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TheShortStory 10001379
TheShortStory 10001379
S H UT , S E SA M E
S H O RT S T O R I ES
O L D A N D N EW
C ALPHONSO SMITH
.
Un i te d
GINN AND C O M PA N Y
C O PY RI G H T , 1 9 1 6 , B Y
C A L PH O N S O S M ITH
.
I
A LL R G H TS R E S E R V E D
PR IN TED I N TH E U NI T E D ST A T E S O F A M E R C A I
y WZ /
S
QQSJON LIBRRRY ‘
GINN AND C O M PA N Y
BO ST O N N EW Y O RK CH I C AG O L O ND O N
A A A
TL NT D A AS
LL C O LU M B U S SA N F R A N CI S C O
I N T R O D U CT I O N
in c idents and events the haps o r m ishaps that are interw o ven
, ,
Face We may sti ll call the core o f these two stories t h e P lot
.
”
,
i ii
S H O RT S T O R I E S
is Wil e ?
Many books h ave been wr i tten about these three parts of a
short story but the great l esson to be learned is that the ex c e l
,
the Plot if the Plot does not rise graceful ly from the S etting
, ,
All a n d d by a h o n e ;
re ee e e c
N othi g is fair o g o d al o ne
n r o .
CONTENTS
PA G E
I N T R O D U CT I O N
E ST H E R
Fro m th e O ld T t e s am e n t
T H E H I S T O RY O F A L I B A B A A N D THE FO R T Y
R OBB E RS
Fr m T h A r b i n N i g h t
o e a a s
R I P V A N W I N K LE
B y W a hin g t I rvin g
s on
T H E GO LD -B U G
B y E dg ar A llan P oe
V A C H R I STTVI A S C AR O L
.
B y C harl Di k es c ens
T H E GR EAT S T O N E FA C E
B y N tha i l H w th r
a n e a o ne
R A B AND H I S FR I E N DS
By Dr J h B r w . o n o n
T H E O U TC A ST S OF PO K E R F LA T
B y B ret H arte
M AR KH EI M
By R o b e rt L o ui s Ste v e n s o n
T H E N E C K LA C E
B y G uy d M a p e t u as s an
T H E M AN W H O W O U LD B E K I N G
B y R dy r d K i p li g
u a n
T H E G I F T O F TH E M AGI
B y 0 H enry
.
S H O RT S T O R I ES
1
I . EST H E R
A U TH O R U N KN O W N
“
Plot. E sther seems to me the best-told story in the Bible
”
.
the tides the gal l ows erected was eighty-three feet high the
, ,
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 Mal achi ”
.
pri m e ministers the two edicts and the two l ater ban q uets
, ,
.
1
F ro m th e O ld T e s t am e n t , A u th o riz e d V e rs io n .
2 S H O R T S T OR I E S
at verse 9 through chapter vi and note how skil l fully the pen
, ,
verses 6 - 1 I ) .
for idealism ; one enthroning the body the other the S pirit ,
.
”
tratio n w as
, hoist with his own petard the petard in his case ,
h is u nsel fish dev o tion to his fair cousin E sth er T h e nob l est
, .
senti m ent in the book Who knoweth whether thou art come
to the kingdom for such a time as this P comes from Mordecai .
sent t o th e kingd om fo r s u ch a ti m e as
C HAPT ER I
TH E S TO R Y OF V A SH TI
his princes and his servants ; the power of Persia and M edia ,
the honour of his excel l ent m aj esty many days even a h undred ,
5
. And w hen these days were expired the king made a feast ,
both unto great and small seven days in the c ourt o f the , ,
with cords O f fine l inen and purple to silver rings and pi ll ars of
marble : the beds w ere o f gold and S ilver upon a pave m ent ,
7
. And they gave them drink in vessels o f gold
( the vessels ,
pleasure .
9
. Also Vashti the q u een made a feast for the wo m en in
the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus .
crown royal to shew the p eople and the princes her beauty :
,
1 3. Then the king said to the wise men w hich knew the ,
times ( for s o was the king s manner toward all that knew law
,
’
1
5. What sha ll we do u nto the queen Vasht i acc o rdin g to
Vasht i the queen hath not done wrong to the king only but ,
1
7. For this deed O f the queen sha ll come abroad u nto al l
w o m en so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes
, ,
came not .
1
9. If it p l ease the king let there go a royal
,
commandment
from him and let it be written among the l aws o f the Persians
,
more before king Ahasueru s ; and let the king give her royal
estate unto another that is better than sh e .
s m all .
C HAPT ER I I
ES TH ER M A D E Q U EE N
did so .
whose name was Mordecai the son O f Jair the son Of S himei , , ,
daughter : for she had neither father nor mother and the maid
was fair and b eauti ful ; whom Mordecai when her fat h er and ,
preferred her and her maids unto the best p l ace Of the h o use
O f the women .
1 0 E s ther had not shewed her people nor her kindred : for
.
become o f her .
?
’
and s ix months with sweet odours and with other things for ,
1
5 Now
. when the turn of E sther the daughter o f Abihai l ,
the uncle O f Mordecai who had taken her for his daughter
, ,
1
7 And the king l oved E sther ab o ve all the women and s h e
.
O btained gra c e and favo u r in his sight more than all the virgins
s o that he se t the royal c rown upon h e r h e ad and made h e r '
1 8 Then the king m ade a great feast unto all his prin c es
.
the pr o vinces and gave gifts according to the state o f the king
, , .
1
9 And
. wh en the virgins were gathered together the se c ond
ti me t h en Mordeca i s at i n the king s gate
,
’
.
M O R DE C AI S AV E S TH E K ING S L I F E
’
kept the door w ere wroth and sought to l ay hand o n the king
, ,
Ahasuerus .
I O .And the king took his ring from his hand and gave it ,
ene my .
to t h ee .
the governors that were over every pro v ince and to the ru l ers o f ,
I 3 And the l etters were sent by posts into all the king s
.
’
even u pon the th i rteent h day o f the twel fth month which is the ,
C HAPT ER IV
FA S TI N G A M O N G TH E J EW S
rent his clothes and put o n sackcloth with ashes and went
, ,
bitter c ry ;
2 And came even before the king s gate : f o r n o ne m igh t
.
’
among the Jews and fasting and w eeping and w ailing ; and
, , ,
5 Then
. called E sther for Hatach o n e o f the king s chamber ,
’
Why it was .
.
,
7 And
. Mordecai told him o f al l that had happened unto
hi m and o f the s u m of the money that H aman had promised
,
should g o in u nto the king to make supp l i c ati on u nto him and
, ,
9 And
. Hatach ca m e and told E sther the w o rds O f Morde c ai .
12 S H O R T S T O R I ES
shall come unto the king into the inner c ourt wh o is no t c all ed , ,
but I have not been c all ed t o com e in unto the king these
thirty days .
TH E G R EAT A PPEA L
1 Then M o rdecai c o mmanded t o answe r E sth er Th i nk n o t
3 .
,
S hushan and fast ye for me and neither eat nor drink three
, ,
E sther h ad co m manded h im .
E S TH E R 1 3
C HAPT ER V
TH E C O U RA G E OF ES TH ER
her roya l apparel and stood in the inner court of the king s
,
’
his royal throne in the royal house over against the gate O f the ,
h ouse .
and the king held o u t to E sther the golden sceptre that was in
his hand S O E st h er drew near and touched the to p O f the
.
,
s c eptre .
the king and Haman come this day u nto the banquet that I
have prepared for him .
request is ;
8 If I have found favour in the sight o f the king and if it
.
,
l et the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shal l pre
pare fo r them and I w i l l do t o morro w as the king hath sai d
,
.
14 S H O R T S T OR I E S
B ET W EEN B AN QU ET S
9 Then
. went Haman fort h that day j oyfu l and with a glad
heart : but w hen Haman s aw Mordecai in the king s gate that ’
'
against Mordecai .
home he sent and called for his friends and Zeresh his wife
, , .
king had promoted him and how he had advanced him abo v e
,
man come in with the king unto the banquet that s h e had pre
pared b u t myself ; and to —morrow am I invited unto her also
with the king .
1 4 Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him
.
,
gal l o w s to be m ade .
C HAPT ER VI
B E TW EEN B A N Q U ET S ( C O N T I N U ED )
,
E ST H E R 1 5
Ahasuerus .
3
. And the king said What honour,
and dignity hath been
done to Mordecai f o rthis ? Then said the king s ser v ants that ’
4
. And the king said Who i s in ,
the court ? Now Ha m an
w as come into the outward court o f the king s house t o S peak ’
,
5
. And the king s ser v’
ants said unto hi m Beho l d Haman , ,
6 S O Haman came in
. And the king said unto him
.
,
What S hal l be done unto the man whom the king delight
eth to honour ? Now Haman thought in his h eart T O ,
k ing delighteth to ho n o u r
g
wear and the horse that the king rideth upon and the crown
, ,
the man witha l whom the king delighteth to honour and bring ,
before him Thus shall it be done to the man who m the king
,
delighteth to honour .
1 0 .Then the king said to Haman Mak e haste and take the , ,
I 1 Then took H aman the apparel and the horse and arrayed
.
,
1
3 And Haman to l d Zeres h his wife and a ll his friends
.
eve ry thing that h ad befall en him Then said his wise men .
1 4 And W hile they were yet talking with him came the
.
,
C HAPT ER VI I
ES TH ER S B A N Q U ET HA M A N HA N G ED
’
:
3 Then
. E sther the queen answered and said If I have found ,
5 Then
. the king Ahasueru s answered and said u nto E st h er
the queen Who is he and where is he that durst presume in
, , ,
hi s h ea rt t o do so ?
1 8 S H O RT S T O R I E S
in his S ight and the thing see m right before the king and I
, ,
which he wrote to dest roy the J ews which are in all the king s ’
provinces
6 For h o w can I endure to s e e the e v il that S hall come unto
.
Haman and him they have hanged upon the gallows because
, ,
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 .
deputies and ru l ers O f the provinces which are from India u nto
E thiopia a hundred twenty and sev en provinces u nto eve ry
, ,
people and pro v ince that would assau l t them both little ones ,
namely u pon the thirteenth day O f the twe l fth month whic h is
, ,
th e month Adar .
1
5 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 o f ,
gol d and w ith a garment O f fine l inen and purple : and the city
,
1
7 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 j oy
’
,
and gladness a feast and a good day And many o f the people
,
.
o f the land be c a m e Jews ; for the fear O f the Jews fel l upon
the m .
C HAPT ER I!
TH E J EW S D E F E N D TH E M SE LV ES
his decree drew near to be put in execution i n the day that the ,
their hand .
1 2 And the king said unto E sther the queen The Jews have
.
,
and the ten sons o f H aman ; w hat h ave they done in the rest
O f the king s pro v inces ? now what is thy petition ? and i t shall
’
1 4 And
. t h e k i ng commanded it so to be d o ne : and the
decree was given at S h u shan ; and they hanged Haman s ten ’
sons .
1
5 For
. the Jews that were in S hushan gathered themse l ves
together o n the fourteenth day al so o f the month Adar and ,
sle w three hundred men at S hushan ; but o n the prey they laid
not their h and .
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
,
1
7 O n
. the thirteenth day o f the m o nth Adar ; and on the
1
9 Therefore
. the Jews O f the vi l lages that dwe l t in ,
the
u nwall ed towns m ade the fo u rteent h day O f the m ont h Adar
,
portions o n e to another .
TH E F EA S T OF PURIM
20 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 ,
fourteenth day O f the m o nth Adar and the fifteenth day O f the
,
sam e yearly
, ,
and the month which was turned unto them from sorro w to j oy ,
2
5 .But wh en E sther came before the king he c o mm anded ,
Jews should return upon his o wn head and that he and his
, ,
whic h they had seen con c erning this matter and which had ,
co me u nto them ,
year ;
28 .And that these days shou l d be remembered and kept
throughout every generation e v ery family e v e ry provin c e and
, , ,
every c i ty ; and that these days of Purim should not fail from
among the Jews n o r the memoria l o f them perish from their
,
seed .
2
9 Then
. E sther the queen the daughter
,
O f Abihail and ,
3 0 And
. he sent the letters unto al l the Jews to the hundred ,
3 1 T
. O confirm these days o f P u ri m in their times appointed ,
ESTH E R 23
3 2 And
. the de c ree o f E sther c onfi rm ed t h ese m atters o f
Pu ri m ; and it was written in the b oo k .
C HAPT ER !
M OR D E C AI P R I M E M I N I S TER
2 .And all the acts O f his power and Of hi s might and the ,
AU TH O R U N KN O W N
the finishing tou ches put upon them by the Arabians Bagdad .
m entioned .
“
A g o odl y p lace a g o o dl y ti m e , ,
F o r it was in th e g o l de n p ri m e
O f g o o d H aro un A lrasc hid
”
.
However Old the germs o f the stories are the form in which ,
24
26 S H O RT S TOR I E S
CASSI M , A LI B A B A S B RO TH ER D I S C O V ERE D
’
, A ND
K I LL E D B Y T H E RO B B ERS
named Cassim and the other Ali Baba Their fathe r divided his .
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 of
, ,
corn Then each of the m took O ff his saddle -bag w hich from
.
,
Ali Baba was conceal ed ; and making his way through some ,
c aptain O f the robbers said this a door O pened in the rock and , ,
af ter he had made all his troop enter before him he followed ,
The robbers stayed some time within and Ali Baba fearful , ,
1 S e s am e ( p ro n o u n c e d s es s a my ) a s m all g rain .
’
,
A LI B ABA A N D TH E F O R TY RO B B E RS 27
troop pass by him Then Ali Baba heard hi m make the doo r
.
found the door hidden in the shrubs stood before it and said , ,
O pen S esame
,
”
Instantly the door flew w ide open
. .
see a l arge chamber well lighted from the top and i n it all , ,
, ,
c o uld carry When he had loaded the m with the bags he laid
.
,
l ittle yard threw O ff the w o od and carried the bags into the
, ,
house They were emptied before his wife and the great heap
.
,
after s h e had m easured the gold hurried back even whil e her , ,
b r east .
b o rrowed yesterday ”
.
for the forest with ten m ules bearing great chests whi ch h e
meant to fill With l ittl e tr ou ble he fo u nd the rock and the
.
door and stand ing before it spoke the words : O pen S esa m e
, ,
”
,
. .
ca rry to the door o f the c avern ; but h is t hou ghts were so full
of his new weal th that he c o u l d not think o f t h e wo rd that
,
w ould n o t open .
fri ghtened that the m ore he tried to recal l the word S esame ”
,
the m ore confu sed his mind became I t was as if he had never .
and wal ked wild ly u p and down w ith out a tho u ght O f th e r ich es ,
found all the bags Cassim had br ought to the door but did not ,
within the door o f the cave This they did at once and l eaving
.
,
TH E M A NN ER OF CASSI M S D
’
EATH C O NC EAL E D
When night c ame and Cassi m did not return his wife b e
, ,
He did not wait for her to ask him to go and s e e what had
happened to Cassim but se t o u t at once fo r the forest with his
,
away but stopped some time at the edge of the forest that he
, ,
h ouse .
h is ass .
”
we reach a certain place .
”
Baba Mustapha said sh e “
you m ust m ake h aste and
, , ,
, ,
sounds o f sorrow .
the city suspected the cau se Of it Three or four days after the .
funeral Ali Baba removed his few goods O penly to his sister-in
,
1 Im au m , a M o h amm e dan p ri e s t .
34 S H O R T S T OR I E S
“
I c o ul d not do that replied Baba Mustapha if I wo u ld
”
, , .
house and afterw ards brought back again in the same m anner
,
”
.
thief pulled o ff the band and found that his guide cou l d not
,
started back for the forest h imself wel l pleased wit h what he ,
when sh e returned sh e saw the mark the rob ber had made ,
When the robber rej oined his troop in the forest and told o f ,
his good fortune in meeting the one man that could have helped
him they were al l delighted
,
.
”
Comrades said the captain ,
we have no time t o l ose , .
Let us s e t Off at once wel l armed and disguised enter the town
, ,
captain and the s py When they came to the first O f the houses
.
first The guide knew not what answer to m ake and was still
.
,
they had all returned and the guide was declared by all to be
,
to try it with the same penalty if he should fai l Like the other
,
.
chalk .
w ent out not l ong after and s aw the red chalk s h e argued
, , ,
36 S H OR T S T OR I E S
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 w as
,
.
had been Th u s the captain and his troop went back again to
.
the c ave and the r o bber who had failed w illingly gave himself
,
u p to death .
TH E RO B B ERS E ! C E P T , TH E C A P TAI N , I
D S CO V ERE D
AN D K I LL E D BY MORGI AN A
the others empty Within two o r three days they ret u rned with
.
the mules and the j ars and as the mouths o f the jars were ,
O pen for each man to breathe he rubbed the j ars o n the o u tside
,
door he found Ali Baba sitting there taking a little fres h air
,
after his supper The captain stopped his mules and said
.
,
mer chant and bade him w e l come H e o pened his gates for
o il- , .
i n a stab l e and feed the m when they w ere u n l oaded and then ,
In the mean time the captain O f the robbers w ent into the
yard and took o ff the l id o f each j ar an d t ol d h is peop l e what
, ,
”
at once .
his chamber where he soon put out the light and l aid h im self
, ,
soon the l amp went out and there w as no more Oil in the ho u se
, ,
reminded her o f the o il-j ars in the yard S he thanked him for .
”
but presently In this manner s h e went to all the j ars and
.
l amp and taking a great kettle went back to the oil-j ar and filled
,
it boil ed went and poured enough into every j ar tO S tifi e and '
kitchen with the empty kettle put o u t the lamp and left j ust , ,
It was not long before the captai n Of the robbers got up and , ,
seeing that all was dark and quiet gav e the appointed signal by ,
threw stones a second and a third time and cou l d not imagine ,
M uch alarmed he went softly down into the yard and going
, , ,
b e s u spected that his plot w as found out and looking into the , ,
to despair he forced the l ock o f a door that led fro m the yard
,
.
,
-
he was very much surprised to s e the oil j ars in the yard and
e
back in alarm .
nor anyb o dy else the l east harm He is dead Now look into . .
saw all the dead men and the sunken O i l-j ar at the end .
“ ”
words to ask : And wha t is become Of the merchant ?
Merchant ! answered s h e ; he is as much o ne as
”
I am .
said to her
4 0 SH OR T S T OR I E S
God by your means has delivered me fro m death F o r the
, , .
first token o f W hat I o w e you I give you your liberty from this,
Near the trees at the end o f Ali Baba s long garden he and ’
,
TH E C A P TAI N D I S C O V ERE D AN D K I LL ED
BY MO RG I AN A
avenge the fate o f his comrades and to bring about the death ,
Ali Baba s son had occupied S ince the death o f his u ncl e
’
.
see his s o n and the captain o f the robbers knew him at once
, ,
money .
pulled out his purse from his bosom to make her a present ;
but while he was putting his hand into it M o rgian a with cour , ,
age worthy o f her s elf plunged the poniard into his hea rt
, .
”
done to ruin me an d my family ?
ing to his s on ,
“
that by m arrying M o rgian a you m arry the ,
few days h e and M o rgian a were married but before this the , ,
secretly was it done that their bones were not found till many
,
cavern b e j udged that nobody had been there since the captain
,
had fetched the goods for his shop From this time forth he
.
,
BY W A S H INGTO N I R V ING ( 1 7 8 3 — 1 8 5 9 )
much better the art of this time-setting if you wil l try you r
hand o n a somewhat S imilar story and place it betw een 1 8 2 0
1 F ro m
“
Th e Sk e tc h Boo k .
”
Th e e lab o rat e K n ic k e rb o c k e r n o te s
w ith w h ic h I rv in g f , o llo w in g a p as s i n g f hi
as on of t h e t im e , s o u gh t to
m y tify th
s e re ade r, are h e re o m itte d . Th y
e are h in dran c e s n o w rath e r
th an h lp e s .
R I P VAN W I N KL E 45
said : “
The actual forward movement o f the p lo t does not
begi n u nti l the sentence In a l ong ramb l e o f the kind o n a
,
own c h i l dren h is dog the social club at the inn w ith the por
, ,
R ip s return m isleads the poor fel low at every turn and thus
’
,
i ntended The forw ard m ove m ent o f the p l ot begins with this
.
pat hy and the keen powers o f obse rvation that have gone into
,
th e great Appal ach ian fa m ily and are seen away to the w est
,
they are regarded by al l the good wives far and near as per , ,
roofs glea m among the trees j ust w here the blue tints o f the
,
up l and m elt away into the fresh green o f the nearer l andscape .
beaten) there lived many years since while the country was
, ,
i t i m po ssible .
entered the house his crest fell his tail droo ped to the ground, ,
and a sharp tongue is the only edged too l that grows keener
with constant u s e For a l ong while he used to console himse l f
.
,
the village which held its ses s ions o n a bench be f ore a small
,
newspaper fel l into their hands from some passing trav e l ler .
inn at the door o f which he took his seat from morning til l
,
he would i nha l e the smoke slowly and tran quilly and emit it ,
his m outh and l etting the fragrant vapor curl about his nose
, ,
clamo r o f his W ife was to take gun in hand and strol l away
,
wistfull y in his master s face and if dogs can feel pity I verily
’
, ,
sh o oting and the stil l solitudes had echoed and re echoed w ith
,
-
l ordly H u dson far far belo w him moving o n its silent but
, , ,
have deceived him and turned again to des c end w hen h e h eard
, ,
the same cry ring through the sti ll evening air : R ip Van
Winkle ! R ip Van Wink l e l at the same time Wolf bristled
u p his back and giving a lo w grow l skulked to his master s
, ,
’
side l ooking fearfully down into the glen R ip now felt a vagu e
,
.
h astened do w n to yie l d it .
an d ch e cked fa m i l ia ri ty .
54 S H O RT S T O R I E S
beard broad face and small piggish eyes ; the face o f another
, ,
white sugar-loaf hat s e t o ff with a little red cock s tai l They all
,
’
.
broad belt and hanger high crowned h at and feather red stock
-
, ,
ings and high heeled S hoes with roses in them The who l e gro u p
,
-
,
.
been brought over from Holland at the time o f the settl ement .
the gravest faces the m ost mysterious silence and w ere withal
, , , ,
Nothing interrupted the stil l ness of the scene but the noise o f
the balls which whenever they were ro l led echoed a l ong the -
, , ,
desisted from their play and stared at him with such fixed , ,
nances that his heart turned within him and h i s knees smote
, ,
into l arge fl ago n s and made signs to him to wait upon the com
,
ventured when no eye was fixed upon him to taste the bever
, ,
had first seen the o ld man of the glen H e rubbed his eyes .
it was a bright sunny morning The birds were h Opp ing and
,
.
twittering among the bushes and the eagle was wheeling al oft , ,
barre l incrusted with rust the l ock falling o ff and the stock , ,
mountain had put a trick upon him and having dosed him , ,
with liquor had robbed him o f his gun Wolf too had dis ap
,
.
, ,
dog w as to be seen .
.
, ,
the ru sty firelo c k and with a h eart ful l o f trouble and anxiety
, , ,
connubial fears — h e called l oudly for his wife and chi l dren
the lone ly chambers ran g for a moment with his v o ice and ,
t h en again al l w as silence .
D ool ittl e
. Instead o f the great tree that used t o shelter th e
quiet littl e D u t c h inn of yore there now was reared a tall ,
with his broad face double chin and fair long pipe u ttering
, , ,
Van Winkle .
“
him and drawing him partly aside inquired o n which side he
, , ,
voted ? ”
R ip stared in va c ant stupidity Another short but .
busy l ittl e fe llow pulled him by the arm and rising o n tiptoe , , ,
made his way through the cro w d putting them to the right and ,
c ane his keen eyes and S harp hat pen etrating as it were into
, , ,
”
heels and whether he meant to breed a riot in the village
,
?
Nicho l as Vedder 0
Where s Br o m D u tcher ’
— ”
I don t know
’
h e never came back again .
H e went Off to the wars too was a great mil itia general , ,
”
and is now in Congress .
O h R ip Van Wink l e
,
excl aimed two o r three .
”
against the tree .
co cked hat dem anded who he was and what was his name ? ,
somebody else got into my shoes I was myself l ast night but ,
”
what s my name or wh o I am !
’
,
which the sel f-impo rtant man in the cocked hat retired with
some precipitation At this critica l moment a fresh come ly
.
,
hush you l ittle foo l ; the Old man won t hurt you
,
”
The name ’
.
o f the c hild the air of the mother the tone o f her voice al l
, , ,
“ ”
Judith G arde m e r .
twenty years since he went away from home with his gun and ,
among the crowd put her hand to her brow and peering u nder
, ,
heard it ; some were seen to w ink at each other and put their ,
the field screwed down the corners O f his mou th and shook
, ,
handed down from his ancestor the historian that the K aatsk ill ,
‘
it was afl irm e d that the great Hendrick Hudson the first dis ,
e v ery twenty years with his cre w of the Hal f—moon ; being
,
and keep a guardian eye u pon the ri ver and the great city
cal led by his name That his fathe r h ad once seen them in
.
place once m o re on the bench at the inn door and was rever ,
“ ”
the old times before the war It was some time before he
.
comprehend the strange events that had taken place during his
torpor How that there had been a re v olutionary war — that
.
the count ry had thrown off the yoke of old England — and
that instead of being a subj ect of his Maj esty George the
,
K aatsk ill but they s ay H endrick H u dson and his cre w are at
,
All in th e Wr g on
S outh Carolina .
than the sea sand and is about three mi l es l ong Its b readth
,
.
ship — for there w as muc h in the recl use to excite interest and
esteem I found him well educated with unusual powers of
.
,
him many books but rarely employed them His chief amuse
,
.
O ctober 1 8 ,
there occurred howe v er a day o f re m arkable , ,
m ore than this h e had hunted down and secured w ith Jupi
, ,
the morrow .
T H E G O LD —
BUG 69
”
Ah if I had only known you were here ! said Legrand
, ,
“
Dey aint n o tin in him Massa Will I keep a te ll in o n , ,
“
earnestly it seemed to m e than the case demanded
, ,
is that ,
any reason for your letting the birds burn ? The co l or here
h e turned to me — “
is really almost enough to warrant Jupiter s ’
fo und none .
fire f or I was still chilly When the design was com p l ete h e
,
.
,
“
We ll ! ”
I said after contemp l ating it for some minutes
, ,
”
has come under my observation .
two u pper black spots l ook like eyes eh ? and the longer o n e ,
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 yo u are n o
, , ,
”
any idea of its personal appearance .
”
and flatter myself that I am not quite a blockhead .
”
s-h e ad b e e tle
’
1
S ea m ed ?“ p
ca nt no m i n i s , de ath .
TH E G O LD —B
UG 71
that kind — there are many similar titles in the Natural His ~
“ ”
The a nten na ! said Legrand wh o seemed to be getting ,
“
We ll w ell I said
,
” “
,
perhaps you ha v e — stil l I don t s e e
,
’
ten n a visible and the whole did bear a v ery close resemblance
,
It was about a month afte r this ( and d u ring the inte rva 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
, ,
.
“
Well Jup said I
,
”
,
what is the matter now ? — ho w is
,
y o ur master ?
Why t o speak de tro o f massa hi m not s o be rry w e ll as
, , ,
mo ught be ”
.
co m p l ain o f
Dar ! dat s it ! — him n eb er plain of no tin — but hi m berry
’
sick fo r a ll dat ”
.
he c onfined to bed ? ”
“
Jupiter I sho u ld like to understand what it is yo u are talk
,
what ai l s hi m ?
Why m assa taint wo rf while for to git mad bout de m atter
, ,
”
dat s h o w I nose
’
.
Sin ce I s aw yo u I h av e h ad g re at c au s e fo r an x i e ty I hav e s o m e .
tell it at all .
that m y ill l o o k s al o n e s av e d m e a fl o gg i n g .
J u p ite r D e c o m e I wi sh to s ee yo u to n iglz t u p o n b u s in e ss o f
. .
,
E v er y o urs ,
W ILLIA M LE GRAND
There was something in the tone of this note which gave me
great uneasiness Its who l e style differed materially from that
.
”
Ve ry true ; but what are they doing here ?
”
I had to gib for em .
”
bug .
now stepped into the boat and made sail With a fair and .
str o ng b reeze we soon ran int o the l itt l e c ove to the northward
o f Fo rt Moultrie and a w a l k of some two miles brought u s t o
,
I n w hat w ay ? ”
I asked with a sad foreboding at h ea rt , .
7 6 S H O RT ST O R I E S
shocked .
“
This bug iS to make my fortune he continued with a , ,
“
triumphant smile to reinstate me in my family possessions
, .
bring me that s ea ra ba as
What ! de bug massa ? I d rudder not go fer tru bble dat
,
’
arose with a grave and stately air and brought me the beetle
, ,
i ndication O f fever .
TH E G O LD —B
UG 77
In th e next
Yo u are m istaken he interposed I am as well as I can
, ,
”
And how is this to be done ?
Ve ry easily Jupiter and m yself are going u po n an exp e
.
eq u ally allayed ”
.
”
It has .
pro c eeding .
“
T ry it by yourse l ves ! The man is surely m ad l — but
stay — how lo ng d o yo u propose to be absent ? ”
freak o f yo u rs is over and the bug bus i ness (go o d God settl ed
to your satisfaction yo u will then return h o me and fol low m y
,
“
Yes ; I promise ; and no w let u s be o ff f o r we have n o ,
time to l ose ”
.
Legrand le d th e w ay .
ni t
y to the scene .
whi c h stood with so m e eight or ten oaks upon the l eve l and
, , ,
seen in the beauty of its fo l iage and for m in the w ide spread of
, ,
hol d o f a harm l ess l ittle dead beetle why you can carry it up , ,
this shove l .
80 S H O RT ST O R I E S
the stri ng and m aintaining the i nsect as far from his pers o n as
, ,
, , ,
wri ggl ed h i m sel f i nto the first great fork and seemed to consider ,
his squat figure c ould be obtai ned thr o ugh the dense foliage which
enveloped i t Presentl y his voice w as h eard i n a s ort o f h alloo
. .
”
How high up are you ? asked Legrand .
Ebb er so fur
”
replied t h e negro ; c an see de sky fru de
,
”
top o b de tree .
the trunk and count the limbs below you on this side H OW .
By yo u rse l f wh at do yo u m ean — ? ”
”
o b o ne nigger .
’
I m gwine Massa Will — deed I is rep l ied the negro very
, ,
’
m eat o ff .
“
We ll now Jupiter do exact ly as I tel l yo u
, ,
— d o you h ear ? ”
”
Yes m assa
,
.
wh at I chops de wo o d wid .
“
Let the beetl e drop thro u g h i t as fa r as th e st ri ng will,
was now visib l e at the end o f the string and g l istened l ike a ,
of the tree and the peg for the distance of fifty feet — Jup i te r
,
clearing away the brambles with the scythe At the spot thus .
fel t much fatigued with the exercise already taken ; but I saw
no mode of escape and w as fearfu l of disturbing my poor
,
test with his master I made no doubt that the latter had been
.
ideas ; and then I called to mind the poor fellow s speech about ’
“
the beetle s being the index o f h is fortune
’ ”
Upon the wh o le .
,
S ty lu s , w h i c h ne v er a pp e are d . F m fil ro a e of th e D o lla r N ew sp ap er .
( C o u rte s y of th e M yl d H i t
ar an s o ri c al S o c ie ty )
An o ri gi n al illu s trati o n f o r T h e G o ld-B u g, p u b lis h e d with th e t e t x
for Po e s ’
o ne- h u n dre d- do llar- riz e s to r i n p y th e Pni la delp ni a D o lla r
N ew sp aper f o r W e dn e s da y , June 28 , 1 8 43T h e illu s t rat io n s w e re b y
.
S ty lu s , w h i c h ne v er a pp e are d .F ro m a fi le of th e D o lla r N ew sp ap er .
( C o u rt e s y of th e M yl ar an d Hi s t o ri c al S o c i e ty )
TH E G O LD —
BUG 85
his master began to gather up his tools This done and the
,
.
,
towards home .
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
, , .
86 S H O R T S T OR I E S
at a go uge .
fro m his knees loo ked mu tely fr o m his master to myse l f and
, ,
“
Co m e ! w e m ust go back said the l atter the gam e s, ,
’
”
eyes good wido u t any trouble
, .
“
Well then was it this eye o r that through w h ic h yo u
, ,
dropped t h e beetl e ? ”
h ere Legrand touched each of J u piter s ’
eyes .
and here it was his right eye that the negro indi c ated .
peg which marked the spot where the beetle fel l to a spot ,
—
j ec t e d to some mineralizing process perhaps that o f the
bich l oride o f mercury This box was three feet and a hal f
.
l ong three feet broad and two and a half feet deep It was
, , .
the lanterns fel l within the pit there flashed upwards fro m , ,
h e fell upon his knees in the pit and burying his naked arms , ,
as if in a soliloquy :
TH E G O L D —
BUG 89
upon any pretence to stir from the spot nor to open his m outh
, ,
l
, ,
ise s
. A little before four w e arrived at the pit divided the ,
leav ing the ho l es unfilled again se t out for the hut at which, , ,
The chest had been full to the brim and w e spent the whole ,
day and the gre ater part of the next night in a s crutiny o f its
, ,
opa l T h ese stones had al l been broken fro m their se ttings and
.
near ly two hundred massive finger and ear rings rich chains
-
b o ssed and many other smal ler articles which I cannot reco llect
,
.
shoul d have been a skul l u pon the other side o f the parchment ,
Had the sku ll been then there O f cour s e I c ou l d not have failed
,
sible to exp l ain ; but even at that early moment there seemed
, ,
for a very great while ; for the resemb l ance to boat timbers
could scarcely be traced .
and then m y hand fel l upon the parchment I thus detai l the .
h o i sted in al l engagements .
I h ave said that the scrap was parch ment and not paper , .
mom ent are rarely c onsigned to parchment ; since for the m ere ,
then do you trace any connection between the boat and the
S ku ll since this l atter according to your o wn admission m ust
, ,
”
intended fo r a kid .
“
Ha ! ha ! said I to be sure I have no right to l augh at
”
,
”
do w ith goats ; they appertain to the farming interest .
But I have j ust said that the figure was n ot that of a goat .
out the fire o r without the intervention of the dog at the pre
,
”
treasure ?
But proceed I am all impatience .
his plunder for a time and afterwards reclai med it the ru mors
, ,
You wil l observe that the stories told are al l about money
seekers not about money—fi n de rs H ad the pirate recovere d
,
.
”
Never .
charcoal In a few minutes the pan hav ing become thor o ughly
.
,
”
j ust as you see it now .
—
4 )8 1l
I SS ; I ? ;
“ ”
And yet said Legrand the solution is by no means so
, ,
Of th e c haracte r 8 th e re are 33
26
1
9
16
1 3
1 2
II
8
N
V
O-
F-
O
U
y f g
c l m to o a p o x z E predominates however
. so remark , ,
tic u lar cipher we shall only v ery partiall y require its aid
,
As .
:
’
example as meet fleet speed seen been agree etc
, ,
’
,
’
,
’
, ,
’
,
.
th ere are not repetitions o f any three chara c ters i n the sam e ,
space fo r t h e unknown
t e e th .
ing no portion o f the word co m men c ing with the first t ; since ,
tree in j uxtaposition .
th e tr ee ?34 th e ,
1 02 S H O R T S T OR I E S
th e tree th r h the ,
sented by It and 3 ,
.
8 o r egre e ,
com binatio n
; 46 (
th rte e .
represented by 6 and
R eferri ng n o w to th e begi nni ng o f the c ryptograph we
, , ,
find t h e co mbinati o n ,
5 3 11 1
good ,
”
But how is it possible to effect this ?
unusual cro wding Acting on this hint I made the div ision thus
.
,
‘
A good gla s s i n tb e D is b op s b os tel i n tb c devil s s ea t
’ ’
-
tw en ty on e degrees a n d tb i r teen m i n u tes n ortb ea s t a n d by n oi t b
— ma i n bra n cb lim b —
s even t/
z ea s t s ide s b oot f m
ro tb c left eye
f s—
b ea d — f bee-li n e m tb e tree tb rong/z tb e s not
’
o tb e dea tb a ro
fif y f
’
t ee t o u t .
’
name o f the Bishop s Hotel ; fo r o f course I dropped the
’
, ,
length one o f the most aged o f the women said that s h e had
T H E G O LD —B U G
105
b u t a high rock .
summit upon which I stood This ledge proj ected about eighteen .
i nches and was not more than a foot wide while a niche in the
, ,
‘
that the phrases twenty-o n e degrees and thirteen minutes ,
’
c o v erie s,
I hurried ho m e pr oc ured a te l escope and returned
, ,
to the rock .
n ow m ade i t o u t to be a h um an sk ull .
“
O n th is dis co very I w as s o sangu ine as to consider the
en ig m a s olved for t h e p h rase m ain branch se v enth l imb east , ,
treasu re I per c eived that the design was to drop a b ullet fro m
.
a strai ght line drawn fro m the nearest point o f the t ru nk thr o ugh
,
w hat then ?
Why h aving carefully taken the bearing s o f the tree I
, ,
obj e ct i f s m all should be z o/i ite ; and there is nothing like y our
, ,
why did you insist o n l etting fall the bug instead o f a b ull et , ,
fr om t h e sku l l ? ”
the hol e ? ”
that he m ust have had assistance in the l abor But the w o rst .
,
Plot The story was p l anned rather than plotted By cal l ing
. .
ing others happy ; and the four carols mark the four stages in
the conversion o f S cr o oge from solitary selfishness to social
good wil l The p l an i s simp l e but it is su ffused with a l ove and
.
lect this story is a triump h o f the socia l impul ses that m ake the
,
1 09
1 IO S H O RT S T O R I E S
good Ol d worl d ”
It i s diffi cu lt t o c reate any kind o f character
.
,
S TAV E O N E
MA R LEY S ’
G H O ST
Marl ey w as dead to begin with There is no doubt whatever
, .
hum an sympathy to keep its distance was what the kno wing ,
I t was c old b l eak biting foggy weather ; and the c ity cl ocks
, , ,
m ight keep his eye upon his cl erk wh o in a dismal littl e cell , ,
small fire but the clerk s fire was so very much smaller that it
,
’
tion he failed
,
.
am s u re
I do O ut u pon mer ry Christ m as ! What s Christmas time
.
’
on his l ips should be boiled with his own pudding and buried ,
”
with a stake o f holly thro u gh his heart ! H e should !
A CH R I S TMA S CA RO L 1 3
Uncl e !
Nephew keep Christmas in your own way and l et m e
, ,
keep i t in mine ”
.
There are many things from w h ich I migh t have der i ved
good by which I hav e not profited I dare s ay Christmas
, , ,
c h ari tab l e pleasant time ; the only time I know O f in the l ong
, ,
”
w ill do me good ; and I s ay G o d bless it ! ,
”
Why did yo u get married ?
Because I fe ll in love ”
.
1 14 S H O RT ST O R I E S
“
Nay uncle but you never came to se e me before t h at
, ,
”
Good afternoon .
u ncl e
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 n o twith ,
They had books and papers in their hands and bowed to him ,
.
m en referring to h is l ist
,
H ave I th e p l eas u re o f add r e s s i ng
.
Mr S crooge o r Mr M ar l ey
.
,
? ”
.
that we S hould make some slight pro v ision for the poor and
destitute wh o suffer great ly at the present time Many th o u
,
.
clerk w ith the l ong ends O f his white comforter dangling belo w
,
’
rest of the evening with his banker s book went home to bed , .
about the kn ocker on the door o f this house except that it was ,
with a bang .
fastened the door and wal ked acro ss the hall and up the stairs
, , .
shut his hea v y door he walked through his rooms to see that
,
desire to do that .
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 o f
gruel ( S crooge h ad a cold in his head) upon the hob Nobody .
then coming up the stairs ; then coming straight towards his door .
1 1 8 S H O RT S T O R I E S
into t h e r oom before his eyes And upon its coming in the .
,
Marl ey s ghost !
’ ”
The same face the very same M arl ey in his pigtai l usua l
,
.
,
W h at do yo u want w ith me ? ”
Who are yo u
Ask m e who I w as .
Wh o w ere yo u th en ? ”
,
Can yo u c an yo u s it down ? ”
I c an ”
.
Do it then,
.
Yo u don t be l ieve in me
’
.
I don t ’”
.
1 20 S H O RT ST O R I E S
its little sphere w hatever it may be will find its mortal life to o
, ,
m isused ! Yet I was l ike this man ; I once w as like this man !
“
But you were al ways a good man of business Jacob , ,
”
Business ! cried the ghost wringing its hands again , .
”
water in the comprehensive ocean o f my business .
”
Hear me ! My time is nearly gone .
”
Jacob ! Pray !
I am here to n ight to w arn you that you have yet a chance
and h ope o f escaping my fate A chance and hope o f my .
procuring E benezer ,
”
.
”
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
.
,
The third upon the next night when the last stroke o f Twel v e
, ,
S TAV E TW O
TH E FI R S T OF TH E T H R E E S P I R IT S
When S crooge awoke it was so dark that l ooking o u t of
, , ,
child : yet not so like a child as like an Old man viewed thro u gh ,
child s proportions Its hair which hung about its neck and
’
.
,
down its back was white as if with age ; and yet the face had
,
d ou btl ess the occ asion of its using in its d ull er mom ents a , ,
I am ! ”
I a m the Gh o st o f C h r i st m as Past .
”
Long past ?
Christ m as ti m e .
S crooge if he knew it .
o u t Wel l done ! and the fiddler plunged his hot f ace into a
,
”
dances and there was cake and there was negus and there
, , ,
was a great piece o f Cold R oast and there was a great piece o f ,
Cold Boiled and there were mince -pies and p l enty o f beer
, , .
But the great effect o f the evening came after the R oast and
Boi l ed when the fidd l er struck up S ir R oger de Coverley
, .
notion o f walking .
o f em next
’
And when O ld Fezziwig and Mrs Fezziwig had
. .
the same to them ; and thus the chee rfu l voices died away ,
and the lads were l eft to their beds which were under a co u nter ,
”
he dese rves this praise ?
“
it is n t that S pirit He h as the power to render us h appy o r
’
,
.
”
What is the matter ?
Nothing pa rticu l ar .
S omething I think ? ”
,
I n wo rds n o Never ”
,
. .
In w h at then ? ,
w ere .
”
S pi rit ! re mo ve me from th is p l a c e .
me !
R e m ove m e ! S crooge ex cl ai m ed I cannot bear it ! .
, ,
wh ere you will I went forth last night o n comp ul sion and I
.
,
Touch m y robe
S crooge did as he was told and held i t fast , .
Bob 1
a week himself he pocketed o n S aturdays but fifteen
copies o f his Christian name ; and yet the Ghost o f Christmas
Present b l essed his four-roomed house !
Then up rose M rs Cratchit C ratchit s wife dressed o u t but
.
,
’
,
cheap and make a goodly sho w for S ixpence ; and sh e l aid the
cl oth assisted by Belinda Cr atchit se c ond O f her daughters
, , ,
upon his s o n and heir in honor of the day) into his mouth ,
show his linen in the fashionable Parks And now two smaller .
C ratc hits boy and girl came tearing in scream ing that outside
, , ,
the baker s they had smelt the goose and known it for their
’
,
1 S h illin g s .
tf — AND IN C A M E L I TT L E B OB
1 30 S H O RT S T O R I E S
h u stled Tiny Tim and bore him o ff into the wash -h ou se that
,
“
And how did l ittl e Tim beha v e ? asked Mrs Cratchit
”
.
,
“
As g o od as gold said Bob
”
and better S omeho w h e
, , .
”
men se e .
His active littl e crutch was heard upon the floor and back ,
his brother and S ister to his stool beside the fire ; and while
Bob turning up his cuffs
,
as if poor fe l low they were capa
, , ,
round and put it o n the hob to simmer Master Peter and the ,
two ubiquitous young C ratch its went to fetch the goose with ,
for eve rybody not forgetting themse l ves and m ounting guard
, ,
and even Tiny Tim excited by the two young C ratchits beat
, ,
o n the table with the handle o f his knife and feeb ly c ried , ,
Hurrah !
There never was such a goose Bob said he did n t believe .
’
there ever was such a goose c ooked Its tenderness and flav or .
,
had had eno u gh and the youngest C ratch its in particu l ar were
,
steeped in sage and onion to the eyebrows But now the plates ,
u p and bring it in
, .
flushed but smil ing proudly with the pudding l ike a spe ck l ed
, ,
the top .
now the weight w as Off her mind she would confess she had ,
At l ast t h e dinner was all done the cl oth was cleared the , ,
t h e fire .
with ou t a hand l e .
go l den gob l ets would have done ; and Bob served it o u t with
beaming looks while the chestnuts on the fire sputtered and
,
be taken fr om h im .
a lord some days before and h ow the l ord was much about as ,
time the chestnuts and the j ug went round and round ; and by
and by they had a song about a lost child travelling in th e snow , ,
from Tiny Tim wh o had a plaintive l ittle voice and sang it very
, ,
w ell indeed .
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 o f a , ,
another and contented with the time ; and when they faded
, ,
and l ooked happier yet in the bright sprink l ings o f the S pirit s ’
torch at parting S crooge had his eye upon them and especially
, ,
b ri ght dry gl eaming room with the S pirit standing smi l ing by
, , ,
little dots about her chin that melted into o n e another when sh e,
much o f a dinner .
S crooge s niece Eve rybody else said the same and they must
’
.
,
j ust had dinner ; and with the dessert upon the table w ere, ,
After tea they had some music For they were a musical .
family and knew w h at they were about w hen they sung a Glee
, ,
1 36 S H O RT S T O R I E S
grow! a w ay in the bass l ike a good one and never swe ll the ,
on ly o n e !
It w as a Game cal led Y es and No w here S crooge s nephew ,
’
London and walked about the streets and was n t made a S how
, ,
’
S TA V E F O U R
TH E LA S T O F TH E S P I R IT S
came near him S crooge bent down upon h is knee ; for in the
,
its head its face its form and left nothing o f it visible save o n e
, , ,
them .
“
Lead o n ! Lead o n ! The night is waning fast and it is ,
They scarce ly seemed to enter the city ; for the city rather
seemed to spring up about them But there they were in the .
”
Last night I believe ,
.
”
What h as he done with his money ? as k e d a red - faced
gentl em an .
By by
,
partner for that was Past and this Ghost s provin c e was the
, ,
’
Future .
h ad been revo lving in his mind a change o f life and he tho ught ,
just as a woman w ith a heavy bund l e slunk into the shop But .
a laugh .
”
Let the charwoman alone to be the first ! cried s h e wh o
h ad entered first Let the laundress a l one to be the second ;
.
1 40 S H O RT S T O R I E S
by himsel f ”
.
on h i m ”
.
H isb l ankets
W ho se e l se s do you thi nk ? He i s n t l ike ly to take cold
’
,
’
1 42 S H O RT S T O R I E S
But he was very l ight to carry and his father loved him so , ,
”
at the door !
S he hurried o u t to m eet him and l ittl e Bob in h is comforter
he had need o f it poor fel l ow came in His tea was ready
, .
i t most Then the tw o young C ratch its got upon his knees and
.
l aid each chi l d a l ittle cheek against his face as if they said
, , , ,
the fami ly H e l ooked at the w ork upon the table and praised
.
,
the industry and speed o f Mrs Cratchit and the girls They . .
Ye s my dear ,
”
returned Bob I wis h you coul d have
,
.
chi l d ! ”
Tel l me what man that was with the c o vered face w hom we , ,
only
S till the Ghost pointed downward to the grav e by which it stood .
show me !
The S pirit was immovab l e as ever .
ing the finger read upon the stone O f the negl ected grave his
,
man I must have been but for this intercourse Why show me .
th 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 .
Yes and the bedp o st was his o w n The bed was his o wn
,
.
,
the room was his o wn Best and happiest o f a l l the Time befo re
.
,
day !
What s to —day ’
cried S crooge calling downward to a ,
about h im .
Eh ?
What s to - day my fine fel low
’
,
fe llow ! ”
Hallo
D O you kno w the Po ul terer s in the next street b u t o n e at
’
, ,
the corner ?
I S hould hope I did .
my buck
I t s h anging there n o w
’
.
”
I s it ? Go and buy it .
- 1
Walk ER exclaimed the boy .
N O no I am in earnest
, ,
Go and buy it and tell em to .
,
’
bring i t here that I may giv e them the direction where to take
,
”
you half a crown !
The boy was O ff like a shot .
1 Walk e r ! ”
or H oo k y W lk
e a er ! m e an s Wh at a s t o r y! ”
1 46 S H O RT S T O R I E S
com ing late ! That was the thing he had set his heart upon .
hind his time S crooge s at with his doo r w ide open that he
.
,
”
this time o f day ?
p l ease ”
.
“
Now I ll tel l yo u what my friend I am not going to
,
’
,
.
continued leaping from his stool and giv ing Bob such a dig in
, ,
the wai s 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 ru ler
, .
you for many a year ! I l l raise your sal ary and endeavor to
’
,
Bob ! Make up the fires and buy a second coal scuttl e before
,
-
S crooge was better than his word H e did i t all and infinitely
.
,
good a man as the good o ld city knew o r any other good old
,
respect upon the tota l-abstin e nce principle ever afterw ard ; and
it was a l ways said o f him that he knew how to keep Christmas
,
that b l esses those that follow its beckoning and m arks the
degree o f failure o f those that slight o r ign o re it .
But what is the plain and manifest moral that the struct u re
”
into the same image from glo ry to glory By setting his ideal .
high and by loo k ing and longing E rnest grew daily in S piritual ,
s tature and w as saved from being the victim o f the popular and
1 F ro m “
Th e S n ow Im ga e , an d O th e r Twi -T ce o ld Tl a es . U s e d by
p e rm i s s io n o f, an d by p
s i l
ec a arran g m e e nt w it h , H gh t
ou on M iffi in
C o m p an y , p u b lis h e rs o f H w th
a o rn e s
’
W k or s .
1 48
I 5 0 S H OR T S T O R I E S
popu l o u s vi ll ages wh ere some w ild h igh l and rivu l et tumb l ing
, , ,
fa mil iarity with the Great S tone Face al thou gh some possessed ,
have spoken would h ave ro lled their thunder accents fro m one
,
al l the feat u res w ere noble and the expression was at once,
s unshine .
s u ch a fa c e I should lo v e hi m dear ly
,
”
.
s u ch a face as that
p
”
.
“
What prophecy do you m ean dear mother ? ”
eagerly ,
seen m ore of the world had watched and waited til l th ey w ere
,
thither and end his days where he was born With this
,
.
personage so l ong and v ainly looked for and that his v isage ,
needs be the fact when they beheld the splendid edifice that
,
wood that had been brought from beyond the s e a The win .
that the great man the nob l e man the man o f prophecy after
, , ,
w inding road .
“
Here h e c omes ! ”
cried a gro u p O f people who were
assembled to witness the arrival Here comes the great .
Mr G ath e rgo ld
.
and very thin lips whi ch he m ade still thinne r by pressing the m
,
f o r c ibly toget h e r.
1 5 6 S H OR T S T O R I E S
bel ieve th at here was the likeness which they spoke o f By the .
ye l low claw the very same that had c l awed together so much
weal th p o ked itse l f o u t o f the coach-window and dropt some ,
C opper coins u pon the ground ; s o that though the great man s
’
,
se l ves into his sou l Their aspe c t cheered him What did th e
. .
day was over he still loved to go apart and gaze and meditate
,
l ast the l ikeness o f the Great S tone Face had actually appeared
, .
-
An aid de camp - o f O ld Blood and Thunder trave ll ing through
— -
,
M o reover the schoo lmates and early a cqu aintances o f the general
w ere ready t o testify o n oath that to the be s t of their re co lle c
, , ,
t ion the aforesaid general had been exceedingly l ike the m aj estic
,
w ard and affo rded a distant view of the Great S tone Face
,
.
T H E G RE AT S T O N E FAC E 1 59
the tables anxious to hear the toas ts and speeches and to catch ,
any word that might fall from th e general in reply and a volu m
teer company doing duty as a guard pricked ruthless ly with
, ,
their bayonets at any particu l arly quiet person among the throng .
friend l ooked back and smiled upon him through the vista o f
,
”
T is the same face to a hair ! cried one man cutting
’
, ,
a caper for j oy .
“
Wonderfully like that s a fact ! ”
responded anothe r,
’
.
”
a doub t
And then al l three o f the speakers ga v e a great shout which ,
a m ong the mountains unti l you might have supposed that the ,
wisdom and doing good and making people happy But tak ing
, , .
,
“ ”
The general ! the general ! was now the cry Hush ! .
he was over the shoulders o f the crowd from the two glittering
, ,
Face had assumed his l ook o f stern command the milder traits ,
“
This is not the man o f prophecy sighed E rnest to him , ,
and there were seen the grand and awfu l features of the Great
S tone Face awful but benignant as i f a m ighty ange l were
, ,
62 S H O RT S T O R I E S
When the peop l e s minds had had a l ittle time to coo l they
’
,
illuminated fog with his mere breath and obscure the natura l ,
resemb l ance bet ween hi m and the Great S tone Face ; and s o
much w ere they stru ck by it that throughout the country this
,
TH E G RE AT S T O N E FAC E 16 3
than to shake hands with his fello w-citizens and neither thought ,
nor cared about any e ffect which his progress through the coun
try might have upon the e l ection Magnificent preparations w ere
.
and all the people left their business and gathered along the
wayside to s ee him pass Among these w as E rnest Though
. .
tin u ally O pen and thus was sure to catch the blessing from o n
,
his patient steed with his S unday co at upon his back It really
, .
get to m ention that there was a band o f music which made the ,
com e .
l oudly as the loudest Huzza for the great man ! Huzza for
,
O ld S tony Phiz ! ”
But as yet he had not seen hi m .
tw o twin brothers
-
Ernest did fancy that there was a resemblance bet ween it and
the Old familiar face upon the m ountain-side The brow with .
,
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 criptions that Ti m e
had graved and in which he had written l egends o f wisdo m
,
that had been tested by the tenor of a life And E rnest had .
fame w hich so many seek and made him known in the great ,
came from far to see and converse with E rnest ; for the report
had gone abroad that this S imp l e husbandman had ideas un l ike
those of other men n o t gained from books but O f a h igher
, ,
t o ne ,
a tranquil and familiar maj esty as if he had been talk ,
ing with the angels as his daily friends Whether it were sage .
,
geth er his fac e wou l d kindle unawares and shine upon them
, , , ,
discourse his gu ests took leave and went their way ; and pass
,
likewise was a native o f the valley but had spent the greater
, ,
out his sweet music amid the bustle and din o f cities O ften .
,
howev er did the mountains which had been fami l iar to him I n
,
his childhood lift their snowy peaks into the cle a r atmosphere
o f his poetry Neither was the Great S to ne F ace forgotten fo r
.
,
soaring to its summit than had before been seen there If his
‘
, .
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 .
Creation was not finished till the poet c ame to interpret and so ,
complete it .
sordid with the common dust o f life who crossed his dai ly ,
i ,
.
them after his customary toil seated o n the bench before his
,
had not o nly heard o f E rnest but had meditated much upon ,
cottage The great hotel which had formerly been the palace
.
,
of Mr G ath e rgo ld was close at hand but the poet with his
.
, , ,
night s l od ging’
with the wittiest and the wisest but never before with a man ,
“
And wh y ? asked E rnest H e pointed to the vo l ume
”
. .
They have a strain o f the Div inity replied the poet You , .
T h e poet spoke sadly and his eyes were dim with tears
, .
was seen the Great S tone Face with the same cheer combined , ,
his heart and mind His w ords had power because they
.
,
ac corded with his thoughts ; and his thoughts had reality and
depth because they harmoniz ed with the life wh ich he had
,
a l ways lived It was not mere breath that this preacher uttered ;
.
they were the words of life because a l ife of good deeds and ,
holy love was melted i nto them Pearls pure and rich had .
, ,
man and said within himself that neve r was there an aspect so
,
the world .
poet said was tru e T h e prop h ecy was ful fil l ed But E rnest
. .
,
adj ectives tend to smother the verbs They hav e said Haw
”
.
,
-
thorne o f his Twice Told Tales ” “
the pale tint o f flo w ers ,
”
observation o f every sketch But no such charge can be laid .
could n t suddenly get at her ; then with a quick firm hand she
’
know h o w o r wh y ,
.
and boys are not cruel because they like to s e e the fight They .
from a l ove of m aking dogs fight and enj oying and aggrav at , ,
, ,
side and using her tongue and her hands freely upon the men
, ,
m ature Bob called him working his way up took his fina l grip , ,
had a chance : it was no use kicking the l ittle dog ; that would
only make him hold the closer M any were the means shouted .
“
Water ! but there was none near and many cried for i t ,
m an more desirous than wise with some struggle got the bushy
, ,
end of Ya rrow s tai l into his ample mouth and bit it with al l
’
,
his might This was more than enough for the much-enduring
.
,
broad visage deliv ered a terrific facer upon our l arge vague
, , ,
” -
of snuff ! observed a calm highly dressed young buck with , ,
again observed the buck but with m ore u rgency ; w hereon were ,
produced severa l open boxes and from a mull which may have ,
c o m forting him .
1 Es il v i n e g ar (H a m l t V I ,
e , , ,
178 S H O R T S T OR I E S
fell ow over and saw he w as quite dead ; the mastiff had taken
,
“ ”
dead dog up and said John we ll bury him after tea
, , ,
’
.
Harrow Inn .
- -
impatient black a vised little man his hand at his gray horse s ’
, ,
up and av oiding the heavy S hoe with more agility than dignity
, ,
and watch ing his master s eye slunk dismayed under the cart ’
, ,
c u t and useless from his neck and I eagerly told him th e sto ry
, , ,
up the ears w ere cocked the eyes filled and were com f orted ;
, , ,
time in the Iliad and like al l boys Troj ans we called him , , , ,
Hector of c o urse .
RAB AN D H I S FR IENDS 1 79
“
James Noble) made a curt and grotesque b o o and said , ,
sack filled with straw her husband s plaid round her and his ,
’
,
deli cate sweet without being at all what we call fine S he loo k ed
, ,
.
1
I t is n o t e as y g ivi g n th i s lo o k by one w o rd ; it was e xp re s s i v e of
h e r b e in g so mu ch of h e r li f e alo n e .
1 80 S H OR T S T OR I E S
del icate and her mouth firm patient and contented whic h few
, , , ,
“
o r o n e more subdued to settled quiet Ailie said James .
, ,
ting her plaid aside and rising Had S olomon in all his glo ry .
, ,
a gentl eman than did Jam es the Howgate carrier when he l ifted
, ,
d o wn Ailie his wife The contrast o f his small swa rthy w eather
.
, ,
t o r ; wu ll ye tak a l ook at it ? ”
We walked into t h e cons ul ting
’
gown and her l awn handkerchief round her neck and without ,
pain m aking that pale face w ith its gray lucid reas o nable
, , , ,
eyes and its sweet resol v ed mouth express the ful l measure
, ,
burden
1 82 S H O RT ST O R I E S
s om b re honest counten ance the sam e deep inevi table eye the
, , ,
.
, ,
“
said ,
When ? ”
To morrow said the kind surgeon — a
— ” ‘
,
S ide is it ? ”
Don t think them heartless ; they are neither better nor worse
’
bo x er ; q u arre ls o m e , b u t n o t w ith o u t
n ot t h e s t e rn de li h t a m an g ”
of
s t re n g t h an d c o u ra e g f
e e ls i n th e ir e e rc i s e D r C h arle s S t e w art , x . . of
D u n e arn , w h o s e rare g if t d g
s an rac e s as a ph y s i c i an , a v
di in e , a s c h o lar,
an d a g e n t le m an , live only i t h n e m e m or y of t h o s e f e w wh o k n e w an d
f o re c as t h o w h e w o u ld de al w it h h im , h is h an ds m e an wh ile c o n de n s in g
in t o fi s ts , an d t e n din t o s q u are
”
g
H e m u s t h av e b e e n a h ard h itt e r if
.
h e bo x e d as he p re ac h e d — wh at
“
Th e F an c y ”
wo u ld c all
“
an u gly
c u s to m e r .
RAB A N D H I S FRI E N D S 1 83
The operating theatre is crowded ; much talk and fun and all ,
the c ord i al ity and stir o f youth The surgeon with his staff o f.
m uch for them ; they S it down and are dumb and gaz e at h er , ,
.
c o at sho wing her white worsted sto ckings and her carpet-shoes
,
.
tance and took that huge and noble h ead between his knees
,
.
her friend the surgeon told her ; arranged herself gave a rapid ,
children was then unknown The surgeon did his work The
. .
pal e face showed its pain but was stil l and si l ent R ab s soul
,
.
’
a possibl e kick all the better for James it kept his eye and ,
fro m the tab l e l ooks for James ; then turn i ng to the su rge o n
, ,
1 84 SH O RT S TO R I E S
w ept like chi l d ren ; the surgeon happed her up carefu lly ,
s o h e did ; and h andy and c l ever and swift and tender as any ,
was alw ays very r eady to turn and came faster back and , ,
that do or .
ununderstood It was v ery sad but better than many things that
.
,
short bits fro m the P salms prose and metre chanting the l atter , ,
Ailie ”
Ailie ma w oman !
. M a ain bonnie wee dawtie
,
1
v aga la li osp es co mes gn e
,
was about to flee The body and the
, ,
.
yet s h e was not alone for w e know whose rod and staff were ,
comforting her .
eyes were s hut We put down the gas and s at watching her
.
,
.
pitifu l and strange to s e e her wasted dying look keen and yet ,
”
declare s h e s thin kin it s that bairn
’
What bairn’ ’
The .
”
dom forty years and mair
,
I t w as plainly true : the pain in .
h er bosom .
This was the close S he sank rapidly : the delirium l eft her ;
.
before the final darkness After ha v ing for some time lain stil l .
away and never returned leav ing the blank cl ear darkness o f
, ,
the tab l e .
James and I s at I don t know how long but for some time
,
’
, ,
roughly and pointing with his thu m b to the botto m of the bed
,
.
”
dead face Maister John ye ll wait for me
. said the ,
’
,
was a l ready round the h ouse and out at the gate fleeing l ike
, , ,
a shadow .
I was afraid about him and yet not afraid ; so I sat d own ,
too and p l ainly knew it but never moved I l ooked out ; and
, ,
.
corners A G ,
in l arge l etters in red w o rsted These
. .
,
.
walked many a mile over the hills may have seen her sitting , ,
and his misery made him apt to take it The grav e w as not .
h o me to the stable .
s ir R ab s deid
”
,
’
Dead ! what did he die of
. Weel sir , ,
He lay in the tre v iss wi the mear and wad na come oot I ’
, .
keepit me frae f e e din the beast and he was aye gur gurrin
’
,
’
,
and gru p gru ppin me by the legs I was laith to make awa
’
.
The time and place are those that Bret Harte has made p ecu l
iarly his o w n The a u sterity and wildness of the scenery seem
.
bare like a white mountain peak Notice also how the back.
Plot The story sets forth and interprets a dramat i c sit u ation
. .
1 p
U s e d b y e rm is s io n o f an d b y s
, p e c ial a rran g em ent with , H gh t
ou on
p y p
M iffi in C o m an , u b li s h e rs of B re t H art e s
’
W o rks .
19 1
19 2 S H O RT S T O R I E S
in ten t h o u sand ”
The admiration that w e yield to such a
.
had j ust written the l ast-named story w hen he began the com
p o sition o f The O utcasts o f Poker F l at M m .
The s to ry to th e s econ d .
and for whose intimidation the armed escort was intended the ,
from the spectators nor was any word uttered by the escort
,
.
their l ives .
-
As the escort disappeared their pent u p feelings found vent ,
wou l d die in the road and to the al arming oaths that seemed
,
ex c hangi ng his o wn riding horse Five S pot for the sorry mule
- ”
, ,
which the Duchess rode But even this act did not draw the
.
party into any closer sympathy The young woman readj usted .
sweeping anathema .
the moist temperate regions of the foot hills into the dry cold
,
-
, ,
bracing air o f the S ierras The trail was narrow and difli cu lt
. .
party halted .
“ ”
throwing up their hand before the game was played o u t .
s pite of his remon s trances it was not l ong before they were
,
1 96 S H O RT S T O R I E S
pa riah-trade his habits of life his very vices for the first time
, , ,
b l ack c l othes washing h is hands and face and other acts char
, ,
ac te ris tic o f his studiously neat habits and for a moment forgot ,
rose a thousand feet sheer above the circling pines around him ;
at the sky ominously clouded ; at the valley below already
, ,
o wn name called .
to some forty dollars o f that gui l e l ess youth After the game .
To m S im son .
198 S H O RT ST O R I E S
seated by a fire fo r the air had grown strangely chill and the
sky o ver c ast in apparently amicab l e conversation Piney w as .
the sy l van group the glancing fi re ligh t and the tethere d animals
, ,
that it might have been heard above the swaying pines The .
frai l D u chess and the m al evo l ent Mother S hipton w ere probab ly
too stunned to remark u pon this l ast e v idence o f simplici ty and ,
the m en l ay down b efore the door and in a few m inu tes were ,
asl eep .
the fire with h is u sua l calm He did not w aken the sleepers . .
humored freck l ed face ; the virgin Piney slept beside her frai l er
,
Mr O akhurst draw ing his b l anket over his shou l ders stroked
.
, ,
the party had been stored within the hut and so escaped the
, ,
fel onious fingers of Uncl 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 i s said .
,
’
out anything he added significantly and there s no good
, , ,
Tom S imson not only put a ll his worl d ly store at the disposal
o f M r O akhurst
. but seemed to enj oy the prospect o f their
,
sear ch fo r the trail h e heard the sound of happy laughter ech oed
,
the gamb l e r It was not until he cau ght sig h t o f the b l az ing
.
ties attending the m anipu l ation o f his instru m ent Piney Woods ,
devotional qual ity cau sed i t speedily t o infe ct the others who
, ,
A n d I m b o un d to die in H is arm y
’ ”
.
20 2 S H O R T S T OR I E S
.
,
original theory o f the pair thus to account for the fact that
s h e did n t swear and w as n t improper
’ ’
.
notes o f the accordion rose and fel l in fi tfu l spasm s and long
drawn gasps by the flickering camp-fi re But music failed to fil l .
sonal experiences this plan would have failed to o but for the
, , ,
for the rest of that night the Homeric demigods again walked
the earth Troj an bully and w ily Greek wrestl ed in th e winds
.
,
and the great pines in the canon seemed to bow to the Wrath
o f the s o n o f Peleus Mr O akhurst l istened wit h quiet satis
. .
- ”
swift footed Achilles .
sifted ove r the l and Day by day cl oser a round the m drew t h e
.
TH E O U TCA S T S OF P O K E R FLAT 20 3
their fires e v en from the fallen trees beside the m now hal f
, ,
turned from the dreary prospect and looked i nto each other s ’
’
don t s ay anything about it Don t waken the kids Take the
’
. .
The accordion and the bones were put aside that day and ,
,
f -
,
too ? ”
said the Duchess as she saw Mr O akhurst apparent ly , .
H e turned suddenly and kissed the Duchess leav ing her pallid , ,
.
,
each o ther s faces they r ead their fate Neithe r spoke ; but
’
, .
attitu de fo r the rest of the day That n i ght the storm reached .
, .
m oon thr ou gh the rifted clou ds l ooked down upon w hat had been
the camp B u t al l h u m an stain all trace o f ea rthly travail w as
.
, ,
.
( 1 8 8 4)
BY RO B ERT L OU I S S TEV EN SO N ( 1 8 5 0— 1 8 9 4)
the gar rul ous clocks the nodding shadows and the reflecting, ,
,
’
mits his past caree r to a rigid scru tiny and review This brood .
ing over his past life and present outlook becomes so absorbing
that what bade fair to be a soliloquy becomes a dialogu e a dia ,
l ogue between the O ld self that committed the m urder and the
new self that begins to re v olt at it The o ld se l f bids him follow .
other days take this last chance and be a man His better
, ,
.
nature wins M ark h eim finds that though his deeds ha v e been
.
1 F ro m “
Th e M e rry Men .
”
p
U s e d b y e rm is s io n o f C h arle s S c rib
’
ner s S on s , au th o riz e d A p ’
m e ric an u b lis h e rs o f S t e e n s o n s or s v W k .
20 6
M A R KH E I M 2 07
”
to be reckoned as an asset he s till has a hatred o f evil ; and
,
debted the evi l nature triumphs o ver the good But M ark
,
.
and begins to take stock o f his mora l assets They are pitifu lly .
, ,
and marks the crisis o f the story Duty can fight wi th out cal l .
ing i n reserves from the past and without the vision o f victory
in the future I don t w o nder that the features o f the visitant
.
’
h eim s ol d sel f the se l f that entered the antique shop that with
’
, ,
fear and trembling c ommitted the deed and that now half , ,
h eld u p the c and l e s o that the l ight fel l strongly on his visitor
, ,
Well you will have to pay fo r that ; you wil l have to pay fo r
,
had stooped to take the obj ect from its place ; and as he had ,
And w hy not ? ”
cried the dealer Why not a glass ? ”
.
sudden l y confronted him with the mirror ; but now per c ei v ing ,
et a ve ry charitable man ? ”
no thin go f mi rth .
M A R KH E I M 21 1
Not charitab l e ? ”
return e d the other gloomily Not chari , .
is that al l ? ”
l ady s heal th
’ ”
.
tak e t h e g l ass ? ”
“
Where is the hurry ? ”
returned M arkh e im It is very .
”
knows we might become friends ?
,
u p o n the shel f his thin blonde hair fal ling o v er his eyes as h e
,
"
did s o : M ark h e im moved a little nearer w ith o n e hand in the
‘
p oc k et O f h is g r eat"
-coat
; he drew himself up and fi l led his
his victim The l ong skewer-l ike dagger flashed and fe ll The
.
, .
deal er stru ggl ed l ike a hen striking his temple o n the shelf , ,
dwind l ing as with respiration the faces o f the portraits and the ,
Terro r o f the people in the street sat down before his mind
like a besiegi ng army It w as impossib l e he thought b u t that
.
, ,
si l ence round the table the m othe r stil l with raised finger
,
every degree and age and humor but all by their o wn hearths , , ,
the cl ink o f the tal l Bohemian gob l ets rang o u t l oudly l ike a
bell ; and al armed by the bignes s of t h e ticking h e w as tempted ,
w ould step more bold ly and bustle aloud among the contents
,
tion followed it ; and now i t was a faceless thing and yet had ,
door which still seemed to repel his eyes The house was tall .
,
the skylight smal l and dirty the day blind with fog ; and th e
,
a S hadow ?
S udden ly from the street outside a very j ovial gentl eman
, ,
near the body o f his victi m The human character had q u ite .
been br o ken fell into the oddest p o st ures The face was robbed
, .
singer ; and a boy going to and fro b u ried o ver head in the c r o wd ,
and conq u er .
gushing of the water in the pipes The sense that he was not .
tranqui lly he wou l d possess his soul And then again and h eark .
,
h ad befall en N apo l eon ( so writers said) when the w inter chan ged
M A R KH E I M 19
if for instance the house shou l d fal l and imprison him beside
, ,
standing wit h t h eir faces to the wal l ; a fine S heraton S ideb o ard ,
and this conceal ed him from the neighb o rs H ere then Mark .
, ,
search among the keys It was a l ong business for there w ere
.
,
the peal ing o f the high organ ; children afie l d bathers by the ,
th e c hancel .
ing A step m ounted the stair slowly and steadily and present ly
.
,
a hand was l aid upon t h e knob and the l ock clicked and t h e , ,
d oo r opened .
consign him to the gall ows But when a face was thrust i nt o .
again and the door cl osed behind it his fear broke l oose fro m
, ,
returned .
other .
- ”
I have no obj ection to a death bed repentance observed ,
the visitant .
te re s t fal l s
. The man has lived to ser v e m e to S pread b l ack ,
tru ckling peace with God I came but now from su ch a death
.
man s l ast w ords : and when I l ooked into that face w hich h ad
’
,
“
And do yo u then suppose me such a creature
, ,
? ”
asked
M arkh e im . Do you think I have no more generous aspirations
than to S in and S in and sin and at last sneak into heaven ?
, , , , ,
deed I p l uck bot h w arning and ri ches — both the power and a
,
t h ink ? ”
remarked the visitor ; and there if I mistake not , ,
“
sideration No he added with despair in none ! I have
.
, , ,
gone down in al l t
.
”
Then said the visitor
,
content yourself with what you ,
the visitor who first broke the silence That being s o he”
.
,
said “
,
shall I S how yo u the money ? ”
Ha v e yo u not tried it ? ”
returned the oth er Two o r .
meetings and was not your voice the l oudest in the hymn
,
? ”
the house ; and the vi s itant as though this were some concerted ,
demeanor .
acti ng and I promise you succes s ! O nce the girl within and
, ,
th e door cl osed the same dexterity that has already rid you o f
,
the dealer w ill relieve you o f this last danger in your path .
o f danger Up !
.
”
he cried : up friend ; your l ife hangs ,
l ooked into the shop w h ere t h e cand l e sti ll burned by the dead
,
into h is mind as he stood gazing And then the bel l once more
,
.
y our m aster ”
.
! . T H E N E C KL A C E 1
( 1 8 8 5 )
BY GU Y DE M A U PA SS ANT ( 1 8 5 0 — 1 8 9 3 )
Madame Loise l had and what she w anted bet w een wh at she ,
m oment o f tri u mph and the l ong years o f h er u ndo ing between ,
2 28
2 30 SH ORT ST ORI E S
not react nobly Had Madame Loise l and her hus b and been
.
and l ower Their beauty their grace and their natural charm
.
, ,
e l egance a l ively wit are the ruling forces in the s o cial realm
, , ,
and these m ake the daughters o f the common people the equal s
o f the finest ladies .
T H E N E C KLA C E 23 1
her statio n wou l d have been quite u n c ons c ious tortured her and
made h er indignant The sight o f the c o u ntry gir l who was
.
do irs 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 th e
,
other wo m en .
t h at ,
she drea m ed of dain ty dinners of shining si lve rw are , ,
a S phinx-l ike smile as you eat the pink flesh o f a trout o r the
wing o f a quai l .
p o u ne a L . .
m urmuring
What do yo u wis h me to do w ith that ?
Why my dear I thought you would be pleased Yo u never
, ,
.
g o out and
,
this is such a fine opportunity ! I had awfu l trouble
in getting it E very o n e wants to go ; it is very sel ect and they
.
,
o ffi cial w orld .
”
to me .
”
has better clothes than I .
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
- .
Sh e u ttered a c ry o f j oy .
h e r distress .
Mada m e Loise l :
“
C h oose my dear
,
.
g l ass,
hesitated c o ul d not,
m ake up he r m ind to pa r t wi t h t h em ,
Y ou h ave n o thing e l se ? ”
S he was prettier than all the others el egant gracious smil ing , , , ,
o f woman .
”
a cab .
stairs When they were at last in the street they could find
.
,
and sad ly mounted the steps to their apartm ents It was all .
h is O ffi ce at ten o clock ’
.
2 36 S H O R T S T OR I E S
”
What is the matter ?
Sh e turned madly toward him .
”
necklace .
He stood up distracted ,
.
trace of it .
He asked
You are sure yo u stil l had it when you l eft the ball
Yes I fe l t it o n m e in the vestibu l e at the pal ace
. .
N0 .
nothing .
a trace of hope l ed hi m .
2 38 S H O RT ST O R I E S
“
You should h ave ret u rned i t sooner for I might have ,
”
needed it .
S he did not O pen the case to the relief o f her friend If she , .
But sh e took her part heroically They must pay this frightfu l .
S he washed the dirty linen the shirts and the dishcloths which , ,
1
her basket o n her arm bargaining abusing defending s o u by
, , ,
c ompound interest .
rough With hair half combed with skirts awry and reddened
.
, ,
evening at the ball s o l ong ago when s h e had been s o beau tiful ,
and so admired .
Sh e drew near .
“
But — madame — I do not know you Yo u must have .
m ade a m istake ”
.
2 40 SH O RT ST O R I E S
N o I a m Math i l de Loise l
,
.
M e How s o
?
“
Yes We ll
.
? ”
We ll I l ost it
, .
Yes ; you did not notice it then ? They were j ust alike .
c ould play king and even god in Kafi ristan but when he exposed ,
In.
“
The R esearch Magnificent by Mr H G We ll s the
”
,
. . .
,
”
in this earth Ki ng I m n o t mad His m o tiv e h o we v e r is’
. . .
, , ,
”
very di fferent from D rav o t s I see the world he continues ’
.
, ,
what might have been a veritable King and was promised the
reversion of a K ingdom army l aw-courts revenue and policy , ,
ing more than the crows where they d get their next day s ’ ’
”
be paying it s seven hundred millions said he ; and as
’
,
“
We might threaten a S tation-master and make him send ,
a wi re o n ti ck said m y f ri end
”
,
b u t that d m ean enqui rie s ,
’
246 S H O RT S T O R I E S
'
’
tumble It s only cutting your time o f stay in those parts by
.
— ”
two days I ask you as a stranger
.
!
E nglis h men are not u sually softened liy appeals to the mem
o ry Of their I no the rs ; but for certain reasons w hich w il l be ,
I asked yo u to do it ,
and n o w I know that I can depend o n
you doing it A S econd-cl ass carriage at Marwar Junction and
.
,
“
What did he do to his father s widow then ’
,
asl s h e hung from a beam I found that out myself and I m the ’
.
Only man that would dare going into the S tate to get hush ;
l ead ahard life and generally die with great suddenness The
, .
year to the other They are the dark places of the earth ful l
.
,
times I lay o u t 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 , ,
work .
, ,
Mar war Junction where a funny little happy-go -lu cky native
, , ,
and I had j ust time t o hurry to her p l atform and go down the
ca rriages There was o n ly on e S econd-clas s o n the train I
. .
S lipped th e w indow and looked down upon a flam ing red beard ,
shining fa ce .
Tickets again ? ”
said h e .
”
No said I
,
I am to tel l you that he is gone S out h fo r
.
The train had begun to mo v e out The red man ru bbed his .
”
you anything Cause I won t
? ’ ’
.
red lights die o u t in the dark I t was horribly cold because the
.
‘
Then I became respectable and returned to an O fl ice where
there were no K ings and no incidents outside the daily manu
facture o f a newspaper A newspaper o ff ice seems to attract
.
Then the S ickness really breaks out and the less re c o rding ,
and reporting the better for the peace of the subscribers But .
rea lly ought to come out once in twenty-four hours and all the ,
sa :
y Good gracious Why can t the paper be sparkling
’
? I m ’
s ay ,
must be experienced to be appreciated
’
after the paper w as put to bed the dawn would lower the ther
,
° °
m o m e te r from 9 6 to almost 8 4 for half an hour and in that ,
be and the 100 the red-hot W ind from the wes tward w as boom
, , ,
would fall on the dust with the flop of a frog but all o u r weary ,
ticked and c l icked and the night-j ars hooted at the windows
, ,
and the all but naked compositors wiped the sweat from the ir
foreheads and called for water The thing that was keeping
,
.
dropped an d the last type was s e t and the who l e rou nd earth ,
stood still in the choking heat with its finger o n its lip to wait
, ,
”
stood in front o f me The first o n e said : I t s him !
. The ’
second said : S o it is ! ”
And they both laughed a lm ost as
l oud ly as the m achine ry roared and mopped their foreheads , .
“
We seed there was a l ight burning across the road and we
were sleeping in that ditch there fo r coolness and I said to my ,
friend here The o ffice is O pen Let s come a l ong and speak to
,
.
’
and the l ess said about o u r professions the better for we hav e ,
rap e h r pr oo f-reader
,
street preac h er and correspondents o f the
-
, ,
loo k for Oil nor anything like that without al l the Government
,
Are yo u at al l in earnest ? ”
I said .
”
O
’
y u v e go t We c an read though we are n t very educated
.
,
’
.
’
'
, .
J g
a d a llak Peachey and m e know the road We was there with
, .
Jagdallak to As h ang H mm !
” ’
.
But al l the information abo u t the cou ntry i s as S ket chy and
inaccu rate as c an be I protested
”
No o ne knows anything
, .
, ,
,
.
TH E MAN W H O WO U LD BE KI N G 255
t o yo u ”
.
to ao K i ngs of K afi ris ta n .
( Tli ree
) Tnat w e c o n du ct o u rs elv es w i t/i D ign i ty an d D is cre
ti on , an d i f on e o f us gets i n to tro u ole t/z e o tlz er w ill
s tay o
y h i m .
D a n i el D ra v o t .
found there and most o f the folk o f India proper Balkh and
, .
Bokhara there meet Bengal and Bom b ay and try to dra w eye ,
The two were l oading up two camels and the inhabitants of the ,
“
The priest is m ad said a horse-dealer to me
,
He is .
”
The witless are under the protection o f God stammered a ,
-
fl at cheeked Usbeg in broken Hindi They foretell future e v ents
.
”
.
258 S H O R T S T OR I E S .
O Lor ! Put y our hand u nder the came l-bags and tell m e wh at
yo u fee l .
and amm u n i tion to correspond under the W hirl igigs and the ,
m ud do ll s ”
.
Pathans .
saying is ”
I s l ipped a smal l char m co m pass from my watc h
.
the l ast time we l l S hake hands with an E ngl ishman these man y
’
c amel passed me .
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 Carneh an and
.
, ,
awfu l deat h .
de m anded an o b i t u ary n o t ic e .
graphed from the other S ide of the worl d exactly as had hap ,
pened before A few great men had died in the past two years
‘
.
,
the ma c hines worked with m ore c l atter and some o f the trees ,
'
”
U
I pa sse d Overt o
the press r o om and w ent th ro u gh just s uch -
“
.
“ ’
, ,
26 0 S H O RT S T O R I E S
H e was bent into a circle his head was sunk between his shou l
,
that he w as c o me back “
Can yo u gi ve m e a drink ? he
.
”
w himpered “
For the Lord s sake gi ve m e a drink !
.
” ’
,
I went back to the o ffice the man fo llo wing w ith groans o f ,
Don t y o u kn o w me
’
? ”
he gasped dr o pp ing into a chai r , ,
“
I don t kno w y o u ’
I said h and i ng h im the whiskey
, , .
What c an I d o f o r yo u ? ”
i ngs accordingly .
though I begged o f hi m ! ”
bridge fel l Old Peachey turning and t w isting in the air like a
,
and w o eful sore And then these c ame l s w ere no use and
.
,
in particu l ar to eat but first they took o ff the boxes wit h the
,
put his hand to his knife Dravot breaks his neck over his ,
m ul es with the rifles that was taken o ff the came l s and together ,
not to sing and w histle s o l oud for fear of br inging down the,
the rump and never took no heed for ten cold days We came
, .
to a big leve l val l ey al l among the mountains and the m ules w ere ,
We ll fight for the ten men and with that he fires t w o rifles
’
,
’
we goes up to the ten m en that had run across the snow too ,
over them and kick s them and then he l ifts the m up and
,
for all the world as though he was King al ready They takes .
the boxes and him across the valley and up the hil l into a pine
wood o n the top where there was half a dozen big stone ido l s
, .
26 4 S H O RT S T O R I E S
respectfu l w ith his own nose patting him o n the head and , ,
m outh and points down it and when the first man brings him
,
food he says
,
No and when the second man brings hi m
food h e says
,
No ; but when o n e o f the o ld priests and
’
the first vill age yo u came into How did yo u get to be King .
”
I was n t King said Carnehan
’
,
Dravot he was the .
,
his head and a l l Him and the o ther party stayed in that v il
.
was carried Off and D rav o t takes her back to the first village
,
and counts up the dead — eight there was For each dead .
dril l and a thundering big Chief comes across the snow w ith
,
the men hal f a mi l e across the snow and wings one o f them .
his arms behind The Chief comes alone first and Carnehan
.
,
shakes hands with him and whirls his arms about same as ,
Dravot u sed and very much surprised that Chief was and
, ,
the Chief a rag fro m my coat and says O ccupy til l I come ; ,
near him standing o n the snow and all the people falls flat on ,
by l and or by se a .
‘
I remember that there had once come to the O fli ce a blind man
with a knotted twi g and a piece o f string w hi ch he wou nd rou nd
THE MAN W H O W O U LD BE KI N G 26 7
h ow the priests were working They called the vil l age we took .
Heb The priests at Er—Heb was doing al l right but they had
.
,
h orns and Dan Dravot marc h es down the hill with his Army
,
and a tai l of hundreds o f men and which was the most amaz , ,
Army and every footy little vi ll age fo r fifty miles has come in
,
r
rej oicefu l ; and more than that I v e got the key of the whole ,
’
I v e kicked out o f the cli ffs and there s garnets in the sands
’
,
’
cro w n on It was too small and too heav y but I wore it for
.
,
h o op o f a barre l .
S hake hands with him says Dravot and I shook hands and ,
’
,
ing but tried him with the Fello w Craft Grip H e answers
,
.
,
all right and I tried the Master s Grip but that was a s l ip
,
A ’
, .
‘ ‘
H e does says Dan and all the priests know It S a
,
’
,
.
’
’
mark s on the rocks but they don t know the Third Degree , ,
and w e ll raise the head priests and the Chiefs o f the villages
’
.
’
’
at D rav o t s feet and kisses em
’
Luck again says Dravot .
,
’
,
'
against the other and were sick and tired o f it And when they
, .
Army and se e what the other villages were doing and make ,
’
em throw rope-bridges across the ravines which c u t up the
country horrid Dra v ot was very kind to me but when he
.
,
walked up and down in the pine wood pulling that b l oody red
beard o f his with both fists I knew he was thinking plans I
could not advise about and I just waited fo r orders
, .
They were afraid o f me and the Army but they l oved Dan , .
H e was the best o f friends with the priests and the Chiefs ; but
any o n e could come across the hills with a comp l aint and ,
Dravot wou l d hear him o u t fair and cal l four priests together ,
done in smal l villages That was his Council of War and the
.
,
men and twenty rifles and S ixty men carrying turquoises into
, ,
-
the Ghorband country to buy those hand made Martini rifles ,
-
hundred yards and forty man loads o f very bad ammunition fo r
,
.
was too busy to attend to those things but the o ld Army that ,
that cou l d drill and two hundred that knew how to hold arms
,
the right thing to do and I hav e n t time for all I want to do,
’
,
and here s the w inter coming o n and all H e put half his
’
.
’
beard int o his m outh all red like the gold o f h is crown , .
dril l ed the men and shown the people how to stack their o ats
better ; and I v e bro u ght in those tinware rifles from Ghorband
’
w ife .
’
‘
weighing his crown in his hand Yo u go get a wife too .
,
w ith a woman not til l we are a dam side more settl ed than we ’
been d o ing the work 0 three Let s lie o ff a bit and see if ’
.
’
,
the strongest tribe that l make them your blood brothers and
l - ’
, ,
‘
We ve done wit h that says Dravot t h ese wom e ri are
’
,
’
,
months .
’
only bring u s harm The Bible says that Kings ain t t o waste
.
’
Fish said that he d better ask the girls Dravot damned them
’
.
’
bought your guns Who repaired the bridges Who s the
? ?
’
Grand-Master o f the sign cu t in the stone ? says he and he ,
thu m ped his hand on the block that he used to sit o n in Lodge ,
‘ ’ ’
Dan said I ; and as k the girls That s how it s done at
,
’
.
“
I remembered something like that in the Bib l e ; but if ,
O n ly the Gods know that We tho u ght you were men til l yo u .
a l ittl e dark te m ple half way down the hi ll and I h eard a girl
-
,
w ife .
’
The girl s a litt l e bit afraid says the priest
’
S he .
’
.
d o wn i n the temp l e .
’
c overed w ith si lver and turqu o ises but white as death and ,
neck and sure enough his hand w as red with blo o d Billy Fish
, , ,
.
G o d A m igh ty !
’
says Dan What is t h e m ean i ng 0
’
.
‘ ’
anything n ow .
’
“
A ll right Dan says I but c om e al ong n ow whi l e t h ere s
‘
, ,
’ ’
.
,
b u g i n a blanket left !
We walked al l t h at day and a ll t h at nigh t Dan was stu m p ,
to himse l f .
priests will have sent runners to the villages to say that you are
o n ly m en Why did n t you stick on as Gods till things was more
.
’
Three o r four men began to fire from the ene my s S ide and ’
,
We re done fo r says he
’
They are Engl ishmen these
‘
,
’
.
,
to this Get back Bil ly Fish and take your men away ; you v e
.
, ,
’
Me the K ing !
,
’
Peachey says h e ,
Bro u gh t y ou ou t o f yo u r h appy life t o be
’
.
They used woo den pegs fo r his hands and his feet ; and h e
did n t die He hung there and screamed and they took hi m
’
.
,
H e rocked t o 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 .
’
ab i t as he l ived the King o f Kafi ris tan w it h his c r 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 !
.
”
A g o l de n crown to g ain ;
H is b l o o d-e d b ann e r stre am s af ar
r
Wh o f ollo ws in h is train ?
2 84 S H O RT S T O R I E S
wisest Eve rywhere they are wisest They are the magi
. If . .
time by bull 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
’
t h e m endicancy squad .
b ea ri ng th e n am e M r J am e s Di ll in gh a m Yo u ng
. .
TH E G I FT OF TH E M A GI 28 7
Wit h a whir l of ski rts and with the brilliant sparkle still in h e r
eyes she fl u ttered o u t the door and d o wn the stairs to the street
, .
Goods o f al l Ki nds ”
O ne flight up Della ran and co l lected
.
,
the S o fron ie .
I b u y h ai r said Madame
”
, Take yer hat o ff and l et s .
’
Ji m s present
’
.
“
J im dar l ing sh e cried
,
”
,
“
d o n t l ook at m e t h at w ay I
,
’
.
l et s be happy Y ou d o n t kn ow wh at a ni c e wh at a beautiful
’
.
’
—
,
Y ou ve cu t off y o ur h air
’
? ”
asked Ji m l ab o ri o u sl y as i f , ,
Of idio cy .
Y ou need n t lo ok f o r i t said De ll a
’
It s so l d I te l l
, .
’
,
ch ops o n Ji m ?
,
”
TH E GI FT OF TH E MAGI 29 1
l ater on .
a whi l e at first .
O h oh ,
29 2 S H O RT S T O R I E S
watch to get the money to buy your com bs And now s u ppose .
yo u p u t the chops o n ”
.
their gifts were no doubt wise ones p o ssib ly bearing the privi
,
an) : g t b c n aw m B u ss
G INN
A N D CO M PA Y N
PR O
PR I ET O R S B OS T O N
U S A . . .