst their foreheads
There was a whisper a l so about securing the gun and keeping
the
fellow from doing mischief at the very suggestion of
which the se l f impo rtant man in the cocked hat retired with
some precipitation At this critica l moment a fresh come l y
w oman pressed through the throng to get a peep at the gray
bearded man S he had a chubby child in her arms wh ic h
frightened at his l ooks began to cry
Hush Rip cried she
hush you l ittle foo l the Old man won t hurt you The name
the c hild the air of the mother the tone
her voice all
awakened a train
recollections in his m ind
What is y ou r
name my good woman
asked he
Judith
And your father s na m e
Ah poor man R ip Van Wink l e was hi s name b u t it s
twenty years since he went away from home with gun and
never has been h eard
since
his dog came ho m e w i thout
him but w hether he shot himself
carried away by the
Indians nobody
tell I was then but a l ittle girl
Rip h ad but
question more to
and he p u t it with
a f teri g voice
Where your mother
Oh
too had died but a short time since
broke
a blood vesse l in a fit
passion at a
E gland peddler
There
a drop
co mfort at l east in this intelligence
The honest man cou l d contain himse l f n o l onger He caught
his daughter and he r child in his arms
I am your father
cried
Young Rip Van Wink l e o nce
Rip Van
Wink le n o w D o es nob o dy n ow p oo r Rip Van Wink l e
S H OR T S T OR I E S
All st oo d a m azed unti l an o l d woman totter i ng
fro m
among the crowd put her hand to her brow and peering u nder
it in h i s fa c e for a m o ment exc l aimed Su re enough it is Rip
Van Wink l e it is himself We l c om e home again
neighbo r
Why w here have you been these twenty long years
Rip s story
soon told for the who l e twenty years h ad
been to hi m b u t as nigh The neighb o rs stared when they
heard it some were seen to wink at each other and put their
tong u es in their cheeks and the self important man in the
cocked hat
when the a larm w as over had returned to
the field screwed down the corners Of his ou h and shook
his head u pon w hich there
a general shaking the
head throughout the assemblage
It
determined however to take the O pini o n
Peter
who was seen s lo wly advancing up the road He
a descendant of the hist or ian that na m e who wrote
of the earliest a c co u nts
the provin c e Peter
the most
ancient inhabitant the village and well versed all the
wonderful events and traditions of the neighborhood He
Rip at once and corroborated his story in the most satis
factory m anner He assured the company that it
a fact
handed down from his ancestor the historian that the
M o untains had a l ways been haunted by strange beings That
it was
that the great Hendrick Hudson the first dis
coverer o f the river and co u ntry kept a kind
vigi l there
e v e y twenty years with his crew the Ha l f moon being
per m itted in this
to revisit the c enes of his enterprise
and keep a guardian eye u pon the iver and the great city
ca l led by his name That his fathe r h ad once seen them in
their D u tch dresses playing at ninepins in a hollow the
mou ntain and that he himself had heard one summer after
noon the sound their balls like distant peals of thunder
m ake a long story short the co m pany broke up and
WI N KL E
r eturned to the m o re important c oncerns the e l ection Rip s
daughter took him home to li v e with her she had a snug we l l
furnished house and a st ou t cheery farmer for a h u sband
whom R ip recolle c ted for
the u r c hins that u sed to climb
upon
back As t o Rip s
and heir who was the ditto of
h m se l f seen leaning against the tree he was emp lo yed to work
the farm but evi ced an hereditary disp o siti o n to attend
to anything e l se but his business
R ip no w resumed
walks and habits he soon fo u nd
many his former cronies though all rather the worse for the
wear and tear of time
and preferred making f iends among
ris i ng generati o n with whom he soon grew into great favor
Ha v ing noth ng to do at home and being arrived at that
h appy age when a man
be i d l e with impunity he took his
place once m o re on the bench at the inn door and was rever
as
the patriarchs
the village and a chronic l e
the old times before the war It
some time before he
could get into the regu l ar track of gossip could be made to
comprehend the strange events that had taken place during his
torpor How that there had been a re v olutionary war that
the count y had thrown off the yoke of old E ngland and
that instead of being a subj ect of his Maj esty George the
Third he was now a free citizen of the United S tates R ip in
fact was no po l itician the changes states and empires made
but l itt l e impression
him but there
Species
despotism under which he had long groaned and that was
petticoat government Happily that was at an end he had
got his neck
the yoke
matrimo y and could go in
and
Whene v er
pleased without dreading the tyranny of
Dame Van Winkle Whene v er her na m e
mentioned
e v er he shook his head shrugged his shou l ders and cast up
his eyes which might pass either for an expressi o n of r esigna
t i on to
fate
j oy at his de l iveran c e
S H OR T S T OR I E S
He u sed to tel l his story to every strange r that arrived at
Mr Doolittle s hote l He was o bserved at first to ary on
some points ev ery time he to l d it wh ch was doubtless owing
to his having
recently awaked It at last sett l ed down pre
to the tale I have re l ated and
a man woman
child in the neighborhood b u t knew it by hea rt
Some always
pretended to doubt the rea l ity O f it and insisted that Rip had
been
his head and that this w as
point
which he
a l ways remained
The old Dutch inhabitants however
al mo st u niversally gave it fu ll c redit E ven to this day they
never hear a thunder storm
a su m mer aftern o on ab o ut the
but they
Hendrick H u dson and his cre w are at
their game
ninepins and it is a comm o n wish of all hen
pecked h u sbands in the neighborhood when life hangs heavy
their hands that they might h ave a qui eting d rau g h t o ut
Rip Van Wink l e s
S H OR T S T OR I E S
Poe s strengt h did not lie in the creation
character He
intent
the de v elopment of the windi gs
and unwindings his story that the character ecome mere
puppets originated
controlled by the needs of the p l ot
Jupiter deser v es mention as
of the earliest attempts made
by an American Short story writer to portray negro character
But Jupiter has been so far surpa ed in breadth and reality by
Joel Chandler Harris Thomas Nelson Page and a score
others as to be a l most negligible in the count In de fense
Jupiter s barbarous lingo which has been often criticized it
should be remembered that Poe intended him as a repre enta
tive
the Gullah or Gul l a dialect
It is the negro dialect
says Joel Chandler Harris in its most primiti v e state the
Gullah talk of some the negroes
the S ea Islands being
merely a confused and untranslatable mixture O f E nglish and
African words
Willia m Legrand though not a great
notab e chara c ter in
any way is admira l y fitted to do what is required
him in the
story Like Poe he was solita y proud quic k tempered and
subj ect to per v er e moods of alte nate enthusiasm and melan
choly
He had also Poe s passion for puzzles Jupiter
hardly more than an awkward tool fashio ed to display
grand s analytic and directi v e genius and the other character
in the story like Dr Watson in Conan Doyle s S herlock Holmes
stor es
introduced merely to as k such questions as mu t be
answered if the reader
to follow intelligently the unfolding of
the plot They are agents rather than character
Wh t
h t
wh t
itt
thi f ll w
T r tul
i g
All in
Wr g
Many years ago contracted an intimacy with a Mr William
Legrand He
of an ancient Huguenot family and had
once been wealthy b u t a series
misfortunes had reduced
TH E G O LD
him to want To a v oid the
consequent upon his
disaster he left
Orleans the city of his forefathers and
took up his residence at S ulli v an s Is l and near Char l eston
S outh Carolina
This island is a v ery singular one
consists of l i tt l e else
than the sea sand and is about three mi l es l ong Its b eadth
at no point exceeds a quarter
a mile It is separated from
the mainland by a scarcely perceptible creek oozing its
through a wilde ness
reeds and Slime a fa v orite resort of
the marsh hen The vegetation as might be supposed
scant
or at least
N trees any magnitude are to be seen
Near the western extremity where Fort Moultrie stands and
where are some m serable frame buildings tenanted during
summer by the fugitives fro m Charleston dust and fever may
be found indeed the bristly palmett o but the whole i s l and
with the exception
this western point and a line
hard
white beach
the seacoast is covered with a de se u nder
growth
the swee myrtle so much prized by the
England The shrub here often attains the height
fifteen
twenty feet and forms an almost impenetrable
C oppice
burdening the air with its fragrance
In the utmost recesses of this C oppice not far from the
eastern
more remote end of the island Legrand had built
himself a smal l hut which he occupied when I first by mere
accident made his acquaintance This soon ripened into friend
ship
for there
muc h in the rec l use
excite interest and
esteem I found him well educated with unusua l powers of
mind but infected with misanthropy and ubj ect to perverse
m oods O f alternate enthusiasm and melancholy He had with
him many books but rarely employed them His chief amuse
m ents were gunning and fishing or sauntering along the beach
and through the m y rtle in que t of shells or entomological
specimens
his collection the l atter might have been en v ied
S H OR T S T OR I ES
In these excursions he was usua ll y ae c o m
by an
negro called Jupiter
had been m anu
before the reverses of the fami l y but
cou l d be
induced neither by threats
by promises to abandon w h at
he considered his right of attendance upon the footsteps of his
young Massa Will It is not improbable that the re l atives
of Legrand conceiving him to be somewhat unsett l ed in inte l
lect had contri v ed to instil this obstinacy into Jupiter with a
view t o t h e supervision and guardianship of the wanderer
The winters in the l atitude
S ulli v an s Is l and are seldo m
ve y severe and in the fall of the year it is a rare event
deed when fire is considered necessary About the middle
October
there occurred howe v er a day
re m arkable
chilliness Just before s u nset I scrambled my way through the
evergreens to the hut
my friend whom I had not isited for
severa l weeks my residence being at that time in Charleston
a distance
nine miles from the island while the facilities of
passage and repassage were very far ehind those of the present
day Upon reaching the
I rapped as was my custom and
getting no reply sought for the key where I
it was
se c reted un ocked the door and went in A fine fire was blaz
ing upon the hearth It
a nove l ty and by no means an
u ng ateful
I threw
an overcoat took an armchair by
the crackling l ogs and awaited patiently the arri v al
my hosts
S oon after dark they arri v ed and gav e me a most cordia l
w e l come Jupiter grinning from ear ear bustled about to
prepare some marsh hens for supper Legrand was in
his
how else Shal l I term
enthusiasm He
had found an u nknown bivalve for m ing a new genus and
m ore than this he had hunted down and secured with Jupi
ter s assistance a
which he belie v ed to be totally
new but in respect to w hic h he wished t o have my O pini o n on
the morrow
by a
TH E G O LD
And
not to night
I asked rubbing my hands ove r
the blaze and wishing the whole tribe
at the devil
Ah if I had only known you were here
said Legrand
but it s
long since I
you and how cou l d I f o resee
that
wou l d pay me a visit this very night
all others
I was coming home I met Lieutenant G
from the
fort and ve y fo ol ishly I lent him the bug
it wil l be
i mpossible
you to
it unti l t h e morning S tay here
it at sunrise It is the
to night and I will send Jup down
l oveliest thing in creation
What
sunrise
Nonsense no l the bug It is
a brilliant gold co l or
about the size
a l arge hickory nut
with two j et black
spots near
extremity
the back and another somewhat
l onger at the other The
are
Dey aint
tin in him Massa Will I keep a te ll in
y o u here interrupted Jupiter
de bug is a g ool e bug solid
bit
him nside and all
him w ing
fee l
half so h ebby a bug in my life
We ll suppose it is Jup replied Legrand so m ewhat more
earnestly it seemed to me than the case demanded is that
any reason for your letting the birds burn The co l or
here
he turned to me is really almost enough to warrant Jupiter s
idea You never
a more brilliant metallic lustre than the
scales emit
but
this
cannot j udge til l tomo rrow In
the m eantime I can give
some idea
the shape S aying
w ich were a pen
this he seated himself at a small table
so m e in a drawer but
and ink but no paper He l ooked
f o und none
Never m ind said h e at l ength this w i ll answer
and
he drew from his waistcoat pocket a scrap
w h at I t oo k
to be very dir y foolscap and made up o n it a rough drawing
with the
While he did this I reta i ned my seat by the
S H OR T S T OR I ES
fire f or I was still chilly When the design
com p l ete he
handed it to me without rising As I received it a l ow growl
heard succeeded by a scratching at the door Jupiter
ope ed it and a large Newfoundland belonging
Legrand
r u shed in l eaped upon my Shoulders and loaded me with
c aresses for I had shown him much attention during previous
visits When his gambols were o v er I looked at the paper
and to speak the truth found myse l f not a l itt l e puzzled at
w hat my friend had depicted
We ll
I said after contemp l ating it for some minutes
this a strange
I must confess new to me never
saw anything like it before unless it was a skull a death s
head whic h it more nearly resemb l es than anything else that
has come under
observation
A death s head
echoed Legrand
Oh yes well it
has something of that appearance upon paper no doubt The
two u pper black spots l ook like eyes eh and the longer
at the bottom like a mouth
and then the shape of the whole
is oval
Perhaps so said I
b u t Legrand I fear
are
artist I must wait until I see the beetle itself if I am to form
any idea of its personal appearance
Well I don t know said he a l ittle nettled
I draw
tolerably
do it at l ea t
have had good masters
and flatter myself that I am not quite a blockhead
But my dear fellow you are jo k ing then said I
thi
is a very passab e
indeed I may say that it
a very
skul l according to the vulgar notions about such speci
m ens physiology and your
mus be the queerest
in the world if it resembles it Why we may get up
a very thrilling bit
superstition upon this hint I presume
you will ca l l the bug
or someth i ng of
TH E G O LD
that kind there are many similar titles in the Natura l His
tories But where are the
you spoke
The
said Legrand
seemed to be getting
unaccountab l y warm upon the subj ect
I am sure you must
the
I made the m as distinct as they are in the
origina l insect and I presume that is su ficient
We ll w e ll I said perhaps you ha v e stil l I don t
the m and I handed him the paper without additiona l remar k
not wishing to ru fle his temper but I was much surpri ed
at the turn affairs had taken his ill humor puzzled me and
as for the drawing of the beetle there were positively
visible and the whole
bear a v ery close resemblance
to the ordinary cuts
a death s h ad
He received the pape r ve y peevishly and was about to
crumple it apparently to throw it in the fire when a casua l
glance at the design eemed sudden l y to rivet his attention In
an instant his face gre v iolently red in another as excessively
pale
some minutes he continued to scrutinize the drawing
m inutely where he
At length he arose took a candle from
the tab l e and proceeded to seat himself upon a
chest in the
farthest corner the room Here again he made an anxious
examination of the paper turning it in all directions He said
nothing however and
conduct greatly astonished me yet
I thought it prudent not to exacerbate the growing moodiness
of his temper by any comment Presently h e took from his
coat pocket a wallet placed the paper carefully in it and
deposited both in a writing desk which he l ocked He now
grew more composed in his demeanor but his origina l air of
enthusiasm had quite disappeared Yet he seemed not much
su l ky as abstracted As the e v ening wore away he became
more and more absorbed in revery from which no sallies
mine could arouse him It had been my intention to pass the
night at the hut as I had frequent l y done before but seeing
S H OR T S T OR I E S
my h ost in this mood I deemed it proper to take l eave He
did not press me to remain
as I departed he shook my
h and with even more than his usua l cordiality
It was about a month afte r this
and d u ring the inte r va l I
had seen nothing O f Legrand when I re c eived a visit at
Charleston from his man Jupiter I had never seen the good
negro l ook
dispirited and I feared that so m e seri ou s
disaster had befallen my friend
Well Jup said I
what is the matter now
how is
y o ur master
Why t o speak de
massa him not
berry well as
mought be
Not well I am truly sorry to hear it What d o es he
c o m p l ain of
Dar dat it
him
plain of
but hi m berry
sick fo r all dat
sick Jup i ter
did n t yo u
at once
he c onfined to bed
No dat h e aint
aint find now ar dat just whar
de shoe pin c h
mind is got to be ber y hebby bout poor
Massa Wi ll
Jupiter I sho u ld like to understand what it is
are talk
ing about
your master is sick Has n t he told y ou
what ai l s hi m
Why m assa taint wo r f while for to git mad bout de m atter
Massa Wil l
at all aint de matter w id hi m but
den w hat make hi m go bout l ooking dis here way he head
down and he so l diers up and as white as a gose And t h en
he keeps a syphon all de time
Keeps a w hat Jupiter
Keeps a syphon
de
de s l ate
de queerest
I
did see Ise gittin to be skeered I tel l yo u
Hab
to keep m ighty tight eye p o n him
Todde r
S H OR T S T OR I E S
How I know
cause he talk about it in he sleep
dat s
I nose
Well Jup perhaps
are right but to what fortunate
circumstances am I to attribute the honor of a visit from you
to day
What de m atter massa
Did you bring any message from Mr Legrand
No m assa I bring dis here
and here Jupiter
handed me a note which ran thus
D AR
h pe
hv
Why h v
i
l ng a ti
n f li
take O fen e at any littl
that i pr
l
h v
gr at
x i ty h v
car ly kn w how to t ll it
wh ther h uld
Sin e
thing tell you
t ll it at
I have
n uite well
e ay p t
p r
ann y
l
t y nd en uran
w ll
nt tt nt n
W ul
li v
had p r par a hug ti k
th r
with whi
h ti e
i v in g
li p and p n ing
the
a ng
hill
ainlan
v rily li ve
that
ill l k l n
vd
a ggi g
I have a
a iti n
a in t in
If
in
way
k it
v i t
v r with
u p it r
wi h
up n
in
i p rtan e
a ure
that it
i p rt
E r y ur
W ILLIA L GRAND
There was something in the tone of this note which gave me
great uneasiness Its who l e style di fered materially from that
of Legrand What could he be dreaming of What new
crotchet possessed his excitab l e brain What business of the
ighest importance cou l d
possibly ha v e to transa c t Jupi
ter s account
him boded no good I dreaded lest the con
press u re o f misfo r tune h ad at length fairly unsett l ed the
G O LD
r eas o n of my friend Wit hou t a m om ent s hesitat i on therefore
I prepared to acco m pany the negro
Upon rea c hing the wharf I noticed a scythe and three
spades all apparently new lying in the bottom
the boat in
which we were to embark
I inquired
What is the meaning
all this Jup
Him
massa and Spade
Ve y true but what are they doing here
Hi m de
and de spade w hat Massa Wil l
pon my
buy ng for him in de town and de
money
I had to gib for em
But what in the name of all that is m ysterious is y ou r
Massa Wil l going do with scythes and spades
Dat s more dan know and
take me if I d o n t
be l ie v e is m ore dan h e kn o w t oo B u t it s all cum
de
bug
Findi g that no satisfaction was to be obtained
Jupiter
whose whole intellect seemed to be absorbed by de bug I
now stepped into the boat and made sail With a fair and
str o ng b r eeze
soon ran int o the l itt l e c ove to the northward
Fo t Moultrie and a walk of some two mi es brought u s to
the hut It
about three in the afternoon when we arrived
Legrand had been awaiting us in eager expectation He grasped
hand with a ner v ous
which a l ar m ed me and
strengthened the suspicions already entertained His
nance was pale even to ghastliness and deep eyes glared
with unnatura l l ustre After some inquiries respecting his
health I a ked him not knowing what better to
if he h ad
yet obtained the
from Lieutenant G
Oh yes h e replied coloring violent l y I
it from him
the next morning Nothing should tempt me to part with that
Do
know that Jupiter is quite right about it
In w hat way
I asked w th a sad foreboding at heart
S H OR T S T OR I ES
In suppos i ng it to be a bug
He said th is
with an air profo u nd seriousness and I felt inexpressib l y
shocked
This bug
to make my fortune
he continued with a
triumphant smile
to reinstate me in my family possessions
Is it any wonder then that I pri e it
S ince Fortune has
thought fit to bestow it upon me I ha v e on l y to
it properl
and I shall arrive at the gold
which it is the index Jupiter
bring me that
What de bug massa I d rudder not go fer
dat
bug
mus git him
your
self Hereupon Legrand
arose with a grave and stately air and brought me the beetle
from a glass case in which it was enclosed It
a beautifu l
and at that time unkno n to naturalists
course
a great prize in a scientific point
V iew There were two
round b l ack spots near
extremity
the back and a long
near the other The scales w ere exceedingly hard and
g l ossy w ith all the appearance
burnished gold The weight
the insect
very remarkab l e and taking all things into
consideration I could hardly blame Jupiter for his O pinion
respecting it
w hat to make Legrand s agree m ent with
that O pini o n I could
for the life of me tell
I sent for you said he in a grandiloquent tone w hen I
had completed my examination of the beetle I sent for you
that I m ight ha v e your counsel and assistance in furt heri ng the
views
Fate and O f the bug
My dear Legrand
I cried interrupting him
are
certainly u nwell and had better use some l ittle precautions
sha ll go to bed and I will remain with
a few days
u ntil you get over this You are feverish and
Feel my pulse said he
I felt it and to
the truth found
the slightest
i ndication Of fever
TH E G O LD
B u t yo u may be il l and yet have no feve r A ll o w m e
this once to prescribe for you In the first p l ace go to bed
In
next
are m istaken he interposed I am as we l as I can
expect to be under the excite m ent which I suffer If
really
wish me we l l you wil l re l ie v e this excite m ent
And how is this to be done
Very easily Jupiter and m yself are going u n an
dition into the hi ll s u pon the mainland and in this expedition
shal l need the aid some person in who m we can confide
are the on l y o ne
tr u st Whether we succeed
fail the ex c ite m ent which y ou
per c eive in me wil l be
eq u ally allayed
I am anxious
ob l ige
in any way I replied
but
do you mean to that this inferna l beet l e has any c onnection
with yo u r expedition into the hi l l s
It has
Then Legrand I become a party to no s u ch abs u rd
pro c eeding
I am s o rry very sorry for we shal l have to try it by
o u rse l ves
Try it by yourse l ves The man is surely mad l but
stay how lo ng do
propose to be absent
Pr o bab l y all night We Sha ll start i m m ediate l y and be
back at all events by s u n r ise
And wi ll y ou pr o mise m e upon yo u r h o n o r t h at wh en this
freak yo u rs is over and the bug bus i ness go o d God sett l ed
to your satisfaction
will then return h o me and fol l ow my
advice i mpli c it l y as that your p h ysician
Yes I promise and no w let u s be
fo r we have n o
time to l ose
With a heavy heart I accompanied my friend We started
ab ou t fou r o clo c k
Legrand Jupiter the dog and myself
S OR T S T O R I ES
J u pite r h ad wit h him the scythe and spades
the w h o l e
which he insisted upon carr ing m ore thro u gh fear it seemed
me
r ust ng either of the m p l e m ents w ithin reach his
master than fro m any excess
indust y or compl s ce His
demeanor w as ogged in the extreme and dat d
d bug
were the so l e w ords which escaped his lips d u r i ng the journey
For my
part I had charge
a couple
dark l anterns
whi l e Legrand contented himself with the
which he
carried attached to the end
a bit of whip cord twir l ing it to
and fro with the air
a conjuror as he went When I
O bserved this l ast p l ain evidence my friend s aberration
m nd I cou l d scar c ely refrain from tears I thought it best
however to humo r h is fancy at least for the present
unti l
I could adopt some more energetic measures with a chance
success In the meantime I endeavored but all in vain to sound
him in regard to the O bject the expedition Having succeeded
in inducing me to acco m pany him he seemed unwilling to hold
conversation upon any topic minor importance and to all my
questions vouchsafed no other reply than We Shall
We crossed the creek at the head
the island by means
a ski f and scending the high grounds
the shore of the
mainland proceeded in a northwesterly direction through a
tract of c o u ntry excessively wild and desolate where no trace
a human fo o tstep was to be seen Legrand
with decision pausing only for an instant here and there to
consult what appeared to be certain landmarks his own
c ontrivance upon a former occasion
In this manner
j ourneyed for about tw o hours and the
just setting when we entered a region infinitely more
dreary than any yet seen It was a species of table land near
the summit an almost inaccessible hill densely wooded fro m
base to pinnacle and interspersed with huge crags that appeared
to l ie l oosely upon the soil and in many cases were prevented
G O LD
fro m precipitating themselves into the v a l leys below mere l y by
the support
the trees against which they rec l ined Deep
ravines in va ri ous directions gave an air of sti ll sterner so l e m
to the scene
The nat u ra l p l atform to whi ch h ad c l a m bered thick l y
overgrown with bramb l es thro u gh which
soon discovered
that it wou l d h a v e been impossib l e to force
but
the
scythe and Jupiter by direction
his master proceeded to
c lear for us a path to foot an i m mense l y large tulip tree
whi c h stood with so m e eight or ten oaks upon the l eve l and
far s u rpassed them al l and all ot h er trees which I h ad then ever
seen in the beauty of its fo l iage and for m in the w ide spread of
its branches and in the genera l maj esty its appearance When
w e reached this tree Legrand turned to Jupiter and asked
if he thought he could c l imb it The Ol d man seemed a little
staggered by the question and for some m o m ents made no
rep l y At l ength approached the huge t unk walked slo wl y
around it and examined it with inute attention W h en he had
c omp l eted his scrutiny merely said
Yes massa Jup climb any tree he
in he life
Then up with
as so o n as possible
it w il l s oo n be
dark to see w h at we are abo u t
How far mus go up massa
inquired Jupiter
Get up the m ain trunk first and then I wi ll tel l yo u which
way to go and here stop take this beet l e with you
De bug Massa
de goo l e bug cried the negr o
drawing back in dis m ay
what fo r m us tote de bug way u p
If
are afraid Jup a great big negr o l ike y ou to take
hold a harm l ess little dead beetle
can carry it up
by this string
but if you do not take it up with you in s om e
I shal l be under the necessity of breaking your head with
this shove l
S H OR T S T O R I E S
What de m atte r
massa
sa i d J u p evident ly sham
into co m pliance always want fur to raise fuss wid
nigger
anyhow
feered de b u g w h at I kee r for
Was only
of
de bug
Here h e took cautious l y ho l d
the extre m e
the str i ng and m aintaining the i nsect as far from his pers o n as
ci rc um stances wou l d per m it prepared to ascend the tree
In youth the tu l ip tree
the most
ma nifi c ent A m erican foresters has a trunk peculiar l y smooth
and o ften r i ses to a great h eight w i th ou t l atera l bran ch es but
in its ripe r age the bark be com es gnar led and u neven while
many short l i m bs m ake their appearance on the stem Thu
the di ficulty of ascension in the present case lay more in
b l ance than in rea l ity Em bra ci ng t h e h uge cylinder as c lo se l y
as p o ssib l e wi t h his ar m s and knees seizing with his h ands
s o me proj e c tions and restin h is naked toes u pon others Jupi
te r afte r
two narro w escapes from falling at length
wriggled h i m se l f into the first great fork and seemed to consider
t h e w h ol e b u s i ness as virt u a l ly a cc o m p l ished The of the
a chi eve m ent w as in fact n o w over a l th ou g h the c limber w as
om e sixty seventy feet from the gr o und
hich way m us go now Massa Will
he asked
Keep u p the l argest branc h
the one
this side sai
Leg r and The negro obeyed hi m promptly and apparently with
but l itt l e troub l e as c ending h ig h er and h igher unt il no glimpse
his squat figure could be obtained through the dense foliage which
enveloped it Present l y his voice w as h eard in a sort o f h a lloo
How m uch fudder is got for go
How high up are you
asked Legrand
so fur replied t h e negro
see de
fru de
top
de tree
Never mind the
but attend to what I
Look down
the trunk and count the limbs below you on this side
many l m bs have you passed
S OR T S T OR I ES
By yo u rse l f
what do
mean
Why I m ean de bug T is
hebby bug S pose I drop
him down fuss and den de limb wo n t break w id j ust de weight
nigger
inferna l scoundrel c i ed Legrand apparently muc h
relieved w hat do
mean by telling me such nonsense as
that As s u re as yo u l et that beet l e fall I break your neck
Look h ere Jupiter do you hear me
massa need
hollo at poor nigger dat s yle
We ll no w l isten
wil l venture out
the l imb as
far as yo u think safe and not let go the beet l e I
make
a
present
a Si lver dollar as soon as you get down
I m gwine Massa Will deed I is replied the negro very
promptly
m ost
to the
now
here fair ly screamed Legrand
do
say yo u are
to the end
that limb
massa
marcy
Soon be to de
Oh l
what dis here pon de tree
Well cried Legrand highly delighted what is it
Why taint
but a skull somebody bin l ef hi m
head u p de tree and de crows done gobb l e
bit
de
meat
A skull you
very wel l
h o w is it fastened to the
limb What h olds it
S ure nu f massa mus look Why
berry u rous
my w ord dare a great big nai l in de skull
what fastens it to de tree
We ll now Jupiter do exact ly as I tel l you
do you hear
Yes assa
Pay attent on then
the l eft eye
the skull
Hum h oo dat good
dar aint no eye l ef at all
Curse your stupidity do you kno w your right hand from
o u r left
TH E G O LD
Yes I nose dat nose all bo u t dat
is my lef hand
w h at I c hops de wo o d wid
To be sure y ou are l eft handed and your l eft eye i s on
the same side as y ou r l eft hand Now I suppose
can find
the l eft eye of t h e sku ll
t h e p l ace w here the l eft eye h as
been Have y ou found it
Here was a l ong pause At l engt h the negro asked Is de
lef eye o f de sku ll
de same side as de l ef h and of de
skull to o
ca u se de sk ull aint got not a bit
a h and at
all
mind I
de l ef eye no w
here de lef eye
what m ust do
it
Let the beet l e drop thro u g h it as far as t h e st ri ng will
reach but be c arefu l and not l et go you r h o l d of
string
Al l dat done Massa Wil l mig h ty ea y ting for to p u t de
bug fru de hole l ook
for him dar be l ow
During this colloquy no portion of Jupiter s person c o u l d
be seen but the beetle which he had s u fered to descend
was now visib l e at the end the string and g l istened l ike a
globe O f burnished gold in the l ast rays
the setting
some which still faintly illumined the eminen c e u pon w hich
we stood The
hung quite c l ea
any branches
and if allowed to fall wo ul d have fa ll en at feet Legrand
immediately took t h e scythe and c l eared wit h it a circu l a r
space three four yards in iameter j u st beneath the insect
and h aving ac c o m plished this ordered Jupiter to let go t h e
string and c ome down from t h e tree
Driving a peg w ith great nicety i nt o the gr o und at the
precise spot whe r e the beet l e fel l my friend n o w prod uc ed
fr om his po c ket a tape measure Fastening o ne
this at
that point
t h e trunk
the tree which was nearest t h e peg
he unro ll ed it ti ll it reached the peg and thence farther
ro ll ed it in the dire c tion already establis h ed by the two points
S H OR T S T O R I E S
of the tree and the peg for the distance of fifty feet
Jupiter
clearing way the brambles with the scythe At the spot thus
attained a second peg was dri v en and about this as a centre
a rude circle about four feet in diameter described Taking
now a spade himself and giving
to Jupiter and
to me
Legrand begged us to
about digging as quickly as possible
To speak the truth I had no especial re l ish for suc h amuse
ment at any time and at that particular moment wou l d mo t
willingly ha v e declined it for the night
coming on and I
fel much fatigued with the exercise already taken but
no mode of escape and
fearfu l of disturbing my poor
friend s equanimity by a refusal Could I h ave depended
deed upon Jupiter s aid I would ha v e had no hesitation in
attempting to get the lunatic home by force but I was too
wel l assured
the old negro s disposition to hope that he
wou l d assist me under any circumstances in a personal
test with his master I made no doubt that the latter had been
infected with some the innumerable S outhern superstitions
about money buried and that his fantasy had received
by the finding of the
perhaps by Jupi
ter s obstinacy in maintaining it to be
a bug
rea l gold
A mind disposed
lunacy would readily be led away by such
suggestions espe cially if chiming in with favorite precon ceived
ideas and then I called to mind the poor fellow s speech about
the beetle s being the index
fortune
Upon the wh o le
I
sadly vexed and puzzled but at length I conc luded to
make a virtue
necessity to dig with a good will and th u s
the sooner to convince the isionary by ocu l ar dem o nstration
of the fallacy
the Opinions he entertained
The lanterns ha v ing been lit
all fell to work with a zeal
worthy a more rational cause and as the glare fel l upon
persons and implements I could not help thinking how
esque a roup we composed and how stran e and s u sp i ci ou
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'' HOW STRANGE
AND SUSPICIOUS OUR LABORS MUST HAVE
APPEARED''
or1• g inal illustration for tt The Gold-Bug,'' p l
the text
for Poe's one-hundred-dollar-prize story in the Philadelphi·a Dolla'I'
1Vewspaper for Wednesday, June
illustrations
T
F. 0. C. Darley,the Philadelphia artist retained Poe to illustrate the
Stylus, which ne ver ppeared. From
file of the Dollar Newspaper.
( Courtesy of the Mar yland Historical S ociety)
ub
ished
with
An
28,
1843.
were
by
a
a
by
..
·-
- ·­
--
- .......... --
C
'
''AND DIS ALLCUM OB DE GOOLE-BUG ! ''
An original illustration for'' The Gold-Bug,'' published with the te xt
for Poe's one-hundred-dollar-prize story in the Ph·iladelphia Dollar
Newspape'Y for Wednesday, June 28, 1843. The illustrations were by
F. 0. C. Darley, the Philadelphia artist retained by Poe to illustrate the
Stylus, which never appeared. Fram a file of the Dollar Newspaper.
(Courtesy of the Maryland Historical Society)
TH E G O LD
o u r l ab o rs must have appeared to any interloper who by
chance might ha v e stumbled up o n
whereabouts
We dug very steadily for two hours Litt l e
said and
our c hief embarrassment lay in the ye l pings t h e dog who
took exceeding interest in
proceedings He at l engt h
came so O bstreperous that we grew fearfu l O f his giving the
alarm to some stragg l ers in the vic i nity
rather this w as
the apprehension
Legrand for m yse l f I shou l d have
at any interru ption which might have en abled me to get
the w and erer home The noise
a t l ength very e fe ctu ally
si l en c ed by Jupiter who getting
the h ol e w ith a dogged
air
deliberation tied the br u te s m outh up w it h
his
suspenders and then returned wit h a grave c h uc k l e t o h is t sk
When the time m entioned had expired we had rea ch ed a
depth
five feet and yet
signs
any treasure beca m e
manifest A genera l pa u se ensued and I began to h ope that
the farce
at an end Legrand h owever a l thoug h ev i dent l y
much disconcerted w ped h is bro w th o ughtfu ll y and
We had excavated the entire c ir cl e fo ur feet dia m e
ter and n o w we s light ly en l arged the l imit and went to the
fart h er depth
two feet S til l not h ing appeared The gold
seeker who m I sincere l y pitied at l ength c l ambered fro m the
pit wit h the bitterest disappoint m ent imprinted u pon eve y
feature and proceeded s l o wl y and re l uctantly to p u t on h is
coat w h ich h e had thr o wn
at the beg i nning of his l ab o r
In the meantime I made no remark Jupiter at a signa l from
his master began to gather up his tools This done and the
dog having been u nmuzzled
turned in pr o f o und si l en c e
towards home
We h ad taken perhaps a d o zen steps in this direction when
with a l oud oath Legrand str o de up Jupiter and seized him
by the collar The astonished negro O pened his eyes and m outh
to the fu ll est extent l et fal l the spades and fel l upon his knees
S O R T S T OR I ES
sco u ndrel said Legrand hissing o u t the sy ll ab l es
fro m between his c l enched teeth
you inferna l b l ack villain
speak I tel l you
answer me this instant w itho u t
cation which which is your left eye
Oh my go lly Massa Wil l aint dis here my l ef eye fo r
sartain
roared the te r r i fied Jupiter placing his hand upon
his
organ visi o n and holding it there with a desperate
pertinacity as if in im m ediate dread
his m aster s atte m pt
at a g o uge
I thought
I kne it Hurrah
vociferated Legrand
letting the negro go and executing a ser es
curvets and
his valet
arising
caracoles mu c h to the ast o nishment
fro m his knees loo ked mu tely fro m his master to myse l f and
then fro m m yself to his master
Co m e w e m ust go back said the l atter
the gam e s
not up yet
and h e again l ed the way to the tu l ip tree
J u piter said he w hen we rea c hed its foot come here
Was t h e skul l nailed to the l i m b w it h t h e fa c e out ward or
with t h e face to the l imb
De fa c e was o ut m assa
dat de crows coul d get at de
eyes good
any trouble
Well then was it this eye
that throug h w h ic h you
dropped t h e beet l e
h ere Legrand touched each of J u piter s
eyes
was dis eye Massa
de l ef eye
as yo u te ll me
and here it was his right eye that the negro indi c ated
That wil l do
we m ust try it again
Here my friend about
hose madness I now saw or
fancied that I
c ertain indications of method removed the
peg which marked the spot where the beetle fell to a spot
about three inches to the westward
its former position
Taking now the tape measure from the nearest point
the
tru nk to the peg as before and continuing the extension in a
S H OR T S T OR I ES
I st um b l ed and fell forward ha v ing caught the
my
b oo t in a large ring
iron that lay half buried in the l oose
earth
We n ow wo rked in earnest and never did I pass ten m in u tes
more intense excitement During this interval
had airly
unearth d an oblong ches wood which from its perfect
preservation and wonderful hardness had plainly been
to some mineralizing process perhaps that the
bich l oride
mercury This box was three feet and a ha l f
long three feet broad and two and a half feet deep It
firmly secured by bands
wrought iron riveted and for ing
a kind
trellis work over the who l e On each side
the
chest near the top were three rings
iron
in all
m eans which a firm hold could be obtained by six persons
Our u tm t united endeavors served only to disturb the co fer
ve y slight ly in its bed We at once
the impossibi l ity
rem ving
great a weight Luckily the sole fasteni gs
the lid consisted
two Sliding bolts These we dre back
tremb l ing and panting with anxiety In an instant a treasure
of incalcu l able value lay gleaming before us As the rays
the lanterns fel l within the pit there flashed upwards fro m
a confused heap
gold and
j ewels a g lo w and a glare that
eyes
absolutely dazzled
I Shall
pretend to describe the feelings with which
gazed Amazement
course predominant Legrand
appeared exhausted with excitement and Spoke very few w ord
Jupiter s countenance wore
some minutes as deadly a pallor
it is possib l e in the nature
things for any negro s Visage
to assume He seemed
thunder stricken Presently
he fell upon his knees in the pit and burying his naked arms
u p to the elbows in gold let them there remain as if enjoying
the lu xury o f a bath At length with a deep sigh he exc l ai m ed
as if in a soliloquy
TH E G O LD
ob de goole bug de putty goo l e bug de
And d is all
poor little go ole bug what I boosed in dat
kind
style
Aint you shamed ob y o urse l f nigger
answer me dat
It became necessa y at l ast that I sho ul d ar ou se b o th m aste r
and valet to the expediency removing the treasure It w as
growing l ate and it behooved us to make exertion that we
might get everything h o used before day l ight It
di ficu l t
to say what should be done and much time w as Spent in de l ibera
tion
confused were the ideas all We final l y l ightened
the box by removing two thirds its contents w hen we w ere
enabled with some trouble to raise it fro m the h ol e The
articles taken
were deposited among the bramb l es and the
dog left to guard them with strict orders fr o m Jupiter neither
upon any pretence to stir from the spot nor to open his m out h
un il
return We then hu rriedly m ade for home w ith the
chest reaching the hut in safe y but after ex c essive toi l at
clock in the morning Worn
as we were it was not
in human nature to do m ore just no w We rested u nti l two and
had supper starting for the hil l s immediate l y afterwards armed
with three stout sacks whic h by good l uck w ere u pon t h e prem
A little before four
arrived at the pit divided the
remainder
the booty as equally as might be amon g us and
leaving the ho l es unfill ed again
out for the hut at w hich
for the se c ond time
deposited
g o lden b u rdens j ust as
the first streaks of the dawn gleamed fr o m over the tree tops
in the east
We were now thoroughly broken dow but the intense
excitement the time denied us repose After an unquiet
slumber of some three or four hours duration we ar o se as if
by preconcert to make examination
treas u re
The chest had been full to the brim and w e spent the whole
day and the gre ter part of the next night in a s c rutiny its
contents There had been nothing l ike order
arrangement
S OR T S T OR I ES
E verything had been heaped in pr o miscuous l y Having a sort
al l with care we found ourselves possessed even vaster wealt h
than w e had at first supposed In coin there was rathe r more
than four hundred and fifty th o usand dollars estimating the
value O f the pieces as accurately as
cou l d by the tables
the period There w as not a partic l e o f si l ver Al l was gold
antiq u e date and o f great variety French S panish and
German m o ney w ith a few E nglish gui eas and s o me co u nters
whic h
had never seen specime s before There were
severa l very large and heavy coins
worn t h at
nothing of their inscriptions There was no American money
The va l ue the j ewe l s found more di fic ul ty in esti m ating
There were diamonds some
them exceedingly large and
hundred and ten in all and
of the m smal l
eighteen rubies remarkab l e brilliancy three hundred and ten
emera l ds all very beautifu l and twenty
sapphires with an
opa l T h ese stones had all been broken fro m their se tings and
thrown l oose in the chest The settings themse l ves which we
picked o ut from among the o ther gold appeared to have been
beaten u p with h ammers as if to prevent identifi c ation Besides
all this there
a vast quantity
solid go l d ornaments
near l y two hundred massive finger and ear rings rich chains
thirty of these if I remember eighty three very large and heavy
five gold censers
great value a pro digious golden
punc h b o w l ornamented wit h rich ly chased vine leaves
Ba c chanalian figures with two sword handles exquisite l y
b o ssed and many other sma l ler articles which I cannot reco ll ect
The weight
these va lu ab l es ex c eeded three hundred and fifty
p ou nds avoird u pois and in this estimate I have not included
h undred and nine y seven superb gold watches three
n u mber being worth each five hundred dollars if
Many
them were very O ld and as time keepers va l ueless the
works having suffered more
less from corrosion but all were
S OR T S T OR I E S
Present l y I took a cand l e and eating myself at the othe r end
the room proceeded to scrutinize the parchment more closely
Upon turning it o v er I
my
sketch upon the reverse
just as I had made it
My first idea now
mere surprise
at the really remarkable similarity
o u tline
the si gular
coincidence i nvo l ved in the fact that unknown to me there
shou l d have been a skul l u pon the other side
the parchment
immediate l y beneath my figure
the
and that thi
sku ll not on l y in outline but in size Should
closely resemble
my dra ing I
the singu l arity of this coincidence absolutely
me for a time This is the usual e fect
such
The mind struggles to establish a conne c tion a
sequen c e
cause and effect
and being unable to do
su fers a species temporary paralysis But when I recovered
fro this stupor t h ere dawned upon me gradual ly a conviction
which startled me even far more than the coincidence I began
distinct l y positi v ely to remember that there had been draw
ing
the parchment when I made my sketch
the
I beca m e perfectly certain this for I recollected turning up
first
side and then the ot h e r in se rch the c l eanest Spot
Had the sku ll been then there O f cour e I c ou l d not have failed
to notice it Here was indeed a mystery which I felt it
sible to exp l ain but even at that early moment there seemed
to glimmer faintly within the most remote and secret chambers
of my intel l ect a glow worm like conception that truth which
last night s adventure brought to magnificent a demonstra
tion I arose at once and putting the parchment securely away
dismissed all farther reflection until I should be alone
When yo u had gone and when Jupiter was fast asleep I
betook my elf to a more methodical in v e tigation of the affair
In the first place I considered the manner in which the parch
ment had come into my possession The spot where we
covered the
was o n the coast of t h e m ainland about
G O LD
a m i l e eastward O f the i sland and but a short distance above
high water mark Upon my taking hold it it ga v e me a sharp
bite w hich caused m e to let it drop Jupiter wit h his accus
caut i on before seizing t h e insect wh ich h ad flown
towards him l ooked about
for a l eaf
something
that
nat u re by wh ic h to take hold it It was at this m oment that
his e es and mine a l s o fell u pon the scrap
parchment which
I then supposed to be paper It w as lying half buried in the
sand a corner sticking up Near t h e spot where we fo u nd it
I observed the remnants of the hul l
w h at appeared to have
been a ship s l ong boat The wreck seemed to have been there
for a very great while for the resemb l ance to boat timbers
could scarcely be traced
Well Jupiter pi c ked up the parchment w rapped t h e beetle
in it and gave it to m e S oon after w ards we turned to go h ome
and
the
met Lieutenant G
I showed h im the
insect and he begged me to l et h im take it to the fort On my
consenti g he thrust forthwit h i nto h is w aistcoat pocket
w ithout the parchment in which it had been wrapped and whic h
I had continued to hold in my hand during his inspection Per
hap he dreaded my changing my mind and thought it best to
m ke sure
the prize at once you know ho w ent h usiastic
he is
all subjects connected with Natura l History At the
same time without being conscious it I must have dep o s i ted
the parch ent my o wn pocket
Yo u re m e m be r t h at wh en I w ent to the tab l e
the
purpose
making a sket ch
the beet le I found no paper
where it w as u sually kept I l ooked in the drawer and found
none there I searched my pockets hoping to find an old l etter
and then my hand fel l upon the parchment I thus detai l the
precise mode in which it came into my pos ession fo r t h e
C ircumstances impressed m e with peculiar force
No doubt yo u wi l think m e fan cifu l b u t I h ad alread
S H OR T S T OR I E S
estab l is h ed a kind of
I h ad put toget h er two li nks
a great chain There w as a boat lying
a seacoast and
n o t far fro m the boat was a parchment
with
a sk ull depicted on it
wi ll of course ask w here is the
conne c t i on I rep ly that the sku ll
death s head is the we ll
kno n emb l e m
the pirate The flag the death s head is
h o i sted in all engagements
I h ave said that the scrap parc h ment and not paper
Parch m ent is durable almost imperishable Matters of l itt l e
mom ent rarely c onsigned to parchment since for the mere
ordinary purposes of drawing writing it is not near l y w el l
adapted as paper This reflection suggested some meaning
so m e r e l evancy
the death s head I did
fai l to O bserve
also the
the parchment Alth o ug h
its corners
had been by s o me accident destroyed it cou l d be seen that
the or i gina l form was ob l ong It
j ust suc h a s l ip indeed
as m ight h ave been chosen for a memorandum fo r a re c ord
of something to be l ong remembered and carefully preserved
But I interposed
that the skul l
upon
t h e parc h ment when
made the drawing of the beet l e How
then do you trace any connection between the boat and the
Sku ll since this l atter according to your
admission m ust
have been designed God only knows
by whom at so m e
period s u bsequent to your sketching the
Ah h ereupon turns the who l e m ystery although the secret
at this p o int I had comparati v ely ittle di culty in solving
My steps were s u re and could a ford but a single result I
reasoned for example thus When I dre w the
there
was no Skull apparent on the parchment
When I had com
the drawing I gave it to you and obse ved you narrowly
unti l you returned it
therefore did not design the skull
and no one e l se was present to do it Then it was
don
hum n a ency And neverthe le
do
S OR T S T OR I E S
the strengt h ening of the faint lines in the sku l l but
pe r se
in the experi m ent there became vi ible at the corner
the slip diagonally opposite to the spot
which the deat h s
head w as de l ineated the figure
what I at first supposed to
be a goat A c lo ser scr u tiny however satisfied me that it
intended
a kid
Ha ha
said I
to be sure I have no right to l augh at
you
million and a ha f
money is too serious a matter
mirth
but
are not about to establish a third link in
your chain
w il l not find any especial connection between
your pirates and a goat
pirates you know have nothing to
ith goats they appertain to the farming interest
But I have j ust said that the figure was
that of a goat
ell a kid then
pretty much the same thing
Pret y much but not a l together said Le rand
may
h ave heard of one
Kidd I at once l ooked
the
figure the animal as a kind punning or hieroglyphica l
signature I
signature because
position
the vel l um
suggested this idea The death s head at the corner diagonally
opposite had in the same manner the air of a stamp or sea l
But I
sorely put out by the ab ence
all else
the
body to my imagined instrument
the text for my context
I presume you expected
find a l etter between the stamp
and the signature
S o m ething that kind The fact is I felt irresistibly
pressed with a presentiment some vast good fortune
pending I
scarce l y
Perhaps after all it
rather a desire than an actual belief
but do yo u know that
Jupiter s Silly words about the bug being solid gold had a
remarkab l e e fect on my fancy And then the series
acci
dents and coincidences these were
extraordinary
you observe how mere an accident it was hat these events
hou ld have o cc u rred
the
day of all the year in whi ch
TH E G O LD
it
been or may be suf cient l y cool for fire and that wit h
out the fire
without the intervention of the dog at the pre
cise moment in which he appeared I should never ha v e become
aware of the death s head and ne v er the possessor of the
treasure
But proceed
I am all impatience
Well you have heard O f course the many stories current
the thousand vague rumors afloat about m oney buried some
where the Atlantic coast by K idd and his associates The e
rumors ust ha v e had some foundation in fact And that the
rumors have existed
l ong and continuously cou l d have
resulted it appeared to me only from the circumstance
the
buried treasure stil l
entombed Had Kidd concealed
his plunder for a time and afterwards recla med it the r u mors
would scarcely ha v e reached us in their present unvarying for
You wil l observe that the stories told are all about money
seekers not about money
Had the pirate recovere
his money there
a fair would have dropped It seemed
to me that some accident
the l oss a memorandum
indicating its locality had deprived him of the means
covering it and that this accident had become known to his
followers
otherwise might ne v er have heard that treasure
had been concealed at all and who busying themse l ves va n
because unguided attempts to regain it had given first birth
and then universal currency to the reports w hich are
c ommon Have you e v er heard of any imp o rtant treasure being
u nearthed along the coast
Never
But that K idd s accumu l at ons were i m m ense is w e ll known
I took it for granted therefore that the earth stil l held t h em
and you wil l scarcely be surprised when I tell you that I felt
a h pe near l y amounting to certainty that the parchment
strangel y found invo lv ed a lost record of the place of dep o sit
S H OR T S T OR I ES
But ho w did you proceed
I held the vellum again to the fire after i n c reas i ng the
heat but nothing appeared I now thoug h t it p o ssib l e that the
coating
dirt might ha v e something to do with the fai l ure
I carefully rinsed the parchment by pouring war m water
o v er it and ha v ing done this I placed it in a tin pan w ith the
S k ull downwards and put the pan upon a furnace of lighted
charcoal In a few minutes the pan ha v ing become thor o ughly
heated I removed the slip and to my inexpressib l e j oy found
spotted in severa l places with what appeared to be figures
arranged in l ines Again I placed it in the pan and su fered
it to remain another m inute Upon taking it
the whole was
j ust as you see it now
Here Legrand having reheated the parchment submitted it
to my in pection The following characters were rudely traced
in a red tint between the death s head and the goat
I
But said I returning him the slip I am as much in the
dark as e v er Were all the j ewels
Golconda awaiting me
on my solution
this enigma I am quite sure that I sh o u l d
be u nable to earn them
And yet said Legrand the solution is by no means
di ficu l t as you might be led to imagine from the first hasty
of the characters These characters as any
mig h t
readily uess form a cipher that is to
they convey a
meaning but then from what is known of K idd I could not
suppo e him capable constructing any of the more abstruse
cryptographs I m ade up my mind at once that this was o f a
S H OR T S T OR I ES
predominant l etters as we ll as the lea t frequent
all I constructed a table t h us
haract r
Counting
th r
II
O
Now in E nglish the l etter w hich most freq u ent l y o cc urs
is
Afterwards the succession runs thus
predominates however so remark
ably that individua l sentence of any l ength is rare ly seen in
which it is
the prevailing character
Here then
ha v e in the very beginning the ground
work for something more than a mere guess The genera l
which may be made
the table is obvious but in this par
cipher we shall only v ery partiall y require its aid
predominant character is
will commence by assuming
it as the
the natura l alphabet
ver fy the supposition
let us O bserve if the be seen often in couples for is
doub l ed with great frequency in E nglish
such words for
example as meet fleet speed seen been a ree etc
In the present instance we
it dou led no less than five
ti m es although the cryptograph is brief
Let us assume
then
Now of all
the
lang uage the is most usual let us
there f ore whether
G O LD
t h ere are not repetitions any three chara c ters in the sa m e
O rder c o llocati o n the last them being If dis c over
r epet i t io ns s uch l etters arranged they wi ll most probab ly
represent the word the On inspection
find no l ess t h an
seven such arrange m ents the characters being
We may
therefore assume that the se m icolon represents that
sents and that represents
the last being n o w w e l l con
fir m ed Thus a great step has been taken
But having established a sing l e w o rd we are enab l ed to
estab l is a vastly imp o rtant p o int that is to say severa l com
and terminations
other w o rds Let us refer for
exa m ple to the l ast instance b u t
in which the combination
o cc urs not far fro m the end
the cipher We kn ow
that the semicolon immediately ensuing is the commencement
o f a word and of the
chara c ters s u cceeding this the we are
cogni ant of no l ess than five Let us set these ch ara c ters
d o wn thus by t h e l etters we know the m to represent l eav i ng a
space
t h e unknown
t
Here
are enab l ed at once to discard t h e
as form
ing no portion the word co m men c ing with the first since
by experiment o f the entire alphabet for a l etter adapted to
vacancy
perceive that no word can be for m ed w hi c h t his
be a part We are th u s narrowed into
and g o ing thr ou gh the a l phabet if ne c essa r y as before w e
arrive at the word tree as the so l e p o ssib l reading We t h us
gain another letter
represented by w ith the wo rds the
tree in juxtaposition
L o oking beyond these w o rds for a sho d i stan c e we again
see the c o m bination
and emp lo y it by way
to what
re c edes We have thus this arrange m ent
tr
S OR T S T OR I ES
or s u bst i t u t i ng the nat u ra l l etters wh ere known
reads th u s
tr e
N o w if in place of the u nkn o wn ch ar cter s we l eave
b l ank spa c es or substitute dots w e read th u s
tr e
h the
wh en the word
m akes itse l f ev i dent at on c e
this dis c overy gives us three new l etters
and
and
sented by
Looking
na rrowly t h r ou gh the c iphe r for combi
nations
known c h aracters w e find
very far from the
beg i nning this arrange m ent
which plainly is the c onc lu s io n of the word degree and gives
us an o the r l etter
represented by
F ou r l etters be y ond the wo rd degree we per c eive the
com binat io n
Trans l ating the known characters and representi g the
u nknown by dots as before we read thus
an arrange m ent i mm ed i ate l y suggestive the wo rd thirteen
and again furnishi g u s wit h two new characters
and
represented by and
Referring n o w to the beg i nni g o f the cryptograph
find the combination
T r ans l at i ng as bef o re we obtai
g
w hich ass u res u s that the first letter is
wo rds are A good
S O R T S T OR I ES
mean to p u nct u ate it
S o m ething that kind
But how is it possible to effect this
I reflected that it had been a
with the writer to run
his words together without division
as to increase the
culty solution Now a not over acute man in pursuing such
an object would be nearly certain to o v erdo the matter When
in the course his composition he arrived at a break in his
subject which would naturally require a pause or a point he
w ould be exceedi gly apt to run his characters at this place
mo re than usually close together If you wil l obser v e the
in the present instance you will ea ily detect
such cases
unusual cro ding Acting on this hint I made the di v ision thus
E ven this division said I leaves m e still in the dark
It l eft me also in the dark replied Legrand for a few
days during which I made diligent inquiry in the neighbor
h o od
S ullivan s Is l and for any bui l ding which went by the
name
the Bishop s Hotel
course I dropped the
obsolete word hostel Gaining no informati o n
the subj ect
I was
the poin
extending my sphere
search and pro
in a more systematic manner when
m orning it
entered into my head quite suddenly that this Bishop s Hoste l
might have some reference to an
family
the ame
which time
mind had held possession of an
ancient manor house abo u t four mi l es to the northward
the
island I accordingly went over to the plantation and
my inquiries among the older egroes of the place At
length one
the most aged
the women said that
had
TH E G O LD
h eard
such a p l a c e
and thought that
cou l d guide me to it but that it was not a castle nor a tavern
b u t a high rock
I offered to pay her wel l for her tro u b l e and after so m e
de m ur
consented to accompany me to the Spot We f o und
it without much di culty when dismissing her I proceeded
to examine the place The cast l e c onsisted
an irreg u lar
assemblage
cliffs and rocks
the l atter being quite
remarkab l e
its height as wel l as for its ins ul ated and arti
appearance I clambered to its apex and then felt much
at a l oss as to what should be next done
While I was busied in reflection my eyes fe ll on a narro w
ledge in the eastern face
the ro c k perhaps a yard below the
summit upon which I stood This ledge projected about eighteen
i nches and
not more than a foot wide while a niche in the
cliff just above it
it a rude resemb l ance to
the h o l
backed chairs used by
ancest o rs I made no doubt that
here was the de v il s seat a l luded to in the
and no w I
seemed to grasp the full secret the riddle
The good glass I knew could h ave reference to nothing
but a te l escope
the word glass is rarely emp l oyed in any
other sense by seamen Now here I at on c e
a tele
scope to be used and a definite point
view
fro m which to use it
did I h esitate to belie v e
that the phrases twent
degrees and thirteen minutes
and no r th east and by north were inte ded as directions
for the le v elling
the glass Greatly excite by these dis
I hurried ho m e pr oc ured a te l escope and returned
to the rock
I let myself down to the ledge and found that it was
I mpossible to retain a seat
it unless in
particular posi
tion This fact confirm d my preconceived idea I proceeded
to use the glass Of co u rse the twenty
degree and
S H OR T S T OR I ES
thirteen m in u tes co u l d a ll ude to not hi ng b u t e l evati o n ab o v
visible h orizon sin c e the h ori o nta l dire c tion
clearly
i ndicated by the w o rds n o rth east and by north This latter
direct i on I at once estab l ished by means of a po c ket compass
hen pointing the glass as near l y at an ang le o f twenty one
degrees of elevati o n as I c ou l d do it by guess I m oved it
c autio u s l y up o r down unti l my attention was arrested by a
cir cul a r rift o r O pening in the fo l iage a l arge tree t h at over
topped its fello w s in the distan c e In the c entre of this rift I
per c eived a white spot b u t c o ul d n o t at first distinguish what
it w as Adj u sting the fo cu s the te l escope I again l o o ked and
n ow m ade it out to be a h um an sk ull
On t h is dis co very I was
sanguine as to consider the
en i g m a s ol ved for th e p h rase m ain branch se v enth l imb east
side could refer o n l y to the p o siti o n o f the skul l on the tree
w h i l e shoot from the l eft eye of the death s he d
admitted
also of b u t o ne interpretation in regard to a sear ch f or b u ried
treas u re I per c eived that the design was to drop a b ul et fro
t h e l eft eye of the sku ll and that a bee line or in o the r w o rds
a stra i ght line drawn fro m the nearest point the t ru nk through
t h e sh o t
the S pot w here the bullet fe ll and t h ence
extended to a distance of fifty feet wou l d i ndi c ate a definite
point and beneath this point I thought it at l east
that
a dep o sit of value lay con c ea l ed
Al l t his I said is exceedingly clear and a l though ingen
ious sti ll simple and exp l i c it When yo u l eft the Bishop s H o te l
what then
Why h aving caref ull y taken the bearing o f the tree I
turned h om ewards The instant that I left the devil s seat
however the circular rift vanished nor could I get a g l impse
it afterwards turn as I would What seems to me the chief
ingenuity in this who l e bu sines s is the fact for repeated
m ent has convinced me it a fact that the circular Op in
S OR T S T OR I ES
obj ect if s m all should be
and there is nothing like y our
hum skull for retaining and even i ncreasing its whiteness
under expos u re to al l vicissi udes weather
Bu t y o ur grandi loq u ence and your c o nduct in swing ing the
beet l e how excessively Odd I
sure you were mad And
why did you insist l etting fall the bug instead a b ull et
fr om t h e sku l l
Why to be frank I felt somewhat annoyed by your ev i dent
s u spici o ns touching my sanity and
reso l ved to punish
q u iet l y in my
by a little bit
sober
Fo r t h is reason I sw u ng the beetle and for this reason I l et it
fall fr o m the tree An observation
yours about its great
we i ght suggested the l atter idea
Yes I perceive and now there is on ly one point which
puzz l es me What are we to make
the ske l etons found in
the hol e
hat is a q u estion I am n o m ore able to answer than yo u r
se l f There see m s however on l y
plausible way of ac c ount
ing for the m and yet it is dreadful to believe in such atrocity
as my s u ggestion wo u l d imp l y It is clear that Kidd if Kidd
indeed se c reted this treasure w hich I doubt not
is c l ear
that he m ust have had assistance in the l abor But the w o rst
o f this l abor concluded he may have thought expedient to
remove all participants in his secret Perhaps a coup l e blows
with a m att o ck w ere su cient w hile his c oadjutors were b u sy
p i t p rhaps it re qui red a d oz en who hall tell
CH RI
T
A
CA R O
CHARLE S DI C EN S
In this m ost fa m ous of Christmas stories Dickens
g ives us t h e very atmosphere
the season with all the contrasts
that po v erty and wea l th miser l iness and charit the past and
the future can suggest
T hou h h e had London in mind any
great industria l center wo ul d h av e r ved as wel l
Dickens
thinking primarily
the relat i ons between employe r and
employee That Christmas is better kept in E ngland
than
when Dickens wrote is a triumph due more to
A Christmas
Carol than to any other
piece
prose
verse
The story was p l anned rather than plotted By cal ling
it a caro l and dividing it into staves Dickens would have us
think
it not as a narrative but as a song full
the j oy and
good will that Christmas ought to diffuse It is a ri ll from the
fountain
the first great Christmas chant
On earth peace
good wil l toward men The theme is
muc h the duty of
se vice as the j oy service the happiness that
fee l in mak
ing others happy and the four carols mark the four stages in
the conversion S cr o oge from solitary selfishness to socia l
good wil l The p l an i s simp l e but it is su fused with a l ove and
sympathy that no
but Dickens O Henry c ou l d have
given it If The Go l d Bug is a triumph the analytic inte l
lect this story is a triump h the socia l imp ul ses that m ake the
wor ld better It seems to m e said Thackeray a nationa l
benefit and to every m an and woman
reads it a persona l
kindness Whi l e writing it Dickens said I wept and l aug h ed
and wept again
And yet the psycho l ogy of the p l ot is as
so u ndly inte l lect u a l as the style is emoti o na l Dickens kne w
S H OR T S T OR I ES
that a h earted m an like S crooge c ould not be ch anged by
f o r c es bro u ght to bear from with ou t The appea l must co m e
fro m w i thin He mu st himse l f his past his present and his
pr o bab l e fut u re but in a ne w light and fr om a wider ang le
vis i on The drea m is o n l y a m eans to this end A man m oves
to a higher rea l m O f thought and action
by l ea r n i ng new
tr u ths but by seeing the
truths different ly re l ated
S croo ge is
course the ce tral chara c te r He
is a l s o a perfect examp l e the changing character as contrasted
with the stati o nary character In fact all the other characters
re m ain essentia ll y the same while S crooge
at the beginni g
is u nfriendly and friendless becomes at the end as good a
friend as good a master and as good a man as the good o l d
city knew or any othe r good
city town
boro u gh in the
good Ol d wor l d It i s dif c u lt to c reate any kind character
whether stationary
changing but the l atter is the more
cu l t Bo th demand rare p o wers O bse vation and interpreta
descending character demands a
tion b u t t he as c ending
conduct that only the masters
knowledge of the chemistry
have
The
must not be overlooked Tiny Tim s God
b l ess us every one has at l east be c ome the symbo l
Christ
m as benevolence wherever Ch r is m as is c e l ebrated in E ng lis h
speak i ng l and
S TAV E ON E
MARLE
H
T
Mar l ey w as dead to begin with There is no doubt w hateve r
about that The register
his burial w as signed by the cler
man the clerk the undertaker and
chief mourner S crooge
Signed it And S crooge s name was good upon Change for
anything he chose to put his hand to
Old Mar l ey was as dead as a d o or na l
S H OR T S T OR I ES
human sympathy to keep its distance was what the kno w ng
ones call nuts to S crooge
Once up o n a ti m e
all the good days in the year upon
a Christmas e v e Ol d S crooge
b u sy in his counting house
It
cold bleak biting foggy weather and the city c l ocks
had on l y j ust gone three but it
quite dark already
T h e door
S crooge s counting house was Open that he
might keep his eye upon his clerk
in a dismal litt l e cell
beyond a sort
tank was copying letters S crooge had a very
sma ll fire but the clerk s fire was so very much smaller that it
l ooked l ike
coal But he could n t replenish it for S crooge
kept the coa l box in his
room and
surely as the
clerk came in with the shove l the master predicted that it
would be necessary
them t o part Wherefore the clerk put
his white comforter and tried to warm himse l f at the
candle in which effort not being a man
a strong imagina
tion he failed
A merry Christmas uncle God save you
cried a cheer
ful voice It
the voice of S crooge s nephe w
came
u pon him so quickly that this was the first intimation S crooge
had
his approach
Ba h
said S crooge
humbug
Christmas a humbug u ncle You don t m ean that I
am s u re
I do
u pon merry Christ m as What s Christmas time
to you but a time for paying bills without money a time for
findi g yourself a year older and not an hour richer a time
for balancing your books and having e v ery item in em through
a round dozen
months presented dead against
If I had
my will e very idiot
goes ab o ut with Merry Christmas
on his l ips should be boiled with his own pudding and buried
with a stake
holly thro u gh his heart He should
CH R I S TMA S CA RO L
Unc l e
Nephew keep Christmas in your own way and l et me
keep it in mine
Keep it B u t y o u don t keep it
Let m e l eave it alone then Much
it do you
M u ch good it has ever done you
There are many things from w h ich I mig h t have derived
good by which I ha v e not profited I dare
Christmas
among the rest But I am sure I have always thought
Christmas time w hen it has come round
apart from the
veneration due to i ts sacred origin if anything be l onging to it
be apart from that
as a good time
a kind forgiving
ch aritab le pleasant time the only time I know Of in the l ong
ca lendar the year when men and women see m by
con
sent to open their shut
heart freely and to think
peop l e
be l ow them as if they really were fellow tra v ellers to the grave
and not another race of creatures bound
other j ourneys
And therefore unc l e though it has never put a scrap
gold
si l ver in my pocket
that it
done me good
do me good and I
bless it
The clerk in the tank in v oluntarily applauded
Let me hear another sound from
said S cro oge and
you ll keep your Christmas by l osing your situation
Y ou
q u ite a powerfu l speaker Sir he added turning to his nephew
I wonder you don t go into Par l iament
Do t be angry unc l e Co m e Din wit h
to m orrow
S crooge said that he would see him yes indeed he did
He w ent the whole length the expression and said t h at he
w o u ld
hi m in that extremity first
But why c ried S cr o oge s nep h e w Why
Why did
get married
Because I fell in love
S H OR T S T OR I ES
Be c a u se you fell in l o v e grow l ed S crooge as if that were
the only thing in the world more ridiculous than a mer r y
Ch r istmas
Good afternoon
Nay uncle but you never came to
me before that
h appened Why give it as a reason
not coming now
Good afternoon
I want nothing from
I ask nothing yo u why
cannot we be friends
Good afte noon
I am sorry with all my heart to find yo u
resolute We
h ave never had any quarrel to which I ha v e been a party B u t
I h ave made t h e tria l in homage to Ch r ist m as and I keep
my Christmas hu m o r to the l ast
A Me rr y C hri st m as
u nc le
Good aftern o on
And A Happy Ne w Year
Good afternoon
His nephew l eft t h e room without an angry wo rd
standing The cl erk
l etting S crooge s nephe w
had let
two other people in They were portly gent l e m en p l easant to
behold and now stood with their hats
in S crooge s office
They had books and papers in their hands and bowed to him
Sc rooge and Marley s I be lieve said
of the gent le
men referring to
list Have I the p l eas u re
add re sing
Mr S crooge
Mr Mar l ey
Mr Marley has been dead these seven years
d ed
seven years ago this very night
At this festi v e season
the year Mr S cro o ge said
gentleman taking up a pen it
than usual l y desirab l e
that we Should make some slight pro v ision for the poor and
destitute
suffer great l y at the present time Many th o u
sands are in want common necessaries h u ndreds o f th ou sands
in want of common co m fo r ts
S H OR T S T OR I ES
Th e c l erk pr o m i sed that w o ul d and S crooge wa l ked out
with a grow l The o fice was c l osed in a twinkling and the
clerk with the l ong ends Of his w hite comforter dangling belo
his waist for he boasted no great coat w ent down a s l ide at
the end of a l ane boys twenty times in honor O f its being
Christmas e v e and then ran home as hard as he cou l d pe l t to
play at b l ind man s bu f
S crooge t o ok his melancho l y dinner in his usua l melancho l
tavern and having read all the newspapers and beguiled the
rest of the evening with his banker s book went home to bed
He l ived in chambers which had once be l onged to his deceased
partner They were a gloo m y suite
rooms in a l owering
pile of building up a yard The building
old enough
and drea y enough for nobody l ived in it but S crooge the
other rooms being all let
as O fices
Now it is a fact that there w as nothing at all particular
about the kn oc ker on the door
this house except that it
very large a l so that S crooge had seen it night and morn ng
during his whole residence in that p l ace a l so that Sc rooge h ad
as l ittle what is called fancy about him as any m an in the
city of London And yet S crooge having his key in t h e l ock
of the door saw in the knocker without its undergoi g any
process of change not a knocker but Marley s face
Mar l ey s face with a dismal light about it li k e a bad lobster
in a dark cellar It
angry ferocious but it looked
at S crooge as Marley used to l ook with ghost l y spec acles
turned up upon its ghost l y forehead
As S crooge l ooked fixedly at this phenomenon it
a
knocker again He said Po o h pooh
and closed the doo r
with a bang
The sound resounded through the house l ike thunder E very
roo m above and e v ery cask in the wine merchant s cellars
belo w appeared to have a separate pea l
echoes of its own
A C R I S TMA S CA RO L
S r o oge
not a man to be frightened by echoes He
fastened the door and wa l ked across the hall and up the stairs
S l o wly too trimming his cand l e as he went
Up S crooge went not caring a button for its being very
dark Darkness is cheap and S crooge liked it But before he
shut his hea v y door he walked through his rooms to see that
all w as right He had j ust enough recollection the face to
desire to do that
S itting room bedroom lumber room all as they Shou l d be
Nobody u nder the table nobody under the sofa a smal l fire in
the grate spo o n and basin ready and the little saucepan
g el S crooge h ad a cold in his head upon the hob Nobody
under the bed nobody in the loset nobody in his dressing
gown whic h
hanging up in a suspicious attitude against
the wall Lumber room as usual Old
guard old shoes two
baskets washing stand
three l egs and a poker
Quite satisfied
c l osed his door and l ocked himse l f in
double l ocked h imself in whic h
not his custom Thus
secured against surprise he took
his cravat put on his
dressing gown and slippers and his night cap and
down
before the very l ow fire to take his grue l
As he threw
head back
the chair his glance happened
to rest upon a be l l a di used bell that hung the room and
comm u nicated for some purpose now forgotten with a cham
ber in the highest story
the building It
with great
astonishment and with a strange inexplic ble dread that as
he l ooked he
this bell begin to swing
oon it rang out
l oudly and so did ev e y be ll in the house
This
succeeded by a clanking noise deep down below
as if some person were dragging a heavy cha n over the cask
in the wine merchant s cellar
Then he heard the noi e much l ouder on the floors below
then coming up the stairs then coming straight towards his door
S OR T S T OR I ES
It came
through the hea v y door and a spectre passed
into the r oom before his eyes And upon its coming in the
dying flame l eaped up as though it cried
I know him
Mar l ey s ghost
The same face the very same Mar l ey in his pigtai l usua l
w aistcoat tights and boots His body
transparent
that S crooge observing him and looking through his w aistcoat
could see the
buttons
his coat behind
Sc r o oge had often heard it said that Mar l ey had no bowels
b u t he had never believed it u nti l n o w
N o nor did he believe it even now Tho u gh he l ooked the
phanto m through and through and saw it standing before him
th o ugh he felt the chilling influence
its death co l d eyes
and noticed the very texture
t h e folded ker c hief b ou nd about
its h ead and c hin
was still incredul o us
How now
said S crooge caust c and cold as ever
W h at do
want with me
M uch
Marley s voice no doubt abo u t it
Who are
Ask me who I
Who
then
In l ife I w as your partner Jacob Mar l ey
Can yo u
can
down
I can
Do it then
S cro o ge asked the question because he did know whether
a ghost
transparent might find himself in a condition to take
a chair and felt that in the event its being impossible it
might invo l ve the necessity an embarrassing explanation
But the ghost
down
the O pposite side of the fireplace
if he were quite u sed to it
don t be l ieve in me
I don t
S H OR T S T OR I E S
O b l ind man b l ind man not to know that ages of
sant labor by immorta l creature for thi earth must pass i to
eternity before the good which it is susceptible is all deve l
O ped Not to know that any Christian spirit wor k ing kindly in
its little sphere w hatever it may be will find its mortal life
short for its vast means
usefulness Not to know that no
Space regret can make amends for l ife s O pportunities
m isused Yet I was like this man I once
like this man
But you were a l ways a good man of business Jacob
faltered S crooge
now began to apply this to himself
Business
cried the ghost wringing its hands again
Mankind
my business The common w e l fare was my
business charity mercy forbearance bene v olence were all
my business The dealings
my trade were but a drop of
water in the comprehensive ocean
my business
S crooge was very much dismayed to hear the spectre going
at this rate and began to quake exceeding l y
Hear me My time is nearly gone
I will But don t be hard upon me Don t be flowery
Jacob Pray
I am here to ight to warn you that you have yet a chance
and ope
escaping my fate A chance and hope
my
procuring E benezer
were always a good friend to me T ank
You will be haunted by Three S pirits
Is that the chance and
yo u mentioned Jacob I
I
think I d rather not
Without their visits you cannot hope to shun the path I
tread E xpect the first to morrow night when the bell tolls
One E xpect the second
the next night at the same hour
The third upon the next night when the last stroke Twel v e
has ceased to vibrate Look to see me no more and look that
for your
sake
remember what has passed between us
A CH R I S TMA S CA RO L
It w a l ked backward from him and at every step it took
the window raised itse f a little so that when the apparition
reached it it was wide open
S crooge closed the window and examined the door by which
the Ghost had entered It was double locked as he had l ocked
it with his
hands and the bolts were undisturbed S crooge
tried to
Humbug
but stopped at the first syllab le
And being fro the emotion he had underg o ne
the fatigues
the day or his glimpse
the invisib l e w orld
the d u l l
conversation of the Ghost
the l ateness
the hour much in
need
repose he went straight t o bed with o ut undressing
and fe ll as l eep
the instant
S TAV E TWO
FI ST
T R
P I R IT S
When S crooge awoke it was so dark that l ooking
of
bed he could scarcely distinguish the transparent window from
the opaque walls
his chamber u nti l sudden l y the churc h
clock tolled a deep dull hollow melancholy ON E
Light flashed up in the roo m upon the instant and the
tains of his bed were drawn aside by a strange figure
like a
child yet not
like a child as like an
man viewed thro u gh
some super atura l medium which gave him the appearance
having receded fro m the view and be ng diminished
a
child s proportions Its hair whic h hung a out its neck and
down its back
white as if with age and yet the face had
a wrinkle in it and the tenderest bloom
the s in
It held a branch
fresh green holly in its hand and in
singular contradiction
that wintry emblem had
dress
trimmed wit h summer flowers But the strangest thing about
was that from the cro w of its head there sprung a bright
S H OR T S T OR I ES
c l ear j et o f lig ht by whi ch all t h is w as visib l e and which w as
d ou bt l ess the occ asion of its using in its d ull er mom ents a
great exting u isher fo r a cap w hi c h it no w he l d u nder i ts arm
Are y ou the S pirit sir who se comi n
foretold to me
I am
Who and what are you
I am the Gh o st o f C h r i st m as Past
Long past
No Yo ur past The things t h at y ou will
with
are
s h ad ow s the things t h at h ave been they will have no con
of us
Sc ro o ge t h en m ade bold to i nquire what business brou ght
him there
Your welfare R ise and walk with me
It w oul d h ave been in vain
Sc rooge to plead that the
w eat h e r and the hour were not adapted to pedestrian purposes
that the bed
warm and the ther mom eter a long way be lo
f r eezing that he w as c l ad b u t light ly i n h is s l ippers dressing
gown and nightcap and that h e h ad a co l d u pon h im at that
i me The grasp though gent l e
a w o m an s h and was not to
be resisted He rose but find i ng that the S pirit m ade to w ards
t h e windo w cl asped its robe in supp l ication
I am a morta l and l iab l e to fall
Bear but a touch
my h and
said the S pir i t laying
it upon his heart and yo u sha ll be u phe l d in m ore than this
As the w ords were sp o ken they passed t h ro u gh the wa l and
to o d in t h e busy thoro u ghfares o f a city It w as m ade p l ain
eno u g h by the dress i ng o f
sh o ps th h ere t oo it w as
Christ m as ti m e
The G ho st st o pped at a c e r tain w r ho use door and asked
Scrooge if he knew it
K w it Was I apprent iced here
They w ent in At sight
an old gentleman in a We l sh wig
S H O RT S T OR I ES
the ho usemaid with her cousin the baker In came t h e c oo k
with her brother s particular friend the milkman
In they all
came
after another some shyly some bo l dly some grace
fully some awkwardly s o me pushing some pul l ing in they all
came anyho and eve yhow Away they all went twent
coup l e at o nce hands half ro u nd and back again the other
way do wn the middle and u p again round and round in vari
stages
a fectionate grouping
top couple always
turni g up in the wrong place new top coup l e starting
again as soon
they got there all top couples at l ast and
not a b o ttom
to help them When this result
brought
about
Fezziwig clapping his hands to stop the dance cried
o u t Wel l done
and the fiddler plunged his hot f ace into a
pot
porter especially provided for that purpose
There were more dances and there were forfeits and more
dances and there was cake and there was negus and there
a great piece Cold R oast and there
a great piece
Cold Boiled and there were mince pies and p l enty
beer
But the great effect
the evening came after the R oast and
Boi l ed when the fidd l er struck up
S ir R oger de Coverley
Then Ol d Fezziwig stood
to dance with Mrs F
c oup l e too wit h a good st i f pie c e of work
for them
three
four and twenty pair
partners people
were
to be
with peop l e
dance and had no
notion
walking
But if they h ad been twice as many
fou r ti m e
Fezziwig wou ld have been a match for them and
would
Mrs Fezziwig As to
was worthy to be his par ner in
every sense the term A positive light appeared to iss u e from
Fezziwig s calves They shone in every part the dance
could
have predicted at any gi v en time what would become
em next And when O ld Fezziwig and Mrs Fezziwig had
g o ne all throu g h the dance
advance and retire turn your
CH R I S TMA S CA RO L
partner bow and courtesy
t read the need l e and
back again to yo u r place
F
cut so deftly
that he appeared to wink with his legs
When the clock struck ele v en this domestic bal l broke up
Mr and Mrs Fezziwig took their stations
either side
the door and Shaking hands with e v ery person individually as
he
went
wished him or her a Merry Christmas
When everybody had retired but the two prentices t h ey did
the same to them and thus the chee fu l voices died away
and the lads were l eft to their beds which were under a co u nter
in the back shop
A smal l matter said the G h ost to ake these si lly folks
full of gratit u de He has spent but a few p o unds of your
m orta l m oney three four perhaps Is that much that
he dese ves this praise
It is n t that said S cro o ge h eated by the r emark and
speaking unconscio u sly l ike his former not his l atter se l f
it is
that S pirit He
the power to render us h appy
unhappy to make
service l ight
burdensome a p l easure
or a t o i l S ay that his power lies in words and l ooks in things
s l ight and insignificant that it is impossible to add and count
em u p what then The h appiness he gives
q u ite as great
as if co st a fortune
He felt the S pirit s glan e and st o pped
What is the matter
Nothing pa r ticu l ar
S omething I think
No no I sho u l d lik e to be able to say a wo rd
two to
my clerk just now That s all
My time grows short observed the S pirit
Quick
This was not addressed to S crooge
to any one whom he
cou l d
but it produced an immediate e fect
For again he
himself He was older
a man in the pr im e o f life
S O R T S T OR I E S
He w as n o t a lo ne
sat by the s i de
a fair y ou ng irl
a black dress in wh o se eyes there w ere tears
It m atters l itt l e s h e said soft ly to S cr o oge s forme r se l f
To you very little An o ther id ol has disp l aced m e and if it
can comfort you in time to co m e as I would h ave tr ied to do
I h ave no j ust ca u se to grieve
What Id ol has disp l aced
A go l den one You fear t h e w o r l d too m uch I have seen
your n o b l e r aspirat i ons fall
by
unti l the m aster
passion Gain engr o sses you Have I not
What t h en E ven if I have gr o wn
m uch w is r what
then I a m n o t ch anged towards yo u Have I eve r ou ht
release fr o m
engage m ent
In wo rds no Never
In w h at then
In a changed nature in an a l tered sp i rit in an o th er atmos
life an o ther Hope as its great end If you w ere free
to day to m orrow yesterday can even I be l ieve that yo u w ou l d
c hoose a dower l ess girl choosing her do I not kn ow that
y ou r repentance and regret w ou l d s u rely follow I
and I
re l ease y ou Wit h a fu ll heart for the l ove of hi m yo u o n c e
were
Spirit remove me from this place
I to l d yo u these w ere s h ad o ws the things that have been
said the G ho st
That they are w hat they are do not b l a m e
me
R e m ove m e S crooge ex cl ai m ed I cannot bear it
Leave me Take me back Haunt m e no l onger
As he struggled with the S pirit he w as conscious of being
exhausted and overcome by an irresistible drowsiness and fu r
ther
being in his own bedroom He had bare l y time to ree l
to bed before he sank into a heavy s l eep
S H OR T S T OR I ES
A tremendous family to pro v ide
S pirit conduct m e
w h ere you will I went forth last night
comp ul sion and I
l earnt a lesson which is working
To night you h ave
aught to teach me l et m e profit by it
Touch my robe
S crooge did as he was told and held it fast
The roo m and its contents al l vanished instant l y and they
st o od in the city streets upon a snowy Christmas m orning
S cr o oge and the Ghost passed on in v isib le straight to
S crooge s clerk s and
the threshold
the door the S pirit
smiled and stopped to bless Bob
dwelling with the
sprinklings
his torch Think
that Bob had but fifteen
Bob
a week himself he pocketed
S aturdays but fifteen
copies
his Christian name and yet the Ghost
Christmas
Present b l essed his four roomed house
Then up rose
Cratchit
wife dressed but
poor l y in a twice turned gown but bra v e in ribbons which are
cheap and make a goodly sho for Sixpence and
laid the
c l oth assisted by Belinda Cr tchit se c ond O f her daughters
also brave
ribbons while Master Peter Cratchit plunged a
fork into the saucepan
potatoes and getting the corners of
his monstrous shirt collar Bob s pri v ate property conferred
upon his
and heir in honor of the day into his mouth
rejoi c ed to find himself so gallantly attired and yearned to
show his inen in the fashionable Parks And now two smaller
boy and girl came tearing in screa m ing that outside
the baker s they had smelt the goose and known it for their
and basking in luxurious thoughts
sage and onion
these young
danced about the table
exalted
Master Peter Cratchit to the skies w hi l e he not proud
though his
choked hi m b l e w the fire unti l the
g
IN CA
L I TT L
S H OR T S T O R I ES
Ma r t h a d id n t li ke to see h i m disappointed if it w ere o nly
in j oke so she came
prematurely from behind the cl oset
door and ran into his ar m s whi l e the two young
h u stled Tiny Tim and bore him
into the wash h ou se that
he might hear the p u dding s nging in the copper
And how did l itt l e Tim beha v e
asked Mrs Cratchit
when
had rallied Bob
his credulity and
had hugged
his daughter
his heart s content
As g o od as g ld said Bob
and better S omeho h e
gets thoughtfu l sitting by himse l f
much and thinks the
strangest things you ever heard He told me coming home
that he hoped the people
him in the c hurch be c ause he
was a cripple and it might be pleasant to them to remember
up o n Christ m as day
made l a m e beggars walk and blind
men
Bob s voi c e was tremulous when he told them this and
tre m b l ed more when he said that Tiny Tim was growing
strong
hearty
His active litt l e crutch was heard upon the floor and back
came Tiny Tim before another word
spoken escorted by
his brother and Sister to his stool beside the fire and while
Bob turning up his cuffs
as if poor fe l low they were capa
ble being made more shabby compounded some hot mix
ture in a jug with gin and l emons and stirred it round and
round and put it
the hob to simmer Master Peter and the
two ubiquitous young
went to fetch the goose with
which they soon returned in high procession
Mrs Cratchit made the gravy ready beforehand in a little
saucepan hissing hot Master Peter mashed the potatoes wit h
in c redible vig o r Miss Be l inda sweetened up the apple sauce
Martha dusted the hot p l ates Bob took Tiny Tim beside him
in a t ny cor er at the table the two yo u ng
chairs
g
k
y
A C R I S TMA S CA RO L
for eve ybody not forgetting themse l ves and m ounting guard
upon their posts c ra mm ed spoons into their mouths lest they
shou l d shriek for goose before their turn came to be helped
At l ast the dishes were
and grace was said It was s uc
by a breathless pause as Mrs Cratchit looking slowly
all a l ong the c arving knife prepared to plunge it in the breast
but when She did and when the long expected g ush
stu fing
iss u ed forth
murmur
delight arose all round the board
and even Tiny Tim excited by the two young
beat
the table with the handle
his knife and feeb ly c ried
Hurrah
There never
such a goose Bob said he did n t believe
there ever
such a goose c ooked Its tenderness and fla v or
size and cheapness were the themes
universal admiration
Eke d
by app l e s auce and m ashed potatoes it was a
cient dinner for the who l e family indeed as Mrs Cratchit
said with great de l ight surveying one sma ll at om
a b o ne
u pon the dish they had
ate it all at l ast Yet e v e y
had had eno u gh and the youngest
in particu l ar were
steeped in sage and onion to the eyebrows But now the plates
being c hanged by Miss Belinda Mrs Cratchit left the room
alone
too nervous to bear witnesses
to take the pudding
up and bring it in
S uppose it should not be done enough Suppose it shou ld
break in turning out S uppose somebody shou l d have got
o v er the wal l
the back yard and stolen it while they were
merry with the goose
a supposition at which the two young
be c ame l ivid Al l sorts o f horrors were supposed
Hal l o A reat dea l of steam The p u dding was
the C o pper A sme ll l ike a washing day That was the c lo th
A smell like an eating house and a pastry c o ok s next door to
each other with a laundress s next door to that That was
the p u dd i ng In half a mi n u te
Crat c hit entered
S H OR T S T OR I E S
flushed but smi l ing proudly with the pudding l ike a spe c k l ed
cann o n ba ll
hard and firm
in half of half a quartern
of ignited brandy and bedight with Christmas holly st uc k i nt o
the top
O a wo nderfu l pudding Bob Cratchit said and calmly
too that he regarded it as the greatest success achieved by
Mrs Crat ch it since their marriage Mrs Cratchit said that
now the weight
her mind she would confess she had
h ad her d o ubts about the quantity flour Ev erybody had
something to
about it but nob o dy said
tho u ght it
at all a s m al l pudding for a l arge family Any Cratchit w ou l d
h ave b l ushed to hint at such a thing
At l ast t h e dinner
all done the c l oth was cleared the
hearth swept and the fire made up The compound in the
jug being tasted and considered perfect app l es and ora ge
were put u pon the table and a shove l f ul
chestnuts on
t h e fire
Then all the Cratchit family drew r o und the heart h in what
B o b Cratchit called a circle and at Bob
e l bo w stood
the fami ly display of glass two tumblers and a c ustard cup
with ou t a hand l e
These h eld the hot stu f fro m the jug however w e ll as
go l den gob l ets would have done and Bob served it with
beaming looks while the chestnuts on the fire sputtered and
crack l ed noisily Then Bob proposed
A Mer r y Christmas to us all my dears God b less
Which all the fami l y e c hoed
G o d b l ess u s every
said Tiny Ti m the l ast of all
He
very close to his father s side upon his litt l e stoo l
Bo b h e l d his withered litt l e hand in his as if he l oved the chi ld
and w is h ed to keep hi m by his side and dreaded t h at h e m ight
be taken from h im
S crooge raised his h ead speedi l y hearing his own na m e
S H OR T S T OR I ES
worked at a stretch and
meant to lie abed to
morrow morning for a good l ong rest to morrow being a holi
day
passed home Also how
had seen a countess and
a l ord some days before and h ow the l ord was much about as
tall as Peter at w hich Peter pulled up his collars so high that
you could n t have seen his head if you had been there All this
time the chestnuts and the jug went round and round and by
and by they had a song about a lost child travelling in snow
from Tiny Tim
had a plaintive l ittle voice and sang it very
well indeed
There w as nothing
high mark in this They wer not a
handsome family they were not wel l dressed their shoes were
far from being water proof their clothes w ere scanty and
Peter might have known and very likely did the inside a
pawnbroker s But they were happy grateful p l eased with
another and contented with the time and when they faded
and l ooked happier yet in the bright sprink l ings the S pirit s
torch at parting S crooge had his eye upon them and especially
Tiny Ti m u ntil the l ast
It
a great surprise to S crooge as this scene vanished to
hear a hearty laugh It was a much greater surprise to S crooge
to recognize it as his
nephew s and to find himself in a
b ght dry g l eaming room with the S pirit standing smi l ing by
his side and looking at that same nephew
It is a fair even handed nob l e adjustment
things that
while there is infection in disease and sorrow there is nothing
in the world irresistibly contagious as l aughter and good
humor When S crooge s nephew laughed S crooge s niece by
marriage laughed as heartily as he And their assemb l ed friends
being not a bit behindhand laughed out lustily
He said that Christmas
a humbug as I live
cried
c rooge s nephew He be lieve
HR I S TM AS CA RO L
More sha m e for him Fred
said S crooge s niece
Bless those women they never do anything by ha l ves
They are a l ways in earnest
S he
very pretty exceedingly pretty Wit h a dimp l ed
surprised looking capita l face a ripe l itt l e mouth that seemed
made to be kissed
no doubt it was al l kind
good
little dots about her chin that melted into
another when
laughed and the sunniest pair eyes e v er saw in any l ittle
creature s head Altogether
what you would have called
pro v oking but satisfacto r y too O perfectly satisfactory
He a comica l old fellow said S crooge s nephew that s
the truth and not
pleasant as he might be However his
o fences carry their
punishment and I have noth ng to
against him Who suffers by his ill whims
imself always
Here he ta k es it into his head to dislike us and he won t come
and dine with us What s the consequence
He don t l ose
much
a dinner
Indeed I think he l oses a very good dinner interr u pted
S crooge s niece Eve ybody else said the same and they must
be allowed to have been competent j udges because they had
j ust had dinner and with the dessert upon the table w er
clustered ro u nd
fire by lamplight
We ll I am very glad to hear it said Scrooge s nephew
cause I ha v e n t any great faith in these young housekeepers
What do
Topper
Topper clearly had his eye on one of crooge s niece s
ters
he answered that a bachelor
outcast
who had right to express an opinion the subject Whereat
S crooge s niece s sister the plump
with the lace tucker
not the
with the roses
blushed
After tea they had some music For they were a musica l
family and knew w h at they were about w hen they sung a Glee
S H OR T S T OR I ES
Cat ch I
especially Topper wh o c ould
grow away in the bass l ike a good one and never swe ll the
large veins in his forehead get red in the face over it
B u t they did devote the whole evening music After a
whi l e they p l ayed at forfeits for it is good to be children some
times and never better than at Christmas wh en its mighty
Founder was a chi l d himse l f There
first a game at blind
man s bu f though And I no more be l ieve Topper was real l y
blinded than I believe h e had eyes in h is boots Be c ause the
way in w hich he w ent after that plump sister in the l ace tucker
w as an o u trage the credu lity h um an nature Knocking
down the
irons t um bling o v er the chairs bu m ping up
against the p ano s mo thering himse l f among the curtains
w herever
w ent t h ere w ent he He always knew w here
the p l u m p s i ster was He w ou l d
catch anybody e l se If
h ad fallen up against him as s o me of them did and stood t h ere
he would have m ade a feint
endeavoring to seize you w hic h
w ould have been an a front to your understanding and would
i stant ly have sidled
in t h e direction of the p l ump sister
Here is a new game said S crooge
One ha l f hour S pi it
only
It w as a Game ca l led Y es and No w here S crooge s nephew
had to think of something and the rest must find
what he
on l y answering to their questions yes
no as the case w as
The fire questioning to which he was exposed elicited from
him that h e w as thinking an animal a live anima l rather a
disagreeab l e anima l a savage anima l an animal that growled
and grunted sometimes and talked sometimes and l ived in
London and walked about the streets and was
made a Show
of and was
l ed by anybody and did
live in a m enagerie
and w as never ki l led in a m arket and
not a horse or an
ass
a c ow or a bull
a tiger
a dog
a pig or a cat
or a bear At every new q u estion put to him this nephew b u rst
S H OR T S T OR I ES
S TA VE FOU R
LA T
P I R IT
The Phantom slowly gra v ely ilently approached When it
came near him S crooge bent down upon
knee for in the
air through which this S pirit moved it seemed to scatter gloom
and mystery
It w as Shrouded in a deep b ack garment which concealed
its head its face its form and left nothing it visible save
outstretched hand He knew no more for the S pirit neither
spoke nor moved
I am in the presence
the Ghost
Christmas Yet To
Come
Ghost
the Future
I fear you more than any
spectre I have seen But as I know your purpose is to do
m e good and
I hope to li v e to be another man f rom what I
I am prepared to bear you company and do it with a
thankfu l heart Will
not speak to me
It gave him no reply The hand was pointed straight before
them
Lead o n Lead
The night is waning fast and it is
precious time to me I know Lead
S pirit
They scarce l y seemed to enter the city for the city rather
seemed to spring up about them But there they were in the
heart
it
Change amongst the merchants
The S pirit stopped beside
little k not of business men
Observing that the hand was pointed to them S crooge advanced
to listen to their talk
No said a great fat man with a monstrous chin I don t
know muc h about it either way I nly know he dead
When did
die
inquired another
Last night I believe
Why what w as the m atter wit h h im I thought he never die
CH R I S TMA S CA RO L
knows said the first with a yawn
What
he done with his money
red faced
gent l e m an
I have
heard said the man with the large chin
pany perhaps He has n t l eft it to me That s all
know
By by
Sc rooge w as at first i nclined to be surprised that the S pirit
should attach importance to conversation apparently
trivial
but feeling assured that it must ha v e some hidden purpose he
him elf to consider what it was like l y to be It could scarcely
be supposed to have any bearing
the death
Jacob his
partner for that was Past and this Ghost s provin c e
the
Future
He l ooked about in that very p l ace his own im age but
another man stood in his accustomed co er and tho u gh the
clock pointed to his usual time
day
be i ng there he
no l ikeness
himself among the m ul titudes that poured in
through the Porch It gave h i m l ittle surprise h owever for h e
h ad been revo l ving in his mind a change life and he tho ght
and hoped he
his new born resolutions carried
in this
They l eft this busy scene and w ent into an obscure part
the to n to a lo w shop where iron Ol d rags bott l es bones
and greasy offal were bought A gray haired rasca l of great
age
sm o king his pipe
S crooge and the Phantom ca me into the presence this man
just as a woman wit h a heavy bund l e slunk into the shop But
had scarce l y entered when another woman similar l y laden
came in too and
was c l ose l y followed by a man in faded
b lack After a short period b l ank astonishment in whic h the
o l d man wit h the pipe had j oined the m they al l t h ree b u rst into
a laugh
Let the charwoman alone to be the first
cried
had entered first Let the laundress a l one to be the second
S OR T S T O R I ES
and l et t h e u nde r take r s man a lo ne to be th e third L oo k h e re
old J o e h ere s a chan c e If w e h ave n t all t hr ee m et h er e
w i thout m ean ng it
Yo u c ou l d n t have m et in better p l ace Yo u w ere m ade
free of it l ong ago you know and t h e o t h er two ain t strangers
What have yo u got to se l l Wh at h ave yo u
to se ll
Ha l f a m in u te s patience Joe and yo u shal l
What o dds then What o dds Mrs Di l ber
said the
wo m an
Every person has a right to take care of t h emse l ves
al ways did Who the wo rse fo r the l oss of a few things
like these N o t a dead man I supp o se
Mrs Dilber w hose manner
re m arkab l e for general
p r opitiat i on said
i ndeed m a am
If he wanted t o keep
afte r he
dead a w icked
crew why was n t he nat u ra l in his l ifetime If he had been
he h ave had someb o dy to look afte r hi m when he was struck
ith Deat h instead of lying gasp i ng ou t h is l ast there a l one
by himse l f
It the tr u est wo rd that ever w as sp o ke it a j udg m ent
on hi m
I w is h it
a l itt l e heavier judg m ent and it sh o uld have
been y ou may depend upon it if I c o uld have l aid my h ands
anything else Open that bund l e old J o e and let me know
the va l ue of it S peak out p l ain I m not afraid to be the first
nor afraid for the m to
it
J o e w ent d o wn o n his knees for the greate r c onvenience
O pening the bund l e and dragged o ut a large and heavy ro ll o f
ome dark stu f
What do
call this Bed c u rtains
Ah Bed cu rtains Don t drop t h at oi l u p o n t h e b l ankets
b l ankets
Whose else s do you think
He i s n t l ike ly to take col
S H O R T S T OR I E S
Past it rather Peter answered shutting up h is book
B u t I think he h as walked
little s l ower than he used these
few l ast even i ngs mother
I have known him walk with
have known him walk
with Tiny Tim upon his shou l der ve y fast indeed
And
ha v e I cried Peter
Often
And so have I exc l aimed another
had all
But he
very l ight to carry and his father loved him so
t h at it was no trouble
no trouble And there is your father
at the door
She hurried
to m eet him and l itt l e Bob in
comforter
he had need
it poor fel l ow ca e in His tea was ready
shou ld help him
him
the hob and they all tried
it most Then the two young
got upon his knees and
laid each chi ld a little cheek against his face as if they said
Don t mind it father Don t be grieved l
Bob was very cheerfu l w ith them and spoke p l easant l y to all
the family He l ooked at the w ork upon the table and praised
the industry and speed
Mrs Cratchit and the girls They
w ould be d o ne lo ng before S unday he said
S unday
went to day then R obert
my dear returned Bob
I wis h you coul d have
gone It w o ul d have done you good to see how g r een a
p l ace it is B u t you ll
it often I pr o mised hi m that I
wou l d walk there on a Su nday My l itt l e l itt l e chi l d My l itt l e
child
He broke down all at once He could help it If h e c ou l d
have helped it he and the chi l d w o u ld have been fart h er apart
perhaps than they were
S pe c tre said S crooge something informs me that our
parting moment is at hand I know it but I know not
Tel l me what man that was with the c o vered face w hom we
saw ly ing dead
A CH R I S TMA S
A RO L
The Ghost of Christmas Y et To Come conveyed
to
dismal wretched ruinous churchyard
The S pirit stood among the graves and pointed down to One
Before I draw nearer to that stone to which you point
answer me
question Are these the shadows the things
that Will be
are they shadows
the t h ings that May be
only
Still the Ghost pointed downward to the grave by which it stood
Men s courses will foreshadow certain ends to which if
persevered in they must lead But if the courses be departed
from the ends wi ll change S ay it i s t h us wi t h wh at
show me
The S pirit was immovab l e as ever
S crooge crept towards it trembling as he went and follow
ing the finger read upon the stone O f the neg l ected grave his
name
EB ENE ER S CR GE
Am
hat man who lay upon the bed No S pirit O no
no S pirit hear me I am not the man I was I wil l not be the
man must have been but for this intercourse Why show me
this if I am past all hope Assure me that I yet may change
these shadows you h ave s ho wn me by an a l tered life
For the first time the kind hand faltered
I w i ll honor Christmas in my h eart and
to keep it all
t h e year I wil l l ive in the Past the Present and the Future
The S pirits of all three shal l stri v e within me I wil l not shut
the l ess o ns that they teach O tel l me I may ponge away
the writing
this stone
Holding up his hands in
l ast prayer to ha v e his fate
reversed he
an alteration in the Phanto m s hood and dress
It shrunk c ollapsed and dw i nd l ed down int o a bedpost
Yes and the bedp o st
his
The bed was his
the room was his
Best and happiest all the Time bef o re
him
his
t o m ake a mends in
S H O R T S T OR I ES
He was checked in his transports by the ch u rches ri nging o u t
t h e lu stiest peals h e had e v er heard
R unning to the window he opened it and put out his
head No fog no m ist no night c l ear bright st i rring go l den
day
What to day
cried S crooge calling downward to a
in S unday c l othes who perhaps h ad loi tered in to lo ok
about him
Eh
What to day my fine fel l ow
day Why CH RI S T AS DAY
It Christ m as day I h ave n t missed it Ha ll o my fine
fellow
Hallo
you kno w the Po ul terer s in the next street but
at
the corner
I Should hope I did
An intelligent boy A re m arkable boy Do
kno w
whether they
sold the prize Turkey that
hanging up
there
the litt l e prize Turkey
the big one
What the
as big as me
What a delightf ul
It a p l eas ur e to talk to him Yes
my buck
h anging there
it Go and buy it
Walk
exclaimed the boy
no I am in earnest Go and buy it and tell em to
bring it here that I may gi v e them the direction where to take
it Come back with the man and I gi v e yo u a shi ll ing
Come back with him in l ess than five m inutes and
g ive
you half a crown
The boy was Off like a shot
k
k yW k
W
y
S H OR T S T OR I E S
Let hi m in It is a mercy he did n t shake his arm
He
at home in fi v e minutes Nothing co ul d be heartier His
nie c e l ooked j ust the same
did Topper when
came S o
did the p l ump siste r w hen
came S o did every
w hen
came Wonderfu l party w onderfu l games wonderful
unanimity
der ful happiness
But he was early at the o fice next morning O he
early
there If he could only be there first and catch Bob Cratchit
com ing late That
the thing he had set his heart upon
And he did it The clock struck nine No Bob A quarter
past No
Bob was full eighteen minutes and a ha l f
hind his time S crooge
with his doo r w ide open that he
might
him come into the Tank
Bob s hat
before he opened the door his comforter
t oo He
on his stoo l in a j i fy driving away with his pen
as if he were t ying to overtake nine o clock
Hallo
growled S crooge in his accustomed voice as near
as he could feign it
What do
m ean by coming h ere at
this time
day
I am very sorry
I
behind my time
You are Ye s I think you are S t ep this way if you
p l ease
It only once a ye ar
It s hall not be repe ated I was
making rather m erry yesterday
Now I ll tel l
what my friend I am not going to
stand this sort of thi g any longer And therefore S crooge
continued leaping from his stool and gi v ing Bob such a dig in
the wai tcoat that he staggered back into the Tank again
and therefore I am about to raise your salary
Bob tremb l ed and got a little nearer to the ruler
A merry Christmas Bob
said S crooge with an earnest
ness that could not be mistaken as he clapped him
the back
A merrier Christmas Bob my good fellow than I have given
A CH R I S TMA S CA RO L
you for many a year I l l raise your salary and endeavor
assist your struggling family and we will discu s your affairs
this very afternoon o v er a Christmas bowl of smo k ing bishop
Bob Make up the fires and buy a second coa l scutt l e before
you dot another i Bob Cratchit
S crooge was better than his word He did it all and infinitely
more and to Tiny Tim
did
die he
a second
father He became as good a friend as good a master and as
good a man as the good
city knew
any other good old
cit town
borough in the good old wor l d S ome people
l a u ghed to
the a l teration in him but his
heart laughed
and that was quite enough for him
He had
further intercourse with spirits but l ived in that
respect upon the tota l abstin nce principle ever after w ard and
it
a l ways said him that he knew how to keep Christmas
wel l if any m an ali v e p o ssessed the know l edge May that be
tr ly said u s and all of us And so as Tiny Tim O bserved
God bless us e v ery
THE
REAT
T O N E FA CE
NATHANIE HAWTH RNE
The Profile Mountain a huge wo rk of Nature in
her mood of maj estic playfulness seems to have given the
suggestion The Profile Mountain is a part of Cannon Moun
tain which is
the White Mountains of
Hampshire
But the l arger background i s to be sought in the interp l ay
the spiritua l and physica l forces whic h Hawt h o ne has here
staged in allegory The m ountain is the symbo l a l ofty idea l
that b l esses those that follow its beckoning and m arks the
degree
failure
those that slight
ign o re it
The plan
the sto y is as simp l e and beautifu l as the
teaching is profound and h elpful
Mr Hawthorne writes
Mrs Hawthorne
says he is rather ashamed
the mechanica l
structure
the story the moral being so plain and m anifest
But what is the plain and manifest moral that the struct u re
One interpreter says
the story i s de igned to bring
That the l ast Shal l be fi rst
another
That success is not
to be measured by human standards
The centra l thought
seems to me to be l arger than either
these and to include
both It is rather the assimilati v e power of a l ofty idea l and is
best phrased in
Corinthians iii
But
all with open
face beholding as in a glass the glory the Lord are changed
into the same image from glo y to glory By setting his idea l
high and by loo k ing and longing E rnest grew daily in Spiritua l
tature and
saved from being the victim
the popular and
p
C
F
p y p
I g
p
H
T
g
W k
T
T
H g
S H OR T S T OR I ES
E mbosomed am o ngst a fami ly lofty m ounta ns there
a valley so spacious that it contained many thousand inhabit
ants Som e these good peop l e dwe l t in
hu ts with the
b l a ck f o rest all ar ou nd t h e m on t h e steep and dif c u l t h il l
sides Others h ad thei r h o m es
co m fortab l e farm h o u ses
and cu l tivated t h e rich soi l
the gent l e
leve l
faces
the val l ey Ot h ers again were co gregated into
popu l o u s vi ll ages wh ere some w ild h igh l and rivu l et tumb l ing
do w n fro m i ts birt h p l a c e in the u ppe r m ou ntain region had
been c ught and ta m ed by h u m an cu nning and c o mpe l led to
turn t h e m achinery
cotton factories T h e i n h abitants of
this va ll ey in short w ere n um er ou s and m any mo des of life
But all of them gro wn people and chi l dren h ad a kind o f
fa mil iarity with the Great S tone Face a l t hou g h some possessed
the g ft distinguishing t h is grand natura l phenomenon m ore
perfe c t l y than many
their neighbors
The G r eat S tone Face then was a work of Nat u re in her
m ood
m ajestic playfu l ness for m ed
the perpendi cu lar
side
the mountain by some immense rocks which had been
thrown together in s uc h a position as when viewed at a pr o per
distance precisely to rese m ble the features Of the human co u n
It seemed as if an enormo u s giant
a Titan had
sculptured his
l ikeness
the precipice There
the
broad arch the forehead a hundred feet in height the nose
with its long bridge and t h e vast l ips w hich if they co ul d
have spoken would h ave ro ll ed their thunder accents fro m one
end the valley to the other Tr u e it is that if the spectator
approached too near he lost t h e outline the giganti c isage
and c ould discern on l a heap of ponder o us and gigantic r ocks
pi l ed in chaotic r u in one upon another R etra c ing steps
h owever the wondro u s features w o ul d again be seen and the
farther h e withdre w from them the m ore l ike a h uman face
with all its origina l divinity intact did they appear unti l as it
TH E G RE AT S T O N E FAC E
rew dim in the distance with the clouds and g l orified vapor
the m ountains c l ustering abo t it the Great S tone Face
see m ed p o sitively to be alive
It w as a happy l ot for chi l dren to grow up to m an ho od o r
w omanhood with the Great S tone Face before their eyes
al l the feat u res w ere noble and the expression was at once
grand and sweet as if it were the glow
a vast warm heart
that embra c ed all m ankind in its affections and had room
ore It was an education on l y to l ook at it Ac c ording to
belief of many peop l e t h e va ll ey owed much
its fertility
this benign aspect that was c ontin u a l ly bea m i g over it
ll uminating the c l o u ds and infusing its tenderness int o the
nshine
As we began wit h say i g a m ot h er and her l itt l e boy
their cottage do o r gazing at the Great S tone Face and
ta l king about it The child s name was E rnest
Mother said he while the Titanic visage smiled
him
I wish that it could speak for it looks
ve y kind y that its
voice must needs be p l easant If I were to see a man with
s u c h a fa c e I should lo v e hi m dear l y
If an
prophecy shou l d come to pass answered his
mother we may see a m an s om e ti m e or other with exactly
s u ch a face as that
What prophecy do you m ean dear mother
eagerly
inquired E rnest
Pray tel l m e all abo u t it
S o his mother told him a story that
m o ther had
told to her when she herself w as younger than l itt l e E rnest
a story
things that were past but
what was yet to
c ome a sto y neverthe l ess
very Old that even the Indians
who f o rmerly inhabited this valley had heard it from thei r
forefathers to whom as they af rmed it had been mur m ured
by the mountain streams and whispered by the wind a m ong
the treetops The purport was that at s om e fut u re day a
S OR T S T O R I ES
child s h o ul d be born hereab o uts
was destined to become
the greatest and noblest personage his time and whose
co u ntenance in manhood shou l d bear an exact rese m b l ance
to the Great S tone Face Not a few fashioned people and
young o nes l ikewise in the ardor their hopes still cherished
an enduring faith in this
prophecy But others who had
seen m ore of the world had watched and waited til l they w ere
weary and h ad be h eld no m an with such a face
any m an
that proved to be much
nobler than h is neighbors
c on cl uded it to be nothing but an id le tale At all eve ts the
reat man
the pr o phe c y had not yet appeared
O m ot h er dea r m other c ried E rnest c l apping h is hands
above h is h ead I do h ope that I sha ll l ive to see h im
His m o t h er w as an a fe c ti o nate and thoughtfu l wo m an and
fe l t that it was wisest not to discourage the generous hopes
her little boy
only said to him Perhaps you may
And E rnest ne v er forgot the story that his mother to l d hi m
w as a lways in his mind whenever he l ooked upon the Great
S t o ne Face He spent his childhood in the log cottage where
h e was bor and
dutifu l to his m other and helpfu l to he r
in many things assisting h er muc h with his l ittle hands and
mo re w ith his loving heart In this m anner from a happy yet
o ften pensive child he grew up to be a mild quiet u nobt ru sive
boy and
with l abor in the fields but with more
inte ll igen c e brightening his aspect than is seen in many lads
h ave been taught at fa m ous schoo l s Yet E rnest had had
no teacher save on l y that the Great S tone Fa c e beca m one to
him When the toi l
the day
over h e w o u ld gaze at it
for hours unti l h e began to imagine that th o se vast fea ures
re co ni z ed hi m and gave h i m a smile
kindness and
responsi v e to his
look
veneration We must
take upon us to a rm that this
a mistake although
Fa c e m ay ha v e looked no m ore kindly at Er nest t h an at all
S H OR T S T OR I ES
Mr
had become very rich that i t w o uld h ave
taken hi m a hundred years only to count his w alth he
th o ught himse l f his native valley and resolved to go back
thither and end his days where he was born With this
purpose in view he sent a skilfu l architect to build him
such a pa l ace as should be fit for a m an
his vast wealth
live in
As I h a v e said above it had already been rumored in the
alley that Mr
had turned
to be the prophetic
personage
l ong and v ainly looked for and that his v isage
the perfect and undeniable similitude
the Great S tone
Face Peop l e were the more ready to belie v e that this must
needs be the fact when they beheld the splendid edifice that
rose as if by enchantment
the site
his father s old
w eather beaten fa m house The exterior was of marble
dazzling ly white that it seemed as though the w ho l e str u c ure
might melt away in the s u nshine like those humbler ones
his y o ung play days before his fingers
which Mr
were gifted with the touch of transmutation had been accus
to build
sno
It h ad a rich l y ornamented portico
supported by tall pillars beneath which w as a lofty door
studded with si l ver knobs and made of a kind
variegated
wood that had been brought from beyond the
The win
dows from the floor to the ceiling of each stately apartment
were composed respecti v ely Of but
enormous pane of
glass
transparently pure that it
said to be a finer
mediu than even the vacant atmosphere Hardly anybody
had been per m itted to
the interior O f this palace but it
reported
with good semb l ance of truth to be far
more gorgeous than the outside insomuch that whate v er was
iron
brass in other houses was Sil v er or gold in this and
Mr
bedchamber especially made such a glitter
ing appearance that no ordinary man would have been ab l e to
G RE AT S T O N E FA E
c l ose h is eyes there But on the other hand Mr
so inured to wea l th that perhaps he could not have
cl osed his eyes un l ess where the glea m it
certain to
find its way beneath his eyelids
In due time the mansion was finished next came the
with magnificent furniture then a whole troop black
and white servants the h arbingers
Mr
in
his
ma estic pers o n
expected to arrive at sunset Our
friend E rnest meanwhile had been deep l y stirred by the idea
that the great man the nob l e man the man
prophecy after
so many ages
de l ay
at lengt h to be made m anifest to
his native valley He knew boy as he was that there were
a th o usand ways in w hich Mr
with his vast wealth
m ight transfor m hi m se l f int o an ange l
and
assume a contr ol o ver human a fairs as wide and benignant as
the smile
the Great S tone Fa c e F ull
faith and h ope
E rnest doubted n o t that w h at the peop l e said was true and
t h at now h e w as to be h o l d the l iving l ikeness o f th o se w ondrous
fea ures
t h e m o u nta n side Whi l e the boy w as sti ll gazing
up t h e val l ey and fancying as h e a lw ays
that the Great
S tone Face returned h is g e and l ooked kindly at him the
ru mb ling wh e ls w as h eard appr o ach ng swift ly a long the
w inding road
Here h e c omes
cried a gro u p
people who were
assembled to witness the arrival
Here comes the great
Mr
A carriage drawn by four h orses dashed round the turn
the road Within it thrust partly
of the window appeared
the physiognomy a l tt l e
man wit h a skin as yel l o w as if
his
Midas h and had transmuted it He had a l ow forehead
smal l sharp eyes puckered about with innumerab l e wrinkles
and very thin lips whi ch he m ade still thinne r by pressing them
fo rcibly togeth er
S H OR T S T OR I E S
T h e very image of the Great S tone Fa c e shouted the
peop l e S ure enough the O ld prophecy is true and here w e
have the great man come at l ast
And w hat great ly perplexed E rnest they seemed a c t u a ll y to
be l ieve tha here
the likeness which they spoke
By the
roadside there chanced to be an
beggar wo m an and two
little beggar children stragglers fro m some far Off region
as the carriage ro l led onward held
their hands and lifted
up their dolefu l voices most pite o us l y beseeching charity A
ye l low claw the very same that had c l awed together muc h
wea l t h p o ked itse l f
the coac h window and dropt some
C opper coins u pon the ground
that though the great man s
name seems to have been
he might just as suitab l y
h ave been nicknamed
S til l ne v ertheless with
an earnest shout and evidently with as much g oo d fait h as ever
the peop l e be l lowed
He is the v ry image
the Great S tone Face
B u t E rnest turned sadly fro m the wrink l ed shrewdness
that sordid visage and gazed up the valley where amid a
gathering m ist gilded by the l ast s u nbeams he cou l d still dis
those g l orio u s features whi ch had impressed them
se l ves nto his sou l Their aspe c t cheered him What did
enign l ips see m to
He w i ll c om e Fea r
E rnest the man wil l come
The years w ent
and E rnest ceased to be a boy He had
g r own to be a young man now He attracted little notice from
the other inhabitants of the valley
they saw nothing
remarkab l e in his
of life save that when the l abor of the
day was over he still loved to go apart and gaze and meditate
upon the Great S tone Face A c cording to their idea
the
matter
was a folly indeed but pardonable ina much as
E rnest was industrious kind and neighborly and neglected no
du y fo r
k
indul ing this id le h abit They kne
S H OR T S T OR I ES
o f hard fighting had
become an i ll ustrious co mm ander
Whate v er he may be called in history he
known in camps
and
the batt l e
under the nickname
Old Blood and
Th u nder This war worn veteran being now infirm wit h age
and w ounds and weary
the turmoil
a military life and
the ro ll
the dru m and the clangor
the trumpet that had
so l ong been ringing in his ears had l ate l y signified a purpose
of returning to his native val ley hoping to find repose where
he remembered to have left it The inhabitants his old neigh
ors and their grown
children were resol v ed to welcome the
enowned warrior with a salute of cannon and a public dinner
and all the m ore enthusiastically it being a firmed that now at
last the l ikeness the Great S tone Face had actually appeared
Old Blood and Thunder travelling throug h
An aid de camp
t h e valley w as said to have been struck with the resemb l ance
M o reover the schoo l mates and early a c q u aintances the genera l
w ere ready to testify
oath that to the be t of their
t i on the aforesaid general had been exceedingly l ike the aj estic
image e v en when a boy on ly that the idea had ne v er occurred
to them at that period Great t h erefore
the excitement
t h roughout the valley and many people
had never once
thought g l ancing at the Great S tone Face for years before
no w spent their ti m e in gazing at it for the sake
knowing
exactly how Gen eral Blood and Thunder looked
On the day
the great festi v al E rnest with all the other
pe o p l e the valley l eft their work and proceeded to the spot
he approached
where the sylv an banquet was prepared
the lo ud voice the Rev D r
was heard beseeching
a b l essing
the good things
before them and on the dis
friend of peace in whose honor they were assembled
The tab l es were arranged in a cleared space
the woods shut
in by the surrounding trees except where a vista Opened east
ward and afforded a distant view of the Great S tone Face
TH E G RE AT S T O N E FAC E
O v er the general s chair which was a relic from the h ome
ashington there
an arch of verdant boughs with the
laure l profuse l y intermixed and surmounted by his c ountry s
banner beneath which h e had won his victories Our friend
E rnest raised himself
his tiptoes in hopes to get a glimpse
the ce l ebrated guest but there
a mighty crowd about
the tables anxious to hear the toa ts and speeches and to catch
any word that might fall from
general in reply and a volu
teer company doing duty as a guard pricked r u thless l y with
their bayonets at any particu l arly quiet person among the throng
S o E rnest being of an unobtrusi v e character
thrust quite
into the ba c kground where h e could
no more Old Blood
and Thunder s physiognomy than if it had been stil l blazing on
the battle
To console himself he turned towards the
Great S tone Face which like a faithfu l and l ong remembered
friend l ooked back and smiled upon him through the vista
the forest Meantime however he could overhear the remarks
various individuals
were comparing the features
the
hero w ith the face
the distant mountain side
is the same face to
hair
cried one man cutting
a caper for j oy
Wonderfully like that s a fact
responded anothe r
Like why I cal l it Old Blood and Thunder himse l f in
a monstrous l ooking g l ass
cried a third
And why not
He s the greatest man
this
any other age beyond
a doub
And then al l three the speakers ga v e a great shout which
c ommunicated electricity to the crowd and alled forth a roar
from a thousand voices that went reverberating for miles
a m ong the mountains unti l you might have supposed that the
Great S tone Face had poured its thunder breath into the
All these co m ments and this vast enthusiasm served the more
to interest our f iend nor did he think questioning that n ow
S H OR T S T OR I E S
at length the m ountain visage had found its human c ou nterpart
It is true E rnest had imagined that this l ong l ooked for person
age w ou l d appear in the character a man of peace uttering
wisdom and doing good and making people happy But tak i ng
an habi ual breadth iew with all his simplicity he contended
that Providence should choose its own method b l essing man
kind and could conceive that this great end might be e fected
e v en by a warrior and a bloody sword sho u ld ins c r u table
wisdom
fit to order m atters so
The general the general
now the cry Hush
si l ence Old Blood and Thunder s going to make a speech
Even
the c l oth being remo v ed the genera l s healt h
had been drunk amid shouts
app l ause and he
stood
pon his feet to thank the company
E rnest
him There
he was over the shoulders
the crowd from the two glittering
epaulets and embroidered collar upward beneath the arch of
green boughs wit h intert w ined lau rel and t h e banne r drooping
as if to shade his brow
t ere too visible in the same
glance through the vista of the forest appeared the Great
S tone Face And there indeed such a resemb l ance as the
crowd had testified Alas E rnest could not recogni e it He
beheld a war worn and weather beaten co u ntenance ful l
energy and expressive an iron will but the gentle wisdom
the deep broad tender sympathies were altogether wanting in
Old Blood and Thunder s vi age and e v en if the Great S tone
Face had assumed his l ook stern command the milder traits
would still ha v e tempered it
This is not the man
prophecy sighed E rnest to him
se l f as he made his
out
the throng And must the
world wait longer yet
The mists had congregated about the distant mountain side
and there were seen the grand and awfu l features of the Great
S tone Face awfu l but benignant as if a mighty angel were
S H OR T S T OR I E S
E rnest himself suspect it but inevitably the murmur of a
rivu l et came thoughts
his mouth that no other human
l ips had spoken
When the peop l e s minds had had a l ittle time to coo l they
were ready enough to ac k nowledge their mistake in imagi ing
a similarity between General Blood and Thunder s t uculent
physiognomy and the benign visage on the mountain side But
now again there were reports and many paragraphs in the
newspapers a rming that the likeness of the Great S tone Face
had appeared upon the broad shoulders of a certain eminent
statesman He like Mr
and Old Blood and Thun
der
a nati v e
the valley but had left it in his ear ly days
and taken up the trades
law and politics Instead
the rich
man s wealth and the warrior s sword he had but a tong u e and
it was mightier than both together S o wonderfully eloquent
was he that whatever he might choose to say his auditors had
n o choice but to believe h im wrong l ooked l ike right and right
like wrong for when it pleased him he could make a kind of
illuminated fog with his mere breath and obscure the natura l
daylight with it His tongue indeed was a magic in trument
sometimes it mbled l ike the thunder sometimes it warbled like
the sweetest music It
the blast of the song of
peace and it seemed to have a heart in it when there was no
such matter In good truth he was a wondrous man and
when his tongue had acquired him all other imaginable
ces
when it had been heard in halls of tate and in the
courts
princes and potentates
after it had made him
known all over the world e v en as a voice crying from shore
to Shore
it finally persuaded his countrymen to select him
for the Presidency Before this time
indeed as soon as he
began to grow celebrated
h is admirers had found
the
resemb l ance be een hi m and the Great S tone Face and
much w ere they struck by it that throughout the country this
TH E G RE AT S T O N E FAC E
disting ui shed gentleman was known by the name O l d S tony
Phiz The phrase was considered gi v ing a highly favorab l e
aspect to his political prospects for as is l ikewise the case
with t h e Popedom nobody e v er becomes President witho u t
ta k ing a name other than h is own
While his friends were doing their best to m ake h i m Presi
dent Old S tony Phiz as he was called
a visit to the
v alley where he
born Of course he had no other object
than to shake hands with his fello w citizens and neither thought
nor cared about any e fect which his progress through the coun
try might have upon the e l ection Magnificent preparations w ere
made to receive the illustrious statesman a cava l cade
ho rse
men
forth to meet him at the boundary l ine
the S tate
and all the people left their business and gathered along the
wayside to
him pass Among these
E rnest Though
m ore than once disappointed as
have seen he had such a
hopefu l and
nature that he was always ready to believe
in w hatever seemed beautifu l and good He kept
heart con
O pen and thus was sure to catch the blessing from
high when it should come
now again as buoyantly as ever
he went forth to behold the l ikeness
the Great S tone Fa c e
The cavalcade came prancing along the road w ith a great
clattering
hoofs and a mighty cloud
dust which rose up
dense and high that the visage O f the m o u ntain side was
completely hidden from E rnest s eyes All
great men
the neighborhood were there
horse ack militia
in
u niform the member
Congress the sheriff
the coun y
the editors of newspapers and many a farmer too had mounted
his patient steed with his S unday c o at upon his back It really
was a very brilliant spectac l e especially as there w ere n um er
o us banners
over the cavalcade
so m e
which
w ere gorgeous portraits of the illustrio u states m an and the
Great S tone Face s m iling familiar l y at one another l ike
S H OR T S T OR ES
brothers If the pictures were to be trusted the mutua l rese m
blance it must be confes ed was marvellous We m ust not for
get to m ention that there
a band music which made the
e ch oes the mountains ring and reverberate w it h the l oud
triump h its strains so that ai y and sou l thrilling me l odies
br o ke
among all the heights and hol l ows as if every nook
o f his native valley had found a voice to w elcome the distin
g u est But the grandest e fect was when the far
mountain precipice flung back the music
then the Great
S tone Fa c e itself seemed to be swelling the triumphant chorus
in ackn o w l edgment hat at length the man
prophecy w as
come
A ll this while the people were throwing up their hats and
shouting w ith enthusiasm contagious that the heart E rnest
kindled up and he likewise threw u p his hat and shouted as
l oudly as the l oudest Huzza for the great man Huzza for
Old S tony Phiz
But as yet he had not seen hi m
Here he is now
cried those
stood nea r E rnest
There There Look at O l d S tony Phi z and then at the
Old Man
the Mountain and see if they are not as like as
two twin brothers
In the midst al l this gallant array came an O pen barouche
drawn by four white horses and in the barouche with his
massive head uncovered
the illustrious statesman Old
S tony Phiz himself
Confess it said
E rnest s neighbors to him the
Great S tone Face has met its m atch at last
it m ust be owned that at his first glimpse of the coun
which was bowing and smiling from the barouche
E rnest did fancy that there was a resemblance bet een it and
the
familiar face upon the m ountain side The brow with
its massive dept h s and l oftiness and all the other features
deed were bo l d l y and strongly he w n as if in emulation
S OR T S T OR I E
m ore
w as an aged man But n o t in vain had he grown
than the white h airs o n h is head w ere the sage th o ughts in his
m ind h is wrinkles and furrows w ere ins c riptions that Ti m e
had graved and in which he had written l egends
wisdo m
that had been tested by the tenor of a life And E rnest had
ceased to be obscure Unsought for undesired had come the
fame hich so many seek and made him known in the great
world b yond the limits of
valley in which he
dwelt so
quietly College professors
even the active men of cities
came from far to see and converse with E rnest for the report
had gone abroad that this Simp l e husbandman had ideas un l ike
those of other men
gained from books but Of a higher
t o ne
a tranquil and familiar majesty as if he had been talk
ing with the angels as his daily friends Whether it were sage
statesman o r phi l anthropist E rnest re c eived these visitors with
the gentle sincerity that had characterized him fr o m boyho o d
and spoke free l y with them
whatever came uppermost or
lay deepest in his heart their
While they talked to
get h er his fa c e wou l d kindle unawares and shine upon them
as with a mild evening light Pensive with the fu l ness of such
discourse his u ests took leave and went their way and pass
ing up the valley paused to l ook at the Great S tone Face
imagining that they had seen its likeness in a human
nance but c ould not remember where
While E rnest had been growing up and growing
a boun
tiful Pro v idence had granted a new poet to this earth He
likewise was a native
the valley but had spent the greater
part his life at a distance from that romantic regio pouring
out his sweet music amid the bustle and din cities Often
howe v er did
mountains which had been fami l iar to him
his childhood lift their snowy peaks into the cle r tmosphere
of his poetry Neither was the Great S to e ace forgotten for
the p et had c e l ebrated it in an ode w hi c h w as grand enough
G RE AT S T O N E FAC E
to h ave been u ttered by its
maj estic l ips This man
genius
may say had come down from h eaven with
endowments If he sang a mo untain the eyes of all
mankind beheld a mightier grandeur reposing
its breast
soaring to its summit than had before been seen there If his
theme were a l o v ely lake a celestial smile had been thrown
over it to gleam fore v er on its surface If it were the vast
even the deep immensity
its dread bosom seemed to
swell the higher as if mo v ed by the emotions
the song
Thus the wor l d assumed another and a better aspect fro m the
hour that the poet blessed it with his happy eyes The Creator
had bestowed him as the last best touch to his handiwork
Creation was not finished till the poet c ame to interpret and
complete it
The e fect was no l ess high and beautiful when h is human
brethren were the subj ect
verse The man or wo m an
sordid with the common dust
life who crossed his daily
path and the l itt l e child who p l ayed in it were gl o rified if he
behe l d them in h is m ood poetic faith He showed the go l den
links of the great cha n that intertwined them with an ange l ic
kindred h e brought
the hidden traits
a ce l estia l birth
that made them worthy
such kin S ome indeed there were
thought to Show the soundness their j udgment by
ing that all the beauty and dignity the natura l w or l d existed
on l y in the poet s fancy Let suc h m en speak for themse lv es
who u doubtedly appear to have been spawned forth by Nature
with a contemptuous bitte ness
having plastered them up
out
her refuse stu f after all the swi e were m ade As
respects all things else
idea l was the truest truth
The songs
this poet found
to
est He read
them after his customary toil seated the bench before his
cottage door where for such a length
time he had filled his
r p o se with thought by gazing at the Great S tone Face And
S H OR T S T OR I ES
as h e read stanzas that caused the sou l to thrill within hi m
he lifted his eyes to the vast countenance bea m ing
hi m
ben gnantly
O maj estic fr i end h e mu rmured addressing the Great
S tone Face is not this man w orthy to resemble thee
The Fa c e seemed to smile but answered not a word
Now it happened that the poet though he dwelt so far away
had not o nly heard
E rnest but had meditated much upon
his c haracter unti l he deemed nothing desirable as to meet
this man whose untaught w isdom w alked hand in hand with
the nob l e simplicity his life One summer morning therefore
he t o ok passage by the railroad and in the decline of the after
noon alighted from the cars at no great distance f rom E rne t s
cottage The great hotel which had formerly been the palace
of Mr
was close at hand but the poet with his
carpet bag
h i s arm inquired at once where E rnest dwelt
and was resolved to be accepted as his guest
Approaching the door he there found the good
man
holding a volume in his hand which alternately he read and
then with a finger between the l eaves l ooked lovingly at the
Great S tone Face
Good evening said the poet
Can you gi v e a traveller a
night s l od ing
Willingly answered E rnest and then he added smiling
Methinks I ne v er
the Great S tone Face look hospitably
at a stranger
The poet sat down on the bench beside h im and he and
E rnest talked together Often had the poet held intercour e
with the wittiest and the wisest but never before with a man
like E rnest whose thoughts and feelings gushed up wit h suc h
a natura l freedom and
made great truths so familiar by
his s im ple utterance of them Angels as had been
often
aid seemed to ha v e wrought with him at his l abor in the fields
S H OR T S T OR I ES
in m e the l ikeness
the Great S tone Face And y ou are
disappointed as formerly with Mr
and Old Blood
and Thunder and Old S tony Phiz
Erne t it is my doom
m u st add my na m e to the illust r ious three
record
anot h e r fai l ure
your hopes For
shame and sadness
do I speak it E rnest
am not worthy to be typified by
yonde r benign and maj estic image
And
asked E rnest He pointed to the vo l ume
Are
those thoughts di v ine
They have a strain
the Di v inity replied the poet
You
can h ear in them the far
echo of a heavenly song But my
life dear E rnest
not corresponded wit h my thought I
have had grand dreams but they have been only dreams
be c a u se I have lived
and that too by my
choice
among p o or and m ean realities S ometimes even
sha ll I
dare to say
lack faith in the grandeur the beauty and
the go o dness w hic h my
works are said to have made
mo re evident in nature and in human life Why then pure
see er
the good and true shouldst thou
to find me
in yonde r im age
the di v ine
T h e poet spoke sadly and his eyes were dim with tears
l ikewise were those
E rnest
At the h ou r sunset as had l ong been his frequent cu stom
E rnest w as to discourse to an assemblage the neighboring
inhab i tants in the open air He and the poet arm in arm still
talking together as they went a l ong proceeded to the spot It
was a s m al l nook among the hil l s with a gray precipice behind
the stern front of which was relieved by the p l easant fo l iage
of many creeping plants that made a tapestry
the naked
rock by h anging t h eir festoons fr om all its rugged angles At
a sma ll e l evation above the ground
in a rich framework
v erdure there appeared a niche spacious enough to admit a
hu m n figure with freedom for such gestures as sponta eousl y
TH E G RE AT S T O N E FAC E
accompany earnest thought and genuine emotion Into t is
natura l pulpit E rnest a cended and threw a look of familiar
kindness r ound upon his audience They stood or
reclined upon the gra s as seemed ood to each wit h the
departing sunshine falling oblique l y o v er them and mingling
its subdued cheerfulness with the solemnity
a gro v e
ancient tree beneath and amid the boughs
whic h the
golden rays were constrained to pa s In another direction
was seen the Great S tone Face with the same cheer combined
with the same solemnity in its benignant aspect
E rnest began to speak giving to the peop l e
w h at was in
his heart and mind His w ords had power because they
ac c orded with his thoughts and his thoughts had reality and
depth because they harmoni ed with the life wh ich he had
al ays lived It
not mere breath that this preacher uttered
they were the words of life because a life of good deeds and
holy love was melted i nto them Pearls pure and rich had
been dissolved into this precious draught The poet as he
listened felt that the being and character
E rnest were a
nobler strain poetry than he had e v er written His eyes
g l istening with tears he gazed reverentially at the venerable
man and said within himself that neve r
there an aspect
worthy a prophet and a sage as that mild sweet th ughtfu l
countenance with the glory
white hair di fused about it At
a distance but distinctly to be seen high up
the golden
light of the setting
appeared the Great S tone Face with
hoary mists around it li k e the white hairs around the brow
of E rnest Its look of grand
seemed to embrace
the world
At that moment in sympathy with a thought which he
about to utter the face of E rnest assumed a grandeur
expression so im ued with benevolence that the poet by an
irresistible impul e threw h is ar m s a l oft and sho u ted
Ernest
the
the
Face
Great
Then all the peop l e l ooked and saw that w h at the deep sighted
poet said was t ue
Th e prop h ecy was f ul fil l ed But E rnest
hav i ng finis h ed wh at h e h ad to
took the poet s arm and
and
walked Slowly
still h oping that some
better man than himse l f wou l d by and by appear bearing a
resemb l ance to the GREAT ST NE FACE
S H OR T S T OR I ES
there is usually too little action and too much description T h e
adj ectives tend to smother the verbs They ha v e said Haw
thorne
his Twice Told Tales
the pale tint
flo w ers
t h at bloss om ed in too retired a shade the coo l ness a
meditative habit which d fuses itse l f through the feeli g and
observation
every sketch
But no such charge can be laid
at the door
Rab and his Friends The very dumbness of
R ab his mute yearning to help his brave and l oyal ministries
in the hospital doubly affecting because wordless and impotent
l end an appeal to this s k etch that few sketches of men and
women can be said to ha v e
In a later sketch ca lled Our Dogs Dr Br o wn
te ll s how Rab became the property
James and Ailie He
had been terrifying everybody at
Hill and his owner
ordered him to be hanged
Rab was getting the better
the contest his owner commanded that he be shot But Ailie
happened to be near noticed that he had a big Splinter in
his foreleg
S he gave him water says Dr Brown and by
her woman s
got his lame paw under a door
that he
could n t suddenly get at her then with a quick firm hand she
p l ucked
the Splinter and put in an ample meal S he went
in some time after taking no notice
him and he came limp
ing up and laid his great j aws in her lap
Fro m that moment
they became friends A little l ater James was in a l onely part
of the woods when a robber sprang at him and demanded his
money
Wee l a weel l et me get it said James and stepping
back he whispered to Rab
S peak till him my man
Rab
had the robber down in an instant
In Rab and his Friend
the great masti f shows just the
qualities that we should expect from this account
his earlier
career But his sympathy and affection for Ailie shown
tenderly in the h ospita l scenes find an added pathos in the
thought that he
serving his first and best friend
who had healed his hurt as he wo u ld have h ealed hers if
he could
H I S F R I E ND S
Fo ur and thirty years ago Bob Ainslie and I were coming up
Infirmary S treet from the E dinburgh High S chool
heads
together and our arms intertwisted as on l y l overs and b o ys
know
When we got to the top
the street and t u rned north we
espied a crowd at the Tron Church
A dog
shouted
Bob and was
and
was I both
us al l but praying that
it might not be over before we got up
And is not this boy
nature and h uman nature too and don t we al l wish a h ouse
fire not to be
before
it Dogs like fighting O ld
Isaa c says they delight in it and for the best of al l reasons
and boys are not cruel because they like to
the fight They
three
the great cardinal virtues
dog or man
courage
endurance and Skill in intense action This very di ferent
from a l ove of m aking dogs fight and enjoying and
ing and making gain by their pluck A boy
he e v er
fond himself
he be a good boy hates and
despises all this but he w ould ha v e run
w ith
and me
fast enough it is a na ural and a not wicked interest that all
boys and men have in w itnessing intense energy in action
Does any curious and
ignorant w oman w is h to know
how Bob s eye at a glance announced a dog
to h is brain
He did
h e could not
the dogs fighti g it
a flash
an inference a rapid induction The crowd round a couple
dogs fighting is a crowd masculine mainly with an o ccasiona l
acti v e compassionate woman
round the
side and using her tongue and her hands freely upon the men
as
many
brutes
it is a crowd annu l ar compact and
mobile a crowd centripeta l having its eyes and i ts h eads all
bent downwards and inwards to one common foc u s
Well Bob and I are up and find it is not over a small
thoroughbred white Bull Terrier is bus y throttling a lar e
shepherd s dog unacc u stomed to
but not to be
wit h
S OR T S T OR I ES
T h ey are h ard at it the scientific l ittle fe ll ow doing his work
in great style his pastora l enemy fighting wildly but with the
sharpest teet h and a great courage S cience and breeding
however soon had their
the Game Chicken as the pre
m ature Bob called him working his
up took his fina l grip
of poor Yarrow s throat
and he lay gasping and done for
His master a brown handsome big young shepherd from
Tweedsmuir would ha v e li k ed to ha v e knocked down any man
would drink up E il
eat a crocodile for that part if he
had a chance it was no use kicking the l ittle dog that would
only make him hold the closer Many were the means shouted
out in mouthfuls
the best possible ways
ending it
Water
but there
none near and many cried for it
might ave got it from the w ell at Blackfriars Wynd
Bite the tail
and a large vague bene v o l ent middle ag d
man more desirous than wise with some st uggle got the bushy
end of
tai l into his ample mouth and bit it with all
his might This
more than enough for the much enduring
much perspiring shepherd
with a gleam j oy o v er his
broad visage deli v ered a terrific facer upon our large vague
benevo l ent middle aged friend
went down like a shot
S till the Chicken holds death not far
S nu f a pinch
of snuff
observed a calm highly dressed young buck with
an eye g l ass in his eye
S nu f indeed growled the angry
crowd a fronted and glaring
S nuff a pin h of snu f
again observed the buck but wit h m ore u rgency w hereon were
produced severa l open boxes and from a mul l which may have
been at Culloden he took a pinch knelt down and presented it
to the nose the Chicken The l aws physiology and snuff
take their course the Chicken sneezes and Yarrow is free
The young pastora l giant stalks
with Yarrow in his arms
c o m forting him
g
V I
S OR T S T OR I ES
fe ll ow over and saw he
quite dead the mastiff had taken
him
smal l of the back like a rat and broken it
He lo o ked d o wn at
victim appeased ashamed and
amazed snuffed hi m all o v er stared at him and taking a
sudden thought turned round and t rotted
Bob took the
dead dog up and said
John we ll bury him after tea
Yes said I and was
after the mastiff He made up the
Cowgate at a rapid swing he had forgotten some engagement
He turned up the Candlemaker R ow and stopped at the
Harrow Inn
There
a carrier s cart ready to start and a keen thin
impatient black vised little man his hand at his gray horse s
head l ooking about angrily for something
Rab ye thief
said he aiming a kick at my great friend
drew cring ing
up and a v oiding the heavy Shoe with more agility than dignity
and watch ng his master s eye slunk dismayed under the cart
his ears down and as much as he had
tai l down
What a man this must
thought
to whom my tre
mendo s hero turns tai l The carrier
the muzz l e hanging
and useless from his neck and I eagerly told him the sto ry
whic h Bob and I a l ways thought and still think Homer or
K ng Da v id or S ir Walter a l one were worthy to rehear e The
se v ere little man was mitigated and condescended to
Rab
my man puir R abbie
whereup o n the stump
a tail rose
up the ears w ere cocked the eyes filled and were com orted
the two friends were reconciled
Hupp
and a stroke o f t h e
w hip were given to Jess and off went the three
and I buried the Game Chicken that night we had
much a tea in the back green his house in Melville S treet
No
with considera le gravity and silence and being at the
time in the Iliad and like all boys Trojans
called him
Hector of co rse
AND
R I E ND S
S ix years have passed
l ong ti m e for a boy and a dog
Bob A ns l ie is
to the wars I am a m edical student and
clerk at Minto H o use Hospital
Rab I
almost ev ery week
the Wednesday and
had much p l easant intimacy I found the way to his heart by
frequent scratching his huge head and an occasiona l bone
When I did not notice him he would plant himself straight
before me and stand wagging that bud
a tail and looking
up with his head a l ittle to the
side His master I occa
he used to call me Maister John but
la conic as any S partan
One fine October afternoon I was leaving the h ospital when
I
the large gate open and in walked Rab with that great
and easy saunter his He looked as if taking general posses
sion
the place like the Duke
Wellington enter ng a
dued city satiated with v ictory and peace After him came Jess
white fro m age with her cart and in it a woman carefully
wrapped up the carrier leading the horse anx i ously and
l ooking back When he
me James for his name
James Noble made a curt and grotesque
and said
Maister John this is the mistress
got a trouble in her
breest some kind an income we re thinking
By this time I saw the woman s face
sitting on a
sack filled with straw her husband s plaid round her and
big coat with its large white metal button o v er her feet
I ne v er
a more unforgettable face pale serious
deli c ate sweet without being at all what we call fine S he loo k ed
six y and had
a mutch white as snow ith
black ribbon
her si l very smooth hair setting
her dark gray eyes
eyes
such as
sees on y twice or thrice in a ifetime full
suffer
ing full also the overcoming it her eyebro s black and
ygv g
g
k
f
xp
v
S H OR T S T OR I E S
de l icate and her mouth firm patient and contented whic h few
mouths ever are
As I have said I ne v er
a more beautifu l countenance
more subdued to settled quiet
Ailie said James
this is Maister John the young doctor Rab s freend ye ken
We O ften speak aboot you doctor
S he smi l ed and made a
m ovement but said nothing and prepared to come do w n put
ting her plaid aside and rising Had S olomon in all his glo y
been handing down the Q u een S heba at his pa l ace gate he
c ou ld
have done it more dainti l y more tender l y more l ike
a gent l eman than did Ja m es the Howgate carrier when he lifted
d o wn Ailie his wife The contrast his small swa rthy w eather
beaten keen worldly face to hers pa l e subdued and beauti
ful was something wonderfu R ab l ooked concerned and
puzz l ed but ready for anything that might turn up
w ere it
to strangle the nurse the porter
even m e Ailie and he
seemed great friends
As I was sayin she g o t a kind troub l e in h er breest do c
t o r wu ll ye tak a l ook at it We walked into t h e cons ul ting
ro om all four Rab gri m and c omi c willing to be h appy and
confidentia l if c ause c ou l d be sh o wn wi ll ing a lso to be the
reverse on the same ter m s Ai l ie sat down u ndid h er O pen
gown and her l awn handkerchief round her neck and without
a word showed me her right breast I l ooked at and exa mi ned
it carefully she and James watching me and Rab eying all
three What could I
there it w as that had once been
soft so shapely so white
gra cio us and bountifu l
full
all b l essed conditions
hard as a stone a centre
horrid
pain m aking that pale face with its gray lucid reas o nable
eyes and its sweet resol v ed mouth express the ful l measure
suffer ng overcome Why
that gentle modest sweet
woman cl ean and lo vab l e c ondemned by G o d to bear uch
burden
S OR T S T OR I ES
Andrew Fuller The same l arge hea v y menaci g co mbative
om re honest counte ance the same deep inev table eye the
same l ook
as
thunder asleep but ready
nei her a dog
nor a m an to be
with
Next day my master the surgeon examined Ai l ie There
was no doubt it must kill her and soon I t could be removed
m ight never return
would gi v e her speedy re l ief
it done S he curtsied looked at Ja m es and
said
When
To morrow said the kind surgeon
man
few w ords S he and James and Rab and I retired I
noticed that he and spoke little but seemed to ant cipate
everything in each other The following day at noon the
dents came in hurrying up the great stair At the first l anding
p l ace
a small well known blackboard was a bit
paper
fastened by wafers and many remains
old wafers beside it
On the paper were the words
An operation to day J B
Up ran the youths eager to secure good places in t ey
c rowded full interest and talk What the case
Which
Side is it
Don t think them heartless they are neither better nor worse
than you or I they get over their professional horrors and
i nto their proper w ork and in the m pity as an
x
F
y f
f
g
g f
gf
v
y
x
v
f
g
p p
v y
k
g
F
g
C
p y
y
v
k
g
g
f
g
x
p
f
F
y
p
y
g
g
g
gy
H I S F R I E ND S
ending in i tse l f
at best in tears and a l ong drawn breat h
lessens while pity as a
is quickened and gains power
and purpose It is well for poor human nature that it is
The operating theatre is crowded much talk and fun and all
the c ord i a l ity and stir
youth The surgeon with his sta f
assistants is there In co m es Ailie
l ook at her quiets and
abates the eager students That beautifu l
wo m an is
m uch for them they Sit down and are dumb and gaze at her
These rough boys fee l the power
her presence S he walk
in quickly but without haste dressed in her m u tch h er
chief her white dimity short gown her b lack bombazine petti
c o at sho ing her white worsted sto c kings and her carpet shoes
Behind her
J mes with Rab James
down in the dis
tance and took that huge and noble h ead between his knees
Rab l ooked perplexed and dangero u s foreve r co c king his ear
and dropping it as fast
Ailie stepped up on a seat and laid herse l f
t h e tab l e as
her friend the surgeon told her arranged herself gave a rapid
loo k at James shut her eyes rested herself me and took my
hand The operation was at once begun it w as necessarily
slow and chl o roform
God s best gifts to his suffering
children was then unknown The surgeon did his work The
pa l e face showed its pain but was stil l and si l ent Rab s soul
was w orking within him he
that someth i g strange was
going
blood flowing fro m his mistress and
suffering
his ragged ear
up and importunate
growled and gave
now and then a sharp impatient ye l p
he w u l d have l iked to
have d o ne something to that m an
But James h ad hi m firm
and gave him a
from time to time and an intimat i on
a possib l e kick
all the better for James it kept his eye and
his mind
Ailie
It is over
is dressed steps gently and decently down
fro m the t b le l ooks for James then turn ing to the surge on
S OR T S T OR I E S
and t h e t u dents
curtsies and in a l ow c l ear voice begs
their pardon if she has behaved ill The students all of u s
w ept like chi ld r en the surgeon happed her up carefu lly
and r est i g o n Ja m es and m e Ailie w ent to her roo m Rab
f oll owing We p u t her to bed James took
h is heavy shoes
crammed w it h tackets h ee l capt and toe capt and put the m
careful l y u nder the table sayi g
Maister John I m for nane
o yer
nurse bodies for Ailie I ll be her nurse and
I ll gang ab oo t on my
so l es
as p u ssy
And
h e did and handy and c l ever and swift and tender as any
wo man w as that horny handed snell perempto r y litt le man
Everything
got he gave her h e seldo m slept and o ften I
saw h is sma ll s hrewd eyes out o f t h e dark ess fixed
he r
As bef o re they spoke litt le
Rab be h aved well never m oving sh o wing us how m eek and
ent l e he cou l d be and oc c asiona l ly in his s l eep l etting us
kno w th at h e w as demo l ishing some adversary
He took a
walk wit h m e eve ry day generally to the Candle m ake r R ow
but he w as s om bre and m i l d declined doing batt l e
t hou g h some fit c ases o fered and i ndeed s u bmitted to
s u nd y i ndignities and was alw ays very ready
to turn
and
came faster back and trotted u p the stai r
with mu ch l ightness and w ent s raight to
that do or
Jess the m are h ad been sent with her weather worn cart
to Ho w gate and h ad doubt l ess h er
dim and placid m edi
and c onfusi o ns
the absence h er m aster and Rab
and h er unnat ra freed om from the road and
cart
F o r s o me days A il ie did well The w ou nd h ea l ed by the
first ntention
fo r as Ja m es said Our A lie s skin s owe r
clean to bei l Th e st u dents c ame in quiet and anx i o u s and
u rrou nded h er bed S he said s h e l iked to see thei r young
h nest fa c es The surgeon dressed her and spoke to her
s h o rt kind way pi ying her throug h his eyes Rab
S H OR T S T OR I ES
starting up surprised and linking as if he were to b l a m e
somehow or had been dreaming he heard many eager ques
tions and beseechings which James and I could make nothing
of
which seemed to her all and then sink back
ununderstood It was v ery sad but better than many things that
are not called
James hovered about put and miserable
but acti v e and exact as e v er read to her when there
a lull
short bits fro m the Psalms prose and metre chanting the l atter
in his
rude and serious way showing great knowledge of the
fit words bearing up like a m an and doating over her as his
Ailie
Ailie ma w oman
Ma ain bonnie wee dawtie
The end was drawing
the golden bowl was breaking
the sil v er cord was fast being loosed that
was about to flee The body and the
soul
companions
sixty years
were being sundered
and taking l eave S he was walking alone through the valley
that shadow into which
day we must all enter
and
yet
was not alone for
know whose rod and staff were
comforting her
night
had fallen quiet and as
hoped asleep
eyes were hut We put down the gas and
watching her
Su ddenly
up in bed and taking a bed gown which
lying on it rolled up
held it eagerly to her breast
to the
right side We could see her eyes bright with a surprisin
tenderness and j oy bending over this bundle
c l othes S he
held it as a woman holds her sucking child
O pening
her
night gown impatiently and holding it c l ose and brooding o v er
it and murmuring foolish little words as o v er one whom his
mother comforteth and who suc k s and
satisfied It
her wasted dying look keen and yet
pitifu l and strange to
her immense lo v e
va ue
A
L
g
g
S
g
H I S FRIEN S
Preserve me
groaned James gi v ing
And then
rocked back and forward as if to make it sleep hushing it
and wasting on it her infinite f o ndness
W
me doctor I
declare
it s that bairn
What bairn
The
only bairn we e v er had and
in
the
King
dom forty years and mair
It
plainly true the pain in
the breast telli g its urgent st o ry to a bewildered ruined brain
was misread and mistaken it suggested to her the uneasiness
a b reast ful l
milk and then the child and
again once
h ad her ain
in
more they were toget h er and
h er bosom
This was the close S he sank rapidly the delirium l eft her
but as
whispered
was clean silly it
the lightening
before the fina l darkness After ha v ing for some time lain stil l
her eyes shut She said James
He came c l ose to her
and l ifting up h er ca l m clear bea u tifu l eyes
ga v e him a
l ong l ook turned to me kindly but shortly l ooked for Rab but
could not
hi m then turned to her husband agai as if
w ould never leave l ooking shut her eyes and composed
h erse l f S he lay for some time breathing quick and passed
away gent ly that when
thought
gone James
his fashioned way held the mirror to h er face After a l ong
pause
smal l spot
imness
breathed
it vanished
away and never returned lea v ing the blank c l ear darkness
the mirror without a stain
What is
life it even a vapor
which appeareth for a little time and the vanisheth away
Rab all this time had been ful l awake and motion l ess he
ca m e forward beside us Ailie s hand which James had he ld
w as hang ing down it was soaked with his tears Rab l icked it
all over carefully looked at her and ret u rned to his p l ace under
the tab l e
James and I
I don t know how long but for some time
saying nothing he started up abr pt ly and with some n o ise
S OR T S T OR I ES
w ent to the tab le and putting h is right fore and mi dd l e fingers
each into a shoe pulled t h em out and put them
breaki g
one of the l eather l atchets and mu ttering in anger I neve r
did the like that af o re
I believe h e never did nor after either
Rab he said
roughly and pointing with his thu m b to the botto m of the bed
Rab l eapt u p and settled himse l f his head and eye to the
dead face
Maister John ye
wait for me said the
c arrier and disappeared in the darkness th u nder ng down
stairs in his heavy shoes I ran to a front wi dow there he
was a l ready round the h ouse and out at the gate fleeing like
a shadow
I
afraid about him and yet not afraid
I sat d ow n
beside Rab and being wearied fel l as l eep I awoke from a
s u dden noise outside It was Nove m ber and there h ad been a
heavy fal l snow Rab
he heard t h e noise
too and p l ainly knew it but never moved I l ooked out and
there at the gate in the dim morning
the
was not
up
Jess and the cart a cloud stea m rising from t he
old mare I did not
James h e was a l ready at the d o or
and came u p the stairs and met me It
l ess than three
hours since he l eft and he must have posted
who knows
how
to Howgate full n i ne m iles
yoked Jess and d ri ven
her astonished into town He had an armfu l
blankets and
was streaming w ith perspiration He nodded to m e spread
the floor two pairs
clean
blankets having at their
corners
in l arge l etters in red w o rsted These
were the initials of Alison
and James may have l ooked
in at her from without
himse l f unseen but not u nthought of
when he was wat wat and weary and after h aving
alked many a mile over the hills may have seen her sitting
while a the lave were
and by the
workin
her n m o n the blan ets
her ain Ja m e s bed
S H OR T S T OR I ES
prevai l ing in the village and his want of sleep
exhaustion
and
misery made him apt to take it The gra v e
not
di ficult to reopen A fresh fal l
snow had again m ade all
things white and sm o oth Rab once more l ooked and sl u nk
h o me to the stable
And what
Rab I asked for him next week the ne w
carrier got the goodwill of James s business and was now
master
Jess and her cart
How s Rab
He put me
and said rather rudely What s
business
the
I was not to be put
Where s Rab He getting con
fused and red and intermeddling wit h his hair said
Deed
Rab deid
Dead what did he die of
Weel sir
said he getting redder he did na exactly dee he
killed
I had to brain him
a rack pin there
nae doin
him
He lay in the tre v iss
the mear and wad na come oot I
tempit him
kai l and meat but he wad tak naething and
keepit me frae
the beast and he was aye gur gurrin
and grup
me by the legs I was laith to make awa
the auld
his like
na atween this and Thornhi ll
but deed
I could do naething else I belie v ed him Fit
end for Rab quick and complete His teeth and his friends
gone
S hould he keep the peace and be civi l
O
T CA
F
AT
T
O
ER
BRET HARTE
The group tragedy enacted in this story to o k p l ace
between N o vember
and December
the road
from Poker F l at to S andy Bar in S ierra County Ca l ifornia
The time and place are those that Bret Harte has made
his
The a u sterity and wildness of the scenery seem
somehow to favor the intimate revelation
character that the
story disp l ays There is no intervention cities crops fashions
c o nventions between the di ferent m embers the character
group
between the group as a who l e and the reader
All is
bare like a white mountain peak Notice also how the back
ground
a common peril draws the characters together and
brings
at l ast the best in each
The story sets forth and interprets a dramat i c sit u ation
The plot is staged
as to answer the question Do not the
peop l e whom society regards outcasts ha v e yet some redee m
ing virtue Notice especially how a sense O f common fellow
ship is developed
these o utcasts First they are subje c ted
to a common humiliation in being dri v en from Poker Flat by
persons whom the outcasts consider no hit better than them
sel v es Next they are exposed to a common da ger a danger
that l eads the stronger to care instincti v e l y for the weaker
and the weaker to recognize that it is nobler to give t h an to
recei v e At last in the une x pected entrance
the inno c ent
To m S imson and the guileless Piney Woods the outcasts find
C
p
p yp
p
H
g
H g
k
S H OR T S T OR I ES
a com m on cha ll enge to the native goodness that had l ong lai
dormant within them Innocence and gui l elessness may be
laughed at as they are here but their appea l is often stronger
than the appeal
discipl ned virtue or
se l f conscious supe
When Bret Ha r te
charged with confusing the
bo u ndary lines
vice and virtue he replied that his p l ots con
formed to the rules laid dow n by a Great Poet
created the
the Prodiga l S on and the G o od S amaritan
parable
Oakhurst who is
Mr Oakh u rst
is of c ourse the dominant character The story begins with
and ends with
He is the strongest and yet the weake
Poker Flat
strong while there was
of the o ut c asts
thing to be done w eak even to sui c ide w hen h e h ad only
wait for the inevitable end He
a brave desperate solitary
man wh o se thought and spee ch
a c tion h owever were
al ways those the professional ga m b l er Bret Harte
has
put him i nto severa l stories says h i m in anothe r p l ace Go
where he would and wit h whom he was a l ways a notable
in ten t h o u sand
The admiration that
yield to suc h a
man though it is on l y a q u alified admiration is doubtless the
admiration of power which
cannot help thinking might
be u sed
if it cou l d on l y be harnessed to a nob
cause
B u t if Oakhurst is the dominant c haracter Piney Woods is
I t h ink the centra l character S he is centra l in this sto ry just
as l itt l e A la a centra l in Tennyso s Princess
E ppie
George E liot s S i l as Marner
the baby offspring
Cherokee S a l in The Luck
R oaring Camp Bret Harte
had j ust written the l ast named story w hen he began the com
p o sition
The Outcasts
Poker F l at
The
m inistry
the baby and the ministry
the
year
bride is the same in both Like the Great S tone Face in Ha
t hor ne s sto ry or l ike l ittle Pippa in Bro w i ng s poe m they
S H OR T S T OR I E S
Mr Oakhurst w as right in
that he
inc l uded
in this category A few of the committee had urged hanging
him as a possib l e examp l e and a sure method reimbursing
themselves from his poc ets of the sums he had
from
them
It s agin j ustice said Jim Wheeler to let this yer
young m an from R oar ng Camp
entire stranger
carry
away o u r mo ney
But a crude sentiment
equity residing
in the breasts
th o se w ho had been for nate enough
fro m Mr Oak h urst o verru l ed this narro er l oca l prejudice
Mr Oakhurst received his sentence with
calm
ness n o ne the l ess cool l y that he was aware
the hesitation
h is j udges He
too m uch of a gambler not to accept Fate
With him l ife
best an uncertain game and he recognized
the u sua l percentage in favor of the dealer
A body
armed m en accompanied the deported wicked
ness Poker F l at to the outs k irts of the sett l ement Besides
Mr Oakhurst
known to be a cool l y desperate man
and for whose intimidation the armed escort was intended the
expatriated party c onsisted a young woman familiarly known
as The Duchess another who had won the title
Mother
S hipton and Uncle Billy a suspected s l uice robber and
confirmed drunkard The cavalcade pro v oked no c omments
from the spectators nor
any word uttered by the escort
On l y when the gulch which mar k ed the uttermost limit
Poker F l at was reached the l eader spoke briefly and to the
point The exi l es w ere forbidden to return at the peri l
their lives
As the escort disappeared their pent feelings found vent
in a few hysterica l tears from the D u chess some bad l anguage
from Mot h er S hipton and a Parthian volley of expleti v es from
Unc l e Billy The
Oakhur t alone remained silent
He listened ca l mly to Mother S hipton de ire
somebody s
h eart
to the repeated statements
the Duchess th t
O TCA S T S
P O K ER FLAT
w ou l d die in the road and to the a l arming oaths that seemed
to be bumped out Uncle Billy as he rode forward With the
easy good humor characteristic of his c lass he insisted upon
ex c han ng his
riding horse Five S pot for the sorry mule
w hich the Duchess rode But even this act did not draw the
party into any closer sympathy The young woman readjusted
her somewhat draggled plumes with a feeble faded coquetry
Mother S hipton eyed the possessor of Five S pot with
malevolence and Uncle Billy included the whole party in
sweeping anathema
The road to S andy Bar
camp that not having as yet
experienced the regenerating influences
Poker Flat
quently see m ed to o fer some invitation to the emigrants lay
over a steep mountain range It
distant a day s severe
trave l In that advanced season the party soon passed
the moist temperate regions of the foot hills into the dry cold
bracing air
the S ierras The trail was narrow and
At noon the D chess rolling
of her saddle upon the
ground dec l ared he r intention of going no farther and the
party halted
The spot was singularly wild and impressive A wooded
amphitheatre surrounded
three sides by precipitous cli fs
naked granite
gently toward the crest of another preci
pice that o v erlooked the valley It
undoubtedly the most
suitab l e spot for a camp had camping been ad v isable But
Mr Oakh u rst knew that scarcely half the j ourney to
Bar was accomplished and the party were not equipped or
pro v isioned for delay This fact he pointed out to his
ions curtly with a
commentary
the folly
throwing up their hand before the game was played
But they were furnished with liquor which in this emergency
stood them in place
food fuel rest and prescience In
pite of his remon trances it was not l ong before they were
S H OR T S T OR I ES
m ore or l ess under its influence Uncle Billy pa sed rapid l
from a be l licose state into one of tupor the Duchess became
maudlin and Mother S hipton snored Mr Oa k hurst alone
re m ained erect l eaning against a rock calmly surveying the m
Mr Oakhurst did
drink It interfered with a profession
which required coo l ness impassiveness and presence
m ind
and in his
language he could
a ford it
As he gazed
at h is recumbent fello w exiles the l oneliness begotten
his
pa r ia h trade his habits of life his very vices for the first time
serio u s l y oppressed him He bestirred himself in dusting his
b l ack c l othes washing h is hands and face and other acts char
his studiously neat habits and for a moment forgot
h is annoyance The thought
deserting his wea k er and more
pitiable companions ne v er perhaps occurred to him Yet he
co ul d
help feeling the want
that excitement which singu
enough
most conducive to that calm equanimity for
w hich he
notorious He l ooked at the gloomy wal l s that
rose a thousand feet sheer above the circling pines around him
at the sky ominously clouded at the valley below already
deepening into shadow And doing
suddenly h e heard his
name called
A horseman slow l y ascended the trai l In the fresh open
face of the new comer Mr Oakhurst recogni ed
S imson
other w ise known as The Innocent of S andy Bar He had
met him s o me months before over a little game and had
with perfect equanimity won the entire fortune amounting
to some forty dollars
that gui l e l ess youth After the game
was finished Mr Oakhurst drew the youthful speculator behind
the do o r and thus addressed him
T o mmy you re a g o od
litt le man but
can t gamble worth a cent Don t try it
o v er again
He then handed him his money back p u shed
him gently fro m the room and
m ade a de v oted slav of
To m S i m son
S H OR T S T OR I ES
profanit
B u t wh en he returned to the party he found them
seated by a fire
the air had grown strangely chill and the
sky o ver c ast in apparent l y amicab l e conversation Piney was
actually talking in an impu l sive girlish fashion to the Duchess
who
listening wi h an interest and animation She had not
shown for any days The Innocent was holding forth ap ar
ently with equa l effect to Mr Oakhurst and Mothe r S h p o
who w as actual ly relaxing into amiability
this yer a
pi c nic
said Uncle Billy with inwar scorn as he su v yed
the sylvan group the glancing
and the tether d ani als
in the foregro u nd S udden l y an idea ming l d with the a l coholic
f u mes that disturbed his brain It
apparent l y of a j oc u la
nature for he felt impe ll ed to s l ap his l eg again and cram
fist int o his
As the shad o ws c rept slow l y u p the m ountain a s light breeze
r oc ked the tops
the pine trees and m oaned through thei
long and g loomy aisles The r u ined cabin pat ch ed and co ered
with pine boughs was
apa rt for the l adies As the l overs
parted they una fectedly exchanged a kiss
honest and s in c ere
that it might have been heard abov
the swaying pines The
frai l D u chess and the m a l evo l ent Mother S hipton w ere pro ably
too stunned to remark u pon this l ast e v idence
simplici y and
so turned witho u t a w o rd to the hut
The fire
replenished
the m en lay down before the door and in a few m in u tes were
as l eep
Mr Oakhurst was a light s l eeper Toward morn ng h e
awoke benumbed and co l d As he stirred the dying fire the
wind which was
blowing strongly brought to his ch eek
that which caused the blood to leave
snow
He started to his feet with the intention of awakening the
sleepers for there was no time to l ose But turni g to where
Uncle Billy had been lying he found hi m gone A suspicion
leaped to his bra n and a cu rse to h is lips He ran to the p o t
OU TCA S T S
P O K ER FLAT
w here the mu l es had been tet h ered they were no longer there
The racks w ere already rapidly disappear i ng in the sno w
The mo m entary excitement brought Mr Oakhurst back to
the fire with h is u sua l calm He did not w aken the sleepers
The Innocent S l umbered peacefully with a smile his good
humored freck l ed face the virgin Piney slept beside her frai l er
sisters as sweet l y as though attended by celestia l guardians and
Mr Oakhurst dra w ing his b l anket over his shou l ders stroked
his mustaches and waited for the dawn It came slowly in a
whir l i g mist
snow
that dazz l ed and confused the
the landscape appeared agically
eye Wh at cou l d be seen
changed He l ooked over the valley and su m moned up the
present and future in tw o words
snowed in
A car efu l invento ry of the provisions which fort u nate ly for
the pa y had been stored within the hut and so escaped the
fe l onious fingers of Unc l e Bi lly disclosed the fact that wit h c are
and pr u dence they m ight l ast ten days l onger
That is said
Mr Oakhurst
t o the Innocent if you
i l ling to
b o ard u s If you ain t
bette r
and perhaps
w a it til l Unc l e Billy gets back with provisions
some
o c c u l t reason Mr Oakhurst cou l d not bring himse l f to dis cl ose
Unc l e Bil ly s rascality and so offered the hypothesis that he had
wandered from the ca p and had accidentally stampeded the
anima l s He dropped a warning to the Duchess and M o ther
S hipton
c our se knew the facts their asso c iate s
tion
They l l find out t h e truth about
w h en they find
out anything he added significantly and there no good
frighten i ng them now
Tom S imson not only put all his wor l d l y store at the disposa l
Mr Oakhurst but seemed to enjoy the prospect their
enforced seclusion We ll have a good camp
a week and
all go back together
me l t and we
then the snow
c heerfu l gayety of the yo u ng man and Mr Oak hu rst s c l
S OR T S T OR I E S
infected the others The Innocent with the aid of pine boug h s
extemporized a thatch
the roofless cabin and the Duchess
directed Piney in the rearrangement
the interior wit h a taste
and tact that O pened the blue eyes
that provincial maiden to
the i r ful l est extent
I reckon now you
used to fine things
at Poker Flat
said Piney The Duchess u rned away s h arply
to c o ncea l something that reddened her cheeks through its pro
tint and Mother S hipton equested Piney not to
chatter
But when Mr Oakhurst returned from a weary
sear ch
the trail h e heard the sound of happy laughter ec h oed
from
rocks He stopped in some alarm and h is tho u g h ts
first natura ll y reverted to the whiskey w hich he had p r udently
And yet it don t somehow sound l ike whiskey said
the gamb l e r It was not until he ca u ght sig h t
the b l az i ng
fire t h roug h the stil l bl i nding stor m and the gr ou p around it
that h e sett l ed
the conviction that it was square fun
Whether Mr Oakhurst had
his cards wit h t he w hiskey
as so m ething debarred the free access of the c o mmu nity I
not say It was c ertain that in Mothe r Sh ipt o n s words he
did
say cards once during that even i ng Hap l y the ti m e
was beguiled by an accordion produced somewhat ostentatiously
by Tom S imson fro m his pack Notwithstanding so m e
ties attending the m anipu l ation his instru m ent Piney Woods
m anaged to pluck severa l reluctant m e l odies fro m its keys to
an acco m paniment by the nnocent on a pair bone castanets
But the crowning festivity the evening was reached a rude
camp m eeting hymn wh ic h the l overs j oining hands sang with
great earnest ess and v o ciferation I fear that a c ertain defiant
tone and Covenanter s swing to its chor u s rather than any
devotiona l qua l ity ca u sed it speed ly to infe c t the others who
at l ast j o ined in the refrain
pr u liv
rvi
Lr
un
r y
S OR T S T OR I ES
Mothe r Sh ipton
and from a re m ote pinnacle
he r
ocky fastness hurled in that direction a fina l malediction It
w as her last vituperative attempt and perhaps that reason
w as i vested with a certain degree
sublimity
did her
good
privately informed the Duchess Just yo u go out
there and c uss and
S he then herse l f to the task of
am u sing the chi l as
and the Duchess were p l eased to
cal l Piney Piney was no chicken but it was a soothing and
original theory
the pair thus to account for the fact tha
did n t swear and
improper
When night crept up again through the gorges the reedy
notes
the accordion rose and fel l in
spasm and long
drawn gasps by the flickering camp
But music failed to fil l
entire l y the aching void left by insu cient food and a ne w
di v ersion was proposed by Piney
Neither
Oakhurst
his female companions caring to re l ate the r per
sonal experiences this plan would have failed
but for the
Inno c ent S ome months before he had chanced upon a stray
copy Mr Pope s ingenious translation the Iliad He no w
prop o sed to narrate the principal incidents of that poe
having thoro u gh l y mastered the argument and fairly forgotte
the words
the current vernacular
S andy Bar
for the rest of that night the Homeric demigods again walked
the earth Trojan bully and wily Greek wrest l ed in
winds
and the great pines in the ca on seemed to bow to the
rath
the
Peleus Mr Oakhurst l istened wit h quiet satis
faction Most especially
he interested in the fa e of
Ash hee l s as the Innocent persisted in denominating the
swift footed Achilles
S o with small food and much of Homer and the accordion
a week passed over the heads
the ou casts The
a ain
forsook them and again from leaden
snow
were
sifted ove r the land Day by day c l oser round them drew the
TH E O TCA S T S
P O K ER FLAT
sn o wy circ l e unti l at l ast they l ooked from their prison o v er
dr i fted walls of dazzling white that towered twenty feet above
It became more and more difficult to replenish
their fires e v en from the fallen trees beside the m now ha l f
hidden in the dr i fts And yet no
comp l ained The lovers
turned from the dreary prospect and looked i nto each other s
yes and were happy Mr Oakhurst settled himself coo ll y to
the losi g game before him The Duchess more cheerfu l than
had been assumed the care
Piney Only Mother Sh ipton
once the strongest the party
seemed to sicken and fade
At midnig t
the tenth day
cal l ed Oakhurst to her side
I m go i ng
said in a voice
queru l ous weakness but
don t
anything about it Don t waken the kids Take the
b u nd l e fro m under my head and O pen it Mr Oakhurst did
It contained Mother S hipton s rations for the l ast w eek
touched G i ve em to the child she said pointing to the sleep
ing Piney
starved yourself said the ga m b l er That s
what they call it said the woman queru l ous l y as lay do w n
again and turning her face to the wa l l passed quiet l y away
The accordion and the bones were put aside that day and
Homer was forgotten When the body of Mother Shipton had
e n committed to the snow Mr Oakhurst took the Innocent
aside and Showed him a pair
snow shoes w hich he had
fashi o ned from the
pack saddle
There s
chance in a
h undred to save h er yet he said point i ng to Piney but it
there he added pointing towards Poke r F l at
If you can
reach there in two days she s safe
And
asked Tom
i son
I stay here was the c urt reply
The l overs parted wit h a long embrace
You are
going
too
said the Duchess as she saw Mr Oakhurst apparent l y
wait i g to accompany him
As far as the ca on he rep l ied
He turned suddenly and kissed the Duchess lea v ing her pallid
face
and her trem ling lim s rigid with amazement
S H OR T S T OR I E S
Ni ht c ame but not Mr Oak h urst It brought t he st orm
again
sno w Then t he Duchess feeding t he
fire fo d that some o ne had quietly p led beside the h u t en ou g h
fuel to l ast a few days l onger The tea r s r o se t o h e r eyes b u t
she h id t h e m fro m P i ney
The w omen s l ept but li tt l e In t h e mo rning loo ki g i nt o
each o ther s faces they r ead their fate Neithe r spoke but
Piney a c cepting the posit i on of the stronger drew near and
placed h e r arm around the Duchess s w a i st Th ey kept hi s
attit u de fo r the rest of the day That n i ght the stor m reached
its gr atest fury and rend ing as u nde r the protec ng p i nes
invaded the very hut
T ow ard morning they fo u nd t h e m se l ves u nab l e feed the
fire wh ich gra ually died away As the embers s lowl y black
ened the Duchess crept cl oser to P i ney and broke the silence
of many h ours
Piney c an yo u pray
No dear said
Piney si mp ly The Duchess wi t h out knowing exactly
felt re li eved and putting her h ead u p o n
shoulder spoke
n o mo re And s o reclining the yo ger and purer pillowing the
head of he r soiled sister u p o n h er vir in
fel l asleep
wind lu ll ed as if it feared t o waken them F
d rifts o f sno
shaken fro m the l ong pine boughs flew like
white winged birds and sett l ed ab o ut them as they slept The
moon through the rifted clouds looked down upon what had been
the camp
all h u m an stain
trace
earthly travai l was
hidden beneath the spot l ess m ant l e mercifully flung fro m ab o ve
They slept all that day and the next
did they w aken
whe v o ices and fo o tsteps broke the silence of
camp And
w h en pitying fingers br u s ed the sno w fro m thei r wan faces
could s c arce l y have told from the equa l peace that dwe l t
upon the m which was
that had sinned E ven the law of
Poker Flat recognized this and u r ed away l eaving the m s ill
l ocked in each o ther s arms
R B ERT L U I S ST V EN S N
There i s no finer mode l for the study of setting than
this story a fords It is three O clock in the afternoon
a
foggy Christmas Day London If
manner and
the dimly l ighted interior
the antique shop suggest m urder
the gar r l ous clocks the nodding shadows and the reflecting
m irrors seem almost to compe l confession and surrender And
stil l as he continued to fil l his pockets his mi d accused him
w ith a sickening iteration
the thousand faults of
desig
He should h ave chosen a more quiet h our
S o he should
the murder but for the self confession which is S t venson s
ultimate design no time p l ace could ha v e been better
There is l itt l e action in the plot A man commits a
dastardly murder and then being alone and undetected begins
to think think think It is the turning poin t in h is life and he
knows it Instead
se zing the treasure and escaping he
mits hi s past caree r to a rigi d scr u tiny and review This brood
ing over his past life and present outlook becomes absorbing
that what bade fair to be a soliloquy becomes a dialog u e a dia
logue between the Old self that committed the m urder and the
new self that begins to re v olt at it The
se l f bids him follow
the line least resistance and go as he has begun the newly
awakened se l f bids him stop at once check the m omentum
other days take this last chance and be a man His better
nature wins
finds that though his deeds ha v e been
uniformly ev i l he can stil l conceive reat deeds renunciations
F
S
M
y
A
p
p
C
v
W k
martyrdoms
Though the acti v e l o v e
good seems too weak
to be reckoned as an asset he till has a hatred
evil and
this twin foundation ability to think gr at t oughts
to
hate ev il deeds he builds at l ast his c lm inating reso lv e
The story i s po w erfully and yet subt l y tol
It swe ps the
who l e gamut O f the mora l l aw
Many st o ries de v e l op
ame the e but none j ust like this
S te v enson hi self is
drawn ag n to the same problem a litt l e l ater in Dr Jeky ll
and Mr Hyde Hawthorne
tried it in Howe s Masquerad
in w hich the c loaked figure is the phantom or
reduplicati n
Howe himself In Poe s William Wilson
to which S tevenson is lain ly
debted the evi l nature triumphs o ver the good But Ma k
heim by touching more c hords and by soun ing owe r epths
makes the triumph at the end seem like a p rmanent vi c tory
for universa l human nature
If the story is the study
a given si u tion
is another type
the deve l opi g
the central factor in the situation
We
and i nterpret the
situation only through the persona l ity
himself
Another m urderer might have acted di ferent l y even w ith those
cl amorous clocks and accusing m irrors around h im but not this
murderer There is nothing abnorma l about
h owever as a
cri m inal He is thirty Six years
and throug h s h eer wea nes
h as gone stead i ly downward but he
ever before done a
deed approaching this in horror or in the power sudden self
reve l ation He sees himself now as h e never himself before
and begins to take stock his mora l assets They are pitifu ll y
meager though his O pportunities for haracte r building h ave
been good He h as e v en had emot i ona l r i va l s which did
however issue in good deeds But w ith it all
illus
trates
h uman ature rathe r
de a y I do
doubt his comp l ete and p rmanent c ver
sion When the terrib l e l ast q u estion is put to him
when
he puts it to himsel
whether he is better now
any
part c u l ar than he w as and when h e is f o rc d to
S OR T S T O R I E
n o ne I h ave gone down in all the mora l reso u rces of h u m a
nat u re i tse l f see m to be exhausted But they are not
I
clearly w hat remains for me
said
by way
This w ord not u sed before sounds a
challenge
and marks the crisis
the story Duty can fight wi h out call
ing i n reserves from the past and without the vision
victory
in the future I don t w o nder that the features
the visitant
The visitant
neither
softened with a tender triumph
the devi l as
first thought hi m nor the S aviour
of men as a recent editor pronounces hi m He is only Mark
h eim s old se lf the se lf that entered the antique shop that with
fear and trembling c ommitted the deed and that now half
conscious all the ti m e of inherent falseness u rges the argu
m ents and tries to energize the purposes It is this visitant
that every m an meets and overthrows when he comes to him
se l f w hen he breaks sharply wi th the old l ife and enters reso
u pon the new
Yes said the dealer
windfalls are
variou kinds
S ome customers are ignorant and then I touch a dividend
my superior know l edge S ome are dishonest and here he
h eld u p the cand le so that the light fell strong ly on his visitor
and in that c ase he c ont i nued I profit by my virt u e
had b u t j u st entered from the day light streets
and his eyes had not yet gro wn familiar with the mingled
shine and darkness in the shop At these pointed w o rds and
before the nea r presence o f the flame h e blinked painf ull y
and l oo ed aside
The dea l e r ch u ck l ed Yo u come to me on Christmas day
resumed w hen you know that I am a l one in my house
put up
shutters and make a point
refusing business
Well you will have to pay
that you wil l have to pay
my l oss t me w hen I should be ba l ancin my books
S H OR T S T OR I ES
a nice thing fo r a lady
he went
t h is h and g lass
cent ur y warranted c o mes from a g oo d coll ecti o n
too b u t I reserve the name in the interests of my cu st o mer
who was just like yourself my dear
the nephe w and so l e
heir of a re arkab l e co l lect o r
The dealer whil e th s ran
in h is dry and biting v o i c e
had stooped to take the obj ect from its lace and as he had
done so a sh ck had passed through
a start b o th
of hand and foot a sudden leap of many tumultuous passi o ns
to
face It passed
swift l y as it came and l eft no trace
be ond a c ertain trembling of the hand t h at n ow
A g l ass h e said hoarsely and t en paused and repeated
it more clear ly
A g l ass For Ch r ist m as S ure l y
And why not
cried the dealer
Why not a glass
w as l ooking upon him with an
expres
sion
ask me
not
he said
Why l ook here
look n
l ook at yo u rse l f Do you like to
it No n or
I
nor any man
The little m an had ju m ped ba c k when
had so
sudden l y confronted him with the mirror but now per c ei v ing
there w as nothing worse
hand he chuckled
Y our future
lady
mu st be pretty hard favored said he
I ask you
said
a Christmas present and
you i ve me this
this damned re m inder
years and sins
and follies this hand conscience Did yo u mean it
Had
tho ght in your mind
Tell m e It wil l be better for
if you do Come tell me about yourself I hazard a guess
now that you are in sec et a ve y ch ritable man
The dea l er looked closely at his companion It
very
odd
did not appear to be laughing there was
something in his face like an eager sparkle
hope
othin
mi rth
What are
driving at
the dealer asked
Not charitab l e return e d the other gloomily Not chari
tab l e not pious not scrupulous unloving unbel o ved a hand
to get m oney a safe to keep it Is t h at all Dear
man
is tha all
I w l tel l
what it
began the dea l er wit h some
sharpness and then broke
ag in into a chuckle
But I
this is a l ove m at c h
yours and
have een drinki g
la y s health
Ah
cried
with a st ange curiosity
have
been in l ove Te ll me about that
I cr ed the dea l er
I in l o v e I never h ad the time
nor have I the time to ay for al l this n o nsense Wil l you
take
g l ass
Where is the hurry
returned
It is very
p l easant to stand here talking and life is
S hort and insecure
wou l d not hur y away from any p easure
no
even
from
mi l d a
as this We should rather cl ing cling
what litt le
can get l ike a m an at a Cli f s edge Every
o nd is a cl ff if yo u think up o n
cli f a m i l e high high
en ugh if we fall to dash us out every feature hu m anity
Hence it is best to talk p l easant l y Let us talk
each other
should we w ear this mask Let u s be confidential
knows
might become friends
to you said the dealer
I have j ust
word to
E ither make yo r purchase
walk
of my shop
True true said
E nough fooling To busi
ness S ho w me something else
T h e dea l er stooped once mor this ti m e to replace the glass
u p o n the shelf his thin blonde hair falling o v er his eyes
moved a little nearer wit h
han in the
great coat he drew himself up and fil ed
k t
g
sa m e ti m e many d fferent emotions were depicte
S H OR T S T OR I E S
togethe r on hi s face terror horror and resolve fascinat io n
and a physica l repu l sion and through a haggard lift of h is
u ppe r lip his teeth looked
This perhaps may suit observed the dealer and then
as he began to
arise
boun ded fro m behind upon
his victim The l ong skewer l ike dagger flashed and fell The
dea l er str gg led like a hen striking his temple
the shelf
and then tu m b l ed o n the floor in a heap
Ti m e h ad so m e sc o re
smal l voices in that s h op so m e
state l y and s l ow as w as bec o ming to their great age others
garr u lous and hurried Al l these to l d
the sec o nds in an
i ntri c ate c horus t ckings Then the passage
a lad s feet
h eavily r u nning
t h e pave m ent broke in u pon t h ese sma ll er
voices and start l ed
int o the c o nscio u sness
his
surro u nd i ngs He l ooked about him awfully The cand l e stood
the counter i ts fla m e so l emn l y wagging in a drau gh t and
by that i n c onsiderab l e m ove m ent the who l e roo m was fi ll ed
wit h n o ise l ess b u st l e and kept heaving l ike a
the tall
shad o ws nodding the gr o ss b l ots darkness swe l ling and
dwind l ing as with respiration the faces the portraits and the
china gods changing and wavering l ike i m ages in water The
inner door stood ajar and peered into that l eaguer of shadows
a l ong s l it day l ight l ike a pointing finger
Fro m these fear stricken rovings
eyes returned
to the body his victim where it lay both humped and spraw l
ing i n c redib l y smal l and strangely meaner t h an in l ife In t h ese
p o or miserly c l othes in that ungainly attitude the dea l er lay
like much sawdust
had feared to
it and
it
not h ing And yet as he gazed this bundle o ld c l ot h es
and poo l b l ood began to find eloquent voices There it m u st
lie there was none to work the cunning hinges or direct the
m irac le
l ocomotion t ere it must lie till it was found
F ou nd
and then Then would this dead flesh lift up a
S H OR T S T O R I E S
he beheld in galloping defile the ock the pris on the gallows
and the black co fin
Terro r
the people in the street
down before his mind
like a besieg i ng army It w as impossib l e he thought b u t that
s o me ru m or
the str u gg l e must have reached their ears and
set
edge thei r curiosity and now in all the neighboring
houses he divined them sitting motionless and with uplifted ear
s oli t ry peop l e condemned to spend Christmas dwelling
a l one on memories of the past and now start lingly recalled
fro m that tender exercise h appy family parties struck into
si l ence round the table the m othe r stil l with raised finger
every degree and age and hu mor but all by their
hearths
p ying and hearkening and w ea v i g the
that w as to hang
him S ometimes it seemed to him he co u ld not move too softly
the c l ink
the tal l Bohemian gob l ets rang o u t l oudly l ike a
bell and a l armed by the bignes of t h e ticking he w as tempted
to stop the c l ocks And then again with a swift transition of
his terrors the very Silence
the p l ace appeared a source of
peri l and a thing to strike and freeze the passer
and he
w ould step more bold ly and bustle aloud among the contents
of the shop and imitate with elaborate bravado the m ovements
a busy m an at ease in his
house
But h e
no w so pulled about by different alarms that
Wh le
portion
his mind was sti ll alert and cunning
another trembled
the brink
lunacy One hallucination in
pa rt i cular took a strong hold on his credu l ity The neighb o r
hearkening w ith w hite face beside his window
passer
arrested by a h orrible surmise
the pavement
these could
at w orst s u spe c t they could not know throug h the brick walls
shuttered windows only sounds co u ld penetrate But here
within the house w as he a l one He kne w h e
he had
w atched the servant
fo rth sweethearting in h er poor best
for the day w ritten in eve ribbon and smile
he
w as a lone
course and yet in the bu l k of empty house
above him he could surely hear a stir delicate footing
surely conscious inexplicably conscious of some presence
sure ly to every room and corner
the house his imagina
tion followed it and now it
a faceless thing and yet had
eyes to
with and again it
a Shadow
himself and
yet again behold the image the dead dealer reinspired with
cunning and hatred
At times with a strong effort he would g l ance at the open
door which still seemed to repel
eyes The house
tall
the skylight smal l and dirty the day blind with fog and the
li ht that filtered down to the ground story
exceedingly
faint and showed dimly
the thresho l d
the shop And yet
in that strip of doubtful brightness did there
hang w ave ing
a Shadow
S udden l y from the street outside a very j ovia l gent leman
began to beat with a staff the shop door accompanying his
blows with Shouts and railleries in which the dealer
ca l led u pon by name
smitten i nto ice
glanced at the dead man But no he lay quite still he
fled away far beyond earshot these b l ows and shoutings he
w as sunk beneath seas silence and his name which would
once ha v e caught his notice above the howling a storm
become an empty sound And presently the j ovial gentle an
desisted from his knocking and departed
Here
a broad hint to hurry w hat remained to be done
to get for h from this accusing neighbor h ood to p l unge into
bath of London multitude and
reach
the other side of
day t h at h aven safety and apparent innocence his bed One
visitor had come at any moment another might follow and be
m ore obstinate To ha v e done the deed and yet not reap the
profit would
too abhorrent a failure The money that
now
concern and as a means to that the keys
S OR T S T OR I ES
He g l anced over his Shou l der at the open doo r wh ere
s h adow was sti ll l ingering and Shivering and with no conscious
r ep u gnance of the mind yet with a tremor of the belly he drew
near the body
his victi m The human character had q u ite
departed Like a s u it h a st u fed with bran the l i m bs lay s c at
the trunk doubled on the fl oo r and yet t h e thing
repe ll ed him A l thoug h dingy and i nconsiderable to the eye
he feared it might h ave more signifi c ance to the touch He
t oo k the b o dy by the Shou l ders and t rned it
its back It
w as strange ly light and supple and the l imbs if they had
been br o ken fell into the oddest p o st res The face was robbed
of all expression but it was as pa l e as wax and sho ck ingly
s m eared with blood about
te m p l e That was for
the
disp l easing circu m stance It c arried him back u pon
the instant to a cer ain fair day in a
village a gray
day a piping wind a crowd u pon the street the blare
brasses the booming o f dr u ms the nasa l voice
a ballad
singer and a boy going to and fro b u ried o ver head in the c r o wd
and divided between interest and fear until coming
upon the
chief place
conc o urse he beheld a boot h and a great screen
with p i ctures dismally designed garishly colored Brownrigg
w ith her apprentice the Mannings w th their m urdered g uest
Weare in the death grip
and a score besides of
fa m ous crimes The thing
as c lear as an il l usion h e was
on c e again that litt l e boy he was l ooking o nce again and with
the same sense
physica l revo l t at these vi l e pictures he
sti ll stunned by the thumping
the drums A bar of that
day s m usi c returned upon his memo y and at that f o r the
first ti m e a q u alm came over him a breat h
nausea a s u d
den w eakness
the j oints which he m ust instantly resist
and conq u er
He judged it more prudent to confront than to flee from
these co nsiderations looki g the more hardily in
dead
S H OR T S T OR I E S
m ing le wit h the patter the drops upon the c u po l a and the
gushing of the water in the pipes The sense that he
not
a lo ne gre w upon him to the verge
madness On eve y side
he
haunted
beg rt by presences He heard them
m oving in the upper chambers f rom the
he heard the
dead man getting to his l egs and as he began with a great
e fort to m ount the stairs feet fled quietly before him and
l owed stealthily behind If he were but deaf thought how
tranqui ll y he wou l d possess his sou l And then gain and
with every fresh attention he b l essed himself for that
sisting sense whic h h e l d the outposts and stood a trusty sentine l
u pon his life His head tu ned continua ll y
his neck his
eyes wh i ch seemed starting from their orbits scouted
ever
side and
e v ery side were half rewarded as w it h the tai l
s o mething na m eless vanish ng The four and t w enty step to
t h e first floor were four and twenty agonies
On that first st o ry the door stood ajar three
the m l ike
three ambushes shaking h is nerves l ike the throats ca non
He cou l d never again he fe l t be su ficiently imm u red and
fortified fro m men s observing eyes h e l onged to be h ome
girt in by walls buried am o ng bedc l othes and invisible to all
but God And at that thought h e wondered a l itt l e recollecting
tales other mu rderers and the fear they w ere said to enter
tain of heaven l y avengers It was not
at l east with him
He feared the l aws
nature l est in their callous and
tab l e procedure they sho u ld preserve some damning evidence
his c r ime He feared tenfold m ore with a s l avish
ti o us terror some scission in the contin u ity of m an s experience
some wi ful ill egality nature He p l ayed a game of skill
depending
the r ules ca l culating consequence from cau e
and what if nature as the defeated tyrant overthrew the chess
board should break the mold
their succession The like
had befa l
a o l eon so writers said when the w inter cha ged
t h e t ime
its appearance The l ike m ight befa ll
t h e solid wa l ls might beco m e transparent and reveal his doings
like t h ose bees in a glass hive the stout p l anks might yie ld
u nder his foot like quicksands and deta n him in their c lu t ch
and there were soberer a c cidents that mig h t destroy him
if
instance the house shou l d fal l and imprison him beside
the b o dy of his victim the house next door shou l d fly
fire
and the firemen invade him from all Sides These th i ngs he
feared and in a sense these things might be c a ll ed the h ands
God reached forth against sin But about God himself h e
at ease his a ct was doubtless ex c eptiona l but
were
his ex cu ses which
knew it
there and not a mo ng
m en that he felt sure
j ustice
When he h ad got safe into the drawing roo m and sh u t the
d o or behind him he w as a w are
a respite fro m a l ar m s The
roo m was quite dismantled uncarpeted besides and strewn
w ith packing cases and incongruous f u rniture severa l great
p i er g l asses in which he beheld hi m se l f at various ang l es like
an actor
the stage many pic u res fra m ed and u nfra m ed
standing wit h t h eir faces to the wal l a fine S heraton Sideb o ard
a cabinet
m arquetry and a great
bed w it h tapestry
hang i ngs The windows opened to the floor but by g reat
good f or tune the lower part
t h e Shutters had been clo sed
and this concea l ed him from the neighb o rs Here then Mark
hei m drew in a packing case before the cabinet and egan to
search among the keys It was a l ong business for there w ere
many and it
irksome besides for after all there might
be nothing in t he cabinet and time w as
t he wing But the
c l oseness of the o c cu pation sobered h im With the tai l his
eye h e
the door
even g l an c ed
it from ti m e to ti me
dire c t l y l ike a besieged com m ander p l eased to verify t h e good
estate
his defenses But in tr u t h he was at peace The rain
falling in t h e street s ou nded natura l and p l easant Present l y
S H OR T S T OR I ES
t h e other s i de the notes of a piano were wakened to th e
music
a hymn and the voices
many chi l dren took u p th e
ai r and words How state l y
co m f o rtable was the me l ody
H o w fresh the youthfu l voices
gave ear to it smi l
as he sorted
the keys and his mind was thronged
w i t h answerable ideas and images church going chi l dren and
the pea l ing
the high organ children afie l d bathers by the
brook side ra m blers
the bra m bly co m mon kite
in the
windy and clo u d navigated
and then at another c adence
o f the hymn back again to church and the so m no l ence
summer S undays and the high gentee l voi c e
the pars o n
w h ich he smiled a l ittle to reca l l and the painted Jac o bean
to m bs and the di m l ettering of the Ten C o m m and m ents in
t h e c hancel
And as he
thus at once b u sy and absent he was sta r t l ed
to h is feet A flash of ice a flash
fire a b u rsting g u s h
b l ood went o ver him and then he st oo d transfixed and th ri ll
ing A step m ounted the stair slowly and steadily and present l y
a hand was l aid upon t h e knob and the l ock clicked and t h e
d oo r opened
Fear he l d
in a v ice What to expe c t he knew
n o t whether the dead m an wa king or the o ficia l ministe r s of
human justice or some chance witness b l indly st u mb l ng in to
consign him to the ga ll ows But when a face was thrust i nt o
the ape r t u re glanced round the room l ooked at him nodded
and smi l ed as if in friendly recognition and then withdrew
again and the door c l osed behind it his fear broke l oose fro m
his c o ntro l in a h o arse cry At the s ou nd
this the visi nt
returned
Did y ou cal l me he asked p l easant l y and with that h e
entered the room and c l osed the door behind hi m
stood and gazed at him with all his eyes Per
h aps there w as a fi lm u pon his sight but the out l ines of
S OR T S T OR I ES
fa c es they woul d be a l together di ferent they wo ul d shine out
fo r h e r oes and sa i nts I am worse than most my se l f is more
o ver l aid my excuse is kn o wn to me and God But had I the
time I co u l d disc lo se myse l f
To me
i q u ired the visitant
To y o u before all returned the murderer
I s u pp o ed
you w ere inte l ligent I t ho ug h t
since you ex i st you would
pr o ve a reader of the hea r t And yet
w o uld propose to
j u dge m e by my acts Think
it my acts I was born and
I h ave l ived in a l and of giants
i ants ha v e dragged m e by
the wrists Since I
born out
my mother
the g i ants
circum stance And
w o u l d j udge me by my acts But can
y ou n o t l ook within Can yo u not u nderstand that evi l is hate
ful to me Can yo u not
w ithin me the cl ear wr iting of
co ns c ience never b l urred by any wil lfu l soph stry althoug h too
o ften disregarded Can
read me for a thing that s u re l y
m u st be c o mm on as h um anity the unwilling sinner
All this is very fee l i gly xpr sed was the reply
but
it regards me not These points consistency are beyond my
pr o vince and I care not in the l east by what compu l sion y ou
may have been dragged away so as
are but c arried in the
right d i rection But time flies the servant de l ays l ooking in
the fa c es of the c rowd and at t h e pictures
t h e h oardings
b u t sti ll
keeps mo v ing nearer and remember it is as if
the ga llo ws itse l f was st iding toward yo u through the Christ
m as streets S hall I he lp you I
know al l S ha ll I tell
yo u where to find the money
F or what price
asked
I offer y ou the service for a Christmas gift ret ur ned the
other
cou l d not refrain from smiling wit h a kind
bitter triumph
No said he
I will take nothing at your
h ands if I w ere dying of thirst and it was your hand that put
the pitcher to my lips I should find the courage to refuse It
may be credulous but I will do nothing to commit myself to evil
I have no objection to a death bed repentance
observed
the visitant
Because you disbelieve their
cried
I do not say
returned the other
but I l ook
these
things from a di ferent side and when the l ife is done my
fal ls The man has lived to ser v e me to Spread black
l ooks under co l or religion to
tares in the wheat
as you do in a course of w ak compliance with desire Now
that he draws
near to his deliverance h e can add but one
act
ser v ice to repent to die smiling and thus to b u ild up
in confidence and
the more timorous my su r viving fol
l owers I am
so hard a master Try me Accept my he l p
P l ease yourself in life as you have done h itherto please your
se l f more amply spread you r e l bows at the board and when
the night begins to fal l and t h e c u rtains to be drawn I tel l
you for your greater comfort that
wi ll find it e v en easy
to compound your quarre l w it h your conscience and to m ake a
tr u ckling peace with God I came but now from su ch a death
bed and the roo m was fu ll Si cere m ourners l istening to t h e
man s l ast w ords and when I l ooked into that face w hich h ad
been set as a flint against mercy I found it smi l ing with
And do yo u then suppose me such a creature
asked
Do you think I have no more generous aspirations
than to Sin and Sin and sin and at last sneak into heaven
My heart rises at the thought Is this then your experience
mankind
is it because you find me w ith red hands that you
presume such baseness and is this crime
murder indeed
impious as to dry up t h e very springs
good
Murder is to me no Specia l category replied the ot h er
All Sins are murder e v en as all life is war I behold your
race l ke starv ing mariners
a raft p luc k i ng crusts o u t of
S H OR T S T OR I E S
the hands
famine and feeding on each ot h er s l ives I follo w
sins beyond the moment of their acting I find in all t h at the
l ast co nseq u ence is deat h and to my eyes the pretty maid
t h warts her m o t h er w it h suc h taking graces
a quest io n
a ball dr i ps no l ess visib l y w it h hu man g o re than s u c h a
m urdere r as yo u rse l f Do I
that I fo ll ow sins I fo ll ow
vi r t u es a l so they di fer not by the thickness of a nail they are
bot h scyt h es for the reap i ng ange l Deat h E vi l
whic h I
live co nsists n o t in action but in chara c ter The bad man i s
dear to me not the bad act whose fruits if we cou l d fo l l o w
t h e m far en o ug h down the hur t l ing cataract of the ages m ig h t
yet be found mo re b l essed than those of the rarest virt u es
And it is not because y o u h ave killed a dealer but be c a se
yo u are
that I offered to f o rward your es c ape
I wi ll lay my h eart open to y o u answered
This crim e on w h ich you find m e i s my last On my way to
it I h ave l earned m any l essons itself is a lesson
a
momentous l esson
Hitherto I have been driven with
revo l t to what I w o ul d not I was a bond S l ave to poverty driven
and scourged There are robust virtues that
stand in these
temptations mine was not so
I had a thirst pleasure
But to day
and
this deed I p l uck bot h
w arning and r iches
both the power and a fresh reso l ve to
be m yself
I become in all things a free a c tor in the world
I begin to
m yse l f all changed these hands the
agents of good this h eart at peace S omething comes over m e
of the past something what I h a v e dreamed on S abbat h
evenings to the sound
the church organ
what I forecast
w hen I shed tears over noble books talked an innocent child
with my m ot h r There l ies my life I h ave wandered a few
years but
I see once m ore my city
destination
Yo u are to use this money on the S tock E xchange I
t h ink
remarked the visitor
and there if I mistake not
y ou h ave a l ready l ost so m e th ou sands
S H OR T S T OR I E S
right to be
and at any account it is the same with all men
But granting that are
in any one particular however tri
fling more di ficult to please with your
conduct
do you
go in all t h ings with a l ooser rein
In any
repeated
with an angui h
sideration
No he added with despair in none I have
gone down in all
Then
said the visitor
content yourself with what you
are
wil l never change and the words
your part
this stage are irrevocably w ritten down
stood for a long while silent and indeed it was
the visitor who first br oke the silence
That being
he
said sha ll I Show
the money
And grace
cried
Ha v e yo u not tried it
returned the ot h er
Two
three years ago did I not
the platform re v i v a l
meetings and was not your voice the l oudest in the hymn
It is true said
and I
c l early what
m ai s for me by
duty I thank you for these l essons
fro m my sou l my eyes are O pened and I behold myself at
last for what I am
At this moment the sharp note of the door bel l rung through
the house and the vi itant as though this were some concerted
signal
which he h ad been aiting changed at once in his
demeanor
The maid he cried
S he has returned as I forewarned
you and there is
before you one more di cu lt pa age
Her master you must
is ill you must l et her in with an
assur d but r athe r serious countenance
smi l es no over
acting and I promise you succes Once the girl within and
door c l osed the same dexterity that has already rid you
the dealer will relieve you
this last danger in your path
Then c efo rw ard yo u have the who l e evening t h e who le night
if needfu l
to ransack the treasures
the house and to make
good your safety This is help that comes to you with the mask
danger Up
he cried
up friend your l ife hangs
trembling in the sca l es up and
steadily regarded his counse l lor
If I be
to evi l acts h e said there is stil l
door
free
do m open
I can cease from action If my l ife be an ill thing
I can lay it down Though I be as you
tru l y at the beck
eve y small temptation I
yet by one decisive gesture
place myse l f beyond the reach
al l My l ove
good is
damned to barrenness it may and let it be But I have still
my hatred
evi l and from that to your ga l ing disappoint
m ent
shall
that I
draw both energy and courage
The features
the visito r began to u ndergo a wonderfu l
and lovely change they brightened and softened w it h a tender
triumph and even as they brightened faded and dislimned
But
did not pause to watch
u nderstand the trans
formation He O pened the door and went down stairs ver
Slow ly thinking to himself His past went soberly before him
he beheld it as it was ugly and strenu o us like a dream rando m
as chance medley a scene
defeat Life as he thus reviewed
it tempted h i m no l onger but
the further side he perceived
a quiet haven for his bark He paused in the passage and
l ooked into the shop w h ere the cand l e sti ll burned by the dead
body It
strange l y Si l ent Th o ughts
the dealer swarmed
into h is mind as he stood gazing And then the bel l once more
broke
into impatient clamor
He confronted the m aid upon the thresh ld w it h something
l ke a smile
had better go fo r the police said he
I h ave ki led
your m aster
THE
NEC
GUY
MA U A SS ANT
A CE
The st ory is
in a Par i s at m osphe r e o f ocial
spirati o n and discontent The backg ound is o ne o f st u died
co ntrasts co ntrasts bet w een the stolid content m ent o f a hu s
band and the w ould
lu xuri ou sness a wife be een what
Madame Loise l had and what sh e w anted bet w een wha t she
was and what
thought she coul d be between h er brief
m oment tri u mph and the l ong years h er u ndo i ng between
the trivia l ness o f wh at s h e did and th e h eaviness of her punis h
m ent These c ontrasts are developed by reas o n i ng but by
action each acti o n p l unging Madame Loise l deeper and deepe r
into m ise r y The author s attit u de toward his w o rk for m s a lso
a part of th e rea l background Maupassant sh o ws ne i ther
pathy nor i ndignation He writes as if he w ere the stenog apher
of impersonal and piti l ess fate
Mada m e Loisel a po o r b u t bea u tifu l and a m bitious
wom an borrows and loses a diamond necklace valued at
That at l east is w hat Madame Loise l thought for ten te rrib l e
years and that is what the reader thinks t ll he c omes to the
last words
t he story The p l ot belongs therefore to t hat
large group known as hoax plots In most of these stories
pers o n p l ays a j oke
anot h er In this story a g im fate is
m ade to play the j oke In fact the current phrase the irony
o f fate finds h ere perfect illustration We use the expressi on
mu ch of a great misfortune as a misfo r tune that see m
bro u ght ab ou t by a peculiar l y m alignant train o f c ir cum stances
i nj ur y in this case not only w as irremediab l e but t u rned
p
f
C
v
S H OR T S T OR I E S
stories that he is interested not much in the free play or the
ful l reaction personali y as in the enslavement persona l ity
through passion chance He saw life without order beca u se
without center without reward because without desert and his
characters are made to it through the same l ens and to
experience it
the same le v el They either do not react do
not react nobly Had Madame Loise l and her hus and been
shaped to fit int o a less mechanica l scheme things they would
have reco nized in their ten years tria l the cal l to something
higher They could have used their testing as a m eans
u nderstanding with keener sympathy the lifelong testing
others They could ha v e attained a
that would
have bro u ght a happiness undreamed
before the fateful
January
But this is Browning s
not
The l atter prefers to make Madame Loisel and her husband
chiefly
putty so that they may illustrate the blind thr u sts
accident rather than the power
persona l ity to turn stumbling
blocks into stepping stone
Sh e was
of those pretty and charming gir s who as if by
a mistake
destiny are born in a family
employees S he
had no dowry no expectations no m eans
becoming known
understood loved wedded by any rich and distinguished man
and
let herself be married to a petty clerk in the Bureau
Public Instruction
S he was Simple in her dress because
could not be elabo
rate but
was as unhappy as if
had fallen from a higher
rank for with women there is no inherited distinction of higher
and l ower Their beauty their grace and their natural charm
fi ll the p l ace
birth and fami ly Natural de l icacy instinctive
e l egance a l ively
are the ruling forces in the s o cial realm
and these m ake the daughters
the common people the equa l s
of the finest ladies
EC
CE
Sh e su fered intense ly feeling herse lf born for all the
m ents and l uxuries of life S he su fered fro m the poverty
her ho m e as
l ooked at the dirty walls the w o rn
chairs
the ugly cu rtains A ll those things o f which anot h er w o m an
her stat io n wou l d have been quite u n c ons c ious tortured her and
made h er indignant The sight
the c o u ntry girl who was
maid all wo rk in her h um b le household filled her almost with
ech o ing hal s hung with Oriental
desperation She dreamed
draperies and l ighted by tal l br o nze c ande l abra wh i l e two tall
footmen in knee bree c hes drowsed in great armchairs by reason
the heating sto v e s oppressive war m th S he dreamed
sp l endid par l ors furnished in rare old silks
carved cabinets
l oaded with priceless b ic brac and of entran c ing little bou
j ust right for aftern oo n chats with boso m friends
men
fa m ous and sought after the envy and the desire o f all t h e
other w o m en
When
down to dinner at a l itt l e tab l e covered with
a clot h three days
and l o o ked across at her hu sband
as he u n c overed t h e so u p and exclai m ed wi t h an air of rapt
ure Oh the de l i c ious stew I kno w nothing better than
t h at she drea m ed of dain y dinners of shining si l ve rw are
of tapestries which peopled the wa l ls wit h antique figures and
strange birds in fairy forests she dreamed de l icious viands
served in wonderfu l dishes whispered gallantries heard with
a Sphinx l ike smile as you eat the pink flesh
a trout
the
wing
a quai l
S he had no dresses no j ewe ls nothing and She loved noth
ing e l se S he felt made
that alone S h e was fil l ed with a
desire to please to be envied to be bewitching and sought after
S he had a rich friend a former schoolmate at the convent who m
she no l onger wished to visit because she su fered much when
she came home
w hole ays at a time
wept witho u t
c asing in bitterness and hopeless mise
S H OR T S T OR I E S
Now even i ng her husband came home with a triump h ant
ho l ding in his hand a large enve l ope
There said h e there is something
yo u
S he quick ly tore open the paper and drew a printed ard
bearing these w ords
The Minister Public Instr u ction and Mme Georges Ram
request the honor
M and Mme
company
at the pa l ace
the Minist r y Monday evening January
Instead being overcome with delight as her husband
expected she threw the invitation o n the table with disda n
m urmuring
What do
wis h me to do w it h that
Why my dear I thought you would be pleased
never
out and this is such a fine opportunity I had awfu l trouble
in getting it E very
wants to go it is very se l ect and they
are
giving many invitations to cl erks
will
all
of cial w orld
S he l ooked at him with irritation and said impatient y
What do yo u expect me to put
my back if I
He had not thought
that He stammered
Why the dress
go to the theatre in It seems al l right
to me
He stopped
distracted on seeing that his wife was
crying Two great tears descended slowly from the corners
her eyes toward the co ners of her mouth
He stuttered
What the matter What the matter
By a violent e fort she subdued her feelings and replied in a
calm voice as she wiped h er wet cheeks
Nothing On l y I have no dress and consequently I cannot
go to this ball Give your invitation to some friend whose wife
has better clothes than I
He was in despair but began again
Let us
Mathilde How much would it cost a suitab l
S H OR T S T OR I E S
B u t h e r h u sband cried
How st u pid you are Go and find yo u r friend Madame
Fo r estie r and ask h er to l end y o u so m e j e w e l s Yo u are
i nt im ate eno u gh with her for that
Sh e u ttered a cry of j oy
Of co u rse I had not thought
that
Th e next day she went to h er friend s house and to l d
her distress
Madame F o restier went to he r h andso m e wardrobe took
o u t a l arge casket brou ght it back opened it and said to
Mada m e Loise l
C h oose my dear
Sh e saw first o f all so m e bra c e l ets then a pear l neck l ace
t h en a Venetian c ross o f gold
with precious stones
won
workmans h ip Sh e tried on t h e orna m ents bef o re the
l ass hesitated co ul d not m ake up he r m ind to part with them
to give t h e m back S he kept asking
You h ave n othing else
Why yes But I do n o t kn ow w hat will p l ease you
All at o n c e d i s co vered in a b lack satin box a sp l endid
dia m ond neck l a c e and h er h eart began to beat w it h b ou nd l ess
desire Her hands tremb l ed as S h e took it S he fastened it
ar ou nd h er thr o at o ver her hig h necked dress and st oo d lo st
e c stasy as s h e l ooked at herse l f
Then asked h esitating fu ll anx i ety
Wo ul d y ou l end m e that
on l y that
Why yes c ertain l y
Sh e spr ang u p o n the neck of her friend m b r a ced her
r apt u r ou s l y then fled with her treas ur e
Th e day o f t h e ba ll arrived Mada m e Lo i se l was a s ucc ess
S he was prettier than all the others elegant gracious smi ling
and crazy with joy Al l the men stared at h er asked
THE
EC
CE
tried be introduced All the cabinet
wished to waltz
with her The minister noticed her
S he danced with delight with passion intoxicated with
p l easure forgetting all in the triumph of her beauty in the
glo y
her success in a sort of mist
happiness the result
all this homage all this admiration all these awakened
desires this victory
complete and
sweet to the heart
woman
S he left about four o clock in the morning Her husband had
been dozing since midnight in a little deserted anteroom wit h
three other gentlemen whose w v es were ha v ing a good time
He threw about her shoulders the wraps whic h h e h ad
brought for her to go out in the modest wraps
common
life whose o v erty contrasted sharply with the elegance the
bal l dress S he felt this and wished to escape that
mig h t
not be noticed by the other women who w ere w rapping
themse l ves in costly furs
Loisel held her back
Wait here you will catch c o l d outside I wi ll go and find
a cab
But
wo u ld not listen to him and rapidly descended the
stairs When they were at last in the street they could find
no carriage and began to look
hailing the cabmen
they
passing at a distance
They walked down toward the S eine in despair shi v ering
with the cold At l ast they found on the quay
of those
ancient nocturna l cabs that
sees in P ris on ly after dark
as if they were ashamed to display their wretchedness du ring
the day
They were put down at their door in the R ue des Martyrs
and sadly mounted the steps to their apart m ents It was all
over
her And as for hi m he refle c ted that h e mu st be at
h is O ce at ten o clock
S H OR T S T OR I E S
S he ook Off the wraps which covered her shoulders before
the mirror so as to take a fina l look at herse l f in all her
glory B u t sudden l y she uttered a
S he no l onger had the
neck l ace abo u t her neck
Her husband a lready ha l f undressed inqu i red
What is the matter
Sh e turned madly toward him
I ha v e
have I no longer have Madame F
necklace
He stood up distracted
What
how
it is impossible
They l ooked in the folds of her dress in the fo l ds
her
cloak in the pockets everywhere They could not find a
trace of it
He asked
You are sure
stil l had it when you l eft the ball
Yes I fe l t it
me in the vestibu l e at the pa l ace
But if
had l ost it in the street we should have h eard
it fall It must be in the cab
Yes That probable Did you ta k e the number
No And you you did not notice it
N
They looked at each other thunderstruck At l ast Loisel
put
his clothes again
I am going back said he o v er every foot the way we
came to
if I cannot find it
S o he sta rted S he remained in her b l dress without strength
to go to bed sitting
a chair with no fire her mind a blank
Her hus and returned about seven o c lo ck He had found
nothing
He went to police headquarters to the newspapers to offer
a reward to the
companies ev ery here in sh o rt w here
a trace of hope l ed
S OR T S T OR I ES
ru ino u s engage m ents dealt with usurers with all the tribe
money l enders He compromised the rest his life risked his
signat u re without knowing if he might not be in v ol v ing his honor
and terrified by the anguish yet to come by the black misery
about to fall u pon him by the prospect e v e y physical priva
tion and every mental torture he went to get the new necklace
and l aid down
the dealer s counter thirty six thousand francs
When Madame Loise l took the neck ace back
Madame
Forestier the latter said coldly
You shou d have ret u rned it sooner for I might have
needed it
S he did not O pen the case to the relief her friend If she
had detected the substitution what would
ha v e thought
have taken her friend
What wo ul d
have said Would
fo r a thief
Mada m e L o ise l now knew the horrib l e life
the needy
But
took her part heroically They must pay this frightfu l
debt S he would pay it They dismissed their maid they gave
up their room they rented another under the roof
S he came to know the drudgery of housework the odious
l abors of the kitchen S he washed the dishes staining her rosy
nails on the greasy pots and the bottoms of the saucepans
S he washed the dirty linen the shirts and the dishcloths which
hung to dry on a line
carried the gar age down to
the street every morning and carried up the water stopping
at each landing to rest And dressed l ike a woman
the
pe o ple
went to the fruiterer s the grocer s the butcher s
her basket
her arm bargaining abusing defending
by
sou her miserab l e money
Each month they had to pay so m e notes renew others
obtain more time
A
p
y
TH E
EC
CE
T h e h usband worked every evening nea ly fo o t i ng u p the
account books some tradesman and O ften far int o t h e night
he
copy i ng manuscript at fi v e so u s a page
And this l ife lasted ten years
At the end of ten years they had paid everything
every
thing with the exactions usury and the accum ul ations of
c ompound interest
Mada m e Loisel seemed aged now S he had become the
woman
impo v erished ho u seholds
strong and h ard and
rough With hair half combed with skirts awry and reddened
hands
ta l ked loud as She washed the floor with great
swishes
water But sometimes w hen h er husband
at
the o fice
down near the window and thought that
evening at the ball
long ago when
had been
bea u tiful
and so admired
What w o u l d h ave happened if
h ad not lost that neck
lace Who kn o ws
knows How strange life is ho w
changefu l How l itt l e a thing is needed for u s to be l ost or
to be saved
But
S unday as
was going for a walk in the Champs
lys es to refresh herself after the labors
the week all at
once
saw a woman walking with a child It w as Madame
F
stil l young still beautiful stil l charming
Madame Loise l
agitated S hould
Speak to her
Why
co u rse And
that
had paid She would tell
her
Why not
She drew near
Good morning Jeanne
The other astonished to be addressed
familiarly by this
wo m an
the people did not recognize her S he stammered
But
madame
do not know you
must have
m ade a m istake
S OR T S T OR I E S
N I am Mat h i l de Loise l
Her friend u ttered a cry
Oh my po o r Mat h ilde
changed you are
Yes I have had days hard enough since I
days
retched enough
and all be c ause
you
Me How
You re m ember that neck l ace of diamonds that
lent
me to wear to the mi isteria l ball
Yes We ll
We ll I l ost it
returned it to me
How can that be
I ret u rned to you another exact l y like it These ten years
we
been paying for it You know it was not easy for us
wh o had n o thing At last it
over an d I am very glad
Madame F
was stunned
You
that you bought a dia m ond neck l a c e to replace
m ine
Yes you did not notice it then They were just alike
And she smiled with a proud and na v e pleasure
Madame Forestier deeply mo v ed took both her hands
Oh my poor Mathilde Why my ne c k l a c e
paste It
w as worth five hundred fran cs at most
S OR T S T OR I ES
This is u nusua l wit h Kip l ing and with all other mo de r n st o ry
writers The i trod u ction j ustifies itself however in thi case
because since a half crazed man with weakening memory is to
te ll the rea l ta l e his narrative would have to be supplemented
by exp l anations
near l y every page unless the i ntroducto y
part c ould be taken
granted Notice
Often in reading
broken story you supply what he omits and inter
pret w hat h e only frag m entarily says by reference to w hat has
gone before
Kipling has d o ne m ore in this story than to present a char
a c ter of li m itless audacity He has impressed again
his
favorite teachings There is he holds a barrier between E ast
and West that
never be crossed The West can go
far
with the E ast b u t no farther
Brave men
the West may
conq u er the E ast and rule it but to take liberties wi h it is to
u ncover a vast rea l m the unknown and to invite disaster In
The R eturn O f Imray a good natured E nglish m an pats the
h ead Bahadu r Khan s child and is killed for it An o the r
E ng l ishman in Beyond the Pale thought that he underst o od
t h e heart
India and h ere is his epitaph
He took
deep
an interest in native life but he will never do again Dravot
c ould play king and even god in
but when he exposed
himself ignorant l y to an
racia l superstition he m et i nstant
and inevitable destruction
Carnehan tells the story but Dravot is the ener
character Captain James Cook the discoverer
the
Sandwich Islands is plainly the original Dravot R ead the
thirtieth chapter the second volume Mark Twain s R ough
ing It
you will find K ip l ing s story clearly Out
admiration
this
lined One cannot withhold measure
type
not bad at heart he
u ncontrolled audacity Dravot
was on l y boundless a type
the adventurer that has given
many a fascinating chapter to history as w ell as to literature
H G Wells the
The Research Magnificent by
hero Benha m says
I t hink what I want is to be k ng of the
TH E
W O LD
KING
w or ld
It is the very core
me
I mean to be a king
this earth
Im
mad
His
is
very di ferent from
I see the world he continues
staggering from misery to misery and there is little wisdom
l ess rule folly prejudice l imitation
and it is my world and
I am responsible
As soon your kingship is plain to you
there is no more rest no peace no delight except in work in
serv ce
utmost e fort The three weaknesses to be over
come are Fear Indulgence and Jealousy Both Dravot and
Benham fail and the comment each on his failure is an
autobiography Benham
I can fee l that greater world I
shall ne v er
as
feels the dawn com ng through the last
darkness
Dravot
We v e had a dashed fine r u n for
money What co mi ng next
r th r
a Prin
f ll w
a eggar i f he
f und w rthy
The Law as quoted lays down a fair c onduct
life and
one not easy to follow I ha v e been fellow to a beggar again
and again under circ u mstances which pre v ented either
us
finding
Whether the other was worthy I ha v e stil l to be
brother to a Prince though I once came near to kinship w ith
what might have been a veritable King and was promised the
reversion of a K ingdom
army law courts revenue and polic
all complete But to ay I great ly fear that my King is dead
and if I want a crown I must go hunt
myself
The beginning e v erything was in a railway train upon the
road to Mhow from
There had been a Deficit in the
Budget which necessitated travelling not S econd class which is
only half as dear as First class but
Intermediate which
is very awful indeed There are no cushions in the Intermediate
class and the population are either Intermediate which is
E urasian
native w h i c h for a long night jo u rney i s na t or
S H OR T S T OR I ES
Loafer which i s amusing though i toxicated Intermediates do
not buy from refreshment rooms They carry their food in
bund l es and p o ts and b u y sweets fro m native sweetmeat
se ll ers and d k the roadside water That is why in hot
weather Inter ediates are taken
the carriages dead and
in all weathers are most properly looked down upon
My particular Intermediate happened to be emp y till I
reached Nasirabad when a big bla c k browed gentleman in
shirt sleeves entered and following the
Inte medi
ates passed the time O f day He
a wanderer and a vaga
bond l ike myself but with an educated taste for whiskey He
to l d ta l es
things he had seen and done of out the way
corners
the E mpire into which he had penetrated and
adventures in which he risked his life for a few days food
If India was filled with men like you and me not know
ing more than the crows where they d get their next day s
rations it is n t seventy mi lions
revenue the l and would
be paying
it s seven hundred millions said he and as
I l ooked at his m outh and chin I was disposed to agree
with him
We talked po l itics the politics
Loaferdom that sees
t hi gs fro m the underside where the lath and plaster is not
smoothed
and
talked postal arrangements because my
friend wanted to send a telegram back from the next station to
the turning off place from the Bombay to the Mhow
l ine as
travel westward My friend had no money beyond
eight annas which he wanted for dinner and I had no m oney
at all owing to the hitch in the Budget before mentioned
Further I was going into a wilderness where though I should
resume touch with the Treasury there were no telegraph o ices
I was therefore una le to help him in any
We might threaten a S tation master and make him send
a wire o n tick said my friend b u t that m ean enqui r ie
S H OR T S T OR I ES
windo w and
He has gone S outh for the week and h e
tumble It
only cutting your time
stay in those parts by
two days I ask you as a stranger
going to the West
he
said w ith emphasis
said I
Wher ha e
come from
Fr o m the E ast said he and I am
that you il
give him
message
the S quare for the sake
my
Mother as wel l as your
E nglis h men are not u sually softened appeals to the mem
ory th ir
but for certain reasons w hich wil l be
f lly
arent I saw fit to agree
more than a l itt l e matter said he and that s
I asked
do
and n o w I know that I can depend
you doing it
econd c l ass carriage at Marwar Junction and
a red aired man asleep in it You be sure to remember I
at the next station and I m ust h old on there till he
c o m es or sends me what I want
I ll give
message if I c at ch h i m I said
fo r the
sa e
your M o ther as well as m ine I ll give
a w o rd
advi c e D o n t try to r u n the Centra l India S tates j ust now as
the c orrespondent
the
There
a real
knocking about here and it m ight lead to trouble
Thank you said he simply and when w ill the sw i ne be
g ne I can t starve because he ruining my work I w anted
to get h old of the
R ajah down here about his father s
w idow and give him a jump
What
he do to his father s widow then
F lled her up with red pepper and slippered her to death
hung from a beam I found that out myself and I m the
nl
that would dare going into the S tate to get hush
ne for it
hey try to poison me sa m e as they did in
give
when went on the l oot there But
at Mar w r J u c tion my m essage
MAN
W OU LD
KI NG
He g o t
at a l itt l e roadside station and I reflected I had
heard more than once of men pers o nating correspondents
newspapers and bleeding small Native S tates with threats
exposure but I had never met any
the caste before They
lead hard life and generally die with great suddenness The
Native S tates have a wholesome horror E nglish newspapers
which may thro w light
their peculiar methods
govern
ment and do their best to choke correspondents with cha m
p gne or dri v e them out of t eir m ind with four hand
barouches They do not u nderstand that nobody cares a straw
for the interna l administration Native S tates long as
O ppression and crime are kept within decent limits and the
ruler is not drugged drunk
diseased from
end
the
year to the other They are the dark places of the earth full
unimaginab l e cruelty touching the R ailway and the Tele
graph
Side and
the other the days of Harun
R aschid When I left the train I did business with divers
Kings and in eight days passed throug h many changes
life
S ometimes I w ore dress clothes and consorted with Princes
drinking from crystal and eating from sil v er S o m e
times I lay upon the ground and de v oured w hat I could get
from a plate made of lea v es and drank the running water and
lept under the same rug as my servant It w as all in the day s
work
hen I headed for
Great Indian Desert u pon the proper
date as I had promised and the
me down at
Mar ar Junction w here a funny little happy
lu cky native
managed railway runs to
The Bombay Mai l fro
Delhi m akes a
at Mar w ar S he arrived as I got in
and I had just time t o hurry to her p l atform and go down the
ca r riages There was o n ly
S econd clas
the train I
Slipped t h e w indow and looked down upon a fla m ing red beard
half co ve r ed by a railway rug That
my man fast sl ep
S OR T S T ORIES
and I dug him gently in the ribs He woke with a gr u nt and
I
his face in the light of the l amps It was a great and
shining fa e
Tickets again
said he
No said I
I am to tel l you that he is gone S out h for
the w eek He has gone S outh for the w eek
The train had begun to mo v e out The red man ru bbed his
eyes
He has gone S outh for the w eek he repeated
N
that s j ust like his
Did he
that I w as t o giv
you anything Cause I won t
He did n t
I said and dropped away and w atched the
red lights die
in the dark It
horribly cold because the
wind
blowing
the sands I climbed into my
train
not an Intermediate carriage this ti m e
and went to s l eep
If the man with the beard had g iv en me a rupee I should
have kept it as a m emento of a rather cur i ous affair But the
c o nsciousness
having done my duty w as my only re w ard
Late r on I reflected that two gent l emen like my friends cou l d
not do any good if they forgathered and personated correspond
ents
newspapers and might if they blackmailed
the
litt l e rat trap states
Central India or S outhern R ajputana
get the m selves into serious di ficulties I therefore took some
tro u b l e to describe them as accurately as I could remember to
peop l e
would be interested in deporting them and
so I was l ater informed in ha v ing them headed b ck
from the
borders
Then I became respectable and returned to an
where
there were no K ings and no incidents outside the daily manu
facture
a newspaper A newspaper o ice seems to attract
every concei v able ort person to the prejudice discipline
Zenana
ladies arri v e and beg that the E ditor wil l
instantly abandon all his duties to describe a Christian prize
g iving in a back s l um
a perfectly inaccessible village
S OR T S T OR I E S
down and wr ite
A slight increase of s i ckness is reported
from the Kh da Janta Khan District The outbreak
sp o radic in its nature and thanks to the energetic e forts
the District authorities is now a l most at an end It
h o wever
with deep regret
record the death etc
Then the Sickness really breaks out and the less re c o ding
and reporting the better for the peace of the subscribers
But
the E mpires and the Kings continue to di v ert themse l ves as
selfishly as before and the Foreman thinks that a daily paper
really ought to come out once in twenty four hours and all the
peop l e at the Hill stations in the middle
their amusements
Good gracious Why can t the paper be sparkling
Im
sure there s p l enty going on up here
T h at is the dark half the moon and as the ad v ertise m ents
must be experienced to be appreciated
It was in that season and a remarkably e v il season that the
paper began r u nning the l ast issue
the week
S aturday
night which is to
S unday morning after the custom of
a Lond o n paper This was a great convenience for immediately
after the paper
put to bed the dawn would lower the ther
from
for half an hour and in that
to almost
the grass until you
chil
have no idea how cold is
beg in to pray for
very tire d man co uld get
to sleep
ere the he t ro u sed him
One S at u rday night it was my p l easant duty to put the
paper to bed a l one A King o r co u rtier
a c ou r tesan
a
Community was going to die get a new Constitution do
so m ething that
important on the other side
the world
and the paper
to be he l d O pen till the l atest p o ssib l e
m inute in order to catch the telegram
It was a pit c hy black night as stifling as a June ight can
be and the
the red hot Wind from the wes ard was boom
ing am ong the tinder dry trees and pretending that the rain
MAN
WO L
KING
w as its hee l s Now and again a spot almost boi l ing water
would fall on the dust with the flop of a frog but all weary
wor l d knew that
only pretence It
a shade coo l er in
the press room than the o fice
I
there wh le the type
ticked and c l icked and the night j ars hooted at the windows
and the all but naked compositors wiped the sweat from th ir
foreheads and called for water The thing that was keeping
u s back whatever it was would not come
though the
dropped
the last type was
and the who l e rou d earth
stood still in the choking heat with its finger
lip to wait
the e v ent I drowsed and wondered whether the telegraph
a b l essing and whether this dying man
struggling people
might be aware
the inconvenience the delay was causing
There
no special reason beyond the heat and worry to
make tension but as the clock hands crept up to three o clock
and the machines sp u n their
wheels two and three ti m es to
see that all
in order before I said the w ord that wo u l d
them off I co u ld ha v e shrieked aloud
Then the roar and ratt l e
the whee l s shivered the q u ie t
into l itt l e bits I rose t o go away but two men in white c l othes
stood in front
me The first
said
him
The
second said
S o it is
And they both laughed a lm ost
loud ly as the m achine r y roared and mopped their foreheads
We seed there was a light burning across the road and
were sleeping in that ditch there coolness and I said to my
friend here The o fice is O pen Let come a l ong and speak to
him as turned us back from the
tate s id the
s m a ll er
the two He was the man I
met in the M h w
train and his fell o w was the red bearded man Mar w a r Junc
tion There was no mistaki g the eyebrows
the
the
the othe r
I
not p l eased be c ause I wished to go to sl ep not to
squabb l e with loafers
What do
want
I asked
S H OR T S T OR I E S
Ha l f an h o u r s talk wit h yo u c o o l and co m f o rtab l e i n the
o ce said the red bearded man
We d
some drink
the
d o es n t begin yet Peachey
you need n t look
but what w e rea lly w ant is advice We don t w ant money
We
y ou as a fav o r because we f o und o u t y ou did u s a bad
tur ab ou t
S tate
I l ed from th e press r oo m to the stifling
w it h the
m aps on the wa ll s and the red haired m an rubbed h is hands
That s om ethi g like said he
This w as the proper shop
c o m e to Now S ir let m e introd u ce to yo u Brother Peachey
Carne h an t h at s hi m and Brother Danie l Dravot that is
and the l ess said about
professions the better for
have
been m ost things in
time S o l dier sailor compositor photog
pr oo f reader street preac h er and correspondents
the
when w e thought the paper w anted o ne Carne
first and
that s
han is s o ber and
am I Look at
s u re It will save
cutting into my talk We ll take o ne
y our cigars apiece and you shal l
us light up
I wat c hed the test The m en were abso lu te l y s o ber
I
gave t h e m each a tepid w hiskey and soda
Well
go od said Carnehan
the eyebr o ws wiping
the fro th fr om his m o u stach
Let m e talk no w Dan We
have been all over India m o st l y
fo ot We have been boiler
engine drivers petty c o ntra c tors and all that and
have de c ided that India is n t big enou gh
s u ch as us
They certa inly were t oo big for the o fice
beard
see m ed to fill half the r o o m and
Sh oul ders the other
half as they sat o n the big tab l e Carnehan c o ntinued The
cou nt ry is n t half worked
because th ey that o verns it
won t l et you to u ch it They spend all their blessed time in
governing it and you can t lift a spade nor chip a rock
loo k for nor anything like that without all the Government
saying
Leave it a l one and l et us govern Therefore such
S H OR T S T OR I ES
T h at s m ore l ike said Carnehan
If y ou c oul d thin us
a l itt l e more mad we would be more pleased
have come to
to kn o w abo u t this country to read a book ab o ut it and
to be sh o wn m ap We want
to tel
that we
ools
and to Show u s yo u r books
He turned to the bo o k c ases
Are yo u at all in earnest
I said
A litt l e said Dravot sweet ly
big a map as
have
ven if it all blank where
is and any boo s
We
read though we are
very educated
I uncased the big thirty two miles to the inch map
India
and
smaller Frontier maps hau l ed down volume INF KAN
the
and the men consulted them
See here
said Dravot his thumb
the map
Up to
Peachey and me know the road We was there with
Army We have to turn
to the right at
thro ugh
territory Then we get among the hills
fourteen thousand feet
thousand
will be cold
work there but it don t look very far
the map
I handed h im Wood on the
Carnehan
was deep in the
They re a mixed lot said Dravot
and it
w o n t he l p us to know t h e names
their tribes The m re
tribes the mo re they ll fight and the bette r for us From
to As h ang H mm
But all the information abo u t the c ou ntry is as Sket ch y and
inacc u rate as can be I protested
No
knows anything
abo u t it really Here s the file
the
R ead what Bellew says
B l ow Bellew
said Carnehan
they
a
lot
heat h ens but this bo o k here says they th nk they
r l ated to u s Eng lish
I smoked whi l e the men pored o er
the
m aps and the
W
LD
KI NG
The is no use yo u r waiting said Dravot po l ite l y
It
bout four o clo c k
We ll go before
o clock if you
want to s l eep and we w on t stea l any of the papers Don t
you
u p We re two harm l ess lunatics and if you come
say good bye
to m orrow evening d o wn to the S erai we
to yo u
two foo l s I answered
Yo u ll be turned back
at the Frontier
up the minute
foot in Afghani
stan Do you want any money
a recommendation d o wn
count y I
he l p you to the chance
work next week
Next we k we shall be hard at work ou selves thank you
said Dra v ot
It is
easy being a ing as it l ooks When
we
Kingdom in going order we let
kn o w and
come up and he l p us to govern it
Would two l unatics make a
like that said
Carn han w ith subdued pride showing me a greasy ha l f sheet
notepaper on which was w ritten the fo llow ing I copied it
then and there as a c u riosity
S
R T S T OR I ES
There w as n o need
the l ast article said Ca r ne h an
b lu shing modestly but it l ooks regular Now you know the
sort
men that loafers are
l oafers Dan until
get
of India
and
think that we would Sign a Con
track like that unless
earnest We have kept away
from the two things that make life worth ha v in g
won t enj oy your lives much longer if you are going
to try this idiotic ad v enture Don t
the
fire I
sai d and go away before nine O clock
I l eft them stil l poring o v er the maps and making notes
the back
the
Be sure to come down to the
S erai to morrow were their parting words
The
S erai the great four square sink of human
ity w here the strings
camels and h orses from the North
load and unload All the nationalities Centra l Asia may be
found there and most the folk India proper Balkh and
Bokhara there meet Benga l and Bom ay and
to dra eye
teeth You can buy ponies turquoises Persian pussy cats
saddle bags fat tailed sheep and musk in the
S erai
and get many strange things for nothing In the afternoon I
went do n to
whether my friends intended to keep their
word or were lying there drunk
A pr est attired in fragments
ribbons and rags stalked up
to me gravely twisting a child s paper Whirligig Behind him
was his servant bending under the load a crate mud to y s
The two were l oading up two camels and the inhabitants of the
S erai watched the m with shrieks of laughter
The priest is m ad said a horse dealer to me
He is
going to Kabu l to sel l toys to the Amir He will either be
raised to honor ha v e his head cut
He came in here this
m orning and has been
madly ever since
The witless are under the protection God stammered a
cheeked Usbeg in broken Hindi They foretell fu re e v ents
S H OR T S T OR I E S
Carn eh an
What d yo u think that sa d h e in Engl sh
can t talk their patter
I
made him my servant He
makes a h ands o me se r vant
is for nothing that I been
kn oc king abo u t the c o untry f o r fourteen years Did n t I do
that talk neat We hit c h on to a caravan at Pes h awar til l
get to
and then w e ll
if
can get donkeys for
c amels and strike int o
Whir l igigs for the A m ir
O Lor Put y our hand u nder the came l ags and ell m e wh at
yo u fee l
I felt t he b u tt of a Ma r t ni and an o ther and another
Twenty o f em said Dravot p l a c idly
Twenty
em
and amm u n i tion to correspond under the Whir l igigs and the
m ud do ll s
Heaven he l p
if y o u are caught with those things
I
said
Martini is wo r th her weight in silver among the
Pathans
Fifteen h u ndred rupees o f c apita l
every r u pee we c ou l d
beg b o rr o w or steal
are invested on these two c ame l s said
Dravot We w o n t get c aught We going thro ugh the Kh aiber
with a regu l ar caravan Who t o uch a poor m ad p r iest
Have yo u got eve yt h ing y ou want
I asked ove rcom e
with astonish m ent
yet but we shall soon G i ve u s a m e m ent o of yo u r
kindness
You did m e a serv ice yesterday and that
ti m e in Marwar Ha l f my Kingdom shall
hav e
the
saying is
I s l ipped a sma l l char m co m pass from my wat c h
chain and handed it up to the priest
It
Good bye said Dravot giving me h and cautiously
l ast time we ll Shake hands with an Englishman these man
days S hake hands with him Carnehan he cried as the second
camel passed me
Carnehan l eaned d o wn and Shook hands Then the ca m e l s
passed away al o ng the d u sty ro ad and I w as left a lo ne
TH E
O LD
KING
w onder My eye could detect no fai lure in the dis ises The
scene in the S erai proved that they w ere complete to the native
m ind There w as j ust the chance therefore that Carne h an and
Dravot w o uld be able to wander through Afghanistan witho u t
dete c ti o n B u t beyond they w o ul d find death certa i n and
awfu l deat h
Ten days l ater a native c orresp o ndent giving me the ne w s
of the
fro m Peshawar wound up
letter with
There
h as been much la u ghter here account a c ertain m ad p r iest
s go ng in his esti m ati o n to se ll petty ga u ds and
cant tr i nkets which he ascribes as gr at c har m s to H H the
Amir Bokhara He passed through Peshawa r and assoc i ated
hi m se l f to the S e c ond S ummer c aravan t h at g o es to Kab ul
The m er ch ants are p l eased beca u se t ro u gh s u perstit io n they
imagine that s uch mad fellows bring good f o rt u n
Border I wo ul d have prayed
The
then were beyond
for them but that night a rea l King d ied in Eu r o pe
de m anded an o b i t u ary n o t ic e
The wh ee l of t h e wo r ld sw i ngs t hrou g h t h e sa m e p h ases
and again Summ er passed and winte r thereafter and
came and passed again The daily paper co nt i n u ed and I
with
and upon the third s um mer there fell a h o t night a
ni ht iss u e and a strained w aiting
s o mething to be tel
graphed from the other Side of the wor l d exactly as had hap
pened before A few great men had died in the past two
ears
ma c hines worked with m ore c l atter and some o f the trees
the O fice garden were a few feet tal l er But that
a e ve t o the press r o om and w ent t h ro u g h ust s uch
a scene as I h ave a l ready des c ribed The nerv ou s tension was
st on er th n had been two years before and fe l t t h e heat
a cu te l y At three o clock I c ed Print
and
ne
S H OR T S T OR I E S
go w h en t h ere crept to my c h air w h at was l eft Of a m an
He was bent into a circle his head was sunk between his shou l
ders and he moved his feet
o v er the o ther l ke a bear I
could hard l y
whether he walked
crawled this rag
wrapped whining cripp l e
addressed m e by name crying
that he w as c o me back
Can yo u i ve me a drink he
w himpered
For the Lord s sake g i ve me a drink
I went back to the o fice the man fo llo wing w ith groans
pain and I turned u p the l amp
Don t y o u kn o w me he gasped dr o pp ng into a c ha i r
and he turned his drawn face surmounted by a sh oc k gray
h air to the light
I l ooked at him intent l y Once before h ad I seen eyebro w s
that met over the nose in an inch br o ad b la c k band b u t fo r the
life me I c o uld not tell where
I don t kno w y o u I said h and i ng h im the whiskey
What
I d o for
He took a g ulp o f the S pirit raw and shivered in sp i te the
su fo c ating heat
I ve come back
he repeated
and I w as the King o f
me and Dravot
crowned Ki gs
was In
this o ce we settled
se ting there and g iving u s the
b o oks I am Peachey Peachey Taliaferro Carne h an and
y o u ve been setting here ever since
Lord
I was m ore than a l ittle astonished and expressed my feel
ings according ly
It true said Carnehan with a
cack le n u rsing his
feet w hich w ere wrapped rags True as gospel Kings w e
were with crowns upon
heads m e and Dravot p oo r
Dan
p o or poor Dan that w o u ld never take adv ic e n o t
though I begged
hi m
Take the whiskey I said and take yo u r own time Tell
me all you can recollect everything from beginning to end
S H OR T S T OR I ES
m e wear outrageous things to look like a heathen That was
in a m ost
country and
camels cou l d n t go
long any mo re because of the mountains They w ere tal l and
bla c k and c o m ing h ome I
the m fight l ike w i l d goats
there are l ots of g o ats in
And these mountains
they never keep till no m o re than the goats A lw ays fighting
they are and don t l et you s l eep at night
Take some m ore w hiskey I said very slow l y W h at did
y ou and Danie l Dravot do w hen the c a m e s c ou l d go no further
because o f the r ou gh roads that l ed int o
What did which do There w as a par y ca ll ed Pea ch ey
Ta l iaferr o Carnehan that w as w it h Dravot S hal l I tel l yo u
about him He died
there in the c old S lap from the
bridge fel l
Peachey turning and t w isting in the air like a
penny Whirligig that you
sel l t o the Amir
No they was
two for three
those Whirlig gs I am mu ch mistaken
and w o ef ul sore
And then these c ame l s w ere no use and
Peachey said to Dravot
For the Lord s sake l et s get out
this before
heads are chopped
and with that they
ki ll ed the c amels al l among the m ountains not
anything
in particu l ar to eat but first they took
the boxes wit h the
guns and the ammunition ti ll two m en came along driving fo u r
mu es Dravot up and dances in front the m singing
S e ll
me four mules S ays the first m an
If yo u are ch eno u g h
to buy you are ric h enough to rob but before ever h e could
put his hand to his knife Dravot breaks his neck over his
knee and
other party runs away S o Carnehan l oaded the
m ul es with the rifles that was taken the came l s and together
we starts forward into those bitter cold
parts
and never a road br o ader than the back
your hand
He pa u sed for a moment whi l e I asked him if he c ou l d
re m ember the nat u re of the co ntry thr o ug h which he had
jou r neyed
MAN
WO
LD
KING
I am telling
as straight as I
my head is as
good as it might be They drove nails through it to make m e
hear better how Dravot died The country w as
and the mu l es w ere m ost contrary and t h e inhabitants was
dispersed and so l itary They went up and up and down and
do n and t h at other party Carnehan was imp l oring Dravot
not to sing and w histle
l oud for fear of ringing down the
avalanches But Dravot says that if a King cou l d
Sing it
worth being King and whacked the m u l es o ver
the rump and never took no heed for ten cold days We came
to a big leve l val l ey all among the mountains and the m ules w ere
near dead so we killed the m not having anything in specia l
for them or us to eat We sat upon the boxes and p l ayed
and e v en wit h the c artridges that
j olted
Then ten m en with bows and arrows ran down t h at va ll ey
chasing wenty men wit h bows and arrows and t h e r o w was
They
fair men fa i rer than
me
with yellow h air and re m arkable we ll bui l t S ays Dravot
packing the guns
This is the beginning of the business
We ll fight for the ten men and with that he fires t wo rifles
at the twen y men and drops
the m at
hundred
yards from the rock where h e was sitting The other
egan to run but Carnehan and Dravot sits
the boxes
picki g them
at all ranges up and down the valley Then
we goes up to the ten m en that had run across the snow too
and they fires a foo y little arrow at us Dravot h e shoots
above their heads and they all falls
Then h e wa l ks
over them and kicks them and then he l ifts the m up and
hakes hands all round to make the m friendly l ike He calls
them
gi v es them the boxes to carry and w aves his h and
for all the world as though he was King a l ready They takes
the boxes and him across the valley and up the hil l into a pine
w ood the top where there
half a dozen big stone ido l s
S H OR T S T O R I E S
Dravot he goes to the biggest
fe l lo w they call
and lays a rifle and a cartridge at his feet rubbing h is nose
respectfu l w ith his own nose patting him
the head and
sa l uting i n front
it He turns round to the men and nods
his head and says
That s all right I m in the know too
and all these o l d j im j ams are my friends Then he opens his
m outh and points down it and when the first man brings him
food he says
and when the second man brings hi m
food h e says
No but when
the
priests and
the b o ss of the vi ll age brings him food he says Yes very
hau gh y and eats it slow That
how
came to
first
had tumbled
vi llage w i t h o u t any trouble just as though
fro m the skies But
tum bled fro m
of those damned
rope b r idges you
and
y ou c o ul d n t expect a man to
laugh m u ch after that
Take some m ore w h iskey and go on
I said
That was
the first vi ll age
came into How did
get to be King
I was n t King
said Carnehan
Dravot he
the
King and a handsome man he lo oked with the go l d crown
head and all Him and the ther party stayed in that
lage and every morning Dravot
by the side
Old
and the peop l e came and worshipped That was
order Then a l ot
men came into the valley and Carnehan
and Drav o t pi c ks them
with the rifles before they kne w
where they w as and runs down into the val l ey and up again
the other side and finds a
ther village same as the first
and the pe o p l e all falls do w n flat on their faces and Dravot
says
No w what is
trouble be een you two vi llages
and the peop l e points to wom an as fair as
me that
was carried
and D v o t takes her back to the first village
and counts up the dead
eight there
For each dead
man Dravot po u rs a l itt l e milk
the ground and waves his
arms like a Whirligig and That all right says he Then he
S H OR T S T OR I ES
m atch l ocks We makes friends with the priest and I stay
there a l one with
the Army teaching the men
to
dril l and a thundering big Chief comes across the snow w ith
kettle drums and horns twanging because he heard there w as
a new God kicking about Carnehan sights
the brown
the men ha l f a mi l e across the snow and wings one
them
Then he sends a message to the Chief that unless he wished
to be ki l led he must come and shake han s with me and l ea v e
his arms behind The Chief comes alone first and Carnehan
shakes hands with him and whirls his arms about same as
Dravot used and very much surprised that Chief was and
strokes my eyebrows Then Carnehan goes alone to the Chief
and asks him in dumb Sho if he had an enemy he hated I
Carnehan weeds
the pick of h is
have says the Chief
men and sets th e two
the Army to Show them dri ll and at
the end
two w eeks the men can manoe u vre ab ou t as we ll
as Volunteers S o he marches with the Chief
a great big
plain on the top
a mountain and the Chief s men r u shes
into a vi ll age and takes it
three Martinis firing into the
brown o f the enemy
we took that village too and I gives
the Chief a rag fro m my coat and says
Occupy til l I come
which w as scriptural By way
a reminder when me and
the Army
eighteen hundred yards away I drops a bu l let
near him standing
the snow and all the people falls flat
their faces Then I sends a l etter to Dravot wherever he be
by l and or by
At the risk
throwing the creature
train I interrupted
write a letter up yonder
How could
The letter
K eep l ooking at me
Oh
The l etter
between the eyes p l ease It w as a string talk letter that
l earned the way it from a blind beggar in the Punjab
I remember that there had once come to the
a blind man
w th a knotted t ig and a piece of string which he wound round
MAN
W O LD
KING
the wig according to some cipher his
He co u ld after the
l apse of days or hours repeat the sentence which he had reeled
up He had reduced the alphabet to eleven primitive sounds
tried to teac h m e his method but I could not understand
I sent that l etter to Dravot said Carnehan
and told
him to c o m e back because this Kingdom was growing too big
for m e to handle and then I struck for the first valley to
how the priests were working They called the village we took
along with the Chief
and the first village
took
Heb The priests at
Heb was doing all ight but they had
a lo t of pending c ases about land to Show me and some men
from another vi ll age had been firing arrows at night I went
o ut and looked for that village and fired four rounds at it
from a t h ousand yards That used all the c artridges I cared to
spend and I waited
Dravot
had been away two or
three months and I kept my people quiet
One morning I heard the devi l s own noise
drums and
h orns and Dan Dravot marc es down the hill with his Army
and a tai l of hundreds
men and which was the most amaz
ing a great go l d crown
his head
My G o rd Carnehan
says Daniel this is a
business and we
got the
who l e count y as far as
worth having I am the son
exander by Queen S emiramis and you re my younger
brother and a God too It s the biggest thing we ve ever
seen I been marching and fighting
weeks with the
Army and every footy little vi ll age
miles has come in
rejoicefu l and more than that I got the key of the whole
S how as you ll
and I
got a crown for you I told em
to make two em at a p l ace cal led S h u w here the gold lies in
the rock like suet in m utton Gold I
seen and t ur quoise
I
kicked out
the cli fs and there s garnets in the sands
the ri v er and here a c h u nk
amber that a man brou g h t
m e Ca ll up all the priests and here take y o u r crown
S H O R T S T OR I ES
One
the men O pens a black hair bag and I slips the
cro w n on It was too small and too hea v y but I wore it for
the glory Hammered gold it was
pound weight like a
h o op
a barre l
Peachey says Dra v ot
don t w ant fight no more
The Craft the trick
help me
and he brings forward
that same Chief that I left at
Billy Fish
called
hi m after w ards because he was so like Billy Fish that drove
the big tank engine at Mach
the Bolan in the O ld days
S hake hands with him says Dravot and I shook hands and
near ly dropped
Billy Fish ga v e me the Grip I said noth
ing but tried him with the Fello w Craft Grip
He answers
all right and I tried the Master
Grip but that
a s lip
A
Fel l ow Craft he is
I says to Dan
Does he kno w the word
He does says Dan and all the priests know It a
mirac l e The Chiefs and the priests
work a Fellow Craft
Lodge in a way that s very l ike ours and they ve cut the
marks on the rocks but they don t know the Third Degree
and they
come to find
It Gord s Truth I
known
these long years
Afghans knew up to the Fellow Craft
Degree but this is a miracle A God and a Grand Master
the Craft am I and a Lodge in the Third Degree I will open
and w e ll raise the head priests and the Chiefs
the villages
It against al l the law I says holding a Lodge without
warrant from any one and
know w e never held o fice in
any Lodge
It a master stroke o policy ays Dravot It means
running the country as easy as a four wheeled bogie a down
grade We can t stop to inquire now or they
turn agai st us
I
forty Chiefs
my hee l and passed and raised according
to their merit they shall
Billet these men on the villages
and see that we run up a Lodge
some kind The temple
will do for the Lodge room The women must make
S H O R T S T OR I ES
it to c l ear away t h e black dirt and presently he sho w s all
o ther priests the Master s Mark same as was
apron cut i nto the stone
e v en the priests of the temp l e
knew it w as there The
chap falls flat on his face
at
feet and kisses em
Luck again says Dravot
acr o ss the Lodge to me they
it the missing Mark that
no
cou l d understand the why
We re more than safe
now Then he
butt
for a ga v e l and says
By vi r tue
the authority vested in me by my
right hand
and the he lp
Peachey I declare myself Grand Master
all
Freemasonry in
in this the Mother Lodge
the
co u ntry and King of
equally with Peachey
At
that he puts
his crown and I puts
mine
I was doing
S enior Warden and we O pens the Lodge in most amp l e
form It was a amazing mir cle The priests moved in Lodge
through the first two degrees almost without telling as if the
memory was coming back to them After that Peachey and
Dravot raised such as
orthy
igh priest
Chiefs of
far
illages Billy Fish
the first and I can tell you we
s c ared the soul out
him It
not in any
according to
R itual but it se rved
turn We did
raise more than ten
the biggest men because we did
want to make the
Degree common And they was clamoring to be raised
In another
months says Dravot we hold another
Communication and
how
are working Then he asks
them about their villages and l earns that they
fighting
against the other and were sick and tired
it And when they
doing that they was fighting with the Mohammedans
can fight those when they come into
count ry says
Dravot Tel l
every tenth man
your tribes for a Frontier
guard and send two hundred at a time to this val ley to be
drilled Nobody is going to be shot
speared any more
long as
d o es w e ll and I know that
won t cheat me
MAN
W O LD
KING
because you re white people
sons of Alexander
and
like common black Mohammedan
are
people and by
says he running
into E nglish at the end
I make
a damned fine Nation
you
I die in the m aking
I can t tell all we did for the next
months be c ause
Dravot did a l ot I could n t
the hang
and he l ea ned
their lingo in a way I never could My work was to h elp the
peop l e plough and now and again go
with some
the
Army and
what the other villages were doing and make
em throw rope bridges across the ravines which
up the
country horrid Dra v ot
very kind to me but when he
walked up and down in the pine wood pulling that b l oody red
beard
his with both fists I knew he was thinking plans I
could not advise about and I just waited
orders
But Dravot never showed me disrespect before the people
They were afraid
me and the Army but they l oved Dan
He was the best friends with the priests and the Chiefs but
any
could come across the hills with a comp l aint and
Dravot wou l d hear him
fair and call four priests together
and say what
to be done He u sed to call in Billy Fish
from
and
Kergan fro m S hu and an Ol d Chief
we cal l
was l ike enough to his rea l name
and ho l d counci l s with em when there
any fighting to be
done in smal l villages That was his Council of War and the
four priests of
S hu Khawak and Madora
his
Pri v y Council Between the l ot em they sent me with forty
men and twenty rifles and Sixty men carrying turquoises into
the Ghorband country to buy those hand made Martini rifles
that come
of the Amir s workshops at Kabul from
the Amir s Herati regiments th would ha v e sold the very
teeth
their mouths for turquoises
I stayed in Ghorband a month and gav e the Go v erno r
there the pi ck
my baskets for h u sh m oney and bribed the
S OR T S T OR I E S
Colone l
the regiment some more and between the two and
the tribes people
got more than a hundred hand made
Martinis a h undred good Kohat Jezails that
throw to
hundred yards and forty man loads
very bad ammunition
the rifles I came back with what I had and distributed em
among the men that the Chiefs sent in to me to drill Drav o t
was too busy to attend to those things but the
Army that
we first made helped me and we turned
fi v e h u ndred m en
that cou l d drill and two hundred that knew how to hold arms
pretty straight E ven those cork screwed hand made guns
a miracle to them Dravot talked big about powder shops and
factor es w a l king up and down in the pine w ood when the
winter
coming on
I w on t make a Nation says he
I
make an E mpire
These men are n t niggers they re E nglish Look at their
eyes
l ook at their mouths Look at the way they stand up
They
chairs in their own houses They re the Lost
Tribes
something li k e it and they
grown to be E nglish
I
take a census in
spring if the priests don t get fright
ened There must be a fair two million
em in these h i ll s
The villages are ful l
l ittle children Two milli o n people
two hundred and fifty thousand fighting men
and all E nglish
They only want the rifles and a little drilling
Two hundred
and fif y thousand men ready to
in on R ussia s r ght flank
when
tries for India Peachey man he says chewing his
beard in great hunks
hall be E mperors
E mperors
the E arth Raj ah Brooke wil l be a suckling to us I ll treat
with the Viceroy on equal terms I
him to send me
twel v e picked E nglish
twel v e that I kno
to help us
govern a bit There
S ergeant pensioner at
many the good dinner he given me and his wife a pair
trousers There s Donkin the Warder
T
Jai l
there hundreds tha I could lay my hand
if I
in India
S H OR T S T OR I E S
the right thing to do and I ha v e
time for all I want to do
and here s the w inter coming
and all He put half his
beard int o his m outh all red like the gold
h is crown
I m sorry Danie l says I I
done all I co uld I
dril l ed the men and shown the people how to stack their o ats
better and I
bro u ght in those tinware rifles from Ghorband
but I know what you
driving at I take it Kings a l ways
fee l oppressed that
There another thing too says Dravot wa l ki g u p and
do w n
The winter coming and these people w on t be giving
much tro u b l e and if they do
can t m ove about I want a
wife
F o r G o rd s sake l eave the w om en a l one I says We
b o t h got all the work we
though I
a foo l R emember
the
and keep cl ear w o men
The
only l asted till such time as we was Kings
and Kings we h ave been these months past says Dravot
weighing his crown in his hand
go get a wife too
Peachey a nice
plump gir l that keep
war m
in the winter They prettier than E nglish gir ls and
can
take the pick
em Boil em once or twice in
water and
they ll come
like chicken and ham
Don t tempt me
I says
I w il l not have any dea l ings
with a woman not till
are a dam side more sett l ed than we
two men and you
been doing the work
are n ow I
thr ee Let
lie
a bit and see if
been d oin g the work
we c an get some better tobac c o from Afghan country and run
in s om e good liquor but no wo m en
says Dravot
I said
Who talking
a Queen to breed a King s
for the King A Queen
of
the strongest tribe that
make them your blood brothers and
by your side and tell
all the peop l e thinks ab ou
that
y ou and their ow n affairs That w h at I w ant
MAN
WO L
KING
you remember that Bengali woman I kept at Mogul
S erai when I
a plate layer
says I
A fat lot
good
to me S he taught me the lingo and
two ot h er
things but what happened S he ran away with the S tation
Master s servant and half my month s pay Then she t u rned
up at
Junction in tow of a half caste and had the
to say I was her husband al l among t h e drivers in
the ru nning shed too
We ve done wit h that says Dravot t h ese
are
whiter than yo u me and a Queen I will have for the winter
months
For the l ast ti m e
asking Dan d o
I says It ll
only bring us harm The Bible says that Kings ain t to waste
their stren th
women special l y when t hey ve g o t a ne w
raw Kingdom to work over
For the last time
answering I wi ll said Dravot and
h e went away through the pine trees l ooking l ike a big red
devi l the sun being
his crown and beard and all
But getting a wife was
as easy as Dan thought He
put it before the Council and there
no answer ti ll Bi lly
Fish said that he d better ask the girls Dravot damned them
all round What s wrong with me
he shouts standing by
the ido l
Am I dog
am I not enoug h of a man
for your wenches Have n t I put the shadow
my hand
over this country Who stopped the last Afghan raid
It
was me really but Dra v ot was
ang y to remember Who
bought your guns Who repaired the bridges Who s the
Grand Master
the sign
in the stone
says he and he
thu m ped his hand on the block that he used to sit in Lodge
and at Council which opened like Lodge always Billy Fis h
said nothing and no more did the others K eep yo u r hair on
Dan said I and
the girls That s how it s done at
Home and these people are quite E ng l ish
O
S OR I S
T h e m arriage
the King is a matter
S tate says Dan
in a w hite hot rage he could feel I hope that he was going
against his better mind He wa l ked
the Council ro om
and the o thers sat sti ll loo king at the ground
Bi lly Fish says I to the Chief o f
what s
di ficu lty here A straight answer to a true friend
You kno w sa ys Billy Fish
shou l d a man tell you
men marry
who knows everything Ho w can da u ghters
G o ds or Devils
not proper
I remembered something like that in the Bib l e but if
after seeing u s as l ong as they had they still believed we were
G o ds it was
for me to unde ceive the m
A G o d c an do anything says I
If the King i s fond of
not l et h er die
S he h ave to said Billy Fish
a girl he
There are all sorts
G o ds and Devi l s in these mountains
and now and again a girl m arries
them and is n t seen
any mo re B esides
two know the Mark c ut in the st o ne
On ly the Gods know that We tho u ght you were men til l
showed the sig
the Master
I wished then that had explained about the loss the
genuine se c rets
a Master Mason at the first
but I
said nothing A l l that night there
a b l owing
horns in
a l itt l e dark te m ple half way down the hi ll and I h eard a girl
crying fit to die One the priests told us that
was being
prepared to marry the King
I ll have no nonsense of that kind says Dan I don t
w ant to interfere with your customs but I take my
w ife
The girl s a litt l e bit afraid says the priest S he
thinks she going to die and t hey are h eartening of her up
d o wn in the temp l e
Hearten her very tender then says Drav o t
I
with the butt
a gun
h earten
never want to be
h ea r tened again He licked hi s lips did Dan and stay ed u p
S H OR T S T OR I ES
Ca ll u p all the Chiefs and p ri ests and l et the Em pe ror
if h is wife suits him
There was no need to cal l any o ne They w ere all t h ere
l eani g
their g u ns and spears round the cl earing in the
c entre of the pine wo o d A
O f priests went down to the
litt le temp l e to bring up the girl and the h o rns b le w fit to
w ake the dead Billy Fis h saunters ro u nd and gets as cl ose
t o Danie l as he c ould and behind him stood his twenty m en
with matc hl o c ks
a man
the m u nder Six feet I was
next to Dravot and behind m e was twenty men of the reg ul ar
Army Up co m es the girl and a strapping w en ch s h e was
covered with sil ver and turqu o ises but white as death and
lo oking back eve y m inute at the priest s
S he ll
said Dan l ooking her ove r What s to
afraid
lass Come and kiss me
He p u ts h is arm round
her S he shuts her eyes gives a bit a squeak and d o wn goes
her face in the side
Dan s flaming red beard
The slut bitten me
says he c l apping hi s h and to his
neck and sure enough his hand w as red with blo o d Bi lly F ish
and two of his m atchlock men cat c hes h old of Dan by the
sh o u l ders and drags hi m into the
lot while the priests
howl s their lingo
Neither
Devi l b u t a man
I w as all taken aba ck
a priest cut at m e in front and the
Ar m y behind began fi r ing into the
men
says Dan
What is the m ean i ng
C om e back C om e away
says Billy Fis h R u in and
if we can
Mut i ny is the m atter We break for
I t ed to give some so r t of orders to my m en
the m en
the reg lar Ar m y
but it was no u se
I fired into the
br o wn of em w it h an E ng l ish Martin i and d ri ll ed t h ree beggar
in a line The v ley was full of s h o u ti g howl ng creature
very oul w as sh r iek i ng N o t a God n o r a Dev il b u t o ly
TH E
W OU LD
KI N G
a m an The
tr oo ps st u ck to Bil ly Fis h all they were
worth b u t the ir m atch loc ks was n t half as g o od as the Kabu l
bree ch lo aders
fo u r the m dropped Dan w as be ll owing
l ke a bul
he was very wrathy and Billy Fish had a hard
j ob t o prevent him r u nning
at the c r o wd
We can t stand says Billy Fish
Make a ru n fo r it down
t h e vall ey The wh ol e pla c e is aga i nst
T h e m at chl o c k men
ran and we went down t h e v alley in spite
Drav o t He
sweari g ho r rib l e and crying ou t he was a King T h e priests
rolled great stones
u s and the regular Army fired hard and
there w as n t more than
m en
count ng Dan Billy Fish
and Me that came down to the bott om of t h e va ll ey a live
T h en they stopped fir ng and the horns in the te m p l e b lew
again
Come away
G o rd s sake come away says Billy
They l send r u nners out
all t h e vil lages before ever
Fish
t h ere but I can t do
we get to
I can prote c t
anything n ow
My o wn notion is t h at Dan began to go m ad in hi s head
fro m t h at hour He stared u p and d o wn l ike a stuck p i g Then
he was all
walking ba c k a l one and kill n the priests with
his bare hands which he c o u ld have d o ne An E mperor am
I says Danie l and next year I shall be a Knight the Q een
All right Dan says I but c om e a l ong
whi l e t h ere s
It s yo u r fa ult says h e
n o t loo k g afte r you r Army
better There
m u tiny in the m idst and yo u did n t know
you da m ned eng i ne driving p l ate l aying missionary s pass
h u nting hound
He
u pon a rock and ca lled me every foul
ame
c oul d lay tong u e
I w as t o o h eart si c k to c are
th ou gh it
all his fo o lishness t h at br o ught the s m as h
I m sorry Dan says I but there s no ac c o u nting for
nat i ves This b u siness is o ur F S even Maybe we ll m ake
om ething ou t of it yet wh en w e got to
S H OR T S T OR I E S
Let get t o
then says Dan and by God w hen
I come ba c k here again I sweep the val l ey
there is
a
b u g in a blanket left
We walked all t h at day and all t h at nig h t Dan was stu m p
ing up and down o n the sno ch ewing his beard and muttering
to himse l f
There
no
getting c l ear said Bil l y Fish The
priests will have sent runners to the villages to say that you are
only men Why did
you stick on as Gods till things
more
settled I m a dead man says Billy Fish and he throws hi m
se l f down on the snow and begins to pray to his G o ds
Next morning
in a cruel bad c ountry
all up and
down no le v el ground at all and no food either The
Bash
kai men looked at Billy Fish
as if they w anted to
something but they said ne v er a word At noon we came
the
a flat m ountain all co v ered with snow and when
climbed up into it beh o ld there was an Army in position
waiting in the middle
The runners have been ve y quick says Billy Fish with
a l ittle bit
a laugh They are waiting for us
Three
four men began to fire from the ene m y s Side and
a chance shot took Danie l in the calf the leg That brought
him to his senses He l ooks across the snow at the Army and
sees the rifles that we had brought into the country
We
done for says he
They are E ng l ishmen these
people
and
my b l asted nonsense that has brought
to this Get back Bi lly Fish and take your men away you v e
done what you cou l d and now c ut for it Carnehan says he
Shake hands with me and go a l ong with Billy Maybe they
won t ki ll
I go and meet e m a lo ne It me that did it
Me the K ing
says I
Go to Hell Dan I am with you here
Billy Fish you clea r
and we two will meet th o se folk
S OR T S T OR I E S
Pea ch ey t h at w as crying l ike a ch i ld I
brou g h t y ou t o t his
Peachey says h e
Bro u g h t y ou ou t o f yo u r h appy life to be
k ll d in
w here
late C om mander C hi ef of
the Em peror s f o rces Say y ou f o rgive m e Peachey
I do
says Peac h ey Fully and free ly do I f o rg ive y o u Dan
Sh ake hands Peac h ey says he I m going n ow O u t he
g o es lo oking neither right nor l eft and when he w as p l u m b in
the m iddle those dizzy dan c ing ropes
C u t y ou beggars
he s h o u ts and they cut and ol d Dan fe l l
n i ng r o und and
r o und and round twenty thousand mi es f o r he took ha l f an
hour to fall t ll he str u ck t h e water and I co ul d
his body
caught
a ro c k with the go ld crown cl ose beside
B u t do
kn o what they did to Peachey betw en
pine trees They cr u cified him S ir as
hand wi ll show
They used woo den pegs
his hands and his feet and h e
did n t die He hung there and screamed and they took hi m
down next day and said it
a mira c le that he was
dead
They took him down poor
Peachey that had n t done
the m any harm
that had n t done the m any
He rocked to and fro and wept bitterly wiping his eyes with
the back of h is scarred hands and moaning l ike a child for some
ten minutes
They was c u el enoug h to feed hi m up in the te m p l e
because they said he was more
a God than Old Danie l that
was a m an Then they turned him
the snow and to l d
him to go h o m e and Peachey came home in about a yea r
beg ing a l ong the roads quite safe
Daniel Dravot he w alked
fore and said
Come a l ong Peachey It a big thing we
doing The m ountains they dan c ed at night and the m o u ntains
they t r ied t o fal l on
head but Dan h e he l d u p his
h and and Peachey c a me along bent d o ub l e He never let go of
Dan s h and and he never l et go o f Dan s head They gave it to
as a present in the te m p l e to re mi nd him to com e agai
MAN
WOU LD
KING
t hou g h t h e crow n w as p u re g old and Pea ch ey w as sta r ving
neve r woul d Pea ch ey sel l the sa m e
knew Drav o t S i r Yo u
kne w Rig h t W o rs h ipf ul Br o t h er Drav o t L o ok at hi m now
He f um b l ed in t h e m ass rags r ou nd his bent w aist br o ught
out a b la c k hor sehair bag e m br o idered w it h si l ver thread and
sh oo k theref rom to my tab l e the d r ied w ithered h ead o f
Danie l Drav o t The m orning s u n t h at had l ong been pa l ing the
l a m ps struck the red beard and b l ind s u nken eyes st ck too
a h eavy c ir cl et of go l d st u dded w ith raw t u r quo ises t h at Ca e
han pla c ed tender ly the battered te m p l es
n o w said Carne h an
t h e Em peror in h is
ab i t as he l ived the King
with his cr ow n u p o n
h i s head P oor ol d Danie l that was a mo nar ch on c e
I sh u ddered for in spite o f deface m ents m anifo l d I re c og
t h e h ead t h e m an o f Mar w ar J u nction Carne h an ro se
t o go I atte m pted to stop him He w as n o t fit to walk abroad
Let m e take away the whiskey and give m e a itt l e money
h e gasped I was a King on c e I go to the Dep u ty Co m
mi ssione r and ask to in the P o or hou se till I get my h ea lth
No t han y ou I can t wait ti ll
ca ria e fo r m e I
rgent p ri vate a fairs in the s o uth
at Marwar
He shamb l ed
o f the o fi ce and depa r ted in th e direct io n
the Dep u ty Co mm issioner s ho use That day at no o n I had
oc cas io n to go down the b l inding hot Mall and I
a crooked
man crawling a lo ng the white d u st the roadside h is h at in
his hand qu ave ring do l orous l y after the fashion of street
singers at Ho m e T h ere was n o t a s oul in sig h t and he was
all possib l e a r s ho t o f t h e hou ses And he sang thro u g h
his n o se turning h is h ead fro m right to left
The
Ag l
l
Man g
f r h to war
n r wn
g in
nn r tr
f ll
in
t in
fa
S H OR T S T OR I E S
I w aited to hear no mo re b u t p u t the p o o r w ret c h int o my
carriage and drove him
to the nearest m issionary for e v en
t u al transfer to the Asy lu m He r epeated the hy mn twi c e whil
he
with me wh om h e d i d
in the l east re cogni ze and I
left him singing it to the mi ssionary
Tw o days l ater I i nq u ired afte r hi s wel fa r e o f t h e
tendent
the Asy lum
He was admitted suffer ing fr om
str o ke He died early
yesterday m o rning said the S uperintendent
Is it t ru e tha
he
half an hour bare headed in the
at m idday
Yes said I
but do y o u h appen to know if h e h ad any
thing u pon hi m by any c han c e when h e died
Not to my knowledge said
Su pe r intendent
And t h ere the m atte r r ests
S H OR T S T OR I E S
De ll a and Ji m have been said to il lus rat
the
st o y
c ross pu poses But the phrase is not well
used Thei r purposes were one on ly their methods cr o ssed
O Hen r y rare l y comments
his characters but he has here
picked
one quality
these two foolish c h ildren in a flat
for u nrese r ved praise
Of all
gi v e gifts these
were
the wisest Of all
give and receive gifts such as they are
wisest E ve r ywhere they are wisest They are the magi
If
the magi as O Henry says invented the art
ivin Christ
mas presents Della and Jim discovered it We have had no
two characters in whose comp ny it is better to l eave our st u dy
o f the sho rt st o r
One d oll ar and eig h ty seven c ents T h at w as all And Sixty
cents
it w as in pennies Pennies saved one and two at a
time by bu ll d o zing the gro c er and the vegetable m an and the
b u t c her u nti l one s cheeks burned w it h the silent imp u tati o n
parsimony that such close dea l ing i m plied Three ti m es
Della c o u nted it One do ll ar and eighty seven c ents And
the next day w ou l d be Christmas
There w as c lear l y not hi ng to do but do w n the shabby
litt le c ouch and h owl
Della did it Which instigates the
m ora l refle c ti o n that life is m ade up
sobs
smiles with
predominating
Whi l e the mistress the h o me is gradually subsiding from
the first stage to the se c ond take a l ook at the home A
furnished flat at
per w eek It did not exactly begga r
description but it ce r tainly had t h at word
the l ook o ut for
t h e m endicancy squad
In the vestibule below was a l etter b o x into w hic h no l ette r
wo uld go and an electric button from which no mo r ta l finge r
could coax a ring A l so appertaining thereunto was a card
earing
am M r J m e Di ll i gham Yo u ng
TH E GI FT
M A GI
T h e D i l l ingha m h ad been fl u ng to t h e b r eeze du ri ng a
f o r m e r period pr o sperity when i ts p o ssesso r
being paid
per week Now when the in com e w as sh runk
the l etters
Dillingha m l ooked b lu rred as tho u gh they
w ere think i ng se i ou sly c o ntracting to a mo dest and unas
D B u t w h eneve r Mr James Dillingham Young came
ho me and reached his flat ab o ve he
ca ll ed Jim and
greatly hugged by Mrs James Dilling h a m Y o ung a l ready
introdu c ed to yo u as Del l a Whi c h is all very good
De ll a fin i shed her cry and attended to her c h eeks with the
p o wder rag S he st oo d by the w ind ow and lo oked
dully
at a grey cat wa l king a grey fence in a grey backyard To
morrow wou l d be Chr i st m as Day and
h ad only
with which to buy Jim a present S he had been saving every
penny S h e c ou l d fo r m o nths wit h this result Twenty do ll ars
a week does n t go far E xpenses had been greater than
h ad ca lculated They always are On ly
to buy a present
for Ji m Her Ji m Many a h appy ho ur
had spent p lanning
fo r so m ething ni c e for hi m Som et h i g fine and rare and
sterling something j u st a l itt l e bit near to being worthy
the hon o ur of being owned by Ji m
There w as a pier glass between the windows of the r o om
Per h aps you h ave seen a pier glass in an
flat A very thin
and very agi le person may by observing his reflection in a rapid
seq u ence l ongi udina l strips obtain a fair ly accurate
tion h is l o o ks Della being
mastered the art
S udden l y she whir l ed from the window and st o od bef o re
the glass Her eyes w ere shining brillia tly but he r face h ad
l ost its co lou r within twenty seconds R api ly pulled d o wn
h e r hair and let it fall to its full length
there were two possessions of the Ja m es Dillingham
Youngs in which they b o th t o ok a migh t pr i de One was Jim s
gold wat ch t hat h ad been h is fath r
his g r andfat h er s
R T ST RI E
The o t h e r w as De ll a s h a i r Had the Q u een of Sheba lived
the flat across the airshaft De ll a wo uld have l et he r hair
hang
the windo some day to dry just to depre c ate he r
Maj esty s j ewels and gifts Had King S o l omon been the j anitor
with all his treas u res pi led
in the basement Jim w ould
have pu ll ed
h is watch every time h e passed j ust to
him pluck at his beard fro m envy
So now Della s bea u tifu l hair fell ab o ut her rippling and
shining l ike a c ascade
bro wn waters It reached belo her
knee and made i tse l f almo st a garment
her And then
did it u p again nervously and quick l y Once
fal tered
a mi nute and st oo d stil l w hi l e a tea r
two splas h ed on
worn red carpet
went her
br ow n hat
On w ent her old br o wn j acket
Wit h a hir l of ski r ts and with the brilliant sparkle still in h e r
eyes she fl u ttered
the door and d o wn the stairs to the street
Where
st o pped the S ign read
Mme
Hai r
Goods o f all Kinds
One flight up Della ran and co llected
herself pant ing Mada m e large
white chilly hardly looke
the
Wil l you buy my hair
asked Della
I b u y hai r said Madame
Take yer hat
and l et
h ave a sight at the looks
it
D ow n ri ppled the brown cas c ade
Twenty do l lars said Mada m e lifting the mass with
pra c tised hand
Give it to m e qui ck said De l la
Oh and the next two h ours tripped by
rosy w ings
t h e hashed m etap hor S he was ransacking the st o res
Ji m s present
S he fou nd it at last It sure ly had been m ade for Jim
n o o ne e l se There was no other l ike it in any
the stores
She h ad t u rned all
the m inside out It w as a platinu
S H OR T S T OR I E S
T h e d oo r O pe d and Ji m stepped in and clo sed it He
loo ked thin and ve y se r i ou s Po o r fel lo w he w as only twenty
two and to be b u rdened with a fami ly He needed a ne w
overcoat and he was with out gloves
J im st o pped i nside the door as i mmo vab l e as a setter at the
s c ent of q u ai l His eyes were fixed u p o n De ll a and t h ere w as
an expressi o n in t h em that
cou ld
read and it terrified
h er It was n o t anger n o r s u rprise
disappr o va l nor h o rror
n or any of the senti m ents that h ad been prepared fo r He
si m ply stared at her fixedly with that pe cul iar expressi o n
h is face
De ll a wrigg led the tab l e and w ent fo r him
J im dar l ing
cried d o n t l ook at m e that way I
had my h air c ut and so l d it be c ause I c o ul d n t have l ived
thr ou gh Christ m as with o ut giving
a present It gr ow
out again you won t m ind wil l
I just had to d o it
My h ai r ro ws awf ully fast Say Merry Christ m as Jim and
let s be happy You d on t kn ow what a ni c e what a beautif ul
ni c e gift I
got for
You ve cu t off y o ur h air
asked Ji m l ab o r i o u s l y as if
he had n o t arri ved at that patent fa c t yet even afte r t h e h ardest
menta l l abo ur
C u t it
and s ol d it said De ll a
D o n t y ou like
j st as we l any h ow I m me witho u t my h air ai t I
Ji m lo oked ab ou t t he r oom c uri o u s l y
You say y ou r hair i s gone
h e said with an air a lmo t
idio cy
You need n t look f o r it said De ll a
It s sold I tell
y ou
s ol d and g o ne too It Christmas Eve boy Be good
to me for it w ent for you M aybe t he hairs of my head wer
numbered
went
with a sudden serious sweetness but
nobody c ould ever cou nt
lo ve for you Sh a ll I put
chops on Jim
GIFT
MAGI
O u t of his t r an c e Ji m see m ed quick l y t o w ake He
ol ded his De lla For ten sec o nds l et us regard with dis c reet
scr u tiny s o me i n co nse qu entia l obj e c t in the o t h er directi o n
Eight do l lars a week or a m i l li o n a year what is the
differen ce A m athe m ati c ian
a w it woul d give y o u the
w rong answer The magi bro u ght va lu ab l e gifts but that
w as not
the m T h is dark asse r t io n wi ll be ill u m inated
l ater on
Jim dre w a pa c kage from his o ver co at p oc ket and t h re w it
upon the tab le
D o n t make any m istake De ll h e said ab ou t m e I
don t think there
anyth ing in th e way
a ha i r cu t
a shave
a s h amp o o that c ould m ake me l ike my girl any l ess But if
you u nwrap that pa c kage y o u may
why you h ad m e g oi ng
a whi l e at first
White fingers and n im b l e t o re at the stri g and pape r And
then an ecstatic s c rea m
j oy and then alas a qu ic k femi
nine change to hysteri cal tears and w ails ne ces itating the
immediate employment of all the comforting powers of the lord
the flat
For there lay The Co m bs the set of com bs side and back
that De ll a had wo rs h ipped fo r l ong in a Broadway w ind o w
Beautifu l co mbs p u re t or t o ise she ll with j ewe ll ed rims j u s
the shade to wear in the beautifu l vanished hair
They wer
expensive co m bs
knew and her heart h ad Si m p l y c raved
and yearned over the m wit ho ut the l e st
possession
And now they w ere h ers b u t t h e tresses that sh oul d hav
adorned the c o veted ad o rn m ents were g o ne
But
h u gged t h e m to he r b o s o m and at length
b le to loo k u p wit h di m eyes and a s mi le and
My hair
g ro ws
fast Ji m
And then De l la l aped u p l ke l ttle i ged cat and crie
Oh oh
S OR T S T O R I ES
J im h ad n o t yet seen his bea u tif ul present Sh e h e l d it
to hi m eagerly upon h er open palm The du ll precio u s meta l
see m ed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent spirit
Is n t it a dandy Jim I hunted all over town to find it
Yo u l l have to l ook at the time a h u ndred times a day now
Gi v e me your watch I want to
ho w it lo oks on it
Instead obeying Jim tumbled down the cou c h and put
his hands under the back
his head and s m iled
Dell said
he l et s put
Christ m as presents away and keep em a
while Th ey
too nice to
just at present I sold the
watch to get the money to buy your com bs And now s u ppose
yo u p u t the chops
The m ag as you know w ere w ise m en w onderfully wise
m en
br o ught gifts to the Babe in the manger They
invented the art
gi v ing Ch r istmas presents Being wise
their gifts were no doubt wise ones p o ssib l y bearing the privi
l ege exchange in case of duplication And here I have lamely
related to you the uneventfu l chronic l e two foo l ish children
in a flat
most unwisely sacrificed
each o ther the reat
est treas u res
their house But in a l ast word to the wise
these days l et it be said that all who give gifts these two were
the wisest Of all who give and receive gifts such as they are
w isest Eve rywhere they are wisest They are the magi
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