Esther: A Story of Faith and Destiny

(Q
S H UT S E SA M E
,
S H O RT S T O R I E S
O LD A N D N E W
S el ec ted
C
and
E dite d 5y
A L PH O N S O
SMITH
Un ite d
La te
S ta tes N ava l A c a de my, A n n ap o l is
I N N A N D C O M PA N Y
RI G H T 1 9 1 6 B Y
A LPH ON S O S M I T H
C O PY
A LL
R I G H TS R E S E R V E D
PR I N TE D I N T H E U N I T E D ST A T E S O F A M E
WZ /
EQSJON
AND
GINN
B OS T O N
A A A
TL
NT
N E W YO R K
D
A A
LL
R I CA
COM
CHIC
CO LU M B U S
AGO
IB RX R
PA
SA N F R
NY
LO N D O N
N C I S CO
I N T RO D U CT I O N
Eve ry short sto ry has t hree parts which may be called
S ettin g o r Background Plot o r P l an and Characters o r Char
acter If yo u are going to write a short story as I h 0pe yo u
are yo u wi ll nd it necessary to think through these three
parts so as to relate them interestin gl y and naturally o n e to
the other ; and if you want to assimi l ate the best that is in the
following stories you will do well to approach them by the
same three routes
The S etting o r Background gives us the time and the place
of the story with such details of custom scenery and dialect
as time and place imply It answers the questions Wnen ?
W/t ere ? The Plot tells u s what happened It gives us the
incidents and events the haps o r mishaps that are interwoven
to make up the warp and woof o f the story S ometimes there
is hardly any interweaving ; j ust a plain plan o r simp l e outline
is followed as in The Christmas Carol o r The Great S tone
Face We may still call the core o f these two stories the Plot
if we want to but Plan wou l d be the more accurate This part
o f the sto ry answers the question W/
z at ?
Unde r the heading
Characters o r Character we study the pe rsonal ities o f the men
and women wh o move through the sto ry and give it unity and
or
coherence S ometimes as in
The Ch ristmas Carol
M arkhe im o ne characte r so dominates the others that they

are mere spokes in his hub o r incidents in his caree r But in
The Gift of the Magi though more space is given to Della

sh e and Jim ac t from the same motive and contribute e q ually
to the development o f the story
I n o n e o f o u r sto ries th e
,
iii
iv
main character is a dog but he is so human that we may still

say that the c hief question to be answered under this heading
is Wil e ?
Many books have been written about these three parts o f a
short story but the great lesson to be l earned is that the excel
l ence o f a story l ong or short consists not in the separate
ex c ell ence of the S etting o r o f the Plot o r o f the Characters
but in the perfect blending o f the three to produce a single
effect or to impress a singl e truth If the S etting does n o t t
the P l ot if the P lot does not rise gracefu l ly from the S etting
if the Characters do not move naturall y and se l f revealingly
through both the story is a failure Emerson might we ll have
had o ur three pa rts o f the short story in mind when he w rote
,
All are n e e de d b y e ac h o n e ;
N o t h i n g is fair o r g o o d al o ne
CO NTE NTS
PA G E
I N TR O D UCTI O N
iii
E ST H ER
F ro m
THE
th e O l d
H IST O R Y
R O BB E RS
Fro m
/ 1
f
V
\/
The
A LI B A B A
OF
AND
THE
F O RT Y
24
A rab i an N i g h t s
WI NK LE
B y W ash in gt o n I rvin g
RI P VA N
G O L D -B U G
B y E dg ar All an
44
65
THE
V A
.
T e st am e n t
VI A S
C H R I S TT
B y
C h arl e s
Po e
CA R O L
D ic
1 09
ens
G R EAT S T O N E FAC E
B y N ath an i e l H aw t h o r n e
1 48
TH E
VI I R A B A N D H I S F R I EN D S
B y D r J o h n B r o wn
.
73
11 1
O UT C A S TS OF
B y B re t H ar t e
THE
TH E
THE
B y
206
R o b e r t L o ui s S t e v e n so n
N EC KLA C E
B y G u y de
X I
FLA T
M AR KH E I M
B y
PO K E R
228
M au p assan t
M A N WH O W O U L D
B E
KI N G
24 1
R u dy ar d K i p l i n g
GI F T OF T H E M AG I
B y 0 H e nry
THE
28 5
I
EST H E R
AU TH O R
U N K N O WN
etting
S
!
The events take place in S usa the capital o f Persia

This
in the reign of Ahasuerus or X erxes ( 4 8 5 4 6 5
foreign l oca l e intensies the splendid J ewish patriotism that
breathes through the story from beginning to end If the
setting had been in J erusal em E sther could n o t have preached
the nob l e doctrine When in R ome don t do as R ome does
but be true to the O ld ideals o f home and race
Pl ot
E sther seems to me the best-told story in the Bib l e
O bserve how the note of empty Persian bigness versus simp l e
Jewish faith is struck at the very beginning and is echoed to
the end Thus Ahasuerus ruled over o n e hundred and twenty
seven provin c es the opening banquet lasted o n e hundred and
eighty-seven days the king s bu ll etins were as una l terable as
the tides the gal lows erected was eighty-three feet high the
beds were O f go l d and silver upon a pavement o f red and b l ue
and white and black marb l e the money wrested from the Jews
was to be eighteen mi ll ion do ll ars etc The word banquet

o cc urs twenty times in this short sto ry and on l y twenty times
in al l the remaining thirty-eight books of the O ld Testament
In other words Ahasuerus and his trenchermates ate and drank
as mu c h in ve days as had been eaten and drunk by all the
other O ld Testament c haracters from Genesis to Malachi

Note al so the c ontrast between the two queens the two
prime ministers the two edicts and the two later ban q uets
,
F ro m
th e
Old
T e st am e n t A u th o riz e d V e rsio n
,
S H O R T S T OR I E S
The most masterly part o f the p l ot is the handling o f events

be t ween these b anquets R ead again from chapter v beginning
at verse 9 through c hapter vi and note how ski l lfu l ly the pen
is held In motivation as wel l as in symmetry and natural ness
the story is without a peer There is humor too in the so l emn
del iberations over V ash ti s No ( chapter i verses 1 2 2 2 ) and
in the strange procession led by pedestrian Haman ( chapter vi
verses 6 - 1 I )
The purpose o f the story was to encourage the feast O f
Purim ( c hapter ix verses 2 0 3 2 ) and to promote nationa l so l i
darity It may be c ompared to A Christmas Caro l whi c h

was written to restore the waning c e l ebration o f Christmas
and to o u r Dec l aration o f Independen c e which is re-read o n
every Fourth O f Ju l y to quicken o u r sense o f national fe ll ow
ship But E sther is more than an institution I t is the Old
story Of two c oni c ting c ivi l izations o n e representing b igness
the other greatness ; o n e standing fo r material ism t h e other
for idea l ism ; o n e enthroning the body the other the S pirit
Ch a ra cters These are ne l y individual ized though ea c h
seems to me a type Ahasuerus is a tank that runs b l ood o r
wine a c cording to t h e hand that turns the S pigot H e was used
f o r good but deserves and receives no credit for it No man
ever missed a greater O pportunity H e was brought fa c e to
face with the two greatest worl d-civi l izations o f histo ry ; but
understanding neither he remains on ly a muddy p l a c e in the
road a l ong whi c h Greek and Hebrew passed to world conquest
Haman a b l end O f vanity and c ruel ty and c owardi c e but not
without some power O f initiative was a t minister fo r his king
H e l ives in history as o n e who better th an in Ham l et s i ll us
t ratio n w as
hoist with his o wn petard the pet ard in his c ase
being a gall ows He typies al so the j ust fate o f the man wh o
S p urred by the h ate o f o n e in cl udes in his scheme O f e xterm i
n ation a who l e peop l e Co ll e c tive venge an c e never re c eived a
better i ll ustration nor a more exempl ary punishment Morde c ai
is al together admirab l e in refusing to kowtow to Haman and in
,
ESTH E R
his unselsh devotion to his fair cousin E sther The noblest

sentiment in the book
Who knoweth whether thou art come
P
f
r
to the kingdom o such a time as this
comes from Mordecai
But the leading chara c ter is E sther n o t because sh e was
fair and beautiful but because sh e was hospitable to the

great thought suggested by Mordecai None but a Jew cou l d
have asked Who knoweth whet h er thou art c ome to the king
do m f o r su c h a time as this ?
and none but a Jew could have
answered as E sther answered The question implied a sense
of personal responsibility and o f divine guidance far beyond
the re ac h O f Persian o r Mede o r Greek o f that time It ca l ls
up many a quiet hour when E sther and Mordecai talked
together o f their strange lot in this heathen land and wondered
if the time wou l d ever come when they c ou l d interpret their
trial s in terms of national servi c e rather than o f meaningl ess
fate Imagine the b l ank and bovine expression that Ahasuerus
o r Haman wou l d have turned upon you if yo u had put su c h
a question to either o f them But in the c ase O f E sther
Mordecai s appeal un l ocked an unused reservoir o f power
that has made her o n e o f the worl d s heroines S he had her
fau l ts o r rather her l imitations but sin c e her time men have
gone to the stake have bui l t up and torn down principa l ities
and powers o n the dynamic conviction that they had been
sent to the kingdom for such a time as
,
C HAPT E R I
TH E S
T O R Y O F V A S HTI
it c ame to pass in the days o f Ahasuerus ( this is

Ahasuerus whi c h reigned from India even unto Ethiopia over
a hundred and seven and twenty provin c es )
2
That in those days when the king Ahasuerus sat o n the
throne o f his kingdom whi c h was in S hushan the pala c e
I
N ow
S H O R T ST O R I ES
In
the
third
year
o f his reign he made a feast unto all
3
his princes and his servants ; the power of Persia and M edia
the nobles and princes O f the provinces being before him :
f
o
When
he
shewed
the
ri
c
hes
his
glorious
kingdom
a
n
d
4
the honour O f his excellent maj esty many days even a hundred
and fourscore days
And
when
these
days
were
expired
the
king
made
a
feast
5
unto a l l the peop l e that were present in S hushan the pal ace
both unto great and smal l seven days in the court o f the
garden o f the king s palace ;
6 Where were white green and b l ue hangings fastened
with cords O f ne linen and purp l e to si l ver rings and pillars O f
m arb l e : the beds were O f go l d and si lver upon a pavement
o f red and b l ue and white and b l ack marb l e
And
they
gave
them
drink
in
vesse
l
s
o f go l d
the
vessels
7
(
being diverse one from another ) and royal wine in abundance
according to the state o f the king
8 And the drinking was a cc ording to the law ; none
did compel : fo r so the king had appointed to al l the o fcers
that they shou l d do a cc ording to eve ry man s
o f his house
p l easure
A
l
so
Vashti
the
queen
made
a
feast
for
the
women
in
9
the royal house whi c h be l onged to king Ahas u erus
I O
O n the seventh day when the heart o f the king was
merry with wine he c omm anded Mehuman Biztha Harbona
Bigtha and Abagtha Zeth ar and Car c as the seven chamber
l ains that served in the presence o f Ahasuerus the king
I I To b ring Va shti t h e queen before the king with th e
crown royal to shew the p eop l e and the princes her beauty
fo r she was fair to l ook o n
1 2
But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king s c o m
m andment by his C hamberl ain s : therefore was the king very
wroth and his anger burned in him
,
E STH E R
Then
the
king
said
to
the
wise
men
which
knew
the
3
times ( for so was the king s manner toward a l l that knew l aw
and judgment :
And the next unto him was Carshena S hethar Admatha
I 4
Tarshish M eres Marsena and M emucan the seven princes o f
Persia and M edia which saw the king s fa c e and whi c h sat
the rst in the kingdom )
What
shall
we
do
unto
the
queen
Vashti
accordi
1
n g to
5
law because sh e hath n o t performed the commandment o f the
?
king Ahasuerus by the chamberl ains
And Memu c an answered before the king and the princes
1 6
Vashti the queen hath n o t done wrong to the king on ly but
also to al l the princes and to a ll the people that are in all the
provinces O f the king Ahasuerus
For
this
deed
o f the queen shall come abroad unto a l l
1
7
women so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes
when it shall be reported The king Ahasueru s commanded
Vashti the queen to be brought in before him but sh e
came not
1 8
Likewise shal l the ladies of Persia and Media say this day
unto al l the king s prin c es whi c h have heard o f the deed of the
queen Thus shal l there arise to o much c ontempt and wrath
If
it
please
the
king
l
et
there
go
a
roya
l
c
ommandment
1
9
from him and l et it be written among the laws o f the Persians
and the M edes that it be not a l tered That Vashti come no
more before king Ahasuerus ; and l et the king give her royal
estate unto another that is better than sh e
And when the king s de c ree which he sha l l make sha l l
20
be published throughout a l l his empire (fo r it is great ) a l l the
wives shall give to their husbands honour both to great and
small
And the saying pleased the king and the p rinces ; and
2 1
the king did according to the word o f M emucan :
1
S H O RT
STORIES
he sent letters into a ll the king s provinces in to

every province according to the writing t h ereof and to eve ry
people after their l anguage that every man Sh ou l d bear ru l e in
his o wn house and that it shou l d be pub l ished according to the
language o f every people
22
Fo r
C HAPT E R I I
ES TH ER
I
M A D E Q UE E N
After these things when the wrath O f king Ahasuerus

was appeased he remembered V asht i and what sh e had done
and what was de c reed against her
Then said the king s servants that ministered unto him
2
Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king :
f
And
let
the
king
appoint
O
c ers in a ll the provin c es o f
3
his kingdom that they may gather together a ll the fair young
virgins unto S hushan the pal ace to the house o f the women
unto the custody o f Hegai the king s Chamberlain keeper o f
the women ; and l et their things for purifi c ation be given them :
4 And l et the maiden whi c h pleaseth the king be queen
instead of Vashti And the thing pleased the king ; and he
did so
5 Now in S hushan the pal ace there was a certain Jew
whose name was Mordecai the so n o f Jair the son of S himei
the son of Kis h a Benj amite ;
,
daughter : for she had neither father no r mother and the maid
was fair and b eauti fu l ; whom Mordecai when her father and
mother were dead took for his o wn daughter
,
E ST H E R
it came to pass when the king s commandment and

his decree was heard and when many maidens were gathered
together unto S hushan the palace to the custody O f Hegai
that E sther was brought also unto the king s house to the
custody o f Hegai keeper O f the women
n dness
And
the
maiden
p
l
eased
him
and
h
O
btained
ki
s
e
9
o f him ; and he speedily gave her her things for purication
with su c h things as be l onged to her and seven maidens which
were meet to be given her out of the king s house : and he
preferred her and her maids unto the best place of the house
O f the women
1 0
E st her had not shewed her peop l e nor her kindred : for
Mordecai had charged her that sh e shou l d n o t she w it
I 1 And Morde c ai wa l ked every day before the court o f the
women s house to kno w how E sther did and what should
become o f her
1 2
Now when every maid s turn was come to go in to king
Ahasuerus after that she had been twelve months according
to the manner of the women ( for so were the days of their
ric atio n s accomp l ished to wit six months with O il o f myrrh
u
p
and six months with sweet odours and with other things for
the purifying O f the women )
1 3
Then thus came every maiden unto the king ; whatso
ever she desired was given her to go with her o u t o f the house
o f the women unto the king s house
1 4
In the evening sh e went and o n t h e morrow sh e returned
into the se c ond house O f the women to the custody o f S h aash
gaz the king s C hamberlain which kept the concubines : sh e
came i n unto the king no more except the king de l ighted in
her and that S he were called by name
o f Abihail
1
Now
when
the
turn
f
E
sther
the
daughter
o
5
the un cle O f Morde c ai who had taken her for his daughter
was come to go in unto the king sh e required nothing but what
8
So
H egai the king s C hamberlain the keepe o f the women

appointed And E sther O btained favour in the sight o f a ll them
that looked upon her
1 6
S O E sther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house
royal in the tenth month which is the month Tebeth in the
seventh year Of his reign
1
7 And the king loved E sther above all the women and she
obtained grace and favour in his sight more than a ll the virgins
so that he set the roya l crown upon her head and made he r
queen in stead O f Vashti
1 8
Then the king m ade a great feast unto a ll his princes
and his servants even E sther s feast ; and he made a release to
the provinces and gave gifts according to the state o f the king
1
And
when
the
virgins
were
gathered
together
the
second
9
time then Mordecai sat in the king s gate
20
E sthe r had not yet shewed her kindred nor her peop l e
as Mordecai had charged her : for E sther did the command
ment o f Mo rdecai like as when she was brought u p with him
M O R D E C A I S AV E S
TH E
K I NG S L I F E
In those days while Mordecai sat in the king s gate two

o f the king s c hamberlains Bigthan and Teresh o f those which
kept the door were wroth and sought to lay hand o n the king
Ahasuerus
And the thing w as known to Mordecai wh o told it unto
22
E sther the queen ; and E sth e r certied the king thereof in
Mordecai s name
And when inquisitio n was made of the matter it was
23
found o u t ; therefore they were both hanged o n a tree : and it
was w ritten in the book o f the chronicles before the ki n g
21
IO
S H O RT ST O R I E S
If
it
please
the
king
let
it
be
written
that
they
may
be
9
destroyed : and I wil l pay ten thousand ta l ents Of silver to the
hands of those that have the charge o f the business to bring it
into the king s treasuries
And the king took his ring from his hand and gave it
I O
unto Haman the son o f Hammedatha the Agagite the Jews
enemy
1 1
And the king said unto Haman The silver is given to
thee the people also to do with them as it seemeth good
to thee
1 2
Then were the king s scribes called o n the thirteenth day
Of the rst month and there was written according to all that
Haman had commanded unto the king s l ieutenants and to
the governors that were over every province and to the rulers O f
every people o f every province according to the writing thereof
and to every people after their language ; in the name O f king
Ahasuerus was it written and seal ed with the king s ring
1 3
And the letters were sent by posts into al l the king s
provinces to destroy to kill and to cause to perish all Jews
both young and O ld littl e chi l dren and women in o n e day
even u pon the thirteenth day o f the twelfth month which is the
month Adar and to take the spoil o f them f o r a prey
The copy o f the writing for a commandment to be given
1 4
in eve ry province was pub l ished u nto a l l people that they
should be ready against that day
The
posts
went
o u t being hastened by the king s com
1
5
mandment and the decree was given in S hushan the palace
And the king and Haman sat dow n to d rink ; but the city
S husha n was perplexed
.
E ST H ER
I I
C HAPT E R IV
FA S TI N G A M O N G
TH E
J EW S
Whe n Mordecai per c eived a l l that was done Mordecai

rent his clothes and put o n sackcl oth with ashes and went
o u t into the midst o f the ci ty
and cried with a loud and a
bitter c ry ;
2
And c ame even before the king s gate : f o r none might
enter into the king s gate clothed with sa c kcloth
3 And in eve ry province whithersoever the king s c o m
mandment and his decree c ame there was great mourn in g
among the Jews and fasting and weeping an d wailin g ; and
many lay in sackcloth and ashes
4 S O E sther s maids and her chamberlains came and told
it her Then was the queen exceedingly grieved ; and she sent
raiment to clothe Mordecai and to take away his sackcloth
from him : but he received it n o t
n e o f the king s chamber
Then
ca
ll
ed
E
sther
for
Hatach
o
5
lains whom he had appointed to attend upon her and gave
him a commandment to Mordecai to know what it was and
why it was
6 S o Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of the
city which was before the king s gate
And
Morde
c
ai
to
l
d
him
O
f
a
l
l
that
had
happened
unto
7
him and o f the sum o f the money that H aman had promised
to pay to the king s treasuries fo r the Jews to destroy them
8 Also he gave him the copy o f the writing o f the decree
that was given at S hushan to destroy them to shew it unto
E sther and to declare it unto her and to charge her that she
shou l d go in unto the king to make supplication unto him and
to make request before him for her people
o f Mordecai
And
Hatach
came
and
told
E
sther
the
words
9
1
12
Again E sther spake unto Hatach and gave him co m

mandment unto Mordecai ;
A ll the king s servants and the people o f the king s
1 1
provinces do know that whosoever whether man o r woman
shall come unto the king into the inner court wh o is no t called
there is o n e law O f his to put him to death except such to whom
the king shall hold o u t the golden sceptre that he may l ive :
but I have not been called to come in unto the king these
thirty days
1 2
And they to l d to Mordecai E sther s words
1 0
TH E
G R EA T A PPEA L
Then
Mordecai
commanded
to
answe
r
E
sther
Think
n
o
t
3
with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king s house more
than al l the Jews
F o r if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time
1 4
then S hall there en l argement and de l iverance arise to the Jews
from another p l ace ; but thou and thy father s house sha l l be
destroyed : and wh o knoweth whether thou art come to the
kingdom for such a time as this ?
1
Then
E
sther
bade
them
return
Mordecai
this
answe
r
5
1 6
G O gather together a ll the Jews that are present in
S hus h an and fast ye for me and neither eat n o r drink three
da y s night o r day : I a l so and my maidens wi ll fast l ikewise ;
and S O wi ll I go in unto the king whi c h is not according to the
l aw : and if I perish I perish
1
o Mordecai went his way and did a c cording to all that
S
7
E sther had commanded him
1
I3
E S TH E R
C HAPT E R V
C O U RA G E O F ES TH ER
TH E
Now it came to pass o n the third day that E sther put o n

her royal appare l and stood in the inner court of the king s
house over against the king s house : and the king sat upon
his royal throne in the roya l house over against the gate o f the
house
And it was so when the king saw E sther the queen
2
standing in the c ourt that sh e O btained favour in his sight :
and the king he l d o u t to E sther the golden sceptre that was in
his hand S O E sther drew near and touched the to p O f the
sceptre
Then
said
the
king
unto
her
What
wilt
thou
queen
3
E sther ? and what is thy request ? it sha l l be even gi ven thee
to the half of the kingdom
And
E
sther
answered
If
it
seem
good
unto
the
king
l
et
4
the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet t h at I
have prepared for him
Then
the
king
said
Cause
Haman
to
make
haste
that
he
5
may do as E sther hath said S O the king and Haman came to
the banquet that E sther had prepared
6 And the king said unto E sther at the banquet o f wine
What is thy petition ? and it shall be granted thee : and what
is thy request ? even to the half o f the kingdom it shall be
performed
Then
answered
E
sther
and
said
My
pe
ition
and
my
t
7
request is ;
8 If I have found favour in the sight O f the king and if it
please the king to grant my petition and to perform my request
let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I sha l l pre
f
r
pare o them and I wi l l do to mo rrow as the king hath said
1
S H O R T STO R IE S
14
B E T W EE N B A N Q U E T S
Then
went
Haman
forth
that
day
j
oyful
and
with
a
g
l
ad
9
heart : but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king s gate that
he stood not up nor moved for him he was fu ll o f indignation
against Mordecai
1 0
Neverthe l ess Haman refrained himse l f : and when he came
home he sent and c a ll ed fo r his friends and Zeresh his wife
I I
And Haman told them O f the g l ory O f his ri c hes an d
the mu l titude O f his children and a l l th e things wherein the
king had promoted him and how he had advanced him above
the princes and servants o f the king
1 2
Haman said moreover Yea E sther the queen did l et no
man c ome in with the king unto the banquet that sh e had pre
pared but myself ; and to -morrow am I invited unto her a l so
with the king
Yet a l l this avai l eth me nothing so long as I see
1 3
Morde c ai the Jew sitting at the king s gate
1 4
Then said Zeresh his wife and a ll his friends unto h im
Let a gallows be made o f fty cubits high and to -morrow
speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged
thereon : then go t h ou in merrily with the king unto the ban
quet And the thing pleased Haman ; and he caused the
ga l lows to be made
.
C HAPT E R VI
B
E TWE E N
A N Q U ET S ( C O N T I N U E D )
O n that night cou l d n o t the king s l eep and he commanded

to bring the book O f records o f the chroni cl es ; and they were
read before the king
And it w as found written that Morde c ai had told o f
2
Bigthana and Teresh two o f the king s chamberlains th e
1
E ST H E R
keepers o f the door who sought to lay hand on the king

Ahasuerus
And
the
king
said
What
honour
and
dignity
hath
been
3
done to Morde c ai f o rthis ? Then said the king s ser vants that
ministered unto him There is nothing done fo r him
?
And
the
king
said
Who
is
in
the
court
Now Haman
4
was come into the outward court o f the king s house to S peak
unto the king to hang Morde c ai o n the ga ll ows that he had
prepared for him
And
the
king
s
servants
said
unto
him
Behold
Haman
5
standeth in the court And the king said Let him come in
6 S O Haman c ame in
And the king said unto him
What shall be done unto the man whom the king de l ight
eth to honour ? Now Haman thought in his heart T o
whom wou l d the king del ight to do honour more than to
myse l f
And
Haman
answered
the
king
F
o r the man whom th e
7
k ing de l ighteth tO h OIl OU I
8 Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to
wear and the horse that the king rideth upon and the crown
roya l which is se t upon his head :
And
l
et
this
apparel
and
horse
be
delivered
to
the
hand
9
O f one of the king s most nob l e prin c es that they may array
the man withal whom the king del ighteth to honour and bring
him on horseback through the street O f the c ity and proclaim
before him Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king
del ighteth to honour
I O
Then the king said to Haman Mak e haste and take the
apparel and the horse as thou hast said and do even so to
Mordecai the Jew that sitteth at the king s gate : let nothing
fail o f al l that thou hast spoken
1 1
Then took H aman the apparel and the horse and arrayed
Mordecai and brought him on horseba c k through the street o f
,
S H O R T S TO R I ES
16
the city and proclaimed before him Thus shall it be done u nto
the man whom the king de l ighteth to honour
1 2
And Mordecai came again to the king s gate But Haman
hasted to his house mournin g and having his head covered
1
And
Haman
told
Zeresh
his
wife
and
all
his
friends
3
eve ry thing that had befallen him Then said his wise men
and Zeresh his wife unto him If Morde c ai be o f the seed o f
the Jews before whom thou hast begun to fall thou sh alt n o t
prevail against him but shalt surely fa ll before him
And W hi l e they were yet tal king with him c ame the
1 4
king s chamberlains and hasted to bring Haman unto the
ban q uet that E sthe r had prepared
,
C HAPT E R VI I
E S TH ER
A N Q U ET :
A MAN
AN GE D
the king and Haman came to banquet with E sthe r

the q ueen
And the king said again unto E sther on the second day
2
at the banquet o f wine What is thy petition queen E sther ? and
it sha l l be granted thee : and what is thy request ? and it shall
be performed even to the half of the kingdom
Then
E
sther
the
queen
answered
and
said
If
I
have
found
3
favour in thy sight O king and if it please the king l et my
life be given me at my petition and my people at my request :
F
o
r
w
e
are
so
l
d
I
and
my
peop
l
e
to
be
destroyed
to
be
4
slain and to perish But if we had been so l d fo r bondmen and
bondwome n I had he l d my tongue a l though the enemy cou l d
no t counte rvail the king s damage
Then
the
king
Ahasueru
s
answered
and
said
unto
E
sther
5
the queen Who is he and where is he that durst presume in
his hea rt to do so ?
1
SO
Then the king held o u t the go l den sceptre toward E sther

S O E sther arose and stood before the king
And
said
I
f
it
p
l
ease
the
king
and
if
I
have
found
favour
5
in his S ight and the thing see m right before the king and I
be pleasing in his eyes let it be written to reverse the letters
devised by Haman the so n o f Hammedatha the Agagite
which he wrote to dest roy the J ews whi c h are in a ll the king s
provin c es :
6 For how can I endure to s e e the evil that sha ll c ome unto
my people ? o r h o w c an I endure to se e the destruction o f my
kindred
Then
the
king
Ahasuerus
said
unto
E
sther
the
queen
and
7
to Mordecai the Jew Beho l d I have given E sther the house o f
Haman and him they have hanged upon the gall ows because
he laid his hand upon the Jews
8 Write ye a l so f o r the Jews as it liketh yo u in the king s
name and seal it with t h e king s ring : for t h e writing whi c h is
written in the king s name and seal ed with t h e k ing s ring may
no man reverse
Then
were
the
king
s
scri
b
es
c
a
ll
ed
at
that
time
in
the
9
third month that is the month S ivan on the three and twentieth
day t h ereof ; and it was written a cc ording to a ll that Morde c ai
commanded unto the Jews and to the l ieutenants and the
deputies and rulers O f the provin c es which are from India unto
E thiopia a hundred twenty and seven provinces unto eve ry
provin c e according to the writing thereof and unto every people
after their language and to the Jews according to thei r writing
and according to their langu age
1 0
And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus name and sealed
it with the king s ring and sent l etters by posts o n horseba ck
and riders o n mu l es camel s and young dromedaries :
1 1
Wherein the king granted the Jews whi ch were in eve ry
city to gather t h emselves together and to stand fo r their life
4
E S TH E R
19
to destroy to slay and to c ause to peri sh al l the po we r o f the

peop l e and province that wou l d assault them both l ittl e ones
and women and to take the spoil o f them for a prey
Upon o n e day in a l l the provinces o f king Ahasuerus
1 2
n ame l y upon the thirteenth day O f the twelfth month which is
th e month Adar
The copy o f the writing for a commandment to be given
1 3
in eve ry province was published unto al l peop l e and that the
Jews S hould be ready against that day to avenge themselves
o n thei r enemies
1 4
S O the posts that r ode upon mules and c amels went o u t
being hastened and pressed o n by the king s commandment
And the decree w as given at S hushan the pal ace
And
Morde
c
ai
went
1
o
u t from the presen c e o f the king
5
in royal apparel o f b l ue and white and with a great crown o f
go l d and with a garment of ne linen and purp l e : and the c ity
O f S hushan rej oi c ed and was gl ad
The Jew s had l ight an d gl adness and j oy and honour
1 6
And
in
every
provin
c
e
and
in
every
c
ity
whithersoeve
r
1
7
the king s commandment and his de c ree c ame the Jews had jo y
and gl adness a fe ast and a good day And many o f the peopl e
o f the l and became Jews ; for the fear o f the Jews fe l l upon
them
'
'
C HAPT E R
IX
TH E J EW S D E F E N D TH E M SE LV ES
Now in the twe l fth month that is the month Adar o n the
thirteenth day of the same when the king s commandment and
his de c ree drew near to be put in execution in the day that the
enemies of the Jews hoped to have power over them ; ( though
it was turned to the contrary that the J ews had rule ov er
th e m that hated them )
1
20
The Jews gathered themselves together in their cities

throughout all the provinces O f the king Ahasuerus to l ay hand
o n such as sought thei r hurt :
and n o man could withstand
them ; for the fea r o f them fell upon a l l p eople
And
a
l
l
the
ru
l
ers
O
f
the
provin
c
es
and
the
l
ieutenants
3
and the deputies and O fcers O f the king helped the Jews ;
be c ause the fear o f Mordecai fell upon them
4 For Morde c ai w as great in the king s house and his fame
went o u t throughout a ll the provinces : for t h is man Mordecai
waxed gr eater and greater
Thus
the
Jews
smote
all
their
enemies
with
the
stroke
O
f
5
the sword and s l aughter and destruction and did what they
wou l d unto those that hated them
6 And in S hushan the pa l ace the Jews s l ew and destroyed
ve hundred men
And
Parshandatha
and
Da
l
phon
and
Aspatha
7
8 And Poratha and Ada l ia and Aridatha
And
Parmashta
and
Arisai
and
Aridai
and
Vaj
ezatha
9
The ten sons o f Haman the so n O f Hammedatha the
I O
enemy o f the Jews s l ew they ; but o n the spoil laid they not
their hand
1 1
O n that day the number Of those tha t were s l ain in
S husha n the palace was brought befo re the king
1 2
And the king said unto E sther the queen The Jews have
S l ain and destroyed ve hundred men in S hushan the pa l ace
and the ten sons o f H aman ; what have they done in the rest
o f the king s provinces ? now what is thy petition ? and it shall
be granted thee : o r what is thy request further ? and it shall
be done
13
Then said E sther I f it please the king l et it be granted
to the Jews which are in S hushan to do to-morrow a l so accord
ing unto this day s de c ree and let Ham an s te n sons be hanged
upon the gal lows
2.
E S TH E R
21
And the king commanded it so to be done : and the

decree was given at S hushan ; and they hanged Haman s ten
sons
For
the
Jews
that
were
in
S
hushan
gathered
themselves
1
5
together o n the fourteenth day also o f the month Adar and
s l ew three hundred men at S hushan ; but o n the prey they l aid
not their hand
But the other Jews that were in the king s provinces
1 6
gathered themselves together and stood for their l ives and had
rest from their enemies and s l ew of their foes seventy and ve
thousand but they l aid not their hands o n the prey
O
n
the
thirteenth
day
O
f
the
month
Adar
and
o n the
1
;
7
fourteenth day o f the same rested they and made it a day O f
feasting and gladness
But the Jews that were at S hushan assemb l ed together
1 8
o n the thirteenth day thereof and o n the fourteenth thereof ;
and o n the fte enth day o f the same they rested and made it
a day of feasting and gladness
1
Therefore
the
Jews
o f the vil l ages
that
dwelt
in
the
9
unwalled towns made the fourteenth day o f the month Adar
a day o f gl adness and feasting ; and a good day and of sending
portions o n e to another
1
TH E
F EA ST
OF
PU RI M
And Mordecai wrote these things and sent l ette r s unto

a ll the Jews that were in a ll the provinces of the king Ahasuerus
both nigh and far
2 1
T O establish this among them that they shou l d keep the
fourteenth day o f the month Adar and the fteenth day o f the
same yearly
22
As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies
and the month which was turned unto them from sorro w to j oy
and from mourning into a good day : that they should make them
20
22
days o f feasting and j oy and o f sending portions one to anothe r

and gifts to the poor
And the Jews undertook to do as they had begu n and
23
as Morde c ai had written unto them ;
Be cause Haman the so n O f Hammedatha the Agagite
24
the enemy O f a l l the Jews had devised against the Jews to
destroy them and had cast Pur that is the lot to consume
them and to destroy them ;
But
when
E
sther
came
before
the
king
he
commanded
2
5
by letters that his wicked device whi c h he devised against the
Jews shou l d return upon his own head and that he and his
sons shoul d be hanged o n the gal lows
Wherefore they called these days Pu rim afte r the name
26
Therefore f o r a ll the words o f this letter and Of that
Of Pur
which they had seen concerning this matter and which had
come u nto them
The Jews ordained and took upon them and upon their
27
seed and upon a l l su c h as j oined themse lves unto them so as
it should not fai l that they would keep these two days accord
ing to their writing and ac c ording to their appoin ted time eve ry
year ;
28
And that these days should be remembered and kept
throughout every generation every fami l y eve ry province and
every ci ty ; and that these days of Purim S hou l d not fail from
among the Jews n o r the memorial o f them perish from their
seed
2
Then
E
sther
the
queen
the
daughter
O
f
Abihai
l
and
9
Mordecai the Jew wrote with al l authority to conrm this
second letter O f Purim
And
he
sent
the
l
etters
unto
a
l
l
the
Jews
to
the
hundred
0
3
twen ty and seven provinces o f the kingdom o f Ahasuerus
with words of peace and truth
T
O
conrm
these
days
O
f
Purim
in
their
times
appointed
1
3
,
ESTH E R
23
according as Mordecai the Jew and E sther the queen had

enj oined them an d as they had decreed f o r themselves and
f o r their seed the matters o f the fastings and their c ry
f
And
the
decree
E sther con rmed these matters o f
2
o
3
Pu rim ; a n d it was written in the book
,
C HAPT E R
M OR D E C A I
P R I M E M I N I S TER
And the king Ahasuerus l aid a tribute upon the land and
upon the isles O f the se a
2
And a ll the acts o f his power and O f his might and the
decl aration o f the greatness o f Mordecai whereunto the k ing
advanced him are they not written in the book o f the chronicles
O f the kings o f M edia and Persia ?
F
o
r
Mordecai
the
Jew
was
next
unto
king
Ahasueru
s
and
3
gr eat among the Jews and accepted o f the multitude o f his
brethren seeking the wealth o f his people a nd S peaking peace
to a ll his seed
1
II
T H E H I S T O RY O F A L I B A B A A N D
T H E F O RT Y R O B B E RS
AU T H O R
U N K N O WN
This story like E sther takes place in Persia The
sto ries o f The Arabian Nights as a whole probab ly origin ated in

India were modied and augmented by the Persians and had
the nishing touches put upon them by the Arabians Bagdad
on the Tigris is the city that gures most prominently in the
stories and the good caliph Haroun Al-R aschid (o r A lrasc h id)
who ruled from 7 8 6 to 8 0 9 A D is the monarch most O ften
mentioned
A g o o dl y p l ac e a g o o dl y t i m e
F o r i t 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

etting
S
!
However Old the germs o f the stories are the form in whi c h
we have them hard l y antedates the year 1 4 5 0 The absen c e O f
at l east a date
al l mention o f coffee and toba c co prec l udes
mu ch later They began to be trans l ated into the l anguages o f
E urope d u ring the reign o f Queen Anne and with the e x c e p
tion of the O l d Testament have been the chief orienta l izing
influen c e in modern literature The setting o f Ali Baba
shows the four char acteristi c s o f a l l these PersoArabian tales :
it has to do with town l ife not c ountry l ife ; it pres upposes o n e
faith the Mohammedan ; it S hows a fondness fo r magi c ; and
it takes for granted an audien c e interested not in moral or
ethica l distin c tions but in story-telling fo r story-tell ing s sake
,
Fro m
Th e
A rab ian N ights

24
26
S H O RT S TOR I E S
I
CASSI M ALI
A B A S B RO TH E R D I S C O V E RE D
K I LL E D B Y T H E RO B B ERS
A ND
There once l ived in a town o f Persia two brothers o n e

named Cassim and the ot h er A l i Baba Their fathe r divided his
small property equall y between them Cassim married a very
rich wife and became a weal thy merchant A l i Baba married
a woman as poor as himse l f and lived by cutting wood and
bringing it upon three asses into the town to se ll
O ne day when A l i Baba had c u t j ust enough wood in the
forest to l oad his asses he noticed far Off a great cl oud O f dust
As it drew nearer he saw that it was made by a body of horse
men whom he suspe c ted to be robbers Leaving the asses
he c limbed a large tree whi c h grew o n a high rock and had
branches thick enough to hide him comp l ete ly whi l e he saw
what passed beneath The troop forty in n umber a l l we l l
mounted and armed c ame to the foot o f the rock o n which
the tree stood and t h ere dismounted E a c h man unbrid l ed his
horse tied him to a shrub and hung about his neck a bag o f
corn Then each of them took Off his sadd l e -bag which from
its weight seemed to A l i Baba fu ll O f go l d and si l ver O ne
whom he took to be their c aptain came under the tree in which
A l i Baba was c oncealed ; and making his way through some
1
shrubs spoke the words : O pen S esame
A s soon as the
c aptain o f the robbers said this a door O pened in the rock and
a f ter he had made a ll his troop enter before him he fo ll owed
them when the door S hut again o f itsel f
The robbers stayed some time within and A l i Baba fearfu l
At last the door opened
o f bein g caught remained in the tree
again and the captain came o u t rst and stood to see a l l th e
,
S e sam e ( p ro n o u n c e d
sessa
my ) ,
a s m all
rain .
ALI
A B A A N D T H E F O R TY RO B
E RS
27
troop pass by him Then A l i Baba heard him make the doo r
close by saying : S hut S esame

Every man at once b ridled
his horse fastened his wal l et and mounted again When the
captain saw them a l l ready he put himself at their head and
they returned the way they had come
A l i Baba watched them o u t Of S ight and then waited some
time before coming down Wishing to se e whether the captain s
words would have the same effect if he should speak them he
found the door hidden in the shrubs stood before it and said
O pen S esame
Instantl y the door ew wide open
Instead o f a dark dismal cavern A l i Baba was surprised to
see a large chamber well lighted from the top and in it all
sorts of provisions I l Ch bales O f S i lk brocade and c arpe ting
gold and silver ingots in great heaps and money in bags
Ali Baba went boldly into the cave and collected as mu c h
of the gold coin which was in bags as he thought his asses
cou l d carry When he had l oaded them with the bags he l aid
wood over them so that they cou l d not b e seen and passing
out o f the door fo r the l ast time stood before it and said
S hut S esame
The door closed o f itself and he made the
best o f his way to town
When he reached home he carefully closed the gate o f his
little yard threw O ff the wood and carried the bags into the
house They were emptied before his wife and the great heap
o f gold dazz l ed her eyes
Then he to l d her the who l e adventure
and warned her above al l things to keep it secret
A l i Baba wou l d not let her take the time to count it o u t as
sh e wished but said :

I wil l dig a hole a
n d bu ry it
But l et u s know as nearl y as may be she said

how
much we have I wi ll borrow a sma l l measure and measure it
while you dig a ho l e

Away sh e ran to the wife o f Cassim wh o lived near by and
asked f o r a m easure
The sister-in-l aw knowing Ali Baba s
.
28
poverty was curiou s to learn what sort of grain his wife wished
to measure o u t and artfu ll y managed to put some suet in the
bottom o f the measure before she handed it over A l i Baba s
wife wanted to S how how careful sh e w as in sma l l matters and
after sh e had measured the go l d hurried ba c k even while her
h u sband was burying it with the borrowed measure never
noticing that a coin had stu ck to its bottom
What said C assim s wife as soon as her sister-in-law had

left her has Ali Baba gold in such plenty that he measures
?
it Whence has he all this wealth ? And envy possessed he r
b r east
When Cassim came home , she said to him : Cassim yo u
think yourse l f rich but Ali Baba is mu c h richer He does not
count his money ; he measures it

Then she explained to him
how sh e had found it o u t and they looked together at the piece
which was so O ld that they could not tell in what
o f money
prince s reign it was coined
Cassim since mar rying the rich widow had never treated
A l i Baba as a brother but neglected him Now instead of b e
ing p l eased he was ll ed with a base envy E arl y in the morn
ing after a sleepless night he went to him and said : Ali
Baba yo u pretend to be wretched l y poor and yet you measure
gold My wife found this at the bottom o f the measure yo u
borrowed yesterday
Ali Baba saw that there was no use o f t rying to conceal his
good fo rt une and to l d the whole story O ffering his brother
part o f the treasure to keep the secret
I expect as much rep l ied Cassim haughtily ; but I must

know j ust where this treasure is and h o w to visit it myself
when I ch oose O therwise I will inform against yo u and yo u
will lose even what you have now

Ali Baba told him al l he wished to know even to the word s
he must speak at the door o f the cave
,
ALI
ERS
29
C assim rose before the sun the next morning and set o u t
for the forest with ten mu l es bearing great chests which he
meant to l l With little troub l e he found the rock and the
door and stand ing before it spoke the words : O pen S esame
The door O pened at once and when he was within cl osed upon
him Here indeed were the ri c hes of which his brother had
told He quick l y brought as many bags o f gold as he could
ca rry to the door o f the cavern ; but his thoughts were so full
O f his new wealth that he c ould not think o f the word that
should let him o u t Instead o f S esame he said O pen
Barley and was much amazed to nd that the door remained

fast shut H e named several sorts O f grain but still the door
wou l d n o t open
Cassim had never expected such a disaster and was SO
frightened that the more he tried to recall the word S esame

the more confused his mind became I t was as if he had never
heard the word at a l l H e threw down the bags in his hands
and walked wi l dly up and down without a thought o f the riches
lyin g round about him
At noon the robbers visited their cave From afar they saw
C assim s mules stragg l ing about the rock and galloped full
S peed to the cave Drivin g the mules o u t o f sight they went
at once with their naked sabres in their hands to the door
which opened as soon as the captain had spoken the prope r
words before it
Cassim had heard the noise of the horses feet and guessed
that the robbers had come He reso l ved to make o n e effort for
his life As soon as the door O pened he rushed o u t and threw
the leader down but could n o t pass the other robbers wh o
with their scimitars soon put him to death
The rst care o f the robbers was to examine the c ave They
found al l the bags Cassim had brought to the door but did not
miss what Ali Baba had taken As fo r Cassim himself they
,
S H O R T STO R I E S
3o
guessed rightly that once within he c ould not get o u t agal n ;

but h o w he had managed to learn their secret words that let
him in they cou l d not tell O ne thing was certain
there he
was ; and to wa rn all others wh o might know their secret and
follow in C assim s footsteps they agreed to c u t his body into
four quarters to hang two o n one side and two o n the other
within the door o f the cave This they did at once and leaving
the place O f their hoards wel l closed mounted their horses and
se t o u t to attack the caravans they might meet
,
II
TH E M A NN ER O F
CASSI M S
D EATH C O N C EA L E D
When night came and Cassim did not return his wife h e
came ve ry uneasy S he ran to A l i Baba for comfort and he
told her that Cassim would certainly think it unwise to enter
the town till night was well advan c ed By midnight C assim s
wife was sti l l more alarmed and wept till mo rning cursing her
desire to pry into the affairs o f her brother and sister-in-l aw
In the early day sh e went again in tears to A l i Baba
He did not wait for her to ask him to go and se e what had
happened to Cassim but se t o u t at once fo r the forest with his
three asses Finding some b l ood at the door O f the cave he
took it fo r an il l omen but when he had spoken the words and
the door had O pened he was struck with horror at the dismal
S ight of his brother s body H e cou l d not leave it there and
hastened within to nd something to wrap around it Laying
the body o n o ne o f his asses he covered it with wood The
other two asses he l oaded with bags of go ld covering them al so
with wood as before Then bidding the door shut he came
away but stopped some time at the edge o f the forest that he
might not go into the town before night When h e rea ched
h ome h e left the two asses l aden with gold in his l ittle yard
,
ALI
A B A A N D T H E F OR TY RO B
E RS
31
sister in-law s
his wife to unload and led the other to his

h ouse
A l i Baba knocked at the door which w as O pened by Morgi
ana a clever slave full O f devices to conque r di fculties When
he came into the court and un l oaded the ass he took M o rgian a
aside and said to her :
You must O bse rve a strict secrecy You r master s body is
contained in these two panniers We must bury him as if he
had died a natural death Go now and tel l your mistress I
leave the matter to your wit and skil lful devices

They placed the body in C assim s house and charging
M o rgian a to a c t well her part A l i Baba returned home with
his ass
E arl y the next morning M o rgian a went to a d ru ggist and
asked for a sort o f lozenge used in the most dangerous illness
When he asked her for whom sh e wanted it sh e answered with
a sigh :
My good maste r Cassim H e c an neither eat nor
speak
I n the evening sh e went to the same druggist and
with tears in her eyes asked for an essence given to sick per
sons for whose life there is l ittle hope

A l as I said sh e
I
am afraid even th i s wil l not save my good maste r

All that day A l i Baba and his wife were seen going sadly
between their house and C assim s and in the evening nobody
was surprised to hear the shrieks and c ries O f C assim s wife
and M o rgian a wh o to l d eve rybody that he r maste r was dead
The next morning at daybreak sh e went to an o ld cobbler
who was a l ways early at work and putting a piece o f gold in
his hand said
Baba Mustapha yo u must bring you r sewing-tackle and
come with me ; but I must tell you I shall b l indfold you when
we reach a certain p l a c e
O h ! O h 1 replied he yo u would have m e do somethi ng
again st my co n science o r my honor

fo r
S H O R T ST O R I E S
32
forbid ! said M o rgian a putting another piece o f gold
in his hand ; only c o m e a l ong with me and fear nothing

Baba Mustapha went with M o rgian a and at a certain place
sh e bound his eyes with a handkerchief which sh e never u n
loosed ti l l they had entered the room Of her m aste r s h o u se
where she had put the corpse together
o u must make haste

Baba Mustapha said sh e
and
y
sew the parts o f this body together and when yo u have done
I wi l l give you another piece o f go l d

After Baba Mustapha had nished his task sh e b l indfolded
him again gave him the third piece O f go l d sh e had promised
and charging him with secrecy took him back to the p l ace
where sh e had rst bound his eyes Taking Off the bandage
S he watched him till he was o u t O f sight lest he S hould return
and dog her ; then she went home
At C assim s house sh e made all things ready for the funeral
l
which was du l y performed by the im au m and other ministers
o f the mosque
M o rgian a as a slave O f the dead man wal ked
in the pro c ession weeping beating her breast and tearing her
hair C assim s wife stayed at home uttering doleful cries with
the women o f the neighborhood wh o a cc ording to custom
came to mourn with her The who l e quarter was lled with
sounds o f sorrow
Thus the m anne r o f C assim s death was hushed up and b e
sides his widow Ali Baba and M o rgian a the s l ave nobody in
the city suspected the cause of it Three or four days after the
funeral A l i Baba removed his few goods O pen ly to his sister-in
law s house in whi ch he was to live in the future ; but the
money he had taken from the robbers was carried thither by
night As for C assim s warehouse A l i Baba put it entire l y
u nder the charge o f his e l dest son
G od
I m au m
M h
o
amm e dan
p ri e st
S H O R T STO R I ES
34
A d ead body I exclaimed the robber amaz ed
Ye s ye s answered Baba Mustapha ;

I se e you want to
know more but yo u S hal l not

The robber fe l t sure that he w as o n the right track H e put a
piece O f gold into Baba M u staph a s hand and said to him :
I do not want to learn you r se c ret though you cou l d safe ly
trust me with it The only thing I ask o f you is to show me
the house where yo u stitched up the dead body
I could not do that rep l ied Baba Mustapha if I would

I was take n to a certain p l ace whence I was l ed blindfo l d to the
house and afterwards brought back again in the same manner
We ll rep l ied the robber you may remember a little o f

the way that yo u were l ed blindfo l d Come let me blind your
eyes at the same p l ace We wi l l wa l k together and perhaps you
may recall the way H ere is another piece O f gold for yo u

This was enough to bring Baba Mustapha to his feet They
soon reached the p l ace where M o rgian a had bandaged his eyes
and here he was b l indfo l ded again Baba Mustapha and the
robbe r wa l ked o n ti l l they cam e to C assim s house where A l i
Baba now lived H ere the Ol d man stopped and when the
thief pu l led O ff the band and found that his guide could not
tell h im whose house it was h e l et h im go But before he
started back for the forest himsel f we l l p l eased with what he
had learned he marked the door with a piece o f c ha l k which
he had ready in his hand
S oon after this M o rgiana came o u t upon some errand and
when sh e returned sh e saw the mark the rob ber had made
and stopped to look at it
What can this mean ? she said to herself

S omebody
intends my master harm and in any case it is best to guard
against the worst

Then she fet ched a pie c e of C hal k and
marked two o r t h ree doors o n ea c h side in t h e same manner
saying nothing to her master o r mistress
.
ALI
A B A A N D T H E F O R T Y RO B
E RS
35
When the robber rej oined his troop in the forest and to l d o f
his good fortune in meeting the o n e man that cou l d have helped
him they were a l l de l ighted
Comrades said the captain

we have no time to lose
Let us se t Off at once we l l armed and disguised enter the town
by twos and j oin at the great square Meanwhile o u r comrade
wh o has brought u s the good news and I wi l l go and nd o u t
the house and decide what had best be done

T wo by two they entered the town
Last o f a l l went the
captain and the spy When they came to the rst O f the houses
whi c h M o rgian a had marked the spy pointed it o u t But the
captain noticed that the next door was chal ked in the same
manner and asked his guide whi c h house it was that or the
rst The guide knew n o t what answer to make and was sti ll
more puzz l ed when he and the captain saw ve o r six houses
marked after this same fashion He assured the captain with
an oath that he had marked but one and could not tell wh o
had chal ked the rest nor cou l d he say at which house the
cobbler had stopped
There was nothing to do but to j oin the other robbers and
tell them to go ba c k to the cave Here they were told why
they had a ll returned and the guide was decl ared by all to be
wo rthy o f death Indeed he c ondemned himse l f owning that
he ought to have been more c arefu l and prepared to receive
the stroke which was to cut o ff his head
The safety o f the troop stil l demanded that the second comer
to the cave should be found and another o f the gang O ffered
to try it with the same pena l ty if he shoul d fail Like the other
robber he found o u t Baba Mustapha and through him the
house which he marked in a place remote from sight with red
chalk
But nothing cou l d escape M o rgian a s eyes and when sh e
went o u t not long after and saw the red cha l k S he argued
,
S H OR T STO R I E S
6
3
with herse l f as before and marked the other houses near by i n

the same place and manner
The robber when he told his comrades what he had done
prided himself o n his c arefulness and the c aptain and a l l the
troop thought they must su c ceed 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 c aptain w as
enraged and the robber as much confused as the former guide
had been Thus the captain and his troop went ba ck again to
the cave and the robber who had fai l ed wi llingly gave himse l f
up to death
,
IV
RO B B ERS E X C E P T T H E C A P TA I N D I S C O V ERE D
A N D K I LL E D B Y M O R G I A N A
TH E
The captain c ou l d n o t afford to lose any more O f his brave

fe ll ows and decided to take upon himse l f the task in which two
had fai l ed Like the others he went to Baba Mustapha and
was shown the house Unlike them he put no mark o n it but
studied it c areful l y and passed it so O ften that he coul d not
possibly mistake it
When h e re turned to the troop who were waiting for him in
the cave he said :
N o w c omrades nothing c an prevent o u r ful l revenge as I
am c ertain of the house A s I re t u rned I thought o f a way to
do o u r work but if any o n e thinks o f a better let him speak

H e to l d them his p l an and as they thought it good he
ordered them to go into the vi ll ages about and buy nineteen
mu l es with thirty-eight large leather j ars o n e fu l l o f o il and
the others empty Within two o r three days they returned with
the mu l es and the j ars and as t h e mouths O f the j ars were
rather too narrow for the captain s purpose he caused them to
,
A LI
AB A A N D
F O R TY
TH E
RO B
ER S
37
be widened Having put o ne O f his men into each j ar with the

weapons which he thought t and having a seam wide enough
O pen for each man to breathe he rubbed the j ars o n the outside
with O il from the full vessel
Thus prepared they se t o u t fo r the town the nineteen mu l es
loaded with the thirty-seven robbers in j ars and the j ar o f O il
with the captain as their driver When he reached A l i Baba s
door he found A l i Baba sitting there taking a l ittl e fresh air
after his supper The captain stopped his mu l es and said :
I have brought some O i l a great way to se l l at tomorrow s
market ; and it is now so l ate that I do n o t know where to lodge
Wi l l you do m e the favor to let me pass the night with yo u
Though Ali Baba had seen the captain in the forest and had
heard him speak he could not know him in the disguise O f an
o ilmerchant and bade him welcome H e o pened his gates fo r
the mules to go into the yard and ordered a s l ave to put them
in a stable and feed them when they were unloaded and then
call ed M o rgian a tO get a good supper for his guest Afte r
supper he charged her afresh to take good care o f the stranger
and said to her
T O-morrow morning I intend to go to the bath before day ;
take care to have my bathing linen ready ; give it to Abda ll a
which
w
as his S l ave s name
and
make
me
som
e
good
broth
(
)
against my return
After this he went to bed
In the mean time the captain O f the robbers went into the
yard and took Off the lid o f each j ar an d told his people what
they must do To each in turn he said
As soon as I throw some stones o u t o f the chamber win
dow where I lie do no t fail to come o u t and I wi l l j oin yo u
at once
Then he went into the house and M o rgian a showed him
his chamber where he soon put o u t the l ight and laid himsel f
down in his clothes
,
SH O R T STO R I E S
8
3
carry o u t A l i Ba b a s orders M o rgian a got his bathing linen

ready and bade Abdall a to set o n the pot for the broth ; but
soon the lamp went o u t and t h ere w as no more O il in the house
n o r any cand l es
S he knew n o t what to do ti ll the s l ave
reminded her O f the O i l j ars in the yard S he thanked him for
the thoug h t took the O il p o t and went o u t When sh e came
nigh the rst j ar the robber within said softly : I S it time ?

O f course sh e was surprised to nd a man in the j ar instead
O f the O i l but sh e saw at once that sh e must keep si l en c e as
A l i Baba his fami l y and sh e herself were in great danger
Therefore sh e answered without showing any fear : Not yet
but presently
In this manner sh e went to all the j ars and
gave the same answers ti l l S he c ame to t h e j ar O f O i l
By this means M o rgian a found th at her m aster had a dmitted
to his house thirty-eight robbers o f whom t h e pretended O il
merchant their captain was o n e S he made what haste she
il
could to ll her o pot and returned to her kitchen lighted her
lamp and taking a great kett l e went ba ck to the Oil-j ar and ll ed
it Then sh e set the kettle o n a large wood re and as soon as
it boiled went and poured enough into every j ar tO S tifl e and
destroy the robber within
When this deed worthy O f the c ourage O f M o rgiana was
done without any noise as S he had p l anned she retur n ed to the
kit c hen with t h e empty kettl e put o u t the l amp and l eft j ust
enough O f the re to ma k e the broth Then sh e sat si l ent
reso l ving not to go to rest ti l l sh e had seen through the window
that O pened o n the yard whatever might happen there
It was not l ong before the c aptain of the robbers go t up and
seeing that al l was dark and quiet gave the appointed signal by
throwing l itt l e stones some o f whi c h hit the j ars as he doubted
n o t by the sound they gave
A s there was no re sponse he
threw stones a second an d a third time and could not imagine
why there was no answer to his signal
TO
'
'
A LI
ERS
39
M u c h a l armed he went softl y down into the yard and going

to the rst j ar to ask the robber if he was ready sme l t the h o t
boiled o il which sent forth a steam o u t O f the j ar From this
b e suspected that his p l ot w as found o u t and looking into the
j ars one by one he found that a l l his gang were dead E nraged
to despair he for c ed the lo c k o f a door that l ed from the yard
to the garden and made his escape When M o rgian a saw him
go she went to bed well pleased that sh e had saved he r master
and his famil y
Ali Baba rose before day and went to the baths without
knowing o f what had happened in t h e night W h en he returned
he was very much surprised to se e the O il-j ars in the yard and
the mules in the stab l e
God preserve you and a l l you r famil y said M o rgian a when

she was asked what it meant ; yo u wi ll know better when yo u
have seen what I have to show yo u

S O saying sh e led him to the rst j ar and asked him to see
if there was any O il When he saw a man instead he started
back in al arm
Do not be afraid said M o rgian a ; he c an do neither you

nor anybody e l se the least harm He is dead Now l ook into
a ll the other j ars

Ali Baba was more and more amazed as he went o n and
saw all the dead men and the sunken O il-j ar at the end
H e stood l ooking from the j ars to M o rgian a ti ll he found
words to ask : And w h a t is be c ome o f the merchant ?

Merc h ant l
answered sh e ;
he is as much o ne as
I am
Then she led him into the house and to l d of al l that sh e
h ad done from the rst noticing O f the c hal k -mark to the
death o f the robbers and the ight O f t h eir c aptain O n hear
ing o f these brave deeds from M o rgian a s o wn l ips A l i Baba
said to her :
,
4o
by your means has de l ivered me from death F o r the

rst token o f what I o w e you I give you your l iberty from this
moment ti l l I c an fu lly reward yo u as I intend

Near the trees at the end Of A l i Baba s long garden he and
Abdall a dug a trench large enough to ho l d the bodies o f the
robbers When they were buried there Ali Baba h id the j ars
and weapons ; and as the mul es were O f no use to him he sent
them at different times to be sold in the market by his s l ave
G o d,
V
TH E
C A P TAI N D I S C O V ERE D A N D
B Y
K I LL E D
MO RG I AN A
The captain o f the forty robbers had returned to his cave in

the forest but found himse l f so lone ly there that the place
became frightful to him H e resolved at the same time to
avenge the fate o f his comrades and to bring about the death
O f A l i Baba F o r this purpose he returned to the town dis
guised as a mer c hant o f si lks By degrees he broug h t from his
cavern many sorts O f ne stuffs and to dispose of t h ese he took
a warehouse that happened to be opposite C assim s which
A l i Baba s son had occupied S in c e the death o f his un cle
H e took the name O f G ogia Houssain and as a new c ome r
was very civil to the m erchants near him A l i Baba s son was
and the n e w m erchant
o n e o f the rst to converse with him
w as most friend l y Within two o r three d ays A l i Baba came to
see his son and the c aptain o f the robbers knew him at once
and soon learned from his so n who he was From that time
forth he was sti l l more polite to A l i Baba s so n wh o soon fe l t
bound to repay the many kindnesses of his new friend
As his o w n house w as sma ll b e arranged with his father
that o n a certain afternoon when he and t h e merchant were
,
S H O RT
2
4
STO RI E S
a good dancer and o n this o c casion outdid herse l f in graceful

and surprising motions At t h e last sh e took the tabor from
A b dalla s hand and he l d it out l ike those wh o dance for
money
A l i Baba put a pie c e o f go l d into it and so did his so n
When C o gia Houssain saw that S he w as coming to him he
pu ll ed out his purse from his bosom to make her a present ;
but whil e he was putting his hand into it M o rgian a with cour
age worthy O f herse l f p l unged the poniard into his hea rt
Unhappywoman ! ex cl aimed A l i Baba what have you
?
done to ruin me an d my fami ly
It was to preserve not to ruin you answered M o rgian a

Then she showed the dagger in C o gia H o u ssain s garment and
said : Look wel l at him and you wi l l se e t h at he is both the
pretended oil-merchant and the captain o f the band o f forty
robbers As soon as yo u to l d me that he wou l d eat no sal t with
you I suspected who it was and when I saw him I knew
Ali Baba embra c ed her and said : M o rgiana I gave you

your liberty before and promised you more in time ; now I
would make you my daughter in l aw Consider he said turn
ing to his son

that by marrying M o rgian a you m arry the
preserver O f my fami l y and yours

The so n w as a ll the more ready to carry o u t his father s
wishes because t h ey were the same as his o wn and within a
few days he and M o rgian a were married but before this the
captain o f the robbers was buried with his comrades and so
secretl y was it done that their bones were not found ti ll many
years had passed when no o n e had any concern in making this
strange story kno
For a who l e year A l i Baba did not visit the robbers cave
At the end Of that time as nobody had tried to disturb him he
made another j ourney to the forest and standing before the
entrance to the cave said : O pen S esame

The door opened
,
ALI
ERS
43
at once and from the appearance O f everything within the

c avern he j udged th at 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 later he carried his so n to the cave and taught him the
secret which he handed down in his fami ly wh o used their
good fo rtune wise ly and lived in great hono r and splendor
,
III
RI P VA N
W I N K L E (1 8 1 9 )
1
B Y W A SH I N G TON I R V I N G ( 1 7 8 3 1 8 5 9 )
The Hudson R iver and the K aatskill Mo u ntains
were rst brought into literature through this story Irving
being the rst American master o f local color and l ocal tradi
tion S ince 1 8 7 0 the American short story following the
example o f I rving has been the leading agency by which the
S outh the West and New E ngland have made known and thus
perpetuated their local scenery legends customs and dialect
Irving however seemed afraid o f dialect There were it is
true many legends about the Hudson before Irving was bo rn
but they had found no expression in literature Mrs Josiah
Quincy wh o made a voyage up the Hudson in 1 7 8 6 wrote :
O ur captain had a l egend for every scene either supernatural
o r traditional or o f actual occurrence during the war and n o t
a mountain reared its head unconnected with some marvellous
story
Irving therefore did n o t have to manufacture local
traditions ; he on ly gave them wider currency and tted them
more artisticall y into their natu ral settings
Irving chose for his setting the twenty years that embrace
the R evolutiona ry War because the numerous social and po l itical
changes that took place then enab l ed him to bring R ip back
after his S l eep into a worl d not real ized Yo u will appreciate
much better the art O f this time-setting if you wi l l try you r
hand o n a somewhat simi l ar story and p l ace it between 1 8 2 0
S
etting
!
F ro m T h e S k e t c h B o o k T h e e lab o rat e Kn ic k e rb o c k e r n o t e s
w it h w h ic h I rv in g f o l l o w in g a p ass in g f ash io n o f t h e t im e so u g h t t o
m y st ify t h e re ade r are h e re o m itt e d T h e y are h in dran c e s n o w rat h e r
t h an h e l p s
44
R I P VA N W I N K L E
45
and 1 8 4 0 when railroads telegraph lines and transatlantic

steamers made a n e w world o u t O f the Ol d ; o r if your story
takes place in the S outh you might make your ba ckground
inc l ude the interval between 1 8 5 5 and 1 8 7 5 when s l ave ry was
abolished when the Old p l antation system was ch anged when
the names o f new heroes emerged and when new so c ial and
political and industrial problems had to be grappled with
Pl ot The plot is divided into two a l most equal parts which
we may call befo r e and after taking

A recent critic has
said :
The actual forward movement o f the plot does not
begin until the sentence In a long ramble o f the kind o n a
ne autumnal day R ip had unconsciously scrambled to o n e o f
the highest parts o f the Kaatskill Mountains
The critic has
missed I think the main st ru ctural excellence O f the story
Dame Van Winkle the children wh o hung around R ip his
o wn children his dog the social c l ub at the inn with the por
trait Of George the Third Van Bumme l and Nicholas Vedder
all had to be mentioned before R ip began the ascent o f the
mountain O therwise when he returned we should have had
no means O f measuring the swift passage O f time during his
s l eep E ach is a ski ll fu l ly se t timepiece o r mi l epost which o n
R ip s return mis l eads the poor fe l low at every turn and thus
produces the exact kind O f totality o f e ffect that Irving

intended The forward movement O f the plot begins with this
careful planning o f the route that R ip is to take o n his return
trip when twenty years shall have done their work Cut o u t
these p oin ts de reyere and see how e ffectively the forward
movement o f the plot is retarded
C/z a ra eters R ip was the rst character in Ameri c an ction
to be known far beyond o u r o w n borders and he remains o n e
O f the best known In the class with hin belong James Feni
m ore Cooper s Leatherstocking ( or Natty Bumppo ) Harriet
Bee cher S towe s Uncle Tom Joel Chandle r Harris s Uncle
R emus and Mark Twain s Hu ckleberry Finn and To m S awyer
n
He has been called u American and so he is and so I rving
,
6
4
SH O RT
STORI ES
plainly intended him to be If o n e insists o n nding a bit O f

distin c tive Americanism somewhere in the story he wi ll nd
it not in R ip but in the number and rapidity of the c hanges
that American life underwent during the twenty years that
se rve as background to the story George Will iam Curtis call s
R ip the constant and unconscious satirist o f American l ife

but sure l y Irving wou l d have smi l ed at nding so purposeful
a mission laid upon the stooping shou l ders O f his vagabond
ne er-do-well hero R ip is no satirist conscious o r u nconscious
He is a provin c ial Dutch type such as Irving had seen a
hundred times ; but he is so lovable and is sketched so lovingly
that we hard ly real iz e the consummate art the human sym
pathy and the keen powers o f O bse rvation that have gone into
his making E very othe r character in the story incl uding Wolf
is a S idelight o n R ip O f The Legend O f S leepy Hollow

I rving said : The sto ry is a mere whimsical band to connect
the descriptions O f scenery cu stoms manners e tc

The em
phasis in other words was put o n the setting O f R ip Van
Winkle m ight he not have said The description s O f scenery
customs manners etc are but so many channe l s through which
the characte r o f R ip nds outlet and expression
.
Whoeve r has made a voyage up the Hudson must remember

the K aatskill Mountai ns They are a dismembered branch o f
the great Appalachian fami ly and are seen away to the west
o f the river swelling up to a noble height and lording it over
the s u rrounding country E ve ry change o f season every change
indeed every hour o f the day produces some
o f weather
change in the magical hues and shapes O f these mountains and
they are regarded by al l the good wives far and near as per
When the weather is fair and settl ed they
f e c t barometers
are clothed in blue and purp l e and print their bo l d outl ines
on the clear evening sk y ; but sometimes when the rest o f
the landscape is cloud l ess they wi l l gather a h ood o f gray
.
VA N W I N KL E
RI P
47
vapors about their summits which in the l ast rays of the

setting su n will gl ow and l ight u p l ike a crown o f gl ory
At the foot O f these fairy mountains the voyager may have
descried the l igh t smoke c urling up from a vi ll age whose shingle
roofs g l eam among the trees j ust where the b l ue tints o f the
upland m el t away into the fresh green o f the nearer landscape
It is a littl e vi ll age o f great antiquity having been founded by
some o f the Dutch co l onists in the early time o f the province
j ust about the beginning o f the government o f the good Peter
S tuyvesant ( may he rest in pea c e and there were some Of the
houses of the original settl ers standing within a f e w years bui l t
having latti c ed
o f smal l ye ll ow bri c ks brought from Ho ll and
windows and gab l e fronts surmounted with weather c o c ks
In that same vill age and in one O f these very houses ( which
to tell the pre c ise truth was sad l y time-worn and weather
beaten) there l ived many years sin c e whi l e the country was
a
yet a province o f Great Brit in a simp l e good natured fe l low
He was a descendant o f the
o f the name o f R ip Van Winkle
Van Wink l es w h o gured so gall ant ly in the chiva l rous days O f
Peter S tuyvesant and accompanied him to the siege of Fort
Christina He inherited however but littl e o f the martial char
acter o f his an c estors I have O bserved that he was a simp l e
good-natured man ; he was moreover a kind neighbor and a n
obedient henpe cked husband Indeed to the latter c ircumstance
might be owing that meekness of spirit which gained him su c h
universal popu l arity ; fo r those men are most apt to be o b se
h
u
i
and
conci
l
iating
abroad
w
o
are
under
the
discipline
o
u
s
f
o
q
shrews at home Their tempers doubtless are rendered pliant
and mall eab l e in th e ery furnace o f domestic tribulation ; and
a curtain l ecture is worth a l l the sermons in the world for
teaching the virtues o f patience and long su ffering A terma
gant wife may therefore in some respects be considered a
tole rable b l essing and if so R ip Van Winkle was th rice blessed
,
8
4
C ertain it is that he was a great favorite among all the

good wives Of the vi ll age wh o as usual with the amiable sex
took his part in all family squabbles ; and neve r failed when
ever they talked those matters over in thei r evening gossipings
to lay a l l the b l ame o n Dame Van Winkle
The chi ldren o f
the village to o would shout with j oy wh enever he approached
H e assisted at their sports made their playthings taught them
to y kites and shoot marbles and told them long stories o f
ghosts witches and Indians Whenever he went dodging about
the vi l lage he w as surrounded by a troop o f them hanging
o n his skirts c l ambering on his ba c k and p l aying a thousand
tricks o n him with impunity ; and not a dog would bark at
him throughout the neighborhood
The great error in R ip s composition was an insuperable
aversion to all kinds O f protable l abor It could not be from
the want O f assiduity o r perseveran c e ; for he wou l d sit o n a
wet rock with a ro d as long and heavy as a Tartar s lance
and sh al l day without a murmur even though he shou l d not
be encouraged by a single nibble H e woul d carry a fowling
piece on his shoulder for hours together t rudging through
woods and swamps and up hi l l and down dale to shoot a few
squirrels o r wild pigeons H e wou l d never refuse to assist a
neighbor even in the roughest toil and was a foremost man at
all country frolics f o r husking Indian corn o r bui lding stone
fences ; the women o f the vill age too used to emp l oy h im to
ru n their errands and to do such l ittle o dd j obs as their less
O bliging husbands would n o t do for them In a word R ip was
ready to attend to anybody s business but his o wn ; but as
to doing fami l y duty and keeping his farm in order he found
it impossib l e
In fact he decl ared it was of n o u se to work o n his farm ;
it was the most pestil ent little pie c e o f ground in the who l e
country ; eve rything about it went wrong and would go wrong
,
0
5
R ip s sole domesti c adherent
w as h is do g
Wolf who w as as
mu c h henpe cked as his master ; f o r Dame Van Winkle regarded
t h em as companion s in idleness and even looked upon Wolf
with an evil eye as t h e c ause o f his master s going so often
astray True it is in all points o f spirit betting an honorab l e
dog he w as as c ourageous an animal as ever s c oured the woods
but what courage can wit h stand the ever-duri n g and a l l
besetting terrors o f a woman s tongue ? The moment Wo l f
entered the house his c rest fe ll his t ai l drooped to the ground
he sneaked about with a gal lows
o r cur l ed between his l egs
air c asting many a side l ong gl an c e at Dame Van Wink l e and
at the least ourish O f a broom sti ck o r l ad l e he would y to
the door with ye l ping pre c ipitation
Times grew worse and worse with R ip Van Winkle as years
o f matrimony ro ll ed o n ; a tart temper never me ll ows
Vith age
and a sharp tongue is the on l y edged tool that grows keener
with constant use For a long whi l e he used to conso l e himself
when driven from home by frequenting a kind o f perpetual
cl ub o f t h e sages phi l osophers and other id l e personages o f
the V i ll age w h ich he l d its ses sions o n a ben c h be f ore a smal l
inn designated by a rubi c und portrait O f His Maj esty George
the Third H ere they used to S it in the shade through a long
l azy summer s day ta l k ing listl ess ly over vi ll age gossip o r te l l
ing end l ess s l eepy stories about nothing But it wou l d have
been worth any statesman s money to have heard the profound
discussions that sometimes took place when by c han c e an O ld
newspaper fe l l into their hands from some passing travel l er
How so l emn l y they wou l d l isten to the c ontents as draw l ed out
by Derri ck Van Bummel the s choo l-master a dapper learned
little man wh o was not to be d aunted by the most giganti c
word in the di c tionary ; and how sagely they wou l d de l iberate
upon publ ic events some months after they had taken p l ace
The opinions of this j unto were c omp l ete ly co n trol l ed by
RI P
VA N W I N KL E
51
Nicholas Vedder a patriar c h of the vil l age and landlord of the

inn at the door O f whi c h he took his seat from morning ti l l
night j ust moving su fcient l y to avoid the su n and keep in the
shade o f a large tree ; so that the neighbors could tell the hour
by his movements as accurate l y as by a sun-dial It is true he
w as rare l y heard to speak but smoked his pipe incessant l y
His adherents however ( fo r every great man h as his adh er
ents) perfe c tl y understood him and knew h o w to gather his
O pinions When anything that was read o r re l ated disp l eased
him he was O bserved to smoke his pipe vehemently and to
send forth short frequent and angry pu ffs ; but when pleased
he wou l d inhale the smoke s l ow ly and tran qui lly and emit it
in light and p l acid cl oud s ; and sometimes taking the pipe from
his mouth and letting the fragrant vapor curl about his nose
wou l d gravely nod his head in token O f perfe c t approbation
From even this strongho l d the un l u c ky R ip was at lengt h
routed by his termagant wife who wo u l d suddenly break in
u pon the tranqui l lity o f the assemb l age and c a l l the members
all to naught ; n o r was that august personage Ni cholas Vedder
himse l f sacred from t h e daring tongue o f this terrib l e V irago
who c harged him outright with encouraging her husband in
habits O f id l eness
Poor R ip was at last reduced almost to despair ; and his
only alternative to escape from the labor o f the farm and
cl amo r o f his W ife was to take gun in hand and stro l l away
into the woods Here he wou l d someti mes seat himself at the
foot of a tree and share the contents o f his wall et with Wolf
with whom he sympathized as a fellow-su fferer in persecution
Poor Wolf he would say thy mistress leads thee a dog s

life o f it ; but never mind my lad whi l st I l ive thou shalt never
want a friend to stand by thee ! Wolf wou l d wag his tail look
wistfully in his master s fa c e and if dogs can fee l pity I verily
be l ieve he re c iprocated the se n tim ent with a l l his he art
,
S H OR T S T O R I E S
2
5
In a long ramble o f the kind o n a ne autumnal day R ip

had unconsciously scrambled to o n e O f the highest parts o f the
Kaatsk ill Mountains H e was after his favorite spo rt o f squirrel
shooting and the sti l l so l itudes had e choed and re-e c hoed with
the reports o f his gun Panting and fatigued he threw himse l f
late in the afternoon o n a green kno l l covered with mountain
herbage that crowned the brow of a precipi c e From an O pen
ing between the trees he cou l d overl ook al l the lower country
for many a mi l e o f ri c h wood l and H e saw at a distance the
lord l y H udson far far be l ow him moving on its si l ent but
maj estic course with the reection Of a purp l e cl oud o r the
sail o f a lagging bark here and there s l eeping o n its glassy
bosom and at last losing itself in the b l ue high l ands
O n the other side he looked down into a deep mountain
glen wild lonely and shagged the bottom l l ed with fragments
from the impending c l iffs and s c arcel y l ighted by the reected
rays o f the setting sun F o r som e time R ip lay musing o n thi s
scene ; evening was gradua ll y advancing the mountains began
to throw their long b l ue shadows over the va ll eys ; he saw that
it would be dark long before he cou l d reach the vil lage and
he heaved a heavy sigh when he thought o f encountering the
terrors o f Dame Van Winkle
As he was about to descend he heard a voice from a dis
tance hallooing
R ip Van Winkle ! R ip Van Winkle ! H e
looked round but could se e nothing but a crow winging its
solitary ight a c ross the mountain H e thought his fancy must
have deceived him and turned again to descend when he heard
the same cry ring through the still evening air :
R ip Van
Wink l e ! R ip Van Winkle l
at the same time Wo l f bristled
up his back and giving a lo w growl sku l ked to his master s
side looking fearfull y down into the gl en R ip now fel t a vagu e
apprehension steal ing over him ; he looked anxious ly in the
and perceived a strange gure slowly toiling
same direction
,
RI P
VA N W I N KL E
53
u p the rocks and bending under the weight o f somethi n g he

ca rried o n his back He was surprised to see any human being
i n this lonely and unfrequented place ; but supposing it to be
some o ne of the neighborhood in need o f his assistance he
hastened down to yield it
O n nearer approach he was sti l l more surprised at the singu
H e was a short square
lari ty of the stranger s appearance
built o ld fello w with thick bushy hai r and a grizzled beard
His dress was o f the antique Dutch fashion : a cloth j erkin
strapped round the waist several pairs o f breeches the oute r
o n e o f ample volume decorated with rows of buttons down the
sides and bunches at the knees H e bore on his shoulder a
stout keg that seemed full o f liquor and made signs f o r R ip
to approach and assist him with the load Though rather shy
and distrustful o f this new acquaintance R ip comp l ied with his
usu al alacrity ; and mutua ll y relieving o n e another they clam
bered up a narrow gully apparently the d ry bed O f a mountain
torrent As they ascended R ip every now and then heard long
ro l ling pea l s like distant thunder that seemed to issue o u t o f
a deep ravine o r rathe r cleft between lofty rocks toward which
their ru gged path conducted H e paused fo r a moment but
supposing it to be the muttering o f o n e o f those transient
thunder-showers which often take place in mountain heights
he proceeded Passing through the ravine they came to a
hollow like a sma l l amphitheatre surrounded by perpendicu l ar
precipices over the brinks Of whi c h impending trees shot thei r
branches so that yo u only caught gl impses o f the az ure sky
and the bright evening cloud During the whole time R ip and
his companion had l abored o n in sil ence ; fo r though the former
ma rve l led greatly what cou l d be the O bj ect o f carrying a keg O f
liquor up this wil d mountain yet there was something strange
an d incomprehensib l e about the unknown
that inspired awe
an d checked familia ri ty
,
54
O n entering the amphitheatre new O bj ects O f wonder pre

sented themse l ves O n a level spot in the center was a c o m
pany o f o dd-loo k ing personages p l aying at ninepins They were
dressed in a quaint out l andish fashion ; some wore short doub
l ets others j erkins with long knives in their be l ts and most o f
them had enormous breeches o f simil ar sty l e with that o f the
guide s Their visages to o were pecu l iar ; o n e had a large
beard broad face and sma ll piggish eyes ; the face o f another
seemed to consist entirely o f nose and was surmounted by a
white sugar-l oaf hat set o ff with a l itt l e red cock s tail They all
had beards o f various shapes and co l ors There was o n e wh o
seemed to be the commander He was a stout Old gentleman
with a weather beaten countenance ; he wore a laced doub l et
broad belt and hanger high-c rowned hat and feather red stock
ings and high-hee l ed S hoes with roses in them The whole group
reminded R ip O f the gures in an Ol d F l emish painting in the
parl or o f Dominie Van S h aick the vi ll age parson which had
been brought over from Ho ll and at the time o f the settlement
What seemed particu l arl y O dd to R ip was that though these
folks were evidently amusing themse lves yet they maintained
the gravest faces the most mysterious si l ence and were withal
the most melan c ho l y party o f p l easure he had ever witn essed
Nothing interrupted the stil lness o f the s c ene but the noise o f
the ball s which whenever they were rol l ed e c hoed along the
mountains like rumb l ing peal s o f thunder
As R ip and his companion approach e d them they sudden ly
desisted from their p l ay and stared at him with such xed
statue l ik e gaz e and su c h strange uncouth lack lustre c o u n te
nances that his heart turned within him and his knees smote
togeth e r His companion now emptied the c ontents o f the keg
into large ago n s and made signs to him to wait upon the com
pany He obeyed with fear and tremb l ing ; they quaffed the
li q uo r in profound si l ence and then retu rned to their game
~
RI P
VAN W I N K L E
55
By degr ees R ip s awe and apprehension subsided H e even

ventured whe n no eye was xed upon him to taste the bever
age which h e found had much o f the avor o f exce ll ent Ho l
lands He was natura lly a thirsty sou l and was soon tempted
to repeat the draught O ne taste provoked another ; and he
reite rated his visits to the ago n so O ften that at l ength his
senses were overpowered his eyes swam in his head his head
gradual ly decl ined and he fe l l into a deep sleep
O n waking he found himself on the green kno l l whence he
had rst seen the o ld man o f the gl en H e rubbed his eyes
it was a brig h t sunny morning The birds were hopping and
twittering among the bushes and the eagl e was whee l ing aloft
and breasting the pure mountain breeze

S ure l y thought
R ip I have n o t s l ept here all night He reca ll ed the occur

The strange man with a keg O f
re n c es before he fe l l as l eep
liquor the m ountain ravine the wild retreat am ong the
rocks the wo e-begone party at ninepins the ago n O h !
that ago n ! that wicked ago n ! thought R ip what excuse
shall I m ake to Dame V an Winkle ?

H e looked round fo r his gun but in place O f the cl ean well
oil ed fow l ing-pie c e he found an o ld rel o ck lying by him the
barrel in c rusted with rust the lo ck fall ing o ff and the stock
worm -eaten H e now suspected that the grave roisterers of the
mountain had put a tri c k upon him and having dosed him
with l iquor had robbed him O f his gun Wo l f too h ad disap
y
after
a
squirrel
or
a
re d but he might have strayed aw a
e
p
partridge H e whistl ed after him and shouted his name but
a ll in vain ; the echoes repeated his whistl e and shout but no
dog w as to be seen
He determined to revisit the scene Of the last evening s
gambo l and if he m et with any O f the party to demand his
dog and gun As he r ose to wa l k he found himself stiff in
the joints and wanting in his usual activity
These mountain
SH O R T S T O R I E S
6
5
beds do not agree with me thought R ip

and if this frolic
should lay me up with a t o f the rheumatism I shall have a
blessed time with Dame Van Wink l e

With som e dif cul ty
he got down into the gl en ; he found the gu lly up which he
and his companion had ascended the preceding evening ; but
to his astonishment a m ountain stream was now foaming dow n
it leaping from rock to ro ck and ll ing the gl en with babbling
mu rmurs He however made shift to scramb l e up its sides
workin g his toilsome way through thickets o f birch sassafras
and witch-haz el and sometimes tripped up o r entangled by the
wild grapevines that twisted their coils 0 r tend rils from tree
to tree and spread a kind of network in his path
At length he reached to where the ravine had opened through
the cliffs to the amphitheatre ; but no traces o f such O pening
remained The rocks presented a high impenetrab l e wall over
which the torrent came tumb l ing in a sheet o f feathery foam
and fell into a broad deep basin black from the shadows O f
the surrounding forest Here then poor R ip was brought to
a stan d H e again cal led and whistled after his dog ; he was
only answered by the cawing o f a ock o f id l e crows spo rting
high in air about a dry tree that overhung a sunny precipice ;
and wh o secure in their elevation seemed to l ook down and
scoff at the poor man s perplexities What was to be done ?
the morning was passing away and R ip fe l t famished fo r
want o f his breakfast He grieved to give up his do g and
gun ; he dreaded to meet his wife ; but it wou l d not do to
sta rve among the mountains H e shook his head shouldered
the rusty relo c k and with a heart fu l l o f troub l e and anxiety
turned his steps homeward
As he approached the vill age he met a number O f people
but none whom he knew which somewhat surprised him fo r
he had thought himself acquainted with every o n e in the
country round Their dress too was o f a different fashion
58
and apparent l y abandoned This deso l ateness overcame a l l h is

connubia l fears h e c a ll ed loud l y f o r his wife and children
the l onely chambers ran g for a moment with his voice and
then again a l l w as si l en c e
H e now hurried forth and hastened to his o ld resort the
vill age inn but it too was gone A l arge rickety wooden
bui l ding stood in its p l ace with great gaping windows some
o f them broken and mended with O ld hats and petticoats and
over the door was painted
The Union Hote l by Jonathan
Doolittle
Instead o f the great tree that used to she l ter the
quiet little D utch inn of yore there now was reared a tall
naked pole with something o n the to p that looked l ike a red
night-cap and from it was uttering a ag o n which was a
singu lar assemblage of stars and stripes a l l this was strange
and incomprehensible He recognized o n the S ign however
th e ruby face o f King George under which he had smoked
so many a peaceful pipe ; but even this was singu lar l y meta
m o rph o se d The red coat w as changed for one o f b l ue and
bu ff a sword was he l d in the hand instead o f a sceptre the
head was decorated with a c ocked hat and underneath was
painted in l arge chara c ters G E N E R A L WA S H I N G TON
There was as usual a crowd o f fo l k about the door but
none that R ip recol l ected The ve ry c hara c ter o f the people
seemed changed There w as a busy bustl ing disputatious
tone about it instead o f the accustomed ph l egm and drowsy
tranqui ll ity H e l ooked in vain fo r the sage Nicholas Vedder
with his broad fa c e doub l e chin and fair l ong pipe uttering
cl ouds o f toba cc o -smoke instead o f id l e speeches ; o r V an Bum
mel the s c hoolmaster do l ing forth the contents o f an ancient
newspaper In p l a c e o f these a l ean bil ious looking fel l ow
with his pockets fu ll o f hand-bill s was haranguing vehement ly
about rights o f citizens e l e c tions members of congre ss
liberty
Bunker s Hill heroes o f seventy-six and other
.
RI P
VA N W I N KL E
59
words which were a perfect Babyl onish j argon to the bewi l dered
Van Wink l e
The appearan c e o f R ip with his l ong grizzled beard his
rusty fowling-piece his uncouth dress and an army o f women
and chi l dren at his heels soon attra c ted the attention of the
tavern-politicians They c rowded round him eying him from
head to foot with great curiosity The orator bustl ed up to
him and drawing him partly aside inquired o n which side he
voted ?
R ip stared in vacant stupidity Another short but
busy little fell ow pu ll ed him by the arm and rising o n tiptoe
inquired in his ear Whether he was Federal o r Democrat ?

R ip was equally at a loss to comprehend the question ; when
a knowing self-important Ol d gentleman in a sharp cocked hat
made his way through the crowd putting them to the right and
l eft with his e l bows as he passed and planting himsel f before
Van Winkle with o n e arm akimbo the other resting on his
cane his keen eyes and sharp hat pen etrating as it were into
his very sou l demanded in an austere tone what brought him
to the e l ection with a gun o n his shou l der and a mob at his
heels and whether he meant to breed a riot in the vil l age ?
Alas ! gent l emen cr i ed R ip somewhat dismayed

I am
a poor quiet man a native o f the place and a loy al subj ect o f
the king God bl ess him 1
Here a genera l shout burst from the bystanders
A tory !
a to ry ! a S py ! a refugee ! hustl e him ! away with him !

It
was with great di fcu l ty that the se l f-important man in the
cocked hat restored order ; and having assumed a tenfo l d
austerity o f brow demanded again o f the unknown culprit what
he came there for and whom he was seekin g ? The poor ma n
humbly assured him that he meant no harm but merely came
there in search o f some o f his neighbors who used to keep
about the tavern
wh o are they
We l l
name them
,
60
R ip bethought himself a moment and inquired

,
Where s
Nicholas Vedder
There was a silence for a litt l e while when a n O ld man replied
in a thin piping voice :
Nicholas Vedder ! why he is dead
and gone these eighteen years There was a wooden tombstone
in the churchyard that used to tell all about him but that s
rotten and gone to o

Where s Brom Dutcher
O h he went O ff to the army in the beginning o f the war ;

some say he was ki l led at the storming o f S tony Point others
say he w as drowned in a squal l at the foot o f Antony s Nose
I don t know h e never came back again
?
Where 8 Van Bumme l the schoolmaster
H e went o ff to the wars too was a great militia general
and is now in Congress

R ip s heart died away at hearing o f these sad changes in his
home and friends and nding himse l f thus alone in the world
E very answer puzz l ed him too by treating o f such enormous
lapses o f time and o f matters which he coul d 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 nobody here
know R ip Van Wink l e ?

O h R ip Van Winkle
exclaimed two o r three
O h to be sure ! that s R ip Van Winkle yonder leaning
against the tree

R ip looked and behel d a precise counterpart of himse l f as
he went up the mountain : apparently as l azy and certain l y as
ragged The poor fe l low was now c omplete ly confounded
H e doubted his o wn identity and whether he was himself o r
another man In the midst o f his bewi l derment the man in the
cocked hat demanded who he was and what was his name ?
excl aimed he at his wit s end ; I m not

G o d knows
myse l f
I m somebody else that 3 me yonder
n o that s
,
R I P VA N W I N K L E
somebody e l se got into my shoes

I was myse l f last night but
I fell as l eep o n the mountain and they ve c hanged my gun
and everything s c hanged an d I m c hanged an d I can t te ll
what s my name or wh o I am !
The bystanders began now to look at ea c h other n o d wink
signi c antly and tap their ngers against their foreheads
There was a whisper also about securing the gun and keeping
the O ld fe ll ow from doing mis c hief at the very suggestion of
which the self impo rtant man in the co cked hat retired with
some pre c ipitation At this c riti c al moment a fresh comely
woman pressed through the throng to get a peep at the gray
bearded man S he had a c hubby c hi l d in her arms which
frightened at his looks began to c ry

Hush R ip cried she
hush you litt l e fool ; the o ld man won t hurt you

The name
o f the C hild
the air of the mother the tone o f her voice a l l
awakened a train o f reco ll ections in his mind
What is your
n ame my good woman ? asked he
Judith G arde m e r
?
And your father s name
Ah poor man R ip Van Winkle was his name but it s

twenty years since he went away from home with his gun and
never has been heard o f sin c e his dog came home without
him ; but whether he shot himse l f o r was c arried away by the
Indians nobody c an te ll I was then but a litt l e girl

R ip had but o n e question more to ask ; and he put it with
a fal terin g voi c e :
Where 3 your mother ?
O h sh e too had died but a short time sin c e ; sh e broke
a blood-vessel in a t o f passion at a N e wE n gl and pedd l er

There was a drop o f comfort at least in this intell igence
The honest man could contain himself no longer He caught
his daughter and he r chi l d in his arm s

I am your father !
cried h e
Young R ip Van Winkle once o ld R ip Van
Winkle n o w ! Does nobody kn ow poor R ip Van Winkle ?

,
62
All stood amazed until an Old woman tottering o u t from

among the crowd put her hand to her brow and peering u nder
it in his face for a moment exclaimed S ure enough it is R ip
Van Winkle
it is himsel f Welcome home again Ol d neighbo r
Why where have you been these twenty long years ?

R ip s sto ry was soon to l d for the whole twenty years had
been to him but as o n e nigh t The neighbors stared when they
heard it ; some were seen to wink at ea ch other and put their
tongu es in their cheeks ; and the self-important man in the
cocked hat w h o when the alarm was over had returned to
the e l d screwed down the corners o f his mou th and shook
his head upon which there w as a general shaking o f the
head throughout the assemb l age
It was determined however to take the O pinion o f o ld Peter
V an derdo n k who was seen slow l y advancing up the road
He
was a descendant of the histo rian o f that name who wrote o n e
of the earl iest accounts o f the province Peter was the most
ancient inhabitant o f the vi ll age and wel l versed in al l the
wonderfu l events and traditions Of the neighborhood H e rec o l
le c te d R ip at on c e and corroborated his story in the most satis
factory manner H e assured the c ompany t h at it was a fact
handed down from his ancestor the historian that the K aatsk ill
Mountains had always been haunted by strange beings That
it was a f rmed that the great Hendrick Hudson the rst dis
c overer of the river and country kept a kind o f vigil there
every twenty years with his crew of the Halfmoon ; being
permitted in this way to revisi t the scenes of his enterprise
and keep a guardian eye upon the river and the great c ity
cal l ed by his name That his fathe r had once seen them in
their o ld Dut ch dresses p l aying at ninepins in a ho ll ow o f the
mountain ; and that he himse l f h ad heard o n e summer after
noon the sound o f their ba ll s l ike distant pea l s o f thunder
T o make a l ong story short the company broke up and
,
'
RI P
VAN W I N KL E
63
r eturned to the more important concerns o f the election R ip s

daughter took him home to l ive with her ; she had a snug wel l
furnished house and a stout cheery farmer for a husband
whom R ip reco ll ected for o ne o f the urchins that used to c l imb
upon h is ba ck As to R ip s so n and heir who was the ditto of
himself seen l eaning against the tree he was employed to work
on the farm ; but evi n ced an hereditary disposition to attend
to anything else but his business
R ip now resumed his O ld wa lks and habits ; he soon found
man y o f his former cronies thoug h al l rather the worse for the
wear and tear of time ; and preferred making friends among
th e rising generation with whom he soon grew into great favor
Having nothing to do at home and being arrived at that
happy age when a man c an be idle with impunity he took his
p l ace once more on the bench at the inn door and was rever
e n c e d as o n e o f the patriarchs o f the vi ll age and a chronicle o f
the o l d times before the war

It was some time before he
c ou l d get into the regular track o f gossip o r c ou l d be made to
c omprehend the strange events that had taken p l a c e during his
torpor How that there had been a revo l utionary war that
the count ry had thrown o ff the yoke o f o ld Engl and and
that instead of being a subj e c t of his Maj esty George the
Third he was now a free citizen o f the United S tates R ip in
fact was no politician ; the c hanges o f states and empires made
but little impression o n him ; but there w as o n e S pe c ies o f
despotism under which he had long groaned and th at was
petticoat government Happi ly that was at an end ; he had
got his neck o u t o f the yoke o f matrimony and cou l d go in
and o u t whenever b e p l eased without dreading the tyranny o f
Dame Van Wink l e Whenever her name was mentioned h o w
ever he shook his head S hrugged his shoulders and c ast up
his eyes whi c h might pass either for an expression of r esigna
tion to h is fate o r j oy at his deliverance
64
He used to te l l his story to every strange r that arrived at

Mr Doo l ittle s hotel H e was observed at rst to vary on
some points every time he told it which was doubtl ess owing
to his having so recent ly awaked It at last settled down pre
c ise ly to the tale I have related
and n o t a man woman o r
chi l d in the neighborhood but knew it by hea rt S ome a lways
pretended to doubt the reality o f it and insisted that R ip had
been o u t o f his head and that this was o n e point o n whi c h he
always remained igh ty The Old Dutch inhabitants however
almost universally gave it full credit E ven to this day they
never hear a thunder-storm o f a summer afternoon about the
K aatsk ill but they say H endrick Hudson and his crew are at
their game o f ninepins ; and it is a common wish of all hen
pecked husbands in the neighborhood when life hangs heavy
o n their hands that they might have a q u ieting d r a u ght o u t o f
R ip Van Winkle s ago n
66
Poe s strength did not l ie in the creation o f

Chara c ter H e is SO intent o n t h e deve l opment o f t h e windin gs
an d unwindings o f his story that the c haracter s b e c ome mere
puppets originated an d contro ll ed by the needs of the plot
Jupiter deserves mention as o n e of the earl iest attempts made
by an Ameri c an short-story writer to portray negro c hara c ter
But Jupiter has been so far surpa ssed in breadth and real ity by
Joel Chand l er Harris Thomas Nel son Page and a score o f
others as to be almost negl igib l e in the count In defense o f
Jupiter s barbarous lingo whi c h has been often c riti c ized it
shou l d be remembered that Poe intended him as a repre senta
tive o f the Gu ll ah ( o r Gu l la) dial e c t

It is the negro di al e c t
says Joe l Chandler Harris

in its most primitive state
the
Gu ll ah ta l k o f some o f the negroes o n the S ea Is l ands being
mere ly a confused and untrans l atab l e mixture o f E ngl ish and
Afri c an words
Wi ll iam Legrand though not a great or notable character in
any way is admirab l y tted to do w h at is required o f him in the
story Like Poe he was so l ita ry proud qui c k-tempered and
subj e c t to perver se moods of al te rnate enthusiasm and melan
c ho ly
H e had a l so Poe s passion f o r puzz l es Jupiter is
h ard ly more than an awkward too l fashio ned to disp l ay Le
grand s an alyti c and dire c tive genius ; and the other c hara c ter
in the story l ike Dr Watson in Conan Doy l e s S herl o c k Ho l mes
st o rI e s I S introdu c ed mere l y to ask su c h questions as must be
a nswered if the reader is to fo ll ow inte ll igent ly the unfo l ding of
t h e p l ot They are agents rather than c haracters ]
Cna ra eters
W h at h o ! wh at h o ! t h i s f e ll o w is dan c i n g
H e h at h b e e n b i tt e n b y th e T aran tul a
All in
m ad !
th e
W ro n g
Many years ago I c ontracted an intimacy with a Mr Wi ll iam

Legrand He w as o f an an c ient Huguenot famil y and h ad
on c e been weal t h y ; but a series o f misfortunes had reduced
.
TH E GO LD B UG
67
him to want T O avoid the m o rtic atio n consequent upon his

disasters he l eft N e w O r l eans the c ity o f his forefathers and
took up his residence at S u ll ivan s Island near Charles t on
S outh Caro l ina
This is l and is a very singu l ar o n e I t consists of little e l se
t han the sea sand and is about three miles long Its b readth
at no point ex c eeds a quarter o f a mi l e It is separated from
the main l and by a s c ar c e l y per c eptib l e c reek oozing its w ay
through a wi l de rness o f reeds and s l ime a favorite resort of
the marsh hen The vegetation as might be supposed is scant
or at l east dw arsh N 0 trees of any magnitude are to be seen
Near the western extremity where Fort Mou l trie stands and
where are some m i serab l e frame bui l dings ten anted during
summer by the fugitives from Charl eston dust and fever may
be found indeed the brist l y pa l metto ; but the who l e island
with the exception o f this western point and a l ine o f hard
white bea c h o n the seacoast is covered with a de n se under
growth O f the swee t myrt l e SO mu c h prized by the h o rtic u ltu r
ists o f E ngl and
The shrub here often attains the height o f
fteen o r twenty feet and forms an a l most impenetrab l e
C oppi c e burdening t h e air with its fragran c e
In the utmost re c esses o f t h is C oppi c e not far from the
eastern o r more remote end O f the isl and Legrand had bui l t
himse l f a smal l hut whi c h he o cc upied when I rst by mere
accident made his a c quaintan c e This soon ripened into friend
ship f o r there w as mu c h in the recluse to ex c ite interest and
esteem I found him we ll edu c ated with unusual powers o f
mind but infe c ted with misanthropy and Subj e c t to perverse
moods o f a l ternate enthusiasm and mel an c holy H e had with
him many books but r are l y emp l oyed them His chief amuse
ments were gunning and shing or sauntering a l ong the bea ch
and through the m y rtl es in que st of s h e ll s or entomo l ogica l
spe c imens ; his co ll e c tion o f the latter might have been envied
.
68
S wamm e rdam m
by a
In these excursions he was usually aecom

i
O ld negro
w
h
by
an
c
a
l
led
Jupiter
a
e
o had been manu
n
d
p
m itte d before the reverses of the family but wh o could be
induced neither by threats n o r by promises to abandon what
he considered his right of attendan c e upon the footsteps of his
young M assa Will

It is not improbab l e that the relatives
of Legrand c onceiving him to be somewhat unsettled in intel
lect had c ontrived to insti l this obstina cy into Jupiter with a
V iew to the supervision and guardianship of the wanderer
The winters in the latitude o f S u ll ivan s I sland are se l dom
ve ry severe and in the fall of the year it is a rare event in
deed when a re is considered necessary About the midd l e o f
O ctober 1 8
there occurred however a day o f remarkab l e
chill iness Just before sunset I scramb l ed my way through the
evergreens to the hut o f my friend whom I had not V isited fo r
several weeks
my residen c e being at that time in Charleston
a distan c e o f nine mi l es from the is l and whi l e the faci l ities of
passage and repassage were very far b ehind those of th e present
day Upon reaching the hut I rapped as was my custom and
getting no rep l y sought for the key where I knew it was
secreted unl o cked the door and went in A ne re was blaz
ing upon the hearth It was a novelty and by no means an
ungratefu l one I threw o ff an over c oat took an arm c hair by
the cra ck l ing logs and awaited patient ly the arriva l o f my hosts
S oon after dark they arrived and gave me a most cordial
welcome Jupiter grinning from e ar to ear bust l ed about to
prepare some marsh hens for supper Legrand was in o n e of
his ts how e l se shall I term them ? o f enthusiasm He
had found an unknown biva l ve forming a new genus and
more than this he had hunted down and secured with Jupi
ter s assistan c e a sea ra ee ns whi c h he be l ieved to be totally
new but in respect to which he wished to have my O pinion o n
the morrow
.
T H E G O LD
w hy
69
B UG
And
to night
I asked rubbing my hands ove r
the b l aze and wishing the whol e tribe o f sea ra a i at the devi l
Ah if I had on l y known you were here ! said Legrand

but it s so long since I saw you ; and how could I foresee
that yo u would pay me a visit this very night o f al l others ?
As I was c oming home I met Lieutenant G
from the
fort and ve ry foolish l y I l ent him the bug ; so it wi l l be
impossib l e fo r you to se e it until the morning S tay here
to night and I will send Jup down fo r it at sunrise It is the
love l iest thing in creation !

What
sunrise
Nonsense ! no l the bug It is o f a bri ll iant go l d color
about the size o f a large hi c kory-nut with two j et-b l a c k
spots near o n e extremity o f the back and another somewhat
longer at the other The a n ten n a ar e
Dey aint n o tin in him Massa Wi l l I keep a tellin o n
you here interrupted Jupiter ; de bug is a goole bug so l id

inside and all se p him wing neh er feel
e b e ry bit o f him
hal f so hebby a bug in my life
Well suppose it is Jup rep l ied Legrand somewhat more
earnestly it seemed to m e than the case demanded

is that
any reason for your l etting the birds burn The color
here
he turned to me is rea lly al most enough to warrant Jupiter s

idea You never saw a more bri ll iant metall ic l ustre than the
scal es emit but o f this yo u cannot j udge ti l l tomorrow In
the m eantime I c an give yo u some idea o f the shape

S aying
this he seated himse l f at a sma ll tab l e o n wh ich were a pen
and ink but no paper H e looked fo r some in a drawer but
found none
Never mind said he at length this will answer ; and

he drew from his waist c oat pocket a scrap of what I took
to be very dir ty fools c ap and made upon it a rough drawing
with the p e n While he did this I retained my seat by the
not
SH O R T S T OR I E S
0
7
re f o r I was stil l c hi lly When the design was complete he

handed it to me without rising As I re c eived it a low grow l
Jupiter
was heard succeeded by a scrat c hing at the door
ope n ed it and a l arge Newfound l and be l onging to Legrand
rushed in leaped upon my shou l ders and l oaded me with
caresses ; for I had shown him much attention during previous
visits When his gambo l s were over I l ooked at the paper
and to speak the truth found myself not a little puzzled at
what my friend had depi c ted
Well !
I said after contemplating it fo r some minutes
this is a strange sea ra a n s I must c onfess ; new to me ; never

saw anything like it before un l ess it was a sku ll o r a death s
head which it more nearly resembles than anything e l se that
has come under my observation

oh
A death s-head
echoed Legrand
yes
wel l it
has something o f t h at appearan c e upon paper no doubt The
two upper b l ack spots look l ike eyes eh ? and the l onger one
at the bottom l ike a mouth
and then the shape o f the who l e
is oval
Perhaps so said I ; but Legrand I fear yo u are n o

artist I must wait unti l I see the beetl e itse l f if I am to form
any idea of its persona l appearan c e
We ll I don t know said he a littl e nettl ed

I draw
to l erab l y r/z e a l d do it at least have had good masters
and atter myse l f that I am not quite a b l o ckhead
But my dear fe ll ow you are j o k ing then said I ; this

is a very passabl e sk u l l indeed I may say that it is a very
ex cel l en t sku l l ac c ording to the vu l gar notions about such spe c i
mens o f physio l ogy
and your sea ra ba n s must be the queerest
Why we may get up
sea ra ba a s in the wor l d if it resemb l es it
a very thri ll ing bit o f superstition upon t h is hint I presume
l
o u wi l l c al l the bug sea ra a m eap a t no m in zlr or something o f
y
1
de at h s h e ad b e e tl e
S a a aa m cap n t n m in i
.
s,
T H E G O LD
B UG
that kind there are many simi l ar titl es 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

una c countably warm upon the subj e c t ; I am sure you must
I m ade them as distinct as they are in the
se e the a n ten n a
original insect and I presume that is su f c ient
Well well I said

perhaps yo u have sti l l I don t see
them ; and I handed him the paper without additional remar k

not wishing to ru fe his temper ; but I was much surprised
at the turn affairs had t aken ; his i l l humor puzz l ed m e and
as for the drawing o f the beetl e there were positive ly n o a n
ten n a visib l e and the who l e did h e ar a very c lose resemb l ance
to the ordinary c uts o f a death s h e ad
H e received the pape r ve ry peevish l y and was about to
c rump l e it apparent l y to throw it in the re when a casual
gl ance at the design seemed suddenly to rivet his attention In
an instant his fa c e gre w vio l ent l y red
in another as excessive l y
pa l e F o r some minutes he c ontinued to s c rutinize the drawing
minute ly where he sat At l ength he arose took a c and l e from
the table and proceeded to seat himse l f upon a se a c hest in t h e
farthest corner o f t h e room Here again he made an anxiou s
examination of the paper ; turning it in a ll dire c tions H e said
nothing however and h is condu c t greatl y astonis h ed me ; yet
I thought it prudent n o t to exa c erbate t h e growing moodiness
of his temper by any c omment Presently he took from his
c oat pocket a wa ll et p l a c ed the paper carefu ll y in it and
deposited both in a writing desk whi c h he lo cked H e n o w
grew more composed in his demeanor ; but his original air o f
enthusiasm had quite disappeared Yet he seemed not so mu c h
sulky as abstracted As the evening wore away he became
more and more absorbed in revery from w h ich no s all ies o f
mine c ou l d arouse him It had been my intention to p ass the
night at the hut as I had frequently done before but seeing
~
S H O RT ST O RI E S
2
7
my host in this mood I deemed it proper to take leave He

did not press me to remain b ut as I departed he shook my
hand with even more than his usual cordia l ity
It was about a month afte r this ( and during the inte rval I
had seen nothing o f Legrand ) when I received a visit at
Charl eston from his man Jupiter I had never seen the good
o ld negro look so dispirited
and I feared that some se rious
disaster had befa ll en my friend
Well Jup said I

what is the matter now ? h o w is
your master ?
Why to speak de tro o f massa him not so be rry well as
mought be
Not we l l ! I am tru l y sorry to hear it What does he
complain o f
Dar ! dat s it !
him n eb er p l ain o f no tin
but him berry
sick fo r all dat
Very sick J u p ite r l wh y did n t you say so at once ? I s
he conned to bed ?
No dat he aint h e aint nd n o wh ar dat 5 j ust whar
de shoe pinch m y mind is got to be ber ry hebby bout poor
Massa Will
Jupiter I should like to understand what it is yo u are ta l k

ing about Yo u say your master is si c k Has n t he to l d yo u
what ails him ?
Why massa taint wo rf while for to git mad bout de matter
Massa Wi l l sa
f
at
a
l
l
aint
de
matter
wid
him
but
n
n
o
y
den what make him go bout looking dis here way wid b e head
down and he soldiers up and as white as a gose ? And the n
he keeps a syphon al l de time
Keeps a what Jupiter ?

Keeps a syphon wid de ggu rs o n de slate de queerest
I se gittin to be skeered I te l l yo u
ggu rs I e bb e r did see
Hab f o r to keep mighty tight eye pon him n o o ve rs Todde r
,
74
How I know ? why c ause he tal k about it in he s l eep
dat s h o w I nose
We ll Jup perhaps yo u are right ; but to w h at fortunate

circumstan c es am I to attribute the honor Of a visit from yo u
to d ay ?
What de matter massa
Did you bring any message from Mr Legrand
No massa I bring dis here p issel ; and here Jupiter

handed me a note which ran thus :
,
D EAR
W h y h av e I n o t see n yo u f o r so l o n g a t i m e ?
I h o p e yo u hav e n o t b ee n so f o o l i sh as to t ak e Offe nse at an y li ttl e
bru sq u erie o f m i n e ; b u t n o t h at is i m p r o b ab l e
Since I saw yo u I h av e h ad g re at c au se fo r an x i e ty I h av e so m e
t h in g to t ell y ou ye t scarcel y kn o w h ow to t ell i t o r w he t h e r I sh oul d
t ell i t at all
I h ave no t b e e n q ui t e well f o r so m e days p ast an d p o o r o l d J u p
m e an t atte n tio n s
ann o y s m e al m o s t b e y ond en duran c e b y h is we ll W o ul d yo u b e l i ev e it ? h e h ad p re p ar ed a hug e sti c k th e o t h er
day wi t h w h i c h t o c h ast i se m e f o r givin g h im th e sl i p an d sp e n din g
t h e day so l ns am o n g th e h i ll s o n th e m ainl and I v eri ly b el i eve
t h at my ill l o o k s al o n e sav e d m e a o gg i n g
I h av e m ade n o addi ti o n to my c ab ine t sinc e we m e t
I f yo u c an in an y way m ak e i t c o n v e n i e n t co m e o v e r wi t h
o
m
n
t
o
s
o
u
t
u
p
i
t
r
c
I
wi
h
D
o
o
e
s
ee
e
J
y
igh t u p o n b u sin e ss o f
i m p o rt anc e I assure yo u t hat i t is o f th e nignest i m p o r tan c e
E v er y o urs
W ILLI A M L E G R A N D
MY
There was something in the tone o f this note w h ic h gave me

great uneasiness Its whole sty l e differed materially from that
What cou l d he be dreaming of ? What new
o f Legrand
crotchet possessed his ex c itable brain ? What business o f the
c ould h e possib l y have to transact ? Jupi
h ighest importan c e
ter s account o f him boded no good I dreaded l est the c o n
tin ue d pressure o f misfo rtune had at length fair l y unsettled the
.
G O LD
TH E
B UG
75
r eason of my friend Without a moment s hesitation therefore

I prepared to accompany the negro
Upon reaching the wharf I noticed a scythe and three
spades a ll apparent ly new lying in the bottom of the boat in
which we were to embark
I inquired
What is the meaning o f a l l this Jup
Him syf e massa and S pade
?
Ve ry true ; but what are they doing here
Him de syfe and de S pade what Massa Wi l l S is pon my
b u yI n g for him in de town and de deb b il s own lo t o f money
I had to gib f o r em
But W hat in the name of a l l that is mysterious is your
?
Massa Wil l going to do with scythes and spades
Dat s more dan I know and deb b il take me if I don t
believe t is more dan he know too But it s all cum o b de
bug
Findin g that no satisfaction was to be obtained o f Jupiter
whose who l e intell ect seemed to be absorbed by de bug I

now stepped into the boat and made sail With a fair and
strong b reeze we soon ran into the little cove to the northward
o f Fo rt Mou l trie and a walk of some two mil es brought us to
the b u t It was about three in the afternoon when we arrived
Legrand had been awaiting us in eager expectation He grasped
my hand with a nervou s emp ressenz en t whi c h alarm ed me and
strengt h ened the suspi c ions a l ready entertained His c o u n te
nance was pa l e even to ghastl iness and h is deep-se t eyes gl ared
with unnatural lustre After some inquiries respecting his
health I a sked him not knowing what better to say if he had
yet obtained the sea ra oa ns from Lieutenant G
O h yes he rep l ied col oring violently I go t it from him

the next morning Nothing shou l d tempt m e to part with that
sea ra oa n s
Do yo u know that Jupiter is quite right about it ?
I n what way ? I asked with a sad foreboding at hea rt

,
76
In supposing it to be a bug O f rea l gol d

He said this
with an air o f profound seriousness and I fe l t inexpressibly
shocked
This bug is to make my fortune he c ontinued with a
triumphant smi l e
to reinstate me in my fami ly possessions
I s it any wonder then that I priz e it ? S ince Fortune has
thought t to bestow it upon me I have only to u se it properly
and I shall arrive at the go l d o f which it is the index Jupiter
bring me that sea ra oa ns I
What ! de bug massa ? I d rudder not go fer tru bble dat
o u mus git him fo r your o wn self

bug
H
ereupon
Legrand
y
arose with a grave and stately air and brought me the beet l e
from a gl ass c ase in which it was en cl osed It was a beautiful
sea ra oa ns and at that time unkno wn to natura l ists
o f course
a great prize in a s c ientic point o f view There were two
round black spots near o ne extremity o f the ba ck and a long
o n e near the other
The scal es were exceedingly hard and
glossy with a l l the appearance o f burnished go l d The weight
o f the insect w as very remarkable and
taking all things into
consideration I cou l d hard ly b l am e Jupiter for his O pinion
respecting it ; b ri t what to make o f Legrand s agreement with
that O pinion I cou l d n o t for the l ife of me tell
I sent for you said he in a grandil oquent tone when I

had comp l eted my examination of the beetl e
I sent fo r you
that I might have your counse l and assistance in furthe ring the
views o f Fate and o f the bug
My dear Legrand I cried interrupting him

are
o
u
y
c ertainl y unwe ll and had better use some littl e pre c autions
Yo u shall go to bed and I wi ll remain with yo u a few days
unti l yo u get over this You are feverish and
Feel my pu l se said he
I fel t it and to say the truth found n o t the s l ightest
indication o f fever
.
TH E G O LD
B UG
77
But you may be i l l and yet have no feve r Allow me

this on c e to prescribe for you In the rst place go to bed
In th e next
he interposed I am as well as I ca n
Yo u are mistaken
expect to be under the excitement which I suffer If yo u really
wish me wel l you wi l l relieve this excitement
?
And how is this to be done
Ve ry easi ly Jupiter and myself are going u po n an e xp e

dition into the hills upon the main l and and in this expedition
we sha l l need the aid o f some person in whom we can conde
Yo u are the only o n e we c an tru st Whether we succeed o r
fail the excitement which you n o w perceive in me wi l l be
equally a ll ayed
I am anxious to oblige yo u in any way I replied ; but

do you mean to say that this infernal beetle has any connection
with your expedition into the hi l ls
It has
Then L egrand I c an become a party to no s u ch absurd
proceeding
I am sorry very sorry for we sha l l have to try it by
ourselves
T ry it by yourselves ! The man is surely m ad l but
stay how long do yo u propose to be absent ?

Probably all night We shall start immediately and be
back at all events by sun rise

And will yo u promise me upon your honor that when this
freak o f yours is over and the bug business (good God settled
to your satisfaction yo u wi ll then retur n home and fo l low my
advice implicitly as that o f your physician
Yes ; I promise ; and n o w l et us be o ff for we have n o
time to lose
With a heavy heart I accompanied my friend We started
about fou r o cl ock Legrand Jupiter the do g and myse l f
.
78
Jupite r had with him the scythe and spades the whole o f
which he insisted upon carrying more through fear it seemed
to me o f t rustin g either of the implements within reach o f his
master than from any excess o f indust ry or comp l ais an ce His
demeanor was dogged in the extreme and dat d
d bug
were the sole words which escaped his lips during the journey
F o r my o wn part I had c harge o f a coup l e of dark lanterns
while Legrand c ontented himse l f with the sea ra oa ns whi c h he
c arried attached to the end O f a bit o f whip-cord ; twirling it to
and fro with the air o f a conj uror as he went When I
observed this last plain eviden c e o f my friend s aberration o f
m ind I could scarce ly refrain from tears I thought it best
however to humo r his fan cy at l east fo r the present o r until
I cou l d adopt some more energeti c measures with a c hance o f
success In the meantime I endeavored but a l l in vain to sound
him in regard to the O bj e c t o f the expedition Having succeeded
in inducing me to accompany him he seemed unwill ing to ho l d
c onversation upon any topi c o f minor importan c e and to all my
questions vou chsafed no other rep ly than We shall se e 1

We c rossed the creek at the head o f the is l and by means o f
a skiff and ascending the high grounds o n the shore of the
main l and proceeded in a northwesterl y dire c tion through a
tract o f country excessive l y W i l d and deso l ate where no trace
Legrand le d th e w ay
o f a human footstep was to be seen
with de c ision ; pausing on l y for an instant here and there to
consu l t wh at appeared to be certain landmarks o f his o wn
contrivance upon a former occasion
In this manner w e j ourneyed for about two hours and the
su n w as j ust setting when we entered a region innite l y more
dreary than any yet seen I t was a species of tab l e l and near
the summit o f an al most ina cc essib l e hi l l dense l y wooded from
base to pinnac l e and interspersed with huge crags that appeared
to lie loose l y upon the soi l and in m any c ases were prevented
,
'
TH E G O LD
B UG
79
from precipitating themse l ves into the valleys be l ow merely by

the support o f the trees against which they re clined Deep
ravines in va rious directions gave an air of still sterner solem
to
the
scene
nit
y
The natural platform to which we had clambered was thickly
overgrown with brambles through which we soon discovered
that it would have been impossible to force o u r w ay but fo r the
scythe ; and Jupiter by direction o f his master proceeded to
clear for us a path to th e foot o f an immensely large tulip-tree
which stood with some eight or ten oaks upon the level and
fa r surpassed them a l l and a l l other trees whi c h I had then ever
seen in the beauty of its foliage and form in the wide spread o f
its branches and in the general maj esty o f its appearance When
we reached this tree Legrand turned to Jupiter and asked h im
if he thought he cou l d climb it The O ld man seemed a litt l e
staggered by the question and for some moments made no
reply At length h e approached the huge t runk walked s l owly
around it and examined it with m inute attention When he had
completed his scrutiny he mere l y said :
Yes massa Jup c l imb any tree he e bb er see in he life

Then up with yo u as soon as possib l e fo r it wi l l soon be to o
dark to see what we are about

How far mus go up massa
inquired Jupiter
Get up the main trunk rst and then I will te l l yo u which
way to go
and here
stop take this beetle with you
De bug M assa Will l de goole -bug
cried the negro
drawing back in dismay
what fo r mus tote de bug way up
.
de tre e
if I do !
If you are afraid Jup a great big negro like you to take
hold o f a harmless litt l e dead beetl e why yo u c an carry it up
by this string -but if you do not take it up with you in some
w ay I sha l l be under the necessity o f breaking your head with
this shovel
,
80
What de matte r n o w massa

said Jup evidently sham ed
into compliance ; always want fur to raise fuss wid O ld nigger
Was only fu nn in anyhow M e feered de bug ! what I kee r fo r
de bug ? H ere he took cautiously hold o f the extreme en d o f

the string and maintaining the insect as far from his person as
circumstances would permit prepared to ascend the tree
In youth the tulip-tree o r l irioden dro n Tn l zjoifera the most
magnicent o f American foresters has a trunk pecu l iarly smooth
and often rises to a great height without lateral branches ; but
in its ripe r age the bark becomes gn arled and uneven whi l e
many short limbs make their appearance on the stem Thu s
the di fcu l ty of as c ension in the present case lay more in se m
blance than in reality E mbracing the huge cylinder as closely
as possible with his arm s and knees seizing with his hands
some proj ections and resting his naked toes upon others Jupi
te r afte r o n e o r two narrow escapes from fa ll ing at length
w riggled himself into the rst great fork a n d seemed to consider
the whole business as virtual l y accomplished The rise o f the
achievement was in fact no w over although the cl imber was
some sixty o r seventy feet from the ground
Which w ay mus go now Massa Wi ll ? he asked
Keep up the largest branch the one o n this side said

Legr and The negro obeyed him promptl y and apparent ly with
but little trouble ascending higher and higher until no gl impse o f
his squat gure cou l d be obtained through the dense foliage which
enve l oped it Presently his voice was heard in a so rt o f halloo
How much fudder is got for go ?
How high up are you ? asked Legrand
rep l ied the negro ; c an see de sky fru de

E b b er so fur
top o b de tree
Never mind the sk y but attend to wh at I say Look dow n
the trunk and c ount the l imbs be l ow you on this S ide H OW
many l imbs have you passed ?

,
82
By yourself what do yo u mean

Why I mean de bug T is oerry hebby bug S pose I drop
him down fuss and den de l imb won t break wid j ust de weight
O h o ne nigger
Yo u infernal scoundre l
c ried Legrand apparent ly mu c h
re l ieved what do yo u mean by te l ling me su ch nonsense as

that ? As sure as you let that beetle fall I 11 break your ne ck
Look here Jupiter ! do you hear me
Ye s massa need n t ho ll o at poor nigger dat s tyle

Well ! now listen if you wi l l venture out o n the limb as
far as you think safe and not l et go the beetle I 11 make yo u a
present o f a S ilver do ll ar as soon as yo u get down
I m gwine Massa Wi ll
deed I is replied the negro very
prompt l y
most o u t to the e e n d now
here fairly s c reamed Legrand

do yo u
Ou t to t/z e en d !
say you are o u t to the end o f that l imb ?
O
O
O
O
L
o
r
S oon be to de e en d massa
Oh l
marcy !
o
l
a
g
what is dis here pon de tree
?
We ll ! cried Legrand high l y de l ighted what is it
Why taint n u fn but a sku ll
somebody bin lef him
head up de tree and de crows done gobble e b e ry bit O b de
meat o ff
A sku ll you say I very we l l
how is it fastened to the
limb
what holds it o n ?
S ure nu ff massa ; mus look Why dis be rry eu rous sar
my
word
dare
s a great big nail in de sku l l
n
m
s
t
a
c
e
o
n
cu
p
what fastens o b it o n to de tree
?
Well now Jupiter do exactly as I te l l yo u do you hear
Yes m assa
Pay attention then n d the left eye o f the sku ll
Hum ! hoo ! dat s good ! why dar aint no eye lef at all
Curse your stupidity ! do you know your right hand from
our
l
eft
?
y
,
T H E G O LD
83
B UG
Yes I nose dat nose all bout dat t is my lef han d
what I chops de wood wid

To be sure ! you a r e left handed ; and your left eye is o n
the same side as your left hand N o w I suppose yo u can nd
the left eye of the skull o r the place where the left eye has
been Have yo u found it ?

Here was a long pause At length the negro asked I s de
lef eye o f de skull p o n de same side as de lef hand o f de
skull to o ? c ause de skull aint got not a bit o b a hand at
a l l n ebb e r mind ! I go t de lef eye n o w here de lef eye !
?
what must do wid it
Let the beetle drop through it as fa r as the st ring will

reach
but be careful and not let go you r hold o f th e
string
A l l dat done Massa Wi l l ; mighty easy ting fo r to put de
bug fru de ho l e
look o u t for him dar below !
During this c o ll oquy no portion of Jupiter s person could
be seen ; but the beet l e which he had su ffered to descend
was now visible at the end o f the string and glistened like a
gl obe o f burnished go l d in the last rays of the setting sun
some o f whi c h sti ll faint ly i l lumined the eminence upon which
we stood The sea ra oa n s hung quite clear o f any branches
and if a llowed to fa ll would have fallen at o u r feet Legrand
immediate l y took the scythe and cleared with it a circula r
space three o r four yards in diameter j ust beneath the insect
and having accomp l ished this ordered Jupiter to let go the
string and come down from the tree
D riving a peg with great nicety into the ground at the
precise spot whe r e the beetle fe l l my friend now produced
from his pocket a tape -measure Fastening o n e en d o f this at
that point o f the trunk o f the tree which was nearest the peg
he unrolled it till it reached the peg and then c e farther u n
rolled it in the direction already estab l ished by the two points
84
t h e tree and the peg for the distan c e o f fty feet Jupite r
c l earing away the bramb l es with the s cythe At the spot thus
att ained a second peg was driven and about this as a c entre
a rude c ircl e 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 se t about digging as quick ly as possib l e
To speak the truth I had no especial relish for su c h amuse
ment at any time and at that particu l ar moment would mo st
wi ll ingl y have decl ined it ; fo r the night was c oming on and I
fe l t mu c h fatigued with the exercise a l ready taken ; but I saw
no mode o f escape and w as fearful Of disturbing my poor
friend s equanimity by a refusa l Cou l d I have depended in
deed upon Jupiter s aid 1 wou l d have had no hesitation in
attempting to get the l unati c home by for c e ; but I was too
wel l assured o f the Ol d negro s disposition to hope that he
would assist me under any c ir c umstan c es in a personal c o n
test with his master I made no doubt that the l atter had been
infected with some o f the innumerab l e S outhern superstitions
about money buried and that his fantasy had received c o n
rm at io n by the nding O f the sea ra oa n s o r perhaps by Jupi
ter s obstinacy in maintaining it to be a bug o f real go l d

A mind disposed to l un acy wou l d readi ly be l ed away by such
suggestions especiall y if chiming in with favorite pre c onceived
ideas ; and then I call ed to mind the poor fe ll ow s speech about
t h e beetl e s being the index o f h is fortune

Upon the whole
I was sad l y vexed and puzz l ed but at length I c on c luded to
make a virtue o f ne c essity to dig with a good wil l and thus
the sooner to convince the V isionary by o c ular demonstration
o f the fa ll a c y o f the O pinions he entertained
The lanterns having been l it we al l fel l to work with a zea l
worthy a more rational cause ; and as the gl are fe l l upon o u r
persons and imp l ements I cou l d not he l p thinking how pic tu r
esque a group we composed and how strange and suspiciou s
of
gi
An
o ri
fo r
t t
ill u s ra io n f o r
Th e G o l
o n eh u n dre ddo ll ar-p riz e s o r
n al
oe s
d-B
t y
u g,
p u b l ish e d with
th e
t xt
e
llar
w e re b y
in t h e Pnil a delp /z ia D o
We dn e s day J u n e 2 8 1 8 4 3 Th e ill u st rat io n s

C D arl e y th e P h il ade l ph ia art ist re t ain e d b y Po e t o illu st rat e th e
w h ic h n e v e r app e are d
F ro m a l e o f t h e D o lla r N ew p p er
( C o u rt e sy o f t h e M ary l an d H ist o ric al S o c ie ty )
A az o sp ap e r f o r
S ty l u s ,
gi
An
o ri
fo r
n al
oe s
t ati
ill u s
fo r Th e
o nehu n dre d-do ll ar-p riz
r
on
G o l d-B
e
t y
s or
u g,
in
p u bl ish e d wit h
th e
th e
t xt
e
Pnil a delp nz a D o lla r

'
W e dn e sday J u n e 2 8 1 8 43 T h e ill u st rat io n s w e re b y

F O C D arl e y th e P h il ade l ph ia art ist re tain e d b y Po e t o il l u st rat e th e
wh ic h n e v e r app e are d
F ro m a l e o f th e D lla r N ew p ap er
S ty l u
( C o u rt e sy o f t h e M ary l an d H ist o ric al S o c ie ty )
N ew sp aper f o r
.
s,
T H E G O LD
85
B UG
labors must have appeared to any interloper who by

chance might have stumb l ed upon o u r whereabouts
We dug ve ry steadil y for two hours Little was said ; and
our chief embarrassment lay in the yelpings o f the dog who
took exceeding interest in o u r proceedings He at length b e
came so obstreperous that we grew fearful o f his giving the
al arm to some stragglers in the vicinity ; o r rather this was
the apprehension o f Legrand ; for myself I should have re
o ic e d at any interruption which might have enabled me to get
j
the wanderer home The noise was at length very effectually
silenced by Jupiter who getting o u t o f the hole with a dogged
air o f de l iberation tied the bru te s mouth up with o n e o f his
suspenders and then returned with a grave chuckle to his task
When the time mentioned had expired we had reached a
depth o f ve feet and yet n o signs o f any treasure became
manifest A general pause ensued and I began to hope that
the far c e was at an end Legrand however although evidently
much disconcerted w i ped his brow thoughtfully and re c o m
m e n c e d We had excavated the entire circle o f fou r feet diame
ter and now we slightly enlarged the limit and went to the
farther depth o f two feet S til l nothing appeared The gold
seeker whom I sincerely pitied at length clambered from the
pit with the bitterest disappointment imprinted upon eve ry
feature and proceeded slowly and reluctantl y to p u t on his
coat which he had thrown o ff at the beginning o f his labor
In the meantime I made no remark Jupiter at a sign al from
his master began to gather up his too l s This done and the
do g having been unmuzz l ed we turned in profound silence
towards home
We had taken perhaps a dozen steps in this direction when
with a loud oath Legrand strode up to Jupiter and seized him
by the co ll ar The astonished negro opened his eyes and mouth
to the fullest extent let fal l the spades and fe l l upon his knees
o ur
86
Yo u
scoundrel said Legrand hissing o u t the syllables

from between his clenched teeth
you infernal bla ck vil lain !
speak I tell you
answer me this instant W ithout prevari
cation
which
which is your left eye ?
O h my golly Massa Wi l l ! aint dis here my lef eye for
?
sartain
roared the te r ried Jupiter placing his hand upon
his rignt organ of vision and holding it there with a desperate
pertinacity as if i n immediate dread o f his master s attempt
at a gouge
I thought so ! I knew it ! Hurrah ! vociferated Legrand

letting the negro go and executing a series of curvets and
caracoles much to the astonishment o f his valet wh o arising
from his knees looked mute l y from his master to myself and
then from myse l f to his master
Come ! we must go back said the latter

the game s
not up yet ; and he again led the way to the tulip tree
Jupiter said he when we reached its foot

come here !
Was the sku l l nai l ed to the limb with the face outward o r
?
with the face to the limb
D e face was o u t massa so dat de crows could get at de
eyes good wido u t any troub l e
We ll then was it this eye o r that through which yo u
?
dropped the beetle
here Legrand touched each of Jupiter s
eyes
T was dis eye Massa de lef eye j is as you tell me

and here it was his right eye that the negro indicated
That wi l l do
we must try it again
Here my friend about whose madness I now saw or
fancied that I saw certain indication s of method removed the
peg which marked the spot W here the beetl e fell to a spot
about three inches to the westward o f its former position
Taking now the tap e m e asu re from the nearest point o f the
trunk to the peg as before and continuing the extension in a
,
88
I stumbled and fe ll forward having c aught the to e o f my

boot in a large ring o f iron that lay ha l f buried in the loose
earth
We now worked in earnest and never did I pass ten minutes
During this interval we had fairl y
o f more intense ex c itement
unearth ed an oblong Ches t o f wood which from its perfe c t
preservation and wonderful hardness had p l ain ly been su b
perhaps that o f the
ec
t
e
d
to
some
minera
l
izing
pro
c
ess
j
bichloride o f mercury This box was three feet and a half
long three feet broad and two and a ha l f feet deep It was
rm l y secured by bands o f wrought iron riveted and form ing
a kind o f tre ll iswork over the whole O n each side o f the
chest near the top were three rings o f iron six in all by
means o f which a rm ho l d c ou l d be obtained by six persons
O ur utm ost united endeavors served only to disturb the co ffer
ve ry s l ightly in its bed We at on c e saw the impossibility o f
r emo ving so great a weight Luckily the sole fastenin gs o f
the lid consisted o f two s l iding bo l ts These we dre w back
trembling and panting with anxiety In an instant a treasure
of inca l culab l e va l ue lay gl eaming before us As the rays o f
the l anterns fe l l within the pit there ashed upwards from
a confused heap o f gold and o f j ewe l s a glow and a gl are that
absolutely dazz l ed o u r eyes
I sha l l n o t pretend to des c ribe the feel ings with which I
gazed Amazement w as o f course predominant Legrand
appeared exhausted with excitement and S poke very few word s
Jupiter s countenan c e wore fo r some minutes as dead l y a pall or
as it is possible in the nature o f things for any negro s V isage
H e seem ed stu pe e d thunder stricken Presently
to assume
he fe ll upon his knees in the pit and burying his naked arms
up to the e l bows in go l d l et them there remain as if enj oying
the luxury of a bath At length with a deep sigh he exclaimed
as if in a so l il oquy :
,
'
TH E G O L D
B UG
89
And dis all c u m o b de goo l e-bug ! de putty goole-bug ! de

poor l ittl e goo l e bug what I boosed in dat sab age kind o b sty l e !
Aint you shamed ob yourself nigger
answer m e dat
I t became ne c essary at last that I should arouse both maste r
and va l et to the expediency o f removing the treasure It was
growing late and it behooved u s to mak e exertion that we
might get everything housed before daylight It was di fcult
to say what shou l d be done and much time was S pent in delibera
tion so c onfused were the ideas o f a ll We na l ly lightened
the box by removing two -thirds o f its contents when we were
enabled with some troub l e to raise it from the hole The
articl es taken o u t were deposited among the brambles and the
dog left to guard them with stri c t orders from Jupiter neither
upon any pretence to stir from the spot n o r to open his mouth
until o u r return We then hurried l y made for home with the
chest ; reaching the hut in safe ty but after excessive toil at
o n e o cl o
ck in the morning Worn o u t as we were it was not
in human nature to do more j ust now We rested until two and
had supper ; starting for the hil ls immediately afterwards armed
with three stout sacks which by good luck were upon the prem
ise s
A l ittl e before four w e arrived at the pit divided the
remainder o f the booty as equa lly as might be among u s and
l eaving the holes un ll ed again se t out for the hut at which
for the second time we deposited o u r go l den burdens j ust as
t h e rst streaks o f the dawn gl eamed from over the tree-tops
in the east
We were now thorough l y broken down ; but the intense
excitement o f the time denied us repose After an unquiet
sl umber of some three or four hours duration we arose as if
by preconcert to make examination o f o u r treasure
The c hest had been fu ll to the brim and we spent the who l e
day and the gre ater part of the next night in a scrutiny o f its
contents There had been nothing like order o r arrangement
,
0
9
Everything had been heaped in promiscuously Having assort ed

a l l with care we found ourse l ves possessed o f even vaster wealth
than we had at rst supposed In coin there was rathe r more
than four hundred and fty thousand do ll ars estimating the
va l ue o f the pieces as accurate l y as we c ould by the tables o f
the period There was not a particle o f silver All was go l d
French S panish and
o f antique date and o f great variety :
German money with a few E ng l ish gui neas and some counters
s before There were
o f which w e had never seen specime n
several very l arge and heavy coins so worn that w e c o u ld m ak e
nothing of their inscriptions There was no American money
The value o f the j ewels we found more di fculty in estimating
There were diamonds

some o f them exceeding ly l arge and
n e a hundred and ten in al l and n o t o n e o f them smal l ;
eighteen rubies o f remarkable bri ll iancy ; three hundred and ten
emeralds all very beautiful ; and twenty-o n e sapphires with an
opal These stones had a l l been broken from their se ttings and
thrown loose in the chest The settings themselves which we
picked o u t from among the other go l d appeared to have been
beaten up with hammers as if to prevent identication Besides
all this there w as a vast quantity o f solid gold ornaments :
nearly two hundred massive nger and ear-rings rich chains
thirty of these if I remember ; eighty-three very large and heavy
cru c ix e s ; ve go l d censers o f great va l ue ; a prodigious go l den
punch-bowl ornamented with richly chased vine-l eaves an d
Bacchanal ian gures ; with two sword-hand l es exquisitely em
bossed and many other smal l er articles which I cannot recolle c t
The weight o f these valuables exceeded three hundred and fty
pounds avoirdupois ; and in this estimate I have not incl uded
seven superb go l d watches ; three o f
o n e hundred and nine tyth e number bein g worth each ve hundred do ll ars
if o n e
Many o f them were very o ld and as time keepers value l ess the
works having suffered more o r less from corrosion ; but a l l were
.
'
2
9
Presently I took a candle and Seating myse l f at the othe r end

o f the room proceeded to s c rutinize the parchment more c l ose l y
Upon turning it over I saw my o wn sketch upon the reverse
j ust as I had made it My rst idea now was mere surprise
at the reall y remarkab l e simi l arity o f outl ine at the si n gu l ar
coinciden c e involved in the fac t that unknown to me there
S hould have been a sku l l upon the other side of the par c hment
immediately beneath my gure o f the sea ra oa n s and that thi s
skul l not only in outline but in size shou l d so c l ose ly resemb l e
my dra wing I say the singularity o f this c oinciden c e abso l ute ly
This is the usua l e ffe c t o f such c o in c i
stu p e e d m e for a time
The mind struggl es to estab l ish a connection
a
de n ce s
sequence o f c ause and effe c t
and being unab l e to do so
su ffers a species o f temporary para lysis But when I recovered
fro m this stupor there dawned upon me gradually a convi c tion
whi c h startl ed me even far more than the coinciden c e I began
distinctly positive l y to remember that there had been n o draw
ing o n the par c hment when I made my sketch o f the sea ra oa n s
I became perfe c tl y c ertain o f this ; f o r I re c o ll ected turning up
rst o n e side and then the othe r in search o f the c leanest S pot
Had the skull been then there o f c our se I could not hav e fai l ed
to noti c e it H ere was indeed a mystery whi c h I fel t it im p o s
sible to explain ; but even at that early moment there seemed
to gl immer faintly within the most remote and se c ret c h ambers
worm -l ike conception o f th at truth whi c h
o f my inte l le c t a g l owlast night s adventure brought to so magnicent a demonstra
tion I arose at on c e and putting the par chment se c ure ly away
dismissed a l l farther ree c tion unti l I shoul d be a l one
When you had gone and when Jupiter was fast as l eep I
betook my se l f to a more methodi c al inve stigation o f the affair
In the rst p l ace I c onsidered the manner in whi c h t h e par c h
ment h ad come into my possession The spot where we dis
covered the sea ra oa ns was on the coast of the main l and about
,
THE
G O LD
B UG
93
a mile eastward of the is l and and but a short distance above

high-water mark Upon my taking ho l d o f it it gave me a sharp
bite whi c h caused me to let it drop Jupiter with his accus
before seizing the inse c t which had own
to m e d c aution
towards him looked about h im for a leaf or something o f that
nature by which to take ho l d o f it I t was at this moment that
his eyes and mine also fell upon the scrap o f parchment which
I then supposed to be paper It was lying ha l f-buried in the
sand a corner sticking up Near the spot where we found it
I observed the remnants o f the hu l l o f what appeared to have
been a ship s long boat The wre c k seemed to have been there
for a very great whi l e ; for the resemblance to boat timbers
cou l d scarce l y be traced
We ll Jupiter picked up the parchment wrapped the beetle
in it and gave it to me S oon afterwards we turned to go home
and o n the way met Lieutenant G
I showed him the
insect and he begged me to let him take it to the fort O n my
consentin g he thrust it forthwith into his waistcoat pocket
without the parchment in whi c h it had been wrapped and which
I had continued to ho l d in my hand during his inspection Per
hap s he dreaded my changing my mind and thought it best to
o
f
m ake sure
the prize at on c e
you know how enthusiastic
he is o n all subj ects connected with Natural History At the
same time without being conscious o f it I must have deposited
the parchm ent in my o wn po c ket
You remembe r that when I went to the table fo r the
purpose o f making a sketch o f the beetle I found no paper
Where it was usually kept I looked in the drawer and found
n o ne there I searched my pockets hoping to nd an o l d letter
and then my hand fe l l upon the p archment I thus detail the
precise mode in whi c h it came into my pos session ; fo r the
C ircumst an c es impressed me with pe c u l iar force
No doubt you wi l l think me fanciful

but I had al ready
,
94
established a kind of co n n ection I had put together two links

o f a great chain
There was a boat lying o n a seacoast and
not fa r from the boat was a par c hment
n ot a p ap er with
a skull depicted o n it Yo u will O f course ask W here is the
connection ? I reply that the skull o r death s-head is the well
kno wn emblem o f the pirate The ag o f the death s-head is
hoisted in a l l engagements
I have said that the scrap was parchment and not paper
Parchment is durab l e al most imperishab l e Matters o f little
moment are rare l y consign ed to par c hment ; since for the mere
ordinary purposes of drawing o r writing it is not nearly so we l l
adapted as paper This reection suggested some meaning
some r elevan cy in the death s-head I did n o t fail to observe
also the form o f the parc h ment A l though o n e o f its corners
had been by some accident destroyed it could be seen that
the original form was O blong It was j ust su ch a slip indeed
as might have been chosen for a memorandum fo r a record
o f something to be long remembered and carefu ll y preserved
But I interposed yo u say that the sku l l was n ot upon

the parchment when you made the drawing of the beetle How
then do you tra c e any connection between the boat and the
skull
since this latter ac c ording to your o wn admission must
have been designed ( God on ly knows h o w o r by whom ) at some
period subsequent to your sketching the sca ra lz a n s
Ah hereupon turns the W hole mystery ; although the se c ret

at this point I had comparative l y l ittl e di f c u l ty in solving
My steps were sure and c ou l d a fford but a singl e resul t I
reasoned for examp l e thus : When I drew the sca ra oa ns there
was no sku ll apparent on the parchment W h en I had c o m
the
drawing
I
g
ave it to you and O bse rved you narrow l y
d
l
e
t
e
p
until you returned it Yo u therefore did not design the sku ll
and no one else was present to do it T h en it was n ot don e
by hum an agency And neverthele ss it was do n e
.
6
9
S H O RT S T O RIE S
the strengthening of the faint l ines in the skul l ; but o n pe r se

there be c ame visib l e at the corner
ve rin g in the experiment
o f the S l ip diagonal ly opposite to the spot in which the death s
head was delineated the gure o f what I at rst supposed to
be a goat A closer s c rutiny however satised me that it w as
intended fo r a kid
Ha ! ha ! said I to be sure I have no right to laugh at

you a mi ll ion and a half o f money is to o serious a matter
mirth
but yo u are not about to estab l ish a third l ink in
fo r
your c hain : yo u wi l l not nd any espe c ia l connection between
your pirates and a goat ; pirates you know have nothing to
do w ith goats ; they appertain to the farming interest
But I have j ust said that the gure was n ot that of a goat
We ll a kid then pretty much the same thing
Pretty much but not altogether said Legrand

Yo u may
have heard o f one Capta in Kidd I at on c e looked o n the
gure o f the anima l as a kind o f punning o r hieroglyphical
signature I say signature be c ause its position o n the ve l lum
suggested this idea The death s-head at the c orner diagona lly
opposite had in the same manner the air o f a st amp or seal
s
f
But I was sore l y put out by the ab en c e o a l l e l se
o f the
body to my imagined instrument

o f t he text for my c ontext
I presume you expe c ted to nd a le t ter be t ween the stamp
and the signature

S omething o f that kind The fa c t is I fe l t irresistib l y im
pressed with a presentiment o f som e vast good fortune im
pending I c an s c arcely say wh y Perh aps after al l it was
rather a desire than an a c tu al bel ief but do you know that
Jupiter s si lly words about the bug being o f so l id go l d had a
remarkabl e effe c t on my fan c y ? And then the series o f a c ci
dents and coin c iden c es
these were S O very extraordinary Do
you observe how mere an accident it w as t h at these events
should have o c curred o n the sol e day of a l l the year in which
,
T H E G O LD
B UG
97
been o r may be suf ciently cool fo r re and that with

o u t the re o r without the intervention of the do
at
the
pre
g
cise moment in whi c h he appeared I shou l d never have be c ome
aware of the death s-head and so never the possessor of the
?
treasure
But proceed
I am a ll impatien c e
We ll ; you have heard o f c ourse t h e many stories current

the thousand vague rumors aoat about money buried some
where o n the Atl anti c c oast by Kidd and his asso c iates The se
rumors m ust have had some foundation in fact And that the
rumors have existed so long and so c ontinuously could have
resu l ted it appeared to m e only from the c ir cumstance o f the
buried treasure stil l rema in ing entombed Had Kidd con c ealed
his plunder fo r a time and afterwards recl a i med it the rumors
wou l d s c ar c e l y have reac h ed us in their present unvarying form
Yo u will observe that the stories to l d are a l l about money
seekers not about moneyn de rs H ad the pirate recovered
his money there th e a ffair wou l d have dropped It seemed
sa
to me that some a cc ident
the
loss
o f a memorandum
y
indi c ating its l o c al ity had deprived him of the me ans o f re
c overing it and that this ac c ident had be c ome known to his
fo l lowers wh o otherwise might never have heard that treasure
had been c on c ea l ed at a ll and who busying themselves I n vaI n
be c ause unguided attempts to regain it had given rst birth
and then universal currency to the reports whi c h are n o w so
common Have you ever heard o f any imp o rtant treasure being
?
unearthed al ong the co ast
Never
But th at Kidd s a cc umulations were immense is well known
I took it for granted therefore that the earth sti l l he l d them
and you wil l scarce ly be surprised when I te ll you that I felt
a ho pe nearly amounting to certainty th at the parchment so
strangel y found involved a l ost record of the p l a c e o f deposit

it
h as
8
9
But how did you proceed

I held the ve ll um again to the re after increasing the
heat but nothing appeared I now thought it possible that the
c oating o f dirt might have something to do with the failure ;
SO I c arefu ll y rinsed the parchment by pouring warm water
over it and having d o ne this I p l aced it in a tin pan with the
S k u ll downwards and put the pan upon a furnace of l ighted
c harcoa l In a few minutes the pan having become thoroughly
heated I removed the s l ip and to my inexpressible j oy found
it spotted in several p l aces with what appeared to be gures
arranged in lines Again I p l aced it in the pan and su ffered
it to remain another minute Upon taking it o ff the whole was
j ust as you see it now

Here Legrand having reheated the par c hment submitted it
to my in spection The fo ll owing c haracters were rudel y traced
in a red tint between the death s -head and the goat
,
8 8 ;i? ;
But said I returning him the s l ip I am as much in the

dark as ever Were a ll the j ewe l s o f Go lc onda awaiting me
on my so l ution o f this enigma I am quite sure that I should
be unab l e to earn them
And yet said Legrand the sol ution is by no means so

di fcult as you might be l ed to imagine from the rst hasty in
These c h ara c ters as any o n e might
sp ec tio n o f the c hara c ters
readil y guess form a c ipher t h at is to say they convey a
meaning ; but then from what is known o f Kidd I c ou l d not
suppose him capab l e o f c onstru c ting any o f t h e more abstruse
c ryptographs I made up my mind at once that this was of a
1 00
predominant letters as well as the l e ast frequent

al l I c onstructed a tab l e thus :
,
Counting
Of th e
haracte r
t h e re
are
33
26
(C
a
s
5
6
I 2
1 I
2
I
Now in Engl ish the letter which most frequently occurs

is e Afterwards t h e succession runs thus : a o i d Ii 72 r s t n
m
x
z
l
p
w
o
a
E
predominates
however
so
remark
c
o
y fg
ably that an individual sentence of any length is rarely seen in
which it is not the prevai l ing chara c ter
Here then w e have in the very beginning the groun d
work for something more than a mere guess The general u se
whi c h may be made o f the tab l e is obvious but in this par
As
tic u lar cipher we shall on l y very partia ll y require its aid
o u r predominant character is 8 w e wi ll commen c e by assuming
it as the e o f the natural al phabet To ve rI fy the supposition
let us O bserve if the 8 be seen often in coup l es for e is
doubled with great frequen cy in E ngl ish in su c h words for
examp l e as meet eet speed seen been agree etc
In the present instance we see it dou b l ed no l ess than ve
times although the cryptograph is brief
Let us assume 8 then as e Now o f all w ords in the
language the is most usua l ; l et us se e t h ere f ore whether
,
TH E
G O LD
B UG
10 1
there are not repetitions o f any three characters in the same

O rder o f co ll ocation the last o f them being 8 If we discover
r epetition s of such letters so arranged they will most probably
represent the word the O n inspection w e nd no less than
seven such arrangements the characters being ; 4 8 We may
t h erefore assume that the semico l on represents t that 4 re pre
sents l1 and that 8 represents e
the l ast being now well con
rmed Thus a great step has been taken
But having estab l ished a single word we are enabled to
establis h a vast l y important point ; that is to say several com
m e n c em en ts and terminations o f other words Let us refer for
examp l e to the last instance but o n e in which the combination
occurs
not
far
from
the
end
of
the
cipher
We
know
8
;4
that the semicolon immediately ensuing is the commencement
o f a word and of the six characters succeeding this
the we are
cogniz ant of no less than ve Let us set these characters
down thus by the letters we know them to represent leaving a
space fo r the unknown
,
e e th
Here we are enabled at once to discard the a ; as form

ing no portion o f the word commencing with the rst t ; since
by experiment of the entire a l phabet for a letter adapted to th e
vacancy we perceive that no word can be formed o f which this
t! : c an be a part
We are thus narrowed into
,
and going through the alphabet if necessa ry as before we

arrive at the word tree as the sole possibl e reading We thus
gain another l etter r represented by
with the words the
tree in j uxtaposition
Looking beyond these words for a sho rt distance we again
see the combination ; 4 8 and employ it by way o f termin ation
to what imm e dia
te lv p recedes
We have thus this arrangement :
t h e t r ee
? 3 4 th e
,
I 02
o r,
substitu ting the natural letters where known

t h e t r e e th r I ? 3 h t h e
,
it
reads thus :
if in p l ace o f the unknown characte r s we leave

blank spaces or substitute dots we read thus :
N o w,
th e
tre e th r
h the
when the word th rough makes itself evident at once B ut

this discovery gives us three new letters 0, u and g re p re
sented by It and 3
Looking n o w na rr owl y through the ciphe r fo r combi
nations o f known c haracters we nd no t very far from the
beginning this arrangement :
.
o r e gre e ,
which plain ly is the conclusion o f the word degree and gives

us anothe r letter d represented by T
Four letters be y ond the word degree we perceive the
combination
; 46(
Translating the known characters and representin g the

unknown by dots as before we read thus
,
th
rte e
an arrangement immediately suggestive o f the word thirteen

and again furnishin g us with two new characters i and n
if
represented by 6 and
R eferring n o w to the beginni ng o f the cryptograph we
nd the combination
,
5 3 11 1
T ranslatin g as before we obtain

,
go o d
whi c h assures us that the rst l etter is

words are A good
A,
and that the rst
two
1 04
Yo u
mean to punctuate it
S omething o f that kind
?
But how is it possib l e to effect this
I reected that it had been a poin t with the writer to run
his words together without division so as to in c rease the dif
cu l ty o f so l ution Now a not over-a c ute man in pursuing such
an obj ect wou l d be nearly certain to overdo the matter When
in the course o f his composition he arrived at a break in his
subj ect whi c h wou l d natura lly require a pause or a point he
wou l d be exceedingly apt to run his characters at this p l ace
more than usually cl ose together If you wi l l observe the M S
in the present instance yo u wi ll easi ly dete c t ve su c h c ases o f
unusua l cro wding A c ting o n this hint I made the division thus :
,
A good gl a ss in th e B ish op s h ostel in th e devil s sea t

n orth ea st a n d hy n o r
tw en ty o n e degrees a n d th ir teen m in u tes
th
7n a in
bra n ch
seven th
h ea d
s-
l ini h
ea st side
heel in e
from
sh oot
from
th e l eft eye
f
ee
t
u
f
t
o
t
f y
Even this division said 1 l eaves me sti ll in the dark
It left me a l so in the dark rep l ied Legrand

for a few
days ; during whi c h I made di l igent inquiry in the neighbor
hood o f S u ll ivan s Island for any building which went by the
name o f the Bishop s Hote l ; fo r o f c ourse I dropped the
obso l ete word hoste l Gaining no information o n the subj ect
I was o n the poin t o f extending my sphere o f search and pro
when o n e morning it
c ee din g in a more systematic manner
entered into my head quite sudden l y that this Bishop s Hostel
might have some reference to an o ld fami ly of the n ame o f
B e S S Op which time o u t o f mind had he l d possession of an
ancient manor-house about four miles to the northward o f the
is l and I accordingl y went over to t h e p l antation and reinsti
At
tu t e d my inquiries among the Ol der n egroes of t h e p l ace
l ength one o f the most aged o f t h e women said that she had
o
th e dea th
th e tree th ro ugh th e
sh ot
TH E GOLD
B U G
105
heard o f such a place as B essop s Ca stl e and thought that sh e

could guide me to it but that it was not a cast l e n o r a tavern
but a high rock
I offered to pay her we l l for her trouble and after some
demur sh e consented to a c company me to the S pot We found
it without much di f c u l ty when dismissing her I proceeded
to examine the p l a c e The castle consisted o f an irregu l ar
o n e o f the latter being quite
assemb l age o f cliffs and rocks
remarkable fo r its height as we l l as for its insulated and a rti
c ial appearance I c l ambered to its apex and then felt much
at a loss as to what shou l d be next done
Whi l e I was busied in reection my eyes fell on a narrow
ledge in the eastern face o f the rock perhaps a yard bel ow the
summit upon which I stood This l edge proj ected about eighteen
inches and was not more than a foot wide whi l e a niche in the
cl iff j ust above it gav e it a rude resemblance to o n e o f the hol
backed chairs used by o u r ancestors I made no doubt that
o
w
l
here was the devi l s seat alluded to in the M S and now I
seemed to grasp the fu l l secret o f the ridd l e
The good gl ass I knew cou l d have reference to nothing
but a telescope ; fo r the word gl ass is rare ly employed in any
other sense by seamen N 0w here I at once saw was a tel e
s c ope to be used and a denite point o f V iew a dmitting n o
N o r did I hesitate to be l ieve
va ria tio n from which to use it
that the phrases twenty o n e degrees and thirteen minutes
and no rth-east and by north were inte nded as directions

fo r the leve ll ing o f the gl ass
Greatly excited by these dis
c o verie s I hurried home
procured a telescope and returned
to the rock
I l et myse l f down to the l edge and found that it was
I mpossib l e to retain a seat o n it un l ess in o n e particu l ar posi
tion This fa c t c onr m
ed my pre c on c eived idea I proceeded
to use the gl ass O f course the twenty-o ne degree s and
1 06
thirteen minutes could allude to nothing b u t elevation above

th e visib l e horizon since the horiz ontal direction w as clearly
indicated by the words north-east and by north This latter
direction I at once established by means o f a pocket-compass ;
then pointing the glass as nearly at an angle o f twenty-o n e
degrees of e l evation as I could do it by guess I moved it
cautiously up o r down until my attention was arrested by a
circula r rift or O pening in the foliage f a large tree that over
p
topped its fe ll ows in the distance In the centre o f this rift I
perceived a white spot but could n o t at rst distinguish what
it was Adj u sting the focus O f the telescope I again looked and
no w made it o u t to be a h u man skull
O n this discovery 1 was so sanguine as to consider the

enigma solved fo r the phrase main branch seventh limb east
side coul d refer only to the position o f the sku l l o n the tree
while shoot from the left eye o f the death s-hea
d admitted
also o f but o n e interpretation in regard to a search fo r buried
treasure I perceived that the design was to drop a bull et fro m
f
the left eye o the skull and that a bee l ine o r in othe r words
a straight l ine drawn from the nearest point o f the t ru nk through
the shot (o r the S pot where the bu ll et fel l) and thence
extended to a distance o f fty feet would in dicate a denite
point
and beneath this point I thought it at least p ossihl e that
a deposit o f value lay concealed
A l l this I said is exceedingl y c lear and although ingen

ious still simp l e and explicit When yo u left the Bishop s Hotel
what then ?
Why having carefully taken the bearing s o f the tree I
turned homewards The instant that I l eft the devi l s seat
however the cir c u l ar rift vanished ; nor could I get a glimpse
o f it afterwards turn as I wou l d
What seems to me the chief
ingenuity in this whole business is the fact ( fo r repeated ex p e ri
ment has convinced me it is a fact) that the circular O p e n ing in
,
S H O R T STO R I ES
1 08
obj ect if smal l shou l d be w h ite ; and there is nothing like yo ur

hum an sku ll for retaining and even in c reasing its whiteness
under exposure to a l l vicissi tu des o f weather

B u t your grandiloquence and your condu c t in swinging the
beetle
how excessively o dd ! I w as sure yo u were mad And
why did you insist o n letting fall the bug instead o f a bullet
from the skul l ?

Why to be frank I felt somewhat annoyed by your evident
suspicions touching my sanity an d so resolved to punish yo u
quietly in my o wn w ay by a l ittl e bit o f sober m ystic atio n
F o r this reason I swung the beet l e and for this reason I let it
fall from the tree An observation o f yours about its great
weight suggested the latter idea

Yes I perceive ; and now there is only one point which
puzzles me What are we to make o f the skeletons found in
?
the hole
That is a question I am no more ab l e to answer than your
self There seems however only o n e p l ausible way of account
ing fo r them
and yet it is dreadfu l to bel ieve in such atrocity
as my suggestion would imply It is c lear that Kidd
if Kidd
indeed secreted this treasure which I doubt not it is clear
that he must have had assistance in the labor But the worst
o f this labor con c luded he may have thought it expedient to
remove all participants in his secret Perhaps a couple of blows
with a mattock were su f c ient whil e his coadj utors were busy
wh o shall tell ?
in th e pit ; pe rhaps it re q uired a do z en
,
A C H RI S T M AS CA RO L
1
4
8
3
(
)
B Y C H A R L E S D I C K EN S ( 1 8 1 2 - 1 8 7 0 )
I n this most famous o f Christmas stories Dickens

gives us the very atmosphere o f the season with a l l the contrasts
that poverty and wealth miserliness and charity the past and
the future can suggest Tho ugh he had London in mind any
great industrial center would hav e se rved as we l l fo r Dickens
was thinking primari l y o f the relations between emp l oye r and
emp l oyee That Christmas is better kept in Engl and now than
when Dickens wrote is a triumph due more to A Christmas
Caro l than to any other o n e piece o f prose o r verse

Pl ot The story was planned rather than p l otted By ca l ling
it a carol and dividing it into staves Dickens wou l d have us
think o f it not as a narrative but as a song fu l l o f the j oy and
good wi ll that Christmas ought to diffuse It is a rill from the
fountain o f the rst great Christmas chant
O n earth peace
good wi l l toward men

The them e is no t so much the duty of
se rvice as the j oy o f servi c e the happiness that we feel in mak
ing others happy ; and the four caro l s mark the four stages in
the conversion o f S crooge from so l itary se l shness to social
good wi l l The plan is simple but it is su ffused with a love and
sympathy that no o n e but D i ckens o r O Henry could have
given it If The Gold-Bug is a triumph o f the analytic intel
l ect this story is a triumph o f the social impulses that make the
world better
It seems to me said Thackeray a national
benet and to every man and woman wh o reads it a personal
kindness While writing it Dickens said : I wept and laughed
and wept again

And yet the psychology of the plot is as
sound l y intellectual as the styl e is emotional Dickens knew
etting
S
!
1 09
I IO
that a in t-hearted ma n like S crooge cou l d n o t be changed by

forces brought to bear from without The appeal must come
from within H e must himself see his past his present and his
probable future but in a new light and from a wider angle o f
vision The dream is only a means to this end A ma n moves
to a higher realm of thought and action n o t by lea rn ing n ew
truths but by seeing the Ol d truths differently related
Ch a racters S crooge is o f course the c entral characte r He
is also a perfect example o f the c hanging chara c ter as contrasted
with the stationary chara c ter In fact a ll the other characters
remain essentially the same whi l e Sc rooge wh o at the beginnin g
is unfriend ly and friend l ess be c omes at the end as good a

friend as good a master and as good a man as the good O ld
city knew or any othe r good o ld c ity town o r borough in the
good o ld world
It is dif c ult to create any kind o f character
whether stationary o r changing but the latter is the more dif
cult Both demand rare powers o f obse rvation and interpreta
tion but the ascending o r descending character demands a
knowledge o f the chemistry o f conduct that only the masters
have
The C ratc h its must not b e overl ooked Tiny Tim s God
bless us every one has at least become the symbol of Christ
mas benevo l ence wherever Ch ris tmas is celebrated in E nglish
speakin g land s ]
.
S TAV E O N E
M A R LE Y S
G H O ST
Marley was dead to begin with There is no doubt whatever

about that The register o f his burial was signed by the cl ergy
man the clerk the undertaker and th e chief mourner Sc rooge
signed it And S crooge s name was good upon Change fo r
anything he chose to put his hand to
O l d Marley was as dead as a door-nail
.
I I2
human sympathy to keep its distance was what the knowing
ones c al l nuts to S crooge

O nce upon a time o f a ll the good days in the year upon
a Christmas eve o ld S crooge sat busy in his counting-house
I t was co l d bleak biting foggy weather ; and the city clocks
had only j ust gone three but it was quite dark al ready
The door o f S crooge s c ounting-house was O pen that he
might keep his eye upon his clerk wh o in a dismal l ittle ce ll
beyond a sort o f t ank was c opying letters Sc rooge had a very
small re but the Cl erk s re was so very mu c h small er that it
looked like o n e co al But he c oul d n t rep l enish it for Sc rooge
kept the coal-box in his o wn room ; and so sure ly as the
c l erk came in with the shovel the master predi c ted that it
wou l d be necessary fo r them to part Wherefore the clerk put
and tried to warm himself at the
o n his white comforter
cand l e ; in whi c h effort not being a man o f a strong imagina
tion he fai l ed
A merry Christmas un cl e God save yo u
cried a c heer
ful voice It was the voi c e of S crooge s nephew who c am e
upon him so qui c k l y that this was the rst intimation S crooge
had o f his approach
Bah
said S crooge ; humbug
Christmas a humbug unc l e ! Yo u don t mean that I
am sure
I do O ut upon mer ry Christmas ! What s Christmas time
to you but a time for p aying bi ll s without money ; a time fo r
ndin g yourse l f a year o l der and not an hour ri cher ; a time
for bal an c ing your books and having every item in em through
a round dozen o f months presented dead against yo u ? If I had
my will every idiot wh o goes about with Merry Christmas
on his lips shou l d be boil ed with his own pudding and buried
with a stake o f ho lly through his heart ! H e shoul d !

,
A CH R I ST M AS C A R O L
I 1
Uncle !
Nephew keep Christmas in your own way and let me
keep it in mine
Keep it ! But you don t keep it

Let me leave it a l one then M u ch good may it do you !
Much good it has ever done you !

There are many things from whi c h I might have derived
good by which I have not proted I dare say Christmas
among the rest But I am sure I have a l ways thought o f
Christmas time when it has come round apart from the
veneration due to its sa c red origin if anything belonging to it
as a good time ; a kind forgiving
ca n be apart from that
cha ritable pleasant time ; the on l y time I know o f in the long
calendar o f the year when men and women seem by o n e con
sent to O pen their shut-u p hearts free l y and to think o f people
below them as if they real ly were fe ll ow-trave ll ers to the grave
and not another ra c e o f creatures bound o n other j ourneys
And therefore un c le though it has never put a s c rap o f go l d
o r sil ver in my pocket I be l ieve that it h a s done me good an d
w ill do me good ; and I say G o d b l ess it !

The cl erk in the tank invo l untari l y app l auded
Let me hear another sound from yo u said S crooge and

you l l keep your Christmas by losing your situation
Yo u re
quite a powerful speaker sir he added turning to his nephew
I wonder you don t go into Parliament
Do nt be angry un cle Come ! Din e with us to -morrow

S crooge said that he would see him yes indeed he did
He went the who l e l ength o f the expression and said that he
wou l d se e him in that extremity rst
But why ? cried Sc rooge s nephew

Why ?
Why did yo u get married ?
Because I fell in love

,
I 14
Because you fell in love

growled S crooge as if that wer e
the only o n e thing in the worl d more ridi c u l ous than a mer ry
Ch ristmas
Good afternoon !
Nay uncl e but you never came to see me before that
happened Why give it as a reason fo r not c oming now ?
Good afternoon
I want nothing from yo u ; I ask nothing o f you ; why
?
cannot we be friends
Good afte rnoon

I am sorry with a ll my heart to nd you so resolute We
have never had any quarrel to which I have been a party But
I have made the trial in homage to Ch ristmas and I 1] keep
my Christmas humo r to the last S o A M e rry Ch ristmas
uncle
Good afternoon !
And A Happy New Year !
Good afternoon !
His nephew left the room without an angry word n o twith
standing The clerk in letting S crooge s nephew o u t had let
two other peop l e in They were portl y gentlemen pleasant to
beho l d and now stood with their hats o ff in S crooge s ofce
They had books and papers in their hands and bowed to him
S crooge and Marley s I believe said o ne of the gentle

men referring to his list
H ave I the pleasure o f add r e ssing
?
Mr S crooge o r Mr M arley
Mr Marley has been dead these seve n years He died
seven years ago this very night
At this festive season o f the year Mr S crooge said th e
gentl eman taking up a pen it is more than usua l ly desirable

that we Shou l d make some s l ight provision for the poor and
destitute wh o suffer greatly at the present time Many thou
sands are in want o f common necessaries hundreds of thousands
are in want of common comfo rts sir

,
II6
The clerk promised that he would ; and S crooge walked o u t

with a growl The o fce was closed in a twink l ing and the
cl erk with the long ends o f his white comforter dangl ing be l o w
his waist ( fo r he boasted no great-coat) went down a slide at
the end o f a lane of boys twenty times in honor o f its being
Christmas eve and then ran home as hard as he could pelt to
p l ay at blind-man s-b u ff
S crooge took his me l ancholy dinner in his usual me l ancholy
tavern ; and having read a ll the newspapers and beguiled the
rest o f the evening with his banker s book went home to bed
He lived in c hambers which had once belonged to his deceased
partner They were a gl oomy suite o f rooms in a lowering
pile o f building up a yard The buil ding was o ld enough n o w
and dreary enough ; for nobody lived in it but S crooge the
other rooms being a ll l et o u t as o fces
Now it is a fact that there was nothing at a l l particula r
about the knocker on the door o f this house except that it was
very l arge ; also that S c rooge had seen it night and mor ning
during his who l e residen c e in that place ; also that S crooge had
as little o f what is ca ll ed fancy about him as any man in the
c ity of London And yet S crooge having his key in the lock
of the door saw in the kno cker without its undergoing any in
te rm e diate process of c h ange not a kno c ker but Mar l ey s face
Marley s face with a disma l l ight about it like a bad l ob ster
in a dark ce l lar It was n o t ang ry o r ferocious but it l ooked
at S crooge as Marl ey u sed to look -with ghostly spec tacl es
turned up upon its ghostly forehead
As S crooge looked xed l y at this phenomenon it was a
knocker again H e said

Pooh pooh ! and cl osed the doo r
with a bang
The sound resounded through the house like thunder E very
room above and eve ry cask in the wine -merc h ant s c ell ars
bel ow appeared to have a separate peal o f echoes o f its o wn
.
A C H R I S T M A S CA RO L
I I
S crooge w as not a m an to be frig h tened by echoes H e

fastened the door and walked across the ha ll and up the stairs
S low l y to o trimming his c andle as he went
Up S c rooge went n o t c aring a button for its being very
dark Darkness is c heap and S crooge l iked it But before he
shut his heavy door he wa l ked through his rooms to see that
al l was right He had j ust enough re c o ll e c tion o f the face to
desire to do that
S it t ing-room bedroom l umber-room a ll as they should be
Nobody under the table nobody under t h e sofa ; a smal l re in
the grate ; spoon and basin ready ; and the litt l e sau c epan o f
grue l ( S crooge had a co l d in his head) upon the hob Nobody
under the bed ; nobody in the c l oset ; nobody in his dressing
gown which was hanging up in a suspi c ious attitude against
r
the wa l l Lumber room as usua l O l d e guard o l d shoes two
sh baskets washing-stand o n three legs and a poker
Quite satised he C losed his door and locked himself in ;
doub l e-locked himsel f in which w as not his c ustom Thus
secured against surprise he took o ff his cravat put on his
dressing-gown and slippers and his night-c ap and sat down
before the very low re to take his gruel
As he threw h is head back in the c hair his gl ance happened
to rest upon a bel l a disused be ll that hung in t h e room and
communi c ated for some purpose now forgotten with a c ham
ber in the highest story o f the bui l ding It w as with gre at
astonishment and with a strange inexp l i cab l e dread that as
he looked he saw this be ll begin to swing S oon it rang o u t
loud l y and so did eve ry bell in the house
This was su cc eed ed by a cl anking noise deep down be l ow
as if some person were dragging a heavy cha in over the cask s
in the wine-mer c hant s ce ll ar
T h en he h eard the noi se mu c h louder o n the oors be l ow ;
then coming up the stairs ; then coming straight towards his door
.
1 1
It came o n through the heavy door and a spe c tre passed

in to the room before his eyes And upon its coming in the
dying ame leaped up as though it cried
I know him !
Marley s ghost !
The same face the very same M arley in his pigtail usual
waist c oat tights and boots His body w as transparent ; so
that S crooge observing him and l ooking through his waistcoat
could see the two buttons o n his coat behind
S crooge had often heard it said that Marley had no bowe l s
but he had never be l ieved it until now
N O nor did he be l ieve it even n o w Though he looked the
phantom through and through and saw it standing before him
f
though he fel t the chi ll ing inuence o its death cold eyes
and noticed the very texture o f the folded kerchief bound about
its head and chin h e was still incredu l ous
How now !
said S crooge caust i c and cold as ever
?
What do yo u want with me
Much !
Marl ey s voice no doubt about it
Who are yo u
Ask m e wh o I w as
Who w ere yo u then
I n life I was your partner Jacob Marley
?
Can you
can yo u sit down
I can
D O it then
S crooge asked the question because he did n t know W hether
a ghost so transparent might nd himse l f in a c ondition to take
a chair ; and fel t that in the event o f its being impossib l e it
might involve the ne c essity o f an embarrassing exp l anation
But the ghost sat down o n t h e O pposite side of the rep l ace as
if he were quite used to it
Yo u don t believe in me
I don t
,
1 20
O blind man blind man ! not to know that ages of ince s

sant l abor by immortal c reature s for thi s earth must pass in to
eternity before the good o f whi c h it is sus c eptib l e is a l l devel
O ped Not to know that any C h ristian spirit wor k ing kind ly in
its l ittl e sphere whatever it may be wi ll nd its morta l l ife to o
short for its vast means o f usefu l ness Not to know that no
space o f regret can make amends for o n e life s O pportunities
misused ! Yet I was like this man ; I on c e w as l ike this man !
But you were always a good man o f business Jacob

fal tered S crooge wh o now began to app ly this to himse l f
Business !
c ried the ghost wringing its hands again
Mankind was my business The common welfare was my
business ; charity mer cy forbearance benevo l ence were al l
my business The deal ings o f my trade were but a drop o f
water in the comprehensive ocean o f my business

Sc rooge was very much dismayed to hear the S pectre going
o n at this rate and began to quake exceedingly
Hear me ! My time is nearl y gone
I will But don t be hard upon me ! Don t be owery
Ja c ob ! Pray !
I am here t o night to warn yo u that you have yet a chan c e
and h ope o f es c aping my fate A c han c e and hope o f my
procuring E benezer
Yo u were always a good friend to me T h ank ee l
You wi l l be haunted by Three S pirits

I s that the chance and h O p e you mentioned Jacob ? I
I
think I d rather not
Without their visits yo u cannot h Op e to shun the path I

tread E xpect the rst to-morrow night when the bell to ll s
O ne E xpect the second o n the next night at the s ame hour
The third upon the next nig h t when the l ast stroke o f Twe l ve
has ceased to vibrate Look to see me no more ; and l ook that
for your o w n sake yo u remember wh at has passed between us
o
A CH R I S T M A S CA RO L
12 1
It walked ba ckward from him ; and at every step it took

the window raised itse lf a l itt l e so that when the apparition
reached it it was wide open
S crooge cl osed the window and examined the door by which
the Ghost had entered I t was doub l e-l o c ked as he had locked
it with his o w n hands and the bolts were undisturbed S crooge
tried to say
Humbug ! but stopped at the rst sy ll able
And being fro m the emotion he had undergone o r the fatigu es
o f the day
or his gl impse o f the invisible worl d o r the du l l
conversation o f the G h ost o r the lateness o f the hour much in
need o f repose he went straight to bed without undressing
and fell asleep o n the instant
,
S TAV E TW O
TH E
F I R ST O F
TH E
TH R E E
P I RI TS
When Sc rooge awoke it was so dark that looking o u t o f

bed he cou l d scarce l y distinguish the transparent window from
the O paque wall s o f his c hamber until suddenly the c hurch
cl ock to ll ed a deep du ll ho ll ow mel ancho l y O N E
Light ashed up in the room upon the instant and the c u r
tains of his bed were drawn aside by a strange gure
l ike a
chi l d : yet not so l ike a c hi l d as like an o l d man viewed through
some supern atural medium whi c h gave him the appearan ce
and being diminished to a
o f having receded from the V iew
chi l d s proportions Its hair which hung about its neck and
down its ba ck was white as if with age ; and yet the face had
and the tenderest b l oom was o n the sk in
no t a wrink l e in it
It hel d a bran c h o f fresh green ho ll y in its hand ; and in
singu l ar c ontradiction o f that wintry emb l em had its dress
trimmed with summer owers But the strangest thing about
it was that from the crown of its head there sprung a bright
,
1 22
clear j et o f light by which all this was visible ; and which was
do u btless the occasion of its using in its duller moments a
great extinguisher fo r a cap which it n o w held under its arm
Are yo u the S pirit sir whose comi ngwas foretold to me ?

I am
Who and what are yo u ?
I am the Ghost o f Christmas Past
Long past ?
N o Your past The things that yo u will see with me are
shadows o f the things that have been ; they will have n o co n
sc io u sn e ss o f us
S crooge then made bo l d to inquire what business b ro u ght
him there
Your welfare R ise and walk with me
It would have been in vain fo r S crooge to p l ead that the
weathe r and the hour were not adapted to pedestrian purposes ;
that the bed was warm and the thermometer a long way belo w
f reezing ; that he was clad but lightly in his slippers dressing
gown and nightcap ; and that he had a cold upon him at that
The grasp though gentle as a woman s hand was not to
time
be resisted H e rose ; but nding that the S pirit made towards
the window clasped its robe in supplication
I am a mortal and liable to fa l l
Bear but a touch o f my hand th ere said the S pirit laying

it upon his heart and yo u shall be u pheld in more than this
As the words were spoken they passed through the w al l and
stood in the busy thoroughfares o f a city
It was made plain
enough by the dressing o f th e shops th at here to o it was
Christmas time
The Ghost stopped at a ce rtain w are house door and asked
S crooge if he knew it
Kno w it ! Was I apprenticed here !
They went in At sight o f an Ol d gent l eman in a Welsh wig
,
1 24
the housemaid with her cousin the baker In c ame the cook
with her brother s particu l ar friend the mil kman In they al l
came o n e after another ; some shy ly some bold ly some gra c e
fu l ly some awkward ly s o me pushing some pu l ling ; in they all
came anyho w and eve ryhow Away they a l l went twenty
c ouple at once ; hands hal f round and back again the other
way ; down the midd l e and up again ; round and round in va ri
o ld top coup l e a l ways
o u s stages o f a ffectionate grouping ;
turnin g up in the wrong p l ace ; new top couple starting o ff
again as soon as they go t there ; a l l to p coup l es at last and
not a bottom o n e to he l p them When this resu l t was brought
about o ld Fezziwig c l apping his hands to stop the dan c e cried
out We l l done ! and the dd l er p l unged his h o t f ace into a

pot o f porter espe c ia lly provided fo r that purpose
There were more dances and there were forfeits and more
dances and there was cake and there was negus and there
was a great piece o f Co l d R oast and there was a great pie c e o f
Co l d Boi l ed and there were mince -pies and plenty o f beer
But the great effect o f the evening c ame after the R oast and
Boiled when the ddler struck up S ir R oger de Coverl ey

Then O ld Fezziwig stood o u t to dance with Mrs F e z z iwig T o p
couple too ; with a good stiff piece o f work c ut o u t for them ;
three o r four and twenty pair o f partners ; people wh o were
and had no
n o t to be t ri e d with ; people wh o w o u l d dan c e
notion o f wal king
But if they had been twice as many

fou r times o ld
Fezziwig would have been a mat c h for them and so wou l d
Mrs Fezziwig As to h er sh e was worthy to be his par tner in
eve ry sense o f the term A positive l ight appeared to issue from
Fezziwig s cal ves They shone in every part o f the dance Yo u
cou l d n t have predicted at any given time what wou l d be c ome
of em next And when o ld Fezziwig and Mrs Fezziwig had
gone a l l through the da n ce advance and retire turn your
,
A CH R I ST M AS CA R O L
125
partner bow and c ourtesy c o c k sc re w thread the needle and
back again to your p l ace

F e z z iwig cut
cut so deftly
that he appeared to wink with his legs
When the cl ock s t ru c k e l even this domestic bal l broke up
Mr and Mrs Fezziwig took their stations o ne o n either side
the door and shaking hands with every person individually as
he o r sh e went o u t wished him or her a M erry Christmas
When everybody had retired but the two prentices they did
the same to them ; and thus the c hee rful voices died away
and the l ads were left to their beds which were under a counter
in the back S hop
A sma l l matter said the Ghost to m ake these silly fo lks

H e has spent but a few pounds o f your
so fu ll of gratitude
mortal money three o r four perhaps I s that so much that
he dese rves this praise ?
It is n t that said S crooge heated by the r emark and

speaking unconscious l y like his former not his latter self
it is n t that S pirit He h as the power to render us happy o r

unhappy ; to make o u r service lig h t o r burdensome a pleasure
o r a toil
S ay that his power lies in words and looks ; in things
so slight and insignicant that it is impossib l e to add and count
em up : what then ? The happiness he gives is quite as great
as if it cost a fortune
He felt the S pirit s glan c e and stopped
What is the matter ?
Nothing pa rti c ular
?
S omething I think
No no I should like to be able to say a word o r two to
my cl erk just now That s all
My time grows short observed the S pirit

Quick !
This was not addressed to S c rooge o r to any one whom he
could se e but it produ c ed an immediate e ffe c t For again he
saw himse l f
He was o l der no w ; a man in the prime o f life
,
1 26
He was n o t alo n e but sat by the side o f a fai r yo u n g girl i n

a black dress in whose eyes there were tears
It matters little she said softly to S crooge s forme r self

T o you very l itt l e Another idol has displaced me ; and if it
can comfort you in time to come as I would have tried to do
I have no j ust cause to grieve
What Idol has displaced yo u ?

A golden o n e Yo u fear the world too much I have seen
your noble r aspirations fall O ff o n e by o n e until the master
passion Gain engrosses you Have I not ?

What then ? E ven if I have grown so much wis er what
then ? I am n o t changed towards yo u Have I eve r so u ght
?
re l ease from o u r engagement
I n words no Never
In what then ?
In a changed nature in an altered spirit ; in another atmos
h
re o f life ; another Hope as its great end
I
f
you
were
free
e
p
to day to-morrow yesterday can even I believe that you would
choose a dowerless girl ; o r choosing her do I not know that
your repentance and regret would sure l y fo ll ow ? I do ; and I
release yo u With a full heart fo r the love of him yo u o n ce
were
S pi rit ! remove me from this place
I told yo u these were shadows o f the things that have been

said the Ghost
That they are what they are do not blame
me !
R emove me ! S crooge exclaimed

I cannot bear it !
Leave me ! Take me back Haunt m e no longer !

As he struggl ed with the S pirit he was conscious o f being
exhausted and overcome by an irresistib l e drowsiness ; and fu r
ther o f being in his o wn bedroom He had barely time to reel
to bed before he sank into a heavy sleep
,
1 28
A tremendous fami ly to provide fo r ! S pirit c onduct me

where you wi ll I went forth last night o n compulsion and I
learnt a l esson which is working n o w To night if you have
aught to tea c h me let me prot by it

Touch my robe
S crooge did as he was to l d and he l d it fast
The room and its c ontents a l l vanished instantly and they
stood in the city streets upon a snowy Christmas morning
S crooge and the Ghost passed o n invisible straight to
S crooge s c l erk s ; and o n the thresho l d o f the door the S pirit
smi l ed and stopped to b l ess Bob C ratch it s dwe l ling with the
sprink l ings o f his tor ch Think o f that ! Bob had but fteen
1
Bob
a week himsel f he pocketed o n S aturdays but fteen
copies o f his Christian name ; and yet the Ghost o f Christmas
Present blessed his four-roomed house !
Then up rose M rs Crat chit C ratchit s wife dressed o u t but
poorly in a twi c e turned gown but brave in ribbons which are
c heap and make a good l y sho w for S ixpence ; and sh e laid the
cloth assisted by Belinda Cratchit second o f her daughters
a l so brave in ribbons ; while Master P eter Cratchit p l unged a
fork into the sau c epan o f potatoes and getting the corners of
his monstrous shirt-co ll ar ( Bob s private property conferred
upon his so n and heir in honor o f the day) into his mouth
rej oiced to nd himse l f so gall ant l y attired and yearned to
S how his linen in the fashionab l e Parks And now two smaller
C ratc hits boy an d gir l came tearing in s c reaming that outside
the baker s they had sme l t the goose and known it for their
basking in l uxurious thoughts o f sage and onion
o wn ; and
these young C ratchits danced about the tab l e an d exal ted
Master Peter Cratchit to the skies while he ( not proud al
though his c o llars n e arly choked him ) blew the re until the
1 S h ll in g s
i
,
'
'
A N D I N C A M E LITTL E
B OB
30
Ma rtha did n t like to see him disappointed if it were only

in j oke ; so she came o u t premature l y from behind the closet
door and ran into his arms while the two young C ratc hits
hustled Tiny Tim and bore him o ff into the wash -house that
he might hear the pudding s inging in the copper
?
And how did little Tim behave
asked Mrs Cratchit
when sh e had ral l ied Bob o n his credulity and Bob had hugged
his daughter to his heart s content
As good as gold said Bob

and better S omeho w he
gets thoughtful sitting by himself so much and thinks the
strangest things you ever heard H e to l d me coming home
that he hoped the peop l e saw him in the church because he
was a cripple and it might be p l easant to them to remember
upon Christmas day wh o made lame beggars wal k and blind
men se e
Bob s voice was tremu l ous when he to l d them this and
trembled more when he said that Tiny Tim was growing
strong an d hearty
His active l ittle crutch was heard upon the oor and back
came Tiny Tim before another word w as spoken escorted by
his brother and sister to his stoo l beside the re ; and w h i l e
Bob turning up his cuffs
as if poor fel l ow they were capa
b l e o f being made more shabby c ompounded some hot mix
ture in a j ug with gin and lemons and stirred it round and
round and put it o n the hob to simmer Master Peter and t h e
two ubiquitous young C ratc h its went to fet c h the goose wi t h
1
whi c h they soon returned in high procession
Mrs Cratchit made the gravy ( ready beforehand in a l it t l e
saucepan) hissing hot ; Master Peter mashed the potatoes with
incredib l e vigor ; Miss Belinda sweetened up the app l e sauce ;

Martha dusted the hot plates ; B o b took Tiny Tim beside him
in a tiny c orn er at the tab l e ; the two young C ratc hits se t chairs
1 T h e g o o se h ad b
e e n c o o k e d in t h e b ak e r s o v e n f o r e c o n o m y
,
31
for eve rybody not forgetting themselves and mounting guard

upon their posts crammed spoons into their mouths l est they
should shriek for goose before their turn came to be he l ped
At last the dishes were set o n and grace was said I t was suc
c e e de d by a breath l ess pause as Mrs Cratchit looking s l ow l y
all along the carving-knife prepared to p l unge it in the breast ;
but when S he did and when the l ong-expected gu sh o f stu fng
issued forth o n e murmur o f del ight arose al l round the board
and even Tiny Tim excited by the two young C ratchits beat
and feebly cried
o n the tab l e with the hand l e o f his knife
Hurrah !
There never was su c h a goose Bob said he did n t bel ieve
there ever was such a goose cooked Its tenderness and avor
size and cheapness were the themes o f universa l admiration
Eked o u t by apple sauce and mashed potatoes it was a su f
cient dinner for the whole fami l y ; indeed as Mrs Cratchit
said with great delight ( surveying one small atom o f a bone
upon the dish) they had n t ate it all at last ! Yet eve ry o n e
had had enough and the youngest C ratch its in parti c ular were
steeped in sage and onion to the eyebrows But now the p l ates
being changed by Miss Bel inda Mrs Cratchit l eft the room
a l one
too nervous to bear witnesses
to take the pudding
up and bring it in
S uppose it shou l d not be done enough ! S uppose it should
break in turning out ! S uppose somebody should have got
over the wa l l o f the back yard and sto l en it while they were
merry with the goose
a supposition at which the two young
C ratch its became livid ! A l l sorts of horrors were supposed
H allo ! A gr eat deal of steam ! The pudding was o u t o f
the C opper A smell like a washing-day ! That was the cloth
A sme ll l ike an eating house and a pastry-cook s next door to
ea c h other with a l aundress s next door to that ! That was
the pudding ! I n half a min u te M rs Cratchit entered
,
2
3
ushed but smiling proud ly

with the pudding like a speckled
cannon-ball so hard and rm b l az i ng in hal f o f hal f a quartern
o f ign ited brandy and bedight with Christmas ho ll y stuck into
the top
O a wonderful pudding ! Bob Cratchit said and calmly
too that he regarded it as the greatest success a chieved by
Mrs Cratchit since their marriage Mrs Cratchit said that
now the weight w as Off her mind she wou l d confess she had
had her doubts about the quantity of our E verybody had
something to say about it but nobody said o r thought it was
at all a small pudding for a large fami ly Any Cratchit would
have blushed to hint at su c h a thing
At last the dinner was a ll done the cloth was cl eared the
hea rth swept and the re made up The compound in the
jug being tasted and considered perfe c t apples and oran ge s
were put upon the table and a shovelful o f chestnuts o n
the re
Then a l l the Crat c hit fami l y drew round the hearth in what
Bob Cratchit call ed a circl e and at Bob C ratc h it s elbow stood
the family disp l ay of gl ass two tumb l ers and a custard -c u p
without a handle
These he l d the hot stuff from the j ug however as well as
golden goblets wou l d have done ; and Bob served it o u t with
beaming l ooks whil e the chestnuts o n the re sputtered and
crackled noisi l y Then Bob proposed :
A M er ry Christmas to us a l l my dears G o d bless us
r
Which al l the family e echoed
G o d bless us every o n e I said Tiny Tim the last o f a l l
He sat very c l ose to his father s side upon his l ittle stool
Bob held his withered l ittle hand in his as if he loved the child
and wished to keep him by his side and dreaded that he might
be taken from him
S crooge raised his head speedily o n hearing his o wn name
,
34
worked at a stretch and h o w sh e meant to lie abed to

morrow morning for a good long rest ; tomorrow being a ho l i
day sh e passed at home A l so how sh e had seen a c ountess and
a lord some days before and how the lord was mu c h about as
tall as Peter ; at which Peter pu l led up his c o ll ars so high that

you cou l d n t have seen his head if you had been t h ere A ll this
time the chestnuts and the j ug went round and round ; and by
and by they had a song about a l ost chi l d trave ll ing in the snow
from Tiny Tim wh o had a p l aintive little voice and sang it very
well indeed
There was nothing of high mark in this They wer e n o t a
handsome fami l y ; they were not we l l dressed ; their shoes were
far from being water-proof their c l othes were s c anty ; and
Peter might have known and very l ike ly did the inside o f a
pawnbroker s But they were happy grateful pleased with o n e
another and contented with the time ; and when they faded
and looked happier yet in the bright sprinklings o f the S pirit s
torch at parting S crooge had his eye upon them and especially
o n Tiny Tim unti l the last
It was a great surprise to S crooge as this scene vanished to
hear a hearty l augh It was a much greater surprise to S crooge
to recognize it as his o wn nephew s and to nd himself in a
b right dry gleaming room with the S pirit standing smiling by
his side and l ooking at that same nephew
It is a fair even-handed noble adj ustment o f things t h at
whil e there is infection in disease and sorrow there is not h ing
in the worl d so irresistib l y contagious as laughter and good
humor When Sc rooge s nephew l aughed Sc rooge s niece by
marriage laughed as hearti l y as he And their assembled friends
being not a bit behindhand l aughed o u t l usti ly
H e said that Christmas w as a humbug as I live ! cried
H e believe d it to o !
S crooge s nephew
sh e
C H R I ST M AS
CA R O L
35
More shame for him Fred 1 said S crooge s niece in dig

B l ess those women ! they never do anything by halves
nan tly
They are always in earnest
S h e was very pretty exceedingl y pretty With a dimpled
surprised-l ooking capital face ; a ripe little mouth that seemed
m ade to be kissed as no doubt it was ; a l l kinds o f good
l itt l e dots about her chin that me l ted into o n e another when sh e
l aughed ; and the sunniest pair o f eyes yo u ever saw in any littl e
c reature s head A l together sh e was what you wou l d have ca ll ed
provoking but satisfa c to ry too O perfectl y satisfactory !
He 5 a comi c al o l d fe ll ow said S crooge s nephew that s

the truth ; and not so pleasant as he might be However his
o ffen c es carry their o wn punishment and I have noth ing to say
against him Who suffers by his i ll whims ? H imself always
H ere he ta k es it into his head to dis l ike u s and he won t come
an d dine with u s
What s the consequence ? H e don t lose
mu c h o f a
Indeed I think he loses a very good dinner interrupted
S crooge s niece E ve rybody e l se said the same and they must
be a ll owed to have been competent j udges because they had
j ust had dinner ; and with the dessert upon the tab l e were
cl ustered round th e re by l amp l ight
Wel l I am very gl ad to hear it said S crooge s nephew b e

cause I have n t any great faith in these young housekeepers
What do yo u say Topper
Topper cl early had his eye o n o n e o f Sc rooge s nie c e s sis
ters fo r he answered that a bache l or was a w re tc h e d out c ast
who had n o right to express an O pinion o n the subj e c t Whereat
S crooge s niece s sister the p l ump o n e with the lace tu c ker
not the o n e with the roses
b l ushed
After tea they had some music F o r they were a musical
family and knew what they were about when they sung a G l ee
6
3
C atch I can assure yo u especia lly Topper wh o cou l d

growl away in the bass like a good one and never swell the
large veins in his forehead o r get red in the face over it
But they did n t devote the who l e evening to music After a
while they played at forfeits for it is good to be chi l dren some
times and never better than at Christmas when its mighty
Founder was a child himself There was rst a game at blind
man s-bu ff though And I no more believe Topper was real ly
b l inded than I be l ieve he had eyes in his boots Because the
way in whi c h he went after that p l ump sister in the lace tucker
Knocking
was an outrage o n the credulity o f human nature
down the re-irons tu mb l ing over the chairs bumping up
against the p I an o smothering him self among the curtains
wherever she went there went he ! H e always knew where
the plump sister was H e would n t catch anybody else If yo u
had fall en up against him as some of them did and stood there
he wou l d have made a feint o f endeavoring to seize you which
wou l d have been an affront to your understanding and would
in stantly have sid l ed o ff in the direction o f the plump sister
Here is a new game said S crooge

O ne half-hour S pi rit
only o n e !
It was a Game called Y es and No where S crooge s nephew
had to think of something and the rest must nd o u t what ; he
only answering to their questions yes o r no as the case was
The re o f questioning to which he was exposed e l icited from
him that he was thinking o f an anima l a l ive animal rather a
disagreeable animal a savage animal an animal that growl ed
and grunted sometimes and ta l ked sometimes and lived in
London and wal ked about the streets and was n t made a S how
o f and was n t led by anybody and did n t l ive in a menagerie
and was never killed in a market and was not a horse o r an
ass o r a c o w or a bu ll o r a tiger o r a dog o r a pig or a cat
At every new question put to him this nephew burst
o r a bear
or
8
3
S TA V E F O U R
LA S T O F
TH E
TH E S
P I R IT S
The Phantom s l owly gr ave l y si l ent ly approached When it

came near him S c rooge bent down upon h is knee ; for in the
air through which this S pirit moved it seemed to s c atter gl oom
and mystery
I t was shrouded in a deep b lac k garment whi c h concea l ed
its head its fac e its form and l eft nothing o f it visib l e save o n e
outstret c hed hand H e knew no more fo r the S pirit neither
spoke nor m o ved
I am in the presen c e o f the Ghost o f C h ristmas Yet To
Come ? Ghost o f the Future ! I fear you more t h an any
spectre I have seen But as I know your purpose is to do
me good and as I hope to l ive to be another man f rom what I
was I am prepared to be ar you c ompany and do it with a
?
thankful heart Wi ll yo u not speak to me
It gave him no rep l y The hand was pointed straight before
them
Lead o n ! Lead o n ! The night is waning fast and it is
pre c ious time to me I know Lead o n S pirit !

They scarcely seemed to enter the city ; for the city rather
seemed to spring up about them But there they were in the
heart o f it ; o n Change amongst the mer chants
The S pirit stopped beside o n e l itt l e k not o f business men
O bserving that the hand was pointed to them S crooge advan c ed
to l isten to their tal k
No said a great fat man with a monstrous chin I don t
know mu c h about it either way I o nly know he 5 dead
When did he die ? inquired another
Last night I be l ieve
Why what was the matter with him I thought he dnever die
,
39
knows said the rst with a yawn
What h as he d o ne with his money ? asked a red -faced

gentleman
I have n t heard said the man with the large chin

Com
pany perhaps H e has n t left it to me That s all I know
By by
S crooge was at rst incl ined to be surprised that the S pirit
shou l d attach importance to conversation apparent ly so trivial ;
but fee l ing assured that it must have some hidden purpose he
It c ould s c ar c ely
se t him se l f to c onsider what it was l ikely to be
be supposed to have any bearing on the death o f Jacob his o ld
partner for that was Past and this Ghost s province was the
Future
H e looked about in that very place for his o wn image ; but
another man stood in his a cc ustomed co m er and though the
c l ock pointed to his usua l time o f day fo r being there he saw
no likeness o f himse l f among the multitudes that poured in
through the Porch It gave him litt l e surprise however ; for he
had been revolving in his mind a change o f l ife and he tho ught
and hoped he saw his new -born reso l utions carried o u t in this
They left this busy scene and went into an obscure pa rt of
the to wn to a low shop where iron o ld rags bottles bones
and greasy offal were bought A gray haired rascal o f great
age sat smoking his pipe
S crooge and the Phantom came into the presence o f this man
just as a woman with a heavy bundle s l unk into the shop But
she had s c arcely entered when another woman simi l arly laden
came in too ; and sh e was closely fo ll owed by a man i n faded
black After a short period o f blank astonishment in which the
o ld man with the pipe had j oined them they a l l three burst into
a laugh
Let the charwoman a l one to be the rst ! c ried sh e who

had entered rst
Let the l aundress alone to be the se c ond ;
God
'
S H O R T S TO R I ES
1 40
and let the unde rtake r s man alone to be the thi rd Look he r e
here s a chance ! If we have n t all th ree met he r e
o ld J o e
without mean in g it !
Yo u could n t have met i n better place You were made
free o f it long ago yo u know ; and the other two ain t strangers
?
What have you go t to sel l What have you go t to sell ?
Half a minute s patience Joe and you shal l se e
What odds then ! What odds Mrs Dilber ?

said the
woman
Eve ry person has a right to take care o f themselves
H e always did ! Who 3 the worse fo r the loss o f a few things
like these ? N o t a dead man I suppose

Mrs Dilber whose manner was remarkable for general
N O indeed m a am
p ropitiation said
If he wanted to keep em afte r he was dead a wicked old
If he had been
screw why was n t he natural in his lifetime ?
he d have had somebody to look afte r him when he was stru c k
with Death instead o f lying gasping o u t his last the re alone
by himself
It s the tr u est word that ever was spoke ; it s a j udgment
o n him
I wish it was a little heavier j udgment and it shou l d have
been you may depend upon it if I cou l d have laid my hands
o n anything e l se
O pen that bundle o ld Jo e and l et me know
the value o f it S peak out plain I m not afr aid to be the rst
nor afraid for them to se e it

n
o
f
o
e
went
down
o
his
knees
for
the
greate
r
convenience
J
O pening the bundle and dragged o u t a large a n d heavy roll o f
some dark stu ff
What do yo u cal l this ? Bed-curtains
Ah ! Bed curtains ! Don t drop that o il upon the bla nkets
.
no w
I f is
blankets
Whose else s do
ou
think ? He is n t likel y to take co ld
1 42
Past it rather Peter answered shutting up his book

But I thi nk he has wa l ked a l ittl e slower than he used these
few last evenings mother

I have known him wa l k with I have known him walk
with Tiny Tim upon his shoulder ve ry fast indeed
And so have I cried Peter

O ften
And so have I exclaimed another S O had al l

But he was very light to carry and his father l oved him so
that it was no troub l e no troub l e And there is your father
at the door !
S he hurried o u t to meet him and little Bob in his comforter
he had need o f it poor fe l low
ca me in His tea was ready
for him on the hob and they a l l tried wh o should help him to
it most Then the two young C ratch its got upon his knees and
laid ea c h child a littl e cheek against his face as if they said
Don t mind it father Don t be grieved !

Bob was very cheerful with them and spoke pleasantly to al l
the family H e looked at the work upon the tab l e and praised
the industry and speed o f Mrs Crat chit and the girls They
wou l d be done long before S unday he said
?
S unday ! Yo u went to day then R obert
Ye s my dear
returned Bob
I wish you could have
gone It would have done you good to see how gr een a
place it is But you ll se e it often I promised him that I
would wa l k there o n a S unday My little little child ! My little
child
H e broke down al l at on c e He cou l d n t help it If he could
have he l ped it he and the child wou l d have been farthe r apart
perhaps than they were
S pectre said S crooge

something informs me that o u r
parting moment is at hand I know it but I know not h o w
Te l l me what man that was with the covered face whom we
?
saw l y ing dead
,
A CH R I ST M AS C A R O L
143
The Ghost of Christmas Y et To Come conveyed him to a

disma l wret c hed ruinous chur chyard
The S pirit stood among the graves and pointed down to O ne
Before I draw nearer to that stone to which you point
answer me o n e question Are these the shadows o f the things
that Wi ll be o r are they shadows o f the things that May be
only
S ti l l the Ghost pointed downward to the grave by whi c h it stood
Men s c ourses wi ll foresh adow c ertain ends to whi c h if
persevered in they must l ead But if the courses be departed
from the ends will change S ay it i s thus with what yo u
show me !
The S pirit was immovable as ever
S crooge c rept towards it tremb l ing as he went ; and follow
ing the nger read upon the stone o f the neglected grave his
E B E N E ZE R S C R OO G E
o wn name
Am I that man who lay upon the bed ? No S pirit ! O no
no S pirit hear m e ! I am not the man I was I wi l l not be the
man I must h ave been but for this intercourse Why show me
this if I am past a ll hope ? Assure me that I yet may change
these shadows you have shown me by an altered life

For the rst time the kind hand fal tered
I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all
the year I wi l l live in the Past the Present and the Future
The S pirits o f a l l three shal l strive within me I wi l l not shut
o u t the lessons that they teach
O tell me I may sponge away
the writing o n this stone
Ho l ding up his hands in o n e last prayer to have his fate
reversed he saw an a l teration in the Phantom s hood and dress
It shrunk co l lapsed and dwindled down into a bedpost
Yes and the bedpost was his o w n The bed was his o wn
the room was his o wn Best and happiest o f all the Time before
him was his o wn to make ame nds i n !
,
1 44
He was checked in his transports by the ch u rches ringing o u t

the l u stiest pea l s he had ever heard
R unning to the window he o pened it and put o u t his
head No fog no mist no night ; clear bright stirring golden
day !
?
What 5 t o day
c ried S crooge c all ing downward to a
b o y in S unday clothes who perhaps had loitered i n to look
about him
Eh ?
What s t o day my ne fellow ?
To day ! Why C H R I S T M A S D A Y
It 5 Christmas day ! I have n t missed it Hallo my ne
fellow !
Ha ll o
Do you know the Poulterer s in the next street but o n e at
the corner ?
I S hou l d hope I did
An inte ll igent boy ! A remarkab l e boy ! Do yo u know

whether they ve so l d the prize Turkey that was hanging up
?
?
there N o t the l ittle prize Turkey
the big one
What the o n e as big as me ?

What a de l ightful b o y It s a pleasu r e to talk to him Yes
my buck
I t s hanging there n o w
?
I s it
Go and buy it
1
Wa l k E R
exc l aimed the boy
No no I am in earnest Go and buy it and tell em to
bring it here that I may give them the direction where to take
it Come ba ck with the man and I 11 give you a shilling
Come back with him in less than ve minutes and I 11 give
you hal f a crown !

The boy was o ff l ike a shot
1
Walk e r ! o r H o o k e y Walk e r ! m e an s What a st o ry !
.
1 46
Let him in ! It is a mercy he did n t shake his arm o ff He

Nothing cou l d be heartier His
was at home in ve minutes
niece looked j ust the same S o did Topper when h e came S o
did the plump siste r when sh e came S o did every o n e when
th ey came
Wonderful party wonderful games wonderful
unanimity wo n-der-ful happiness !
But he was earl y at the o f c e next morning O he was early
there ! I f he c ou l d on l y be there rs t and c atch Bob Crat c hit
coming late ! That was the thing he had set his heart upon
And he did it The c l ock struck nine No Bob A quarter
past No B o b Bob was fu l l eighteen minutes and a half b e
hind his time S crooge sat with his doo r wide open that he
might see him come into the Tank
Bob s hat was o ff before he opened the door ; his comfo rter
too H e was on his stool i n a j i ffy ; driving away with his pen
as if he were t rying to overtake nine o cl ock
Hall o ! grow l ed S crooge in his a c customed voice as near

as he cou l d feign it
What do yo u mean by coming here at
this time of day ?
I am very sorry sir I a m behind my time

You are ? Yes I think you are S tep this way if yo u
please
It s onl y once a year sir It sh all not be repeated I was
making rather merry yesterday sir
Now I ll te l l yo u what my friend I am not going to
stand this sort of thin g any l onger And therefore Sc rooge

c ontinued l e aping from his stoo l and giving Bob such a dig in
the wai st c o at that he staggered back into the Tank again
and therefore I am about to raise your s al ary !

Bob trembled and got a l ittl e nearer to the ru l er
A merry Christmas Bob ! said S c rooge with an earnest

ness that c ou l d not be mistaken as he c l apped him o n the ba ck
A merrier Christmas Bob my good fell ow than I have given
A CH R I S T M A S CA RO L
1 47
you fo r many a ye ar ! I ll raise your salary and endeavor to

assist your struggl ing family an d we wi ll discu s s your affairs
this very afternoon over a Christmas bow l o f smo k ing bishop
Bob ! Make up the res and buy a se c ond c oal-s c uttle before
you do t another i Bob Cratchit
Sc rooge was better than his word H e did it a l l and innite ly
more ; and to Tiny Tim wh o did N OT die he was a second
father H e became as good a friend as good a master and as
good a man as the good o ld city knew o r any other good o ld
city town o r borough in the good o ld world S ome peop l e
laughed to see the alteration in him but his o wn heart l aughed
and that was quite enough for him
He had n o further intercourse with spirits but lived in that
respect upon the total-abstinence principle ever afterward ; and
it was always said o f him that he knew how to keep Christmas
wel l if any man a l ive possessed the knowledge May that be
tru ly said o f us and a l l of u s ! And so as Tiny Tim observed
God b l ess us every o n e
VI
T H E G REAT STO N E FACE
1
8
5
0
(
)
B Y N AT H A N I E L H A W THOR N E ( 1 8 0 4 1 8 6 4 )
etting
S
!
The Pro l e Mountain a huge work of Nature in
her mood o f maj esti c p l ayfu l ness seems to have given the
suggestion The Pro l e Mountain is a part o f Cannon Moun
tain which is o n e o f the White Mountains o f N e w Hampshire
But the larger background is to be sought in the interplay of
the spiritual and physical for c es which Hawtho rne has here
staged in all egory The mountain is the symbol o f a lofty ideal
that blesses those that fo ll ow its be c koning and marks the
degree o f fai l ure o f those that s l ight or ignore it
Pl ot The plan o f the sto ry is as simple and beautiful as the
teaching is profound and hel pful

M r H awthorne writes
Mrs Hawthorne says he is rather ashamed o f the mechanical
structure o f the story the moral being so p l ain and manifest
But what is the p l ain and manifest mora l that the stru c ture
o f the story is de s igned to bring o u t ?
O ne interpreter says
That the last S hal l be rst ; another That su cc ess is not
to be measured by human standards

The central thought
seems to me to be larger than either o f these and to in cl ude
bo t h It is rather the assimi l ative power o f a lofty ideal and is
best phrased in 2 Corinthians iii 1 8 : But w e a l l with o pen
fa c e beholding as in a gl ass the g l ory o f the Lord are c h anged
into the same image from gl o ry to gl ory

By setting his ideal
high and by l oo k ing and longing E rnest grew d ai l y in S piritual
s t ature and w as saved from being the vi c tim o f the popu l ar and
,
I m ag e an d O th e r T
p e rm issio n o f an d b y sp e c ial arran g e m e n t
C o m p an y p u bl ish e rs o f H aw th o rn e s Wo rk s
1
F ro m
Th e S n o w
T
T al e s U s e d b y
w it h H o u g h t o n M if in
w ic e - o ld
1 48
S H ORT STO RI E S
50
E mbosomed amongst a family o f lofty mountains there was

a valley so spacious that it contained many thousand inhabit
ants S ome o f these good pe o p l e dwelt in lo g huts with the
black forest all around them o n the steep and dif cult hil l
sides O thers had thei r homes in comfortable farm -houses
and cultivated th e rich soil o n the gentle s10 pes o r level su r
faces o f the va l ley O thers again were co n gregated into
populous villages where some wi l d highland rivulet tumbling
down from its birthplace in the uppe r mountain region had
been c aught and tamed by human cunning and compelled to
turn the machinery o f cotton-factories The inhabitants o f
this valley in short were numerous and o f many modes o f life
But all of them grown peop l e and children had a kind of
familiarity with the Great S tone Face although some possessed
the gift o f distinguishing this grand natural phenomenon more
perfectly than many o f their neighbors
The G r eat S tone Face then was a work of Nature in he r
mood o f maj estic p l ayfulness formed o n the perpendicu l ar
side o f the mountain by some immense rocks whi c h had been
thrown together in such a position as when viewed at a pro per
distan c e pre c ise l y to resemble the features o f the human coun
It seemed as if an enormous giant o r a Titan had
t e n an ce
scu l ptured his o wn likeness o n the pre c ipi c e There was the
broad ar c h o f the forehead a hundred feet in height ; the nose
with its long bridge ; and the vast lips which if they c ould
have spoken wou l d have rolled their thunder accents from o ne
end o f the va ll ey to the other Tru e it is that if the spectator
approached too near he l ost the out l ine o f the gigantic visage
and cou l d discern only a heap of ponderou s and gigantic rocks
piled in chaotic ru in o n e upon another R etracing his steps
however the wondrous features would again be seen ; an d the
farther he withdrew from them the m o re like a human face
with all its original divinity intact did they appear ; until as it
,
T H E G R EAT STO N E FAC E
1
5
rew
dim
in
the
distance
with
the
c
l
ouds
and
gloried
vapor
g
the Great S tone Fa c e
o f the mountains c lustering abo u t it
seemed positive l y to be alive
It was a happy lot for children to grow up to manhood o r
womanhood with the Great S tone Fa c e before their eyes for
a l l the features were nob l e and the expression was at once
grand and sweet as if it were the gl ow o f a vast warm heart
that embraced al l mankind in its affections and had room fo r
more It was an education only to look at it According to
th e be l ief of many people the valley owed much o f its ferti l ity
to this benign aspect that was continually beamin g over it
illuminating the clouds and infusing its tenderness into the
sunshine
As we began with sayin g a mother and her little boy sat
door gazing at the Great S tone Fa c e and
at their c ottaget alking about it
The chi l d s name was E rnest
Mother said he while the Titanic visage smi l ed o n him

I wish that it cou l d speak for it l ooks so ve ry kind ly that its
voice must needs be pleasant If I were to see a man with
such a face I shou l d l ove him dearly
If an o ld prophecy should com e to pass answered his

mother we may see a man some time o r other with exactl y
such a face as that
What prophecy do you mean dear mother ?

eagerly
inquired E rnest
Pray te l l me all about it !
S o his mother to l d him a story that he r o wn mother had
to l d to her when she h erse l f was younger than little E rnest ;
a story n o t o f things that were past but of what was yet to
come ; a sto ry nevertheless so very o ld that even the Indians
who formerly inhabited this vall ey had heard it from thei r
forefathers to whom as they afrmed it had been murmured
by the mountain streams and whispered by the wind among
the treetops The purport was that at some future day a
,
2
5
chi l d should be born hereabouts wh o was destined to become

the greatest and nob l est personage of his time and whose
countenance in manhood should bear an exact resemblance
to the Great S tone Fa c e
Not a few o ld-fashioned peop l e and
young ones likewise in the ardor o f their hopes sti ll cherished
an enduring faith in this o ld prophecy But others who had
seen more of the world had wat c hed and waited til l they were
weary and had beheld no man with such a face no r any man
that proved to be much gre ater o r nobler than his neighbors
concluded it to be nothing but an idle tale At all eve n ts the
reat
man
o
f
the
prophecy
had
not
yet
appeared
g
O mother dea r mother ! cried E rnest clapping h is hands
?
above his head I do hope that I shall live to see him
His mother was an affectionate and thoughtful woman and
felt that it was wisest not to discourage the generous hopes o f
her little boy S o sh e on l y said to him Perhaps you may

And E rnest never forgot the story that his mother told him
I t was always in his mind whenever he looked upon the Great
S tone Face H e spent his chi l dhood in the lo g-cottage where
he was b o rn and was dutiful to his mother and helpful to he r
in many things assisting her mu c h with his litt l e hands and
more with his loving heart In this manner from a happy yet
often pensive chi l d he grew up to be a mi ld quiet unobt ru sive
boy and su nb ro wn e d with labor in the e lds but with more
intelligence brightening his aspect than is seen in many l ads
wh o have been taught at famous schools Yet E rnest had had
no teacher save only that the Great S tone Face became o n e to
him When the toil o f the day was over he wou l d gaz e at it
for hours until he began to imagine that those vast features
recogn iz ed him and gave him a smile o f kindness and en c o u r
We must
age m e n t responsive to his o w n l ook o f veneration
n o t take upon us to a f rm that this w as a mistake a l though
th e Face may have l ooked no more kind l y at E rn est than at all
,
54
Mr G ath e rgo ld had become so very ri c h that it would have

taken him a hundred years on ly to count his weal th he b e
thought himself o f his native vall ey and reso lved to go back
thither and end his days where he was born With this
purpose in view he sent a ski l ful architect to bui l d him
such a pala c e as shou l d be t for a man o f his vast wea l th
to l ive in
As I have said above it had a l ready been rumored in the
valley that Mr G ath e rgo ld had turned o u t to be the propheti c
personage so long and vain l y l ooked for and that his visage
was the perfect and undeniab l e simi l itude o f the Great S tone
Face People were the more ready to be l ieve that this must
needs be the fa c t when they behe l d the sp l endid edi c e that
rose as if by enchantment o n the site o f his father s o l d
weather-beaten fa rm -house The exterior was of marb l e so
dazzlingly white that it seemed as though the whole structure
might me l t away in the sunshine like those humb l er ones
which Mr G ath e rgo ld in his young p l ay days before his ngers
were gifted with the touch of transmutation had been a cc us
I t had a ri chly ornamented portico
to m e d to bui l d o f sno w
supported by tall pi ll ars beneath which was a lofty door
studded with silver knobs and made of a kind o f variegated
wood that had been broug h t from beyond the se a The win
dows from the oor to the cei l ing of e ach state ly apartment
were composed respe c tively o f but o n e enormous pane o f
g l ass so transparentl y pure that it w as said to be a ner
mediu m than even the va c ant atmosphere Hard ly anybody
had been permitted to se e the interior o f this pal a c e ; but it
w as reported an d with good semblance of truth to be far
more gorgeous than the outside insomu c h that whatever was
iron o r brass in other houses was si l ver or go l d in this ; and
Mr G ath e rgo ld s bed c hamber espe c ia lly m ade such a gl itter
ing appearance tha t no ordinary man wou l d have been able to
.
T H E G RE AT S T O N E FA C E
55
close his eyes there But on the other hand Mr G ath e rgo ld
was n o w so inured to wealth that perhaps he c ou l d not have
closed his eyes unless where the gl eam o f it was certain to
nd its way beneath his eye l ids
In due time the mansion was nished ; next came the u ph o l
ste re rs with magnicent furniture ; then a who l e troop o f b l a c k
and white servants the harbingers o f Mr G ath e rgo ld wh o in
his o wn maj estic person was expected to arrive at sunset O ur
friend E rnest meanwhil e had been deeply stirred by the idea
that the great man the noble man the man o f prophecy after
so many ages o f delay was at l ength to be made manifest to
his native va ll ey H e knew boy as he was that there were
a thousand ways in which M r G ath e rgo ld with his vast wealth
might transform himself into an angel o f b e ne c e n c e and
assume a control o ver human a ffairs as wide and benignant as
the smi l e o f the Great S tone Face Full o f faith and hope
E rnest doubted not that what the people said was true and
that now he was to behold the living likeness o f those wondrous
features o n the mountain -side While the boy was still gazing
up the valley and fancying as he always did that the Great
S tone Face returned his gaz e and looked kind l y at him the
ru mbling o f whe e ls was heard approaching swiftly along the
winding road
Here he comes !
cried a group o f peop l e wh o were
assemb l ed to witness the arrival
Here comes the great
Mr G ath e rgo ld
A c arriage draw n by four horses dashed round the turn o f
the road Within it thru st partl y o u t of the window appeared
the physiognomy o f a little o ld man with a skin as yellow as if
his o wn Midas-hand had transmuted it He had a low forehead
smal l sharp eyes puckered about with innumerable wrink l es
and very thin l ips which he made sti l l thinne r by pressing them
forcib ly togethe r
.
56
The very image of the Great S tone Face !

shouted the
people
S ure enough the old prophe c y is true ; and here we
have the great man come at last !
And what greatly perp l exed E rnest they seemed actually to
believe tha t here was the l ikeness which they spoke o f By the
roadside there chanced to be an o ld beggar-woman and two
littl e beggar-chi l dren stragglers from some far-o ff region who
as the carriage roll ed onward he l d o u t their hands and l ifted
up their do l eful voices most piteously beseeching charity A
yellow cl aw
the very same that had clawed together so mu ch
wealth
poked itself o u t o f the coa c h-window and dropt some
C opper coins upon the ground ; so that though the great man s
name seems to have been G ath e rgo ld he might j ust as suitably
have been nicknamed S c atte rCOpp e r S ti l l neverthe l ess with
an earnest shout and evidentl y with as much good faith as ever
the people bel l owed
He is the v e ry image o f the Great S tone Face
But E rnest turned sad l y from the wrinkled shrewdness o f
that sordid visage and gazed up the va ll ey where amid a
gathering mist gil ded by the last sunbeams he could sti ll dis
tingu ish those glorious features which had impressed them
selves in to his soul Their aspect cheered him What did th e
benign lips seem to say ?
H e will come ! Fea r not E rnest ; the man will come !
The years went o n and E rnest ceased to be a boy He had
grown to be a young man now H e attracted litt l e notice from
the other inhabitants o f the va ll ey ; fo r they saw nothing
remarkable in his way of life save that when the labor of the
day was over he sti ll l oved to go apart and gaze and meditate
upon the Great S tone Fa c e According to their idea o f the
matter it was a fo ll y indeed but pardonab l e ina smu c h as
E rnest was industrious kind and neighbor l y and negl e c ted no
du ty fo r th e sak e o f i ndu l ging this idle habit They knew no t
.
58
of
hard ghting had n o w be c ome an illustrious commander

Whatever h e may be ca l led in history he was known in camps
and o n the battle-e ld under the ni ckname o f O l d B lood-and
Thunder This war-worn veteran being now inrm with age
and wounds and weary o f the turmoi l o f a mil itary life and o f
the rol l o f th e drum and the c l angor o f the trumpet that had
so long been ringing in his ears had lately signied a purpose
o f returning to his native va l ley hoping to nd repose where
he remembered to have left it The inhabitants his o l d neigh
bors and their grown -u p c hi l dren were reso l ved to wel c ome the
renowned warrior with a sa l ute of c annon and a pub l ic dinner ;
an d a ll the more enthusiasti c a ll y it being a frmed that n o w at
last the likeness o f the Great S tone Fa c e had a c tua lly appeared
An aid-decamp o f O l d Blood-and-Thunder travelling through
the val l ey was said to have been struck with the resemblance
Moreover the schoolmates and earl y acquaintances o f the general
were ready to testify o n oath that to the be st of their re c o lle c
tion the aforesaid general had been exceedingly like the m aj esti c
image even when a boy only that the idea h ad never o c curred
to them at that period Great therefore was the ex c itement
throughout the val ley ; and man y peop l e wh o had never once
thought o f glancing at th e Great S tone Fa c e for years before
now spent their time in gazing at it for the sake o f knowing
exactly how General B l ood-and-Thunder looked
O n the day o f the great festiva l E rnest with all the othe r
people o f the va ll ey left their work and pro c eeded to the spot
where the sylvan b anquet was prepared A S he approa ched
the loud voi c e o f the R ev D r B attle blast was heard beseeching
a blessing o n the good things se t before them and on the dis
tin gu ish e d friend o f peace in whose honor they were assembled
The tables were arranged in a cl eared space o f the woods shut
in b y the surrounding trees except where a vista O pened east
ward and afforded a distant view o f the Great S tone Face
.
T H E GR EAT S T O N E FAC E
59
O ver the general s c h air whi c h was a re l i c from the home o f

Washington there w as an ar ch o f verd ant boughs with the
laurel profusely intermixed and surmounted by his country s
b anner beneath whi c h he had won his victories O ur friend
E rnest raised himse l f o n his tiptoes in hopes to get a gl impse
O f the c elebrated guest ; but there w as a mighty c rowd about
the tab l es anxious to hear the toa sts and spee ches and to cat c h
any word t h at might fall from th e general in rep ly and a vo lu n
teer c ompany doing duty as a guard pricked ruth l essly with
their bayonets at any parti c ularl y quiet person among the throng
S o E rnest being of an unobtrusive character was thrust quite
into the background where he cou l d se e no more o f O l d B l ood
and-Thunder s physiognomy than if it had been sti l l b l azing on
the battl e-eld To conso l e himsel f he turned towards the
Great S tone Face whi c h l ike a faithful and long-remembered
friend looked back and smi l ed upon him through the vista o f
the forest M eantime however he cou l d overhear the remarks
o f various individua l s w h o were comparing the features o f the
n
hero with the face o the distant mountain side
cried o n e man cutting

T is the same face to a hair !
a caper for j oy
Wonderfu lly l ike that s a fa c t !

responded anothe r
Like ! why I ca l l it O l d B l ood and Thunder himself in
a monstrous looking glass !

cried a third
And why not ?
He s the greatest man o f this o r any other age beyond
a doub t
And then a l l three o f the speakers gave a great shout whi c h
communi c ated e l ectricity to the c rowd and Call ed forth a roar
from a thousand voices that went reverberating for mi l es
among the mountains until you might have supposed t h at the
Great S tone Fa c e h ad poured its thunder-breath into the c ry
All these comments and this vast enthusiasm served the more
to interest our friend ; nor did he think o f questioning that no w
1 60
at length the mountain-visage had found its human counterpart

It is true E rnest had imagined that this long looked for person
age would appear in the c haracter o f a man of peace uttering
wisdom and doing good and making peop l e happy But taking
an habi tual breadth o f view with a ll his simp l icity he contende d
that Providence shou l d choose its own method of blessing man
kind and cou l d conceive that this great end might be e ffected
even by a warrior and a bloody sword shou l d inscrutab l e
wisdom se e t to order matters so
The genera l ! the genera l ! was now the cry

Hush !
silen c e ! O l d B l ood-and-Thunder s going to make a speech

E ven so ; fo r the c loth being removed the general s heal th
had been drunk amid shouts o f applause and he n o w stood
u pon his feet to thank the company
E rnest saw him There
h e was over the shou l ders of the c rowd from the two gl ittering
epaulets and embroidered c o l lar upward beneath the arch o f
reen boughs with intertwined laurel
and
the
banne
r
drooping
g
as if to S hade his brow ! A n d th ere to o visib l e in the sam e
gl an c e through the vist a o f the forest appeared the Great
S tone Fa c e ! And w as there indeed such a resemblance as the
crowd had testied ? A l as E rnest c ou l d not re c ogniz e it ! H e
beh e l d a war-worn and weather-be aten countenance fu l l o f
energy and expressive o f an iron will ; but the gentl e wisdom
the deep broad tender sympathies were a l together wanting in
O l d B l ood -and-Thunder s vi sage ; and even if the Great S tone
Face h ad assumed his look o f stern command the mi lder traits
wou l d sti ll h ave tempered it
This is n o t the man o f prophecy sighed E rnest to him
self as he made his way out o f the throng

And must the
worl d wait l onger yet ?
The mists had congreg ated about the distant mountain -side
and there were seen t h e grand and awful features of the Great
S tone Face awful but benignant as if a mighty angel were
.
162
E rnest himsel f suspe c t it ; but inevitab l y as the murmur o f a

rivulet c ame thoughts o u t o f his mou t h that no ot h er human
lips had spoken
When the people s minds had had a litt l e time to cool they
w ere ready enough to a c k now l edge their mistake in imagin ing
a simil arity between Genera l B l ood-and -Thunder s t rucu l ent
physiognomy and the benign visage o n the mountain-side But
now again t h ere were reports and many paragraphs in the
newspapers a f rming that the l ikeness o f the Great S tone Fa c e
had appeared upon the b ro ad shou l ders o f a certain eminent
statesman H e l ike Mr G ath e rgo ld and O l d B l ood -and-Thun
der was a native o f the va ll ey but h ad l eft it in his early days
and taken up the trades o f law and po l iti c s Instead o f the rich
man s wea l t h and the warrior s sword he h ad but a tongu e and
it was mightier than both together S O wonderfu lly e l oquent
was he that whatever he might c hoose to say his auditors had
no choice but to be l ieve him ; wrong looked like right and right
like wrong ; f o r when it p l eased him he c ou l d make a kind o f
ill uminated fo g with his mere breath and obscure the natural
daylight with it His tongue indeed was a magic instrument :
sometimes it rumb l ed like the thunder ; sometimes it warbled like
the sweetest mu sic It w as the b l ast of w ar the song o f
pea c e and it seemed to h ave a heart in it when there was no
su c h matter In good truth he was a wondrous man ; and
when his tongue had a c quired h im a ll other imaginab l e su c
c ess when it had been heard in h all s of s tate and in the
c ourts o f princes and potentates

after it had made him
known a ll o ver the worl d even as a voice crying from shore
to shore
it nally persuaded his countrymen to se l e c t him
for the Presiden cy Before this time indeed as soon as h e
began to grow cel ebrated his admirers h ad found o u t the
resemblan c e bet ween him and the Gre at S tone Fa c e ; and so
much were they stru ck by it that throughout the c ountry this
,
TH E GR EAT STO N E FAC E
163
distingu ished gentl eman was known by the name o f O ld S tony

Phiz The phrase was considered as giving a high ly favorable
aspect to his po l iti c a l prospe c ts ; for as is likewise the case
with the Popedom nobody ever becomes President without
tak ing a name other than his o wn
W h i l e his friends were doing their best to make him Presi
dent O l d S tony Phiz as he was call ed set o u t o n a visit to the
vall ey wh e re he was born O f course he had no other obj ect
than to shake hands with his fe ll ow c itizens and neither thought
nor c ared about any e ffe c t whi c h his progress through the coun
try might have upon the election Magnicent preparations were
made to receive the i ll ustrious statesman ; a cavalcade o f horse
men se t forth to meet him at the boundary line o f the S tate
and all the peop l e l eft t h eir business and gathered a l ong the
wayside to see him pass Among these w as E rnest Though
more than once disappointed as w e have seen he had such a
hopeful and c on ding nature that he was always ready to bel ieve
in whatever seemed beautiful and good H e kept h is heart c o n
tin u ally O pen and thus was sure to catch the b l essing from o n
high when it should c ome S o now again as buoyantly as ever
h e went forth to beho l d the likeness o f th e Great S tone Face
The cavalc ade c ame pran c ing a l ong the road with a great
cl attering o f hoofs and a mighty cl oud o f dust whi c h rose up
so dense and high that the visage o f the mountainside was
c omp l ete ly hidden from E rnest s eyes A l l th e great men o f
t h e neighborhood were there o n horseb a ck : mil itia o i c e rs in
uniform ; th e member o f Congress ; th e sheriff o f the coun ty ;
the editors o f ne wspape rs and many a farmer too had mounted
his patient steed with his S unday coat upon his back It really
was a very bri ll iant spectacle especially as there w ere numer
o u s banners au n tin
g over the cava l cade o n some o f which
were gorgeous portraits of the i ll ustriou s statesman and the
Great S tone Fa c e smi l ing famil iarly at o n e another like two
.
S H O R T STO RI E S
164
brothers If the pi c tures were to be trusted the mutual resem

b l an c e it must be confes sed was marve ll ous We must not for
get to mention that there was a band of music which made the
echoes o f the mountains ring and reverberate with the loud
triumph o f its strains ; so t h at ai ry and soul-thrill ing melodies
broke o u t among all the heights and ho l lows as if every nook
o f his native va ll ey had found a voice to we l come the distin
i
sh e d guest
u
But
the
grandest
e
f
fect
was
when
the
far
o
ff
g
mountain precipi c e ung back th e musi c ; fo r then the Great
S tone Face itse l f seemed to be swell ing the triumphant chorus
in acknowledgment that at l ength the man of prophecy was
come
All this while t h e people were throwing up their hats and
shouting with enthusiasm so contagious t h at the heart o f E rnest
kind l ed up and he l ikewise threw up his hat and shouted as
loud l y as the loudest Huzza for the great man ! Huzza for
O l d S tony Phiz !
But as yet he had not seen him
H ere he is now ! cried those wh o stood near E rnest
There ! There ! Look at O ld S tony Phiz and then at the

O l d Man o f the Mountain and see if they are n o t as l ike as
two twin-brothers
In the midst o f a l l this gall ant array came an O pen barou che
drawn by four white horses ; and in the barouche with his
massive head uncovered sat the i ll ustrious statesman O l d
S tony Phiz himsel f
Confess it said o ne o f E rnest s neighbors to him ; the

Great S tone Face has met its mat c h at l ast !
N o w it must be owned that at his rst gl impse o f the coun
t e n anc e whi c h was bowing and smi l ing from the barou c he
E rnest did fancy that there was a resemb l an c e bet ween it and
the o l d famil iar face upon th e mountain-side The brow with
its massive depths and loftiness and a l l the other fe atures in
deed were boldly and strongl y hewn as if in emul ation o f a
.
1 66
was an aged man But not in vain had he grown o ld ; more

than the white hairs o n his head were the sage thoughts in his
mind ; his wrink l es and furrows w ere inscriptions that Time
had graved and in whi c h he had written legends o f wisdom
that had been tested by the tenor o f a l ife And E rnest had
ceased to be obscure Unsought for undesired had come th e
fame which so many seek and made him known in the great
worl d beyond the l imits o f th e vall ey in whi c h he h ad dwe l t so
quiet l y Co ll ege professors and even the a c tive men o f cities
came from far to see and converse with E rnest ; for the report
had gone abro ad that this S imple husbandman h ad ideas unlike
those o f other men n o t gained from books but o f a higher
tone
a tranqui l and fami l iar maj esty as if he had been talk
ing with the angel s as his dai l y friends Whether it were sage
statesman or philanthropist E rnest received these visitors with
the gent l e sincerity that had characterized him from boyhood
and spoke freely with them o f whatever came uppermost or
lay deepest i n his heart o r their o wn Whi l e they tal ked to
gether his face would kind l e unawares and shine upon them
as with a mi l d evening light Pensive with the fulness of su ch
discourse his gu ests took l eave and went their way ; and pass
ing up the va ll ey paused to look at th e Great S tone Face
imagining that they had seen its likeness in a human c o u n te
nance but cou l d not remember where
Whi l e E rnest had been growing up and growing o ld a boun
tifu l Providen c e had granted a new poet to this earth H e
l ikewise was a native o f the vall ey but had spent the greater
part o f his l ife at a distance from that romanti c region pouring
out his sweet music amid the bustl e and din o f c ities O ften
however did the mountains which had been familiar t o him in
his c hil dhood lift their snowy peaks into the cl e a
r atmosphere
Neither was the G reat S to ne F ace forgotten fo r
o f his poetry
th e p oet had celebrated it in an o de which was grand enough
.
G RE AT ST O N E FA C E
TH E
167
to have been uttered by its o wn maj estic lips This man o f

genius w e may say had come down from heaven with wo n
If he sang o f a mountain the eyes o f all
de rf u l endowments
mankind behe l d a mightier grandeur reposing o n its breast o r
soaring to its summit than had before been seen there If his
theme were a love l y l ake a c e l estial smile had n o w been thrown
over it to gl eam forever on its surface If it were the vast o ld
sea even th e deep immensity o f its d read bosom seemed to
swell the higher as if moved by th e emotions o f the song
Thus th e world assumed another and a better aspect from the
hour that the poet b l essed it with his happy eyes The Creator
had bestowed him as th e l ast best tou c h to his o wn handiwork
Creation was n o t nished ti ll the poet came to interpret and so
complete it
The effect was no less high and beautiful whe n his human
brethren were the subj ect o f his verse The man o r woman
sordid with the common dust o f l ife who crossed his daily
path and the little chi l d who played in it were gloried if he
beheld them in his mood o f poetic faith He showed the golden
links of th e great cha in that intertwined them with an angelic
kindred ; he brought o u t the hidden traits o f a celestial birth
that made them worthy o f such kin S ome indeed there were
wh o thought to S how the soundness o f their j udgment by afrm
ing that all the beauty and dignity o f the natural world existed
only in the poet s fancy Let such men speak for themselves
who u n doubted l y appear to have been spawned forth by Nature
with a c ontemptuous bitte rness ; she having plastered them up
out o f her refuse stu ff after a l l the swine were made As
respects all things e l se thg p oe s ideal was the truest truth
i
The so ngs o f th is p o et found fhEiF way to E rnest H e read
them after his customary toil seated o n th e bench before his
cottage-door where for such a l ength o f time h e had ll ed his
re pose with thought b y gazing at the Great S tone Face And
.
168
now as he read stanzas that caused the soul to thrill within him
he l ifted his eyes to th e vast countenance beaming o n him so
b e n Ign an tly
O maj estic friend
he murmured addressing the Great
S tone Face is not this man worthy to resemb l e thee ?

The Face seemed to smi l e but ans w ered not a word
N o w it happened that th e poet though h e dwe l t so f ar away
had not only heard o f E rnest but had meditated mu c h upon
his character until he deemed nothing so desirab l e as to meet
this man whose untaught wisdom walked hand in hand with
th e noble simp l i c ity o f his life
O ne summer morning therefore
he took passage by the rai l road and in the de cl ine o f the after
noon al ighted from the cars at no great distance f rom E rne st s
cottage The great hote l which had formerly been the p al a c e
o f Mr G ath e rgo ld was c l ose at hand
but the poet with his
carpet-bag o n his arm inquired at once where E rnest dwe l t
and was reso l ved to be accepted as his guest
Approaching the door he there found the good o ld man
ho l ding a volume in his hand whi c h al ternate l y he read and
then with a nger between the leaves looked lovingly at th e
Great S tone Face
Good evening said the poet

Can you give a trave ll er a
night s lod ging ?
Will ingly answered E rnest ; and then he added smi l ing

Methinks I never saw the Great S tone Fa c e l ook so hospitab ly
at a stranger
The poet sat down o n the ben c h beside him and he and
E rnest tal ked together O ften had the poet hel d inter c our se
with the wittiest and the wisest but never before with a man
l ike E rnest whose thoughts and fee l ings gushed up with su c h
a natural freedom and wh o made great truths so fami l iar by
his simp l e utteran c e o f t h em Angel s as had been so often
said seemed to h ave wroug h t with him at his labor in the e l ds ;
,
0
7
i n m e the likeness
of
the Great S tone Face And yo u are

disappointed as formerly with M r G ath e rgo ld and O l d B l ood
and-Thunder and O l d S tony Phiz Ye s Erne st it is my doom
Yo u must add my name to the i ll ust rious three an d record
anothe r failure o f your hopes F o r in shame and sadness
do I speak it E rnest I am not worthy to be typied by
yonde r benign and maj estic image
?
And wh y
asked E rnest H e pointed to the volume
Are n o t those thoughts divine ?
They have a strain o f the Divinity rep l ied the poet

Yo u
can hear in them the far o ff e cho o f a heaven l y song But my
life dear E rnest has not corresponded with my thought I
have had grand dreams but they have been only dreams
because I have l ived and that too by my o wn choi c e
among poor and mean rea l ities S ometimes even shall I
dare to say it ? I lack faith in th e grandeur the beauty and
the goodness which my o wn works are said to have made
more evident in nature and in human life Why then pure
seeker o f th e good and t ru e shou l dst thou h Op e to nd me
?
i n yonde r image o f the divine
The poet spoke sad l y and his eyes were dim with tears
S o likewise were those o f E rnest
At the hour o f sunset as had long been his frequent custom
E rnest was to discourse to an assemb l age o f the neighboring
inhabitants in the open air H e and the poet arm in arm sti l l
talking together as they went along proceeded to the spot It
was a smal l nook among the hi l ls with a gray precipice beh ind
the stern front of which was rel ieved by the p l easant foliage
that made a tapestry fo r the naked
o f many creeping p l ants
rock by hanging their festoons from all its ru gge d angl es At
a small elevation above the ground se t in a ri ch framework o f
verdure there appeared a ni che spacious enough to admit a
hum an gure with freedom for su c h gestures as spontan eous l y
.
TH E G RE AT S T O N E FAC E
71
a c company earnest thought and genuine emotion Into this

natural pu l pit E rnest as c ended and threw a l ook o f f ami l iar
kindness a round upon his audien c e They stood o r sat o r
recl ined upon the grass as seemed good to ea ch with the
departing sunshine fa ll ing ob l iquely o ver t h em and mingling
its subdued cheerfulness with the so l emnity o f a grove o f
ancient trees beneath and amid the boughs o f whi c h the
golden rays were constrained to pa ss I n another direction
was seen th e Great S tone Fa c e with the same c heer combined
with the same so l emnity in its benignant aspect
E rnest began to speak giving to the people o f what was in
his heart and mind His words had power be c ause th ey
accorded with his thoughts ; and h is thoug h ts had real ity and
depth because they harmoniz ed with th e l ife which he had
al ways l ived It was not me re breath that this prea c her uttered ;
they were the words of l ife because a life of good deeds and
ho l y l ove was me l ted into them Pearl s pure and rich had
been disso l ved into this pre c ious draught The poet as h e
l istened fe l t that the being and c hara c ter o f E rnest were a
nob l er strain o f poetry than he had ever written His eyes
glistening with tears he gazed reverentia lly at the venerab l e
man and said within himsel f that never was there an aspe c t so
worthy o f a prophet and a sage as that mil d sweet th oughtful
countenan c e with th e gl ory o f white hair diffused about it At
a distance but distinctly to be seen high up I n the golden
light o f the setti n g su n appeared th e Great S tone Face with
hoary mists around it l i k e the white hairs around the brow
of E rnest Its look o f grand b en e c e n c e seemed to embra c e
the worl d
At that moment in sympathy with a thought which he was
about to utter the fac e of E rnest assumed a grandeur o f
expression so im b ued wi t h benevo l en c e th at the poet by an
irresistib l e impu l se threw his arm s aloft and shouted
.
2
7
Beho l d ! Behold ! E rn est is himse l f the likeness o f the

G r eat S tone Face !
Then all the people looked and saw that what the deep-sighted
poet said was tru e The prophecy was ful l led But E rnest
having nished what he had to say took the poet s arm and
wal ked slowly homeward still hoping that some wiser and
better man th an himself would by and by appear bearing a
resemblance to the G RE AT S TON E F A C E
,
S H O R T S T O R I ES
74
there is usua ll y too l ittl e action and too mu ch description The
adj ectives tend to smother t h e ve rbs

They h ave said Haw

thorne o f his Twi c e To l d Tal es
th e pa l e tint o f owers
that b l ossomed in too retired a shade the coolness o f a
meditative habit which d iffuses itself through the fee l in g and
observation o f every sketch

But no su c h charge can be l aid
at the door o f R ab and his Friends

The very dumbness of
R ab his mute yearning to hel p his brave and loya l ministries
in the hospital doub l y affecting because word l ess and impotent
lend an appea l to this s k et c h that few sket ches of men and
women can be said to have
Ch a ra cters I n a l ater sketch called O ur Dogs Dr Brown
tells how R ab be c ame the p rOp e rty o f James and Ailie He
had been terrifying everybody at M ac b ie Hi ll and his owner
ordered him to be hanged As R ab was getting the better o f
But Ai l ie
th e c ontest his owner commanded that he be S hot
wh o happened to be near noti c ed t h at he h ad a big S p l inter in
his fore l eg
S h e gave him w ater says Dr Brown and by
her woman s w it go t his l ame paw under a door so that he
cou l d n t sudden l y get at her ; then with a qui ck rm hand she
plucked o u t the sp l inter and put in a n amp l e meal S he went
in some time after taking no notice o f him and he came l imp
ing u p and laid his great j aws in her l ap

From that moment
they be c ame friends A l ittl e later James was in a lone l y part
of the woods wh en a robber sprang at him and demanded his
money
Weel a weel let m e get it said James and stepping
back he whispered to R ab
S peak ti ll him my man
R ab
had the robber down in an instant
I n R ab and his Friend s the great m asti ff shows j ust the
qual ities that we shou l d expe c t from this a cc ount o f his earlier
c areer But his sympathy and affe c tion fo r Ai l ie shown so
tenderl y in the hospital scenes nd an added pathos in the
thought that he was serving his rst and best friend o n e
who had heal ed his hurt as he would have healed hers if
he c ou l d ]
.
RA B
AN D H I S F R I E N D S
75
Fou r-and-thirty years ago Bob Ains l ie and I were coming up

Inrmary S treet from the Edinburgh High S choo l o u r he ads
together and our arm s intertwisted as only lovers and boys
know h o w o r wh y
When we got to the top o f th e street and tu rned north we
espied a crowd at the Tron Chur c h
A dog-gh t
shouted
Bob and was o ff and so was I both o f us a l l but praying that
i t might not be over before we got up ! And is not this boy
nature ? and human nature too ? and don t we a l l wish a house
on re not to be o u t before w e se e it ? Dogs l ike ghting ; o ld
Isaac says they de l ight in it and fo r the best o f a l l reasons ;
and boys are not crue l because they like to se e the ght They
4
f
three
the
great
c
ardina
l
virtues
o
dog
or
man
courage
e
o
f
se
endurance and skill
in intense a c tion This is very different
from a love of making dogs ght and enj oying and aggravat
ing and making gain by their p l uck A boy

b e he ever so
fond himse l f o f gh ting if he be a good boy hates and
despises a l l t h is but he wou l d have run off with B o b and me
fast enough : it is a natura l and a not wicked interest that all
boys and men have in witnessing intense energy in actio n
Does any curious and n e lyignorant woman wish to know
how Bob s eye at a glan c e announ c ed a do g-gh t to his brain ?
H e did n o t he cou l d not see the dogs ghtin g ; it w as a ash
o f an inference a rapid indu c tion
The crowd round a coup l e
o f dogs ghting is a crowd mas c u l ine main l y with an oc c asional
active compassionate woman u tte rin g wildly round the o u t
side and using her tongue and her hands freel y upon the men
as so many brutes
it is a crowd annular compa c t and
mobi l e ; a crowd centripetal having its eyes and its heads a l l
bent downwards and inwards to one common focus
Well B o b and I are up and nd it is not over : a small
thoroughbred white Bu ll Terrier is bus y throttl ing a l arge
shepherd s dog una c customed to w ar but not to be trie d with
,
1 76
They are hard at it ; the s c ientic littl e fellow doing his work
in great sty l e his pastoral enemy ghting wi l d l y but with the
sharpest o f teeth and a great c ourage S cien c e and breeding
however soon h ad t h eir o wn ; the Game Chi cken as th e pre
m ature Bob c a ll ed him working his way up took his nal grip
of poor Yarrow s throat and he l ay gasping and done for
His master a brown handsome big young shepherd from
Tweedsmuir wou l d have l i k ed to have kno cked down any man
1
wou l d drink up E si l o r eat a c ro c odi l e for that p art if h e
had a c hance : it was no use kicking the littl e dog ; that would
on ly make him ho l d th e cl oser M any were the means shouted
out in mouthfu l s o f the best possible ways of ending it
Water ! but there was none near and many c ried for it
wh o might h ave go t it from the we l l at B l ac kfriars Wynd
Bite the tai l !

and a large vague benevolent midd l e-aged
man more desirous th an wise with some struggl e got th e bushy
end of Ya rrow s tail into his amp l e mouth and bit it with a l l
his might This was more th an enough f o r the mu c h-enduring
much-perspiring shepherd wh o with a gl eam o f j oy over his
broad visage delivered a terri c fa c er upon our large vague
wh o w ent down l ike a shot

benevolent midd l e aged friend
S till the Chicken ho l ds ; death not far o ff
S nuff ! a pin c h
of snuff !
observed a cal m high l y-dressed young bu ck with
an eye-glass in his eye

S nu ff indeed ! grow l ed the angry
crowd a ffronted and gl aring

S nuff ! a pin c h of snu ff !
again o bserved the bu ck but with more urgency ; whereon were
produced several open boxes and from a mu ll which may have
been at Cu l loden he took a pinch knel t down and presented it
to the nose o f the Chicken The laws o f physio l ogy and o f snuff
take their course ; the Chi cken sneezes and Yarrow is free !
T h e young pastoral giant stal ks o ff with Yarrow in his arms
comforting him
1 E sil
H
am l t V I
v in e g ar
(
,
1 78
fellow over and saw he w as quite dead ; the mastiff had take n
him hy _the smal l o f the back l ike a rat and broken it
He looked down at his victim appeased ashamed an d
amazed ; snuffed him all over stared at him and taking a
sudden thought turned round and trotted o ff Bob took the
dead dog u p and said

John we ll bury him after tea
Yes said I and was o ff after the mastiff He made up the

Cowgate at a rapid swing ; h e had forgotten some engagement
H e tu rned u p the Cand l emaker R o w and stopped at the
Harrow Inn
There w as a carrier s c a rt ready to start and a keen thin
impatient b l ack-a-vised l itt l e man his hand at his gray horse s
head looking about angri l y for something

R ab ye thief !
said he aiming a kick at my great friend wh o drew cringin g
up and av o iding the heavy S hoe w ith more agi l ity than dignity
and watch ing his master s eye s l unk dismayed under the cart
his ears down and as much as he had o f tail down to o
What a man this must b e thought I to whom my tre
m e n do u s hero t u rns tail ! The c arrier saw th e muzzle hanging
c u t and use l ess from his ne c k and I eager l y to l d him th e sto ry
which Bob and I always thought and still think Homer or
K ing David or S ir Walter alone were worthy to rehear se The
severe l ittl e man w as mitigated and c ondes c ended to say R ab

my man p u ir R abbie
whereupon th e stump o f a tai l rose
up the ears were c o ok e d the eyes ll ed and were com f orted ;
the two friends were re c onci l ed
Hupp
and a stroke o f the
whip were given to Jess ; and off went the three
,
and I buried the G ame Chi cken th at night ( we had no t

much o f a tea) in th e back -green o f his house in Me l vi ll e S treet
No 1 7 with c onsidera b l e gravity and si l en c e ; and being at the
time in t h e I l iad and l ike a l l boys Troj ans we call ed him
Hector of co urse
B
ob
AN D
RAB
H I S FR I E N D S
79
S ix years have passed a long time for a boy and a dog :

Bob A inslie is o ff to th e wars ; I am a medica l st u dent and
clerk at Minto House Hospital
R ab I saw a l most every week o n the Wednesday and w e
had much pleasant intimacy I found th e way to his heart by
frequent scratching o f his huge head and an occasional bone
When I did not noti c e him he wou l d p l ant himsel f straight
before me and stand wagging that bud o f a tai l and l ooking
u p with his head a littl e to th e o n e side His master I o cc a
he used to call me Maister John but was

sio n ally saw ;
laconic as any S partan
O ne ne O ctober afternoon I was l eaving the hospital when
I saw the large gate open and in wa l ked R ab with that great
and easy saunter o f his He l ooked as if taking general posses
sion o f the p l ace ; l ike the Duke o f Wel l ington entering a su b
dued c ity satiated with vi c tory and pea c e After him c ame Jess
n o w white from age with h e r c art ; and in it a woman carefu lly
wrapped u p the carrier l eading th e horse anxious l y and
looking back When h e saw me James ( for his name was
James Nob l e) made a curt and grotesque b o o and said

Maister John this is the mistress ; sh e s got a troub l e in her
breest
some kind 0 an in c ome we re thinking
By this time I saw the woman s fac e ; sh e was sitting o n a
sack l led with straw her husband s p l aid round her and his
bigcoat with its large white met al button s over her feet
1
I neve r saw a more unforgettab l e fac e
pal e serious l on ely
de l icate sweet without being at a ll w h at we c a ll ne S he l oo k ed
six ty and had o n a mutch white as snow with its b l a ck ribbon ;
her silvery smooth hair setting o ff h er d ark-gray eyes
eyes
su ch as o n e sees onl y twice or thri c e in a lifetime fu ll o f suffer
in g fu l l a l so o f the over c oming o f it : her eyebro ws b l a c k and
,
I t is n o t e asy g iv in g th is l o o k b y o n e
h e r b e in g s o m u c h o f h e r l if e al o n e
1
w o rd ; it was
x p re ssiv e
of
S H OR T S T OR I E S
80
delicate and her mouth rm p atient and c o ntented which few

mouths ever are
As I have said I never saw a more beautiful countenan c e
Ail ie said James

o r o n e more s u bd u ed to sett l ed quiet
this is Maister John the young doctor ; R ab s f reend ye ken
We often speak aboot you doctor

S he smiled and made a
movement but said nothing ; and prepared to come d o wn put
ting her p l aid aside and rising Had S o l omon in a l l his gl o ry
been handing down the Queen o f S heba at his palace gate he
cou l d n o t have done it more daintily more tenderly more like
a gentleman th an did James the Howgate carrier when he lifted
down Ailie his wife The contrast o f his sma ll swa rthy weather
beaten keen worl d ly face to hers pale subdued and beauti
ful was something wonderfu l R ab looked o n concerned and
puzzled but ready for anything that might turn up were it
to strangl e the n u rse the porter o r even me Ai l ie and he
seemed great friends
A S I was sayin she s go t a kind 0 trouble i n her breest doc
We wal ked into the consulting

to r ; wull ye tak a look at it ?
room al l four ; R ab grim and co mi c wi ll ing to be happy and
condential if cause could be shown willing also to be the
reverse on the same term s Ailie sat down undid her O pe n
gown and h e r lawn handker chief round her ne ck and without
a word showed me her right breast I looked at and examined
it carefu ll y
she and James wat ching me and R ab eying al l
three What cou l d I say ? there it was that had once been so
soft so shapel y so white so gracious and bountiful so full o f
hard as a stone a c entre o f ho rrid

all blessed conditions
pain making that pal e fa c e with its gray l ucid reasonab l e
eyes and its sweet reso l ved mouth express the fu l l measure
o f suffering overcome
Why was that gentl e modest s weet
woman clean and lovable condemned by G o d to bear such a
b u rden
,
82
1
Andrew Fu ll er The same large heavy menacin g combative

som b re honest c ounten ance the same deep inevitab l e eye the
same look
as o f thunder as l eep but ready neither a dog
nor a man to be trie d with
Next day my master the surgeon examined Ailie There
was no doubt it must ki ll her and soon I t c ou l d be rem o ved
it might never return it wou l d give her S peedy relief
sh e S hould have it done
S he curtsied l ooked at James and
?
said
When
To morrow said the kind surgeon a
man o f few words S he and J ames and R ab and I retired I
noti c ed t h at he and sh e spoke l itt l e but seemed to anticipate
everyt h ing in each other The fo ll owing day at noon th e stu
dents came in hurrying up the great stair At the rst landing
place o n a smal l we ll-known b l ackboard was a bit o f paper
fastened by wafers and many remains o f Ol d wafers beside it
O n the paper were the words
An operation to-day J B
.
'
Up ran the youths eager to secure good p l aces ; in they

crowded fu ll o f interest and tal k
What s the case
Which
side is it ?
Don t t h ink t h em heartless ; they are neither better nor worse
than you or I ; t h ey get over their professiona l horrors and
into t h eir pro per work and in th em pity as an emotion
,
F u ll e r was
bo xe
not
in
e arl
q u arre l so
y l if
e,
m e , but
en a
f arm e r l ad
th t
wi
n ot
ou
th e s
f
l ig h t
S o h am ,
at
de
e rn
am o u s as a
m an
of
x e rc is e D r C h arl e s S t e w art o f
D u n e arn wh o se rare
s an
rac e s as a ph y sic ian a div in e a s c h o l ar
an d a g e n t l e m an l iv e o n l y in t h e m e m o ry o f t h o se f e w wh o k n e w an d
su rv iv e h im l ik e d t o t e l l h o w M r F u l l e r u se d t o s ay t h at w h e n h e was
in t h e p u l p it an d saw a b irdly m an c o m e al o n g t h e p as s ag e h e w o u ld
in st in c t iv e l y draw h im s e l f u p m e asu re h is im ag in ary an t ag o n ist an d
f o re c ast h o w h e w o u l d de al w it h h im h is h an ds m e an wh il e c o n de n sin g
H e m u st h av e b e e n a h ard h itt e r if
sq u are
in t o st s an d t e n din g t o
wh at T h e F an c y wo u ld c all an u gl y
h e b o x e d as h e p re ac h e d
s re n
gth
g f
gift
an d c o u ra
e e ls
th
dg
in
e ir e
c us omer
RAB
83
e nding in itself o r at best in tears and a long-drawn breath

l essens whi l e pity as a m otive is quickened and gains power
and purpose I t is we ll fo r poor human nat u re that it is so
The operating theatre is c rowded ; much tal k and fun and al l
the cordiality and stir o f youth The surgeon with his staff o f
assistants is there In comes Ai l ie : o n e look at her quiets and
abates the eager students T hat beautiful o ld woman is to o
much for them ; they S it down and are dumb and gaz e at her
These rough boys feel the power o f her presence S he walk s
in quick l y but without haste ; dressed in her mutch her n e ck eI
chief her white dimity short-gown her black bombazine petti
coat sho wing her white worsted stockings and her carpet-shoes
Behind her was James with R ab James sat down in the dis
tance and took th at huge and nob l e head between his knees
R ab looked perp l exed and dangerou s ; foreve r cocking his ear
and dropping it as fast
Ai l ie stepped up o n a seat and l aid herself o n the table as
her friend the surgeon t o l d her ; arranged herse l f gave a rapid
look at James shut her eyes rested herse l f o n me and took my
hand The operation was at once begun ; it was necessaril y
o n e o f God s best gifts to his suffering
s l ow ; and ch l oroform
children
was then unknown The surgeon did his work The
pale fa c e showed its pain but was sti l l and silent R ab s soul
was working within him ; h e saw that somethin g strange was
going o n
blood owing from his mistress and sh e suffering ;
his ragged ear was u p and importunate ; h e grow l ed and gave
now and then a sharp impatient yelp ; he w ould have liked to
have done something to that man But James had him rm
and gave him a gl ow er from time to time and an intimation o f
a possible kick
a ll the better for James it kept his eye and
his mind o ff Ai l ie
I t is over : she is dressed steps gently and decent l y dow n
from the table looks for James ; then turning to the surgeo n
,
84
and the students she curtsies

and in a low clear voi c e begs
their pardon if she has behaved i ll The st u dents
all of us
wept l ike child ren ; the surgeon happed her u p carefully
an d r estin g o n James and me
Ai l ie went to her room R ab
following We put her to bed James took o ff his heavy shoes
c rammed with tackets heel-capt and toe-capt and put them
carefu l ly u nder the table sayin g
Maister John I m for nane
o
yer stryn ge nurse bodies for Ai l ie I ll be her nurse and
'
I 1] gang aboot o n my sto ckin soles as c anny as pussy

And
so he did ; and han dy and clever and swift and tender as an y
woman was that horny handed snell perempto ry little man
E ve rything sh e got he gave her : he se l dom s l ept ; and often I
saw his small shrewd eyes o u t o f the dark ness xed o n her
As before they spoke little
R ab behaved well never moving showing u s how meek and
entle
he
could
be
and
occasionally
in
his
s
l
eep
letting
us
g
know that he was demolishing some adversary H e took a wal k
with me every day general ly to the C and l emake r R ow ; but he
was sombre and mild ; dec l ined doing battle though some t
cases o ffered and indeed submitted to s u nd ry indignities ; and
was always very r eady to t u rn and c ame faster back and
trotted u p the stai r with much lightness and went s traight to
that doo r
Jess the mare had been sent with her weather-worn ca rt
to Howgate and had doubtless her o wn dim and pla c id medi
tatio ns and confusions o n the absence o f her master and R ab
and her unnatu ral freedom from the road and h er cart
The wo u nd healed by the
F o r some days Ailie did well
rst in te n tion ; fo r as James said

O ur A ilie s skin s owe r
The students came in quiet and anxious and

c lean t o beil
S he said she liked to see thei r young
su rr ou n ded her bed
h o nest faces The surgeon dressed her and spoke to her in
his o wn sho rt kind way pi tying her through his eyes R ab an d
,
86
starting up surprised and s l inking o ff as if he were to blame

somehow o r h ad been dreaming h e he ard ; many eager ques
tions and beseechings whi ch James and I c ou l d make nothing
of an d o n whi c h sh e seemed to set her all and then sink back
ununderstood It was very sad b u t better t h an many things that
are not c all ed sad James hovered about put o u t and miserab l e
but a c tive and exact as ever ; re ad to her when there w as a lu ll
short bits from th e P sal ms prose and metre c hanting the latter
in his o wn rude and serious way showing great know l edge of the
t words bearing u p l ike a man and d o atin g over h e r as his ai n
Ail ie
Ai l ie ma woman !
M a ain bonnie wee dawtie
The end was drawing o n : the go l den bow l was breaking ;
the si l ver c ord was fast being l oosed

that a nim u l a bl a n du l a
1
was about to ee The body and the
vagu l a h o sp es co mesgu e
sou l
companions fo r sixty years
were being sundered
and taking leave S he w as wal king a l one through the va ll ey
and
o f that shadow int o whi c h o n e day we must a l l enter
yet sh e was not alone f o r w e know whose ro d and staff were
comforting her
O ne night sh e had fall en quiet and as we hoped as l eep ; h e r
eyes were shut We put down the gas and sat watching her
S uddenl y sh e sat up in bed and taking a bed-gown whi c h was
h
lying o n it ro ll ed up s e he l d it eager ly to her breast
to the
right side We c ou l d see her eyes bright with a surprising
tenderness and jo y bending over this bundle o f c lothes S he
h e l d it as a wom an ho l ds her su c king c hi l d ; O pening o u t her
nightgown imp atientl y and ho l ding it cl o se and brooding over
it and murmuring foo l ish l ittl e words as over o n e whom his
mother c omforteth and who su c k s and is s atised I t was
pitiful and strange to see her wasted dying look keen and yet
vague
her immense l ove
,
L ittl e g e n tl e wan de rin g

A ddre ss t o h is S o u l
1
so u l ,
ue s
an d c o m rade
H adrian
RAB
Preserve me !
groaned J ames giving w ay And then sh e

ro cked ba ck and forward as if to m ake it s leep hushing it
and wasting o n it her innite fondness
W ae s me doctor ; I
de c lare sh e s thin kin it s th at b airn

What bairn
The
on l y bairn we ever had ; o u r we e M ysie and sh e s in the King
I t w as p l ain ly true : the pain in

dom forty years and m air
the breast tell in g its u rgent story to a bewi l dered ruined brain
was misread and mist aken ; it suggested to h e r the uneasiness
o f a b re ast fu l l o f mi l k and t h en the c hi l d ; and so a gain once
more they were together and sh e had her ain we e M ysie in
her bosom
T h is was the close S he sank rapid ly : the de l irium left her ;
b u t as sh e whispered she was clean si ll y ; it w as the lightening

befo re th e nal d arkness After having for some time l ain sti l l
her eyes shut sh e said

James !
H e came c lose to her
and lifting u p her calm cl ear beautiful eyes sh e gave him a
long look turned to me kind ly but short ly looked for R ab but
c ou l d not se e him th en turned to her husband agai n as if sh e
wou l d never leave o ff looking sh u t her eyes and c omposed
herself S he lay f o r some time b reathin g quick and passed
away so gently that when we thought sh e was gone James in
his Ol d-fashioned way he l d th e mirror to her fa c e After a long
pause o n e smal l spot o f dimness w as breath ed o u t ; it vanished
away and never returned l eaving the b l ank c lear darkness o f
the mirror without a stain
What is o u r l ife ? it is even a vapor
whi ch appeareth for a l ittl e time and the n vanisheth away

R ab al l thi s time had been fu l l awake and motionless ; he
came forward beside u s : Ai l ie s h and whi c h James had held
was hanging down ; it was so aked with his tears ; R ab licked it
all o ver carefu ll y looked at her and returned to his place under
the table
James and I sat I don t know how long but for some time
saying nothing h e started u p abru ptly and with some n oise
.
88
went to the tab l e and putting his right fore and middle ngers
ea c h into a shoe pu ll ed them o u t and put them o n breakin g
I neve r
o n e of the l eat h er l at c hets and muttering in anger
did the like 0 that afore
I believe he never did ; n o r after either

R ab ! he said
rough ly and pointing with his th u mb to the bottom o f the bed
R ab leapt u p and settl ed himself ; his head and eye to the
dead face
Maister John ye ll wait fo r me
said th e
carrier ; and disappeared in the darkness thunder i ng down
stairs in his heavy shoes I ran to a front win dow ; there he
was already round the house and out at the gate eeing like
a shadow
I was afraid about him and yet not afraid ; so I sat down
beside R ab and being wearied fe l l asleep I awoke from a
s u dden noise outside It was November and there had been a
heavy fal l o f snow R ab was in sta tu gu o he heard the noise
too and plain l y knew it but never moved I looked o u t ; and
th ere at the gate in the dim morning for the su n was not
u p w as Jess and the cart
a cl oud o f steam rising from the
Ol d mare I did not see James ; he was already at the door
and came u p the stairs and met me It w as less than three
hours since he left and he must have posted o u t
wh o knows
to Howgate full nine mil es o ff yoked Jess and d riven
ho w
her astonished into town H e had an armful o f b l ankets and
was streaming with perspiration H e n o dded to me spread o u t
o n the oor tw o pairs o f c l ean o ld b l ankets having at their
corners A G
in large l etters in red worsted These
were the initial s of A l ison G rmm e and James may have looked
in at her from without
himself u nseen but not unthought o f
when he was
wat w at and weary and after having
wa l ked many a mi l e over t h e hi ll s may have seen her sitting
whil e a the l ave were slee pin
and by the re ligh t working
he r n am e o n the blank ets fo r her ain Jame s s bed
,
S H O RT STO R I E S
190
prevailing in the vi ll age and his want of s l eep h is exhaustion

and his misery made him ap t to t ake it T h e grave w as not
di fcu l t to reopen A fresh fa l l o f snow had again made all
things white and smooth ; R ab on c e more looked o n and slunk
home to the stab l e
,
And W hat o f R ab ? I asked fo r him next week o f the new

c arrier w h o got the goodwi ll o f James s business and was now
?
master o f Jess and h e r c art
How s R ab
He put me o ff
and said rather rude ly What s yo u r business w i the do wg
I was not to be so put o ff

Where s R ab ?
H e getting con
fused an d red and intermedd l ing with his hair said
D eed
Dead ! what did he die o f

Weel sir
sir R ab s deid
said h e getting redder he did na exactly dee ; h e was kill ed
w
i
c
I had to brain him
a ra k pin ; there w as nae doin wi him
He l ay in the treviss wi th e mea r and wad na c o me oot I
tempit him w i kail and meat but he wad tak naething and
keepit me f rae f e e din the beast and he was aye gu r gurrin
and grup gru ppin me by the l egs I was l aith to make awa
w i th e a ul d do wg his l ike was na atween this and Thornhill
I bel ieved him Fit

b u t deed sir I cou l d do naething e l se
end fo r R ab qui c k and comp l ete H is teeth and his friends
gone why S hou l d he keep the peace and be civil ?
VIII
T H E O U T C A S T S O F PO K E R
PL A T
1
8
6
9
)
(
B Y B R E T H A RT E ( 1 8 3 6 1 9 0 2 )
The group tragedy ena c ted in this story took place
between November 2 3 and December 7 1 8 5 0 o n the road
from Poker Flat to S andy Bar in S ierra County California
The time and p l a c e are those that Bret Harte has made p ec u l
iarly his o w n The austerity and wi l dness of the scenery seem
somehow to favor the intimate reve l ation o f character that the
story displays There is no intervention o f cities c rops fashions
o r conventions between the di fferent members o f the character
group o r between the group as a whole and the reader A l l is
bare l ike a white mountain peak Notice a l so how the ba ck
ground o f a common peri l draws the characters together and
brings o u t at last th e best in each
Pl ot The story sets forth and interprets a dramatic situation
The p l ot is staged so as to answer the question Do not th e
people whom so c iety regards as out c asts h ave yet some redeem
?
ing virtue
Noti c e especially how a sense o f c ommon fe l low
ship is deve l oped in th ese outcasts First they are subj ected
to a c ommon humi l iation in being driven from Poker Flat by
persons whom the out c asts c onsider no W
hit better than them
se l ves Next they are exposed to a c ommon da n ger a danger
that leads the stronger to c are instin c tively for the weaker
and the weaker to re c ognize th at it is nob l er to give than to
re c eive At l ast in t h e une x pe c ted entran c e o f the innocent
Tom S imson and t h e gui l e l ess Piney Woods th e out c asts nd
etting
S
!
b y p e rm issio n o f an d b y sp e c ial arran g e m e n t with H o u gh t o n

C o m p an y p u b lish e rs o f B re t H art e s Wo rks
U se d
M if in
19 1
192
a common challenge to the native goodness that had long lain

dormant within them Inno c ence and guilelessness may be
laughed at as th ey are here but their appeal is o ften stronger
than the appeal o f discip l ined virtue o r o f self-cons c ious s u pe
riorit
When
B
ret
H
arte
a
charged
with
confusing
the
w
s
y
boundary l ines o f vi c e and virt u e he rep l ied that his plots con
formed to the rules laid down by a Great Poet w h o created th e
parab l e of the Prodigal S on and the Good S amaritan
Ch a ra cters O akhurst who is always call ed Mr O akhurst

is of course the dominant character The story begins with him
and ends with h im H e is th e strongest and yet the weake st

o f the outcasts o f Poker F l at
strong whi l e there was any
thing to be done weak even to suicide when he had only to
wait for the inevitable end H e was a brave desperate solita ry
man whose thought and speech an d action however were
always those o f the professional gamb l er Bret H arte wh o has
put him into several stories says o f him in anothe r place : G O

where he wou l d and with whom he was always a notable m an
in ten thousand
The admiration that w e yield to s uch a
man though it is only a qual ied admiration is doubtl ess the
admiration of power whi c h we c annot he l p thinking might
be used b en e c en tly if it could only be harnessed to a nobl e
cause
But if O akh u rst is the dominant character Piney Woods is
I think the central c haracter S he is central in this sto ry just
as little Agl aia is central in Tennyso n s Princess o r E ppie
in George El iot s
S ilas Marner o r the baby offsp ring o f
Cherokee S al in The L uck o f R oaring Camp

Bret Harte
had j ust written th e last-named story when he began the com
position of The O utcasts o f Poker Flat

W
.
f rom th e rst
sto ry to th e s eco n d The

ministry o f the baby and the ministry o f the fte e n-year-o ld
bride is the same in both Like th e G reat S tone Face in Ha w
tho r ne s sto ry or like litt l e Pippa in Brow ning s poem they
o ver
1 94
Mr O akhurst was right in su pp o sm g that he was included

in this c ategory A few of the c ommittee had urged hanging
him as a possible example and a sure method o f reimbursing
themselves from his pock ets of the s u ms he had wo n from
them
I t s agin j ustice said Jim Wheel er to l et this yer
young man from R oar i ng C amp an entire stranger c arry
away ou r money
But a crude sentiment o f equity residing
in th e breasts o f those who had been for t unate enough to win
from Mr O akhurst overruled this narro w
er lo c al prej udice
Mr O akhurst received his senten c e with phi l osophi c c alm
ness none the less coo l ly that he was aware of th e hesitation o f
his j udges H e was too m u c h o f a gamb l er n o t to a cc ept Fate
With him life was at best an uncertain game and he recognized
the usual percentage in favor of the deal er
A body o f armed men a cc ompanied the deported wi cked
ness o f Poker Flat to the outs k irts o f th e settlement Besides
Mr O akhurst wh o w as known to be a c oo l ly desperate man
and for whose intimidation the armed escort was intended the
expatriated party consisted o f a young woman fami l iarly known
as T he Duchess
another who had won the tit l e o f Mother
S hipton ; and Un cl e Bi lly a s u spe c ted slui c e-robber an d

c onrmed drunkard The cavalc ade provoked no comments
from the spectators nor was any word uttered by the es c ort
O nly when the gu lc h which mark ed t h e uttermost l imit o f
Poker Flat was rea c hed th e leader spoke briey and to the
point The exiles were forbidden to ret u rn at the peril o f
their lives
As the escort disappeared their pent-u p fee l ings found vent
in a few hysterical tears from the Duchess some bad language
from Mother S hipton and a Parthian vo ll ey o f exp l etives from
Un cle Bill y The phil osophi c O akhur st a l one remained si l ent
H e l istened c alm l y to Mother S hipton s de sire to c ut somebody s
h eart o u t to the repeated statements o f the Duchess that sh e
.
T H E O U T CA S T S O F P O K E R F L AT
195
would die in the road and to the alarming oaths that seemed
to be bumped o u t o f Un cl e Bi ll y as he rode forward With th e
easy good-humor characteristi c of his cl ass he insisted upon
exchangi ng his o wn riding horse Five S pot fo r the sorry mu l e

whi c h the D u c h ess rode But even this a c t did not draw the
party int o any c l oser sympathy The young woman readj usted
her somewhat draggl ed p l umes with a feeb l e faded coquetry ;
Mother S hipton eyed the possessor of

Five S pot with
mal evo l ence and Un c le Bi lly inc l uded the who l e party in o n e
sweeping anathema
T he road to S andy Bar a c amp that not havin g as yet
e x perien c ed the regenerating in u en c es o f Poker F l at c o n se
quent l y seemed to o ffer some invitation to t h e emigrants l ay
over a steep mountain range It w as distant a day s severe
travel I n that advan c ed season the pa rty soon passed o u t o f
the moist temperate regions of the foot-h i ll s into the dry c o l d
bra c ing air o f the S ierras The trail was narrow and dii c u lt
At noon the D u chess ro ll ing o u t of her sadd l e upon the
ground declared he r intention of going no farther and the
party ha l ted
The spot was singul arl y wi l d and impressive A wooded
amphitheatre surrounded o n t h ree sides by pre c ipitous cl iffs o f
naked granite s10 ped gentl y toward t h e crest o f another p re c i
pi c e th at overl ooked the va ll ey It was undoubted ly th e most
suitable spot fo r a c amp had c amping been advisab l e But
Mr O akhurst knew that s c arcel y hal f the j ourney to S an dv
Bar was accomp l ished and the party were not equipped o r
provisioned for de l ay This fact he pointed out to his c o m p an
ions curt l y with a phi l osophi c commentary o n the fol ly o f
throwing u p their hand befo re the game was p l ayed o u t

But t h ey were furnis h ed with l iquor whi c h in this emergency
stood them in p l a c e o f food fuel rest and prescience In
spite of h is remonstran c es it was not long before they were
,
S H O R T STO R IES
1 96
more o r less under its inuen c e Un cl e Bi lly passed rapidly

from a bel licose state into one of stupor the Du c hess be c ame
maudlin an d Mother S hipton snored Mr O a k hurst alo ne
remained erect leaning against a rock c al mly surveying them
Mr O akhurst did n o t drink It interfered with a profession
whi c h required c oolness impassiveness and presen c e o f mind
and in his o wn l anguage he c ou l d n t a fford it As he gazed

at his recumbent fe ll owexiles the lone l iness begotten o f his
pa riah-trade his habits of l ife his very vi c es for the rst time
seriously oppressed him H e bestirred himse l f in dusting his
black clothes washing his hands and fa c e and other a c ts char
ac te rist ic o f his studious l y neat habits and for a moment forgot
his annoyance The thought o f deserting his wea k er and more
pitiab l e companion s never p erhaps occurred to him Yet he
could n o t help fee l ing the want o f th at excitement which singu
larly enough was most conducive to that cal m equanimity for
which he w as notorious H e looked at the gl oomy wa l ls that
rose a thousand feet s h eer above th e circl ing pines around him ;
at the sky ominous l y cl ouded ; at the vall ey be l ow already
deepening into shadow And doing so sudden ly he heard his
o wn name ca ll ed
A horseman s l owly as c ended the trail I n the fresh open
face of the new-comer Mr O akh u rst re c ogniz ed T o rn S imson
otherwise known as T he I nn o c ent of S andy Bar He had
met him some months before over a l ittl e game and had
with perfect equanimity won the entire fortune amounting
to some forty do ll ars
o f that guileless youth
After the game
was nished Mr O akhurst drew the youthfu l specu l ator behind
the door and th u s addressed him : Tommy you re a good

little man but yo u can t gamb l e worth a cent Don t try it
over again
H e then h anded him his money ba c k pushed
him gentl y fro m the room and so made a devoted slav e o f
T o m S imson
.
198
profanity But when he ret u rned to the party he found them

seated by a re
fo r th e air h ad grown strange ly chi ll and the
sky overcast
in apparently amicable co nversatio n Piney was
actual ly ta l king in an impulsive girl ish fashion to the Duchess
who was l istening wit h an interest and animation sh e had not
shown for many days The Innocent was ho lding forth appar
ently with equal effect to Mr O akhurst and Mothe r S hip to n
d
I s this yer a d
who was actua l ly relaxing into amiabi l ity
?
picnic
said Uncl e Bill y with inward scorn as he s u rv eyed
the sylvan gro u p the glan c ing re ligh t and the tethere d anima l s
in the foreground S uddenly an idea mingle d with the alcoho l ic
fumes that disturbed his brain It was apparently of a j ocu l a r
nature for he felt impelled to slap his leg again and cram his
st into his mouth
As the shadows crept slowly u p the mountain a slight breeze
rocked the tops o f the pine-trees and moaned through their
long and gloomy ais l es The ruined c abin patched and co vered
with pine -boughs was se t apa rt for the ladies As the lovers
parted they unaffected l y exchanged a kiss so honest and sincere
that it might have been heard above the swaying pines The
frai l Duchess and the malevolent Mother S hipton were probably
to o st u nned to remark upon this last evidence o f simp l ici ty and
so turned without a word to the hut Th e re w as rep l enished
the men lay down b efore the door and in a few minutes were
asleep
Mr O akhurst was a l ight sleeper Toward morn ing he
awoke benumbed and cold As he stirred th e dying re the
wind which was n o w b l owing strongl y brought to his cheek
that which caused th e b l ood to leave it snow !
He started to h is feet with th e intention o f awakening th e
s l eepers for there was no time to lose But turning to where
Uncl e Bi ll y had been lying he found him gone A suspi c io n
l eaped to his brain and a curse to his l ips He ran to the spot
.
OU TCA S T S O F P O K E R F L AT
TH E
1 99
where the mules had been tethered ; they were n o longer there
The tracks were a l ready rapid ly disappearing in the snow
The momentary excitement brought Mr O akhurst back to
the re with his usual ca l m He did not waken the s l eepers
T h e Innocent S lumbered peacefu ll y with a smi l e o n his good
humored fre ckled fa c e ; the virgin Piney s l ept beside her frailer
sisters as sweetly as though attended by c e l estial guardians and
Mr O akhurst drawing his blanket over his shoulders stroked
his musta ches and waited for the dawn I t came s l ow ly in a
whirlin g mist of snow- ak e s that dazzled and confused the
eye What could be seen o f the l andscape appeared magicall y
c hanged H e looked o ver the va ll ey and summoned u p the
present and future in two words

snowed in !
A careful inventory of the provisions whi c h fortunately for
the party had been st o red within the hut and so es c aped the
felonious ngers of Uncle Billy dis cl osed the fact that with care
and prudence they might last ten days longer

That is said
Mr O akhurst sotto voce to the Innocent if you re Wil l ing to

board us If you ain t and perhaps yo u d better n o t yo u
F o r some
c an wait ti l l Uncle Bi lly gets ba c k with provisions
occult reason Mr O akhurst could not brin g himself to disclose
Uncle Bi l ly s rasca l ity and so offered the hypothesis that he had
wandered from the c a m p and had accidentally stampeded the
animals H e dropped a warning to the Du c hess and Mother
S hipton wh o o f cou r se kn ew the facts o f their associate s defee
tion
They l l nd o u t the truth about u s a l l when they nd
out anything
he added signicantl y and there s no good
frightening th em now
Tom S imson not on l y put all his worldly store at the disposal
but seemed to enj oy th e prospect o f their
o f M r O akhurst
enfor c ed secl usion
We l l have a good camp fo r a week and
then the snow 11 melt and we 11 al l go back together T h e

cheerful gayety o f the young man and Mr O akhurst s calm
.
2 00
infected the others The Inno c ent with the aid of pine-boughs
extemporized a t h at c h fo r th e rooess c abin and the Duchess
directed Piney in th e rearrangement o f the interior with a taste
and tact that O pened the b l ue eyes o f that provincia l maiden to
the i r fu l lest extent
I reckon now you re used to ne things
at Poker F l at said Piney Th e Duchess t u rned away sharp l y

to conceal something that reddened her c heeks through its pro
f e ssio n al tint and Mother S hipton requested Piney not to
chatter
But when Mr O akhurst ret u rned from a weary
search fo r the trai l he heard the sound o f happy laughter echoed
from th e rocks He stopped in some alarm and his thoughts
rst naturally reverted to the whiskey which he had p rudentl y
d
And yet it don t somehow sound l ike whiskey said
ca ch e
the gamble r I t was not until he cau ght sight o f the blazing
re through the sti l l blinding storm and the group around it
that he settled to the conviction that it was square fun

Whether Mr O akhurst had ca ch ed his cards with the whiskey
as something debarred the free access o f the community I can
not say It was certain that in Mothe r S hipton s words he
did n t say cards o n c e during th at even i ng Haply the time
was begu i l ed by an accordion produced somewhat ostentatiously
by Tom S imson from his pack Notwithstanding som e dif c u l
ties attending the manipulation o f his instrument Piney Woods
managed to p l u c k several re luctant melodies from i ts keys to
an accompaniment by the I nnocent o n a pair o f bone castanets
But the crowning festivity o f the evening was rea ched in a r u de
c amp-meeting hymn which the lovers j oining hands sang with
great earnestn ess and vociferation I fear that a certain deant
tone and Covenanter s swing to its choru s rather than any
devotional quality caused it speedily to infect the others who
at last j oined in the refrain :
I m p r o u d to l iv e in th e se rvi c e o f th e L o rd
A n d I m b o u n d t o die in H is arm y
,
202
Mothe r S hipton saw it and from a remote pinnacl e o f he r

rocky fastness
hurl ed in that dire c tio n a nal mal ediction It
was her last vituperative attempt and perhaps f o r that reason
was in vested with a c ertain degree o f sub l imity
I t did her
good sh e private l y informed the Duchess

Just you go out
there and cuss and see

S he then set herself to th e task of
am u sing the child as she and th e Duchess w ere pleased to

cal l Piney Piney was no chicken b u t it was a soothing and
original theory o f the pair th u s to ac c ount for the fact that
sh e did n t swear and w as n t improper
When night c rept u p again th ro u gh the gorges the reedy
notes o f the accordion rose and fell in tfu l spasm s and long
drawn gasps by the ickering camp re But music fail ed to l l
entirely the a c hing void l eft by insu f cient food and a new
diversion was proposed by Piney
Neither Mr
sto ry t e llin g
O akhurst n o r his femal e c ompanion s caring to relate th e m per
sona l experiences this p l an wou l d have fai l ed to o but fo r the
I nn o c ent S ome months before he had chanced upon a stray
copy of Mr Pope s ingenious trans l ation o f the I l iad He now
proposed to narrate the principa l incidents o f that poe m
having thoroughly mastered the argument and fairl y forgotte n
the words 1n the current vernacu l ar o f S andy Bar A n d so
for the rest of th at night the Homeric demigods again wa lked
the earth Troj an bu ll y and wi ly G reek wrestled in th e winds
and the great pines in the ca non seemed to bow to the Wrath
Mr O akhurst listened with quiet satis
o f th e so n o f Pe l eus
faction Most especial ly was he interested in the fate of
Ash heels as the Innocent persisted in denominating the
swift footed A c hi ll es
S o with sma ll food and mu c h of Homer an d the a cc ordion
a week passed o ver the heads o f t h e out casts T he su n agai n
forsook them and again from l eaden s k ies the snow-ak e s we re
sifted ove r the land Day by day closer a round them drew the
,
T H E O U TCA S T S
O E R F L AT
0F P K
20 3
snowy circle until at last they looked from their prison o ver
drifted wa ll s of dazz l ing white t h at towered twenty feet above
It became more and more difcult to rep l enish
th e ir h e ads
their res even from the fal len trees beside them now half
h idden in the drifts And yet no o n e complained The l overs
turned from the d reary prospe c t and looked into ea ch other s
eyes and were happy Mr O akh u rst sett l ed himse l f coolly to
th e losin g game before him The Du c hess more cheerful than
O n ly Mother S hipton
sh e had been ass u med the c are o f Piney
on c e the strongest o f the p arty seemed to sicken and fade
At midnigh t o n th e tenth day sh e c a l led O akhurst to her side
I m going sh e said in a voi c e o f querulous weakness b u t

don t say anything about it Don t waken th e kids Take the
bundle from under my head and O pen it

Mr O akhurst did so
It contained Mother S hipton s rations for the last week u n
touched
Gi ve em to the ch i ld she said pointing to the s l eep
ing Piney Yo u v e starved yourse l f said the gambler That s
what th ey call it said the woman querulously as sh e lay down

again and turning her fa c e to the wal l passed quietly away
The accordion and th e bones w ere put aside that day and
Homer was forgotten When the body o f Mother Sh ipton had
been committed to the snow Mr O akhurst took the Innocent
aside and S howed him a pair o f snow -shoes which he had
fashioned from the o ld pack-sadd l e

There s o n e chance in a
h u ndred to save her yet he said pointing to Piney ; but it 3
there he added pointing towards Poke r Flat

If you can
reach there in two days she s safe

And yo u
asked T o m
I ll stay here was the cu rt rep ly

S imson
The lovers parted with a long embrace
You are not going
?
too
said the Duchess as she saw Mr O akhurst apparently
waitin g to ac c ompany him

As far as the c a non he replied
H e turned sudden l y and kissed the Du chess l eaving her pall id
face a am e and her trem b l ing l im b s rigid wit h am azement
,
2 04
Night came b u t n ot Mr O akhurst It brought the sto rm

again an d th e wh irling snow T hen the Duchess feeding the
re fo un d that some o n e had quiet l y p il ed beside the hut enough
fuel to last a few days longer T he tea r s rose to her eyes but
she hid them from Piney
The women slept but little I n the morning lookin g into
ea ch other s faces they rea d their fate Neithe r spoke ; but
Piney accepting the positio n of the stronger drew near and
p l aced her arm around th e Duchess s waist They kept this
attitude fo r the rest o f the day That n ight the storm reached
its gre atest fury and rend i ng as u nde r the protectin g pin es
invaded th e very hut
Toward morning they found themselves unable to fee d the
re which gradua ll y died away As the embers slowly b l ack
ened the Duchess crept closer to Pin ey an d broke the sil en ce
of man y hours : Piney c an yo u pray ?

No dear said
Piney simply The Duchess without knowing exactly why
felt relieved and putting her head upon Piney s shoulder spoke
no more And so recl ining the yo u n ger and p u rer pi ll owing the
head o f he r soi l ed sister upon her virgin b re ast th ey fel l as l eep
F e ath e ry
T h e wind lulled as if it feared to waken them
d rifts o f sno w shaken from the long pine boughs ew like
white-winged birds and settled about them as they slept The
moon through the rifted clouds looked down upon what had been
the camp B u t al l human stain all trace o f ea rth ly travail was
hidden beneath th e spotless mantle mercifu lly ung from above
They s l ept al l that day and the next n o r did they waken
whe n voices and footsteps broke the si l ence o f th e camp And
when pitying ngers brush ed the snow from thei r wan faces
o u cou l d scarcely have to l d from the equal peace that dwelt
y
upon th em whi ch was sh e that had sinned E ven the l aw o f
Poker F l at recognized this and tu rn ed away leaving them still
locked i n ea ch other s a rms
.
,
'
'
IX
MA RKH E I M
1
4
8
8
(
)
B Y R O B E RT L O U I S S TE V E N S ON ( 1 8 5 0 1 8 9 4)
etting
S
!
Th ere is no ner model for the study o f setting than

this story affords It is three o cl o ck in th e afternoon o f a
foggy Christmas Day in London I f M ark h e im s manner and
the dim l y lighted interior o f the antique shop suggest murder
the gar rulous c locks the nodding shadows and the ree c ting
mirrors seem al most to compel confession and surrender
And
sti l l as he continued to l l his po c kets his min d a cc used him
with a sickening iteration o f the thousand fau l ts o f h is design
H e shou l d have chosen a more quiet hour

S o he shou ld fo r
the murder ; b u t for the se l f confession which is S te venson s
ultimate design no time o r place cou l d h ave been better
Pl ot There is little a c tion in the p l ot A man c ommits a
dastard l y mu rder and then being al one and undetected begins
to think th ink think I t i s the turning point in his life and he
knows it I nstead o f se izing th e treas u re and escaping he su b
mits his past caree r to a rigid scrutiny and review This brood
ing over his past life and present out l ook be c omes so absorbing
that what bade fair to be a so l i l oquy be c omes a dial ogu e a dia
logue between the o ld se l f that committed the murder and the
new sel f th at begins to revo l t at it The o ld self bids him fo llow
the l ine o f l east resistan c e and go o n as he has begun the new ly
awakened self bids him stop at on c e che c k the momentum o f
other days take this l ast chan c e and be a man His better
nature wins M ark h eim nds th at though his deeds have been
uniform l y evil he c an stil l c onceive great deeds renunciations
F ro m
ner s Sons
1
Th e
au
th
e rr
o riz e d
Men
d b y p e rm issio n o f C h arl e s S c rib

p b l ish e rs o f S t e ve n so n s Wo rks
U se
A m e ric an
20 6
M A R KH E I M
20 7
martyrdoms
Though the a c tive love o f good seems too weak
to be reckoned as an asset he sti l l has a hatred o f evil ; and

o n this twin foundation abi l ity to th ink gre at t houghts a n d to
hate evi l deeds he bui l ds at last his culminating resolve
The story is powerfu l ly and yet subtly to l d It sweeps the
whole gamut o f the moral law Ma n y stories develop th e same
th e m
e but none j ust l ike this S tevenson hi mse l f is drawn ag ai n
to the same prob l em a l ittle later in D r Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Hawthorne tried it in Howe s Masquerade in which the
cloaked gure is the phantom or redup l icati on o f Howe himse l f
I n Poe s
Wi ll iam Wi l son to which S tevenson is plainly in
debted th e evil nature triumphs o ver the good But M ark
heim by touching more chords and by sounding lowe r depths

makes the triumph at the end seem l ike a p ermanent victory
for universal human nature
Ch a ra ct ers If the story is the study o f a give n si tu ation
M ark h e im w h o is another type o f the developin g chara c ter is
the central fa c tor in the situation We see and interpret the
situation on l y through the personality o f M arkh e im himsel f
Another murderer might have acted di fferently even with those
clamorous cl ocks and accusing mirrors around him b u t not this
murderer There is nothing abnormal about him however as a
criminal He is thirty-six years o ld and through sheer weak ness
has gone steadi l y downward but he has n ever before d o ne a
deed approaching this in horror or in the power o f sudden se l f
revelation H e sees himse l f now as he never saw himse l f before
and begins to take stock of his moral assets T hey are pitifully
meager though his O pportunities for chara c ter bui l ding have
been good H e has even had emotional r ev ivals whi c h did n o t
however issue i n good deeds But with it a l l Markh eim illus
trates th e n obi l ity o f huma n n ature rathe r than
dep ravity I do n o t doubt his complete and p ermanent conver
sion When the terrib l e last question is p u t to him o r when
he puts it to himse l f whether he is better now in any o n e

particular than he was and when he is forced to say No in
3
'
SH O RT ST O RI E S
208
n one ! I have gone down in al l
the moral resources o f huma n

nature itself seem to be exhausted But they are not
I se e
clearly what remains for me

said M arkh e im
by way o f
du ty
This word not u sed before sounds a n e w chall enge
and marks the c risis o f the story Duty can ght wi thout ca l l
ing in reserves from the past an d without the vision o f victory
in the future I don t wonder th at the features o f the visitant
softened with a tender triumph

The visitant was neith er
I
the devil as M ark h e im rst thought him nor th e S aviour
as a recent editor pronounces him H e is on l y Mark
o f men
heim s o ld self the self that entered the antique shop th at with
fear and trembling committed the deed and that now hal f
conscious all the time o f inherent fa l seness urges th e o ld argu
ments and tries to energize the o ld purposes It is this visitant
that every man meets and overthrows when he comes to him
self when he breaks sharply with the o ld life and enters reso
lu tely upon the new ]
,
Yes said the deal er o u r windfa ll s are o f variou s kinds

S ome c ustomers are ignorant and th en I touch a dividend o n
m y superior knowledge S ome are dishonest and here he

hel d u p the candle so that the light fe ll strongly o n his visitor
and in that case he continued I prot by m y virtue

M ark h e im had but j ust entered from the daylight streets
and his ey es had n o t yet grown fami l iar with the mingled
shine and darkness in the shop At these pointed words and
before the nea r presence o f the ame he b l inked painfully
and looked aside
Yo u come to me o n Christmas day

T he deale r chuckled
he resumed
when you know that I am alone in my house
put u p m y sh u tters and make a point o f refusing business
We ll you wi l l have to pay fo r th at ; you wil l have to pay fo r
my loss o f time when I shoul d be balancing my books ; yo u
,
a ni c e thing for a lady n o w he went o n this han d -glass

ftee n th c en tu ry warranted ; comes from a good collection
too ; but I reserve the name in the interests o f my customer
who was j ust like yourse l f my dear sir th e nephew and sole
heir of a rem arkab l e c ol l ector

The dea l er whi l e h e th u s ran o n in his dry and biting voice
had stooped to take the obj ect from its p l ace ; and as he had
done so a sh Ock had passed through M ark h e im a sta rt both
o f hand and foot a sudden l eap of many tumu l tuous passions
to th e face It passed as swiftly as it came and left no trace
beyond a certain tremb l ing of the hand that now re c eived the
A glass he said hoarsel y and th en pau sed and repeate d

it more clearly
A glass ? For Ch ristmas ? S urely not
?
?
And why not
cried the deal er
Why not a gl ass
M arkh e im was looking upon him with an in de n able expres
sion
Yo u ask me wh y not ?
he said
Why look here
look in it
look at yourself Do you like to see it ? N o ! no r
I
nor any man
T he l ittle man had j umped back when M ark h e im had so
suddenly confronted him with the mirror ; but now perceiving
there was nothing worse o n hand he chuck l ed
Y our future
lady sir must be pretty hard favored said he
I ask you
said M arkh e im for a Christmas-present and
you give me this this damned reminder o f years and sins
and fo ll ies
this hand conscience ! Did you mean it ? Had
o
u a tho u ght in your mind ?
Te
ll
me
It
wi
l
l
be
better
for
y
o u if you do
Come
te
ll
me
about
yourse
l
f
I
hazard
a
guess
y
?
now that you are in se c ret a ve ry charitab l e man
The deal er l ooked cl ose l y at his companion It w as very
odd M arkh e im did not appear to be l aughing ; t h ere was
something in his face l ike an eager spark l e o f hope b u t
n othin go f mi rth
,
'
M A R KH E I M
21 1
What are yo u driving at ? the dealer asked
Not charitable ? returned the other g l oomi ly

Not chari
table ; not pious ; not scrupu l ous ; unloving unbeloved ; a hand
to get money a safe to keep it I s that all ? D ear G o d man
is t h at al l ?
I wi l l te l l yo u what it is, b egan the dealer with some

sharpness and then broke o ff aga in into a chu ck l e
But I see
this is a love match o f yours and yo u have been drinkin g the
lady s health
Ah !
cried M arkh e im with a strange curiosity
Ah
?
have yo u been in love Tell me about that
I c ried the dealer

I in love ! I never had the time
nor have I the time to d ay for a l l this nonsense Wi l l you
tak e the glass ?
Where is the hurry ? retu rned M arkh e im

It is very
pleasant to stand here ta l king ; and l ife is so short and insecure
that I would not hurry away from any p l easure
no n o t even
from so mild a o ne as this We should rather cling cling to
what little we can get like a man at a Cl iff s edge Eve ry se c
- a cli ff a mile high high
o n d is a cl iff if you think upon it
en ough if we fal l to dash u s out o f every feature o f humanity
H ence i t is best to talk pleasantly Let u s ta l k of each other ;
?
shou
l
d
wear
this
mask
Let us be condentia l Who
h
w
e
w y
?
knows we might become friends
I have j ust o n e word to say to you said the dealer
E ither make yo ur pur chase o r wa l k o u t of my shop
True true said M arkh e im

E nough foo l ing To b u si
ness S how me something e l se

The dealer stooped once more this tim e to rep l ace the gl ass
upon the shelf his thin b l onde hair falling over his eyes as he
did so M ark h e im moved a l itt l e nearer with o n e hand in the
-coat
hi
s
l
f
ket
his
g
r
eat
he
drew
himse
l
f
up
and
l
ed
c
o
o
;
p
lungs ; a t the same time many d ifferent emotions were depicted
.
212
togethe r o n his face terror horror and reso l ve fascinatio n

and a physi c al repulsion ; and through a haggard lift o f his
u pper l ip h is teeth looked o u t
This perhaps may suit o bserved the dea l er ; and then

as he began to re-arise M arkh e im bounded from behin d upon
his victim T he long skewer like dagger ashed and fell The
deal er stru ggled like a hen striking his temp l e o n the shelf
and then tumbled o n the oor in a heap
Time had som e score o f smal l voices in that shop some
stately and slow as was becoming to their great age ; others
garru l ous and hur ri ed A l l these told o u t the seconds in an
intricate chorus o f tickings T h en the passage o f a lad s feet
heavily ru nning o n the pavement broke in upon these smaller
voices and startled M arkh e im into the cons c iousness o f his
surroundin gs H e looked about him awfu lly T he candle stood
o n the counter its ame solemnly wagging in a dra u ht ; and
g
b y that inconsiderable movement th e whole room was lled
with noiseless bustle and kept heaving like a se a : the tall
shadows nodding the gross blots o f darkness swel l ing and
dwindling as with respiration the faces o f the portraits and the
china gods changing and w avering like images in water The
inner door stood aj ar and peered into that leaguer o f shadows
th a long slit O f daylight like a pointing nger
From these fear-stricken rovings M ark h e im s eyes returned
to the body o f his victim where it lay both humped and sprawl
ing incredibly small and strange ly meaner than in life In these
poor miserly c lothes in that ungain ly attitude the dealer lay
like so much sawdust M ark h e im had feared to see it and 10 !
i t was nothing And yet as he gaz ed this bund l e o f o ld clothes
and pool o f blood began to nd eloquent voices There it m u st
lie ; there was none to work the cunning hinges o r direct the
miracle o f locomotion th ere it must lie ti ll it was found
Found ! ay and then ? Then wou l d this dead esh lift u p a c ry
,
2 14
he behe l d in ga ll oping de l e the cl ock th e prison the gallows ,

and the black co fn
Terro r o f the peop l e in the street sat down before his mind
like a besieging army I t was impossible he thought but that
some rumor o f the struggle must have rea ched their ears and
set o n edge t h eir curiosity ; and now in all the neig h boring
houses he divined them S itting motion l ess and with up l ifted ear
solitary people condemned to spend Christmas dwe ll ing
alone o n memories of the past and now startlingl y recall ed
from that tender exercise ; happy fami ly parties struck into
si l en c e round the tab l e the mothe r sti l l with raised nger :
every degree and age and humor but all by their o wn hearth s
p rying and hearkening and weavin g the r o pe that was to hang
him S ometimes it seemed to him he cou l d not move too soft ly ;
the clink o f the tal l Bohemian goblets rang o u t loud ly like a
bell ; and alarmed by the bignes s of the ticking h e was tempted
And then again with a swift transition of
to stop the clocks
his terrors the very si l en c e o f the place appeared a source of
peril and a thing to strike and freeze the passer-by ; and he
wou l d step m o re bo l dly and bustle al oud among the contents
of the shop and imitate with e l aborate bravado the movements
o f a b u s y man at ease in his o wn house
But he was now so pu ll ed about by different a l arms that
wh ile o n e portion o f his mind was still a l e rt and cunning
another tremb l ed o n the brink o f lunacy O ne ha ll u c ination in
pa rticular took a strong ho l d on his credulity The neighbor
h
hearkening with white fac e beside his window t e passer by
these could
arrested b y a horrib l e surmise o n the pavement
at worst suspect they cou l d not know ; through the bri ck wa ll s
But here
and shuttered windows on l y sounds cou l d penetrate
within the house was he alone ? He knew he was ; he had
wat ched the servant set forth sweethearting in her poor best
written in eve ry ribbon and smi l e Yes he

o u t for the day
or
M A R KH E I M
21
was alone o f course ; and yet in the bulk of empty hou se

above him he cou l d sure l y hear a stir o f de l icate footing h e
was sure ly cons c ious inexp l i c ab l y c onscious of som e presen c e
Ay surely ; to every room and c orner o f the house his imagina
t ion fo ll owed it ; and now i t was a fa c eless thing and yet had
eyes to see with ; and again it was a shadow o f himse l f ; and
yet again beho l d the image o f the dead deal er reinspired with
cunning and hatred
At times with a strong effort he wou l d glance at the open
door which sti ll seemed to repe l his eyes The house was tall
the sky l ight smal l and dirty the day b l ind with fog ; and the
light that l tered down to the ground story was ex c eedingly
faint and showed dim l y o n the threshold o f the S hop And yet
in that strip of doubtfu l brightness did there n o t hang wave ring
a S hadow ?
S uddenly from the street outside a very j ovial gentleman
began to beat with a staff o n the shop-door accompanying his
b l ows with shouts and rai ll eries in whi c h the dea l er was c o n
M ark h e im smitten into i c e
tinu ally c a ll ed upon b y name
gl anced at the dead man But no ! he l ay quite stil l ; he w as
ed away far beyond earshot o f these blows and shoutings ; he
was sunk beneath seas o f si l ence ; and his name whi c h wou l d
on c e have caught his noti c e above th e how l ing o f a storm h ad
be c ome an empty sound And present ly the j ovial gent l e m an
desisted from his knocking and departed
Here was a broad hint to hurry what remained to be d o ne
to ge t fort h from this a cc using neighborhood to plunge into a
bath of London mu l titude s and to reach o n th e other side of
day that haven o f safety and apparen t innocence
his bed O ne
visitor had come : at any moment another might fo ll ow and be
more obstinate T 0 have done the deed and yet not to reap the
prot wou l d b e too abhorrent a fai l ure T h e money that was
now M ark h e im s con c ern ; and as a means to that the keys
,
2 16
H e glanced over his shoulder at the open doo r where th e

shadow was still lingering and shivering ; and with no conscious
repugnance of the mind yet with a tremor of the belly h e drew
n ear the body o f his victim T he human character had quite
departed Like a suit half -stu ffed with bran the limbs lay scat
te re d the trunk doubled on the oor ; and yet the thing
repelled him Although so dingy and in considerable to the eye
he feared it might have more signicance to the touch H e
took the body by the shoulders and turned it o n its ba ck It
was strangely light and supp l e and the limbs as if th ey had
been broken fe l l into the o ddest post ures T he face was robbed
and shockingly
o f a l l expression ; b u t it was as pale as wax
smeared with b l ood about o n e temple T hat was for M arkh e im
the o n e displeasing circumstance It carried him back upon
the instant to a certain fair day in a sh er s vi ll age : a gray
day a piping wind a crowd upon the street the blare Of
brasses the booming of drums the nasal voice o f a ballad
singer ; and a boy going to and fro buried over head in the crowd
and divided between interest and fear unti l coming o u t upon the
chief place o f c oncourse he behe l d a booth and a great screen
with pictures disma ll y designed garish ly co l ored : Brownrigg
with her apprenti c e ; th e Mannings With their murdered gu est ;
Weare in the death-grip o f T h u rt ell ; and a score besides o f
famous crimes The th ing was as c l ear as an i l lusion ; he was
once again that l ittle boy ; he was looking on c e again and with
the same sense o f physical revolt at these vile pictures ; he
was still stunned by the thumping of the drums A bar o f that
day s music ret u rned upon his memo ry ; and at that for the
rst tim e a qua l m came over him a b reath o f na u sea a s u d
den weakness o f the j oints which he must instantl y resist
and conquer
H e j udged it more pr u dent to c onfront than to ee from
these considerations ; l ooki ng the more hardi ly in th e dead
,
21
mingle with the patter o f th e drops upon the cupola and the
gushing of the water in the pipes The sense that he was not
alone grew upon him to the verge o f madness O n eve ry side
he was ha u nted and begirt by presences
He heard them
moving in the upper chambers ; f rom the sh Op he heard the
dead man getting to his legs ; and as he began with a great
e ffort to mount the stairs feet ed quiet ly before him and fo l
lowed stea l thil y behind If h e were b u t de af h e thought how
tranquilly he would possess his soul And then again and h eark
e n in gwith every fresh attention he blessed himse l f for that u n re
sisting sense which held the outposts and stood a trusty sentinel
upon his life His head tu rned continually on his ne ck ; his
eyes which seemed starting from their orbits scouted o n every
side and o n every side were hal f rewarded as with the tail o f
something name l ess vanish ing T he four-and-twenty step s to
the rst oor were four-and-twenty agonies
O n that rst story the door stood aj ar three o f them like
three ambushes shaking his nerves like the throats of c an non
H e could never again he felt be su fcient ly immured and
fortied from men s observing eyes ; he longed to be home
girt in by wa l ls b u ried among bedclothes and invisib l e to a l l
but God And at th at thought he wondered a little reco ll ecting
tales o f other murderers and the fear they were said to enter
tain of heavenly avengers I t was not so at least with him
He feared the laws o f nature lest in their call ous and imm u
table procedure they shou l d preserve some damning eviden c e
H e feared tenfo l d more with a slavish su p e rsti
o f his c rime
tious terror some scission in the continuity of man s experience
some wil l ful illegality o f nature H e played a game of ski ll
depending o n the ru l es cal c u l ating consequen c e from cause ;
and what if nature as the defeated tyrant overthrew the chess
board shou l d break the mo l d o f their su cc ession ? The l ike
had befall en N ap oleon ( so writers said) when the winter chan ged
.
M A R KH E I M
2 19
the time o f its appearance The like might befall M ark h e im :

the so l id walls might be c ome transparent and revea l his doings
like those o f bees in a gl ass hive ; the stout planks might yield
u nder his foot l ike quicksands and detain him in their clutch ;
and
there
were
soberer
accidents
that
might
destroy
him
a
y
if for instance the house S hould fal l and imprison him beside
the b o dy of his victim ; the house next door should y o n re
and the remen invade him from all S ides T hese things he
feared ; and in a sense these things might be called the hands
But about God himse l f he
o f God rea c hed forth against sin
was at ease ; his a c t was doubt l ess exceptional but so were
his excu ses which G o d knew ; it was there and n o t among
men that he felt s u re o f j ustice
When he had got safe into the drawing-room and shut the
door behind him he was aware o f a respite from alarm s T he
room was quite dismantled uncarpeted besides and strewn
with packing cases and incongruous furniture ; several great
pier-glasses in which he behe l d himself at various angl es like
an actor o n the stage ; many pictu res framed and unframed
standing with their faces to the wall ; a ne S heraton sideboard
a cabinet of marqu etry and a great o ld bed with tapestry
hangings The windows opened to the oor ; but by gr eat
good fo rtune the l ower pa rt o f the shutters had been closed
and this concealed him from the neighbors H ere then Mark
heim drew in a packing case before the cabinet and began to
search among the keys It was a long business for there were
many ; and it was irksome besides ; for after all there might
be nothing in the c abinet and time was on the wing But the
closeness of the occupation sobered him With the tail o f his
eye he saw the door even glanced at it from time to time
directly like a besieged commander pleased to verify the good
estate o f his defenses But in tru th he was at peace T he rain
falling in the street sounded natural and pleasant Presently
.
2 20
the other side the notes of a piano were wakened to the

music o f a hymn and the voices o f many children took up the
air and words How stately h o w c omfortab l e was the melody !
How fresh the youthful voices ! M arkh e im gave ear to it smil
ingly as he sorted o u t the keys ; and his mind was thronged
with answerab l e ideas and images ; church going children and
the pealing o f the high organ ; c hi l dren aeld bathers by the
brook -side ramb l ers o n the bramb l y common kite-ye rs in the
windy and cl oud-navigated sk y ; and th en at another cadence
ba ck again to church and the somnolence o f
o f the h ymn
summer S undays and the high genteel voice o f the parson
which
he
smi
l
ed
a
little
to
recal
l
and
the
painted
Jacobean
(
)
tombs and the dim lettering o f the Ten Commandments in
the chance l
And as he sat thus at once busy and absent he was sta rtled
A ash of ice a ash o f re a bursting gu sh o f
to his feet
blood went over him and then he stood transxed an d th rill
ing A step mounted the stair slow ly and steadily and presently
a hand was l aid upon the knob and the lock c l icked and the
door opened
Fear held M arkh e im in a vice What to expect he knew
not whether the dead man walking o r the o fcial ministe r s o f
h u man j ustice o r some chance witness blindly stu mbling in to
consign him to the gallows But when a face was thrust into
the ape rture glanced round the room looked at him nodded
and smiled as if in friend l y recognition and then withdrew
again and the door closed behind it his fear broke loose from
his control in a hoarse c ry At the sound o f this the visi tant
retu rned
?
Did you ca l l me
he asked pleasantly and with that he
entered the room and c losed the door beh ind him
M ark h e im stood and gazed at him with a l l his eyes Per
h aps there was a lm upon his sight but the outlines o f th e
on
'
222
faces they wo u ld be altogether different they would shine out

fo r he r oes and saints ! I am worse than most ; my self is more
overlaid ; my excuse is known to me and God But had I the
time I could disclose myself
?
T o me
in quired the visitant
returned the murderer

I supposed
T o you bef o re al l
you were intelligent I thought
since yo u exist you wou l d
prove a reader o f the hea rt And yet yo u wou l d propose to
j udge me by my acts ! Think o f it ; m yacts ! I was b o rn and
I have lived in a land o f giants ; giants have dragged me by
the wrists since I was b o rn o u t o f m y mother
the giants o f
ci r cumstance And yo u would j udge me by my acts ! But c a n
? Can
o u not understand that evil is hate
not
look
within
o
u
y
y
ful to me ? Can you not see within me the clear writing o f
conscience never b lu rred b y any wi l lful sophi st ry although to o
?
often disregarded Can yo u n o t read me for a thing that surely
must be common as humanity

the unwi ll ing sinner ?
All this is very feelin gly e xpre s sed -was the rep l y
but
it regards me not T hese points o f consistency are beyond my
province and I c are not in the least by what c ompulsion yo u
may have been dragged away so as yo u are but carried in the
right direction But time ies ; the servant delays looking in
the faces o f the crowd and at the pi c tures o n the hoardings
b u t still she keeps moving nearer ; and remember it is as if
the gallows itself was striding toward you through the Christ
mas streets ! S hall I help you ; I wh o know a l l ? S hall I te ll
o u where to nd the money ?

y
?
F o r what price
asked M arkh e im
I offer yo u the servi c e for a Christmas gift ret u rned the

other
M ark h e im could not refrain from smi l ing with a kind o f
bitter triumph
said he
I wi ll t ake nothing at your
NO
hands ; if I were dying of thirst and it was your hand that put
,
M A R KH E I M
223
the pitcher to my l ips I shou l d nd the c ourage to refuse I t
may be c redu l ous b u t I wi l l do nothing to c ommit mysel f to evi l
I have no obj ection to a death -bed repentance o bserved

the visitant
Because you disbel ieve their e f c a cy ! M arkh e im cried
I do not say so returned the other ; but I look o n these

things from a different side and when the life is done my in
The man has l ived to serve me to S pread black
te re st fal ls
looks under color o f re l igion o r to so w tares in the wheat-eld
as you do in a c ourse of w eak compliance with desire Now
that he draws so near to his de l iveran c e he c an add b u t one
act o f service to repent to die smil ing and thus to build up
in conden c e and h Op e the more timorous o f my s u rviving fol
lowers I am n o t so hard a master Try me Accept my help
Please yourse l f in life as you have done hitherto ; p l ease your
self more amply spread you r elbows at the board ; and when
the ni ght begins to fa l l and the c u rtains to be drawn I te l l
you for your greater comfort that yo u will nd it even easy
to compound your quarrel with your cons c ience and to make a
tru ck l ing pea c e with God I c ame b u t now from s uch a death
bed and the room was full o f sin cere mourners listening to the
man s l as t words : and when I looked into that fa c e which ha d
been set as a int against mer c y I found it smiling with hope
And do you then suppose me su c h a c reature ? asked

M arkh e im
Do you think I have no more generous aspirations
than to sin and sin and sin and at l ast sneak into heaven ?
My heart rises at the thought I s this then your experience o f
mankind ? o r is it be c au se you nd me with red hands that you
presume su c h baseness ? and is this crime of murder indeed
so impious as to dry u p the very springs o f good ?
Murder is to me no spe c ial category replied the other

A l l sins are murder even as al l life is war I beho l d your
ra c e like sta rving mariners o n a raft plucking crusts out of
.
2 24
the hands o f famine and feeding o n ea c h other s lives 1 follow

sins beyond the moment o f their acting ; I nd in all that the
last consequence is death ; and to m y eyes the pretty maid
wh o thwarts her mother with s uc h taking graces o n a question
o f a ball
drips n o l ess visibly with human gore than such a
m u rderer as yourself Do I say that I follow sins ? I follow
vi rtues also ; they differ not by the thickness o f a nai l they are
b o th scythes for the reaping angel o f Death E vil fo r which I
live consists not in action but in character T he bad man i s
dear to me ; n o t the bad act whose fr u its if we could fol l ow
them fa r enough down the hu rtling cataract o f the ages might
yet be found more blessed than those of the rarest virtues
And it is n o t because yo u have ki ll ed a dea l er but because
you are M arkh e im that I offered to forward your escape
I will lay my heart open to you answered M arkh e im

This c rime o n which you nd me i s my l ast O n my way to
it I have learned many lessons ; itself is a l esson a momentous
lesson Hitherto I have been driven with revolt to what I would
I
a
bond
slave to p o verty driven and s c o u rged T here
no t ;
was
are robust virt u es that c an stand in these temptations ; mine was
not so : I had a thirst o f pleasure But to-day and o u t o f this
deed I pluck b o th warning and riches both the power and a
fresh resolve to be myse l f I become in a l l things a free actor in
the wor l d ; I begin to see myself all changed these b ands the
agents o f good this heart at peace S omething c omes over me
o u t of the past ; something o f what I have dreamed o n S abbath
evenings to the sound o f the ch u r c h organ o f what I fore c ast
when I shed tears over n o b l e books o r ta l ked an inno c ent chi l d
with m y moth e r T here lies my life ; I have wandered a few
years but n o w I see once more my city o f destination
You are to use this money on the S tock Exchange I
?
think
remarked the visito r ; and there if I mistake not
o u have already lost some thousa n ds ?

y
2 26
right to be so ; and at any account it is the same with al l men

But granting that are yo u in any o n e parti c u l ar however tri
ing more di f c u l t to p l ease with y o u r o wn c ondu c t o r do yo u
go i n all things with a looser rein ?
I n any o n e ? repeated M ark h eim with an angu ish o f c o n
sideration
No he added with despair in none ! I have
gone down in al l
T hen said the visitor

content yourse l f with what you
l
h
h
are fo r yo u wi l l never c an ge ; and t e w o rds o f your part o n
this stage are irrevocab l y written down

M arkh e im stood f o r a l ong w h i l e si l ent and indeed it was
the visitor who rst broke t h e sil en c e

That being so he
said
shall I S how yo u the money ?
And grace ? cried M arkh e im
Have you n o t tried it ? returned the other

Two o r
three ye ars ago did I not see yo u o n the p l atform o f revival
?
meetings and was not your voice the loudest in the hymn
I t is true said M ark h e im ; and I se e c learly what re

main s for me b y way o f duty I thank you fo r these lessons
from my soul : my eyes are O pened and I beho l d myse l f at
last for what I am

At this moment the sharp note o f the door-be l l rung through
the house ; and the vi sitant as though this were some c on c erted
signal fo r whi c h he had been waiting c han ged at on c e in his
demeanor
T he maid
he c ried
S he has returned as I forewarned
you and there is now before you one more di f cult pa ssage
Her master yo u must say is i ll ; yo u must let her in with an
assure d but rathe r serious c ountenance no smiles no over
acting and I promise you su cc es s ! O n c e the girl within and
th e door closed the same dexterity that has a l ready rid you o f
the deal er wil l rel ieve you o f this l ast danger in your path
Thencefo rward yo u h ave the whole evening
the who l e night
,
M A R KH E I M
227
if needful
to ransa c k the treasures o f the house and to make
good your safety This is he l p that comes to you with the mask
Up !
he cried :
up friend ; your life hangs
o f danger
tremb l ing in the scales ; up and act !

M arkh e im steadi l y regarded his counsellor
If I be c o n
he said there is sti l l o n e door o f free

de m ne d to evi l acts
dom open
I c an c ease from a c tion If my life be an ill thing
I c an lay it down Though I be as yo u say truly at the beck
I c an y et by o n e decisive gesture
o f eve ry small temptation
p l a c e myself beyond the reach o f a l l My love o f good is
damned to barrenness ; it may and l et it be ! But I have sti ll
my hatred o f evil ; and from that to your galling disappoint
ment yo u shall se e that I can draw both energy and courage

The features o f the visito r began to undergo a wonderful
and l ovel y change ; they brightened and softened with a tender
triumph ; and even as they brightened faded and dis l imned
But M arkh e im did not pause to watch o r understand the trans
formation He O pened th e door and went down-stairs very
slowly thinking to himself His past went soberl y before him
h e behe l d it as it was ugly and strenuous like a dream random
as chance-med l ey
a scene o f defeat Life as he th u s reviewed
it tempted him no longer but o n the further side he perceived
a quiet haven for his bark He pa u sed i n the passage and
looked into the shop where the candle still burned by the dea d
body I t was strangely silent Thoughts o f the dea l er swarmed
into his mind as he stood gazing And then the bell once more
broke o u t into impatient cl amor
H e confronted the maid upon the thresh o ld with something
l ike a smil e
said he : I have kil led

Yo u had better go for th e po l ice
you r master
.
BY
T H E N E C KL A C E
1
8
5
8
(
)
M AU PA SS A NT ( 1 8 5 0 1 8 9 3 )
GUY D E
ett ing
S
!
T he sto ry is set in a Paris atmosphe r e o f social

T he background is o n e o f studied
aspiration and discontent
contrasts contrasts between the stolid contentment o f a h u s
band and the wou l d-b e luxuriousness o f a wife be t wee n what
Madame Loisel had and what she wanted between what she
was and what she thought she could be betwee n her brief
moment o f triumph and the long y ears o f her undoin g between
the trivialness o f what she did and the heaviness o f her punish
ment These contrasts are devel oped n o t by reasoning but b y
action ea ch action plunging Madame Loisel deeper an d deeper
into mise ry The author s attitude toward his work form s also
a part o f the real background Maupassant shows neither sym
pathy nor indignation He writes as if he were the stenographer
o f impersonal and pitiless fate
Pl ot Madame Loise l a poor but beautiful and ambitious
woman borrows and loses a diamond necklace va l ued at $ 7 2 0 0
That at least is what Madame Loisel thought fo r ten te rrible
years and that is what the reader thinks till he comes to the
last words o f the story The plot be l ongs therefore to that
large group known as hoax p l ots I n most o f these stories o n e
person plays a j oke o n another In this story a grim fate is
made to p l ay the j oke I n fact the current phrase the irony
nds here perfect i ll ustration We use the exp r ession

o f fate
n o t so much o f a great misfortune as o f a misfo rtune that seem s
brought about b y a peculiarly ma l ignant train o f circumstances
T h e inj u ry in this case not only was irremediable but turned
.
La
p aru re fro m
C t
o n e s e t n o u ve l l e s
2 28
230
stories that h e is interested not so m uch in the free play o r the

full reaction o f personal i ty as in the enslavement o f personality
through passion o r chance He saw l ife without order because
without center without reward because without desert ; and his
characters are made to see it through th e same lens and to
experience it o n the same l eve l They either do not react o r do
Had Madame Loisel and her hus b and been
n o t react nob l y
S haped to t into a l ess mechanical s c heme o f things they wou l d
have recognized in their ten years trial th e c a l l to something
higher They cou l d have u sed their testing as a means o f
understanding with keener sympath y the l ife l ong testing o f
others T hey cou l d have attained a se l f-deve l opment that wou l d
have brought a happiness undreamed o f before the fatefu l
January 1 8 But this is Browning s way n o t M au passan t s
The latter prefers to make M adame Loise l and her husband
chiey o f putty so that they may i ll ustrate the b l ind thrusts o f
a cc ident rath er t h an th e power o f personality to t u rn stumb l ing
blocks into stepping-stone s ]
.
S he was o n e of those pretty and charming girls wh o as i f by

a mistake o f destiny are born in a fami ly o f emp l oyees S he
had no dowry no expectations no means o f becoming known
understood l oved wedded by any ri c h and distinguished man ;
and so sh e l et hersel f be married to a petty cl erk in the Bureau
o f Pub l ic I nstru c ti o n
S he was simp l e in her dress because sh e cou l d not be e l abo
rate but sh e was as unhappy as i f sh e had fall en from a higher
rank for with women th ere is no inherited distinction o f higher
and lower Their beauty their grace and th eir natural charm
ll the place of birth and family Natura l de l i c a cy instin c tive
elegance a live l y wit are the ru l ing forces in the social real m
and these make the daughters o f th e common peop l e th e equals
o f the nest l adies
,
N E C KL ACE
TH E
23 1
S he su ffered intensely feeling herself born for all the re ne

ments and luxuries of l ife S he su ffered from the p o verty o f
her home as sh e looked at the dirty wal l s the worn-o u t chairs
the ugly curtains All those things o f which another woman o f
her station would have been quite unconscious tortured her and
made her indignant The sight o f the country girl who was
maid-o fall-work in her humble household l led her almost with
desperation S he dreamed o f echoing hall s hung with O rienta l
draperies and lighted by tall bronze candelabra while two tal l
footmen in knee-breeches drowsed in great armchairs by reason
S he dreamed o f
o f the heating stove s oppressive warmth
splendid parlors furnished in rare o ld si l ks o f c arved cabinets
loaded with price l ess b ric-a-brac and of entrancing little bou
-men
do irs j ust right for afternoon chats with bosom friends
famous and sought after the envy and the desire o f all the
other women
When she sat down to dinner at a little table covered with
a cloth three days o ld and looked across at her husband
as he uncovered the soup and excl aimed with an air of rapt
ure
O h the delicious stew ! I know nothing better than
that
she dreamed of dain ty dinners of shining silve rware
of tapestries which peop l ed the wal l s with antique g u res and
strange birds in fairy forests ; sh e dreamed o f delicious viands
served in wonderful dishes o f whispered gall antries heard with
a S phinx-like smi l e as you eat the pink esh o f a trout o r the
wing o f a quail
S he had no dresses no j ewels nothing ; and she loved noth
ing else S he fe l t made fo r that a l one S he was l led with a
desi re to p l ease to be envied to be bewit c hing and sought after
S he had a ri c h friend a former schoolmate at the convent whom
she no longer wished to visit because she su ffered so mu c h when
she came home F o r who l e days at a time she wept without
ce asing in bitterness and hopel ess mise ry
,
SH O R T ST O R I E S
232
Now one even i ng her husband came home with a triumphant

a i r holding in his hand a large envelope
There said he there is something fo r you

S he quickly tore open the paper and drew out a printed card
bearing these words :
The Minister o f P ub l i c Instruction and Mme Georges R am
L
o ise l s company
ne
a
u request the honor o f M and Mme
o
u
p
at the palace o f the Ministry Monday evening January 1 8 th

Instead o f being overcome with de l ight as h e r husband
expected she threw the invitation o n the tab l e with disda i n
murmuring :
What do yo u wish me to do with that ?
Why my dear I thought you wou l d be p l eased Yo u never

out
and
this
is
such
a
ne
opportunity
I
had
awful
troub
l
e
o
!
g
in getting it E very o n e wants to go ; it is very select and they
are no t giving many invitations to C lerks Yo u will se e all th e
of cial worl d
S he looked at him with irritation and said impatientl y :
?
What do you expe c t me to p u t o n my bac k if I go
He had not thought o f that H e stammered :
Why the d ress you go to the theatre in I t seems al l right
to me
He stopped stu p e e d distracted on seeing that his wife was
c rying Two great tears des c ended sl ow l y from the corners o f
her eyes toward the co rners of her mouth H e stuttered :
What 5 the matter ? What 3 the matte r
By a vio l ent effort she subdued h e r feel ings and replied in a
ca l m voice as she wiped her wet cheeks :
Nothing O nly I have no dress and consequentl y I cannot
go to this ball Give your invitation to s o me f riend whose wife
has better cl othes th an
H e was in despair but began again :
Let u s see M athi l de How mu c h wou l d it cost a suitable
,
S H OR T ST O R I E S
2 34
But her husband cried :

How stupid you are ! Go and nd your friend Madame
Fo r estie r and ask her to lend you some j ewels Yo u are
in timate enough wi th her for that

S he u ttered a cry o f jo y
O f co u rse I had not thought o f that

T he next day she went to her friend s house and told
he r distress
Madam e Forestier went to her handsome wardrobe took
brought it back opened it and said to
o u t a large casket
Madame Loisel :
Choose my dear
S he saw rst o f all some bracelets the n a pearl n ecklace
the n a Venetian cross o f gold se t with pre c io u s stones o f wo n
S he tried o n the ornaments before the
de rfu l workmanship
lass
hesitated
could
n o t make u p he r mind to pa rt with them
g
S he kept asking :
to give them back
Yo u have nothing else ?
Why y es But I do not know what will please yo u

All at once she discovered in a black satin box a splendid
diamond necklace and her heart began to beat with boundless
desire Her hands tremb l ed as she took it S he fastened it
around her throat o ver her high-necked dress and stood lost
in ecstasy as she looked at herself
Then she asked hesitating full of anxiety :
Would yo u lend me that

only that ?
Why yes certainly

S he sp rang upon the ne ck o f he r friend e mb r aced her
r apturously the n ed with her treas u re
.
T he day o f the ball arrived Madame Loisel was a success

S he was prettier than all th e others elegant gracious smiling
and crazy with jo y A l l the men stared at her asked h e r nam e
.
T H E N E C KL ACE
23
tried to be introdu c ed A ll the c abinet o f c ia l s wished to wal tz

with her The minister noti c ed h er
S he dan c ed with de l ight with p assion intoxi c ated with
pleasure forgetting all in the triumph of her beauty in the
gl o ry o f her su cc ess in a sort of mist o f happiness the resu l t
all this homage a ll this admiration a l l these awakened
of
desires this victory so comp l ete and so sweet to the heart
o f woman
S he l eft about four o cl o ck in the morning Her husband had
been dozing since midnight in a l ittl e deserted anteroom with
three other gentl emen whose W i ves were having a good time
H e threw about her shou l ders the wraps whi c h he had
brought for her to go out in the modest wraps o f common
life whose poverty contrasted sharply with the e l egance o f the
bal l d ress S he fe l t this and wished to es c ape that sh e might
not be noticed by the other women who were wrapping
themselves in costly furs
Loise l hel d her ba ck
Wait h e re yo u will catch cold outside I will go and nd
a c ab
But sh e would not listen to him and rapid ly descended the
stairs When they were at l ast in the street they cou l d nd
n o carriage and began to l ook fo r o n e hai l ing the cabmen
they saw passing at a distance
T hey walked down toward the S eine in despair shivering
with the co l d At last they found o n the quay o ne of those
ancient nocturnal c abs that o n e sees in Paris only after dark
as if they w ere ashamed to disp l ay their wretchedness d u ri ng
the day
They were put down at their door in the R ue des Martyrs
and sadly mounted the steps to their apartm ents It was all
over fo r her And as for him b e reected that he must be at
his o f ce at ten o clock
.
SH O R T S T OR I E S
2 36
S he t ook o ff the wraps which covered her shou l ders before

the mirror so as to take a na l l ook at herself in a ll her
glory But suddenly sh e u ttered a c ry S he no longer had the
neckla c e about her neck !
H er husband already half undressed inquired :
?
What is the matter
S he t u rned mad l y toward him
I have I have
I no l onger have M adame F o restie r s
neck l a c e
He stood up distracted
What
how
it is impossib l e !
They looked in the fo l ds o f her dress in the folds o f her
c l oak in th e pockets everywhere They cou l d not nd a
tra c e o f it
He asked :
?
You are s u re yo u stil l had it when you left the ball
Yes I felt it o n me in the vestibule at the palace

But if yo u had lost it in the street we shou l d have heard
it fall I t must be in the c ab
?
Yes That s probab l e Did yo u ta k e the number
No And you you did not notice it
No
They l ooked at each other thunderstruck At last Loisel
put on his cl othes again
I am going back said h e o ver every foot o f the way we
came to see if I cannot nd it

S o he sta rted S he remained in her b al l dress without strength
to go to bed sitting o n a chair with no re her mind a blank
H er h u s band returned about seven o clock He had found
nothing
He went to po l i c e headquarters to the newspapers to offer
a reward to th e c ab c ompanies everywhere in short where
a trace of hope led him
,
( t
238
ru inous engagements dea l t with usurers with all the tri be o f

money-lenders He c ompromised th e rest o f his l ife risked his
signature without knowing if h e might not be invo l ving his honor
and terried by the anguish yet to c ome by the b l ack misery
about to fal l upon him by th e prospect o f e v e iy physical priva
tion and every menta l torture he went to get the new neck l ace
and laid down o n the dea l e r s counter thirty-six thousand francs
When Madame Loisel took th e neck lace back to Madame
Forestier the l atter said co l d ly :
You shoul d have returned it sooner fo r I might have
needed it
S he did not O pen the case to the re l ief o f h e r friend If she
had detected the substitution what wou l d sh e have thought ?
What would sh e have said ? Wou l d sh e have taken her friend
for a thief ?
,
M adame Loisel now knew the horrible life o f the needy

But sh e took her part heroi c a ll y They m u st pay this frightful
debt S he wou l d pay it T h ey dismissed their maid ; th ey gave
u p their room ; they rented anot h er under the roof
S he came to know th e drudgery of housework the odiou s
labors of the kit c h en S he washed the dishes staining her rosy
nai l s on the greasy pots and the bottoms of the saucepans
S he washed the dirty l inen the shirts and the dish cl oths which
sh e hung to dry on a line ; sh e carried the ga rbage down to
the street every morning and carried up the water stopping
at each landing to rest And dressed like a woman o f the
peop l e sh e went to the fruiterer s th e grocer s the b u t c h er s
1
her basket o n her arm bargaining abusing defending sou by
sou her miserable money
E ach month they had to pay some notes rene w others
obtain more time
.
so u , o r
v e -c e n im e
p ie c e
is
e q u al
to
one c en
of our
mone
N EC KL ACE
TH E
2 39
The husband worked eve ry evening nea tly footing u p the

account books o f some tradesman and often far into the night
he sat c opying manuscript at ve sous a page
And this life l asted ten years
At the end of te n years they had paid everything every
thin g with the exactions o f usury and the accumulations of
compound interest
M adame Loise l seemed aged now S he h ad become the
woman o f impoverished househo l ds strong and hard and
rough With h air hal f c ombed with skirts awry and reddened
hands S he talked l oud as sh e washed the oor with great
swishes o f water But sometimes when her husband was at
the o fce she sat down near the window and thought o f that
evening at the bal l so long ago when she had been so beautiful
and so admired
What would have happened if sh e had n o t lost that neck
lace ? Who knows wh o knows ? How strange life is how
changeful ! How little a thing is needed for u s to be lost or
to be saved !
,
'
But o n e S unday as sh e was going for a wal k in the Champs

El ys ees to refresh hersel f after the l abors o f the week a l l at
once she saw a woman wal king with a chi l d It was Madame
F o re stie r sti l l young sti ll be autifu l stil l charming
Madame Loisel w as agitated S hould sh e speak to her ?
Why o f course And n o w that she had paid sh e wou l d te l l
her all Why not ?
S he drew near
Good morning Jeanne

T he other astonished to be addressed so fami l iarly by this
woman o f the peop l e did not recognize her S h e stammered
But madame I do not know you Yo u must have
made a mistake
,
2 40
N o I am Mathilde Loisel
Her friend uttered a cry
O h ! my poor Mathi l de h o w changed you are !

Ye s I have had days hard enough sin c e I saw yo u days
wretched enough
and all because o f you !
M e ? How so
Yo u remember that neckla c e o f diamonds that you lent
me to w ear to the min isterial ball ?
Yes Well ?
Well I lost it
?
How can that be Yo u returned it to me
I ret u rned to you an o ther exactly l ike it These ten years
we v e been paying for it You know it was not easy for us
who had nothing At l ast it is over and I am ve ry glad

Madame F o re stie r was stunned
You say that you bought a diamond necklace to rep l ace
mine ?
Yes ; you did not notice it then ? T h ey were j ust al ike

And she smi l ed with a proud an d naive p l easure
Madame Forestier deep l y m o ved took both h e r hands
O h my poor Mathi l de ! Why my necklace was paste It
was worth ve h u ndred francs at most

.
242
This is unusual with Kipling and with al l other mode rn story

writers
T he in troduction j usties itse l f however in this c ase
because since a hal f crazed man with weakening memory is to
tell the rea l tale his narrative wou l d have to be supp l emented
by explanations o n nearly every page unl ess the introducto ry
part cou l d be taken fo r granted Notice h o w often in reading
C arn eh an s broken story you supp l y w h at he omits and inter
pret what he on l y fragmentarily says by reference to what has
gone before
Kip l ing has done more in this story than to present a char
acter of l imitl ess audacity He h as impressed again o n e o f his
favorite teachings There is h e ho l ds a barrier between E ast
and West that c an never be crossed Th e West c an go so far
with the E ast but no farther Brave men o f the West may
conquer the E ast and ru l e it but to take l iberties wi th it is to
uncover a vast realm o f the unknown and to invite disaster In
The R eturn o f Imray a good natured E nglishman pats the

head o f Bahadu r Khan s child and is ki ll ed for it Another
E nglishman in Beyond the Pal e thought that he understood

the heart o f India and he re is his epitaph : He took to o deep
an interest in native l ife b u t he will never do so again

Dravot
cou l d p l ay king and even god in Karistan b u t when b e exposed
himse l f ignorantly to an o ld racial superstition he met instant
and inevitab l e destruction
Ch a ra cters Carnehan tell s the story but Dravot is the ener
o f the
c
haracter
Captain
James
Cook
the
dis
c
overer
i
z in
g
g
S andwich I s l ands is p l ain l y the origina l o f Dravot R ead th e
thirtieth chapter o f the se c ond volume o f Mark Twain s R ough
ing I t ( 1 8 7 2 ) an d yo u wi ll nd Kipling s story cl earl y o u t
lined O ne cannot withho l d a measure o f admiration fo r this
type o f un c ontro ll ed audacity Dravot was not bad at heart he
was only bound l ess a type o f the adventurer that has given
many a fascinating c hapter to history as well as to l iterature
The R esearch Magnicent by Mr H G Wells the

In
hero Benham says
I think what I wa n t is to be k i ng o f the
.
T H E M AN WH O W O U LD
B E
KI N G
24 3
world
It is the very c ore of me
I mean to be a kin g
King I m n o t mad
His m o tiv e h o weve r is
in this earth
very di fferent from D ravo t s

I see the worl d h e c ontinues
staggering from misery to misery and there is l itt l e wisdom
less ru l e fo ll y prej udi c e limitation
and it is my worl d and
I am responsib l e
As soon as your kingship is p l ain to yo u
there is no more rest no pea c e no de l ight ex c ept in work in
T h e three weaknesses to be o ve r
serv i ce 1n utmost e ffort
come are Fear Indu l gen c e and Jeal ousy Both Dravot and
B en h am fai l and the comment o f ea c h o n his o wn fai l ure is an
autobiography Benham :
I can feel that greater world I
shall never se e as o ne feels the dawn c om ing through the l ast
darkness
Dravot : We ve had a dashed ne r u n for o u r
money What s coming next ?
.
ro t h e r
to a
P rinc e
an d
f ell o w t
o a
b egg ar i f
h e be
fo und wor th y
Law as quoted lays down a fair conduct o f life and

one not easy to fo ll ow I have been fel l ow to a beggar again
and again under c ircumstances whi c h prevented eit h er o f us
nding o u t whether the o th er was worthy I h ave sti l l to be
brother to a Prin c e though I on c e c ame near to kinship with
what might h ave been a veritab l e King and was promised the
reversion of a Kingdom
army law c ourts revenue and po l i cy
all comp l ete But to d ay I greatly fear t h at my King is dead
and if I want a c rown I must go hunt it f o r mysel f
T h e beginning o f everything was in a rai lw ay train upon th e
road to Mhow from A jm ir There h ad been a Decit in the
Budget whi ch ne c essitated trave ll ing not S e c ond -cl ass whi c h is
only hal f as dear as First-cl ass but b y Intermediate which
is very awfu l indeed There are no c ushions in the Intermediate
cl ass and th e popu l ation are either I nte rmediate which is
E urasian o r native which for a long night j o u rney is na sty o r
Th e
2 44
Loafer whi c h is amusing though in toxicated Intermediates do

not b u y from refreshment-rooms T hey carry their food in
b u nd l es and pots and buy sweets from the native sweetmeat
sellers and d rin k the roadside water T hat is why in hot
weather Intermediates are taken o u t o f the c arriages dead and
in all weathers are most properly l ooked down upon
My particu l ar Intermediate h appened to be emp ty ti ll I
reached Nasirabad when a big b l ack -browed gentl eman in
shirt-sleeves ente red and fo ll owing the custom o f Inte rmedi
ates passed the t ime o f day H e was a wanderer and a va ga
bond like myse l f b u t with an ed u c ated taste for whiskey He
told tales o f things he had seen and done of out o f-the-way
corners o f the Empire into whi c h he had penetrated and o f
adventures in which he risked his l ife for a few days food
If India was ll ed with m en l ike you and me n o t know
ing more than the crows where they d get their next day s
rations it is n t seventy mil l ions o f reven u e the land wou l d
be paying
it s seven hundred mi ll ions said h e ; and as
I looked at his mouth and chin I was disposed to agree
with him
We tal ked politics the politics o f Loaferdom that sees
thin gs from the underside where the lath and p l aster is no t
smoothed o ff
and we tal ked posta l arran gements because m y
friend wanted to send a tel egram ba ck from the next station to
turning
off p l ace from the Bombay to the M h ow
h
Ajm ir t e
line as yo u trave l westward My friend had no money beyond
eight annas whi ch he wanted for dinner and I had no money
at a ll owing to the hit c h in the Budget before mentioned
Further I was going into a wi l derness where though I shou l d
resume touch with the Treasury th ere were no tel egraph o f ces
I was therefore una b l e to hel p him in any way
We might threaten a S tation-master and make him sen d
a wire o n tick said my f riend

but that d mean enqui rie s
,
246
window and say : H e has gone S outh for the week and he ll
tumble It s on l y cutting your time of stay in those parts by
two days I ask you as a stranger

going to the West he
said with emphasis
Where have yo u come from ? said I
From the E ast said he and I am hoping that you wi l l

give him the message o n the S q u are L fo r the sake o f my
Mother as well as your o wn

l
E ngl ishmen are not usuall y softened by appea l s to th e mem
o ry Of their mothers ; b u t fo r certain reasons which wil l be
f ully apparent I saw t to agree
I t s more than a little matter said he and that s wh y
I asked yo u to do it
and now I know that I can depend o n
you doing it A S econd-class carriage at Marwar Junction and
a red-h aired man asleep in it You ll be sure to remember I
h
h
at
the
next
station
and
I
must
ho
l
d
on
t
ere
ti
ll
e
t
o
u
t
e
g
comes or sends me what I want
I ll give the message if I catch him I said an d for the

sak e o f your Mother as we l l as mine I 11 give yo u a word of
advice Don t try to run the C entral I ndia S tates j ust now as
the correspondent Of the B ach woodsma n There s a real o n e
knocking about here and it might l ead to troub l e
Thank you said h e simp l y and when will the swine be

go ne ? I c an t starve be c ause h e s ruining my work I wanted
to get hold of the D egu m b er R aj ah down h ere about his father s
widow and give him a j ump
What did h e do to his father s widow th en

F illed her up with red pepper and s l ippered her to death
I found that out myse l f and I m th e
asl sh e h ung from a beam
On ly man that wou l d dare going into the S tate to get hush
money for it They ll try to poison me same as th ey did in
C h o rtu m na when I went on the loot there But yo u 11 give th e
?
man at Marwar Ju nction m y message
'
TH E M A N WH O W OU L D
B E
KI NG
24 7
H e got o u t at a little roadside station and I reected I had

heard more th an once o f men personating correspondents o f
newspapers and b l eeding small Native S tates with threats o f
exposure but I had never met any o f the caste before T hey
le ad a hard l ife and genera lly die with great suddenness The
Native S tates h ave a who l esome horror o f E ngl ish newspapers
whi c h may throw light o n their pecu l iar methods o f go vern
ment and do th eir best to choke correspondents with cham
p agne o r drive them out of their mind with four-in-hand
barouches T h ey do not u nderstand that nobody c ares a straw
for the internal administration o f Native S tates so l ong as
O ppression and crime are kept within de c ent l imits and the
ru l er is not dr ugged drunk o r diseased from On e end o f the
year to the other They are the dark p l aces of the earth fu l l
o f unimaginable crue l ty
touching the R ai l way and the Te l e
grap h o n o n e side and o n th e other the days of Harun-al
R aschid When I l eft th e train I did business with divers
Kings and in eight days passed through many changes o f life
S ometimes I wore dress-cl othes and c onsorted with Princes and
Po litic al s drinking from c rystal and eating f ro m si l ver S ome
times I l ay o u t upon the ground and devoured what I cou l d ge t
from a p l ate made of l eaves and drank th e running water and
I t was a l l in the day s
sl ept under the same rug as my servant
work
Then I headed for the G reat Indian Desert upon the proper
date as I had promised and the n igh t M ail set me down at
Marwar Jun c tion wh ere a funny l ittl e happy-go -l ucky native
managed rai l way runs to Jo dh po re The Bombay Mail from
De l hi makes a sh o rt h alt at Marwar S he arrived as I got in
and I had j ust time to hurry to her platform and go down the
ca rriages T h ere was only o n e S econd -clas s o n the train I
s l ipped the window and l ooked down upon a aming red beard
half cove red by a r ailway rug That was my man fast asleep
,
'
24 8
and I dug him ge n tly in t h e ribs H e woke with a grunt and

I saw his fa c e in the l ight of the lamps It was a great and
shining fa ce
?
Tickets again
s aid he
No said I
I am to te l l you that h e is gone S outh fo r
the week He has gone S outh for the week !

T he train had begun to move out Th e red man ru bbed his
eyes
H e has gone S outh for the week he repeated
Now
that s j ust l ike his im pide n c e Did he say that I was to give
you anything ? C a u se I won t
He did n t I said and dropped away and watched the

red l ights die o u t in the dark I t was horrib l y c old be c au se the
wind was b l owing o ff the s ands I cl imbed into my o wn train
not an Intermediate carriage this tim e
and went to sleep
If the man with th e beard had given me a rupee I shou l d
have kept it as a memento o f a rath er curiou s affair But the
consciousness o f having done my duty was m y on ly reward
Late r o n I ree c ted that two gentlemen l ike my friends could
not do any good if th ey forgathered and personated correspond
ents o f newspapers and might if they bla ckmai l ed o n e o f the
l ittle rat-trap states o f Centra l India or S outhern R aj putana
get themse l ves into serious di f c u l ties I therefore took some
trouble to describe them as accurate ly as I c ou l d remember to
people wh o wou l d be interested in deporting t h em : and su c
c e e de d so I was l ater informed in having them headed b ac k
from the D e gu m b e r borders
T hen I be c ame respe c tab l e and ret u rned to an O ic e where

th ere w e re no Kings and no in c idents outside the dai ly manu
facture o f a newspaper A newspaper o f c e seems to attra c t
every c on c eivab l e sort o f person to the prej udi c e o f dis c ip l ine
Zenana-miss i on l adies arrive and b e g that the Editor wi l l
instantly abandon a ll his duties to describe a Christian prize
giving in a back-slum o f a perfect ly inaccessibl e vi ll age ;
.
SH O RT ST O R I E S
2 50
down and write :

A slight increase of sickness is reported
from the Kh u da Janta K han District T he outbreak is pu relv
sporadic in its nat u re and thanks to the e n ergeti c e fforts o f
the Distri c t authorities is now almost at an end It is however
with deep regret w e re c o rd the death etc

Then the sickness rea lly breaks out and the l ess reco rding
and reporting the better for the peace o f t h e subscribers But
the Empires and the Kings continue to divert themselves as
se lsh ly as before and the Foreman thinks that a dai l y paper
reall y ought to come out on c e in twenty-four hours and a ll the
people at the Hill-stations in the midd l e o f their amusements
? I m
Good
gracious
Why
can
t
the
paper
be
spark
l
ing
sa :
y
s u re there s plenty going on up here

That is the dark half o f the moon and as the advertisements
say must be experienced to be appreciated

It was in that season and a remarkab l y evi l season that the
paper began r u nning the last issue o f the week o n S aturday
night which is to say S unday morning after the custom o f
a London paper This was a great convenien c e for immediate l y
after the paper w as put to bed the dawn wou l d l ower th e ther
m o m e te r from 9 6 to a l most 8 4 for hal f an hour and in that
chi l l yo u have no idea how co l d is 8 4 o n th e grass unti l you
begin to pray for it a ver y tired man cou l d get o ff to s l eep
ere the heat roused him
O ne S aturday night it was my pleasant d u ty to put the
paper to bed alone A King o r courtier o r a cou rtesan o r a
Community was going to die o r get a new Constitution o r do
something that was important o n the other side o f the world
and the paper was to be held O pen ti ll the latest possible
minute in order to catch the telegram
I t was a pitchy black night as stiing as a June night can
be and the l oo the red-h ot wind from t h e wes t ward was boom
i ng among the tinder-dry trees and pretending that the ra i n
.
TH E M AN WH O W O U L D
KIN G
B E
51
was o n its heels Now and again a spot o f a l most boiling water
wou l d fal l o n the dust with the op of a frog but all o u r weary
world knew that w as on l y pretence It was a shade c ooler in
the press-room than the o f c e so I sat there wh ile the type
ticked and cli cked and the night j ars hooted at the windows
and the all but naked c ompositors wiped the sweat from the ir
foreheads and ca ll ed fo r water T he t h ing that was keeping
us ba ck whatever it was wou l d not c ome o ff th o u gh the l oo
dropped an d the l ast type was se t and the whole rou n d earth
stood still in th e c hoking heat with its nger o n its l ip to wait
the event I drowsed and wondered whether the te l egraph was
a blessing and whether this dying man o r struggl ing peopl e
might be aw are o f the in co nvenien c e the de l ay was causing
There was no special reas o n beyond the heat and worry to
make tension but as the c l ock -hands crept u p to three o clock
and the machin es spun their y-whee l s two and three times to
see that all was in order before I said the word that would se t
them off I cou l d have shrieked a l oud
T hen the roar and rattle of the wheels shivered the quiet
into little bits I rose to go away but two men in white clothes
stood in front o f me The rst o n e said : It s him !

T he
se co nd said : S o it is !
And they both l aughed almost as
loudly as the machine ry roared and mopped their foreheads
We seed there was a light burning across the road and we

were sleeping in that ditch there fo r coo l ness and I said to my
friend here T he o fce is O pen Let s come along and speak to
him as t u rned us back from the D egu m b e r State
said the
smaller o f the two H e was the man I had met in the Mho w
train and his fell ow was the red-bearded man o f Marwa r Junc
tion There was no mistaking the eyebrows o f the o ne o r the
beard o f the othe r
I w as not pleased be c au se I wished to go to sl e ep not to
squabble with l oafers

What do yo u want ?
I asked
.
2 52
Half a n hour s tal k with yo u cool and comfortable i n the
o f ce said the red bearded man

We d l ihe some drink
the C o n track does n t begin yet Peachey so you need n t look
bu t what we real ly want is advice We don t want money
We ask yo u as a favor because we found o u t yo u did us a bad
tu rn about D egu mb e r S tate

I led from the press-room to the stiing of ce with the
maps on the walls and the red-haired man r u bbed his hands
That s somethi n g l ike said he

This was the proper shop
N o w S ir l et me introduce to you Brother Pea ch ey
to come to
Car n ehan that s him and Brother Daniel Dravot that is me
and the less said about o u r professions the better for we h ave
been most things in o u r time S oldier sai l or compositor photog
reader street-preacher and correspondents o f t h e
raph e r proofB ach woodsma n when we thought the paper wanted o n e Carne
han is sober and so am I Look at us rst and see that s
sure It will save yo u cutting into my talk We ll take o n e o f
your cigars apiece and you shal l se e u s l ight u p

I watched the test The men were absolutely sober so I
gave them ea ch a tepid whiskey and soda
Well a n d good said Carnehan o f the eyebrows wiping

the froth from his moustach e
Let me tal k now Dan We
have been all o ver India mostly o n foot We have been boiler
tte rs engine-drivers petty contractors and a l l that and w e
have decided that India is n t big enough fo r such as us

They certainly were too big for the o fce D ravo t s beard
seemed to ll half the room and C arn eh an s shoulders the o ther
half as they sat o n the big table C arnehan continued : T he
count ry is n t half worked o u t because they that governs it
won t let yo u touch it They spend a l l their b l essed time in
governing it and you can t l ift a spade nor chip a rock no r
look for o il n o r anything like that without a l l th e Government
saying
Leave i t alone and let us govern Therefore such
25 4
That s more like said C arneh an

I f you could thi nk us
a little more mad we wou l d be more p leased We have c ome to
o u to know about this country to read a book about it and
y
to be shown map s We want yo u to tell u s that w e are foo l s
and to S how us your books

He turned to the book -cases
Are you at a l l in earnest ?

I said
A little said Dravot sweetly

As big a map as yo u have
o
e
ven
if
it
s
all
b
l
ank
where
K
r
i
is
and
any
boo
s
a
s
t
a
n
k
t
g
O
u v e got
c
a
n
w
We
read
though
are
very
educated
e
n
t
y
I uncased the big thirty two-mi l es -to-the -inch map o f India
and two sma ll er Frontier maps ha ul ed down vo l ume I NF KAN
O f the E n cycl op a dia B rita n n ica and the men consu l ted them
S ee here ! said Dravot his thumb o n the map

Up to
Jagdallak Peachey and me know the road We was there with
R o b e rts s Army We 11 have to t u rn o ff to the right at Jagdallak
through Lagh m an n territory T hen we ge t among the hi ll s
fourteen thousand feet fte en thousand it wi l l be c o l d
work there b u t it don t look very far o n th e map

I handed him Wood on th e S o u rces of th e Ox u s Carnehan
was deep in the E n cycl op a dia
They re a mixed lo t said Dravot re e c tively ; and it

won t hel p u s to know the names o f their tribes The m ore
tribes the more they ll ght and the better for us From
a
d
a
ll
a
k
to Ashang H mm !
J g
But al l the information about the country is as sketchy and
inaccu rate as c an be I protested

No o ne knows anything
ab o u t it really Here s the l e o f the Un ited Services I n stitu te
R ead what Bellew says
D an they re a stinkin
Blow B elle w l said Carnehan
lot o f heathens b u t this book here says they think they re
related to us English
I smoked while the men pored o ve r R a verzfy M od the
maps and the E n cycl opa aza
M A N W H O W O U LD
TH E
KI N G
B E
55
T here is n o u se your waiting said Dravot politely

It 3
about four o c l ock now
We l l go before six o cl ock if yo u
want to sleep and we won t steal any o f the papers Don t
i
s
t
up
We
re
w
o harmless l unatics
and
if
o u come
u
o
t
y
y
h
t
1
1
say good bye
to morrow evening down o t e S erai w e
to you
Yo u a re two fools
I answered
You ll be t u rned ba c k
at the Frontier o r c u t u p th e minute yo u set foot in Afghani
stan Do yo u want any money o r a recommendation down
?
country I c an help yo u to the chan c e o f work next week
Next wee k we shall be hard at work ou rse l ves thank you

said Dravot
It is n t so easy being a King as it looks When
we ve go t o u r Kingdom in going order we 11 let yo u know and
u c an come up and help us t o go vern it

o
y
?
Wou l d two lunatics make a C o n track like that
said
C arneh an with subdued p ride showing me a greasy half-sheet
I copied it
o f notepaper on which was written the following
then and there as a curiosity
Th is Co n tra ct bet w een m e

na m e o
A m en
Go d
ne
T
h
at me
O
)
(
to be
a n d so
an d
yo u
an d
ers u ing
o
u
y
f o rth
w il l
w i tn esseth in t h e
th is
s ett l e
K ings of K a rista n
m a tt er togeth er;
T
o ) Th a t y o u a n d m e w il l n o t , w h i l e th is m a tt er is being
w
(
s ettl ed, l oo h a t a ny L i u o r, n o r a ny Wo m a n bl a c h ,
q
w h i te ,
th e
or
o th er
ree
T
h
at w e
T
h
)
(
t io n ,
s ta
bro w n ,
so as
h a rmf u l
t o get m ix ed
by h im
on e o
us
gets
S ign ed by y o u a n d m e th is day
Pea ch e Ta l iaf erro Ca rn eh a n
.
o th
Gen tl em en
on e or
w ith D ign it a n d D isere

in to t ro u bl e th e o th er w il l
D a n iel D ra v o t
w ith
c o n du c t o u rs el v es
an d i
at
L a rge
2 56
T here was no need fo r the last articl e said Ca rn ehan

blushing modestly ; but it looks regu l ar Now you know the
sort o f men that loafers are w e a re lo afers Dan unti l we
get o u t of India
and do yo u think that we wou l d S i gn a Con
track l ike th at un l ess we w as in earnest ? We h ave kept away
from the two things that make l ife worth having

Yo u won t enj oy your l ives mu c h l onger if you are going
to try this idioti c adv e nt u re Don t set the o f c e o n re I
said an d go away before nine o cl o ck

I left them stil l poring o v e r t h e maps and making notes o n
the ba c k o f the C o n trac k

Be s u re to come down to the
S erai to morrow were t h eir parting words

The K u m h arse n S erai is the great four-square sink o f human
ity where the strings o f came l s and horses from the North
l oad and un l oad A ll the national ities o f Central Asia may be
found there and most o f the fo l k o f India proper Bal kh and
Bokhara there meet Bengal and Bom b ay and t ry to dra w eye
teeth Yo u c an b uy ponies turquoises Persian pussy-c ats
sadd l e bags fat tai l ed s h eep and musk in the K u m h arse n S erai
and get many strange t h ings for nothing I n the afternoon I
went do wn to se e whether m y friends intended to keep their
word or were lying there drunk
A pr i est attired in fragments o f ribbons and rags stal ked up
to me gravely twisting a chi l d s paper W hirl igig Be h ind him
was his servant bending u nder the l oad o f a crate o f mud to y s
The two were loading up two came l s and th e inhabitants of the
S er ai wat ched them with shrieks of l aughter
The priest is mad said a horse deal er to me

He is
going u p to Kabul to sel l toys to the Amir H e wi ll eith er be
raised to honor o r h ave his h ead cut Off H e c ame in here this
morning and has been b e h avm g mad ly ever since
The wi t l ess are under t h e prote c tion o f God stammered a
T h ey foretell future events

at-c heeked Usbeg in broken Hindi
,
2 58
said he in English
Carn e ha n
What ( 1 you thin k 0 that
can t tal k their patter so I ve made him my servant He
makes a handsom e se rvant T is n t f o r nothing that I ve been
knocking about the country for fourteen years Did n t I do
th at tal k neat ? We 11 hitch o n to a caravan at Peshawar ti l l we
get to Jagdallak and th en we ll se e if we can get donkeys for
Whirligigs for the Amir
o u r camels and strike into Karistan
0 LO 1 ! Put you r hand under the camel bags and t e ll me what
you feel
I felt the butt o f a Ma rtini and another and another
Twenty o f em said Dravot placid ly

Twenty o f em
and ammunition to correspond under the W hirligigs and the
mud dolls
Heaven help yo u if you are c aught with those things ! I
said
A Martini is wo r th her weight in si l ver among the
Pathans
Fifteen hundred rupees of capital every r u pee we could
beg borrow o r steal

are invested on these two camels said
Dravot We won t get caught We re going through the Khai ber
with a regular caravan Who d touch a poor mad p riest ?
Have you got eve rything you want ? I asked ove r come
with astonishment
N o t yet b u t we shal l soon
Give us a memento o f your
kindness B roth er You did me a se rvice yesterday and that
time in Marwar Half my Kingdom shall yo u h ave as the
saying is
I slipped a smal l charm compass from my watch
chain and handed it up to the priest
Good bye said Dravot giving me hand cautiousl y

It s
the last time we l l shake hands with an E nglishman these many
days S hake hands with him Carnehan he cried as the second

camel passed me
Carnehan leaned down and shook hands T h en the camels
passed away a l ong the dusty road an d I was l eft alone to
T H E MA N WH O W O U L D B E K I N G
59
wonder My eye coul d detect no failure in the disguises T he

scene in the S erai proved that they were comp l ete to the native
mind There was j ust the c han c e therefore that Carnehan and
Dravot wou l d be ab l e to wander through Afghanistan without
detection But beyond th ey would nd death
certain and
awful death
Ten days later a native correspondent giving me the news
T here
o f the day from Peshawar wound u p h is letter with :
has been much laughter here o n account o f a certain mad p riest
wh o I s go mg in his estimation to sell petty gauds and in sign i
cant trin kets which h e ascribes as great charms to H H the
Amir o f Bokhara H e passed through Peshawa r and associated
himself to the S e co nd S ummer caravan that goes to Kabul
The merchants are p l eased because through superstition they
imagine that such mad fellows bring good fortune

T he two then were beyond th e Border I would have pray e d
for them but that night a real King died i n E urope and
d emanded an obit u ary notice
.
T he
wheel o f the world swings th ro u gh the same phases

agai n and again S ummer passed and winte r thereafter and
came and passed again The daily paper contin ued and I
with it and u p o n th e third s ummer there fell a hot night a
night-issue and a strained waiting fo r something to be tele
graphed from the o ther side o f the world exactly as had hap
pened before A few great men had died in the past two years
the machines worked with more clatter and some o f the trees
in the O f c e garden w ere a few feet tal ler But that was all
,
'
a
s
d
ver
to
the
press
room
and
went
through
j
ust
such
s
e
o
p
a scene as I have already des c ribed The nervous tension was
st ronger th an it had been two years before and I felt the heat
more acutely At three o cl ock I c ri ed Print o ff and tu rned

,
26 0
go whe n there crept to my chair what was left o f a ma n

H e was bent into a circle his head was sunk between his shoul
ders and he moved his feet o n e over the other like a bear I
c ou l d hardly see whether he wal ked o r craw l ed this rag
wrapped whining c ripple wh o addressed me by name crying
?
that he was come ba ck
Can you give me a drink
he
whimpered
F o r the Lord s sake give me a drink !
I went back to the o fce the man following with groans o f
pain and I t u rned up the lamp
Don t you know me ? he gasped dropp ing into a chair

and he turned his drawn face surmounted by a S hock o f gray
hair to the light
I looked at him intently O n c e before had I seen eyebrows
that met over the nose in an inch broad black band b u t fo r the
life o f me I cou l d not tell where
I don t know you

I said han ding him the whiskey
?
What c an I do for yo u
H e took a gu lp of the S pirit raw and shivered in spite o f the
su ffocating heat
I ve come back he repeated ; and I was the King o f

K aristan me and Dravot crowned Kin gs we was ! In
this o f ce we sett l ed it yo u se tting there and giving u s the
books I am Peachey Peachey Ta l iaferro Carnehan and
you ve been setting here ever since

O Lord !
I was more than a littl e astonished and expressed my feel
ings accordingly
It s true said Carnehan with a dry cackle nursing his

feet which were wrapped I n rags
T r u e as gospe l Kings we
were with crowns upon o u r h eads me and Dravot poor
Dan o h poor poor D an that wou l d never take advice no t
though I begged o f him !
Take the whiskey I said and take your o w n time Tell

me all you c an re c o ll ect o f everything from beginning to end
to
26 2
S H ORT S TO RI E S
me wear outrageous things to look l ike a heathen That was

in a most m o u n tain eo u s country and o u r camels could n t go
They were ta l l and
al ong any more because of the mountains
b l a ck and coming home I saw them ght like wild goats
there are lots of goats in Karistan And th ese mountains
they never keep still no more than the goats Always ghting
t hey are and don t let you sleep at night
Take some more whiskey I said very slowly

What did
o u and Daniel Dravot do when the c ame l s could go no further
y
be c a u se o f the rough roads that led into Karistan
What did which do ? There was a party called Pea chey
Taliaferro Carnehan that was with Dravot S hall I te l l you
?
about him H e died o u t there in the co l d Sl ap from the
bridge fe l l old Peachey t u rning and twisting in th e air l ike a
penny Whirl igig that you c an se l l to the Amir
No ; they was
two for three h a p e n c e those W hirligigs o r I am much mistaken
and woeful sore
And then these camels were no use and
Peachey said to Dravot
For the Lord s sake let s get o u t
and with that the y
o f this before our heads are chopped o ff
killed the came l s al l among the mountains not h avmg anything
in particular to eat b u t rst they took o ff the boxes with th e
u
ns
and
the
ammunition
till
two
men
came
a
l
ong
driving
four
g
mu l es Dravot up and dances in front o f them singing
S ell
me four mu l es S ays the rst man
If you a r e ri ch enough
to b u y yo u are ri c h enough to ro b ; b u t before ever he cou l d
put his hand to his knife Dravot breaks his neck over his
knee and th e other party runs away S o Carnehan loaded the
mules with the ries that was taken o ff the camels and together
we starts forward into t h ose bitter co l d m o u n tain eo u s parts
and never a road broader than the back o f your hand

H e paused for a moment while I asked him if he could
remember the natu re o f the co un t ry through which he had
j ou rn eyed
.
T H E M A N W H O W O U LD
KING
B E
26 3
I am te ll ing yo u as straight as I c an b u t my head is n t as

good as it might be T hey drove nai l s through it to make me
hear better how Dravot died T he country was m o u n tain e o u s
and the mules were most contrary and the inhabitants was
dispersed and solitary They went up and up and down and
do wn and that other party C arnehan was imploring o f Dravot
not to sing and whist l e so loud for fear of bringing down the
t re m e n ju s avalanches
But Dravot says that if a King could n t
sing it was n t worth being King and whacked the mules over
the rump and never took no h eed for ten cold days We came
to a big l evel va l ley a l l among the mountains and the mu l es were
near dead so we ki ll ed them not having anything in special
for them or u s to eat We sat upon the boxes and played o dd
and even with the cartridges that was j o l ted o u t
T h en ten men with bows and arrows ran down that valley
chasing twenty men with bows and arrows and the row was
They w as fair men fairer than yo u o r m e
tre m e nju s
with ye ll ow hair and remarkab l e well built S ays Dravot u n
pa cking the guns This is the beginning of the business

We ll ght for the ten men and with that he res two ries
at the twen ty men and drops o n e o f them at two hu ndred
yards from the ro c k where he was sitting T he other m en
began to r u n b u t Carnehan and Dravot sits o n the boxes
pickin g them o ff at a l l ranges u p and down the va ll ey Then
we goes u p to the ten men that had run across the snow to o
and they res a foo ty l ittl e arrow at us Dravot he shoots
above t h eir heads and they a l l falls do wn at Then he walks
over them and ki ck s them and then he lifts them u p and
H e calls
shakes hands a l l round to make them friendly like
them an d gives them th e boxes to carry and waves his hand
f o r a ll the worl d as though he w as King already They takes
th e boxes and him a c ross the va ll ey and u p the hi l l into a pine
wood o n the top where there was hal f a dozen big stone idols
'
26 4
Dravot h e goes to the biggest a fel l ow they call I mb ra

and l ays a rie and a cartridge at his feet rubbing his nose
respectful with his own nose patting him o n the head and
saluting in front o f it H e turns round to th e men and nods
his head and says
That s al l right I m in the know too
and all these old j im -j ams are my friends T hen h e opens his
mouth and points down it and when the rst man brings him
No
food he says
and when the second man brings him
food he says
No ; but when o n e o f the o ld priests and
the boss o f the village brings him food he says
Yes very
haugh ty and eats it s l ow T hat was how we c ame to o u r rst
village without any troub l e j ust as though we had tumb l ed
from the skies But we tumbled from o ne o f those damned
rope b ridges you see and

you could n t ex pe c t a man to
laugh much after that ?
Take some more whiskey and go on I said

That was
the rst village yo u c ame into How did yo u get to be King
I was n t King said Carnehan

Dravot he was the
King and a handsome man he looked with th e gold crown o n
his head and al l Him and the o ther party stayed in that vil
lage and every morning Dravot sat by th e side o f o ld I mb ra
and the people c ame and worshipped That was D ravo t s
order Then a lo t o f men c ame into the vall ey and Carneha n
and Dravot picks them o ff with the ries before they knew
where they was and runs down into the val ley and u p again
the other side and nds a n o ther vi ll age same as the rst o n e
and the people all fa ll s down at o n their fa c es and Dravot
N o w what is th e tr ouble be t ween you two vil l ages ?
says
and the people points to a woman as fair as yo u o r me that
w as carried o ff and D ravot takes her ba c k to the rst vi ll age
and counts up the dead eight t h ere was For ea c h dead
man Dravot pours a little mi l k o n the ground and waves his
arms like a W hirligig and T h at s all right says he The n he
,
266
mat c hlocks We makes friends with th e priest and I stay s

there alone with two o f the Army tea ching the men h o w to
dri l l and a thundering big Chief comes across the snow with
kettl e-drums and h o rns twanging be c a u se he heard there was
a new God kicking about Carnehan sights fo r the brown o f
the men half a mile a c ross the snow and wings o n e o f them
T hen he sends a message to the Chief th at unless he wished
to be kill ed he m u st c ome and S hake han ds with me and leave
his arms behind T h e Chief c omes a l one rst and Carnehan
shakes hands with him and whirl s his arms about same as
Dravot u sed and very mu c h surprised th at Chief was and
strokes my eyebrows T hen Carneh an goes a l one to the Chief
and asks him in dumb sho w if he had an enemy he hated
I
have says the Chief S o Carnehan weeds o u t the pick o f his
men and sets the two o f the Army to show th em drill and at
th e end o f two weeks the men can manoeuvre about as well
as Vo l unteers S o he mar c hes with the Chief to a great big
p l ain o n the top o f a mountain and the Chief s men rushes
into a village and takes it ; w e three Martinis ring into the
brown o f the enemy S o we took that vi ll age too and I gives
O ccupy ti l l I come ;
th e Chief a rag from my coat and says
which was scriptura l By way o f a reminder when m e and
the A rmy was eighteen h u ndred yards away I drops a bul l et
near him standing o n th e snow and a ll the peop l e fall s at o n
their faces T h en I sends a letter to Dravot wherever he be
by land or by sea
At the risk o f throwing the creature o u t o f train I interrupted
How cou l d yo u write a l etter u p yonder ?
The letter ? O h The letter ! Keep looking at me

between the eyes p l ease It was a string-ta l k l etter that we d
learned the way o f it from a b l ind beggar in the Punj ab

I remember th at there h ad once come to th e of ce a b l ind man
with a knotted twi g and a piece o f string which he wound ro u nd
.
T H E M AN WH O W O U LD
B E
26 7
KING
the t wig according to some cipher o f his o wn He cou l d after the

lapse o f days or hours repeat the sentence which he had reeled
up He had reduced the a l phabet to e l even primitive sounds ;
an d tried to tea c h me his method b u t I cou l d not u nderstand
I sent that letter to Dravot said Carnehan ; and to l d

him to come back be c a u se this Kingdom was growing to o big
for me to hand l e and then I struck for the rst vall ey to see
how the priests were working T h ey cal l ed the village we took
a l ong with th e Chief B ash k ai and the rst vil l age w e took E r
Heb The priests at E r-Heb was doing all right b u t th ey h ad
a lot of pending cases about l and to S how me and som e men
from another village had been ring arrows at night I went
and red four rounds at it
o u t and l ooked for that vi l lage
from a thousand yards That u sed a l l th e cartridges I cared to
spend and I waited fo r Dravot wh o had been away two or
th ree months and I kept my peop l e quiet
O ne morning I heard the devil s own noise o f drums and
horns and Dan Dravot marc h es down the hill with his Army
and a tail of hundreds o f men and which was the most amaz
ing a great gold crown o n his head
My Gord C arnehan
say s Danie l this is a tre m enju s business and we ve got the
whole count ry as far as it s worth having I am the son o f
Al exander by Queen S emiramis and you re my younger
brother and a God too ! It s the biggest thing we ve ever
seen I ve been marching and ghting fo r six weeks with the
Army and every footy l ittle village fo r fty mi l es has c ome in
rej oi c eful ; and more than that I ve got the key of the who l e
show as you ll se e and I ve got a crown for you ! I to l d em
to make two o f em at a place called S hu where the gold l ies in
the rock like suet in mutton Go l d I ve seen and tu rquoise
I V e ki cked out o f the c l i ffs and there s garnets in the sands
o f the river and here 3 a chunk o f amber that a man brought
me Call up all the priests and here take you r c rown
.
26 8
O ne o f the men O pens a b l ac k h air bag and I s l ips the

crown o n It w as too sma ll an d too heavy but I wore it for
the glory H ammered go l d it was ve pound weight l ike a
hoop o f a barrel
Peachey says D ravo t w e don t want to ght no more
T he Craft 8 the t ri ck so he l p me ! and he brings forward
that same Chief that I l eft at B ashk ai
Bil ly Fish w e c al l ed
him afterwards be c a u se he was so l ike B illy Fish that drove
the big tank -engine at M ac h o n th e B ol an in the o ld days
S hake hands with him says Dravot and I shook hands and
nearly d ro pped f o r Bi lly Fish gave me the Grip I said noth
ing but tried him with the Fe ll ow Craft Grip H e answers
all right and I tried the Master s Grip but that was a slip
A
Fel low Craft he is
I says to D an
Does he know the word
H e does says D an and a ll th e priests know It s a

mira c le ! The Chiefs and th e priests c an work a Fe ll ow Craft
Lodge in a way that s very like ours and they ve c ut th e
mark s on the rocks b u t t h ey don t know the Third Degree
and they ve c ome to nd o u t I t 5 Gord s T r u t h I ve known
these l o ng years that the Afghans knew u p to the Fell ow Craft
D egree but this is a mira cl e A God and a Grand-Master o f
the Craft am I and a Lodge in th e Third Degree I wi ll open
and we ll raise the h ead priests and th e C h iefs o f the vi ll ages
It 3 against a l l th e l aw I says ho l ding a Lodge without
warrant from any one ; and yo u know we never held o fce in
any Lodge
It s a master-stroke o po l icy says Dravot
I t means
running the c ountry as easy as a four-w h eel ed bogie o n a down
grade We c an t stop to inquire now o r th ey 11 turn again st us
I v e forty Chiefs at my hee l and passed and raised according
to their merit th ey sh all b e Bi ll et t h ese men on the vill ages
and see th at we ru n u p a Lodge o f some ki n d The temp l e o f
wi
ll
do
for
t
h
e
Lodge
room T h e women must make
I m b ra
,
2 70
it to clear away the black dirt and present ly he shows all th e

other priests the Master s Mark same as was o n D ravo t s
apron c u t into the stone N o t even the priests o f the temple
Th e o l d c hap fa ll s at on his fa c e
o f I m b ra knew it was there
at D ravo t s feet and kisses em
Luck again say s Dravot
across the Lodge to m e they say it s the missing Mark that
no o ne could u nderstand the why o f We re more than safe
now T hen he bangs the butt o f h is gu n for a gavel and says :
By vi rtue of the authority vested in me by my o wn right hand
and the help o f Peachey I declare mysel f Grand-Master o f a l l
Freemasonry in K aristan in this the Mother Lodge 0 the
country and King of K aristan equa lly with Peachey
At
that he p u ts o n his crown and I p u ts o n mine
I was doing
S enior Warden
and we o pens the Lodge in most ample
form It was a amazing miracle ! T he priests m o ved in Lodge
through the rst two degrees al most without te ll ing as if the
memory was coming ba c k to them A fter that Pea c hey and
Dravot raised such as was w orthy h igh priests and Chiefs of
far-off vi ll ages Bill y Fish was the rst and I can te l l you we
scared the soul out o f him I t was n o t in any way a cc ording to
R itual but it se rved o u r turn We did n t raise more than ten
be c ause w e did n t want to make the
o f the biggest men
Degree common And they was c l amoring to be raised
I n another six months says Dravot we 11 ho l d another
Communication and see how yo u are working T hen he asks
them about their V i ll ages and l earns that they w as ghting o n e
against th e other and were sick and tired o f it And when they
was n t doing that they was ghting with the Mohammedans
Yo u c an ght those wh en they come into o u r count ry says
Dravot Tel l o ff every tenth man o f your tribes for a Frontier
gu ard and send two h u nd red at a time to this valley to be
dri ll ed Nobody is going to be shot o r speared any more so
long as h e does well and I know that you wo n t cheat me
,
'
TH E M AN WH O W O U LD
KING
B E
27 1
because you re white peop l e sons o f A l exander and not

l ike common b l a c k Mohammed an s Yo u are my peop l e and by
I 11 make
G o d says he running o ff into Engl ish at the end
a damned ne Nation o f you o r I 11 die in the making !
I can t te l l a l l we did f o r the nex t six months because
Dravot did a lot I cou l d n t se e the hang o f and he learned
their lingo in a way I never cou l d My work was to he l p the
people p l ough and now and again go o u t with som e o f the
Army and se e what the other vi ll ages w ere doing and make
em throw rope-bridges a c ross the ravines which c u t up the
c ountry horrid Dravot was very kind to me b u t when he
wa l ked up and down in the pine wood pu ll ing that bloody red
beard o f his with both sts I knew he was thinking p l ans I
c ou l d not advise about and I just waited fo r orders
But D rav o t never S howed me disrespect before the peop l e
They were afraid o f me and the Army but they loved Dan
H e was the best o f friends with the priests and the Chiefs ; but
any o n e cou l d come across th e hill s with a complaint and
Dravot would hear him out fair and cal l four priests t o gether
and say what was to be done H e used to call in Bi ll y Fish
from B ashk ai and Pikk y Kergan from S hu and an o ld Chief
we cal l K afu z elu m it was like enough to his rea l name
and hold coun c ils with em w hen there was any ghting to be
done in sma l l vill ages Th at was his Counci l of War and the
four priests of B ash k ai S hu Khawak and Madora was his
P rivy Coun c i l Between the lot of em they sent me with forty
men and twenty ries and sixty men c arrying turquoises into
the Ghorband country to buy those hand-made Martini ries
that c ome o u t o f the Amir s workshops at Kabu l from o n e o f
the Amir s Herati regiments th at wou l d have so l d the very
teeth o u t o f their mout h s fo r turquoises
I stayed in Ghorband a month and gave the Governo r
there the pick o f my baskets for hush money and bribed the
27 2
Co l onel o f the regiment some more and between the two and
the tribes-peop l e w e got more than a hundred hand-made
Martinis a hundred good Kohat Jezail s that 11 throw to six
h u nd red yards and forty man-l oads o f very bad ammunition fo r
the ries I c ame b ack with what I had and distributed em

among the men that th e Chiefs sent in to me to dri ll Dravot
was to o busy to attend to those things but the o ld Army that
we rst made h e l ped me and we turned o u t ve hundred men
that could drill and two h u ndred that knew how to ho l d arms
pretty straight E ven those cork-screwed h and-made guns was
a miracl e to them Dravot tal ked big about powder-shops and
factories walking u p and down in the pine wood when the
winter was coming o n
I won t make a Nation says he
I 11 make an Empire !
These men are n t niggers ; they re E ngl ish ! Look at their
eyes look at their mouths Look at th e way they stand up
They sit o n chairs in th eir o wn houses T h ey re the Lost
Tribes o r something l i k e it and they ve grown to be E ngl ish
I 11 take a c ens u s in th e spring if the priests don t get fright
ened T h ere must be a fair two mill ion o f em in these hills
T h e vi ll ages are fu l l 0 litt l e chi l dren
Two mill ion peop l e
two hundred and fty thousand g h ting men
and al l Engl ish
They on l y want the ries and a l itt l e dri ll ing Two hu nd red
and fty thousand men ready to cut in on R ussia s right ank
when sh e tries for India ! Pea chey m an he s ays chewing his
beard in great hunks we sh a ll be Emperors
E mperors o f
the E arth ! R aj ah Brooke wi l l be a suck l ing to us I ll treat
with the Viceroy o n equa l terms I ll ask him to send me
twe l ve pi cked E ngl ish twe l ve t h at I kno w o f to hel p u s
govern a bit There s M ack ray S ergeant pensioner at S ego wli
many s the good dinner he 5 given me and his wife a pair
T h ere s Donkin the Warder o f T o u n gh o o Jail ;
o f trousers
there s hundreds t h a t I cou l d lay my hand o n if I was in India
,
'
274
the right thing to do and I h ave n t time for a ll I want to do

and here s the winter coming o n and a ll H e put hal f his
beard into his mouth a l l red like the go l d o f his crown
I m sorry Daniel says I
I v e done a ll I cou l d I ve
dril led the men and shown the peop l e how to stack their oats
better ; and I ve brought in those tinware ries from Ghorband
but I know what you re driving at
I take it Kings always
feel oppressed that way
T here 5 another thing to o says Dravot walkin g up and
down
T he winter s coming and these peop l e won t be giving
much trouble and if they do w e can t move about I want a
wife
F o r Gord s sake leave the women alone ! I says

We ve
both got all the work we c an though I a m a fool R emember
the C o n track and keep clear 0 women
The C o n trac k on l y lasted ti ll s uch time as we was Kings ;
and Kings we have been these months past says Dravot
weighing his crown in h is hand

Yo u go get a wife too
Peachey
a nice strappin p l ump girl that 11 keep yo u warm
in the winter They re prettier than E ngl ish girls and we c an
take the pick o f em Boil em once o r twice in h o t water and
they ll come o u t like c hicken and ham
Don t tempt me ! I says
I wi l l not have any dealings
with a woman not til l we are a dam side more settled than we
are no w I ve been doing the work 0 two men and you ve
been doing the work 0 three Let s l ie O ff a bit and see if
we c an get some better tobacco from Afghan country and run
in some good liquor ; but no women
I said w ife
Who 5 tal king 0 w omen ? says Dravot
a Queen to breed a King s so n for the King A Queen o u t of
the strongest tribe that 11 make them your b l ood-brothers and
that 1] l ie by your side and te ll yo u all the people thinks abou t
s what I want
and
their
T
hat
n affairs
o
u
o
w
y
TH E M AN W H O W O U L D
KI N G
B E
27
D o yo u r emem b e r that Bengali woman I kept at M og u l

S e r ai when I w as a plate layer ? says I
A fat lot 0 good
S he tau ght me the lingo and o n e o r two oth e r
sh e was to me
?
things ; b u t what happened S he r an away with the S tation
M aste r s se rvant and half my month s pay Then she t u rned
u p at D adu r Ju nction in tow of a half-caste and h a d the im
i
to
say
I
was
he
r
h
u
s
ba
nd
all
among
t
h
e
d
r
ive
r
s
in
d
n
c
e
e
p
the ru nning-shed too
We ve done wit h that says D ravot t h ese wo m e ri ar e

white r than yo u o r me and a Q u een I will have fo r the Winte r
months
Fo r the last time o asking D an do n ot I says
It ll
only br ing u s ha r m The Bib le says that Kings ain t to w a ste
thei r st rength o n women specially when they ve go t a new
r aw Kingdom to wo rk ove r
Fo r the last time o f answe ring I will said D ravot a nd
h e went away th ro u gh the pine-t r ees looking like a b ig r ed
devil the s u n b eing o n his crown and b ea r d and all
B u t getting a wife was n o t as easy as D an tho u ght H e
p u t it b efo r e the C o u ncil and the r e was no answe r till Billy
Fish said that he d b ette r ask the girls D r avot damned them
all r o u nd
What s w r ong with me ? he sho u ts standing by
the idol I m b ra Am I a dog o r am I not eno u gh of a man
fo r yo u r wenches ? H ave n t I p u t the shadow o f my hand
ove r this co u nt ry ? Who stopped the last Afghan r aid ? It
was me r eally b u t D r avot was to o ang ry to r emem b e r Who
b o u ght yo u r gu ns ? Who r epai r ed the b ridges ? Who s the
G r and-M aste r o f the sign c u t in the stone ? says he and he
th u mped his hand on the b lock that he u sed to sit o n in L odge
and at C o u ncil which opened like L odge always Billy Fis h
K eep yo u r hai r o n
said nothing and no more did the others
D an said I ; and ask the girls That s how it s done a t

H ome and these people a re qu ite English
'
STO RI E S
S H O RT
276
T h e ma rr iage o f the King is a matte r o f S tate says D a n

in a white-h o t r age fo r he co u ld feel I hope that he was going
against his b ette r mind H e walked o u t o f the C o u ncil-r oom
and the othe r s sat still looking at the g ro u nd
Billy Fish says I to the C hief o f B ashk ai what s th e

di f cu lty he r e ? A st raight answe r to a t ru e friend
H o w sho u ld a man tell yo u
Yo u know says Billy Fish
?
knows
eve
r
y
thing
H ow can da u ghte r s o f men ma rry
wh o
God s o r D evils ? I t s not p rope r
I r emem b e r ed something like that in the Bi b le ; b u t if

a fte r seeing u s as long as they had they still b elieved we we r e
Gods it was n t fo r me to u ndeceive them
If the King is fond of
A G o d can do anything says I
S he 11 h ave to said Billy Fish
a gi rl he 11 not let h e r die
The r e ar e all so r ts o f Gods and D evils in these mo u ntains
and n o w a nd again a gi rl ma rries o n e o f them and is n t seen
any mo r e Besides yo u two know the M a rk cu t in the stone
O nly the Gods know that We tho u ght yo u we re men till yo u
showed the sign o f the Ma ste r
I wished then that we had explained ab o u t the loss o f the
gen u ine sec r ets o f a M aste r-M ason at the rst go -o ff b u t I
said nothing All that night the r e was a b lowing o f ho r ns in
a little da rk temple half-way down the hill and I h ea r d a gi rl
c rying t to die O ne o f the p r iests told u s that she was b eing
p r epa r ed to ma rry the King
I 11 have no nonsense of that kind says D an
I don t
want to inte r fe r e with yo u r cu stoms b u t I 11 take my own
wife
The gi rl s a little b it af ra id says the p r iest
S he
thinks s h e 3 going to die and th ey a r e ah ea r tening of he r u p
down in the temple
H ea r ten he r ve ry tende r then says D r avot o r I 11

h e arten yo u with the b u tt o f a gu n so yo u 11 neve r want to b e
h e artened again H e licked his lips did D an and st ayed u p
'
27 8
C all u p all the C hiefs and p riests a nd let the E m p e r o r see

if h is wife s u its him
The r e was n o need to call a ny o ne They we r e a ll t h e r e
le anin g o n thei r gu ns and spea r s r o u nd the clea ring in the
cent r e o f t h e pine wood A lo t o f p r iests went down to th e
little temple to br ing u p th e girl and the ho rns b lew t to
w ake the dead Billy Fis h sau nte r s ro u nd and gets as close
t o D aniel as he co u ld and b ehind him stood his twenty men
with m a tch locks N o t a man o f them u nde r six feet I was
next to D r avot and b ehind m e was twenty men o f the r egu l ar
A rmy U p comes the gi rl and a st r apping wench s h e was
cove r ed with silve r and tu rqu oises b u t white as death and
looking b ack eve ry min u te at the p riests
S he ll do said D an looking he r ove r What s to be

af raid o f lass ? C ome and kiss me H e p u ts h is a r m r o u nd
h e r S he sh u ts he r eyes gives a b it o f a s qu eak and down goes
he r face in the side o f D an s aming r ed b ea rd
The sl u t s b itten me 1 s ays he clapping h is hand to his
neck and s u r e eno u gh his hand was r ed with b lood Billy Fish
and two of his matchlock men catches hold o f D an b y the
sho u lde r s and d rags him into the B ashk ai lot while the p riests
h owls in thei r lingo
N eithe r G o d n o r D evil b u t a man 1
I was all taken ab ack fo r a p riest cu t at me in fr ont a nd t h e
A r my b ehind b egan ring into the B ash k ai men
says D an
Wh a t is t h e me aning 0
G o d A m igh ty !
this ?
R u in and
C ome back ! C ome a way 1 says Billy Fis h
M u tiny is the m atte r We 11 break fo r B ash k ai if we can
I t ri ed to give some so rt o f o r de r s to my men the men
the
r
eg
u
la
r
A
r
my
b u t it was n o u se so I red into the
0
brown o f em wit h an English M a rtini a nd d rilled three b eggar s
in a line The v al ley was fu ll o f s h o u tin g howling c r eatu r es
N o t a G o d no r a D evil b u t only
and e ve ry so u l was sh rieking
,
T H E M AN W H O W OU LD B E
KI N G
2 79
a man ! The B ashk ai t roops st u ck to Billy Fis h all they we r e

wo r t h b u t thei r matchlocks was n t half as good as the Kab u l
br eec h-loade r s an d fo u r o f them d ropped D an was b ellowing
l ike a b u ll fo r h e was ve ry w r athy ; and Billy Fish h a d a ha r d
p
r
event
him
r
u
nning
o u t at the c r owd
b
t
o
o
j
We c a n t stand says Billy Fish M ake a ru n fo r it down
t h e valley ! The whole place is a g ainst u s T h e m a tch lock-men
ra n and we went down t h e v alley in spite o f D ra vot H e was
swe arin g ho rrib le and c rying o u t h e was a King T h e p riests
r olled g reat stones o n u s and the r egu la r A rm y r ed ha rd and
the r e was n t mo r e than six men n o t cou nting D an Billy Fish
and M e th a t came down to the b ottom o f t h e valley alive
T h en they stopped ring a nd the ho rns in the temple b lew
a ga in C ome a way fo r Go rd s sake come away ! says Billy

Fish T h ey ll send ru nne r s o u t to all t h e villages b efo r e eve r
w e get to B ashk ai I can p r otect yo u th e r e b u t I can t do
a nything now
M y o wn notion is tha t D a n b egan to go m a d in h is head
f rom t h at ho u r H e sta r ed u p a nd down like a st u ck pig Then
he was all f o r walking b ack alone and killing the p riests with
his b a r e b an ds ; which he co u ld have done An Empe ro r am
I s ays D aniel and next yea r I shall b e a Knight o f the Q u een
m
A ll right D a n says I
b u t come along n o w while t h e re s
time
It s yo u r fa u lt says h e fo r no t lookin g afte r yo u r A rmy

b ette r The r e was m u tiny in the midst and yo u did n t know
o
u damned engined
r
iving
plate
laying
mission
ar
y
s
pass
y
hu nting ho u nd ! H e sat u pon a r ock and called m e eve ry fo u l
name h e co u ld lay tongu e to I w a s too h ea r t-sick to ca r e
tho u gh it was all his foolishness tha t br o u ght the smas h
I m so rry D an says I b u t the r e s no acco u nting fo r

n atives This b u siness is o u r F if ty S even M ay b e we 11 m ak e
something o u t o f it yet w h en we ve got to B ashk ai
SH O R T ST O R I E S
2 80
3
L et 5 get to Rashkai then says D an and b y G o d when

I come ba ck he r e again I ll sweep the valley so the r e is n t a
b u g in a b lanket left 1
We walked all t h at day and a ll t h at nigh t D an was st u mp
ing u p and down o n the sno w ch ewing his b ea r d and m u tte ring
to himself
The r e s no h ope 0 getting clea r said Billy Fish
The
p riests will have sent r u nne r s to the villages to say that yo u a r e
only men Why did n t yo u stick o n as Gods till things was mo r e
settled ? I m a dead man says Billy Fish and he th rows him
self down on the snow and b egins to pray to his Gods
N ext mo rning w e was in a c ru el b ad co u nt ry all u p and
down no level g ro u nd at all and no food eithe r The six Bash
k ai men looked at Billy Fish h u n gryway as if they wanted to
At noon we came
a sk something b u t they said neve r a wo rd
t o the to p of a at mo u ntain all cove r ed with snow and when
w e clim b ed u p into it b ehold the r e was an A r my in position
waiting in the middle !
The r u nners have b een ve ry qu ick says Billy Fish with
a little b it o f a lau gh
They are waiting fo r u s
Th r ee o r fou r men b egan to r e from the enemy s side and
a chance shot took D aniel in the calf o f the leg That bro u ght
h im to his senses H e looks ac ro ss the snow at the A rmy and
sees the r ies that we had br o u ght into the co u nt ry
We re done fo r says he
They are Englishmen these
people and it s my b lasted nonsense that has bro u ght yo u
to this Get b ack Billy Fish and take yo u r men away ; yo u ve
done what yo u co u ld and now c u t fo r it C a rnehan says he
shake hands with m e and go along with Billy M ayb e they
won t kill yo u I 11 go and meet em alone It 3 me that did it
M e the K ing !
says I
Go to H ell D an I am with yo u he r e
Billy Fish yo u clea r o u t and we two will meet those folk
.
'
282
Pe a ch ey t hat w a s c rying like a ch ild I ve bro u gh t yo u to t his

Pe a chey says h e
B r o u gh t yo u o u t o f yo u r h appy life to b e
k ille d in Karistan whe r e yo u / was late C omm a nde r-in-C h ief o f
the Empe ro r s fo r ces S ay yo u fo rgive me Pe a chey
I do
says Pe ach ey
F u lly and fr eely do I fo rgive yo u D a n
S hake h ands Peach ey says he
I m going n o w O u t he
goes looking neithe r righ t no r left and when he w a s pl u m b in
the middle o f those diz z y dancing r opes
C u t yo u b eggar s
he s h o u ts ; a nd they c u t and old D a n fell t u rning r o u nd and
ro u nd a nd ro u nd twenty tho u sand mil es fo r he took half an
ho u r to fall t ill he st ru ck t h e wate r and I co u ld see his b od y
cau ght o n a r ock with the gold c rown close b eside
B u t do yo u kno w what they did to Peachey b etw e en t wo
pine-t r ees ? They c ru ci ed him S i r a s Pe ach ey s h a nd will show
They u sed wooden pegs fo r his hands a nd his feet ; and h e
did n t die H e h u ng the r e and sc r eamed and they took him
down next day and said it w as a mi r acle that he was n t dead
They took him down poo r old Peachey that had n t done
them any ha rm that had n t done them any
H e rocked to and f r o and wept b itte rly wiping his eyes with
the b ack of h is sca rr ed hands and moaning like a child fo r some
ten min u tes
They was c ru el eno u gh to feed him u p in the temple
b ecau se they said he was mo r e o f a God than o ld D aniel that
was a man Then they t u rned him o u t o n the snow and told
him to go h ome a nd Peachey came home in a b o u t a yea r
b egging along t h e roads qu ite safe ; fo r D aniel D ravot he w alked
b efo r e and said : C ome along Peachey It s a b ig thing we re
doing The mo u ntains they danced at night and the mo u ntains
they t ried to fall o n Pe ach ey s head b u t D an h e held u p his
h and and Peachey came along b ent do u b le H e neve r let go o f
D a n s hand and he neve r let go o f D an s head They gave it to
h im a s a p r esent in the tem p le to r emind h im n o t to come ag a in
T H E M AN W H O W O U L D
B E K
ING
283
and th o u gh t h e c rown w a s p u r e gold a nd Pe a ch ey was st arving

neve r wo u ld Peach ey sell the same Yo u knew D ravot S i r ! Yo u
k new R igh t Wo r s h ipf u l B rot h e r D ra vot ! L ook at him now !
H e fu m b led in t h e m a ss o f r ags ro u nd his b ent waist ; bro u ght
o u t a b lack h o r sehai r ba g em broide r ed wit h silve r th r e ad ; and
shoo k the r ef rom o n to my t ab le the d ried withe r ed h ead of
D a niel D ravot ! The mo rning s u n t h at h ad long b een paling the
l amps st ru ck t h e r ed b e ard a nd b lind s u nken eyes ; st ruck too
a h e avy ci r clet o f gold st u dded with raw t u rqu oises t h at C a m e
ha n pl a ced tende rly o n the ba tte r ed temples
Yo u b e o ld no w
said C a rne h an
th e Empe r o r in h is
ab it as he lived the King o f Karistan wit h his c rown u p on
his head Poo r o ld D a niel th at w a s a mona r c h once !
I sh u dde r ed fo r in spite o f defacements manifold I r ecog
C a rne h an r ose
n iz e d t h e h ead o f t h e man of M a rwa r Ju nction
to go I a ttempted to stop him H e was n o t t to w alk abroad
L et me t ake away the whiskey and give me a little money
h e ga s p ed
I was a King once I 11 go to t h e D ep u ty C om
missione r a nd a sk to se t in the Poo rh o u se till I get my h ealth
N o t ha nk yo u I can t wait till vo u ge t a ca rri age fo r me I ve
u rgent p riv a te affai r s
in the so u th
at M a rwa r
H e sham b led o u t o f the o f ce and depa rted in t h e di r ection
That day at noon I h ad
o f the D ep u ty C ommissione r s ho u se
occasion to go down t h e b linding h ot M all and I saw a c rooked
man c r awling along th e white d u st o f the r oadside h is h at in
his h and qu ave ring dolo ro u sly afte r t h e fa shion o f st reet
singe r s at H ome T h e r e wa s not a so u l in sigh t and he was
And he s a ng th ro u gh
o u t o f a ll possi b le e ar s h ot o f t h e h o u ses
h is nose tu rning h is h ead f rom righ t to left :
,
T he S o n o f M an go e s fo rth to war
A go l den crown to gain ;
red b anner stream s afar
H is b l oo dWh o fo l l o ws in hi s train ?
2 84
I w a ited to hea r no mo r e b u t p u t the poo r w r etch into my

c arriage and d rove h im o ff to the ne ar est missiona ry fo r even
t u al t ra nsfe r to the Asy l u m H e r epe ated the hymn twice while
h e was with m e whom h e did no t in the least r ecogniz e a nd I
left h im singing it to the missiona ry
T wo days late r I in qu i r ed afte r h is welf ar e o f t h e S u p e rin
tendent o f the Asyl u m
H e was admitted s u ffe r ing f rom s u n-st roke H e died e arly
yeste rday mo r ning said the Su pe r intendent

I s it t ru e tha t
h e was half an ho u r b a r e-headed in the sun at midday
Yes said I b u t do yo u h appen to know if h e h ad a ny
?
thing u pon him b y any chance when h e died
N o t to my knowledge
said th e Su p e rintendent
And t h e r e the matte r r ests
,
2 86
D ell a and J im h ave b een said to illu stra te
the
sto ry Of c ross p u rposes
B u t the ph rase is not well
u sed Thei r p u rposes we r e one ; only thei r methods c rossed
O H en ry r a r ely comments o n his characte r s b u t he has he r e
picked o u t o ne qu ality o f these two foolish c h ild r en in a at

fo r u n r ese rved p r aise : O f all wh o give gifts these t wo we r e
the wisest O f all wh o give and r eceive gifts su ch as they a r e
wisest Eve ry whe r e they a r e wisest They a r e the magi

If
the magi as 0 H en ry says invented the a r t o f givingC h rist
mas p r esents D ella and J im rediscove r ed it We have had no

two cha racte r s in whose comp any it is b ette r to leave o ur st u dy
o f the s h o rt sto ry
]
Clz a m d ers
O ne doll ar a nd eigh ty-seven cents T h at w a s a ll And sixty

cents o f it was in pennies Pennies saved one and two at a
time b y b u lldo z ing the g roce r and the vegetab le man and the
b u tche r u ntil one s cheeks b u r ned wit h the silent imp u tation
o f pa r simony that s u ch close dealing implied
Th r ee times
D ella co u nted it O ne dolla r and eighty-seven cents And
the next day wo u ld b e C h ristmas
The r e was clea rly noth ing to do b u t Op down o n the shabb y
little co u ch and h owl S o D ella did it Which instigates the
mo ral r eection that life is made u p o f so b s sniffles and
smiles with sn ife s p r edominating
While the mist ress o f the home is g rad u ally s u b siding f rom
the r st stage to the second take a look at the home A
fu rnished at at $ 8 pe r week I t did not exactly b egga r
desc ription b u t it ce rtainly h a d t ha t wo rd o n the looko u t fo r
t h e mendicancy s qu ad
In the vestib u le b elow was a lette r-b o x into whic h no lette r
wo u ld go and an elect ric b u tton f rom which no mo rtal nge r
could co ax a ring Also appe rtaining the r e u nto was a ca rd
b earing th e n ame Mr J ames D illingha m Yo u ng

.
T H E G I FT O F
MAG I
TH E
28 7
T h e D illingham h ad b een u ng to th e br eez e d u ring a

fo rme r pe riod o f p r os p e r ity when its p ossesso r w
as b eing paid
$ 3 0 pe r week N ow when the in c ome was sh ru nk to $ 2 0
the lette r s o f D illingham looked b lu rr ed as tho u gh t h ey
we r e thinking se rio u sly o f cont racting to a modest and u nas
B u t w h eneve r Mr J ames D illingham Yo u ng c ame
su m i n g D
h ome and r eached his at ab ove he was called J im and
gr eatly h u gged b y Mr s J ames D illingh am Yo u ng al r e ady
int rod u ced to yo u a s D ella Which is all ve ry good
D ella nished he r c ry a nd attended to he r ch eeks with the
powde r r ag S he stood b y the window and looked o u t d u lly
a t a gr ey cat walking a g rey fence in a g r ey b ackya rd To
mo rrow wo u ld b e C h r istmas D ay and sh e h ad only
wit h which to b u y J im a pr esent S he had b een saving eve ry
penny sh e co u ld fo r months with this r es u lt Twenty dolla r s
a week does n t go fa r Expenses had b een g r eate r than she
ha d calcu lated They always a r e O nly
to b u y a p r esent
fo r J im H e r J im M any a h appy h o u r sh e h ad spent planning
fo r something nice fo r him S ometh i ng ne and r a r e a nd
ste rling
something j u st a little b it ne ar to b eing wo rthy o f
the hono u r o f b eing owned b y J im
The r e was a pie r-glass b etween the windows o f the r oom
Pe rh aps yo u h ave seen a pie r-glass in an $ 8 at A ve ry thin
and ve ry agile pe r son may b y o b se rving his r eection in a r apid
sequ ence o f longi tu dinal str ips o b tain a fai rly accu r ate c o n ce p
tion o f h is looks D ella b eing sle n de r h ad maste r ed the a r t
Su ddenly she whi rled f rom the window and stood b efo r e
the glass H e r eyes we r e shining br illiantly b u t he r face h ad
lost its colo u r within twenty seconds R api dly sh e pulled down
h e r hai r and let it fall to its fu ll length
N o w the r e we re two possessions of the J a mes D illingham
Yo u ngs in which they b oth took a migh ty p ride O ne was J im s
gold w atc h t ha t h ad b een h is fa t hers and his gra ndfa th e r s
.
288
The oth e r was D ell a s h ai r H ad the Q u een o f S h eba lived

in the at ac r oss th e ai r shaft D ell a wo uld have let he r hai r
h ang o u t the windo w some day to d ry j u st to dep re ciate he r
M aj esty s j ewels and gifts H ad King S olomon b een the j anitor
with all h is t r eas u r es piled u p in the b asement J im wo u ld
h ave p u lled o u t h is watch eve ry time h e passed j u st to see
him pl u ck at his b ea r d f r om envy
S o now D ella s b ea u tif u l hai r fell ab o u t he r rippling and
shining like a c a sc ade o f br own wate r s I t r eached b elo w he r
knee and made itself almost a garment fo r he r And then sh e
did it u p a gain ne rvo u sly and qu ickly O nce sh e falte r ed fo r
a min u te a nd stood still while a tea r o r two splas h ed o n t h e
wo rn r ed ca rpet
O n went he r o ld brown j acket ; o n went h e r o ld brown hat
Wit h a whi r l of ski rts and with the brilliant sparkle still in h e r
eyes she u tte r ed o u t the doo r and down the stai r s to the st r eet
Whe r e sh e stopped the S ign r ead : M me S o fro n ie H ai r
Goods o f all Kinds

O ne ight u p D ell a r an and collected
h e r self p a nting Madame large to o white chilly hardly looked
the S o fro n ie
?
Will yo u b u y my h ai r
asked D ella
I b u y h ai r said M adame
Take ye r hat o ff a nd let s
h ave a sight at the looks o f it

D own rippled the brown cascade
Twenty dollar s said M adame lifting the mass with a

p ra ctised hand
Give it to m e qu ick said D ella

O h and the next two h o u r s tripped b y o n r osy wings Fo r
get t h e hashed met aph o r S he was ra nsacking the sto r es fo r
J im s p r esent
S he fo u nd it a t last It s u r ely had b een made fo r J im and
no o n e else The r e was n o othe r like it in any o f the sto r es
and she had t u rned all o f them inside o u t It was a p l atinum
29 0
T h e doo r O p e n ed and J im ste p ped in and closed it H e

looked th in and ve ry se rio u s Poo r fellow h e was only twenty
a nd to b e b u rdened wit h a family ! H e needed a new

w
o
t
ove r coat and he w a s witho u t gloves
J im stop p ed inside the doo r a s immov ab le a s a sette r at the
scent o f qu a il H is eyes we r e xed u pon D ella and th e r e w a s
a n exp ression in t h em that sh e co u ld n o t r ead and it te rri ed
h e r I t was no t ange r n o r s u r p rise no r disapp rov al n o r ho rr o r
He
n o r a ny o f the sentiments th a t she h ad b een p r epa r ed f o r
simply st ar ed a t he r xedly with that p ecu li ar exp r ession o n
h is face
D ella w riggled o ff th e tab le and went fo r h im
J im da rling sh e c ried
don t look at me t ha t way I
had my h ai r cu t o ff a nd sold it b ecau se I co u ld n t h ave lived
th r o u gh C h r istmas witho u t giving yo u a p r esent It 11 g row
?
o
u
will
I
j
u
st
had
to
o u won t mind
d
o it
o u t a g a in
y
y
M y hai r grows awfu lly f a st S ay M e rry C h ristmas J im and
let s b e h ap py Yo u don t know w h at a nice w h at a b ea u tifu l
nice gift I v e go t fo r yo u
Yo u ve c u t o ff yo u r hai r ? a sked J im l ab o rio u sly a s if

he h a d no t arrived at that p a tent f a ct yet even a fte r t h e hardest
mental lab o u r
C u t it o ff a nd sold it said D ella

D on t yo u like me
?
a
ny
h
ow
I
m
me
witho
u
t
my
h
ai
r
a
in
t
I
u st a s well
?
j
J im looked ab o u t th e r oom c u rio u sly
h e s a id wit h an a i r a lmost
Yo u say y o u r ha i r is gone ?
of idiocy
said D ell a
It s sold I tell
Yo u need n t look f o r it
sold and gone to o
5 C h ristmas E ve b o
It
Be
good
o
u
y
y
to me fo r it went fo r yo u May b e th e hai r s o f my head we r e
n u m b e r ed sh e went o n with a s u dden se rio u s sweetness b u t

no b ody co u ld eve r co u nt my love fo r yo u S h all I p u t th e
?
ch ops o n J im
.
TH E G I F T O F T H E M A G I
29 1
O u t o f h is t ra n c e J im seemed qu ickly to w ak e H e en
f olded h is D ell a F o r ten seconds let u s r eg ar d with disc r eet
sc ru tiny some inconse qu ential o bj ect in the oth e r di r ection
E ight dolla r s a week o r a million a yea r
wh a t is the
diffe r ence ? A m a themati c ian o r a wit wo u ld give yo u the
w r ong answe r The magi br o u ght valu ab le gifts b u t th a t
T
h
is
d
ar
k
a
sse
r
tion
will
b
e
ill
u
minated
was not a ong them
m
late r on
J im d r ew a p a ck age f rom his ove r co a t pocket a nd t hr ew it
u pon the t ab le
D on t make any mist ake D ell h e said ab o u t me I

don t think the r e 5 anything in th e w ay o f a hai r c u t o r a shave
B u t if
o r a s h ampoo that co u ld make me like my gi r l any less
yo u ll u nw rap that package yo u m ay se e why you had me going
a while at r st
White nge r s and nim b le to r e at the st rin g and pa pe r And
then a n ecst a tic sc r e a m o f joy ; and t h en alas ! a qu ick femi
nine change to hyste r ical tea r s and wails necessit a ting the
immedi a te employ ment o f all t h e comfo r ting p owe r s o f t h e lo r d
o f the at
Fo r the r e lay The C om b s
the set o f com b s side a nd ba ck
th at D ella had wo r s h ip p ed fo r long in a B roadw ay window
Bea u tifu l com b s p u r e to rtoise shell with j ewelled rims j u s t
the shade to wea r in the b ea u tifu l vanished hai r They we re
expensive com b s she knew and he r hea rt h ad simply c r aved
and year ned ove r them with o u t the le ast h Ope o f possession
And now they we r e h e r s b u t th e t r esses th a t sho u ld hav e
a do rned the coveted ado rnments we r e gone
B u t she h u gged t h em to he r b osom and at length sh e was
ab le to look u p with dim eyes and a smile a nd say : M y ha ir
gr ows so fast J im !
And then D ell a le ap ed u p lik e a little singed c a t and c ried
O h oh 1
.
29 2
J im ha d not yet seen his b e au tifu l p r esent S h e h eld it o u t

to him eage rly u pon h e r open palm The d u ll p r ecio u s metal
seemed to ash with a r eection of he r bright and a rdent spi r it
?
I s n t it a dandy J im I h u nted a ll ove r town to nd it
Yo u ll h ave to look at the time a h u nd r ed times a day now
Give me yo u r watch I want to see how it looks on it

Instead o f o b eying J im t u m b led down o n the co u ch and p u t
his hands u nde r the b ack o f his head and smiled

D ell said
he let 3 p u t o u r C h r istmas p r esents away and keep em a
while T h ey re too nice to u se j u st at p r esent I sold the
w a tch to get the money to b u y yo u r com b s And now s u ppose
yo u p u t the chops o n
The magi as yo u know we r e wise men wonde r fully wise
men wh o bro u ght gifts to the Bab e in the mange r They
invented the a rt o f giving C h ristmas p r esents Being wise
thei r gifts were no do u b t wise ones possib ly b ea r ing the p rivi
lege o f exchange in case of d u plication And he r e I have lamely
related to yo u the u neventfu l ch ronicle o f two foolish child r en
in a at wh o most u nwisely sacri ced fo r each othe r the gr eat
est t r eas u r es o f thei r ho u se B u t in a last wo rd to the wise o f
these days let it b e said that o f all who give gifts these two we r e
the wisest O f all who give and r eceive gifts s u ch as they a r e
wisest Eve ry whe r e they a r e wisest T h ey a r e the magi
.
(E b :
cna
ru
m B
ss
PR O
G I N N A N D C O M PA N Y
PR I E T O R S B OS T O N U S A
.

Esther: A Story of Faith and Destiny

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(Q

S ta tes N ava l A c a de my, A n n ap o l is

is followed as in The Christmas Carol o r The Great S tone

M arkhe im o ne characte r so dominates the others that they

The Gift of the Magi though more space is given to Della

main character is a dog but he is so human that we may still

The events take place in S usa the capital o f Persia

but be true to the O ld ideals o f home and race

was to be eighteen mi ll ion do ll ars etc The word banquet

other O ld Testament c haracters from Genesis to Malachi

The most masterly part o f the p l ot is the handling o f events

darity It may be c ompared to A Christmas Caro l whi c h

his unselsh devotion to his fair cousin E sther The noblest

fair and beautiful but because sh e was hospitable to the

it c ame to pass in the days o f Ahasuerus ( this is

he sent letters into a ll the king s provinces in to

After these things when the wrath O f king Ahasuerus

it came to pass when the king s commandment and

H egai the king s C hamberlain the keepe o f the women

In those days while Mordecai sat in the king s gate two

Whe n Mordecai per c eived a l l that was done Mordecai

Again E sther spake unto Hatach and gave him co m

Now it came to pass o n the third day that E sther put o n

O n that night cou l d n o t the king s l eep and he commanded

keepers o f the door who sought to lay hand on the king

the king and Haman came to banquet with E sthe r

Then the king held o u t the go l den sceptre toward E sther

to destroy to slay and to c ause to peri sh al l the po we r o f the

The Jews gathered themselves together in their cities

And the king commanded it so to be done : and the

And Mordecai wrote these things and sent l ette r s unto

days o f feasting and j oy and o f sending portions one to anothe r

according as Mordecai the Jew and E sther the queen had

This story like E sther takes place in Persia The

sto ries o f The Arabian Nights as a whole probab ly origin ated in

O f g o o d H aro un A lrasc hid

A rab ian N ights

There once l ived in a town o f Persia two brothers o n e

close by saying : S hut S esame

sh e wished but said :

But l et u s know as nearl y as may be she said

while you dig a ho l e

What said C assim s wife as soon as her sister-in-law had

count his money ; he measures it

I expect as much rep l ied Cassim haughtily ; but I must

will lose even what you have now

should let him o u t Instead o f S esame he said O pen

Barley and was much amazed to nd that the door remained

frightened that the more he tried to recall the word S esame

guessed rightly that once within he c ould not get o u t agal n ;

his wife to unload and led the other to his

leave the matter to your wit and skil lful devices

sons for whose life there is l ittle hope

am afraid even th i s wil l not save my good maste r

again st my co n science o r my honor

forbid ! said M o rgian a putting another piece o f gold

in his hand ; only c o m e a l ong with me and fear nothing

o u must make haste

I wi l l give you another piece o f go l d

A d ead body I exclaimed the robber amaz ed

Ye s ye s answered Baba Mustapha ;

know more but yo u S hal l not