42 SH OR T STO RI E S

a good dancer and o n this occasion outdid herself in gra c efu l

,

and s u rprising motions At the l ast s h e took the tabor fro m

.
,

A b dalla s hand and held it out like those wh o dance for

’
,

money .

Ali Baba put a piece O f gold into it and so did h is s o n , .

When G ogia Houssain saw that S he w as 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 M o rgian a with cour , ,

age worthy o f her s elf plunged the poniard into his hea rt
, .

Unhappywoman ! exclaimed Ali Baba what have you

”
,

”
done to ruin me an d my family ?

It was to preserve not to ruin you answered M o rgian a

, , .

Then she sho w ed the dagger in G ogia H o u s s ain s garment and ’

,

said : L o ok wel l at him and you wil l s e e that he is both the

,

pretended oil-merchant and the captain o f the band o f forty

robbers A S soon as you told me that he would eat no salt with
.

y ou I suspected who it was and when I s aw him I knew

, ,
”
,
.

Ali Baba embraced her and said : M o rgiana 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-in—law Consider he said turn

”
.
, ,

ing to his s on ,
“
that by m arrying M o rgian a you m arry the ,

preserver o f my family and yours .

The son w as all the more ready to carry o u t his father s ’

wishes because they were the same as his o wn and within a

, ,

few days h e and M o rgian a were married but before this the , ,

captain o f t h e robbers was buried w ith his comrades and s o ,

secretly was it done that their bones were not found till many
,

years had passed when no o n e had any concern in making this

,

strange story kno

For a whole year Ali Baba did not visit the robbers cav e ’
.

At the end of that time as nobody had tried to disturb him he

, ,

m ade another j ourney to the forest and standing before the , ,

entrance to the cave said : O pen S esame

,
”
The door opened
,
.
 A LI B A B A AN D THE F O R TY RO B B ERS 43

at once and fro m the appearance of everything within the

,

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
.
,

took as much o f the treasure as his needs demanded S ome .

years l ater he carried his so n to the cav e and taught hi m the

,

secret which b e handed down in his family wh o used their

, ,

good fo rtune wisely and l ived in great ho no r and sp lend o r

,
.
 III . RI P V A N W I N K L E (1 8 1 9 ) l

BY W A S H INGTO N I R V ING ( 1 7 8 3 — 1 8 5 9 )

[ Setti ng T h e H u ds o n River and the K aatskill M ou ntai ns

w ere first brought into l iterature t h rough this story Irving ,

be i ng the first American m aster o f l oca l c o l or and loca l tradi

ti o n S ince 1 8 7 0 the A m erican short story fo ll o w ing the
.
,

exa m p l e of I rving has been the l eading agency by whi ch the

,

South the West and Ne w England have m ade known and th u s

, ,

perpetuated their lo c al s c enery l egends c u stoms and dial ect , , , .

Irving h o w ever see m ed afraid o f dial e c t There w ere it is

, , .
,

tr u e m any l egends about the H u ds o n before Irving was bo rn

, ,

but they had fo u nd no expression in literature Mrs J o siah . .

Quincy wh o made a voyage up the Hudson i n 1 7 8 6 wrote :

, ,

O u r captain had a legend for every scene either supernatu ral ,

or traditional or o f actual 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 n o t h ave to manufacture l ocal
.
, ,

traditions ; he o nly gave them w ider currency and fitted t h e m

more artistically into their natu 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 utionary War because the n um ero u s social and political
changes that took p l ace then enabled him to bring R ip back
after his S leep into a world not realized Yo u will appreciate
” -
.

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

and 1 8 4 0 w h en rail ro ads te l egraph l ines and transatl antic

, , ,

steam ers m ade a n ew worl d o u t o f the O ld ; o r 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 1 8 5 5 and 1 8 7 5 when slave ry was ,

ab ol ish ed when the old plantation system was ch anged w hen

, ,

the na m es of new her o es emerged and w h en new socia l and ,

p oli ti c al and industria l prob l ems h ad to be grapp l ed with .

Plot The p l ot i s divided i nto two al m ost equa l parts which

.
,

we m ay call befo r e and after taking ”

A recent critic has .

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
,

fine autumna l day R ip had u n cons c ious ly scramb l ed to o n e o f

,

the highest parts o f the Kaatskill M ou ntains The critic has .

’

m issed I think the main st ru ctu ra l excel len c e o f the story

, , .

Da m e Van Wink l e the ch i ldren who h u ng around R ip his

, ,

own c h i l dren h is dog the social club at the inn w ith the por
, ,

trait o f George the Third Van Bum m el and Ni cho l as Vedder , , ,

a ll h ad t o be m ent i oned before R ip began the ascent o f the

mou ntain O th erwise w hen he retu rned we shou l d have had
.
, ,

no m eans of m easuring the swift passage o f time during his

sleep E ach i s a skillful ly s e t timepiece o r milepost w hich o n
.
,

R ip s return m isleads the poor fel low at every turn and thus
’
,

pr o duces the exact kind O f total ity o f e ffect that Irving

“

i ntended The forw ard m ove m ent o f the p l ot begins with this
.

c areful p l anning of the route that R ip is to take o n his return

trip wh en t w enty years shall have done their w ork Cut o u t
,
.

these p oin ts de refi n e and see h ow e ffe c tively the forward

mo vement o f th e p lo t i s retarded .

Cna ra eters R ip was the first chara c ter i n American fi c tion

.

t o be known far beyond o u r o w n borders and he remains o n e ,

o f the best known In the cl ass wit h hin be l ong Ja m es Feni

.
‘

m ore C o oper s Leatherstocking ( or Natty Bumppo ) Harriet

’
,

Beecher S towe s Uncl e Tom Joe l Chand l e r Harris s Uncl e

’
,
’

R emus and Mark Twain s Huckleberry Fi r m and To m S awyer

,
’
.

He has been cal l ed u n-American and so he is and so I rving , ,

46 SH O R T STORI ES
p l ai n ly i ntended hi m t o be If o n e insists o n find i ng a b i t 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 rve as background to the sto ry George Willia m Curtis calls .

R ip the constant and unconsci o us satirist o f American life ”

,

but surely Irving would hav e smiled at finding so purposefu l

a mission l aid upon the stooping shoulders o f his vagab o nd
ne er-d o-w e ll hero R ip is no satirist conscious or u nconscio u s
’
.
, .

He i s a provincial Dutch type s uch as Irving h ad seen a ,

h undred times ; but he is so l o v able and is sketched so l ovingly

t h at we h ardly realiz e t h e consummate art the human sym ,

pat hy and the keen powers o f obse rvation that have gone into
,

his m aking E very o the r character in the st o ry including Wo l f

.
,

i s a side l igh t o n R ip O f The Legend o f Sl eepy Ho llo w

“
.

I rv 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 o f s c enery cu stoms manners e tc
,
”
The em , ,
.

p h as i s i n o ther w ords w as put o n the setting O f R ip Van

, ,
.

Wink l e m igh t b e not have said The description s o f scenery , ,

custo m s m anners etc are but so many channels thr ou gh w hich

, ,
.

the ch aracte r o f R ip finds o u tl 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 K aatskill M ou ntai ns They are a dismembered branch of
.

th e great Appal ach ian fa m ily and are seen away to the w est
,

o f t h e r i ver swelling u p t o a nob l e h eight and l ording it over

, ,

th e s u rr o und i ng co untry E ve ry ch ange o f season every change

.
,

of w eat h er i ndeed every h ou r o f the day produces some

, , ,

change in the magical hues and s h apes o f these mountains and ,

they are regarded by al l the good wives far and near as per , ,

f e ct baro m eters When the w eather is fair and settled they

.
,

are cl oth ed in b l ue and purple and print their bold o u tlines,

o n the c l ear evening s k y ; but sometimes when the rest o f

the l andscape is c l oudless they wil l gather a hood o f gray
 RI P V AN WI N KL E 47

vapors about their summits which in the last rays o f the , ,

setting s u n will glow and light u p like a crown o f glory

, .

At the foot o f these fairy m ountains the voyager may have ,

descried the light smoke curling up from a village whose shingl e ,

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 .

It is a l ittle village o f great antiquity hav ing been founded by ,

s o me o f the Dutch colonists in the early time o f the province ,

j ust about the beginning of the government O f the good Peter

S tuyvesant ( m ay he rest in peace and there were some of the
houses of the original settlers standing within a f e w years built ,

o f smal l yellow bricks brought from Holland hav ing latticed ,

windows and gable fronts surmounted with weathercocks, .

In that same village and in one of these very houses ( which

, ,

to tell 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 o f Great Britain a simple good-natured fel l ow , , ,

of the name o f Rip Van Wink l e He was a descendant o f the .

Van Winkles w h o figured so gallantly in the chivalrous days o f

Peter S tuyv esant and accompanied him to the siege of Fort
,

Christina He inherited however but l ittle o f the martial 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

univ ersa l popularity ; for those men are most apt to be o b s e
q u io u s and conciliating abroad w h o are under the discip l ine o f
,

shrews at home Their tempers doubtless are rendered p l iant

.
, ,

and malleable in th e fiery furnace o f domestic tribu l ation ; and

a curtain lectu re is worth al l th e ser m ons in the worl d for
teaching the virtues o f patience and l ong-su ffering A term a .

gant wife may therefore in some respects be considered a

, ,

t ole rab l e blessing and if s o R ip Van Wink l e w as thri c e b l essed

, , .
48 S H O RT S T O R I E S

Certain it i s that he w as a great favorite among a ll the

,

good wives of the village wh o as usua l with the amiab l e s ex

, , ,

t o ok his part i n all fami ly squabb l es ; and neve r fai l ed when ,

ever th ey tal ked those matters over in thei r even i ng gossipings ,

to l ay al l t h e blame o n Dame Van Wink l e The children o f .

the vi ll age too w o ul d sho u t with j oy w h enever he approached

, , .

H e assisted at their sports made their p l aythings taught the m

, ,

t o fly kites and shoot marb l es and to l d the m l ong stories o f ,

ghosts wit ch es and Indians Whenever he went dodging about

, , .

the vil l age he w as s u rrounded by a troop o f the m h anging

,

o n his skirts clambering on his back and playing a thousand

, ,

tricks o n hi m with impunity ; and not a dog wou l d bark at

h im throughout the neighborh o od .

The great error in R ip s c omposition was an i ns u perab l e

’

aversion to a ll kinds of profitab l e labor It could not be fro m .

the want o f assiduity o r perseverance ; for h e w ould sit o n a

w et ro ck w it h a ro d as l ong and heavy as a Tartar s l ance
,
’
,

and fish al l day w ithout a m urmur even tho u gh he should not ,

be encouraged by a S ingl e nibb l e H e w ould carry a fo wl ing .

piece On his shou l der for hours together t rudging t h rough ,

w oods and swamps and up hil l and down dal e to sh o ot a few

, ,

squirre l s o r wi l d pigeons H e w ould ne v er refuse to assist a

.

neighbor even i n the roughest toi l and was a foremost m an at

, ,

al l c ountry fro l ics f o r husking Indian c o rn o r building stone ,

fences ; the women o f the village too used to employ h im to , ,

ru n their errands and to do such litt l e O dd j obs as their l ess

,

obliging husbands would n o t do for them In a word R ip w as .

,

ready to attend to anybody s business b u t his o wn ; b u t as ’

to doing family duty and keeping his farm in o rder h e fo u nd

, ,

i t i m po ssible .

In fact h e declared it w as of no u s e t o w ork on h is farm ;

,

i t was the most pestilent l ittl e piece of ground in the whole

cou ntry ; eve rything ab o ut i t went wrong and w o ul d g o w rong , ,
50 S H O RT ST O RI E S

R ip s so l e domestic adherent was

’
dog Wo l f w h o w as as h is ,

much henpecked as his master ; for Dame Van Wink l e regarded

them as companion s in idl eness and even looked upon Wo l f ,

wit h an evi l eye as the cause o f his master s going so O ften

,
’

astray True it is in all points of spirit befitting an honorable

.
,

dog he w as as courageous an animal as e v er scoured the woods

,

— but what courage can with s tand the ever-duri n g and al l

besetting terrors o f a woman s tongue ? The moment Wolf ’

entered the house his crest fell his tail droo ped to the ground, ,

o r curled between his legs he sneaked about w ith a gallows

,

air ca s ting many a S idelong glance at Dame Van Winkle and

, ,

at the least flourish o f a broom s 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 o n ; a tart temper ne v er mellows vit h age ,

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
.
,

when dri v en fro m home by frequenting a kind of perpetua l

,

club of the sages philosophers and other idle personages o f

, ,

the village which held its ses s ions o n a bench be f ore a small
,

inn designated by a rubicund portrait of His Maj esty George

,

the Third H ere they used to S it 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 hav e heard the profound

’

discussions that sometimes took place when by ch ance an o ld ,

newspaper fel l into their hands from some passing trav 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

, , ,

l ittl e man wh o was not to be daunted by the most gi 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

 RI P V AN W I N KL E 5 1

Nich o l as Vedder a patriarch of the vi l lage and l and l ord of the

, ,

inn at the door o f which he took his seat from morning til l
,

night j ust moving su ffi ciently to av oid the s u n and keep in the

,

shade o f a l arge tree ; s o 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 h as his adh er

,

ents) perfectly understood him and knew how to gather his

, ,

O pinions When anything that was read o r related displeased

.

him he was observed to smoke his pipe vehement ly and to

, ,

send forth s ho rt frequent and angry pu ffs ; but w h en p l eased

, ,

he would i nha l e the smoke slowly and tran quilly and emit it ,

in li gh t and placid cloud s ; and sometimes taking the pipe from ,

his m outh and l etting the fragrant vapor curl about his nose
, ,

w ould grav ely nod his head in token o f perfect approbation .

Fro m even this stronghold the unlucky R ip was at l engt h

ro u ted by h is termagant wife who wo u ld sudden ly break in ,

u pon t h e tranquil l ity o f the assemblage and cal l the members

al l to naught ; nor was that august personage Nicho l as Vedder ,

himself sacre d from the daring tongue o f 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 al most to despair ; and his

on ly a l ternative to escape fro m the l abor O f the farm and
,

clamo r o f his W ife was to take gun in hand and strol l away
,

into the woods Here he would someti mes seat himsel f at t h e

.

foot o f a tree and share the contents o f his wallet with W ol f

, ,

w ith who m he sympathized as a fell ow-su fferer in persecution .

Poor Wo l f he w ou l d s ay thy mistress l eads thee a dog s

”
,
“
,
’

l ife o f it ; but never mind my l ad whilst I li v e thou shal t ne v er

, ,

w ant a friend to stand by thee ! Wo l f would wag his tail lo ok

”
,

wistfull y in his master s face and if dogs can feel pity I verily
’
, ,

believe h e recipro c ated the senti m ent w it h al l h is h e art .

5 2 S H OR T S T O R I E S

In a l ong ramb l e o f the kind o n a fine autumnal day R ip ,

h ad unconscious ly scramb l ed to o n e o f the highest parts o f the

Kaats k ill Mountains H e was after his favorite spo rt o f sq u irre l
.

sh o oting and the stil l solitudes had echoed and re echoed w ith
,
-

the reports o f his gun Panting and fatigued he threw himself .

, ,

l ate i n the afternoon o n a green knol l covered with mo u ntain , ,

herbage that crowned the brow of a precipice Fro m an o pen

, .

i ng between the trees he could overlook al l the lower co u ntry

for many a m ile o f rich woodland H e s aw at a distan c e the .

l ordly H u dson far far belo w him moving o n its silent but
, , ,

m aj est ic course w ith the reflection o f a purple cloud o r the

, ,

sai l o f a l agging bark here and there sleeping o n i ts gl assy ,

boso m and at l ast l osing itse l f in the blue h ighlands

, .

O n the o ther S ide he l ooked down into a deep mountain

gl en w i l d l one ly and shagged the bottom fi l led with fragm ents
, , , ,

from the impending cliffs and scarcely lighted by the reflected ,

rays o f the setting s u n For som e time R ip l ay m using o n thi s .

scene ; evening was gradually ad v ancing the mountains began ,

to throw their long blue shadows over the valleys ; h e s aw 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 hall ooing

,
R ip Van Wink l e ! R ip Van Wink l e ! H e
,
”

l ooked round but co ul d s e e nothing but a c row winging its

,

so l itary flight acro ss the mountain H e thought his fancy must .

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
,
.

apprehension stealing o v er him ; he l ooked anxiously in the

s a m e direction and perceived a strange figu re s l o wly toi l ing
,
 RI P V AN W I N KL E 53

u p th e rocks and bend ing u nder t h e w eight o f s o methi ng h e

,

ca rri ed o n his ba ck He was surprised t o see any h u man be i ng

.

i n thi s lo nely and unfrequented p l ace ; but supposing it to be

s om e one of the neighborhood in need of his assistan c e he ,

h astened do w n to yie l d it .

O n nearer approa ch h e w as stil l m ore s u rprised at the singu

lari ty of t h e stranger s appearan c e H e w as a short square
’
.
,

b u il t Ol d fe llo w 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 am 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 H e bore o n h is sho ul der a

,
.

st ou t keg t h at seemed f ull o f l iqu o r and made signs f o r R ip

, ,

t o appr o ac h and assist hi m with the l oad Though rather shy .

and distru stfu l o f this ne w acquaintance R ip complied with his ,

u su al al ac ri ty ; and m ut u ally re l ieving o n e another they cl a m ,

bered u p a narrow gu lly apparent ly the d ry bed o f 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 o u t o f ,

a deep rav i ne o r rathe r cl eft between l ofty rocks t o ward which

, , ,

the i r ru gged path c onducted H e paused fo r a moment but .

,

s u pp o sing it to be the m uttering o f o n e o f those transient

th u nder-showers whic h often take p l ace i n m ountain h eigh ts ,

he pr oc eeded Passing thro u gh 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 Of w hich i m pending trees shot thei r

,

branches s o that yo u on ly caught glimpses o f the azu re sky

,

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 ; fo r thoug h the former

m a rvel l ed greatly w h at could be the obj e c t o f carrying a keg o f
l iq u or up this wild mountain yet there w as something strange ,

an d in c o m prehensible ab o ut the u nkn o wn that i nspired awe ,

an d ch e cked fa m i l ia ri ty .
54 S H O RT S T O R I E S

O n enter i ng t h e am p hi theatre new obj e cts o f wonder pre ,

~

sented themsel v es O n a l eve l spot i n the center was a co m

.

pany o d loo k ing pers o nages playing at ninepins They were

f o d- .

dressed in a quaint outlandish fashion ; some wore short doub

lets others j erkins w ith l ong kni v es in their belts and most o f
, , ,

them had enormous breeches o f similar style with that o f the

guide s Their visages too were peculiar ; o n e had a l arge
’
.
, ,

beard broad face and small piggish eyes ; the face o f another
, ,

seemed to consist entirely o f nose and was surmounted by a ,

white sugar-loaf hat s e t o ff with a little red cock s tai l They all
,
’
.

had beards O f various shapes and colors There was o ne wh o

,
.

seemed to be the commander He was a stout o ld gent l eman .

,

with a weather-beaten countenance ; he wore a laced doublet ,

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
,
-
,
.

reminded R ip O f the figures in an o ld Flemish painting in the

parlor o f Dominie Van S h aick the village parson which had , ,

been brought over from Holland at the time o f the settl ement .

What seemed particularly O dd to R ip was that th ough these ,

fo lks were evidently amusing themselves yet they m aintained ,

the gravest faces the m ost mysterious silence and w ere withal
, , , ,

the m ost me l ancholy party o f pleasure he had ever w itnessed .

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 -
, , ,

mo u ntains l ike rumbling peals O f thunder .

A S R ip and his companion approached them they suddenly ,

desisted from their play and stared at him with such fixed , ,

statue-lik e gaz e and such strange uncouth l ack-l ustre co u n te

, , ,

nances that his heart turned within him and h i s knees smote
, ,

togeth er His companion now emptied the contents o f the keg

.

into l arge fl ago n s and made signs to him to wait upon the com
,

pany He obeyed with fear and trembling ; they quaffed the

.

li qu o r in pro fou nd silence and then retu rned to the i r game , .

 RI P V AN W I N KL E 55

By degr ees Ri p s awe and appreh ension subsided H e even

’
.

ventured when no eye was fixed upon him to taste the bever
, ,

age which h e found had much o f the fla v or o f excellent Hol

,

l ands He was naturally a thirsty soul and was soon tempted

.
,

to repeat the draught O ne taste provoked another ; and he .

reiterated his visits to the fl ago n s o O ften that at length his

senses were overpowered his eyes swam in h is head his head , ,

gradually declined and he fel l into a deep S leep ,

.

O n waking he found himsel f on the green knol l w hence he

,

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 , ,

and breasting the pure mountain breeze S urely thought

”
.
,

R ip I hav e not slept here all night He recalled the o c cur

,
”
.

re n ces before he fel l asleep The strange man with a keg o f .

l iquor — the m ountain rav ine — the wi l d retreat am ong the

rocks the wo e begone party at ninepins the fl ago n
— - — Oh !
that fl ago n ! that wicked fl ago n ! thought R ip
” — “
w h at excuse
shall I make to Dame V an Wink l e ? ”

H e looked round for his gun but in p l ace o f the clean we ll , ,

oiled fowling-piece he found an O ld fi relo ck lying by him the

, ,

barre l incrusted with rust the l ock falling o ff and the stock , ,

w orm -eaten H e 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 o f his gun Wolf too had dis ap
,
.
, ,

e are d but he might h ave strayed aw a y after a squirre l or

p ,

partridge H e whistl ed after him and shouted his name but

.
, ,

all in vain ; the echoes repeated h is whistle and shout b u t no ,

dog w as to be seen .

He determined to revisit the scene of the l ast evening s ’

gambol and if he m et w ith any o f the party to demand his

, ,

dog and gun As he r ose to walk he found himself stiff in

.
,

the joints and wanti ng in his u sual activity

,
These m ountain .
56 S H O RT STO R I E S

beds do not agree with me t hou gh t R ip and if th is fr olic

, ,

shou l d l ay m e u p with a fit o f the rheumatism I shall have a ,

b l essed ti m e wi t h Da m e Van Winkle ”

Wit h som e diffi cul ty .

he got down int o the glen ; he found the gully up w hich h e

and his c o m panion h ad ascended the preceding evening ; but
to his ast o nish m ent a m o u ntain strea m was now foaming down
it l eaping fro 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 w ay through thickets o f birch sassafras , ,

and w it ch-h az e l and someti m es tripped up o r entangl ed by the

,

wil d grapev i nes that tw isted their c oi l s o r tend ril s fr o m tree

to tree and spread a kind o f network in his path
,
.

At l ength he reached to wh ere the ravine had opened thr o ug h

the cliffs t o the a m phitheatre ; b u t n o traces o f such opening
re m ai ned The r o cks presented a h igh impenetrable w all o ver
.
, ,

w hic h th e t o rrent ca m e tumbling in a sheet o f feathery foam ,

and fe ll into a broad deep basin b l a ck from the shadows o f

, ,

the s u rr ou nding forest Here then p o or R ip was bro u ght to

.

.
, ,

a stand H e again called and whistl ed after his dog ; he w as

.

only answered by the cawing o f a flock o f idle crows sp orti ng ,

high i n 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
, ,

s c off at t h e poor man s perp l exities What was to be d o ne ?

’
.

the m orning was passing away and R ip felt famished fo r ,

want o f h i s breakfast He gri eved to give up his dog and

.

gun ; he dreaded to meet his wife ; but it would not do to

sta rve among the mountains H e shook his head shou l dered .
,

the ru sty firelo c k and with a h eart ful l o f 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 himsel f acquainted with every o n e in the

country r o und Their dress too was o f a different fas hio n
.
, ,
5 8 S H O RT S T ORI E S

and apparently abandoned This desolateness overcame al l h is

.

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 .

H e now hurried forth and hastened to his O ld res o rt the

, ,

village inn — but it too was gone A large rickety wooden

, ,
.
,

building stood in its place with great gaping windows some , ,

o f them broken and m ended with Ol d hats and petticoats and ,

over the door was painted The Union Hotel by Jonathan , ,

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 ,

naked po l e with something o n the top that l ooked like a red

,

night cap and from it was fluttering a flag o n which w as a

-
, ,

singul ar assemb l age of stars and stripes — al l this was strange

and i ncomprehensib l e He recognized o n the S ign however
.
, ,

th e ruby face o f King George under which he had smoked ,

s o m any a peaceful pipe ; but even this w as singul arly m eta

m o rph o se d The red coat w as changed for one o f blue and

.

bu ff a sword was held in the hand instead o f a sceptre the

, ,

h ead was decorated with a cocked hat and underneath was ,

painted in large characters G ENERAL WA S HINGTO N ,

.

There was as u sual a crowd o f folk about the door but

, , ,

none that R ip reco l lected The ve ry character o f the people

.

seemed changed There w as a busy bustling disputatious

.
, ,

tone about it instead o f the accustomed phlegm and drowsy

,

tranquillity H e looked in vain fo r the sage Nicho l as Vedder

.
,

with his broad face double chin and fair long pipe u ttering
, , ,

clouds o f tobacco -smoke instead o f idle speeches ; o r V an Bum

mel the schoolmaster doling forth the contents o f an ancient
, ,

newspaper In place of these a lean b ilio u S-looking fe l low

.
, , ,

with his po ckets full o f hand-bills was haranguing vehemently ,

about rights o f citizens — elections — members of congr e s s

l iberty Bunker s Hi ll — heroes o f seventy-six — and other
’
 RI P V A N W I N KL E 59

words w h ich were a perfect Babylonish j argon to the bewildered

,

Van Winkle .

T h e appearance o f R ip with his long grizz l ed beard his, ,

ru sty fow l ing-piece his uncouth dress and an army o f women

, ,

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 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 , , ,

inq u ired in his ear Whether he w as Federa l o r 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 gentl eman in a sharp cocked hat
, , ,

made his way 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 o n e ar m akimbo the other resting o n his

, ,

c ane his keen eyes and S harp hat pen etrating as it were into
, , ,

h is very soul demanded in an austere tone w hat brought hi m

, ,

to the election with a gun o n his shoulder and a mob at his ,

”
heels and whether he meant to breed a riot in the village
,
?

A l as ! gentlemen cri ed R ip somewhat dismayed ,

I am , ,

a poor quiet man a native o f the pla c e and a lo y al s u bj e c t of

, ,

the king God bless him

,

Here a general shout burst from the bystanders A tory !

a to ry ! a S py ! a refugee ! hustle him ! away with him ! ”
It
was w ith great di fficulty that the self-important m an in the
cocked hat restored order ; and having assumed a tenfold , (

austerity o f brow demanded again o f the unknown c ulprit what

,

he c ame there for and whom he was seekin g ? The poor m an

,

h u m b ly assured him that he m eant no harm but mere ly came ,

there in searc h o f so m e of h is neighbors who u sed to keep ,

abo u t the tavern .

Well w h o are they name the m .

60 S H O R T S T OR I E S

R ip betho ught hi m se l f a moment and inqu i red W h ere s , ,

’

Nicho l as Vedder 0

T h ere w as a sil en c e for a l ittle wh i l e when an old m an rep l ied , ,

in a thin piping voice , Nicho l as Vedder ! why he is dead

: ,

and gone these eighteen years There was a wooden to mbstone

in the churchyard that used to te ll all abo u t him b u t that s ,
’

ro tten and go ne too .

”

Where s Br o m D u tcher ’

O h h e w ent o ff t o the army in the beg i nning o f the war ;

,

s om e say he was killed at the stor m ing o f S tony Point — others

say he w as drowned in a squal l at the foot o f Ant o ny s Nose ’
.

— ”
I don t know
’
h e never came back again .

Where S Van Bummel the school m aster

’
? ”
,

H e went Off to the wars too was a great mil itia general , ,

”
and is now in Congress .

R ip s heart died away at hearing o f these s ad changes 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 o f such enormous ,

l apses o f time and o f matters which he c ould n o t understand

,

war — Congress S tony Point ; he had no courage to ask after

any more friends but cried o u t in despair Does nob o dy here
, ,

know R ip Van Winkle ? ”

O h R ip Van Wink l e
,
excl aimed two o r three .

O h to be sure ! t h at s R ip Van Winkle yonder l eaning

,
’
,

”
against the tree .

R ip l ooked and beheld a precise counterpart of himself as

, ,

he w ent up the mountain : apparently as lazy and certainly as ,

ragged The poor fel lo w was now comp l etely confounded

. .

H e d ou bted his o wn 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 th e

.
,

co cked hat dem anded who he was and what was his name ? ,

God knows exclaimed he at h is wit s end ; I m not

”
,
“
,
’ ’

myself I m so m eb o dy e l se — that s me yonder

’
n o — that s ’ ’
 RI P VAN W I N KL E 6 1

somebody else got into my shoes I was myself l ast night but ,

I fel l asleep o n the mountain and they v e changed my gun ,

’
,

and everything s changed and I m changed an d I can t tell

’
,
’
,
’

”
what s my name or wh o I am !
’
,

The bystanders began now to look at each other n o d w ink , ,

S ignificant ly and tap their fingers against their foreheads

, .

There was a whisper al so about securing the gun and keeping

, , ,

th e o ld fellow from doing mischief at the very suggestion of ,

which the sel f-impo rtant man in the cocked hat retired with
some precipitation At this critica l moment a fresh come ly
.
,

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 R ip cried she

,
”
.
, , ,

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
, , ,

awakened a train o f recollections in his m ind What is you r .

name my good woman

,
? ”
asked h e .

“ ”
Judith G arde m e r .

And your father s nam 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 his gun and ,

never has been h eard o f since — his dog came ho m e w i thout

.
,

him ; but w hether he shot himself o r was carried away by the

Indians nobody c an tell I was then but a l ittle girl
, .
”
.

R ip h ad but o n e question more to ask ; and he p u t it w ith

a falterin g voice : Where s your mother ? ’

O h sh e too had died but a short time since ; s h e broke

,

a blood-vesse l in a fit o f passion at a N e wE n gland peddler ”

.

There was a drop o f co m fort 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 arm s I am your father ! ”

.

cried h e Young R ip Van Wink l e o nce — o ld R ip Van

W i nk l e n o w ! D o es nob o dy k n ow p oo r R ip Van Wink l e ? ”
62 S H O RT S T O R I E S

All st oo d a m azed unti l an o l d woman totter ing o u t 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 R ip

, ,

Van Wink l e it is himself We l c om e home again o ld neighbo r ,

-Why w here have you been these twenty l ong years ? ”

,

R ip s sto ry was soon told for the who l e twenty years h ad

’
,

been to hi m b u t as on e nigh t The neighb o rs stared when they

.

heard it ; some were seen to w ink at each other and put their ,

tongu es in their cheeks ; and the self-important man in the

cocked hat w h o when the a l arm w as over had returned to
, , ,

the field screwed down the corners O f his mou th and shook
, ,

his head — u pon w hich there w as a general shaking o f the

head throughout the assemblage .

It was determined however to take the O pini o n o f o ld Peter

, ,

V an derdo n k who was seen s lo wly advancing up the road

, He .

was a descendant of the hist orian o f that na m e who wrote o n e ,

of the earliest a c co u nts o f the provin c e Peter was the most .

ancient inhabitant o f the village and well versed I n al l the ,

wonderful events and traditions of the neighborhood H e rec o l .

le c te d R ip at once and corroborated his story in the most satis

‘

factory m anner H e assured the company that it was a fact

.
,

handed down from his ancestor the historian that the K aatsk ill ,

M o untains had al ways been haunted by strange beings That .

‘
it was afl irm e d that the great Hendrick Hudson the first dis ,

coverer o f the river and co u ntry kept a kind o f vigi l there ,

e v ery twenty years with his cre w of the Hal f—moon ; being
,

per m itted in this way to revisit the s c enes of his enterprise ,

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
.

their o ld D u tch dresses playing at ninepins in a hollow o f the

mou ntain ; and that he himself had heard one summer after ,

noon the sound o f their balls like distant peals of thunder

,
.

T o m ake a long story short the co m pany broke up and ,

 RI P V AN WI N KL E 63

returned to the m o re important c oncerns o f th e el ection R ip 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 cted for o ne o f the u r c hins that u sed t o climb

upon h is back As t o R ip s s o n and heir w ho was the ditto of
.
’
,

hi m se l f seen leaning against the tree he was emp lo yed to w ork

, ,

o n the farm ; but evi n ced an hereditary disp o siti o n to attend

to anything e l se but his business .

R ip no w resumed his o ld walks and habits ; he soon fo und

m any o f his former cronies though all rather the worse for the
,

wear and tear of time ; and preferred making friends among

th e ris i ng generati o n with whom he soon grew into great favor
,
.

Hav ing nothing to do at home and being arrived at that ,

h appy age when a man c an 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 ,

e n ce d as o n e o f the patriarchs o f the village and a chronic l e o f ,

“ ”
the old times before the war It was some time before he
.

could get into the regu l ar track of gossip o r 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 ry had thrown off the yoke of old England — 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 o f states and empires made

,

but l ittl e impression o n him ; but there w as o n e S pecies o f

despotism under which he had long groaned and that was ,

petticoat government Happily that was at an end ; he had

.

got his neck o u t o f the yoke o f matrimo ny and could go in ,

and o u t W hene v er b e pleased without dreading the tyranny of

,

Dame Van Winkle Whene v er her na m e was mentioned h o w

.
,

e v er he shook his head shrugged his shou l ders and cast u p

, , ,

his eyes which might pass either for an expressi o n of r esigna

,

ti on to h is fate o r j oy at his de l iveran c e

, .
64 S H O RT S T O R I E S

He u sed to tel l his story to every strange r that arrived at

Mr Doolittle s hote l H e was o bserved at first to vary o n
.
’
.
, ,

some points e v ery time he to l d it whi ch was doubtless owing

, , ,

to his having s o recently awaked It at l ast settl ed d o wn pre

.

c ise ly t o the ta l e I have re l ated and n o t a man

,
woman o r , ,

child in the neighborhood b u t knew it by hea rt S ome always .

pretended to doubt the real ity O f it and insisted that R ip had

,

been o u t o f his head and that this w as o n e point o n w h ich he

,

a l ways remained fl igh ty 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 o f a su m mer aftern o on ab o ut the

-

K aatsk ill but they s ay H endrick H u dson and his cre w are at
,

their ga m e o f ninepins ; and it is a comm o n wish of all hen

pecked h u sbands in the neighborhood when life hangs heavy,

o n their hands that they might h ave a qui eting d r a u g h t o ut o f

,

R ip Van Wink l e s fl agon

’
.
66 S H O RT S T O R I E S

Cna ra eterr Poe s strengt h did not lie in the creation o f

.
’

character H e is SO intent o n the de v elopment of the windin gs

.

and unwindings o f his story that the character s b ecome mere

puppets originated an d controlled by the needs of the p l ot
,
.

Jupiter deser v es mention as o n e of the earliest attempts made

by an American S hort story writer to portray negro character
- .

But Jupiter has been so far surpa s s ed in breadth and reality by

Joel Chandler Harris Thomas Nelson Page and a score o f , ,

others as to be al most negligible in the count In defense O f .

Jupiter s barbarous lingo which has been often criticized it

’
, ,

should be remembered that Poe intended him as a repre s enta

tive o f the Gullah ( or Gul l a) dialect It is the negro dialect ”
.
,

says Joel Chandler Harris “

in its most primitiv e state — the ,

Gullah talk of some o f the negroes o n the S ea Islands being

merely a confused and untranslatable mixture O f E nglish and
”
African words .

William Legrand though not a great o r notable chara cter in ,

any way is admirab l y fitted to do what is required o f him in the

,

story Like Poe he was solita ry proud quic k-tempered and

.
, , , ,

subj ect to perv er s e moods of alte rnate enthusiasm and melan

”
choly . H e had also Poe s passion for puzzles Jupiter is ’
.

hardly more than an awkward tool fashio ned to display Le

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 i es 1S introduced merely to as k such questions as mu s t be

,

answered if the reader is to follow intelligently the unfolding of

the plot They are agents rather than characters !
.

W hat h owh at h o ! thi s f e ll o w is dan c i n g

! m ad !
He h ath b e e n b itte n by th e T aran tul a .

All in th e Wr g on

Many years ago I contracted an intimacy with a Mr William,

.

Legrand He w as of an ancient Huguenot family and had

.
,

once been wealthy ; b u t a series o f misfortunes had reduced

 TH E G O LD —
B UG 67

him to want To av oid the m o rtifi c atio n consequent upon his

.

disaster s he left N e w O rleans the city of his forefathers , and

, ,

took up his residence at S ulli v an s Is l and near Charl eston ’

, ,

S outh Carolina .

This island is a v ery singular one I t consists of l i ttl e else .

than the sea sand and is about three mi l es l ong Its b readth
,
.

at no point exceeds a quarter o f a mile It is separated from .

the mainland by a scarcely perceptible creek oozing its w ay ,

through a wilde rness o f reeds and S lime a fav orite resort of ,

the marsh-hen The vegetation as might be supposed is scant

.
, , ,

or at least dw arfi sh N 0 trees Of any magnitude are to be seen

. .

Near the western extremity where Fort Moultrie stands and , ,

where are some m i serable frame buildings ten anted 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 o f this western point and a line o f hard ,

white beach o n the seacoast is covered with a de n se u nder ,

growth O f the swee t myrtle so much prized by the h o rtic u ltu r ,

is ts o f E ngland The shrub here often attains the height o f

.

fifteen o r 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 o r 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 w as muc h in the recl use to excite interest and
esteem I found him well educated with unusual powers of
.
,

mind but infected with misanthropy and Subj ect to perverse

, ,

m oods O f alternate enthusiasm and melancholy H e 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 s in que s t of shells or entomological

specimens ; — his collection o f the l atter might have been env ied
68 S H O RT S T O R I E S

by a In these excursions he w as usually ae c o m

S wamm e rdam m .

p an ie d by an o ld negro called Jupiter w h o had been ,

m anu ,

m itte d before the reverses of the fami ly but wh o cou l d be ,

induced neither by threats n o r by promises to abandon w h at

, ,

he considered his right of attendance upon the footsteps of his

young M assa Will It is not improbable that the re l atives
.

of Legrand conceiving him to be somewhat unsettl ed in inte l

,

l ect had contriv 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 o f S ulliv an s I s l and are seldo m ’

ve ry severe and in the fa ll of the year it is a rare event in

,

deed when a fire is considered necessary About the middle o f .

O ctober 1 8 ,
there occurred howe v er a day o f re m arkable , ,

chilliness Just before s u nset I scrambled my way through the

.

evergreens to the hut o f my friend whom I had not V isited fo r ,

severa l weeks my residence being at that time in Charleston ,

a distance o f nine miles from the island while the facilities of ,

passage and repassage were very far b ehind those of th e present

day Upon reaching the b u t I rapped as was my custom and
.
, , ,

getting no reply sought for the key where I krie w it was

,

se c reted unlocked the door and went in A fine fire was b l az

, ,
.

ing upon the hearth It was a nove l ty and by no means an

.
,

u ngrateful o n e I threw Off an overcoat took an armchair by

.
,

the crackling l ogs and awaited patiently the arri v al o f my hosts

, .

S oon after dark they arri v ed and gav e me a most cordial ,

w el come Jupiter grinning from ear to ear bustled about to

.
, ,

prepare some marsh hens for supper Legrand was in o n e O f

- .

his fi t s — how else S hal l I term th e m P— O f enthusiasm He .

had found an u nknown bivalve form ing a new genus and , , ,

m ore than this h e had hunted down and secured w ith Jupi
, ,

ter s assistance a s ea ra aaens which he belie v ed to be totally

’
,

new but in respect to whic h he wished t o have m y O pini o n on

,

the morrow .
 T H E G O LD —
BUG 69

And w hy not to-night I asked rubbing my hands ove r ,

the blaze and wishing the whole tribe o f s ea ra ba i at the devil

, .

”
Ah if I had only known you were here ! said Legrand
, ,

but it s so l ong since I saw you ; and how cou l d I f o resee

’

that yo u wou l d pay me a visit this very night o f al l others ?

A S I was coming home I met Lieutenant G from the
fort and ve ry fo ol ishly I lent him the bug ; s o it wil l be
, , ,

impossible fo r you to s e e it unti l th e morning S tay here .

t o-night and I will send Jup down fo r it at sunrise It is the

,
.

l oveliest thing in creation !

What sunrise
Nonsense ! no l — the bug It is o f a brilliant gold co l or
.

about the size o f a l arge hickory-nut — with two j et-black

spots near o n e extremity o f the back and another somewhat , ,

l onger at the other The a n ten n a ar e

,
.

“
Dey aint n o tin in him Massa Will I keep a te ll in o n , ,

y o u here interrupted Jupiter ; de bug is a g ool e-bug solid

,
”
, ,

e b e ry bit o f him inside and all s e p him w ing — n eb er fee l

, ,

half so h ebby a bug in my l ife ”

.

Well suppose it is Jup replied Legrand so m ewhat more

, , , ,

“
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 ’

idea You never s aw a more brilliant metallic lustre than the

.

scales emit — but o f this yo u cannot j udge til l tom o rrow In .

the m eantime I can give yo u some idea o f the shape ”

S aying .

this he seated himself at a small table o n wh ich were a pen

, ,

and ink but no paper H e l ooked fo r so m e in a drawer but

,
.
,

fo 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 o f w h at I t oo k

to be very dir ty foolscap and made up o n it a rough drawing
,

wi t h the p en While he did this I retai ned m y seat by the

.
,
7 0 S H O R T S T OR I E S

fire f or I was still chilly When the design was com p l ete h e
,
.
,

handed it to me without rising As I received it a l ow growl .

,

was heard succeeded by a scratching at the door

,
Jupiter .

ope n ed it and a large Newfoundland belonging to Legrand

, , ,

r u shed in l eaped upon my S houlders 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 ittl e puzzled at

, ,

w hat my friend had depicted .

“
We ll ! ”
I said after contemp l ating it for some minutes
, ,

this is a strange s ea ra é a n s I must confess ; new to me ; never ,

saw anything like it before — unless it was a skull o r a death s ,

’

head whic h it more nearly resemb l es than anything else that

,

”
has come under my observation .

A death s-head echoed Legrand

’
O h yes — wel l it ,

has something of that appearance upon paper no doubt The ,

.

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
, , ,

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 — r/z e zdd do it at l ea s t — have had good masters ,

”
and flatter myself that I am not quite a blockhead .

But my dear fellow you are j o k ing then said I ; thi s

,
”
, ,

is a very passable s t a ll — indeed I may say that it is a very, ,

ex cellen t skul l according to the vulgar notions about such speci

,

m ens o f physiology and your s eara bd n s must be the queerest

s ea ra ba a s in the world if it resembles it Why we may get up .
,

a very thrilling bit O f superstition upon this hint I presume .

you will cal l the bug s ea ra ba a s eap a t nom i n zlc or someth i ng of

l
,

”
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 ~

tories But where are the a n ten n a you spoke o f

.

“ ”
The a nten na ! said Legrand wh o seemed to be getting ,

unaccountab ly warm upon the subj ect ; I am sure you must

s e e the a n ten n a I made the m as distinct as they are in the
.

original insect and I presume that is su fficient

,
”
.

“
We ll w ell I said
,
” “
,
perhaps you ha v e — stil l I don t s e e
,
’

the m ; and I handed him the paper without additiona l remar k

”
,

not wishing to ru ffle his temper ; but I was much surpri s ed

at the turn affairs had taken ; his ill humor puzzled m e — and
as for the drawing of the beetle there were positively n o a n ,

ten n a visible and the whole did bear a v ery close resemblance
,

to the ordinary cuts o f a death s-h e ad ’

.

H e received the pape r ve ry peevishly and was about to ,

crumple it apparently to throw it in the fire when a casual

, ,

glance at the design s eemed sudden ly to rivet his attention In .

an instant his face gre w v iolently red in another as excessively

pale F o r some minutes he continued to scrutinize the drawing
.

m inutely where he s at At length he arose took a candle from

.
,

the tab l e and proceeded to seat himself upon a s e a-chest in the

,

farthest corner o f the room Here again he made an anxiou s

.

examination of the paper ; turning it in all directions H e said .

nothing however and h is 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 locked H e now ,

.

grew more composed in his demeanor ; but his original air of

enthusiasm had quite disappeared Yet he seemed not s o 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 o f ,

mine could arouse him It had been my intention to pass the

.

night at the hut as I had frequently done before but seeing

, , ,
72 S H O RT ST O RI E S

my h ost in this mood I deemed it proper to take l eave He

, .

did not press me to remain b u t as I departed he shook m y , , ,

h and with even more than his usua l cordiality .

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
, ,
.

o ld negro l ook s o 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 ? — 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 ”
.

N o t w el l ! I am truly sorry to hear it What d o es he .

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 ”
.

Very sick Jup i ter ! — wh y did n t yo u s ay so at once ? I s

’
,

he c onfined to bed ? ”

No dat h e aint — h e aint find nowb ar — dat s j ust whar

,
’

de shoe pin ch — m y mind is got to be ber ry hebby bout poor

Massa Wi ll ”
.

“
Jupiter I sho u ld like to understand what it is yo u are talk
,

ing about Yo u s ay your master is sick Has n t he told y ou

. .
’

what ai l s hi m ?
Why m assa taint wo rf while for to git mad bout de m atter
, ,

— Massa Wil l s a n o ffi n at all aint de matter w id h i m — but

y
den what make hi m go bout l ooking dis here w ay wid he head ,

down and he so l diers up and as white as a gose ? And t h en

,

he keeps a syphon al l de time

Keeps a w hat Jupiter ? ”
,

Keeps a syphon wid de figgu rs o n de s l ate — de queerest

figgu rs I e bb e r did see I se gittin to be skeered I tel l yo u
.
,
.

Hab f o r to keep m ighty tight eye p o n hi m n o o v e rs Todde r .

74 S H O RT STO R I E S

How I know ? why cause he talk about it in he sleep ,

”
dat s h o w I nose
’
.

Well Jup perhaps yo u 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 p issel

,
and here Jupiter
,

handed me a note which ran thus

MY D E AR W hy h ave I n o t s ee n yo u fo r s o l o n g a ti m e ?
I h o p e yo u h av e n o t b ee n s o f o oli s h as to tak e O ffen s e at an y littl e
bru s q u eri e o f m i n e ; b u t n o that is i m p r o b abl e , .

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 .

thin g to tell y ou ye t s carc el y kn ow how to tell it o r whe ther I s h ould

, ,

tell it at all .

I hav e n ot b e e n q uite well for s o m e days p as t an d p o o r Old J u p ,

ann oy s m e al m o s t b e y o nd en duranc e by h is we ll -m e ant attenti o ns

, , .

W o ul d yo u b eli ev e it ? -h e had p re p ared a huge s ti ck th e o th er ,

day with whi c h t o c h as ti s e m e f o r gi v in g h im th e s li p and s p e n din g

, ,

the day S Ot S am o n g th e hill s o n th e m ainlan d I v erily b eli ev e

, ,
.

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 .

I have m ade n o additi on to my c ab ine t s inc e we m e t .

I f you c an in an y way m ak e it c o n v e n i e n t co m e o ve r with

, , ,

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
. .
,

i m p o rtanc e I assure yo u that it is o f th e li ignes t i m p o rtan ce

. .

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
.

o f Legrand What could he be dreaming of ? What new

.

crotchet possessed his excitab l e brain ? What business of the

h ighest importance cou l d b e possibly hav e to transa c t ? Jupi
ter s account o f him boded no good I dreaded lest the con
’
.

tin ue d press u re o f misfo rtune h ad at l ength fairly unsett l ed the , ,

 TH E
I
G O LD —
BUG 75

r eas o n of my fri end Withou t a m om ent s hesitati on therefore

.
’
, ,

I prepared to acco m pany the negro .

Upon rea ching the wharf I noticed a scythe and three ,

spades all apparently new lying in the bottom Of the boat i n

, ,

which we were to embark .

What is the meaning o f al l this Jup I inquired ,

.

Him syf e massa and S pade ”

, ,
.

”
Ve ry true ; but what are they doing here ?

Hi m de syfe and de spade what Massa Wil l s is pon my

buy i ng for him in de town and de debbil s o wn lo t o f money ,
’

”
I had to gib for em .

But what in the name of al l that is m ysterious is y ou r

, ,

Massa Wil l going to do with scythes and spades ?

’ ”

Dat s more dan ’

know and debb il take m e if I d o n t ,
’

be l ie v e t is m ore dan h e kn o w t oo B u t it s all cum Ob de

’
,
.
’

”
bug .

Findin g that no satisfaction was to be obtained o f Jupiter ,

whose whole intellect seemed t o be absorbed by de bug I ”

,

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
,

the hut It was about three in the afternoon when we arrived

. .

Legrand had been awaiting us in eager expectation He grasped .

my hand with a ner v ou s emp ressei n en t which a l arm ed me and ,

strengthened the suspicions already entertained His c o u n te .

nance was pale even to ghastliness and h is deep-se t eyes glared ,

with unnatural l ustre After some inquiries respecting his .

health I a s ked him not knowing what better t o s ay if he h ad

, , ,

yet obtained the s ea ra ba ns from Lieutenant G

O h yes h e replied coloring violently I go t it from hi m
, , , ,

the next morning Nothing should tempt m e to part with that

.

sea ra ea n s Do yo u know that Jupiter is quite right about i t ?

.
”

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

In suppos i ng i t to be a bug o f rea l geld He said th i s .

with an air o f profo u nd seriousness and I felt inexpressib ly ,

shocked .

“
This bug iS to make my fortune he continued with a , ,

“
triumphant smile to reinstate me in my family possessions
, .

I s it any wonder then that I priz e it ? S ince Fortune has

, ,

thought fit to bestow it upon me I hav e only to u se it properly ,

and I shall arrive at the gold o f which it is the index J u piter .

,

bring me that s ea ra ba as
What ! de bug massa ? I d rudder not go fer tru bble dat
,
’

o u mus git him fo r your o wn se l f

”
bug y H ereupon Legrand .

arose with a grave and stately air and brought me the beetle
, ,

from a glass case in which it was enclosed It was a beautifu l .

sea ra ea ns and at that time unkno wn to naturalists

, , o f course ,

a great prize in a scientific point o f V iew There were two .

round b l ack spots near o ne extremity o f the back and a l ong

, ,

o n e near the other The scales w ere exceedingly hard and

.

gl ossy w ith al l the appearance o f burnished gold The w eight

, .

o f the insect w as very remarkab l e and taking a ll things into , ,

consideration I could hardly blam e Jupiter for his O pinion

,

respecting it ; h i t w hat to make o f Legrand s agree m ent with ’

that O pini o n I could n o t for the life of me te ll

, , ,
.

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 hav e your counsel and assistance in furtheri ng the

views o f Fate and O f the bug
”
My dear Legrand I cried interrupting him y o u are , , ,

certainly u nwell and had better use some l ittle precautions

,
.

Yo u shall go to bed and I will remain with yo u a few days , ,

u ntil you get over this You are feverish and .

Feel my pulse said he , .

I felt it and to s ay the truth found n o t the slightest

, , ,

i ndication O f fever .
 TH E G O LD —B
UG 77

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 th e next
Yo u are m istaken he interposed I am as well as I can
, ,

expect to be under the excite m ent which I suffer If yo u really .

wish m e wel l you wil l re l iev e this excite m ent

,
.

”
And how is this to be done ?
Ve ry easily Jupiter and m yself are going u po n an exp e
.

dition into the hi ll s u pon the mainland and in this expedition

, , , ,

we shal l need the aid o f some person in who m we can confide .

Yo u are the on l y o ne we c an tru st Whether we succeed o r .

fail the ex c ite m ent which y ou n o w per c eive i n me wil l be

,

eq u ally allayed ”
.

I am anxious to ob l ige yo u in any way I replied ; b u t ,

do you mean to s ay that this infernal beetl e has any c onnection

with yo u r expedition into the hi l l s ”
.

”
It has .

Then Legrand I c an 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
.
”

“
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 ? ”

Pr o bab ly all night We S hall start i m m ediate ly and be

.
,

back at all events by s u n rise

,
”
,
.

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 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
,

advice i mpli citly as that o f your p h ysician

,

“
Yes ; I promise ; and no w let u s be o ff f o r we have n o ,

time to l ose ”
.

With a heavy heart I accompanied m y friend We started

'

ab ou t fou r o clo ck — Legrand Jupiter the dog and myself

’
, , ,
.
7 8 S H O RT S T O R I E S

J u pite r h ad wit h hi m the scythe and spades — the w h o l e o f

which he insisted upon carrying m ore thro u gh fear it seemed
, ,

to m e o f t rusting either of the im p l e m ents w ithin reach o f h is

,

master than fro m any excess o f indust ry or compl ai s an c e His

, .

demeanor w as d 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 m y o wn part I had charge o f a couple o f dark l anterns

, ,

whi l e Legrand contented himself with the s ea f a ea ns which h e ,

carried attached to the end o f a bit of whip-cord ; twir l ing it to

and fro with the a i r o f a conj uror as he went When I
, , .

O bserved this l ast p l ain evidence o f my friend s aberration o f

,
’

m ind I coul d scar c ely refrain from tears I thought it best

, .
,

however to humo r h is fancy at least for the present or unti l

, , ,

I could adopt some more energetic measures with a chance o f

success In the meantime I endeavored but al l in vain to sound
.
, ,

him in regard to the O bj ect o f the expedition Having succeeded .

in inducing me to acco m pany him he seemed unwilling to hold,

conversation upon any topic o f minor importance and to all my ,

questions vouchsafed no other reply than We S hall s e e 1

“

We crossed the creek at the head o f the island by means o f

a skiff and ascending the high grounds o n 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 ,

o f a human fo o tstep was to be seen

'

Legrand le d th e w ay .

with decision ; pausing only for an instant here and there to , ,

consult what appeared to be certain landmarks o f his own

c ontrivance upon a former occasion .

In this manner w e j ourneyed for about tw o hours and the ,

s u n w as j ust setting when we entered a region infinitely more

dreary than any yet seen I t was a species of table-land near

.
,

the summit o f 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

,
 TH E G O LD -
BUG
79

fro m precipitating themselves into the v a l leys below mere ly by

the support o f the trees against which they recl ined Deep .

ravines in va ri ous directions gave an air of sti ll sterner so l e m

, ,

ni t
y to the scene .

The natu ra l p l atform to whi ch we h ad cl a m bered was thick ly

overgrown with bramb l es thro u gh which we soon discovered ,

that it wou l d h av e been impossib l e to force o u r w ay b u t fo r the

scythe ; and Jupiter by direction o f his master proceeded to
, ,

c lear for us a path to th e foot o f an i m mense ly l arge tulip-tree ,

whi c h stood with so m e eight or ten oaks upon the l eve l and
, , ,

far su rpassed them al l and al l oth 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 m aj esty o f its appearance When

,
.

w e reached this tree Legrand turned to Jupiter and asked h im

, ,

if he thought he could c l imb it The Ol d man seemed a l ittle .

staggered by the question and for some m o m ents made no ,

rep ly At l ength h e approached the huge t runk walked slo wly

.
_ ,

around it and examined it with m inute attention W h en h e had

,
.

c omp l eted his scrutiny b e merely said ,

Yes massa Jup climb any tree he e bb er s e e in he li fe

, ,
.

Then up with yo u as so o n as possible fo r i t w il l s oo n be to o ,

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 beetl e with you ”

.

De bug M assa Will l — de goo l e -bug

,
cried the negr o ,

drawing back in dis m ay what fo r m us tote de bug w ay u p

”
de tre e ? — d n if I do !
If y are afraid
ou Jup a great big negr o l ike
,
y ou t o take , ,

hol d o f a harm l ess l ittle dead beetle why you can carry it up , ,

by this string -but if you do not take it up with you in s om e

,

w ay I shal l be under the necessity of breaking your head with

,

this shove l .
80 S H O RT ST O R I E S

What de m atte r n o w massa sa i d J u p evidently s h am ed

, ,

i nto co m pliance ; a l ways want fur to raise fuss w i d old nigger .

Was o nly fu nn in anyhow jl/e feered de b u g ! w h at I kee r for

.

de bug ? H ere h e took cautious l y ho l d o f the extre m e en d o f

”

the stri ng and m aintaining the i nsect as far from his pers o n as
, ,

ci rcum stances wou l d perm it prepared to ascend the tree , .

In youth the tu l ip tree o r [ irioden dron Tn lzjeifera the m o st

-
'

, , ,

m agnifi c ent o f A m erican foresters has a trunk peculiarly smooth , ,

and o ften r i ses to a great h eight w i th ou t l atera l bran ch es ; but

i n i ts ripe r age th e bark be com es gnarl ed and u neven w hile
many short l i m bs m ake their appearance on the stem T h u s .

the di fficulty of ascension in the present case l ay more in s e m

, ,

b l ance than i n real ity Em braci ng t h e h uge cylinder as clo se ly

.
,

as p o ssib l e wi t h his arm s and knees seizing with his h ands

, ,

s o me proj e c tions and restin gh is naked toes u pon others Jupi

, ,

te r afte r o n e o r two narro w escapes from falling at l ength

, ,

wri ggl ed h i m sel f i nto the first great fork and seemed to consider ,

th e wh ol e b u s i ness as virt u a l ly a cc o m p l ished The me of the .

a chi eve m ent w as in fact n o w over a l th ou gh the climber w as

, , ,

s om e sixty o r seventy feet fro m the gr o und .

Which way m us go now Massa Will ? he asked ”

,
.

Keep u p the l argest branch — the one on this side sa id , ,

Legr and The negro obeyed hi m promptly and apparently w ith

.
,

but l ittl e troub l e as c ending h igh er and h igher unt il no glimpse o f

, ,

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 m uch fudder is got for go ? ”

”
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 .

Never mind the sk y but attend to what I s ay Look down

, .

the trunk and count the limbs below you on this side H OW .

many l im bs have you passed ? ”

82 S H O RT ST O RI E S

By yo u rse l f wh at do yo u m ean — ? ”

Why I m ean de bug T is eerry hebby bug S pose I drop

, . .

him down fuss and den de limb wo n t break w id j ust de w eigh t

,
’

”
o b o ne nigger .

Yo u infernal scoundrel ! c ri ed Legrand apparently much ,

“
relieved w hat do yo u mean by telling me such nonsense as
,

that ? As s u re as yo u l et that beetl e fall I ll break your neck ,

’
.

Look h ere Jupiter ! do you hear me

,

Ye s massa need n t hollo at poor nigger dat s ty l e

’
, , .

We ll ! no w l isten — if yo u wil l venture out o n the l imb as

far as yo u think safe and not let go the beet l e I ll make yo u a
, ,
’

present o f a S i l ver dollar as soon as you get down ”

.

’
I m gwine Massa Will — deed I is rep l ied the negro very
, ,
’

promptly m ost o u t to the e e n d now ”

.

Ou t to Me en d here fair ly screamed Legrand do yo u ,

say yo u are o u t to the end o f that limb ? ”

S o o n be to de e en d massa -O h l Lo rgo l—a-marcy !

, ,

what is dis here pon de tree

” ”
Well ! cried Legrand highly delighted what is it ?
, ,

Why taint n u ffi n but a skull

,
somebody bin l ef hi m
head u p de tree and de crows done gobb l e e b e ry bit o b de
,

m eat o ff .

A skull you s ay — very wel l

,
h o w is it fastened to the
l imb What h olds i t o n ? ”

S ure nu ff massa ; mus lo ok Why dis be rry eu rous s ar

, .
,

c u m s tan ce p o n m y w ord — dare s a great big nail i n de skul l

’
, ,

w hat fastens o b it o n to de tree ”

.

“
We ll now Jupiter do exact ly as I tel l yo u
, ,
— d o you h ear ? ”

”
Yes m assa
,
.

Pay attention then — fi n d the l eft eye o f the skull

,
.

Hum ! h oo ! dat s good ! why dar aint no eye l ef at all

’
,
.

Curse your stupidity ! do you kno w your right hand fro m

y o u r left ?
”
 TH E G O LD —
BUG 83

Yes I nose dat

,
nose all bo u t dat
— t is m y l ef hand — ’

wh at I chops de wo o d wid .

To be sure ! y ou ar e l eft-handed ; and your l eft eye i s on

the same side as y ou r l eft hand Now I suppose yo u can find
.
,

the l eft eye of t h e sku ll o r t h e p l ace w here the l eft eye h as

,

been Have y ou found i t

.
? ”

Here was a l ong pause At l ength the negro asked I s de

.
,

l ef eye o f de sku ll p o n de same side as de l ef h and of de

sku ll to o ? -cau se de sk ull aint got not a bit Ob a h and at
,

al l — n ebb e r mind ! I go t de l ef eye no w — here de l ef eye !

what m ust do wid it ? ”

“
Let the beetl e drop thro u g h i t as fa r as th e st ri ng will,

reach but be c arefu l and not l et go you r ho l d of th e

string .

Al l dat done Massa Wil l ; migh ty ea sy ting fo r to p u t de

,

bug fru de hole l ook o u t for him dar be l ow !

During this colloquy no portion of Jupiter s person c o u ld ’

be seen ; but the beetle which he had s u ffered to descend

, ,

was now visib l e at the end o f the string and g l istened l ike a ,

globe O f burnished gold in the l ast rays o f the setting s u n ,

some o f which still faintly illumined the eminen c e u pon w hich

we stood The sea ra ba n s hung quite cl ear o f any branches
.
,

and if allowed to fall wo ul d have fall en at o u r feet Legrand

, , .

immediately took t h e scythe and cl eared with it a circu l a r

,

space three o r four yards in diameter j u st beneath the insect

, , ,

and h aving ac co m plished this ordered Jupiter to l et go t h e

, ,

string and c ome down from th e tree .

D riving 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 m y friend n o w prod uc ed ,

fr om his po cket a tape measure Fastening o ne en d o f this at

- .

that point o f t h e trunk o f the tree which was nearest t h e peg ,

he unro ll ed it ti ll i t reached the peg and thence farther u m ,

ro ll ed it in the dire c tio n already establis h ed by the two points

,
84 S H O RT ST O RI E S

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 .

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 o n e to Jupiter and o n e to me

, ,

Legrand begged us to s e t about digging as quickly as possible .

To speak the truth I had no especial re l ish for such amuse

,

ment at any time and at that particular moment wou l d mo s t

, , ,

willingly hav e declined it ; for the night was coming on and I ,

'

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
,

friend s equanimity by a refusal Could I h ave depended in

’
.
,

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 o f the old negro s disposition to hope that he ’

wou l d assist me under any circumstances in a personal con

, ,

test with his master I made no doubt that the latter had been
.

infected with some o f the innumerable S outhern superstitions

about money buried and that his fantasy had received c o n
,

fi rm atio n by the finding of the s ea ra lf a n s o r perhaps by Jupi , , ,

ter s obstinacy in maintaining it to be a bug o f rea l gold

’ “ ”
.

A mind disposed to lunacy would readily be led away by such

suggestions espe c ially if chiming in with favorite precon c eived
,

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 .
,

I was sadly vexed and puzzled but at l ength I concl uded to ,

make a virtue o f necessity — to dig with a good will and th u s ,

the sooner to convince the V isionary by ocu l ar dem o nstration , ,

of the fallacy o f the O pinions he entertained .

The lanterns ha v ing been lit we al l fel l to work with a zeal ,

worthy a more rational cause ; and as the glare fel l upon o u r ,

persons and implements I could not help thinking how pic tu r

,

esque a group we composed and how strange and s u sp i ci ou s ,

An o ri gi n al illu s trat i o n f o r “
T h e G o l d-B u g, p
u b l is h e d with t h e t e t x
fo r Poe ’
s o n e— p y
h u n dre d-do llar- riz e s t o r in t h e Pni la delp /z i a D o lla r
z l/iew sp ap e r fo r W e dn e s da y , Ju n e 28 , 1 8 43 .Th e illu s t rat i o n s w e re b y
F . O . C . D arle y , th e P h ilade lp h ia art is t re t ai n e d b
y Po e t o i llu s t rat e th e

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
.

F . O . C . D arle y , th e P h ilade lp h ia artis t re tain e d b y Po e t o illu s t rat e t h e

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

o u r l ab o rs must have appeared to any interloper who by ,

chance might hav e stumbled up o n o u r whereabouts

, .

We dug ve ry steadily for two hours Littl e was said ; and .

our chief embarrassment l ay in the ye l pings o f t h e dog w ho ,

took exceeding interest in o u r proceedings He at l engt h b e .

, ,

came so O bstreperous that we grew fearfu l O f his giving the

alarm to some straggl ers in the vic inity ; o r rather this w as , ,

the apprehension o f Legrand ; for m yse l f I shou l d have re ,

o ic e d at any interru ption which might have enab l ed m e to get

j
the w anderer home The noise was at l ength very effe c t u al ly
.
, ,

sil en c ed by Jupiter w ho getting o u t o f the h ol e w ith a dogged

, ,

air Of deliberation tied the bru te s m outh up w it h o n e o f h is

,
’

suspenders and then returned wit h a grave c h uck l e t o h is task

, , , .

When the time m entioned had expired we had rea ch ed a ,

depth o f five feet and yet n o signs o f any treasure becam e

,

manifest A genera l pau se ensued and I began to h ope th at

.
,

the farce was at an end Legrand h owever a l though ev i dently .

, ,

much disconcerted w i ped h is bro w th o ughtfu lly and re co m

,

m en ce d We had excavated the entire c ir cl e o f fo ur feet dia m e

.

ter and n o w we s l ight ly en l arged the l imit and went t o the

, ,

farth er depth o f two feet S til l not h ing appeared The go l d . .

seeker who m I sincere ly pitied at l ength cl ambered fro m the

, ,

pit with the bitterest disappoint m ent imprinted u pon eve ry

,

feature and proceeded s l o wly and re l uctantly to p u t on h is

,

coat wh ich h e had thr o wn o ff at the begi nning of his l abo r

,
.

In the meantime I made no remark Jupiter at a signal fro m .

,

his master began to gather up his tools This done and the
,
.
,

dog having been u nmuzzled we turned in pr o fo und si len 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 to Jupiter and seized hi m

, ,

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

Yo u sco u ndrel said Legrand hissing o u t the syll ab l es

,
”

fro m between his cl enched teeth you infernal b l ack villain !

speak I tel l you
, answer me this instant w itho u t prevari ,

c ation which which is your l eft eye ? ”

O h my go lly Massa Wil l ! aint dis here my l ef eye f o r

, ,

sartain ? roared the te r r i fied Jupiter placing his hand upon

”
,

his rignt organ o f visi o n and holding it there with a desperate

,

pertinacity as i f i n im m ediate dread o f his m aster s atte m pt

,
’

at a go uge .

I thought s o ! I knew i t ! Hurrah ! vociferated Legrand

”
,

l etting the negro go and executing a series o f curvets and

,

cara co l es mu ch t o the ast o nishment o f his valet wh o arising

, , ,

fro m his knees loo ked mu tely fr o 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 w e rea ched its foot

, ,
come here ! ,

Was t h e skul l nailed t o the l i m b w it h t h e fa c e ou t w ard o r ,

with t h e face to the l imb ? ”

D e fa c e was o ut m assa so dat de crows coul d get at de

, ,

”
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 .

T was dis eye Massa — de l ef eye — ji s 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 whose madness I now saw or

, , ,

fancied that I s aw c ertain indication s of method removed the

, ,

peg which marked the spot where the beetle fel l to a spot ,

about three inches to the westward o f its former position .

Taking now the tape-measure from the nearest point o f the

, ,

tru nk to the peg as before and continuing the extension in a

, ,
88 S H O RT ST O R I E S

I st um b l ed and fell forward hav ing caught the toe o f my,

b oo t in a l arge ring o f iron that lay half buried in the l oose

earth .

We n ow wo rked i n earnest and never did I pass ten m in u tes

,

o f more intense excitement During this interval we had fairly

.

unearth ed an oblong ches t o f wood which from its perfect , ,

preservation and wonderful hardness had plainly been s u b ,

—
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
, , .

firmly secured by bands o f wrought iron riveted and form ing , ,

a kind o f trellis-work over the who l e O n each side o f the .

chest near the top were three rings o f iron — s ix in all — by

, ,

m eans o f wh i ch a firm hold could be obtained by s ix persons .

O ur u tm ost united endeavors served only to disturb the co ffer

ve ry slightly in its bed We at once s aw the impossibi l ity o f
.

r emo ving s o great a w e ight Luckily the sole fastenin gs o f

.
,

the l id consisted o f two S liding bolts These we dre w back .

tremb l ing and panting with anxiety In an instant a treasure .

,

o f incalcu l able value l ay gleaming before us As the rays o f .

the lanterns fel l within the pit there flashed upwards fro m , ,

a confused heap o f gold and o f j ewels a gl o w and a glare that ,

abso l ute ly dazzled o u r eyes .

I S hal l n o t pretend to describe the feelings with which I

'

gazed Amazement w as o f course predominant Legrand

.
, ,
.

appeared exhausted with excitement and S poke very fe w w ord s ,

.

Jupiter s countenance wore fo r some minutes as deadly a pallor

’
, ,

as it is possib l e in the nature o f things for any negro s V isage

’
, ,

t o assume H e seem ed s tu pe fi e d thunder stricken Presently

.
- .

h e 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 enj oying

, ,

the lu xury o f a bath At l ength with a deep sigh he excl ai m ed

.
, , ,

as if in a soliloquy :
 TH E G O L D —
BUG 89

And d i s all cu m ob de goole-bug ! de putty goo l e-bug ! de

poor little goole b u g what I boosed in dat sab age kind o b style !
-
,

Aint you shamed ob y o ursel f nigger answer m e dat ,

I t became necessary at l ast that I sho ul d ar ou se b o th m aste r

, ,

and valet t o the expediency o f removing the treasure It w as .

growing l ate and i t behooved u s to mak e exertion that w e

, ,

might get everything h o used before day l ight It was di fficu l t .

to say what should be done and much time w as S pent in de l ibera ,

tion — s o confused were the ideas o f all We final ly l ightened .

the box by removing two -thirds o f its contents w hen we w ere ,

enabled with some trouble to raise it fro m the h ol e The

, ,
.

articles taken o u t were deposited among the bramb l es and the ,

dog l eft to gu ard them with strict orders fr o m Jupiter neither

, ,

upon any pretence to stir from the spot nor to open his m outh
, ,

unti l o u r return We then hu rriedly m ade for home w ith t h e

.

chest reaching the hut in safe ty but after ex c essive toi l at

:

l
, ,

o n e 0 clo ck in the morning Worn o u t as we were it was not .

,

in human nature to do m ore j ust no w We rested u nti l two and .

,

had supper ; starting for the hil l s immediate ly afterwards armed ,

with three stout sacks whic h by goo d l uck w ere u po n t h e prem

,

ise s
. A little before four w e arrived at the pit divided the ,

remainder o f the booty as equally as might be a m ong u s and

, , , ,

leav ing the ho l es unfilled again se t out for the hut at which, , ,

for the se cond time we deposited o u r 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 n ; but the intense

excitement o f 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 o f o u r treas u re

, .

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
, ,

contents There had been nothing l ike order o r arrangement

. .