diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 3 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 13531-0.txt | 3074 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 13531-h/13531-h.htm | 3138 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/13531-8.txt | 3467 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/13531-8.zip | bin | 0 -> 72025 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/13531-h.zip | bin | 0 -> 75080 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/13531-h/13531-h.htm | 3541 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/13531.txt | 3467 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/13531.zip | bin | 0 -> 72023 bytes |
11 files changed, 16703 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/13531-0.txt b/13531-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e16032a --- /dev/null +++ b/13531-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3074 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13531 *** + +AMOS KILBRIGHT; HIS ADSCITITIOUS EXPERIENCES + +With Other Stories + +by + +FRANK R. STOCKTON + +1888 + + + + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +AMOS KILBRIGHT: HIS ADSCITITIOUS EXPERIENCES + +THE REVERSIBLE LANDSCAPE + +DUSKY PHILOSOPHY--IN TWO EXPOSITIONS: + FIRST EXPOSITION: A STORY OF SEVEN DEVILS + SECOND EXPOSITION: GRANDISON'S QUANDARY + +PLAIN FISHING + + + + + +AMOS KILBRIGHT: HIS ADSCITITIOUS EXPERIENCES. + +[This story is told by Mr. Richard Colesworthy, an attorney-at-law, in +a large town in one of our Eastern States. The fact that Mr. Colesworthy +is a practical man, and but little given, outside of his profession, to +speculative theorizing, adds a weight to his statements which they might +not otherwise possess.] + +In the practice of my profession I am in the habit of meeting with all +sorts and conditions of men, women, and even children. But I do not know +that I ever encountered anyone who excited in me a greater interest than +the man about whom I am going to tell you. + +I was busily engaged one morning in my office, which is on the ground +floor of my dwelling and opens upon the street, when, after a +preliminary knock, a young man entered and asked leave to speak with me. +He was tall and well made, plainly but decently dressed, and with a +fresh, healthy color on his smoothly shaven face. There was something in +his air, a sort of respectful awkwardness, which was not without a +suggestion of good breeding, and in his countenance there was an +annoyed or troubled expression which did not sit well upon it. I asked +him to take a chair, and as he did so the thought came to me that I +should like to be of service to him. Of course I desire to aid and +benefit all my clients, but there are some persons whose appearance +excites in one an instinctive sympathy, and toward whom there arise at +first sight sentiments of kindliness. The man had said almost nothing; +it was simply his manner that had impressed me. I mention these points +because generally I do not take an interest in persons until I know a +good deal about them. + +"What can I do for you?" I asked. + +The man did not immediately answer, but began searching for something in +one of the pockets of his coat. The little awkwardness which I had first +noticed, now became more apparent. He appeared to be looking for his +pockets rather than for what might be in one of them. He was conscious +of his ungainliness and reddened a little as he fumbled on the inside +and outside of his coat. + +"I pray you pardon me," he said, "but I will bring before you instantly +the matter of my business." + +And so saying, he got his hand into a breast pocket and drew out a +little packet. There was a certain intonation of his voice which, at +first made me think that he was not an American, but in that intonation +there was really nothing foreign. He was certainly a stranger, he might +be from the backwoods, and both his manner and speech appeared odd to +me; but soon I had no doubt about his being my countryman. In fact, +there was something in his general appearance which seemed to me to be +distinctively American. + +"I came to you, sir," he said, "to ask if you would have the goodness to +purchase one or more of these tickets?" And he held out to me a card +entitling one person to admission to a séance to be given by a party of +spiritualists in one of the public buildings of the town. + +A feeling of anger arose within me. I was chagrined to think that I had +begun to interest myself in a person who merely came to interrupt me in +my business by trying to sell me tickets to a spiritualistic exhibition. +My instant impulse was to turn from the man and let him see that I was +offended by his intrusion, but my reason told me that he had done +nothing that called for resentment. If I had expected something more +important from him, that was my affair. He had not pretended to have any +other business than that which brought him. + +And, besides, he offered me something which in fact I wanted. I am a +member of a society for psychical research, which, about a year before, +had been organized in our town. It is composed almost exclusively of +persons who are desirous of honestly investigating the facts, as well as +theories, connected with the spiritual phenomena, not only of our own +day, but of all ages. We had heard of the spiritualistic exhibitions +which were to be given in our town, and I, with a number of my +fellow-members, had determined to attend them. If there was anything +real or tangible in the performances of these people we wanted to know +it. Considering all this, it would be foolish for me to be angry with a +man who had brought me the very tickets I intended to buy, and, instead +of turning away from him, I took out my pocket-book. + +"I will take one ticket for each of the three séances," I said. And I +placed the money on the table. + +I should have been glad to buy two sets of tickets; one for my wife; but +I knew this would be useless. She did not belong to our society, and +took no interest in its investigations. + +"These things are all tricks and nonsense," she said. "I don't want to +know anything about them. And if they were true, I most certainly would +not want to know anything about them." + +So I contented myself with the tickets for my own use, and as the man +slowly selected them from his little package, I asked him if he had sold +many of them. + +"These you now buy are the first of which I have made disposal," he +answered. "For two days I have endeavored to sell them, but to no +purpose. There are many people to whom I cannot bring myself to speak +upon the matter, and those I have asked care not for these things. I +would not have come to you, but having twice passed your open window, I +liked your face and took courage." + +I smiled. So this man had been studying me before I began to study him; +and this discovery revived in me the desire that he had come on some +more interesting business than that of selling tickets; a thing he did +so badly as to make me wonder why he had undertaken it. + +"I imagine," said I, "that this sort of business is out of your line." + +He looked at me a moment, and then with earnestness exclaimed: +"Entirely! utterly! absolutely! I am altogether unfitted for this +calling, and it is an injustice to those who send me out for me to +longer continue in it. Some other person might sell their tickets; I +cannot. And yet," he said, with a sigh, "what is there that I may do?" + +The idea that that strong, well-grown man should have any difficulty in +finding something to do surprised me. If he chose to go out and labor +with his hands--and surely no man who was willing to wander about +selling tickets should object to that--there would be no difficulty in +his obtaining a livelihood in our town. + +"If you want regular employment," I said, "I think you can easily find +it." + +"I want it," he answered, his face clouded by a troubled expression, +"but I cannot take it." + +"Cannot take it!" I exclaimed. + +"No," he said, "I am not my own master. I am as much a slave as any +negro hereabouts!" + +I was rather surprised at this meaningless allusion, but contented +myself with asking him what he meant by not being his own master. + +He looked on the floor and then he looked at me, with a steady, earnest +gaze. "I should like well to tell you my story," he said. "I have been +ordered not to tell it, but I have resolved that when I should meet a +man to whom I should be moved to speak I would speak." + +Now, I felt a very natural emotion of pride. My perception of objects +of interest was a quick and a correct one. "Speak on," I said, "I shall +be very glad to hear what you have to say." + +He looked toward the open door. I arose and closed it. When I had +resumed my seat he drew his chair closer to me, leaned toward me, and +said: + +"In the first place you should know that I am a materialized spirit." + +I sat up, hard pressed against the back of my chair. + +"Nay, start not," he said, "I am now as truly flesh and blood as you +are; but a short three weeks ago I was a spirit in the realms of endless +space. I know," he continued, "that my history is a sore thing to +inflict upon any man, and there are few to whom I would have broached +it, but I will make it brief. Three weeks ago these spiritualists held +privately in this town what they call a séance, and at that time I was +impelled, by a power I understood not, to appear among them. After I had +come it was supposed that a mistake had been made, and that I was not +the spirit wanted. In the temporary confusion occasioned by this +supposition, and while the attention of the exhibitors was otherwise +occupied, I was left exposed to the influence of the materializing +agencies for a much longer time than had been intended; so long, +indeed, that instead of remaining in the misty, indistinct form in which +spirits are presented by these men to their patrons, I became as +thoroughly embodied, as full of physical life and energy, and as +complete a mortal man as I was when I disappeared from this earth, one +hundred and two years ago." + +"One hundred and two years!" I mechanically ejaculated. There was upon +me the impulse to get up and go where I could breathe the outer air; to +find my wife and talk to her about marketing or some household affair, +to get away from this being--human or whatever he was--but this was +impossible. That interest which dawned upon me when I first perceived my +visitor now held me as if it had been a spell. + +"Yes," he said, "I deceased in 1785, being then in my thirtieth year. I +was a citizen of Bixbury, on the Massachusetts coast, but I am not +unconnected with this place. Old Mr. Scott, of your town, is my +grandson." + +I am obliged to chronicle the fact that my present part in this +conversation consisted entirely of ejaculations. "Old Mr. Scott your +grandson!" I said. + +"Yes," he replied; "my daughter, who was but two years old when I left +her, married Lemuel Scott, of Bixbury, who moved to this town soon after +old Mr. Scott was born. It was, indeed, on account of this good old man +that I became materialized. He was present at the private séance of +which I have spoken, and being asked if he would like to see a person +from the other world, he replied that he should be pleased to behold his +grandfather. When the necessary influences were set to work I appeared. +The spiritualists, who, without much thought, had conceived the idea +that the grandfather of old Mr. Scott ought, in the ordinary nature of +things, to be a very venerable personage, were disappointed when they +saw me, and concluded I was one who, by some mistake, had been +wrongfully summoned. They, therefore, set me aside, as it were, and +occupied themselves with other matters. Old Mr. Scott went away +unsatisfied, and strengthened in his disbelief in the powers of the +spiritualists, while I, as I have before said, was left unnoticed under +the power of the materializing force, until I was made corporeal as I am +now. When the spiritualists discovered what had happened they were much +disturbed, and immediately set about to dematerialize me, for it is not +their purpose or desire to cause departed spirits to again become +inhabitants of this world. But all their efforts were of no avail. I +remained as much a man as anyone of themselves. They found me in full +health and vigor, for I had never had a day's sickness in my life, +having come to my death by drowning while foolishly swimming too far +from land in a strong ebb tide, and my body, being carried out to sea, +was never recovered. Being thus put to their wit's end, they determined +to keep the matter privy, and to make the best of it, and the first +necessity was to provide me with clothing, for on my second entrance +into this world I was as totally without apparel as when I first came +into it. They gave me these garments of the ordinary fashion of the day, +but to which I find myself much unaccustomed, and enjoined upon me to +keep silent in regard to what had happened; fearing, as I was made aware +by some unguarded words, that their efforts to dematerialize me might +bring them into trouble." + +My professional instincts now came to the front. "That would be murder," +I said, "and nothing less." + +"So I myself told them," he continued, "for I had come to the +determination that I would choose to finish out the life I had broken +off so suddenly. But they paid little heed to my words and continued +their experiments. But, as I have told you, their efforts were without +avail, and they have ceased to make further trial of dematerialization. +As, of course, it would be impossible to keep a full-grown man for any +considerable length of time secluded and unseen, they judged it wise to +permit me to appear as an ordinary human being; and having no other use +to which they could put me, they set me to selling tickets for them, and +in this business I have fared so badly that I shall restore to them +these that are left, and counsel them to seek another agent, I being of +detriment to them rather than profit. What may then happen I do not +know, for, as I told you, I am not my own master." + +"I do not understand you," I said. "If you have been, in this +unparalleled manner, restored to your physical existence, surely you are +free to do as you please. What these spiritualists have done for you was +done by accident. They intended you no benefit, and they have no claim +upon you." + +"That is true," he said, with a sigh, "but they have a hold upon me. It +was but yesterday that they informed me that, although, so far, they had +failed to restore me to what they call my normal spiritual existence, +they had every reason to believe that they soon would be able to do so. +A psychic scientist of Germany has discovered a process of +dematerialization, and they have sent to him for his formula. This, in a +short time, they expect to receive, and they assure me that they will +not hesitate to put it in force if I should cause them trouble. Now, +sir," he continued, and as he spoke there was a moisture about his eyes, +"I am very fond of life. I have been restored to that mortality from +which I was suddenly snatched by the cruel sea, and I do not wish to +lose it again until I have lived out my natural term of years. My family +is one of long life, and I feel that I have a right to fifty more years +of existence, and this strong desire for the natural remainder of my +life is that which gives these men their power over me. I was never a +coward, but I cannot but fear those who may at any moment cause this +form, these limbs, my physical state and life, to vanish like a +candle-flame blown out." + +My sympathies were now strongly aroused in behalf of the subject of +these most extraordinary conditions. "That which you fear must not be +allowed," I said. "No man has the right to take away the life of +another, no matter what plan or method he may use. I will see the +spiritualists, and make it plain to them that what they threaten they +cannot be allowed to do." + +The man arose. "Sir," he said, "I feel that I have truly found a +friend. Whatever may happen to me, I shall never forget your kindness to +a very stranger." He held out his hand, and I stood up by him and took +it. It was as much a flesh and blood hand as my own. + +"What is your name?" I asked. "You have not yet told me that." + +"I am Amos Kilbright, of Bixbury," he answered. + +"You have not revisited your native place?" I said. + +"No," he replied, "I much desire to do so, but I have no money for a +journey, even on foot, and I doubt me much if those men would suffer me +to go to Bixbury." + +"And have you spoken to your grandson, old Mr. Scott?" I said. "It is +but right that you should make yourself known to him." + +"So have I thought," he answered, "and I have felt an earnest drawing +toward my daughter's child. I have seen him thrice, but have not had the +heart to speak to him and declare myself the progenitor of that mother +whose memory I know he cherishes." + +"You shall make yourself known to him," I said. "I will prepare the +way." + +He shook me again by the hand and took his leave without a word. He was +deeply affected. + +I reseated myself by my table, one thought after another rushing through +my mind. Had ever man heard a story such as this! What were all the +experiences of the members of the Society for Psychical Research, their +stories of apparitions, their instances of occult influences, their best +authenticated incidents of supernaturalism compared to this experience +of mine! Should I hasten and tell it all to my wife? I hesitated. If +what I had heard should not be true--and this, my first doubt or +suspicion impressed upon me how impossible to me had been doubt or +suspicion during the presence of my visitor--it would be wrong to +uselessly excite her mind. On the other hand, if I had heard nothing but +the truth, what would happen should she sympathize as deeply with Amos +Kilbright as I did, and then should that worthy man suddenly become +dematerialized, perhaps before her very eyes? No, I would not tell +her--at least not yet. But I must see the spiritualists. And that +afternoon I went to them. + +The leader and principal worker of the men who were about to give a +series of spiritual manifestations in our town was Mr. Corbridge, a man +of middle-age with a large head and earnest visage. When I spoke to him +of Amos Kilbright he was very much annoyed. + +"So he has been talking to you," he said, "and after all the warnings I +gave him! Well, he does that sort of thing at his own risk!" + +"We all do things at our own risk," I said, "and he has as much right to +choose his line of conduct as anybody else." + +"No, he hasn't," said Mr. Corbridge, "he belongs to us, and it is for us +to choose his line of conduct for him." + +"That is nonsense," said I. "You have no more right over him than I +have." + +"Now then," said Mr. Corbridge, his eyes beginning to sparkle, "I may as +well talk plainly to you. My associates and myself have considered this +matter very carefully. At first we thought that if this fellow should +tell his story we would simply pooh-pooh the whole of it, and let people +think he was a little touched in his mind, which would be so natural a +conclusion that everybody might be expected to come to it. But as we +have determined to dematerialize him, his disappearance would bring +suspicion upon us, and we might get into trouble if he should be +considered a mere commonplace person. So we decided to speak out +plainly, say what we had done, and what we were going to do, and thus +put ourselves at the head of the spirit operators of the world. But we +are not yet ready to do anything or to make our announcements, and if he +had held his tongue we might have given him a pretty long string." + +"And do you mean," I said, "that you and your associates positively +intend to dematerialize Mr. Kilbright?" + +"Certainly," he answered. + +"Then, I declare such an act would be inhuman; a horrible crime." + +"No," said Mr. Corbridge, "it would be neither. In the first place he +isn't human. It is by accident that he is what he is. But it was our +affair entirely, and it was a most wonderfully fortunate thing for us +that it happened. At first it frightened us a little, but we have got +used to it now, and we see the great opportunities that this entirely +unparalleled case will give us. As he is, he is of no earthly good to +anybody. You can't take a man out of the last century and expect him to +get on in any sort of business at the present day. He is too +old-fashioned. He doesn't know how we do things in the year eighteen +eighty-seven. We put this subject to work selling tickets just to keep +him occupied; but he can't even do that. But, as a spirit who can be +materialized or dematerialized whenever we please, he will be of the +greatest value to us. When a spirit has been brought out as strongly as +he has been it will be the easiest thing in the world to do it again. +Every time you bring one out the less trouble it is to make it appear +the next time you want it; and in this case the conditions are so +favorable that it will be absolute business suicide in us if we allow +ourselves to lose the chance of working it. So you see, sir, that we +have marked out our course, and I assure you that we intend to stick to +it." + +"And I assure you," said I, rising to go, "that I shall make it my +business to interfere with your wicked machinations." + +Mr. Corbridge laughed. "You'll find," he said, "that we have turned this +thing over pretty carefully, and we are ready for whatever the courts +may do. If we are charged with making away with anybody, we can, if we +like, make him appear, alive and well, before judge and jury. And then +what will there be to say against us? Besides, we are quite sure that no +laws can be found against bringing beings from the other world, or +sending them back into it, provided it can be proved by the subject's +admission, or in any other manner, that he really died once in a natural +way. You cannot be tried for causing a man's death a second time." + +I was not prepared to make any answer on this point, but I went away +with a firm resolution to protect Amos Kilbright in the full enjoyment +of his reassumed physical existence, if the power of law, or any other +power, could do it. + +The next morning Mr. Corbridge called on me at my office. "I shall be +very sorry," he said, "if any of my remarks of yesterday should cause +unpleasant feelings between us. We are desirous of being on good terms +with everybody, especially with members of the Society for Psychical +Research. You ought to work with us." + +"We do not work with you," I replied, "nor ever shall. Our object is to +search earnestly and honestly into the subject of spiritual +manifestation, and not to make money out of unfortunate subjects of +experiment." + +"You misunderstand us," said he, "but I am not going to argue the +question. I wish to be on good terms with you and to act fairly and +plainly all around. We find that we cannot make use of the +dematerialization process as soon as we expected, for the German +scientist who controls it has declined to send us his formula, but has +consented to come over and work it on this subject himself. His +engagements will not allow him to visit this country immediately, but +he is very enthusiastic about it, and he is bound to come before long. +Now, as you seem to be interested in this ex-Kilbright, we will make you +an offer. We will give him into your charge until we want him. He is of +no use to us, as he can't tell us anything about spiritual matters, his +present memory beginning just where it broke off when he sank in the +ocean in seventeen eighty-five, but he might be very useful to a man who +was inclined to study up old-time manners and customs. And so, if it +suits you, we will make him over to you, agreeing to give you three +days' notice before we take any measures to dematerialize him. We are +not afraid of your getting away with him, for our power over him will be +all the same, no matter where he is." + +"I will have no man made over to me," said I, "and Mr. Kilbright being +his own master, can do with himself what he pleases; but, as I said +before, I shall protect him, and do everything in my power to thwart +your schemes against him. And you must remember he will have other +friends besides me. He has relatives in this town." + +"None but old Mr. Scott, at least so far as I know," said Corbridge, +"and he need not expect any help from him, for that ancient personage +is a most arrant disbeliever in spiritualism." + +And with this remark he took his leave. + +That very afternoon came to me Amos Kilbright, his face shining with +pleasure. He greeted me warmly, and thanked me for having so kindly +offered to give him employment by which he might live and feel under +obligations to no man. + +I had promised nothing of the kind, and my mind was filled with +abhorrence of such men as Corbridge, who would not only send a person +into the other world simply to gratify a scientific curiosity or for +purposes of profit, but would rehabilitate a departed spirit with all +his lost needs and appetites, and then foist him upon a comparative +stranger for care and sustenance. Such conduct was not only mean, but +criminal in its nature, and if there was no law against it, one ought to +be made. + +Kilbright then proceeded to tell me how happy he had been when Corbridge +informed him that his dematerialization had been indefinitely postponed, +and that I had consented to take him into my service. "It is now plain +to me," he said, "that they have no power to do this thing and cannot +obtain it from others. This discardment of me proves that they have +abandoned their hopes." + +It was evident that Corbridge had said nothing of the expected coming +of the German scientist, and I would not be cruel enough to speak of it +myself. Besides, I intended to have said scientist arrested and put +under bonds as soon as he set foot on our shores. + +"I do not feel," continued Kilbright, "that I am beginning a new life, +but that I am taking up my old one at the point where I left it off." + +"You cannot do that," I said. "Things have changed very much, and you +will have to adapt yourself to those changes. In many ways you must +begin again." + +"I know that," he said, "and with respect to much that I see about me, I +am but a child. But as I am truly a man, I shall begin to do a man's +work, and what I know not of the things that are about me, that will I +learn as quickly as may be. It is my purpose, sir, to labor with you in +any manner which you may deem fit, and in which I may be found +serviceable until I have gained sufficient money to travel to Bixbury, +and there endeavor to establish myself in some worthy employment. I had +at that place a small estate, but of that I shall take no heed. Without +doubt it has gone, rightly, to my heirs, and even if I could deprive +them of it I would not." + +"Have you living heirs besides your grandson here?" I asked. + +"That I know not," he said; "but if there be such I greatly long to see +them." + +"And how about old Mr. Scott?" said I. "When shall we go to him and tell +him who you are?" + +"I greatly desire that that may be done soon," answered Kilbright, "but +first I wish to establish myself in some means of livelihood, so that he +may not think that I come to him for maintenance." + +Of course it was not possible for me to turn this man away and tell him +I had nothing for him to do, and therefore I must devise employment for +him. I found that he wrote a fair hand, a little stiff and labored, but +legible and neat, and as I had a good deal of copying to do I decided to +set him to work upon this. I procured board and lodging for him in a +house near by, and a very happy being was Amos Kilbright. + +As for me I felt that I was doing my duty, and a good work. But the +responsibility was heavy, and my road was not at all clear before me. My +principal source of anxiety was in regard to my wife. Should I tell her +the truth about my new copyist, or not? In the course of a night I +resolved this question and determined to tell her everything. When the +man was merely Mr. Corbridge's subject the case was different; but to +have daily in my office a clerk who had been drowned one hundred and two +years before, and not tell Mrs. Colesworthy of it would be an injustice +to her. + +When I first made known to her the facts of the case my wife declared +that she believed "Psychics" had turned my brain; but when I offered to +show her the very man who had been materialized, she consented to go +down and look at him. I informed Kilbright that my wife knew his story, +and we three had a long and very interesting conversation. After an +hour's talk, during which my wife asked a great many questions which I +should never have thought of, we went upstairs and left Kilbright to his +work. + +"His story is a most wonderful one," said Mrs. Colesworthy, "but I don't +believe he is a materialized spirit, because the thing is impossible. +Still it will not do to make any mistakes, and we must try all we can to +help him in case he was drowned when he says he was, and that German +comes over to end his mortal career a second time. Science is getting to +be such a wicked thing that I am sure if he crosses the ocean on purpose +to dematerialize Mr. Kilbright, he will try to do it in some way or +other, whether the poor man was ever a spirit before or not. One thing, +however, is certain, I want to be present when old Mr. Scott is told +that that young man is his grandfather." + +Mr. Kilbright worked very assiduously, and soon proved himself of +considerable use to me. When he had lived in Bixbury he had been a +surveyor and a farmer, and now when he finished his copying duties for +the day, or when I had no work of that kind ready for him, it delighted +him much to go into my garden and rake and hoe among the flowers and +vegetables. I frequently walked with him about the town, showing and +explaining to him the great changes that had taken place since the +former times in which he had lived. But he was not impressed by these +things as I expected him to be. + +"It seems to me," he said, "as though I were in a foreign country, and I +look upon what lies about me as if everything had always been as I see +it. This town is so different from anything I have ever known that I +cannot imagine it has changed from a condition which was once familiar +to me. At Bixbury, however, I think the case will be otherwise. If there +are changes there I shall notice them. In a little place like that, +however, I have hopes that the changes will not be great." + +He was very conservative, and I could see that in many cases he thought +the old ways of doing things much better than the new ones. He was, +however, a polite and sensible man, and knew better than to make +criticisms to one who had befriended him; but in some cases he could not +conceal his disapprobation. He had seen a train of cars before I met +him, and I was not able to induce him to approach again a railroad +track. Whatever other feelings he may have had at first sight of a train +in motion were entirely swallowed up in his abhorrence of this mode of +travelling. + +"We must not be in a hurry," said my wife when we talked of these +matters. "When he gets more accustomed to these things he will be more +surprised at them." + +There were some changes, however, which truly did astonish him, and +these were the alterations--in his opinion entirely uncalled for and +unwarrantable--which had been made in the spelling of the words of our +language since he had gone to school. No steam-engine, no application of +electricity, none of the modern inventions which I showed him, caused +him the emotions of amazement which were occasioned by the information +that in this country "honor" was now spelled without a u. + +During this time Mr. Kilbright's interest in his grandson seemed to be +on the increase. He would frequently walk past the house of that old +gentleman merely for the purpose of looking at him as he sat by the open +window reading his newspaper or quietly smoking his evening pipe on a +bench in his side yard. When he had been with me about ten days he said: +"I now feel that I must go and make myself known to my grandson. I am +earning my own subsistence; and, however he may look upon me, he need +not fear that I am come to be a burden upon him. You will not wonder, +sir, that I long to meet with this son of the little baby girl I left +behind me." + +I did not wonder, and my wife and I agreed to go with him that very +evening to old Mr. Scott's house. The old gentleman received us very +cordially in his little parlor. + +"You are a stranger in this town, sir," he said to Kilbright. "I did not +exactly catch your name--Kilbright?" he said, when it had been repeated +to him, "that is one of my family names, but it is long since I have +heard of anyone bearing it. My mother was a Kilbright, but she had no +brothers, and no uncles of the name. My grandfather was the last of our +branch of the Kilbrights. His name was Amos, and he was a Bixbury man. +From what part of the country do you come, sir?" + +"My name is Amos, and I was born in Bixbury." + +Old Mr. Scott sat up very straight in his chair. "Young man, that seems +to me impossible!" he exclaimed. "How could there be any Kilbrights in +Bixbury and I not know of it?" Then taking a pair of big silver +spectacles from his pocket he put them on and attentively surveyed his +visitor, whose countenance during this scrutiny was filled with emotion. + +Presently the old gentleman took off his spectacles and, rising from his +chair, went into another room. Quickly returning, he brought with him a +small oil-painting in a narrow, old-fashioned frame. He stood it up on a +table in a position where a good light from the lamp fell upon it. It +was the portrait of a young man with a fresh, healthy face, dressed in +an old-style high-collared coat, with a wide cravat coming up under his +chin, and a bit of ruffle sticking out from his shirt-bosom. My wife and +I gazed at it with awe. + +"That," said old Mr. Scott, "is the picture of my grandfather, Amos +Kilbright, taken at twenty-five. He was drowned at sea some years +afterward, but exactly how I do not know. My mother did not remember +him at all. And I must say," he continued, putting on his spectacles +again, "that there is something of a family likeness between you, sir, +and that picture. If it wasn't for the continental clothes in the +painting there would be a good deal of resemblance--yes, a very great +deal." + +"It is my portrait," said Mr. Kilbright, his voice trembling as he +spoke. "It was painted by Tatlow Munson in the winter of seventeen +eighty, in payment for my surveying a large tract of land north of the +town, he having no money to otherwise compensate me. He wrote his name +in ink upon the back of the canvas." + +Old Mr. Scott took up the picture and turned it around. And there we all +saw plainly written upon the time-stained back, "Tatlow Munson, 1780." + +Old Mr. Scott laid the picture upon the table, took off his spectacles, +and with wide-open eyes gazed first at Mr. Kilbright and then at us. + +The sight of the picture had finished the conversion of my wife. "Oh, +Mr. Scott," she cried, leaning so far forward in her chair that it +seemed as if she were about to go down on her knees before the old man, +"this gentleman is your grandfather! Yes, he is, indeed! Oh, don't +discard him, for it was you who were the cause of his being here. Don't +you remember when you went to the spiritualist meeting, and asked to see +the spirit of your grandfather? That spirit came, but you didn't know +it. The people who materialized him were surprised when they saw this +young man, and they thought he couldn't be your grandfather, and so they +didn't say anything about it; and they left him right in the middle of +whatever they use, and he kept on materializing without their thinking +of him until he became just what you see him now. And if he now wore +old-fashioned clothes with a queue, he would be the exact image of that +portrait of him which you have, only a little bit older looking and +fuller in the face. But the spiritualists made him cut off his long +hair, because they said that wouldn't do in these days, and dressed him +in those common clothes just like any other person. And oh, dear Mr. +Scott, you must see for yourself that he is truly your grandfather!" + +Old Mr. Scott made no answer, but still sat with wide-open eyes gazing +from one to the other of us. As I looked at that aged, white-haired man +and thought of his mother, who must have died ever so long ago, being +the daughter of the young man who sat opposite to him, it was indeed +difficult to believe that these things could be so. + +"Mr. Scott," exclaimed my wife, "will you not speak to him? Will you +not give him your hand? Will you not acknowledge him as your +grandfather, whose picture you have always had near you, and which, when +a little boy, I expect your dear mother has often told you to look up to +and try to be like? And if you have grown old, and he has not, on +account of differences in circumstances, why should that make any +difference in your feelings, dear Mr. Scott? Oh, why don't you let him +take you to his heart? I don't see how you can help it," she said, with +a sob, "and you his little daughter's only child!" + +Old Mr. Scott rose to his feet. He pulled down the sleeves of his coat, +and gave an adjusting shake to its collar and lapels. Then he turned to +my wife and said: "Madam, let us two dance a Virginia reel while your +husband and that other one take the poker and tongs and beat out the +music on the shovel. We might as well be durned fools one way as +another, and all go to the lunatic asylum together." + +Now arose Mr. Kilbright to his feet, and stood up very tall. "Grandson +Lemuel," he said, "I leave not your house in anger. I see well that too +heavy a task has been laid upon your declining years when you are asked +to believe that which you have heard to-day. But I wish you to know +that I am here to ask nothing of you save that you will give me your +hand. I earnestly crave that I may again touch one of my own flesh and +blood." + +Old Mr. Scott picked up the portrait and looked at it. Then he laid it +down and looked at Mr. Kilbright. "Young man," said he, "can you stand +there and put your hand upon your heart, and say to me that you are +truly Amos Kilbright, my mother's father, who was drowned in the last +century, and who was brought back and turned into a live man by those +spiritualists; and that you are willing to come here and let yourself be +vouched for by Mr. and Mrs. Colesworthy, who belong to some sort of +society of that kind and ought to know about such things?" + +I was on the point of remarking that the Society for Psychical Research +had nothing to do with spiritualism except to investigate it, but my +wife saw my intention and checked me. + +Mr. Kilbright put his hand upon his heart and bowed. "What you have +heard is true," he said. "On my honor, I swear it." + +"Then, grandfather," said old Mr. Scott, "here is my hand. It doesn't do +to doubt things in these days. I didn't believe in the telephone when +they first told me of it, but when I had a talk with Squire Braddon +through a wire, and heard his new boots creak as he came up to see who +it was wanted him, and he in his own house a good two miles away, I gave +in. 'Fetch on your wonders,' says I, 'I am ready.' And I don't suppose I +ought to be any more dumfounded at seeing my grandfather than at any of +the other wonders. I'm getting too old now to try to find out the whys +and the wherefores of the new things that turn up every day. I must just +take them as they come. And so if you, grandfather Kilbright, and our +good friends, Mr. and Mrs. Colesworthy, will come into the back room +we'll have a cup of tea, and a talk over old times. To be sure, there +will be some gaps which none of us will be able to get over, but we must +do the best we can." + +After this Mr. Kilbright and his grandson saw a good deal of each other, +and the old gentleman always treated his mother's father with the +respectful deference which was due to such a relative. + +"There are times," he once said to me, "when this grandfather business +looks to me about as big and tough as anything that any human being was +ever called on to swallow. But then I consider that you and Mrs. +Colesworthy have looked into these matters, and I haven't, and that +knowin' nothin' I ought to say nothin'; and if it ever happens to look +particularly tough, I just call to mind the telephone and Squire +Braddon's creaking boots, and that settles it." + +Mr. Kilbright became more and more useful to me, particularly after he +had disciplined his mind to the new style of spelling. And when he had +been with me about a month I insisted that he should take a holiday and +visit Bixbury, for I knew that to do this was the great desire of his +heart. He could easily reach his native place by rail, but believing +that he would rather not go at all than travel on a train, I procured a +saddle-horse for him, and when I had given him full directions as to the +roads, he set out. + +In four days he returned. "How did you find Bixbury?" I asked of him. + +"There is no longer such a place," he answered, sadly. "I found a town +of that name, but it is not the Bixbury in which I was born. That has +utterly disappeared." + +And, after this, he never again alluded to his native place. + +The high character and many admirable qualities of this man daily +increased the affectionate regard and esteem in which he was held by my +wife and myself; and feeling that we could do nothing better for him +than to endeavor to make him forget the things of the past, and take a +lively and earnest interest in those of the present, we set ourselves to +work upon this task. In a great degree our efforts were successful, and +we soon perceived that Mr. Kilbright cared more and more for what he saw +about him. It was, indeed, natural that he should do this, for he was +still a young man, and able to adapt himself to changes in his +surroundings. + +As I have said, he gradually did so adapt himself, and in the course of +the autumn this adaptation took a form which at first amused Mrs. +Colesworthy and myself, and afterward enlisted our hearty sympathy. He +became attached to Miss Budworth, the librarian of our town library. He +frequently went there for books, and as she was a very intelligent young +woman, and very willing to aid him in his selections, it was not strange +that he should become interested in her. Very often he would remain at +the library until it closed in the evening, when he would walk to her +home with her, discoursing upon literary and historical subjects. + +My wife and I discussed this situation very thoroughly. Lilian Budworth +was a good girl, a sensible one, and a very good-looking one. Her family +was highly respectable and her years well proportioned to those of Mr. +Kilbright. There seemed to be, therefore, no reason why this intimacy +should not be encouraged. But yet we talked over the matter night after +night. + +"You see," said my wife, "it all seems plain and simple enough; but, on +the other hand, it isn't. In the first place, she does not know that he +has had a wife, or what old Mr. Scott is to him. He has promised us that +he will never say anything to anybody about having lived in the last +century without first consulting us; and old Mr. Scott has said over and +over again that he doesn't intend to speak of it; and the spiritualists +have left town long ago; so, of course, she knows nothing about it. But, +if things go on, she must be told, and what will happen then, I would +like to know!" + +"I am very sorry, indeed, that I cannot tell you," I answered. + +"It would be a queer case, anyway," Mrs. Colesworthy continued. "Mr. +Kilbright has had a wife, but he never was a widower. Now, having been +married, and never having been a widower, it would seem as if he ought +not to marry again. But his first wife is dead now, there can be no +doubt about that." + +It was not long before there was no further need for suppositions in +regard to this matter, for Mr. Kilbright came to us and announced that +he had determined to offer himself in marriage to Miss Budworth. + +"I think it is meet and proper," he said, "that I should wed and take +that position at the head of a family which a right-minded and +respectable man of my age should fill. I reasoned thus when for the +first time I took upon me this pleasing duty, and these reasons have now +the self-same weight as then. I have been studying the surveying methods +of the present day, and I believe I could re-establish myself in my +former profession. Thus could I maintain a wife, if, happily, I get +her." + +"Get her!" exclaimed Mrs. Colesworthy, "of course you will get her! She +can't help accepting you." + +"I should feel the more hope, madam," said Mr. Kilbright, "were it not +requisite that she be informed of all that has happened to me. And all +this must she know before I require her to make answer to me." + +"I must admit," I said, "that I am afraid you are going to have a tough +job." + +"I don't believe it!" warmly exclaimed my wife. "Lilian Budworth is a +girl of good, solid sense, and when she knows just exactly what has +happened, it is my opinion she will not object a bit." + +"Madam," said Mr. Kilbright, "you greatly embolden me, and I shall speak +to Miss Budworth this very day." + +Notwithstanding my wife's confidence in Miss Lilian's good sense, she +was as much surprised as I when, the next morning, Mr. Kilbright +informed us that he had been accepted. As it was yet an hour before the +library would open, she hurried around to Miss Budworth's home to know +all about it. + +The young lady was found, pale, but very happy. "When he left me last +night," she said, "my mind was in a strange hubbub. He had told me that +he loved me, and had asked me to marry him, and my heart would not let +me say anything but 'yes;' and yet, after he had gone, his wondrous +story came up before me as it had not come when he told it, having just +told something else. I did not sleep all night, thinking of it. I have +read and pondered a great deal upon these subjects, but have never been +able to make up my mind whether or not to put faith in the strange +spiritual manifestations of which we are told. So I determined, a good +while ago, not to consider the matter at all. I could do nothing with +it, and it would be better that I should let it alone. To this same +determination I came early this morning in the case of Mr. Kilbright. +None of us know what we may once have been, nor what we may become. All +we know is what we are. Mr. Kilbright may be mistaken as to what he was, +but I know what he is. And to that man I give myself as I am. I am +perfectly satisfied with the present." + +Mrs. Colesworthy enfolded her in an approbatory embrace, and hurried +home to tell me about it. "There now!" she exclaimed, "didn't I say that +Lilian Budworth was a girl of good, sound common-sense?" + +"That is what you said," I answered, "but I must admit that I was afraid +her common-sense would interfere with her acceptance of his story. We +had outside evidence in regard to it, but she had only his simple +statement." + +"Which is quite enough, when a woman truly loves," said Mrs. +Colesworthy. + +When old Mr. Scott was informed what had happened, he put down his +newspaper, took off his spectacles, and smiled a strange, wide smile. "I +have been reading," he said, "about a little machine, or box, that you +can talk into and then cork up and send by mail across the ocean to +anybody you know there. And then he can uncork it, and out will come +all you have said in your very words and voice, with the sniffles and +sneezes that might have got in accidental. So that if one of the Old +Testament Egyptians that they've been diggin' up lately had had one of +these boxes with him it might have been uncorked and people could have +heard in his own voice just who he was and what was his personal opinion +of Moses and his brother Aaron. Now, when an old man like me has just +come to know of a thing of this kind, it isn't for him to have a word to +say when he is told that Lilian Budworth is to be his step-grandmother; +he must take it in along with the other wonders." + +As to Mr. Kilbright and his lady-love they troubled themselves about no +wonders. Life was very real to them, and very delightful; and they were +happy. Despite her resolutions to give no consideration whatever to her +lover's previous existence, Miss Budworth did consider it a good deal, +and talked and thought about it, and at last came to understand and +appreciate the fact as thoroughly as did Mrs. Colesworthy and myself; +and she learned much more of Mr. Kilbright's former life than his +modesty had allowed him to tell us. And some of these things she related +with much pride. He had been a soldier during the Revolution, having +enlisted, at the age of twenty-three, under General Sullivan, when his +forces lay near Newport. He afterward followed that commander in his +Indian campaigns in Western New York, and served during the rest of the +war. It was when the army was in winter quarters in 1780 that Tatlow +Munson painted his portrait in payment of an old debt. Miss Budworth's +glowing rendition of Mr. Kilbright's allusions to some of the +revolutionary incidents in which he had had a part, made us proud to +shake hands with a man who had fought for our liberties and helped to +give us the independence which we now enjoy. + +Mr. Kilbright's business prospects soon began to look promising. As was +quite natural, his ideas upon some subjects were a little antiquated. +But, although many of the changes and improvements he saw about him met +with no favor in his eyes, he had sense enough to take advantage of +certain modern progressive ideas, especially such as related to his +profession of surveying. My introduction of him as a friend from Bixbury +helped him much in respect to patronage, and having devoted all his +spare time during the autumn and winter to study and the formation of +business connections, he secured enough profitable employment for the +coming season to justify him in taking to himself a wife; and his +marriage with Miss Budworth was appointed for the middle of April. + +It was about the end of March when I received a letter from Mr. +Corbridge, the spiritualist manager, in which he informed me that Dr. +Hildstein, the German scientist, of whom he had previously spoken to me, +had set sail for America and would probably arrive in about ten days. +"As soon as possible after his arrival," wrote Mr. Corbridge, "we shall +resume possession of the subject of whom you have been kind enough to +take charge during the time when we had no need of him. He will then be +dematerialized in order that we may cause him to manifest himself in our +séances whenever it may be desirable; but never, I may say, in the +complete and perfect physical condition to which he was unintentionally +materialized the first time. I promised you that I would give you at +least three days' notice of our intention to resume work on this +subject, and I have now been much better than my word. I have written +very plainly of our intentions, because we wish you to understand +exactly what we are going to do; and should we succeed in our proposed +experiment, which we certainly expect to do, we shall, probably, make +public our whole action in the affair, for this course would most +greatly benefit both ourselves and our cause. It will not be necessary +for you to inform the subject of our intention, for our power over him +will be as great at one time and at one place as at another; and as his +co-operation is not in any way needful, you will see for yourself that +it will be pleasanter for him not to concern himself with what we are +about to do." + +When I had read this letter, I sat for half an hour with it open in my +hands. It came upon me like a shower of iced water. I had supposed that +the spiritualists had utterly abandoned their endeavors to dematerialize +Mr. Kilbright. Therefore, the news of the revival of these criminal +intentions greatly shocked me. To be sure, the coming scientist might +have no such power as he pretended to possess, but this supposition did +not comfort me. If the man had not already had success in that sort of +thing it is not likely that he would come over here to attempt it now. + +When I had sufficiently quieted my mental agitation I wrote instantly to +Mr. Corbridge, and in my letter I assumed a very confident tone. I told +him that Mr. Kilbright's circumstances had so changed that the intended +action of the spiritualists in regard to him was now rendered +impossible. He had become an active member of society, had gone into +business, and would be married in April. The mere statement of these +facts would, I felt quite certain--so I wrote--cause the spiritualists +to instantly relinquish all idea of carrying out their previous +intention in regard to this most estimable man. If, however, any inhuman +craving for scientific investigation should cause them to persist in +their cruel and criminal designs, the utmost power of the law should be +invoked against them. "To take away human life," I wrote, "in a case +like this is murder, no matter how it is done, and should you take away +Mr. Kilbright's life, or even attempt it, you shall be indicted and +punished for this cold-blooded and premeditated crime." + +Before I had read this letter, I found it absolutely necessary for my +peace of mind that I should make my wife acquainted with the threatened +danger, and confer with her as to what it would be well to do. Of +course, Mrs. Colesworthy was greatly shocked when I read her Corbridge's +letter, but she recovered courage sooner than I had done. + +"It's all stuff and nonsense," she said. "The man is just as much alive +as you and I are, and I don't believe any human power can turn him into +a spirit. They might kill him, but then he would be a dead man and not a +spiritual mist or vapor. I don't believe they even intend to try to do +anything of the kind. They merely wish you to hand him over to them so +they can make him work for them for little or no pay. They think, and +with good reason, too, that by this time you have taught him how to get +along at the present day, and that he may now be of some use to them." + +I showed her the letter I had written, and she highly approved of it. +"If I were you," she said, "I would send that letter, and then I would +not do another thing. Take my word for it, you will never hear from +those people again." + +We resolved, of course, that we would say nothing to Mr. Kilbright or +Lilian about this matter, for it was unwise to needlessly trouble their +minds; but we could not help talking about it a great deal ourselves. In +spite of the reassuring arguments which we continually thought of, or +spoke of to each other, we were troubled, anxious, and apprehensive. + +"If we could only get them safely married," said Mrs. Colesworthy, "I +should feel at ease. Certainly those people would not do anything to him +then." + +"I don't believe they can do anything to him at all," I answered. "But +how a marriage is going to protect him I cannot imagine." + +"Of course, you can't explain such things," said my wife, "but I do +wish they were married and settled." + +Not long after this she came to me with a supposition. "Supposing," she +said, "that those people find it impossible to dematerialize him, they +might do something which would be a great deal worse." + +"What could that possibly be?" I asked. + +"They might materialize his first wife," said she, "and could anything +be more dreadful than that? I suppose that woman lived to a good old +age, and to bring her forward now would be a height of cruelty of which +I believe those people to be fully capable." + +"My dear," I exclaimed, "don't bring up any harrowing possibilities +which no one but yourself is likely to think of." + +"I wish I could be sure of that," she said. "I have heard, but I don't +know how true it is, that spirits cannot be called up and materialized +unless somebody wants them, and I don't suppose there is anybody who +wants the first Mrs. Kilbright. But these men might so work on Mr. +Kilbright's mind as to make him think that he ought to want her." + +I groaned. "Dear me!" I said. "I suppose if they did that they would +also bring up old Mr. Scott's mother, and then we should have a united +family." + +"And a very funny one it would be," said my wife, smiling, +notwithstanding her fears, "for now I remember that old Mr. Scott told +me that his grandmother died before she was sixty, but that his mother +lived to be seventy-five. Now, he is eighty, if he is a day, so there +would be a regular gradation of ages in the family, only it would run +backward instead of in the usual way. But, thinking it over, I don't +believe the spiritualists will permanently bring up any more of that +family. If they did, they would have to support them, for they could not +ask old Mr. Scott to do it, who hasn't money enough to satisfy his +descendants, and ought not to be expected to support his ancestors." + +My letter must have had a good deal of effect upon Mr. Corbridge, for in +less than a week after it was written he came into my office. He +informed me that he and his associates were about to give a series of +séances in our town, but that he had come on before the others in order +to talk to me. "I am extremely sorry," he said, "to hear of this +proposed marriage. We want to do what is right and fair, and we have no +desire that any act of ours shall create a widow." + +"Then," I exclaimed, "you relinquish your design against Mr. +Kilbright?" + +"Not at all," said he. "We shall carry out our plan before our subject +marries. If you choose to hurry up matters and have the wedding take +place before we are ready to proceed with our dematerializing process, +we shall be very sorry, but the blame must rest on you. You should have +had consideration enough for all parties to prevent any such +complication as an engagement to marry. As to what you said in your +letter in regard to invoking the law against us, I attach no weight +whatever to that threat." + +"You will find you have made a great mistake," said I, angrily, "when I +have brought the law to bear upon you, which now I shall not delay to +do." + +"You will merely bring ridicule upon yourself," he said, "if you assert +that the man you wish to protect is Amos Kilbright. We can prove by +records, still to be seen in Bixbury, that said person died in seventeen +eighty-five. On the other hand, if you choose to assert that he is, or +was, anybody else, how are you going to prove it? All that you can say +is that the person you refer to came from, you knew not where, and has +gone, you know not where. If you declare that at one time he was a +materialized spirit, you know very well how such a statement as that +would be received in a court of law. It will be much wiser to let it be +supposed that the person who has lately been seen about this town has +run off to Canada, than to make any sort of legal inquiry into the +matter. If said person were really a man we could have nothing to do +with his disappearance, while if he were a materialized spirit the law +would have nothing to do with him." + +I arose and paced the floor. There was entirely too much force in this +man's arguments, but, although I could not immediately answer him, his +cool determination to persevere in his iniquitous designs so angered me +that I declared that he should be punished if I had to do it myself. + +"Then you admit," he said, with a smile, "that the law cannot do it. The +situation," he continued, "is very plain to us. Although the law can +take no cognizance of our action, the case will be very different with +all believers in spiritualism, and those who are interested in us. The +news that we have done this thing will spread through the spiritualistic +circles of the world." + +"Has your German arrived?" I asked, abruptly. + +"Not yet," answered Corbridge, "but we expect him in a few days. He +will come directly to this town, because we wish to give him an +opportunity of observing the subject in his present form before +beginning the dematerializing process." + +"What refinement of cruelty!" I exclaimed. + +"Oh, of course, the doctor will not make himself known," said Corbridge. +"He will merely wish to take a good look at the subject, and see for +himself how perfect his materialization has been. Then he will know just +what work is before him." + +And, so saying, Mr. Corbridge went away, leaving me too angry to speak, +if, indeed, I could have thought of anything which it would have been +worth my while to say. + +When Mrs. Colesworthy heard what Corbridge had said, she turned white. +"They must be married instantly!" she exclaimed. "I knew that was the +only way." + +It was all very well to talk of an immediate marriage, but it was not so +easy to bring it about. It was yet a week before the day fixed for the +wedding, and the happy lovers were busy with their preparations, never +dreaming of the danger which hung over them. What reason could we give +for hastening the marriage rites? At one time we thought it might be +wise to explain to them fully the state of the case, but from this +course we were deterred for fear of the terrible effect that the news +might have on Lilian. Should she hear of the design of Dr. Hildstein, +she would never again have a moment's peace, married or unmarried. Once +I advised that the two be dissuaded from marrying, at least for a year. +In that time we could see if these people really had any power over Mr. +Kilbright. + +"That will not do at all," said Mrs. Colesworthy. "It will be very long +to postpone their happiness; and besides, if that German gets hold of +Mr. Kilbright while he is still unmarried, he will snap him up, or +rather, blow him out in no time." + +"I thought we had persuaded ourselves," I said, sadly, "that no one +could have any real power of dematerialization." + +"So we had," said she, "but that sort of persuasion does not always +last." + +The result was that we did nothing but hope for the best. But we could +not blame ourselves, for, really, there was nothing else to do. I had +given up all idea of endeavoring to put Mr. Corbridge and his associates +under legal restriction, because if they had power to do the evil we +feared, they could do it in one place as well as another, and no court +could determine when, how, or by whom Mr. Kilbright had been +dematerialized. + +The day before the wedding-day the German doctor arrived in our town; +and, having heard this, I went immediately to the hotel where Mr. +Corbridge and his party were staying. The spiritualistic manager was not +glad to see me, and frankly said so. + +"I had hoped," he remarked, "that you had concluded to keep out of this +thing. It is no concern of yours; you can be of no possible good to +anybody; and the wisest thing you can do will be to drop it." + +I assured him that I had no intention of dropping it, and that I should +do everything in my power to protect Mr. Kilbright. + +"Then, again," continued Corbridge, "there is really no need of giving +yourself all this worry. Dr. Hildstein may succeed, and he may not. We +have failed, and so may he. He has seen the subject, and has come to a +very philosophical and sensible conclusion in regard to him. He will not +believe, merely on our assertion, that the man is a materialized spirit. +He will proceed with his experiments, and if they fail he will consider +that the man is a man, and was never anything else. If they succeed, +then he will be quite satisfied that he had a perfect right to +dematerialize what we had materialized." + +"Then you really believe," I said, "that there is a chance that he may +fail?" + +"Of course there is," said Corbridge. "I do not know his methods, and +there may be nothing in them." + +I had no doubt that this change of tone in Corbridge was intended to +produce in me a feeling of security, that they might thus rid themselves +of me. But, though I saw through his purpose, the man's words encouraged +me. Of course there must be a good deal of doubt about the German's +powers; and, after all, there might be no cause whatever for our +anxieties. + +"Now, sir," said Corbridge, as I left, "if I were you I would trouble +myself no more about this matter. If Dr. Hildstein fails, you will still +have your man to do your copying, or your surveying, or anything you +like. If he succeeds, we are all in the same condition we were a year +ago. 'That subject did not exist at that time; he does not exist at this +time;' that will be all we shall have to say about it." + +"You forget," I said, severely, "the wife he may leave behind him." + +"I have nothing to say about that," said Corbridge, rather sharply. "It +is a reprehensible business, and I have nothing to do with it." + +I went away without seeing the German doctor, but as I heard he spoke no +English, and as I did not know German, an interview with him would have +been of no avail. + +Neither Mrs. Colesworthy nor myself slept that night; we were so filled +with anxious fears. But when the day broke, bright and clear, and I had +hurried round to Mr. Kilbright's lodgings, and had found him as full of +life and vigor as I had ever seen him, we were greatly comforted, and +ate our breakfasts with fair appetites. + +"If it had been a dark and lowering day," said my wife, "I don't believe +I could have swallowed a mouthful." + +The marriage was to take place at noon, and the happy pair were to start +by the first afternoon train for the sea-shore, where they were to spend +a week. Mr. Kilbright hated locomotives and railroads almost as much as +ever, but he had told me some time before that he intended to conquer +this prejudice, if such a thing were possible. + +"Being one of you, I must do as you do," he had said. + +The wedding was to be a very simple one. Miss Budworth was to go from +her mother's house to the church, where Mr. Kilbright was to meet her. +We insisted that he should dress at our house, where he would find +better accommodations than at his lodgings; and we assigned him our best +guest-room, where he repaired in very good season, to array himself in +his wedding suit. + +It was not quite eleven o'clock when I went upstairs to see if I could +be of any use to Mr. Kilbright in regard to the conclusion of his +toilette. I knocked at the door, but received no answer. Waiting a few +moments, I opened it and entered. On the floor, in front of a tall +dressing-glass, was a suit of clothes. Not only did I see the black +broadcloth suit--not laid out at length, but all in a compact heap--but +I saw the shoes and stockings, the collar and cravat; everything. Near +by lay a whisk broom. + +The truth was plain. While giving the last touches to his wedding +attire, all that was Amos Kilbright had utterly disappeared! + +I stood where I had stopped, just inside the door, trembling, scarcely +breathing, so stunned by the terrible sight of those clothes that I +could not move, nor scarcely think. If I had seen his dead body there I +should have been shocked, but to see nothing! It was awful to such an +extent that my mind could not deal with it! + +Presently I heard a step, and slightly turning, saw my wife close by me. +She had passed the open door, and seeing me standing as if stricken into +a statue, had entered. + +It did not need that I should speak to her. Pale as a sheet she stood +beside me, her hand tightly grasping my arm, and with her lips pallid +with horror, she formed the words: "They have done it!" + +In a few moments she pulled me gently back, and said, in quick, low +tones, as if we had been in presence of the dead: "In less than an hour +she will be at the church. We must not stay here." + +With this she turned and stepped quickly from the room. I followed, +closing the door behind me. + +Swiftly moving, and without a word, my wife put on her hat and left the +house. Mechanically I followed. I could speak no word of comfort to that +poor girl, at this moment the happiest of expectant brides. I knew that +I had not the power to even attempt to explain to her the nature of the +dreadful calamity that had fallen upon her. But I could not let my wife +go alone. She, indeed, must speak to Lilian, but there were other +members of the family; I might do something. + +To my great surprise, Mrs. Colesworthy did not turn into the street +which led to the Budworths' house, but went straight on. I thought at +first she was going to the church to countermand the wedding +preparations. But before I could put a question to her she had gone +around a corner, and was hurrying up the steps of the principal hotel in +our town. + +"Is Dr. Hildstein in?" she asked of the first person she met. + +The man, gazing astonished at her pallid face, replied that he was, and +immediately conducted us to a little parlor on the first floor, the door +of which stood partly open. Without knocking, Mrs. Colesworthy hastily +entered, I closely following. A middle-aged man suddenly arose from a +small table at which he was sitting, and turning quickly toward us, made +an abrupt exclamation in German. + +As I have said, I do not understand German, but Mrs. Colesworthy knows +the language well, and, stepping up to the man, she said (she afterward +told me the meaning of the words that passed between them): "Are you Dr. +Hildstein?" + +"I am," he said, his face agitated by emotion, and his eyes sparkling, +"but I can see no one, speak to no one! I go out this moment to observe +the result of an important experiment!" + +My wife motioned to me to close the door. "You need not go," she said, +"I can tell you that your experiment has succeeded. You have +dematerialized Mr. Kilbright. In one hour he was to be married to a +noble, loving woman; and now all that remains where he stood is a pile +of clothes!" + +"Do you tell me that?" exclaimed the doctor, wildly seizing his hat. + +"Stop!" cried Mrs. Colesworthy, her face glowing with excitement, her +eyes flashing, and her right arm extended. "Stir not one step! Do you +know what you have done?" + +"I have done what I had a right to do!" exclaimed the doctor, almost in +a shout. "If he is gone he was nothing but a spirit. Tell me where--" + +"I will tell you this!" exclaimed my wife. "He was a great deal more +than a spirit. He was a man engaged to be married at twelve o'clock this +day. You may think there is no law that will sweep down on you, but I +tell you there is; and before the clock strikes twelve you shall know +it. Do you imagine you have come upon a people who will endure the +presence of an ogre? a wretch, who reduces to nothing a fellow human +being, and calls it an experiment? When we tell what you have done--my +husband cannot speak German, but he is a leader in this town, and he +supports me in all I say--when we have told what you have done there +will be no need of courts, or judges, or lawyers for you. Like a wild +beast you will be hunted down; you will be trampled under foot; you will +be torn to pieces! Fire, the sword, the hangman's noose, clubs, and +crowbars will not be enough to satisfy the vengeance of an outraged +people upon a cold-blooded wretch who came to this country solely for +the purpose of perpetrating a crime more awful than anything that was +ever known before! Did you ever hear of lynching? I see by your face you +know what that means. You are in the midst of a people who, in ten short +minutes, will be shrieking for your blood!" + +The man's face changed, and he looked anxiously at me. I did not know +what my wife had been saying, but I had seen by her manner that she had +been threatening him, and I shook my uplifted fist. + +"Now heed what I say," cried Mrs. Colesworthy, "if you do not wish to +perish at the hands of an infuriated mob; to die a thousand deaths +before your vile spirit leaves this world, knowing that, besides the +torments you feel, and those which are to come, you will be in the power +of men who will bring you back in a half-finished form to make sport at +their meetings whenever they feel like it--" + +Drops of perspiration stood on the doctor's face. "Stop that!" he +cried, throwing up his arm. "I cannot stand that! I did not know the +subject had such friends!" + +"Nothing shall be stopped!" exclaimed my wife, "and everything shall +happen unless you immediately sit down at that table, or wherever you do +those things, and rematerialize Mr. Kilbright, just as you found him, +and into the very clothes that were left lying upon the floor!" + +The doctor stepped forward--his face was now pale--and addressed himself +very deferentially to my wife, totally ignoring me. "If you will +retire," he said, "I will try; I swear to you that I will try." + +"There is not a minute to be lost," said Mrs. Colesworthy, "not one +second. And, if as much as a finger-nail is missing, remember what I +have told you!" + +And with this we quickly left the room. + +As we went down the steps of the hotel Mrs. Colesworthy looked at her +watch. "It is twenty-five minutes to twelve," she said. "We must get +home as fast as we can." + +We hurried along, sometimes almost running. When we reached our house, +Mrs. Colesworthy motioned to me to go upstairs. She had no breath left +with which to speak. I ran up, and stood for a moment at the closed door +of our guest-room. With my hand on the knob, I was unable to open it. I +heard a step on the stairs behind me, and I opened the door. + +There stood Mr. Kilbright in his wedding clothes, with the whisk-broom +in his hand. + +He turned at the sound of my entrance. + +"Do you know," cried the cheery voice of my wife, from just outside the +door, "that we have barely fifteen minutes in which to get to the +church?" + +"Can that be?" cried Mr. Kilbright. "The time has flown without my +knowing it. We must truly make haste!" + +"Indeed we must," said Mrs. Colesworthy, and as she stepped back from +the door, she whispered in my ear: "Not a look, not a tremble to let him +know!" + +In less than thirty seconds we were on our way to the church, in the +carriage which had been ordered for the purpose. + +On the church porch we found old Mr. Scott. He was dressed in his best +clothes, and greeted us cordially. "In good time," he said. "I am glad +to see that. It promises well." And then, looking around to see that no +one was within hearing, he came nearer to us. "If I were you," he +continued, "I wouldn't say nothin' to folks in general about +relationships, for there are people, and very good people, too, whose +minds haven't got on far enough to make 'em able to understand +telephones and the other new kinds of wonders." + +We acknowledged the force of his remarks, and all went into the church. + +Three days after the departure of Mr. and Mrs. Kilbright on their +wedding tour, my wife received a letter from Dr. Hildstein, written by +himself from New York, but addressed in the handwriting of Mr. +Corbridge. + +"I return," he wrote, "to Germany, perfectly happy in having succeeded +in my experiments; but nevermore, esteemed lady, will I dematerialize a +subject who has remained long enough in this world to make friends, and +I am the only man who can do this thing." + +This letter greatly satisfied us. "It shows that he has some heart, +after all," said Mrs. Colesworthy, "but as to that man Corbridge, I +believe he would have kept poor Mr. Kilbright dancing backward and +forward between this world and the other as long as a dollar could be +made out of him. But there is only one way in which he can do us any +harm now, and that is by materializing the first Mrs. Kilbright; but, +knowing us, as he now does, I don't believe he will ever try that." + +"No," said I, "I don't believe he ever will." + +Should you ever meet with Mr. Amos Kilbright, you need not hesitate to +entrust him with any surveying you may have on hand. Mr. Corbridge +cannot dematerialize him, the German scientist will not, and there is no +one else in the world who would even think of such a thing. Therefore, +you need feel no fear that he may suddenly vanish from your sight, +leaving nothing behind him but his clothes and the contents of his +pockets; unless, indeed, he should again be so foolish as to go to swim +in the ocean at a point where there is a strong ebb tide. + + + + +THE REVERSIBLE LANDSCAPE. + + +To look at me no one would suppose it; but it is, nevertheless, a fact +that I am a member of a fire company. I am somewhat middle-aged, +somewhat stout, and, at certain times of the year, somewhat stiff in the +joints; and my general dress and demeanor, that of a sober business man, +would not at all suggest the active and impetuous fireman of the period. +I do not belong to any paid department, but to a volunteer Hook and +Ladder Company, composed of the active-bodied or active-minded male +citizens of the country town where I live. I am included in the +active-minded portion of the company; and in an organization like ours, +which is not only intended to assist in putting out the fires of burning +buildings, but to light the torch of the mind, this sort of member is +very valuable. In the building which we occupy, our truck, with its +hooks and ladders, stands upon the lower floor, while the large room +above is used as a club and reading-room. At the beginning of the first +winter of our occupancy of the building, we found that this room, which +had been very pleasant in summer, was extremely uncomfortable in winter. +The long apartment had been originally intended for purposes of storage; +and although we had ornamented it and fitted it up very neatly, a good +deal of carpentry and some mason's work was necessary before it could be +made tight and draught-proof for cold weather. But lately we had spent +money very freely, and our treasury was absolutely empty. I was chairman +of the committee which had charge of everything pertaining to our rooms, +and I felt the responsibilities of my position. The necessary work +should be begun immediately, but how could the money be raised to pay +for it? Subscriptions for this and that had been made until the members +were tired of that sort of thing; and the ill success of the last one +showed that it would not do to try it again. + +I revolved in my mind a great many plans for raising the sum required, +and one morning, as I was going to my place of business in the city, I +was seized with a happy idea. At the moment of seizure I was standing in +front of a large show-window, in which were a number of oil paintings, +all of them very fresh and bright. "How would it do," thought I to +myself, "to buy a picture at a moderate price and put it up at a +raffle? People who are not willing to give money outright will often +enter into a scheme of this kind. I will go in and make inquiries." + +When I entered I found myself in a large showroom, the walls of which +were covered with paintings. A person advanced to meet me who, as it +soon became evident, was the proprietor of the place. He was a large +man, dressed in black, with an open shirt-front and an expansive +countenance. His eyes and hair were black, and his ears stood out from +his head in a manner which, according to a recent writer, indicates the +money-getting faculty; and he plainly belonged to that class of persons +who in the Middle Ages did not, as is the present custom, pay money for +having their teeth extracted, but often disbursed large sums for the +privilege of retaining them. When I asked him if I could procure a good +and effective picture at a moderate price, he threw out his chest and +waved his arms toward his walls. "There, sir," he said, "you can see oil +paintings of every subject, of every style, and of every class; and at +prices, sir, lower than they can be found elsewhere in the known world. +Mention the kind of picture you want, and I can accommodate you." + +I replied that I did not know exactly what I wanted, and that I would +see what he had. I now began to look at the pictures on the walls, +occasionally mentioning my ideas in regard to their merits, when +suddenly my companion turned to me and said: + +"Are you connected with the press, sir?" + +I replied that I was not, although I occasionally wrote for periodicals. + +"Upon art subjects?" he asked. + +I answered in the negative. + +"Then you are unprejudiced," he said, "and I believe from your +appearance that you are a man of influence, and there is nothing I would +like better than to exhibit the workings of my art organization to a man +of influence, unprejudiced on the subject. My object is, sir, to +popularize art; to place high art within the reach of the masses, and +thus to educate the artistic faculties of even the poorest citizens." + +I said that I supposed the chromo movement was intended to do all that. + +"No, sir," he replied, warmly; "chromos cannot accomplish the object. +They are too expensive; and, besides, they are not the real thing. They +are printed, not painted; and what the public wants is the real thing, +the work of the brush; and that is what I give them. The pictures you +see here, and an immense stock besides, are all copies of valuable +paintings, many of them in the finest galleries of Europe. I sell no +originals. I guarantee everything to be a copy. Honesty is at the bottom +of all I do. But my copies are exactly like the originals; that is all I +claim. I would like, sir, to show you through my establishment, and let +you see how I am carrying on the great work of art education. There are +picture-dealers in this city, sir, plenty of them, who try to make the +public believe that the vile daubs they sell are originals, and the +works of well-known painters; and when they do admit that the picture is +a copy, they say it is the work of some distinguished student; that +there is no other copy in the country; or they make some other +misstatement about it. These people conceal their processes, but their +tricks are beginning to be well known to the public. Now, sir, I conceal +nothing. The day for that sort of thing is past. I want men of influence +to know the facilities I have for the production of art-work upon a +grand scale. We will first go into the basement. Sir," said he, as I +followed him down-stairs, "you know how the watch-making business has +been revolutionized by the great companies which manufacture watches by +machinery. The slow, uncertain, and expensive work of the poor toilers +who made watches by hand has been superseded by the swift, unerring, and +beautiful operations of machinery and steam. Now, sir, the great purpose +of my life is to introduce machinery into art, and, ultimately, steam. +And yet I will have no shams, no chromos. Everything shall be real--the +work of the brush. Here, sir," he continued, showing me into a long room +filled with workmen, "you see the men engaged in putting together the +frames on which to stretch my canvases. Every stick is cut, planed, and +jointed at a mill in Vermont, and sent on here by the car-load. Beyond +are the workmen cutting up, stretching, and preparing the canvas, bales +upon bales of which are used in a day. At the far end are the mills for +grinding and mixing colors. And now we will go to the upper floors, and +see the true art-work. Here, sir," he said, continuing to talk as we +walked through the rooms on the various floors, "is the landscape and +marine department. That row of men are putting in skies; they do nothing +else. Each has his copy before him, and, day after day, month after +month, paints nothing but that sky; and of course he does it with great +rapidity and fidelity. Above, on those shelves, are sky-pots of every +variety; blue-serene pots, tempest pots, sunset pots in compartments, +morning-gray pots, and many others. Then the work passes to the +middle-ground painters, who have their half-tone pots within easy reach. +After that the foreground men take it up, and the figurists put in the +men and animals. That man there has been painting that foreground cow +ever since the first of August. He can now put her in three and a half +times in fifteen minutes, and will probably rise to sixteen cows an hour +by the end of this month. These girls do nothing but put white-caps to +waves. There's a great demand at present for the windy marine. This next +room is devoted to portraits to order. You see that row of old ladies +without heads, each holding a pair of spectacles, and with one finger in +the Bible to keep the place; that's very popular, and we put in a head +when the photograph is sent. There is a great rage at present for +portraits of babies without any clothes on. Here is a lot of undraped +infants with bodies all finished, but with no heads. We can finish them +to order at very short notice. I have one girl who puts in all the +dimples. You would be surprised to see what a charming dimple she can +make with one twist of her brush. Long practice at one thing, sir, is +the foundation of the success of this great establishment. Take that +girl away from her dimple-pot, and she is nothing. She is now upstairs, +putting dimples into a large Correggio order from the West. This next +room is our figure department, battle-pieces, groups, single figures, +everything. As you have seen before, each man only copies from the +original that part which is his specialty. In addition to its other +advantages, this system is a great protection to us. None of my men can +work at home at nights and Sundays, and forge pictures. Not one of them +can do a whole one. And now, sir, you have seen the greater part of my +establishment. The varnishing, packing, and storage rooms are in another +building. I am now perfecting plans for the erection of an immense +edifice with steam-engines in the cellar, in which my paintings shall be +done by machinery. No chromos, mind you, but real oil-paintings, done by +brushes revolving on cylinders. I shall have rolls of canvas a mile +long, like the paper on which our great dailies are printed, and the +machines shall do everything; cut off the picture, when it has passed +among the cylinders, whereupon fresh canvas will be rolled in for a new +one; another machine will stretch them; and they will pass through a +varnish bath in the twinkling of an eye. But this is in the future. What +I want of you, sir, and of other men of influence in society, is to let +our people know of the great good that is ready for them now, and of +the greater benefit that is coming. And, more than that, you can do +incalculable good to our artists. Those poor toilers on the solitary +canvas should know how to become prosperous, great, and happy; tell them +to go into some other business. And now, sir, I must see what I can do +for you. We will return to my gallery, and I will show you exactly what +you want." + +When we reached the back part of the showroom, down-stairs, he brought +out an unframed picture about three feet long and two high, and placed +it in a favorable light. "There," said he, "is a picture which will suit +you. It is what we call a reversible landscape, and is copied from the +only genuine picture of the kind in the world. It is just as good as two +pictures. In this position, you see, a line of land stretches across the +middle of the picture, with trees, houses, and figures, with a light sky +above and a lake, darker in hue, below. Everything on the land is +reflected accurately in the water. It is a landscape in morning light. +Turn it upside down, so, and it is an evening scene; darkening sky +above, light water beneath; the morning star, which you saw faintly +glimmering in the other picture, is now the reflection of the evening +star." + +I do not pretend to be a judge of pictures, but I fancy I appreciate an +original idea when I see it, and I thought that this picture might +answer my purpose. + +"What is the price of the painting?" I asked. + +"Well, sir," said he, "to you, as a man of influence, I will fix the +price of this great painting, from a comparatively unknown work of +Gaspar Poussin, at four dollars and a half." + +In spite of what I had seen of the facilities possessed by this +establishment for producing cheap work, I must confess that I was +surprised at the smallness of the sum asked for an oil-painting of that +size; I had expected to give forty or fifty dollars. But, although I am +not a judge of paintings, I am a business man, and accustomed to make +bargains. Therefore I said: + +"I will give you two dollars and fifty cents for the picture." + +"Done," said he. "Where shall I send it?" + +I gave him my city address, and paid the money. As he accompanied me to +the door, he said: "If you would like more of these pictures, I will +sell you one dozen for eighteen dollars, or the whole lot of one +hundred, just finished--and there will be no more of them painted--for +one hundred dollars." I told him one was all I wanted, and departed. I +carried the picture home that afternoon, and in the evening exhibited it +at our club-room, and made known my scheme for raising the money we +needed by getting up a raffle with this painting as the prize; one +hundred tickets at the low price of two dollars each. The reversible +landscape was set up, first one way and then the other, a great many +times, and created quite a sensation. + +"I don't think it's worth the half of two hundred dollars," said Mr. +Buckby, our president, "but as the money is for the use of our +Association, I don't mind that. But my objection to the scheme is that, +if I should gain the prize, I should be laughed at by all my +fellow-members: for, to tell the truth, I think that painting is a good +deal more funny than otherwise. It's not what I call high art." + +The other members generally agreed with him. They were very much amused +by the picture, but they did not care to possess it, imagining that +those who ridiculed it might also ridicule its owner. This opposition +discouraged me, and I retired to reflect. In about five minutes I +returned to the company, which had now greatly increased, as it was one +of our regular meeting nights, and I asked if they would consent to this +raffle if I would engage that the winner of the picture should not be +laughed at by any other member. + +"How will you guarantee that?" asked Mr. Buckby. + +"I will put the matter in the hands of the Association," I answered. +"If, after the raffle is over, a majority of the members shall decide +that any of us have reason to laugh at the winner of this painting, I +will refund all the money paid for tickets." + +There was something in this proposition which aroused the curiosity of +my fellow-firemen; and when the meeting was called to order, a +resolution was adopted that we would have the raffle, and that the +management of it should be placed in my hands, subject to the conditions +mentioned above. There were a good many surmises as to what I was going +to do to keep the people from laughing at the prize-winner, the general +opinion being that I intended to have the picture altered so that it +would be like an ordinary landscape, and not reversible. But the affair +was something novel, and promised to put the much-needed money into our +treasury; and several gentlemen assured me that they would make it their +business to see that every member took a ticket, one generous man +promising, in the interests of the Association, to present them to such +of the few members as might decline to buy them for themselves. This +offer was made in consequence of my insistance that every one of us +should have a chance in the raffle. + +The next morning I went to the art-factory and told the proprietor that +I would take the lot of reversibles he had on hand, if he would include +the one already purchased, and receive ninety-seven dollars and a half +as the balance due. + +"All right!" said he. "I have the ninety-nine still on hand. Are you in +the tea business, sir?" + +"Oh, no," said I; "the pictures are intended for a large Association." + +"No better way of extending the influence of art, sir," he said, +heartily. "I shall charge you nothing for boxing. The same address, +sir?" + +"No, they must be forwarded to my residence," and I gave him the needful +directions, and a check. + +The next day the ninety-nine pictures arrived and were stored in my +barn. My wife, to whom I had told my plan, made some objections to it, +saying it did not seem right to use half the money paid in to buy so +many pictures; but I told her that no one could expect in a raffle to +clear all the money subscribed, and that although we should not gain as +much as I had hoped, we should clear a hundred dollars, and every man +would have a picture. This was surely fair, and the fact was that the +unsympathetic state of mind of our members made it necessary for me to +do something of this kind, if I expected to raise the needed money at +all. + +The raffle was announced, and on the appointed evening there was a full +attendance. The prize was won by a Mr. Horter, an art-collector of a +nervous temperament, who had objected to the raffle, and who had +consented to buy a ticket only after repeated solicitations. + +"Now mind," he said to me, "you promised that the other men should not +laugh at me, and I hold you to your contract." + +I answered that I intended to stand by it, and that the painting should +be sent to him in the morning from my house, whither it had been +removed. Every member present announced his intention of calling on +Horter the following evening to see why he should not be laughed at. + +All the next forenoon my man, with a horse and light wagon, was engaged +in delivering the reversible landscapes, one to every member of our +club. These gentlemen were, in almost every case, absent at their places +of business. When they came home in the evening each found his picture, +with his name on the back of it, and a printed slip informing him that +in this raffle there had been no blanks, and that every man had drawn a +prize. + +Not a man called upon Mr. Horter that evening, and he greatly wondered +why they did not come in, either to laugh or to say why they should not +do so; but every other member of our club was visited by nearly all his +fellow-firemen, who ran in to see if it were true that he also had one +of those ridiculous reversible landscapes. As everybody knew that Mr. +Horter had one, there was no need to call on him; and even if they had +hoped to be able to laugh at him they could not do so, when each of them +had drawn one of the pictures himself. A good many called on me, and +some were a little severe in their remarks, saying that although it +might be a very pretty joke, I must have used up nearly all the money +that they had given for the good of the Association, for, of course, +none of them cared for the absurd prize. + +But when, on the next meeting night, I paid in one hundred dollars to +the treasury, a sum more than sufficient to make our room comfortable, +they were quite satisfied. The only thing that troubled them was to know +what to do with the pictures they had drawn. Not one of them was +willing to keep his preposterous landscape in his house. It was Mrs. +Buckby, our president's wife, who suggested a way out of the difficulty. + +"Of course," she said to her husband, "it would have been much better if +each one of you had given the two dollars without any raffle, and then +you would have had all your money. But one can't expect men to do a +thing like that." + +"Not after we had all paid in our regular dues, and had been subscribing +and subscribing for this, that, and the other thing for nearly a year," +said I, who was present at the time. "Some extra inducement was +necessary." + +"But, as you have all those horrid landscapes," she continued, "why +don't you take them and put them up along the top of your walls, next +the ceiling, where those openings are which used to ventilate the room +when it was used for storage? That would save all the money that you +would have to pay to carpenters and painters to have those places made +tight and decent-looking; and it would give your room a gorgeous +appearance." + +This idea was hailed with delight. Every man brought his picture to the +hall, and we nailed the whole hundred in a row along the top of the four +walls, turning one with the darker half up, and the next the other way, +so as to present alternate views of morning and evening along the whole +distance. The arrangement answered admirably. The draughts of air from +outside were perfectly excluded: and as our walls were very lofty, the +general effect was good. + +"Art of that kind cannot be too high," said Mr. Horter. + +A week or two after this, when I arrived at home one afternoon, my wife +told me that there was a present for me in the dining-room. As such +things were not common, I hurried in to see what it was. I found a very +large flat package, tied up in brown paper, and on it a card with my +name and a long inscription. The latter was to the effect that my +associates of the Hook and Ladder Company, desirous of testifying their +gratitude to the originator and promoter of the raffle scheme, took +pleasure in presenting him with the accompanying work of art, which, +when hung upon the walls of his house, would be a perpetual reminder to +him of the great and good work he had done for the Association. + +I cannot deny that this pleased me much. + +"Well!" I exclaimed to my wife, "it is very seldom that a man gets any +thanks for his gratuitous efforts in behalf of his fellow-beings; and +although I must say that my services in raising money for the +Association deserved recognition, I did not expect that the members +would do themselves the justice to make me a present." + +Unwrapping the package, I discovered, to my intense disgust, a copy of +the Reversible Landscape! My first thought was that some of the members, +for a joke, had taken down one of the paintings from our meeting-room +and had sent it to me; but, on carefully examining the canvas and frame, +I was quite certain that this picture had never been nailed to a wall. +It was evidently a new and fresh copy of the painting of which I had +been assured no more would be produced. I must admit that I had felt a +certain pride in decorating our hall with the style of picture that +could not be seen elsewhere; and, moreover, I greatly dislike to be +overreached in business matters, and my wrath against the manufacturer +of high art entirely overpowered and dissipated any little resentment I +might have felt against my waggish fellow-members who had sent me the +painting. + +Early the next morning I went direct to the art-factory, and was just +about entering when my attention was attracted by a prominent picture +in the window. I stepped back to look at it. It was our reversible +landscape, mounted upon an easel, and labelled "A Morning Scene." While +I examined it to assure myself that it was really the landscape with +which I was so familiar, it was turned upside down by some concealed +machinery, and appeared labelled, "An Evening Scene." At the foot of the +easel I now noticed a placard inscribed: "The Reversible Landscape: A +New Idea in Art." + +I stood for a moment astounded. The rascally picture-monger had not only +made another of these pictures, but he was prepared to furnish them in +any number. Rushing into the gallery, I demanded to see the proprietor. + +"Look here!" said I, "what docs this mean? You told me that there were +to be no more of those pictures painted; that I was to possess a unique +lot." + +"That's not the same picture, sir," he exclaimed. "I am surprised that +you should think so. Step outside with me, sir, and I'll prove it to +you. There, sir!" said he, as we stood before the painting, which was +now Morning side up, "you see that star? In the pictures we sold you the +morning star was Venus; in this one it is Jupiter. This is not the same +picture. Do you imagine that we would deceive a customer? That, sir, is +a thing we never do!" + + + + +DUSKY PHILOSOPHY. + +IN TWO EXPOSITIONS. + + +FIRST EXPOSITION: A STORY OF SEVEN DEVILS. + + +The negro church which stood in the pine-woods near the little village +of Oxford Cross Roads, in one of the lower counties of Virginia, was +presided over by an elderly individual, known to the community in +general as Uncle Pete; but on Sundays the members of his congregation +addressed him as Brudder Pete. He was an earnest and energetic man, and, +although he could neither read nor write, he had for many years +expounded the Scriptures to the satisfaction of his hearers. His memory +was good, and those portions of the Bible, which from time to time he +had heard read, were used by him, and frequently with powerful effect, +in his sermons. His interpretations of the Scriptures were generally +entirely original, and were made to suit the needs, or what he supposed +to be the needs, of his congregation. + +Whether as "Uncle Pete" in the garden and corn-field, or "Brudder Pete" +in the church, he enjoyed the good opinion of everybody excepting one +person, and that was his wife. She was a high-tempered and somewhat +dissatisfied person, who had conceived the idea that her husband was in +the habit of giving too much time to the church, and too little to the +acquisition of corn-bread and pork. On a certain Saturday she gave him a +most tremendous scolding, which so affected the spirits of the good man +that it influenced his decision in regard to the selection of the +subject for his sermon the next day. + +His congregation was accustomed to being astonished, and rather liked +it, but never before had their minds received such a shock as when the +preacher announced the subject of his discourse. He did not take any +particular text, for this was not his custom, but he boldly stated that +the Bible declared that every woman in this world was possessed by seven +devils; and the evils which this state of things had brought upon the +world he showed forth with much warmth and feeling. Subject-matter, +principally from his own experience, crowded in upon his mind, and he +served it out to his audience hot and strong. If his deductions could +have been proved to be correct, all women were creatures who, by reason +of their seven-fold diabolic possession, were not capable of independent +thought or action, and who should in tears and humility place themselves +absolutely under the direction and authority of the other sex. + +When he approached the conclusion of his sermon, Brother Peter closed +with a bang the Bible, which, although he could not read a word of it, +always lay open before him while he preached, and delivered the +concluding exhortation of his sermon. + +"Now, my dear brev'ren ob dis congregation," he said, "I want you to +understan' dat dar's nuffin in dis yer sarmon wot you've jus' heerd ter +make you think yousefs angels. By no means, brev'ren; you was all brung +up by women, an' you've got ter lib wid' em, an ef anythin' in dis yer +worl' is ketchin', my dear brev'ren, it's habin debbils, an' from wot +I've seen ob some ob de men ob dis worl' I 'spect dey is persest ob +'bout all de debbils dey got room fur. But de Bible don' say nuffin +p'intedly on de subjec' ob de number ob debbils in man, an' I 'spec' +dose dat's got 'em--an' we ought ter feel pow'ful thankful, my dear +brev'ren, dat de Bible don' say we all's got 'em--has 'em 'cordin to +sarcumstances. But wid de women it's dif'rent; dey's got jus' sebin, an' +bless my soul, brev'ren, I think dat's 'nuff. + +"While I was a-turnin' ober in my min' de subjec' ob dis sarmon, dere +come ter me a bit ob Scripter wot I heerd at a big preachin' an' +baptizin' at Kyarter's Mills, 'bout ten year' ago. One ob de preachers +was a-tellin' about ole mudder Ebe a-eatin' de apple, and says he: De +sarpint fus' come along wid a red apple, an' says he: You gib dis yer to +your husban', an' he think it so mighty good dat when he done eat it he +gib you anything you ax him fur, ef you tell him whar de tree is. Ebe, +she took one bite, an' den she frew dat apple away. 'Wot you mean, you +triflin' sarpint,' says she, 'a fotchin' me dat apple wot ain't good fur +nuffin but ter make cider wid.' Den de sarpint he go fotch her a yaller +apple, an' she took one bite an' den says she: 'Go 'long wid ye, you +fool sarpint, wot you fotch me dat June apple wot ain't got no taste to +it?' Den de sarpint he think she like sumpin' sharp, an' he fotch her a +green apple. She takes one bite ob it, an' den she frows it at his head, +an' sings out: 'Is you 'spectin' me to gib dat apple to yer Uncle Adam +an' gib him de colic?' Den de debbil he fotch her a lady-apple, but she +say she won't take no sich triflin' nubbins as dat to her husban', an' +she took one bite ob it, an' frew it away. Den he go fotch her two udder +kin' ob apples, one yaller wid red stripes, an' de udder one red on one +side an' green on de udder,--mighty good lookin' apples, too--de kin' +you git two dollars a bar'l fur at the store. But Ebe, she wouldn't hab +neider ob 'em, an' when she done took one bite out ob each one, she frew +it away. Den de ole debbil-sarpint, he scratch he head, an' he say to +hese'f: 'Dis yer Ebe, she pow'ful 'ticklar 'bout her apples. Reckin I'll +have ter wait till after fros', an' fotch her a real good one.' An' he +done wait till after fros', and then he fotch her a' Albemarle pippin, +an' when she took one bite ob dat, she jus' go 'long an' eat it all up, +core, seeds, an' all. 'Look h'yar, sarpint,' says she, 'hab you got +anudder ob dem apples in your pocket?' An' den he tuk one out, an' gib +it to her. ''Cuse me,' says she, 'I's gwine ter look up Adam, an' ef he +don' want ter know war de tree is wot dese apples grow on, you can hab +him fur a corn-field han'.' + +"An' now, my dear brev'ren," said Brother Peter, "while I was a-turnin' +dis subjec' ober in my min', an' wonderin' how de women come ter hab +jus' seben debbils apiece, I done reckerleck dat bit ob Scripter wot I +heerd at Kyarter's Mills, an' I reckin dat 'splains how de debbils got +inter woman. De sarpint he done fotch mudder Ebe seben apples, an' ebery +one she take a bite out of gib her a debbil." + +As might have been expected, this sermon produced a great sensation, +and made a deep impression on the congregation. As a rule the men were +tolerably well satisfied with it; and when the services were over many +of them made it the occasion of shy but very plainly pointed remarks to +their female friends and relatives. + +But the women did not like it at all. Some of them became angry, and +talked very forcibly, and feelings of indignation soon spread among all +the sisters of the church. If their minister had seen fit to stay at +home and preach a sermon like this to his own wife (who, it may be +remarked, was not present on this occasion), it would have been well +enough, provided he had made no allusions to outsiders; but to come +there and preach such things to them was entirely too much for their +endurance. Each one of the women knew she had not seven devils, and only +a few of them would admit of the possibility of any of the others being +possessed by quite so many. + +Their preacher's explanation of the manner in which every woman came to +be possessed of just so many devils appeared to them of little +importance. What they objected to was the fundamental doctrine of his +sermon, which was based on his assertion that the Bible declared every +woman had seven devils. They were not willing to believe that the Bible +said any such thing. Some of them went so far as to state it was their +opinion that Uncle Pete had got this fool notion from some of the +lawyers at the court-house when he was on a jury a month or so before. +It was quite noticeable that, although Sunday afternoon had scarcely +begun, the majority of the women of the congregation called their +minister Uncle Pete. This was very strong evidence of a sudden decline +in his popularity. + +Some of the more vigorous-minded women, not seeing their minister among +the other people in the clearing in front of the log church, went to +look for him, but he was not to be found. His wife had ordered him to be +home early, and soon after the congregation had been dismissed he +departed by a short cut through the woods. That afternoon an irate +committee, composed principally of women, but including also a few men +who had expressed disbelief in the new doctrine, arrived at the cabin of +their preacher, but found there only his wife, cross-grained old Aunt +Rebecca. She informed them that her husband was not at home. + +"He's done 'gaged hisse'f," she said, "ter cut an' haul wood fur Kunnel +Martin ober on Little Mount'n fur de whole ob nex' week. It's fourteen +or thirteen mile' from h'yar, an' ef he'd started ter-morrer mawnin', +he'd los' a'mos' a whole day, 'Sides dat, I done tole him dat ef he git +dar ter-night he'd have his supper frowed in. Wot you all want wid him? +Gwine to pay him fur preachin'?" + +Any such intention as this was instantaneously denied, and Aunt Rebecca +was informed of the subject upon which her visitors had come to have a +very plain talk with her husband. + +Strange to say, the announcement of the new and startling dogma had +apparently no disturbing effect upon Aunt Rebecca. On the contrary, the +old woman seemed rather to enjoy the news. + +"Reckin he oughter know all 'bout dat," she said. "He's done had three +wives, an' he ain't got rid o' dis one yit." + +Judging from her chuckles and waggings of the head when she made this +remark, it might be imagined that Aunt Rebecca was rather proud of the +fact that her husband thought her capable of exhibiting a different kind +of diabolism every day in the week. + +The leader of the indignant church members was Susan Henry, a mulatto +woman of a very independent turn of mind. She prided herself that she +never worked in anybody's house but her own, and this immunity from +outside service gave her a certain pre-eminence among her sisters. Not +only did Susan share the general resentment with which the startling +statement of old Peter had been received, but she felt that its +promulgation had affected her position in the community. If every woman +was possessed by seven devils, then, in this respect, she was no better +nor worse than any of the others; and at this her proud heart rebelled. +If the preacher had said some women had eight devils and others six, it +would have been better. She might then have made a mental arrangement in +regard to her relative position which would have somewhat consoled her. +But now there was no chance for that. The words of the preacher had +equally debased all women. + +A meeting of the disaffected church members was held the next night at +Susan Henry's cabin, or rather in the little yard about it, for the +house was not large enough to hold the people who attended it. The +meeting was not regularly organized, but everybody said what he or she +had to say, and the result was a great deal of clamor, and a general +increase of indignation against Uncle Pete. + +"Look h'yar!" cried Susan, at the end of some energetic remarks, "is dar +enny pusson h'yar who kin count up figgers?" + +Inquiries on the subject ran through the crowd, and in a few moments a +black boy, about fourteen, was pushed forward as an expert in +arithmetic. + +"Now, you Jim," said Susan, "you's been to school, an' you kin count up +figgers. 'Cordin' ter de chu'ch books dar's forty-seben women b'longin' +to our meetin', an' ef each one ob dem dar has got seben debbils in her, +I jus' wants you ter tell me how many debbils come to chu'ch ebery clear +Sunday ter hear dat ole Uncle Pete preach." + +This view of the case created a sensation, and much interest was shown +in the result of Jim's calculations, which were made by the aid of a +back of an old letter and a piece of pencil furnished by Susan. The +result was at last announced as three hundred and nineteen, which, +although not precisely correct, was near enough to satisfy the company. + +"Now, you jus' turn dat ober in you all's minds," said Susan. "More'n +free hunderd debbils in chu'ch ebery Sunday, an' we women fotchin 'em. +Does anybody s'pose I'se gwine ter b'lieve dat fool talk?" + +A middle-aged man now lifted up his voice and said: "Ise been thinkin' +ober dis h'yar matter and Ise 'cluded dat p'r'aps de words ob de +preacher was used in a figgeratous form o' sense. P'r'aps de seben +debbils meant chillun." + +These remarks were received with no favor by the assemblage. + +"Oh, you git out!" cried Susan. "Your ole woman's got seben chillun, +shore 'nuf, an' I s'pec' dey's all debbils. But dem sent'ments don't +apply ter all de udder women h'yar, 'tic'larly ter dem dar young uns wot +ain't married yit." + +This was good logic, but the feeling on the subject proved to be even +stronger, for the mothers in the company became so angry at their +children being considered devils that for a time there seemed to be +danger of an Amazonian attack on the unfortunate speaker. This was +averted, but a great deal of uproar now ensued, and it was the general +feeling that something ought to be done to show the deep-seated +resentment with which the horrible charge against the mothers and +sisters of the congregation had been met. Many violent propositions were +made, some of the younger men going so far as to offer to burn down the +church. It was finally agreed, quite unanimously, that old Peter should +be unceremoniously ousted from his place in the pulpit which he had +filled so many years. + +As the week passed on, some of the older men of the congregation who had +friendly feelings toward their old companion and preacher talked the +matter over among themselves, and afterward, with many of their +fellow-members, succeeded at last in gaining the general consent that +Uncle Pete should be allowed a chance to explain himself, and give his +grounds and reasons for his astounding statement in regard to womankind. +If he could show biblical authority for this, of course nothing more +could be said. But if he could not, then he must get down from the +pulpit, and sit for the rest of his life on a back seat of the church. +This proposition met with the more favor, because even those who were +most indignant had an earnest curiosity to know what the old man would +say for himself. + +During all this time of angry discussion, good old Peter was quietly and +calmly cutting and hauling wood on the Little Mountain. His mind was in +a condition of great comfort and peace, for not only had he been able to +rid himself, in his last sermon, of many of the hard thoughts concerning +women that had been gathering themselves together for years, but his +absence from home had given him a holiday from the harassments of Aunt +Rebecca's tongue, so that no new notions of woman's culpability had +risen within him. He had dismissed the subject altogether, and had been +thinking over a sermon regarding baptism, which he thought he could make +convincing to certain of the younger members of his congregation. + +He arrived at home very late on Saturday night, and retired to his +simple couch without knowing anything of the terrible storm which had +been gathering through the week, and which was to burst upon him on the +morrow. But the next morning, long before church time, he received +warning enough of what was going to happen. Individuals and deputations +gathered in and about his cabin--some to tell him all that had been said +and done; some to inform him what was expected of him; some to stand +about and look at him; some to scold; some to denounce; but, alas! not +one to encourage; nor one to call him "Brudder Pete," that Sunday +appellation dear to his ears. But the old man possessed a stubborn soul, +not easily to be frightened. + +"Wot I says in de pulpit," he remarked, "I'll 'splain in de pulpit, an' +you all ud better git 'long to de chu'ch, an' when de time fur de +sarvice come, I'll be dar." + +This advice was not promptly acted upon, but in the course of half an +hour nearly all the villagers and loungers had gone off to the church in +the woods; and when Uncle Peter had put on his high black hat, somewhat +battered, but still sufficiently clerical looking for that congregation, +and had given something of a polish to his cowhide shoes, he betook +himself by the accustomed path to the log building where he had so often +held forth to his people. As soon as he entered the church he was +formally instructed by a committee of the leading members that before he +began to open the services, he must make it plain to the congregation +that what he had said on the preceding Sunday about every woman being +possessed by seven devils was Scripture truth, and not mere wicked +nonsense out of his own brain. If he could not do that, they wanted no +more praying or preaching from him. + +Uncle Peter made no answer, but, ascending the little pulpit, he put his +hat on the bench behind him where it was used to repose, took out his +red cotton handkerchief and blew his nose in his accustomed way, and +looked about him. The house was crowded. Even Aunt Rebecca was there. + +After a deliberate survey of his audience the preacher spoke: "Brev'eren +an' sisters, I see afore me Brudder Bill Hines, who kin read de Bible, +an' has got one. Ain't dat so, Brudder?" + +Bill Hines having nodded and modestly grunted assent, the preacher +continued. "An' dars' Aun' Priscilla's boy, Jake, who ain't a brudder +yit, though he's plenty old 'nuf, min', I tell ye; an' he kin read de +Bible, fus' rate, an' has read it ter me ober an' ober ag'in. Ain't dat +so, Jake?" + +Jake grinned, nodded, and hung his head, very uncomfortable at being +thus publicly pointed out. + +"An' dar's good ole Aun' Patty, who knows more Scripter' dan ennybuddy +h'yar, havin' been teached by de little gals from Kunnel Jasper's an' by +dere mudders afore 'em. I reckin she know' de hull Bible straight froo, +from de Garden of Eden to de New Jerus'lum. An' dar are udders h'yar who +knows de Scripters, some one part an' some anudder. Now I axes ebery one +ob you all wot know de Scripters ef he don' 'member how de Bible tells +how our Lor' when he was on dis yearth cas' seben debbils out o' Mary +Magdalum?" + +A murmur of assent came from the congregation. Most of them remembered +that. + +"But did enny ob you ebber read, or hab read to you, dat he ebber cas' +'em out o'enny udder woman?" + +Negative grunts and shakes of the head signified that nobody had ever +heard of this. + +"Well, den," said the preacher, gazing blandly around, "all de udder +women got 'em yit." + +A deep silence fell upon the assembly, and in a few moments an elderly +member arose. "Brudder Pete," he said, "I reckin you mought as well gib +out de hyme." + + +SECOND EXPOSITION: GRANDISON'S QUANDARY. + + +Grandison Pratt was a colored man of about thirty, who, with his wife +and two or three children, lived in a neat log cabin in one of the +Southern States. He was a man of an independent turn of mind, and he +much desired to own the house in which he lived and the small +garden-patch around it. This valuable piece of property belonged to Mr. +Morris, and as it was an outlying corner of his large farm he had no +objection to sell it to Grandison, provided the latter could pay for it; +but of this he had great doubts. The man was industrious enough, but he +often seemed to have a great deal of difficulty about paying the very +small rental charged for his place, and Mr. Morris, consequently, had +well-grounded doubts about his ability to purchase it. + +"But, sah," said Grandison one day when these objections had been placed +before him, "I's been turnin' dis thing ober in my min' ober an' ober. I +know jes' how much I kin make an' how much I's got to spend an' how I +kin save ter buy the house, an' if I agree to pay you so much money on +such a day an' so much on such anudder day I's gwine ter do it. You kin +jes' put that down, sah, for sartin shuh." + +"Well, Grandison," said Mr. Morris, "I'll give you a trial. If, at the +end of six months, you can pay me the first instalment, I'll have the +necessary papers made out, and you can go on and buy the place, but if +you are not up to time on the first payment, I want to hear no more +about the purchase." + +"All right, Mahs'r Morris," said Grandison. "If I gibs you my word ter +pay de money on de fus' day ob October, I's gwine to do it. Dat's sartin +shuh." + +Months passed on, and, although Grandison worked as steadily as usual, +he found toward the end of September that, in the ordinary course of +things, he would not be able to make up the sum necessary for the first +payment. Other methods out of the ordinary course came into his mind, +but he had doubts about availing himself of them. He was extremely +anxious to make up the amount due, for he knew very well that if he did +not pay it on the day appointed he might bid farewell to his hope of +becoming a freeholder. In his perplexity he resolved to consult Brother +'Bijah, the minister of the little church in the pine-woods to which +Grandison belonged. + +"Now, look-a-heah, Brudder 'Bijah," said he, "wot's I gwine to do 'bout +dis bizness? I done promised ter pay dis money on de fus' day ob de +comin' month, an' dar's six dollars ob it dat I ain't got yit." + +"An' aint dar any way ter git it?" asked 'Bijah. + +"Yaas, dar's one way," said Grandison, "I's been turnin' dis matter ober +an' ober in my min', an' dar's only one way. I mought sell apples. +Apples is mighty skarse dis fall, an' I kin git two dollars a bar'l for +'em in town. Now, if I was ter sell three bar'ls of apples I'd hab dat +dar six dollars, sartin shuh. Don' you see dat, Brudder 'Bijah?" + +"Dat's all clar 'nuf," said the minister, "but whar you gwine ter git +three bar'ls o' apples? You don' mean ter tell me dat you's got 'nuf +apple-trees in your little gyardin fur ter shake down three bar'ls o' +apples." + +"Now look a-heah, Brudder 'Bijah," said Grandison, his eyes sparkling +with righteous indignation, "dat's too much 'to 'spec' ob a man who's +got ter work all day to s'port his wife an' chillun. I digs, an' I +plows, an' I plants, an' I hoes. But all dem things ain't 'nuf ter make +apple-trees grow in my gyardin like as dey was corn-field peas." + +"Dat's so," said 'Bijah, reflectively. "Dat's too much to spec' ob any +man. But how's you gwine ter sell de apples if you ain't got 'em?" + +"I's got ter git em," said Grandison. "Dar's apples 'nuf growin' roun' +an' not so fur away dat I can't tote 'em ter my house in a bahsket. It's +pow'ful hard on a man wot's worked all day ter have ter tote apples +ahfter night, but dar ain' no other way ob gittin' dat dar money." + +"I spec' de orchard whar you's thinkin' o' gwine is Mahs'r Morrises," +said the minister. + +"You don' 'spose Ise gwine ter any ob dose low down orchards on de udder +side de creek, does ye? Mahs'r Morris has got the bes' apples in dis +county. Dat's de kin' wot fetch two dollars a bar'l." + +"Brudder Gran'son," said 'Bijah, solemnly, "is you min' runnin on takin' +Mahs'r Morrises apples inter town an' sellin' em?" + +"Well, he gits de money, don't he?" answered the other, "and if I don't +sell his apples 'taint no use sellin' none. Dem udder little nubbins +roun' heah won't fetch no two dollars a bar'l." + +"Dem ain't justifyin' deeds wot's runnin' in your mind," said 'Bijah. +"Dey ain't justifyin'." + +"Ob course," said Grandison, "dey wouldn't be justifyin' if I had de six +dollars. But I ain't got 'em, an' Ise promised to pay 'em. Now, is I ter +stick to de truf, or isn't I?" + +"Truf is mighty," said the preacher, "an' ought not to be hendered from +prevailin'." + +"Dat's so! dat's so!" exclaimed Grandison. "You can't go agin de +Scripters. Truf _is_ mighty, an' 'tain't fur pore human critters like us +to try to upsot her. Wot we're got ter do is ter stick to her through +thick an' thin." + +"Ob course, dat's wot we oughter do," said 'Bijah, "but I can't see my +way clar to you sellin' dem apples." + +"But dar ain't nuffin else ter do!" exclaimed Grandison, "an' ef I don't +do dat, away goes de truf, clar out o' sight. An' wot sort o' 'ligion +you call dat, Brudder 'Bijah?" + +"'Tain't no kind at all," said 'Bijah, "fur we's bound ter stick to de +truf, which is de bottom corner-stone ob piousness. But dem apples don't +seem ter git demselves straightened out in my mind, Brudder Gran'son." + +"It 'pears ter me, Brudder 'Bijah, dat you doan' look at dem apples in +de right light. If I was gwine ter sell 'em to git money ter buy a lot +o' spotted calliker ter make frocks for de chillen, or eben to buy two +pars o' shoes fur me an' Judy ter go to church in, dat would be a sin, +sartin shuh. But you done furgit dat I's gwine ter take de money ter +Mahs'r Morris. If apples is riz an' I gits two dollars an' a quarter a +bar'l, ob course I keeps de extry quarter, which don' pay anyhow fur de +trouble ob pickin' 'em. But de six dollars I gibs, cash down, ter +Mahs'r Morris. Don' you call dat puffectly fa'r an' squar, Brudder +'Bijah?" + +'Bijah shook his head. "Dis is a mighty dubersome question, Brudder +Gran'son, a mighty dubersome question." + +Grandison stood with a disappointed expression on his countenance. He +greatly desired to gain from his minister sanction for the financial +operation he had proposed. But this the solemn 'Bijah did not appear +prepared to give. As the two men stood together by the roadside they +saw, riding toward them, Mr. Morris himself. + +"Now, den," exclaimed Grandison, "heah comes Mahs'r Morris, and I's +gwine ter put dis question to hisse'f. He oughter know how ter 'cide +bout it, if anybody does." + +"You ain't truly gwine ter put dat question to him, is ye?" asked +'Bijah, quickly. + +"No, sah," replied the other. "I's gwine to put the case on a dif'rent +show-pint. But 'twill be the same thing as de udder." + +Mr. Morris was a genial-natured man, who took a good deal of interest in +his negro neighbors, and was fond of listening to their peculiar humor. +Therefore, when he saw that Grandison wished to speak to him he readily +pulled up his horse. + +"Mahs'r Morris," said Grandison, removing his hat, "Brudder 'Bijah an' +me has been argyin on de subjick ob truf. An' jes' as you was comin' up +I was gwine ter tell him a par'ble 'bout sticken ter truf. An' if you's +got time, Mahs'r Morris, I'd be pow'ful glad ter tell you de par'ble, +an' let you 'cide 'tween us." + +"Very well," said Mr. Morris, "go on with your parable." + +"Dis yere par'ble," said Grandison, "has got a justifyin' meanin' in it, +an' it's 'bout a bar an' a' possum. De 'possum he was a-gwine out early +in de mawnin' ter git a little corn fur his breakfus'--" + +"Very wrong in the opossum," said Mr. Morris, "for I am sure he hadn't +planted any corn." + +"Well, den, sah," said Grandison, "p'raps 'twas akerns; but, anyway, +afore he was out ob de woods he see a big, ole bar a-comin' straight +'long to him. De 'possum he ain't got no time ter climb a tree an' git +out on de leetlest end ob a long limb, an' so he lay hese'f flat down on +de groun' an' make b'lieve he's dead. When de ole bar came up he sot +down an' look at de 'possum. Fus' he turn his head on one side an' den +he turn his head on de udder, but he look at de 'possum all de time. +D'reckly he gits done lookin' an' he says: + +"'Look-a-heah, 'possum, is you dead or is you libin'? If you's dead I +won't eat you, fur I neber eats dead critters, but if you's libin' den +I eats you for my breakfus', fur I is bilin' hungry, not havin' had +nuffin sence sun-up but a little smack dat I took afore gwine out inter +de damp air ob de mawnin'. Now, den, 'possum, speak out and tell me is +you 'libe or is you dead?' + +"Dat are question frew de 'possum inter a pow'ful sweat. If he told de +truf an' said he was alibe he knowed well 'nuf dat de bar would gobble +him up quicker'n if he'd been a hot ash cake an' a bowl of buttermilk; +but if he said he was dead so's de bar wouldn't eat him, de bar, like +'nuf, would know he lied, an' would eat him all de same. So he turn de +matter ober an' ober in his min', an' he wrastled with his 'victions, +but he couldn't come ter no 'clusion. 'Now don't you tink,' said de bar, +'dat I's got time to sit here de whole mawnin' waitin' fer you ter make +up your mind whether you's dead or not. If you don't 'cide pretty quick, +I'll put a big rock a-top o' you, an' stop fer you answer when I come +back in de ebenin'.' Now dis gib de 'possum a pow'ful skeer, an' 'twas +cl'ar to his min' dat he mus' 'cide de question straight off. If he tole +de truf, and said he was alibe, he'd be eat up shuh; but if he said he +was dead, de bar mought b'lieve him. 'Twarn't very likely dat he would, +but dar was dat one leetle chance, an' he done took it. 'I is dead,' +says he. 'You's a long time makin' up your min' 'bout it,' says de bar. +'How long you been dead?' 'Sence day 'fore yestidday,' says the 'possum. +'All right!' says de bar, 'when dey've on'y been dead two or free days, +an' kin talk, I eats 'em all de same.' An' he eat him up." + +"And now, Grandison," said Mr. Morris, "where is the moral of that +parable?" + +"De moral is dis," said Grandison; "stick ter de truf. If de 'possum had +tole de truf, an' said he was alibe, de bar couldn't eat him no more'n +he did eat him; no bar could do dat. An' I axes you, Mahs'r Morris, don' +dat par'ble show dat eb'rybody oughter stick ter de truf, no matter what +happens." + +"Well, I don't think your moral is very clear," said Mr. Morris, "for it +would have been about as bad for the 'possum one way as the other. But, +after all, it would have been better for the little beast to tell the +truth and die with a clear conscience." + +"Dat's so!" cried Brother 'Bijah, speaking in his ministerial capacity, +"de great thing in dis worl' is ter die wid a clear conscience." + +"But you can't do dat," said Grandison, "if you let dis thing an' dat +thing come in ter hinder ye. Now dat's jes' wot we's been disputin' +'bout, Mahs'r Morris. I 'clared dat we oughter stick ter de truf widout +lookin' to de right or de lef'; but Brudder 'Bijah, his min' wasn't +quite made up on de subjick. Now, wot you say, Mahs'r Morris?" + +"I say stick to the truth, of course," said Mr. Morris, gathering up his +reins. "And, by the way, Grandison, do you expect to make that payment +on your place which is due next week?" + +"Yaas, sah, sartin shuh," said Grandison. "I done tole you I'd do it, +Mahs'r Morris, an' I 'tends ter stick ter de truf." + +"Now, den," said Grandison, in a tone of triumph, when Mr. Morris had +ridden away, "you see I's right in my 'clusions, and Mahs'r Morris +'grees with me." + +"Dunno," said Brother 'Bijah, shaking his head, "dis is a mighty +dubersome question. You kep' dem apples clar out o' sight, Brudder +Gran'son; clar out o' sight." + +It was about a week after this, quite early in the morning, that +Grandison was slowly driving into town with a horse and a wagon which he +had borrowed from a neighbor. In the wagon were three barrels of fine +apples. Suddenly, at a turn in the road, he was greatly surprised to +meet Mr. Morris, riding homeward. + +"What have you in those barrels, Grandison?" inquired his landlord. + +"Dey's apples, sah," was the reply, "dat I's got de job ob haulin' ter +town, sah." + +Mr. Morris rode up to the wagon and removed the piece of old canvas that +was thrown over the tops of the barrels; there was no need of asking any +questions. No one but himself, for many miles around, had +"Belle-flowers" and "Jeannettes" like these. + +"How much do you lack, Grandison," he said, "of making up the money you +owe me to-morrow?" + +"Six dollars, sah," said Grandison. + +"Six dollars--three barrels--very good," said Mr. Morris. "I see you are +determined to stick to the truth, Grandison, and keep your engagement. +But I will trouble you to turn that wagon round and haul those apples to +my house. And, if you still want to buy the place, you can come on +Monday morning and work out the balance you have to make up on the first +instalment; and, after this, you can make all your payments in work. A +day's labor is fair and plain, but your ways of sticking to the truth +are very crooked." + +It was not long after this that Grandison was ploughing in one of Mr. +Morris' fields, when Brother 'Bijah came along and sat upon the fence. + +"Brudder Gran'son," said he, when the ploughman had reached the end of +the furrow and was preparing to turn, "jes' you let your hoss res' a +minnit till I tells you a par'ble." + +"Wot par'ble?" said Grandison, in a tone of unconcern, but stopping his +horse, all the same. + +"Why, dis one!" said 'Bijah. "Dar was an ole mule an' he b'longed to a +cullud man named Harris who used to carry de mail from de Coht House ter +Cary's Cross-roads. De ole mule was a pow'ful triflin' critter an' he +got lazier an' lazier, an' 'fore long he got so dreffle slow dat it tuk +him more'n one day ter go from de Coht House ter de crossroads, an' he +allus come in de day ahfter mail-day, when de people was done gone home. +So de cullud man, Harris, he says: + +"'You is too ole fur ter carry de mail, you triflin' mule, an' I hain't +got no udder use fur you.' + +"So he put him in a gully-field, whar dar was nuffin but bar' groun' an' +hog weed. Now, dar was nuffin in dis worl' dat triflin' mule hated so +much as hog weed, an' he says to hese'f: 'I's boun' ter do somefin' +better'n dis fur a libin. I reckin I'll go skeer dat ole Harris, an' +make him gib me a feed o' corn.' So he jump ober de fence, fur he was +spry 'nuf when he had a min' ter, an' he steals an ole bar skin dat he'd +seen hangin' up in de store po'ch, an' he pretty nigh kivered himse'f +all up wid it. Den he go down to de pos' offis, whar de mail had jes' +come in. When dis triflin' ole mule seed de cullud man, Harris, sittin' +on de bottom step ob de po'ch, he begin to kick up his heels an' make +all de noise he could wid he mouf. 'Wot's dat?' cried de cullud man, +Harris. 'I's a big grizzly bar,' said de mule, ''scaped from de 'nagerie +when 'twas fordin' Scott's Creek.' 'When did you git out?' said de +cullud man, Harris. 'I bus' from de cage at half pas' free o'clock dis +ebenin'.' 'An' is you reely a grizzly bar?' 'Dat's de truf,' said de +triflin' mule, 'an' I's pow'ful hungry, an' if you don' go git me a feed +o' corn I'll swaller you down whole.' An' he begun to roar as like a +grizzly bar as he knew how. 'Dat all de truf, you tellin' me?' de cullud +man, Harris, ask. 'Dat's all true as I's libin',' says de triflin' mule. +'All right, den,' says de cullud man, Harris, 'if you kin come from de +ford on Scott's Creek in a hour an' a half, you kin carry de mail jes' +as well as any udder mule, an' I's gwine ter buy a big cart whip, an' +make you do it. So take off dat bar skin, an' come 'long wid me.' So you +see Brudder Gran'son," continued 'Bijah, "dar's dif'rent kinds ob truf, +an' you's got ter be mighty 'ticklar wot kind you sticks ter." + +"Git up," said Grandison to his drowsy horse, as he started him on +another furrow. + + + + +PLAIN FISHING. + + +"Well, sir," said old Peter, as he came out on the porch with his pipe, +"so you came here to go fishin'?" + +Peter Gruse was the owner of the farm-house where I had arrived that +day, just before supper-time. He was a short, strong-built old man, with +a pair of pretty daughters, and little gold rings in his ears. Two +things distinguished him from the farmers in the country round about: +one was the rings in his ears, and the other was the large and +comfortable house in which he kept his pretty daughters. The other +farmers in that region had fine large barns for their cattle and horses, +but very poor houses for their daughters. Old Peter's ear-rings were +indirectly connected with his house. He had not always lived among those +mountains. He had been on the sea, where his ears were decorated, and he +had travelled a good deal on land, where he had ornamented his mind with +many ideas which were not in general use in the part of his State in +which he was born. His house stood a little back from the high road, +and if a traveller wished to be entertained, Peter was generally willing +to take him in, provided he had left his wife and family at home. The +old man himself had no objection to wives and children, but his two +pretty daughters had. + +These young women had waited on their father and myself at supper-time, +one continually bringing hot griddle cakes, and the other giving me +every opportunity to test the relative merits of the seven different +kinds of preserved fruit which, in little glass plates, covered the +otherwise unoccupied spaces on the tablecloth. The latter, when she +found that there was no further possible way of serving us, presumed to +sit down at the corner of the table and begin her supper. But in spite +of this apparent humility, which was only a custom of the country, there +was that in the general air of the pretty daughters which left no doubt +in the mind of the intelligent observer that they stood at the wheel in +that house. There was a son of fourteen, who sat at table with us, but +he did not appear to count as a member of the family. + +"Yes," I answered, "I understood that there was good fishing hereabout, +and, at any rate, I should like to spend a few days among these hills +and mountains." + +"Well," said Peter, "there's trout in some of our streams, though not +as many as there used to be, and there's hills a plenty, and mountains +too, if you choose to walk fur enough. They're a good deal furder off +than they look. What did you bring with you to fish with?" + +"Nothing at all," I answered. "I was told in the town that you were a +great fisherman, and that you could let me have all the tackle I would +need." + +"Upon my word," said old Peter, resting his pipe-hand on his knee and +looking steadfastly at me, "you're the queerest fisherman I've see'd +yet. Nigh every year, some two or three of 'em stop here in the fishin' +season, and there was never a man who didn't bring his jinted pole, and +his reels, and his lines, and his hooks, and his dry-goods flies, and +his whiskey-flask with a long strap to it. Now, if you want all these +things, I haven't got 'em." + +"Whatever you use yourself will suit me," I answered. + +"All right, then," said he. "I'll do the best I can for you in the +mornin'. But it's plain enough to me that you're not a game fisherman, +or you wouldn't come here without your tools." + +To this remark I made answer to the effect that, though I was very fond +of fishing, my pleasure in it did not depend upon the possession of all +the appliances of professional sport. + +"Perhaps you think," said the old man, "from the way I spoke, that I +don't believe them fellers with the jinted poles can ketch fish, but +that ain't so. That old story about the little boy with the pin-hook who +ketched all the fish, while the gentleman with the modern improvements, +who stood alongside of him, kep' throwin' out his beautiful flies and +never got nothin', is a pure lie. The fancy chaps, who must have +ev'rythin' jist so, gen'rally gits fish. But for all that, I don't like +their way of fishin', and I take no stock in it myself. I've been +fishin', on and off, ever since I was a little boy, and I've caught nigh +every kind there is, from the big jew-fish and cavalyoes down South, to +the trout and minnies round about here. But when I ketch a fish, the +first thing I do is to try to git him on the hook, and the next thing is +to git him out of the water jist as soon as I kin. I don't put in no +time worryin' him. There's only two animals in the world that likes to +worry smaller creeturs a good while afore they kill 'em; one is the cat, +and the other is what they call the game fisherman. This kind of a +feller never goes after no fish that don't mind being ketched. He goes +fur them kinds that loves their home in the water and hates most to +leave it, and he makes it jist as hard fur 'em as he kin. What the game +fisher likes is the smallest kind of a hook, the thinnest line, and a +fish that it takes a good while to weaken. The longer the weak'nin' +business kin be spun out, the more the sport. The idee is to let the +fish think there's a chance fur him to git away. That's jist like the +cat with her mouse. She lets the little creetur hop off, but the minnit +he gits fur enough away, she jumps on him and jabs him with her claws, +and then, if there's any game left in him, she lets him try again. Of +course the game fisher could have a strong line and a stout pole and git +his fish in a good sight quicker, if he wanted to, but that wouldn't be +sport. He couldn't give him the butt and spin him out, and reel him in, +and let him jump and run till his pluck is clean worn out. Now, I likes +to git my fish ashore with all the pluck in 'em. It makes 'em taste +better. And as fur fun, I'll be bound I've had jist as much of that, and +more, too, than most of these fellers who are so dreadful anxious to +have everythin' jist right, and think they can't go fishin' till they've +spent enough money to buy a suit of Sunday clothes. As a gen'ral rule +they're a solemn lot, and work pretty hard at their fun. When I work I +want to be paid fur it, and when I go in fur fun I want to take it easy +and cheerful. Now I wouldn't say so much agen these fellers," said old +Peter, as he arose and put his empty pipe on a little shelf under the +porch-roof, "if it wasn't for one thing, and that is, that they think +that their kind of fishin' is the only kind worth considerin'. The way +they look down upon plain Christian fishin' is enough to rile a +hitchin'-post. I don't want to say nothin' agen no man's way of +attendin' to his own affairs, whether it's kitchen-gardenin', or whether +it's fishin', if he says nothin' agen my way; but when he looks down on +me, and grins at me, I want to haul myself up, and grin at him, if I +kin. And in this case, I kin. I s'pose the house-cat and the cat-fisher +(by which I don't mean the man who fishes for cat-fish) was both made as +they is, and they can't help it; but that don't give 'em no right to put +on airs before other bein's, who gits their meat with a square kill. +Good-night. And sence I've talked so much about it, I've a mind to go +fishin' with you to-morrow myself." + +The next morning found old Peter of the same mind, and after breakfast +he proceeded to fit me out for a day of what he called "plain Christian +trout-fishin'." He gave me a reed rod, about nine feet long, light, +strong, and nicely balanced. The tackle he produced was not of the fancy +order, but his lines were of fine strong linen, and his hooks were of +good shape, clean and sharp, and snooded to the lines with a neatness +that indicated the hand of a man who had been where he learned to wear +little gold rings in his ears. + +"Here are some of these feather insects," he said, "which you kin take +along if you like." And he handed me a paper containing a few artificial +flies. "They're pretty nat'ral," he said, "and the hooks is good. A man +who came here fishin' gave 'em to me, but I shan't want 'em to-day. At +this time of year grasshoppers is the best bait in the kind of place +where we're goin' to fish. The stream, after it comes down from the +mountain, runs through half a mile of medder land before it strikes into +the woods agen. A grasshopper is a little creetur that's got as much +conceit as if his jinted legs was fish-poles, and he thinks he kin jump +over this narrer run of water whenever he pleases; but he don't always +do it, and then if he doesn't git snapped up by the trout that lie along +the banks in the medder, he is floated along into the woods, where +there's always fish enough to come to the second table." + +Having got me ready, Peter took his own particular pole, which he +assured me he had used for eleven years, and hooking on his left arm a +good-sized basket, which his elder pretty daughter had packed with cold +meat, bread, butter, and preserves, we started forth for a three-mile +walk to the fishing-ground. The day was a favorable one for our purpose, +the sky being sometimes over-clouded, which was good for fishing, and +also for walking on a highroad; and sometimes bright, which was good for +effects of mountain-scenery. Not far from the spot where old Peter +proposed to begin our sport, a small frame-house stood by the roadside, +and here the old man halted and entered the open door without knocking +or giving so much as a premonitory stamp. I followed, imitating my +companion in leaving my pole outside, which appeared to be the only +ceremony that the etiquette of those parts required of visitors. In the +room we entered, a small man in his shirt-sleeves sat mending a +basket-handle. He nodded to Peter, and Peter nodded to him. + +"We've come up a-fishin'," said the old man. "Kin your boys give us some +grasshoppers?" + +"I don't know that they've got any ready ketched," said he, "for I +reckon I used what they had this mornin'. But they kin git you some. +Here, Dan, you and Sile go and ketch Mr. Gruse and this young man some +grasshoppers. Take that mustard-box, and see that you git it full." + +Peter and I now took seats, and the conversation began about a black +cow which Peter had to sell, and which the other was willing to buy if +the old man would trade for sheep, which animals, however, the +basket-mender did not appear just at that time to have in his +possession. As I was not very much interested in this subject, I walked +to the back-door and watched two small boys in scanty shirts and +trousers, and ragged straw hats, who were darting about in the grass +catching grasshoppers, of which insects, judging by the frequent pounces +of the boys, there seemed a plentiful supply. + +"Got it full?" said their father, when the boys came in. + +"Crammed," said Dan. + +Old Peter took the little can, pressed the top firmly on, put it in his +coat-tail pocket, and rose to go. "You'd better think about that cow, +Barney," said he. He said nothing to the boys about the box of bait; but +I could not let them catch grasshoppers for us for nothing, and I took a +dime from my pocket, and gave it to Dan. Dan grinned, and Sile looked +sheepishly happy, and at the sight of the piece of silver an expression +of interest came over the face of the father. "Wait a minute," said he, +and he went into a little room that seemed to be a kitchen. Returning, +he brought with him a small string of trout. "Do you want to buy some +fish?" he said. "These is nice fresh ones. I ketched 'em this mornin'." + +To offer to sell fish to a man who is just about to go out to catch them +for himself might, in most cases, be considered an insult, but it was +quite evident that nothing of the kind was intended by Barney. He +probably thought that if I bought grasshoppers, I might buy fish. "You +kin have 'em for a quarter," he said. + +It was derogatory to my pride to buy fish at such a moment, but the man +looked very poor, and there was a shade of anxiety on his face which +touched me. Old Peter stood by without saying a word. "It might be +well," I said, turning to him, "to buy these fish, for we may not catch +enough for supper." + +"Such things do happen," said the old man. + +"Well," said I, "if we have these we shall feel safe in any case." And I +took the fish and gave the man a quarter. It was not, perhaps, a +professional act, but the trout were well worth the money, and I felt +that I was doing a deed of charity. + +Old Peter and I now took our rods, and crossed the road into an enclosed +field, and thence into a wide stretch of grass land, bounded by hills +in front of us and to the right, while a thick forest lay to the left. +We had walked but a short distance, when Peter said: "I'll go down into +the woods, and try my luck there, and you'd better go along up stream, +about a quarter of a mile, to where it's rocky. P'raps you ain't used to +fishin' in the woods, and you might git your line cotched. You'll find +the trout'll bite in the rough water." + +"Where is the stream?" I asked. + +"This is it," he said, pointing to a little brook, which was scarcely +too wide for me to step across, "and there's fish right here, but +they're hard to ketch, fur they git plenty of good livin' and are mighty +sassy about their eatin'. But you kin ketch 'em up there." + +Old Peter now went down toward the woods, while I walked up the little +stream. I had seen trout-brooks before, but never one so diminutive as +this. However, when I came nearer to the point where the stream issued +from between two of the foot-hills of the mountains, which lifted their +forest-covered heights in the distance, I found it wider and shallower, +breaking over its rocky bottom in sparkling little cascades. + +Fishing in such a jolly little stream, surrounded by this mountain +scenery, and with the privileges of the beautiful situation all to +myself, would have been a joy to me if I had had never a bite. But no +such ill-luck befell me. Peter had given me the can of grasshoppers +after putting half of them into his own bait-box, and these I used with +much success. It was grasshopper season, and the trout were evidently on +the lookout for them. I fished in the ripples under the little +waterfalls; and every now and then I drew out a lively trout. Most of +these were of moderate size, and some of them might have been called +small. The large ones probably fancied the forest shades, where old +Peter went. But all I caught were fit for the table, and I was very well +satisfied with the result of my sport. + +About noon I began to feel hungry, and thought it time to look up the +old man, who had the lunch-basket. I walked down the bank of the brook, +and some time before I reached the woods I came to a place where it +expanded to a width of about ten feet. The water here was very clear, +and the motion quiet, so that I could easily see to the bottom, which +did not appear to be more than a foot below the surface. Gazing into +this transparent water, as I walked, I saw a large trout glide across +the stream, and disappear under the grassy bank which overhung the +opposite side. I instantly stopped. This was a much larger fish than +any I had caught, and I determined to try for him. + +I stepped back from the bank, so as to be out of sight, and put a fine +grasshopper on my hook; then I lay, face downward, on the grass, and +worked myself slowly forward until I could see the middle of the stream; +then quietly raising my pole, I gave my grasshopper a good swing, as if +he had made a wager to jump over the stream at its widest part. But as +he certainly would have failed in such an ambitious endeavor, especially +if he had been caught by a puff of wind, I let him come down upon the +surface of the water, a little beyond the middle of the brook. +Grasshoppers do not sink when they fall into the water, and so I kept +this fellow upon the surface, and gently moved him along, as if, with +all the conceit taken out of him by the result of his ill-considered +leap, he was ignominiously endeavoring to swim to shore. As I did this, +I saw the trout come out from under the bank, move slowly toward the +grasshopper, and stop directly under him. Trembling with anxiety and +eager expectation, I endeavored to make the movements of the insect +still more natural, and, as far as I was able, I threw into him a sudden +perception of his danger, and a frenzied desire to get away. But, +either the trout had had all the grasshoppers he wanted, or he was able, +from long experience, to perceive the difference between a natural +exhibition of emotion and a histrionic imitation of it, for he slowly +turned, and, with a few slight movements of his tail, glided back under +the bank. In vain did the grasshopper continue his frantic efforts to +reach the shore; in vain did he occasionally become exhausted, and sink +a short distance below the surface; in vain did he do everything that he +knew, to show that he appreciated what a juicy and delicious morsel he +was, and how he feared that the trout might yet be tempted to seize him; +the fish did not come out again. + +Then I withdrew my line, and moved back from the stream. I now +determined to try Mr. Trout with a fly, and I took out the paper old +Peter Gruse had given me. I did not know exactly what kind of winged +insects were in order at this time of the year, but I was sure that +yellow butterflies were not particular about just what month it was, so +long as the sun shone warmly. I therefore chose that one of Peter's +flies which was made of the yellowest feathers, and, removing the snood +and hook from my line, I hastily attached this fly, which was provided +with a hook quite suitable for my desired prize. Crouching on the +grass, I again approached the brook. Gaily flitting above the glassy +surface of the water, in all the fancied security of tender youth and +innocence, came my yellow fly. Backward and forward over the water he +gracefully flew, sometimes rising a little into the air, as if to view +the varied scenery of the woods and mountains, and then settling for a +moment close to the surface, to better inspect his glittering image as +it came up from below, and showing in his every movement his intense +enjoyment of summer-time and life. + +Out from his dark retreat now came the trout, and settling quietly at +the bottom of the brook, he appeared to regard the venturesome insect +with a certain interest. But he must have detected the iron-barb of vice +beneath the mask of blitheful innocence, for, after a short +deliberation, the trout turned and disappeared under the bank. As he +slowly moved away, he seemed to be bigger than ever. I must catch that +fish! Surely he would bite at something. It was quite evident that his +mind was not wholly unsusceptible to emotions emanating from an +awakening appetite, and I believed that if he saw exactly what he +wanted, he would not neglect an opportunity of availing himself of it. +But what did he want? I must certainly find out. Drawing myself back +again, I took off the yellow fly, and put on another. This was a white +one, with black blotches, like a big miller moth which had fallen into +an ink-pot. It was surely a conspicuous creature, and as I crept forward +and sent it swooping over the stream, I could not see how any trout, +with a single insectivorous tooth in his head, could fail to rise to +such an occasion. But this trout did not rise. He would not even come +out from under his bank to look at the swiftly flitting creature. He +probably could see it well enough from where he was. + +But I was not to be discouraged. I put on another fly; a green one with +a red tail. It did not look like any insect that I had ever seen, but I +thought that the trout might know more about such things than I. He did +come out to look at it, but probably considering it a product of that +modern æstheticism which sacrifices natural beauty to mediæval crudeness +of color and form, he retired without evincing any disposition to +countenance this style of art. + +It was evident that it would be useless to put on any other flies, for +the two I had left were a good deal bedraggled, and not nearly so +attractive as those I had used. Just before leaving the house that +morning, Peter's son had given me a wooden match-box filled with worms +for bait, which, although I did not expect to need, I put in my pocket. +As a last resort I determined to try the trout with a worm. I selected +the plumpest and most comely of the lot; I put a new hook on my line; I +looped him about it in graceful coils, and cautiously approached the +water, as before. Now a worm never attempts to wildly leap across a +flowing brook, nor does he flit in thoughtless innocence through the +sunny air, and over the bright transparent stream. If he happens to fall +into the water, he sinks to the bottom; and if he be of a kind not +subject to drowning, he generally endeavors to secrete himself under a +stone, or to burrow in the soft mud. With this knowledge of his nature I +gently dropped my worm upon the surface of the stream, and then allowed +him slowly to sink. Out sailed the trout from under the bank, but +stopped before reaching the sinking worm. There was a certain something +in his action which seemed to indicate a disgust at the sight of such +plebeian food, and a fear seized me that he might now swim off, and pay +no further attention to my varied baits. Suddenly there was a ripple in +the water, and I felt a pull on the line. Instantly I struck; and then +there was a tug. My blood boiled through every vein and artery, and I +sprang to my feet. I did not give him the butt; I did not let him run +with yards of line down the brook; nor reel him in, and let him make +another mad course up stream; I did not turn him over as he jumped into +the air; nor endeavor, in any way, to show him that I understood those +tricks, which his depraved nature prompted him to play upon the angler. +With an absolute dependence upon the strength of old Peter's tackle, I +lifted the fish. Out he came from the water, which held him with a +gentle suction as if unwilling to let him go, and then he whirled +through the air like a meteor flecked with rosy fire, and landed on the +fresh green grass a dozen feet behind me. Down on my knees I dropped +before him as he tossed and rolled, his beautiful spots and colors +glistening in the sun. He was truly a splendid trout, fully a foot long, +round and heavy. Carefully seizing him, I easily removed the hook from +the bony roof of his capacious mouth thickly set with sparkling teeth, +and then I tenderly killed him, with all his pluck, as old Peter would +have said, still in him. + +I covered the rest of the fish in my basket with wet plantain leaves, +and laid my trout king on this cool green bed. Then I hurried off to the +old man, whom I saw coming out of the woods. When I opened my basket and +showed him what I had caught, Peter looked surprised, and, taking up +the trout, examined it. + +"Why, this is a big fellow," he said. "At first I thought it was Barney +Sloat's boss trout, but it isn't long enough for him. Barney showed me +his trout, that gen'rally keeps in a deep pool, where a tree has fallen +over the stream down there. Barney tells me he often sees him, and he's +been tryin' fur two years to ketch him, but he never has, and I say he +never will, fur them big trout's got too much sense to fool round any +kind of victuals that's got a string to it. They let a little fish eat +all he wants, and then they eat him. How did you ketch this one?" + +I gave an account of the manner of the capture, to which Peter listened +with interest and approval. + +"If you'd a stood off and made a cast at that feller, you'd either have +caught him at the first flip, which isn't likely, as he didn't seem to +want no feather flies, or else you'd a skeered him away. That's all well +enough in the tumblin' water, where you gen'rally go fur trout, but the +man that's got the true feelin' fur fish will try to suit his idees to +theirs, and if he keeps on doin' that, he's like to learn a thing or two +that may do him good. That's a fine fish, and you ketched him well. I've +got a lot of 'em, but nothin' of that heft." + +After luncheon we fished for an hour or two with no result worth +recording, and then we started for home. A couple of partridges ran +across the road some distance ahead of us, and these gave Peter an idea. + +"Do you know," said he, "if things go on as they're goin' on now, that +there'll come a time when it won't be considered high-toned sport to +shoot a bird slam-bang dead. The game gunners will pop 'em with little +harpoons, with long threads tied to 'em, and the feller that can tire +out his bird, and haul him in with the longest and thinnest piece of +spool thread, will be the crackest sportsman." + +At this point I remarked to my companion that perhaps he was a little +hard on the game fishermen. + +"Well," said old Peter, with a smile on his corrugated visage, "I reckon +I'd have to do a lot of talkin' before I'd git even with 'em, fur the +way they give me the butt for my style of fishin'. What I say behind +their backs I say to their faces. I seed one of these fellers once with +a fish on his hook, that he was runnin' up an' down the stream like a +chased chicken. 'Why don't you pull him in?' says I. 'And break my rod +an' line?' says he. 'Why don't you have a stronger line and pole?' says +I. 'There wouldn't be no science in that,' says he. 'If it's your +science you want to show off,' says I, 'you ought to fish for mud eels. +There's more game in 'em than there is in any other fish round here, and +as they're mighty lively out of water you might play one of 'em fur half +an hour after you got him on shore, and it would take all your science +to keep him from reelin' up his end of the line faster than you could +yourn.'" + +When we reached the farm the old man went into the barn, and I took the +fish into the house. I found the two pretty daughters in the large room, +where the eating and some of the cooking was done. I opened my basket, +and with great pride showed them the big trout I had caught. They +evidently thought it was a large fish, but they looked at each other, +and smiled in a way that I did not understand. I had expected from them, +at least, as much admiration for my prize and my skill as their father +had shown. + +"You don't seem to think much of this fine trout that I took such +trouble to catch," I remarked. + +"You mean," said the elder girl, with a laugh, "that you bought of +Barney Sloat." + +I looked at her in astonishment. + +"Barney was along here to-day," she said, "and he told about your buying +your fish of him." + +"Bought of him!" I exclaimed, indignantly. "A little string of fish at +the bottom of the basket I bought of him, but all the others, and this +big one, I caught myself." + +"Oh, of course," said the pretty daughter, "bought the little ones and +caught all the big ones!" + +"Barney Sloat ought to have kept his mouth shut," said the younger +pretty daughter, looking at me with an expression of pity. "He'd got his +money, and he hadn't no business to go telling on people. Nobody likes +that sort of thing. But this big fish is a real nice one, and you shall +have it for your supper." + +"Thank you," I said, with dignity, and left the room. + +I did not intend to have any further words with these young women on +this subject, but I cannot deny that I was annoyed and mortified. This +was the result of a charitable action. I think I was never more proud of +anything than of catching that trout; and it was a good deal of a +downfall to suddenly find myself regarded as a mere city man fishing +with a silver hook. But, after all, what did it matter? + +The boy who did not seem to be accounted a member of the family came +into the house, and as he passed me he smiled good-humoredly, and said: +"Buyed 'em!" + +I felt like throwing a chair at him, but refrained out of respect to my +host. Before supper the old man came out on to the porch where I was +sitting. "It seems," said he, "that my gals has got it inter their heads +that you bought that big fish of Barney Sloat, and as I can't say I seed +you ketch it, they're not willin' to give in, 'specially as I didn't git +no such big one. 'Tain't wise to buy fish when you're goin' fishin' +yourself. It's pretty certain to tell agen you." + +"You ought to have given me that advice before," I said, somewhat +shortly. "You saw me buy the fish." + +"You don't s'pose," said old Peter, "that I'm goin' to say anythin' to +keep money out of my neighbor's pockets. We don't do that way in these +parts. But I've told the gals they're not to speak another word about +it, so you needn't give your mind no worry on that score. And now let's +go in to supper. If you're as hungry as I am, there won't be many of +them fish left fur breakfast." + +That evening, as we were sitting smoking on the porch, old Peter's mind +reverted to the subject of the unfounded charge against me. "It goes +pretty hard," he remarked, "to have to stand up and take a thing you +don' like when there's no call fur it. It's bad enough when there is a +call fur it. That matter about your fish buyin' reminds me of what +happened two summers ago to my sister, or ruther to her two little +boys--or, more correct yit, to one of 'em. Them was two cur'ous little +boys. They was allus tradin' with each other. Their father deals mostly +in horses, and they must have got it from him. At the time I'm tellin' +of they'd traded everythin' they had, and when they hadn't nothin' else +left to swap they traded names. Joe he took Johnny's name, and Johnny he +took Joe's. Jist about when they'd done this, they both got sick with +sumthin' or other, the oldest one pretty bad, the other not much. Now +there ain't no doctor inside of twenty miles of where my sister lives. +But there's one who sometimes has a call to go through that part of the +country, and the people about there is allus very glad when they chance +to be sick when he comes along. Now this good luck happened to my +sister, fur the doctor come by jist at this time. He looks into the +state of the boys, and while their mother has gone downstairs he mixes +some medicine he has along with him. 'What's your name?' he says to the +oldest boy when he'd done it. Now as he'd traded names with his brother, +fair and square, he wasn't goin' back on the trade, and he said, 'Joe.' +'And my name's Johnny,' up and says the other one. Then the doctor he +goes and gives the bottle of medicine to their mother, and says he: +'This medicine is fur Joe. You must give him a tablespoonful every two +hours. Keep up the treatment, and he'll be all right. As fur Johnny, +there's nothin' much the matter with him. He don't need no medicine.' +And then he went away. Every two hours after that Joe, who wasn't sick +worth mentionin', had to swallow a dose of horrid stuff, and pretty soon +he took to his bed, and Johnny he jist played round and got well in the +nat'ral way. Joe's mother kept up the treatment, gittin' up in the night +to feed that stuff to him; but the poor little boy got wuss and wuss, +and one mornin' he says to his mother, says he: 'Mother, I guess I'm +goin' to die, and I'd ruther do that than take any more of that +medicine, and I wish you'd call Johnny and we'll trade names back agen, +and if he don't want to come and do it, you kin tell him he kin keep the +old minkskin I gave him to boot, on account of his name havin' a Wesley +in it.' 'Trade names,' says his mother, 'what do you mean by that?' And +then he told her what he and Johnny had done. 'And did you ever tell +anybody about this?' says she. 'Nobody but Dr. Barnes,' says he. 'After +that I got sick and forgot it.' When my sister heard that, an idee +struck into her like you put a fork into an apple dumplin'. Traded +names, and told the doctor! She'd all along thought it strange that the +boy that seemed wuss should be turned out, and the other one put under +treatment; but it wasn't fur her to set up her opinion agen that of a +man like Dr. Barnes. Down she went, in about seventeen jumps, to where +Eli Timmins, the hired man, was ploughin' in the corn. 'Take that horse +out of that,' she hollers, 'and you may kill him if you have to, but git +Dr. Barnes here before my little boy dies.' When the doctor come he +heard the story, and looked at the sick youngster, and then says he: 'If +he'd kept his minkskin, and not hankered after a Wesley to his name, +he'd a had a better time of it. Stop the treatment, and he'll be all +right.' Which she did; and he was. Now it seems to me that this is a +good deal like your case. You've had to take a lot of medicine that +didn't belong to you, and I guess it's made you feel pretty bad; but +I've told my gals to stop the treatment, and you'll be all right in the +mornin'. Good-night. Your candlestick is on the kitchen table." + +For two days longer I remained in this neighborhood, wandering alone +over the hills, and up the mountain-sides, and by the brooks, which +tumbled and gurgled through the lonely forest. Each evening I brought +home a goodly supply of trout, but never a great one like the noble +fellow for which I angled in the meadow stream. + +On the morning of my departure I stood on the porch with old Peter +waiting for the arrival of the mail driver, who was to take me to the +nearest railroad town. + +"I don't want to say nothin'," remarked the old man, "that would keep +them fellers with the jinted poles from stoppin' at my house when they +comes to these parts a-fishin'. I ain't got no objections to their +poles; 'tain't that. And I don't mind nuther their standin' off, and +throwin' their flies as fur as they've a mind to; that's not it. And it +ain't even the way they have of worryin' their fish. I wouldn't do it +myself, but if they like it, that's their business. But what does rile +me is the cheeky way in which they stand up and say that there isn't no +decent way of fishin' but their way. And that to a man that's ketched +more fish, of more different kinds, with more game in 'em, and had more +fun at it, with a lot less money, and less tomfoolin' than any fishin' +feller that ever come here and talked to me like an old cat tryin' to +teach a dog to ketch rabbits. No, sir; agen I say that I don't take no +money fur entertainin' the only man that ever come out here to go +a-fishin' in a plain, Christian way. But if you feel tetchy about not +payin' nothin', you kin send me one of them poles in three pieces, a +good strong one, that'll lift Barney Sloat's trout, if ever I hook him." + +I sent him the rod; and next summer I am going out to see him use it. + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13531 *** diff --git a/13531-h/13531-h.htm b/13531-h/13531-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b3e51d7 --- /dev/null +++ b/13531-h/13531-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,3138 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Amos Kilbright; His Adscititious Experiences, by Frank R. Stockton</title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + P { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + } + HR { width: 33%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + } + BODY{margin-left: 6%; + margin-right: 6%; + } + .linenum {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 4%;} /* poetry number */ + .note {margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;} /* footnote */ + .blkquot {margin-left: 4em; margin-right: 4em;} /* block indent */ + .pagenum {position: absolute; left: 92%; font-size: smaller; text-align: right;} /* page numbers */ + .sidenote {width: 20%; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding-left: 1em; font-size: smaller; float: right; clear: right;} + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .poem br {display: none;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem span {display: block; margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 2em;} + .poem span.i4 {display: block; margin-left: 4em;} + .poem .caesura {vertical-align: -200%;} + hr.full { width: 100%; + height: 5px; } + a:link {color:#0000ff; + text-decoration:none} + link {color:#0000ff; + text-decoration:none} + a:visited {color:#0000ff; + text-decoration:none} + a:hover {color:#ff0000} + pre {font-size: 8pt;} + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> +</head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13531 ***</div> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Amos Kilbright; His Adscititious Experiences, +by Frank R. Stockton</h1> +<hr class="full" noshade> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h1>AMOS KILBRIGHT</h1> +<h2>HIS ADSCITITIOUS EXPERIENCES</h2> +<h3><i>With Other Stories</i></h3> +<br /> + +<h2>BY FRANK R. STOCKTON</h2> + +<br /> + +<h4>NEW YORK<br /> +CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS<br /> +1888</h4> + +<br /> + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<br> + +<br /> + +<a name='CONTENTS'></a><h2>CONTENTS.</h2> + +<br /> + +<h3><a href='#AMOS_KILBRIGHT_HIS_ADSCITITIOUS_EXPERIENCES'>AMOS KILBRIGHT: HIS ADSCITITIOUS EXPERIENCES</a></h3> +<h3><a href='#THE_REVERSIBLE_LANDSCAPE'>THE REVERSIBLE LANDSCAPE</a></h3> +<h3><a href='#DUSKY_PHILOSOPHY'>DUSKY PHILOSOPHY—IN TWO EXPOSITIONS:</a><br /> +<font SIZE="-1"><a href='#FIRST_EXPOSITION'>FIRST EXPOSITION: A STORY OF SEVEN DEVILS</a><br /> +<a href='#SECOND_EXPOSITION'>SECOND EXPOSITION: GRANDISON'S QUANDARY</a></font></h3> +<h3><a href='#PLAIN_FISHING'>PLAIN FISHING</a></h3> + +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<br> + +<br /> + +<a name='AMOS_KILBRIGHT_HIS_ADSCITITIOUS_EXPERIENCES'></a><h2>AMOS KILBRIGHT: HIS ADSCITITIOUS EXPERIENCES.</h2> + +<br /> + +<blockquote><p>[<i>This story is told by Mr. Richard Colesworthy, an attorney-at-law, in +a large town in one of our Eastern States. The fact that Mr. Colesworthy +is a practical man, and but little given, outside of his profession, to +speculative theorizing, adds a weight to his statements which they might +not otherwise possess.</i>]</p></blockquote> + +<p>In the practice of my profession I am in the habit of meeting with all +sorts and conditions of men, women, and even children. But I do not know +that I ever encountered anyone who excited in me a greater interest than +the man about whom I am going to tell you.</p> + +<p>I was busily engaged one morning in my office, which is on the ground +floor of my dwelling and opens upon the street, when, after a +preliminary knock, a young man entered and asked leave to speak with me. +He was tall and well made, plainly but decently dressed, and with a +fresh, healthy color on his smoothly shaven face. There was something in +his air, a sort of respectful awkwardness, which was not without a +suggestion of good breeding, and in his countenance there was an +annoyed or troubled expression which did not sit well upon it. I asked +him to take a chair, and as he did so the thought came to me that I +should like to be of service to him. Of course I desire to aid and +benefit all my clients, but there are some persons whose appearance +excites in one an instinctive sympathy, and toward whom there arise at +first sight sentiments of kindliness. The man had said almost nothing; +it was simply his manner that had impressed me. I mention these points +because generally I do not take an interest in persons until I know a +good deal about them.</p> + +<p>"What can I do for you?" I asked.</p> + +<p>The man did not immediately answer, but began searching for something in +one of the pockets of his coat. The little awkwardness which I had first +noticed, now became more apparent. He appeared to be looking for his +pockets rather than for what might be in one of them. He was conscious +of his ungainliness and reddened a little as he fumbled on the inside +and outside of his coat.</p> + +<p>"I pray you pardon me," he said, "but I will bring before you instantly +the matter of my business."</p> + +<p>And so saying, he got his hand into a breast pocket and drew out a +little packet. There was a certain intonation of his voice which, at +first made me think that he was not an American, but in that intonation +there was really nothing foreign. He was certainly a stranger, he might +be from the backwoods, and both his manner and speech appeared odd to +me; but soon I had no doubt about his being my countryman. In fact, +there was something in his general appearance which seemed to me to be +distinctively American.</p> + +<p>"I came to you, sir," he said, "to ask if you would have the goodness to +purchase one or more of these tickets?" And he held out to me a card +entitling one person to admission to a séance to be given by a party of +spiritualists in one of the public buildings of the town.</p> + +<p>A feeling of anger arose within me. I was chagrined to think that I had +begun to interest myself in a person who merely came to interrupt me in +my business by trying to sell me tickets to a spiritualistic exhibition. +My instant impulse was to turn from the man and let him see that I was +offended by his intrusion, but my reason told me that he had done +nothing that called for resentment. If I had expected something more +important from him, that was my affair. He had not pretended to have any +other business than that which brought him.</p> + +<p>And, besides, he offered me something which in fact I wanted. I am a +member of a society for psychical research, which, about a year before, +had been organized in our town. It is composed almost exclusively of +persons who are desirous of honestly investigating the facts, as well as +theories, connected with the spiritual phenomena, not only of our own +day, but of all ages. We had heard of the spiritualistic exhibitions +which were to be given in our town, and I, with a number of my +fellow-members, had determined to attend them. If there was anything +real or tangible in the performances of these people we wanted to know +it. Considering all this, it would be foolish for me to be angry with a +man who had brought me the very tickets I intended to buy, and, instead +of turning away from him, I took out my pocket-book.</p> + +<p>"I will take one ticket for each of the three séances," I said. And I +placed the money on the table.</p> + +<p>I should have been glad to buy two sets of tickets; one for my wife; but +I knew this would be useless. She did not belong to our society, and +took no interest in its investigations.</p> + +<p>"These things are all tricks and nonsense," she said. "I don't want to +know anything about them. And if they were true, I most certainly would +not want to know anything about them."</p> + +<p>So I contented myself with the tickets for my own use, and as the man +slowly selected them from his little package, I asked him if he had sold +many of them.</p> + +<p>"These you now buy are the first of which I have made disposal," he +answered. "For two days I have endeavored to sell them, but to no +purpose. There are many people to whom I cannot bring myself to speak +upon the matter, and those I have asked care not for these things. I +would not have come to you, but having twice passed your open window, I +liked your face and took courage."</p> + +<p>I smiled. So this man had been studying me before I began to study him; +and this discovery revived in me the desire that he had come on some +more interesting business than that of selling tickets; a thing he did +so badly as to make me wonder why he had undertaken it.</p> + +<p>"I imagine," said I, "that this sort of business is out of your line."</p> + +<p>He looked at me a moment, and then with earnestness exclaimed: +"Entirely! utterly! absolutely! I am altogether unfitted for this +calling, and it is an injustice to those who send me out for me to +longer continue in it. Some other person might sell their tickets; I +cannot. And yet," he said, with a sigh, "what is there that I may do?"</p> + +<p>The idea that that strong, well-grown man should have any difficulty in +finding something to do surprised me. If he chose to go out and labor +with his hands—and surely no man who was willing to wander about +selling tickets should object to that—there would be no difficulty in +his obtaining a livelihood in our town.</p> + +<p>"If you want regular employment," I said, "I think you can easily find +it."</p> + +<p>"I want it," he answered, his face clouded by a troubled expression, +"but I cannot take it."</p> + +<p>"Cannot take it!" I exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"No," he said, "I am not my own master. I am as much a slave as any +negro hereabouts!"</p> + +<p>I was rather surprised at this meaningless allusion, but contented +myself with asking him what he meant by not being his own master.</p> + +<p>He looked on the floor and then he looked at me, with a steady, earnest +gaze. "I should like well to tell you my story," he said. "I have been +ordered not to tell it, but I have resolved that when I should meet a +man to whom I should be moved to speak I would speak."</p> + +<p>Now, I felt a very natural emotion of pride. My perception of objects +of interest was a quick and a correct one. "Speak on," I said, "I shall +be very glad to hear what you have to say."</p> + +<p>He looked toward the open door. I arose and closed it. When I had +resumed my seat he drew his chair closer to me, leaned toward me, and +said:</p> + +<p>"In the first place you should know that I am a materialized spirit."</p> + +<p>I sat up, hard pressed against the back of my chair.</p> + +<p>"Nay, start not," he said, "I am now as truly flesh and blood as you +are; but a short three weeks ago I was a spirit in the realms of endless +space. I know," he continued, "that my history is a sore thing to +inflict upon any man, and there are few to whom I would have broached +it, but I will make it brief. Three weeks ago these spiritualists held +privately in this town what they call a séance, and at that time I was +impelled, by a power I understood not, to appear among them. After I had +come it was supposed that a mistake had been made, and that I was not +the spirit wanted. In the temporary confusion occasioned by this +supposition, and while the attention of the exhibitors was otherwise +occupied, I was left exposed to the influence of the materializing +agencies for a much longer time than had been intended; so long, +indeed, that instead of remaining in the misty, indistinct form in which +spirits are presented by these men to their patrons, I became as +thoroughly embodied, as full of physical life and energy, and as +complete a mortal man as I was when I disappeared from this earth, one +hundred and two years ago."</p> + +<p>"One hundred and two years!" I mechanically ejaculated. There was upon +me the impulse to get up and go where I could breathe the outer air; to +find my wife and talk to her about marketing or some household affair, +to get away from this being—human or whatever he was—but this was +impossible. That interest which dawned upon me when I first perceived my +visitor now held me as if it had been a spell.</p> + +<p>"Yes," he said, "I deceased in 1785, being then in my thirtieth year. I +was a citizen of Bixbury, on the Massachusetts coast, but I am not +unconnected with this place. Old Mr. Scott, of your town, is my +grandson."</p> + +<p>I am obliged to chronicle the fact that my present part in this +conversation consisted entirely of ejaculations. "Old Mr. Scott your +grandson!" I said.</p> + +<p>"Yes," he replied; "my daughter, who was but two years old when I left +her, married Lemuel Scott, of Bixbury, who moved to this town soon after +old Mr. Scott was born. It was, indeed, on account of this good old man +that I became materialized. He was present at the private séance of +which I have spoken, and being asked if he would like to see a person +from the other world, he replied that he should be pleased to behold his +grandfather. When the necessary influences were set to work I appeared. +The spiritualists, who, without much thought, had conceived the idea +that the grandfather of old Mr. Scott ought, in the ordinary nature of +things, to be a very venerable personage, were disappointed when they +saw me, and concluded I was one who, by some mistake, had been +wrongfully summoned. They, therefore, set me aside, as it were, and +occupied themselves with other matters. Old Mr. Scott went away +unsatisfied, and strengthened in his disbelief in the powers of the +spiritualists, while I, as I have before said, was left unnoticed under +the power of the materializing force, until I was made corporeal as I am +now. When the spiritualists discovered what had happened they were much +disturbed, and immediately set about to dematerialize me, for it is not +their purpose or desire to cause departed spirits to again become +inhabitants of this world. But all their efforts were of no avail. I +remained as much a man as anyone of themselves. They found me in full +health and vigor, for I had never had a day's sickness in my life, +having come to my death by drowning while foolishly swimming too far +from land in a strong ebb tide, and my body, being carried out to sea, +was never recovered. Being thus put to their wit's end, they determined +to keep the matter privy, and to make the best of it, and the first +necessity was to provide me with clothing, for on my second entrance +into this world I was as totally without apparel as when I first came +into it. They gave me these garments of the ordinary fashion of the day, +but to which I find myself much unaccustomed, and enjoined upon me to +keep silent in regard to what had happened; fearing, as I was made aware +by some unguarded words, that their efforts to dematerialize me might +bring them into trouble."</p> + +<p>My professional instincts now came to the front. "That would be murder," +I said, "and nothing less."</p> + +<p>"So I myself told them," he continued, "for I had come to the +determination that I would choose to finish out the life I had broken +off so suddenly. But they paid little heed to my words and continued +their experiments. But, as I have told you, their efforts were without +avail, and they have ceased to make further trial of dematerialization. +As, of course, it would be impossible to keep a full-grown man for any +considerable length of time secluded and unseen, they judged it wise to +permit me to appear as an ordinary human being; and having no other use +to which they could put me, they set me to selling tickets for them, and +in this business I have fared so badly that I shall restore to them +these that are left, and counsel them to seek another agent, I being of +detriment to them rather than profit. What may then happen I do not +know, for, as I told you, I am not my own master."</p> + +<p>"I do not understand you," I said. "If you have been, in this +unparalleled manner, restored to your physical existence, surely you are +free to do as you please. What these spiritualists have done for you was +done by accident. They intended you no benefit, and they have no claim +upon you."</p> + +<p>"That is true," he said, with a sigh, "but they have a hold upon me. It +was but yesterday that they informed me that, although, so far, they had +failed to restore me to what they call my normal spiritual existence, +they had every reason to believe that they soon would be able to do so. +A psychic scientist of Germany has discovered a process of +dematerialization, and they have sent to him for his formula. This, in a +short time, they expect to receive, and they assure me that they will +not hesitate to put it in force if I should cause them trouble. Now, +sir," he continued, and as he spoke there was a moisture about his eyes, +"I am very fond of life. I have been restored to that mortality from +which I was suddenly snatched by the cruel sea, and I do not wish to +lose it again until I have lived out my natural term of years. My family +is one of long life, and I feel that I have a right to fifty more years +of existence, and this strong desire for the natural remainder of my +life is that which gives these men their power over me. I was never a +coward, but I cannot but fear those who may at any moment cause this +form, these limbs, my physical state and life, to vanish like a +candle-flame blown out."</p> + +<p>My sympathies were now strongly aroused in behalf of the subject of +these most extraordinary conditions. "That which you fear must not be +allowed," I said. "No man has the right to take away the life of +another, no matter what plan or method he may use. I will see the +spiritualists, and make it plain to them that what they threaten they +cannot be allowed to do."</p> + +<p>The man arose. "Sir," he said, "I feel that I have truly found a +friend. Whatever may happen to me, I shall never forget your kindness to +a very stranger." He held out his hand, and I stood up by him and took +it. It was as much a flesh and blood hand as my own.</p> + +<p>"What is your name?" I asked. "You have not yet told me that."</p> + +<p>"I am Amos Kilbright, of Bixbury," he answered.</p> + +<p>"You have not revisited your native place?" I said.</p> + +<p>"No," he replied, "I much desire to do so, but I have no money for a +journey, even on foot, and I doubt me much if those men would suffer me +to go to Bixbury."</p> + +<p>"And have you spoken to your grandson, old Mr. Scott?" I said. "It is +but right that you should make yourself known to him."</p> + +<p>"So have I thought," he answered, "and I have felt an earnest drawing +toward my daughter's child. I have seen him thrice, but have not had the +heart to speak to him and declare myself the progenitor of that mother +whose memory I know he cherishes."</p> + +<p>"You shall make yourself known to him," I said. "I will prepare the +way."</p> + +<p>He shook me again by the hand and took his leave without a word. He was +deeply affected.</p> + +<p>I reseated myself by my table, one thought after another rushing through +my mind. Had ever man heard a story such as this! What were all the +experiences of the members of the Society for Psychical Research, their +stories of apparitions, their instances of occult influences, their best +authenticated incidents of supernaturalism compared to this experience +of mine! Should I hasten and tell it all to my wife? I hesitated. If +what I had heard should not be true—and this, my first doubt or +suspicion impressed upon me how impossible to me had been doubt or +suspicion during the presence of my visitor—it would be wrong to +uselessly excite her mind. On the other hand, if I had heard nothing but +the truth, what would happen should she sympathize as deeply with Amos +Kilbright as I did, and then should that worthy man suddenly become +dematerialized, perhaps before her very eyes? No, I would not tell +her—at least not yet. But I must see the spiritualists. And that +afternoon I went to them.</p> + +<p>The leader and principal worker of the men who were about to give a +series of spiritual manifestations in our town was Mr. Corbridge, a man +of middle-age with a large head and earnest visage. When I spoke to him +of Amos Kilbright he was very much annoyed.</p> + +<p>"So he has been talking to you," he said, "and after all the warnings I +gave him! Well, he does that sort of thing at his own risk!"</p> + +<p>"We all do things at our own risk," I said, "and he has as much right to +choose his line of conduct as anybody else."</p> + +<p>"No, he hasn't," said Mr. Corbridge, "he belongs to us, and it is for us +to choose his line of conduct for him."</p> + +<p>"That is nonsense," said I. "You have no more right over him than I +have."</p> + +<p>"Now then," said Mr. Corbridge, his eyes beginning to sparkle, "I may as +well talk plainly to you. My associates and myself have considered this +matter very carefully. At first we thought that if this fellow should +tell his story we would simply pooh-pooh the whole of it, and let people +think he was a little touched in his mind, which would be so natural a +conclusion that everybody might be expected to come to it. But as we +have determined to dematerialize him, his disappearance would bring +suspicion upon us, and we might get into trouble if he should be +considered a mere commonplace person. So we decided to speak out +plainly, say what we had done, and what we were going to do, and thus +put ourselves at the head of the spirit operators of the world. But we +are not yet ready to do anything or to make our announcements, and if he +had held his tongue we might have given him a pretty long string."</p> + +<p>"And do you mean," I said, "that you and your associates positively +intend to dematerialize Mr. Kilbright?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly," he answered.</p> + +<p>"Then, I declare such an act would be inhuman; a horrible crime."</p> + +<p>"No," said Mr. Corbridge, "it would be neither. In the first place he +isn't human. It is by accident that he is what he is. But it was our +affair entirely, and it was a most wonderfully fortunate thing for us +that it happened. At first it frightened us a little, but we have got +used to it now, and we see the great opportunities that this entirely +unparalleled case will give us. As he is, he is of no earthly good to +anybody. You can't take a man out of the last century and expect him to +get on in any sort of business at the present day. He is too +old-fashioned. He doesn't know how we do things in the year eighteen +eighty-seven. We put this subject to work selling tickets just to keep +him occupied; but he can't even do that. But, as a spirit who can be +materialized or dematerialized whenever we please, he will be of the +greatest value to us. When a spirit has been brought out as strongly as +he has been it will be the easiest thing in the world to do it again. +Every time you bring one out the less trouble it is to make it appear +the next time you want it; and in this case the conditions are so +favorable that it will be absolute business suicide in us if we allow +ourselves to lose the chance of working it. So you see, sir, that we +have marked out our course, and I assure you that we intend to stick to +it."</p> + +<p>"And I assure you," said I, rising to go, "that I shall make it my +business to interfere with your wicked machinations."</p> + +<p>Mr. Corbridge laughed. "You'll find," he said, "that we have turned this +thing over pretty carefully, and we are ready for whatever the courts +may do. If we are charged with making away with anybody, we can, if we +like, make him appear, alive and well, before judge and jury. And then +what will there be to say against us? Besides, we are quite sure that no +laws can be found against bringing beings from the other world, or +sending them back into it, provided it can be proved by the subject's +admission, or in any other manner, that he really died once in a natural +way. You cannot be tried for causing a man's death a second time."</p> + +<p>I was not prepared to make any answer on this point, but I went away +with a firm resolution to protect Amos Kilbright in the full enjoyment +of his reassumed physical existence, if the power of law, or any other +power, could do it.</p> + +<p>The next morning Mr. Corbridge called on me at my office. "I shall be +very sorry," he said, "if any of my remarks of yesterday should cause +unpleasant feelings between us. We are desirous of being on good terms +with everybody, especially with members of the Society for Psychical +Research. You ought to work with us."</p> + +<p>"We do not work with you," I replied, "nor ever shall. Our object is to +search earnestly and honestly into the subject of spiritual +manifestation, and not to make money out of unfortunate subjects of +experiment."</p> + +<p>"You misunderstand us," said he, "but I am not going to argue the +question. I wish to be on good terms with you and to act fairly and +plainly all around. We find that we cannot make use of the +dematerialization process as soon as we expected, for the German +scientist who controls it has declined to send us his formula, but has +consented to come over and work it on this subject himself. His +engagements will not allow him to visit this country immediately, but +he is very enthusiastic about it, and he is bound to come before long. +Now, as you seem to be interested in this ex-Kilbright, we will make you +an offer. We will give him into your charge until we want him. He is of +no use to us, as he can't tell us anything about spiritual matters, his +present memory beginning just where it broke off when he sank in the +ocean in seventeen eighty-five, but he might be very useful to a man who +was inclined to study up old-time manners and customs. And so, if it +suits you, we will make him over to you, agreeing to give you three +days' notice before we take any measures to dematerialize him. We are +not afraid of your getting away with him, for our power over him will be +all the same, no matter where he is."</p> + +<p>"I will have no man made over to me," said I, "and Mr. Kilbright being +his own master, can do with himself what he pleases; but, as I said +before, I shall protect him, and do everything in my power to thwart +your schemes against him. And you must remember he will have other +friends besides me. He has relatives in this town."</p> + +<p>"None but old Mr. Scott, at least so far as I know," said Corbridge, +"and he need not expect any help from him, for that ancient personage +is a most arrant disbeliever in spiritualism."</p> + +<p>And with this remark he took his leave.</p> + +<p>That very afternoon came to me Amos Kilbright, his face shining with +pleasure. He greeted me warmly, and thanked me for having so kindly +offered to give him employment by which he might live and feel under +obligations to no man.</p> + +<p>I had promised nothing of the kind, and my mind was filled with +abhorrence of such men as Corbridge, who would not only send a person +into the other world simply to gratify a scientific curiosity or for +purposes of profit, but would rehabilitate a departed spirit with all +his lost needs and appetites, and then foist him upon a comparative +stranger for care and sustenance. Such conduct was not only mean, but +criminal in its nature, and if there was no law against it, one ought to +be made.</p> + +<p>Kilbright then proceeded to tell me how happy he had been when Corbridge +informed him that his dematerialization had been indefinitely postponed, +and that I had consented to take him into my service. "It is now plain +to me," he said, "that they have no power to do this thing and cannot +obtain it from others. This discardment of me proves that they have +abandoned their hopes."</p> + +<p>It was evident that Corbridge had said nothing of the expected coming +of the German scientist, and I would not be cruel enough to speak of it +myself. Besides, I intended to have said scientist arrested and put +under bonds as soon as he set foot on our shores.</p> + +<p>"I do not feel," continued Kilbright, "that I am beginning a new life, +but that I am taking up my old one at the point where I left it off."</p> + +<p>"You cannot do that," I said. "Things have changed very much, and you +will have to adapt yourself to those changes. In many ways you must +begin again."</p> + +<p>"I know that," he said, "and with respect to much that I see about me, I +am but a child. But as I am truly a man, I shall begin to do a man's +work, and what I know not of the things that are about me, that will I +learn as quickly as may be. It is my purpose, sir, to labor with you in +any manner which you may deem fit, and in which I may be found +serviceable until I have gained sufficient money to travel to Bixbury, +and there endeavor to establish myself in some worthy employment. I had +at that place a small estate, but of that I shall take no heed. Without +doubt it has gone, rightly, to my heirs, and even if I could deprive +them of it I would not."</p> + +<p>"Have you living heirs besides your grandson here?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"That I know not," he said; "but if there be such I greatly long to see +them."</p> + +<p>"And how about old Mr. Scott?" said I. "When shall we go to him and tell +him who you are?"</p> + +<p>"I greatly desire that that may be done soon," answered Kilbright, "but +first I wish to establish myself in some means of livelihood, so that he +may not think that I come to him for maintenance."</p> + +<p>Of course it was not possible for me to turn this man away and tell him +I had nothing for him to do, and therefore I must devise employment for +him. I found that he wrote a fair hand, a little stiff and labored, but +legible and neat, and as I had a good deal of copying to do I decided to +set him to work upon this. I procured board and lodging for him in a +house near by, and a very happy being was Amos Kilbright.</p> + +<p>As for me I felt that I was doing my duty, and a good work. But the +responsibility was heavy, and my road was not at all clear before me. My +principal source of anxiety was in regard to my wife. Should I tell her +the truth about my new copyist, or not? In the course of a night I +resolved this question and determined to tell her everything. When the +man was merely Mr. Corbridge's subject the case was different; but to +have daily in my office a clerk who had been drowned one hundred and two +years before, and not tell Mrs. Colesworthy of it would be an injustice +to her.</p> + +<p>When I first made known to her the facts of the case my wife declared +that she believed "Psychics" had turned my brain; but when I offered to +show her the very man who had been materialized, she consented to go +down and look at him. I informed Kilbright that my wife knew his story, +and we three had a long and very interesting conversation. After an +hour's talk, during which my wife asked a great many questions which I +should never have thought of, we went upstairs and left Kilbright to his +work.</p> + +<p>"His story is a most wonderful one," said Mrs. Colesworthy, "but I don't +believe he is a materialized spirit, because the thing is impossible. +Still it will not do to make any mistakes, and we must try all we can to +help him in case he was drowned when he says he was, and that German +comes over to end his mortal career a second time. Science is getting to +be such a wicked thing that I am sure if he crosses the ocean on purpose +to dematerialize Mr. Kilbright, he will try to do it in some way or +other, whether the poor man was ever a spirit before or not. One thing, +however, is certain, I want to be present when old Mr. Scott is told +that that young man is his grandfather."</p> + +<p>Mr. Kilbright worked very assiduously, and soon proved himself of +considerable use to me. When he had lived in Bixbury he had been a +surveyor and a farmer, and now when he finished his copying duties for +the day, or when I had no work of that kind ready for him, it delighted +him much to go into my garden and rake and hoe among the flowers and +vegetables. I frequently walked with him about the town, showing and +explaining to him the great changes that had taken place since the +former times in which he had lived. But he was not impressed by these +things as I expected him to be.</p> + +<p>"It seems to me," he said, "as though I were in a foreign country, and I +look upon what lies about me as if everything had always been as I see +it. This town is so different from anything I have ever known that I +cannot imagine it has changed from a condition which was once familiar +to me. At Bixbury, however, I think the case will be otherwise. If there +are changes there I shall notice them. In a little place like that, +however, I have hopes that the changes will not be great."</p> + +<p>He was very conservative, and I could see that in many cases he thought +the old ways of doing things much better than the new ones. He was, +however, a polite and sensible man, and knew better than to make +criticisms to one who had befriended him; but in some cases he could not +conceal his disapprobation. He had seen a train of cars before I met +him, and I was not able to induce him to approach again a railroad +track. Whatever other feelings he may have had at first sight of a train +in motion were entirely swallowed up in his abhorrence of this mode of +travelling.</p> + +<p>"We must not be in a hurry," said my wife when we talked of these +matters. "When he gets more accustomed to these things he will be more +surprised at them."</p> + +<p>There were some changes, however, which truly did astonish him, and +these were the alterations—in his opinion entirely uncalled for and +unwarrantable—which had been made in the spelling of the words of our +language since he had gone to school. No steam-engine, no application of +electricity, none of the modern inventions which I showed him, caused +him the emotions of amazement which were occasioned by the information +that in this country "honor" was now spelled without a u.</p> + +<p>During this time Mr. Kilbright's interest in his grandson seemed to be +on the increase. He would frequently walk past the house of that old +gentleman merely for the purpose of looking at him as he sat by the open +window reading his newspaper or quietly smoking his evening pipe on a +bench in his side yard. When he had been with me about ten days he said: +"I now feel that I must go and make myself known to my grandson. I am +earning my own subsistence; and, however he may look upon me, he need +not fear that I am come to be a burden upon him. You will not wonder, +sir, that I long to meet with this son of the little baby girl I left +behind me."</p> + +<p>I did not wonder, and my wife and I agreed to go with him that very +evening to old Mr. Scott's house. The old gentleman received us very +cordially in his little parlor.</p> + +<p>"You are a stranger in this town, sir," he said to Kilbright. "I did not +exactly catch your name—Kilbright?" he said, when it had been repeated +to him, "that is one of my family names, but it is long since I have +heard of anyone bearing it. My mother was a Kilbright, but she had no +brothers, and no uncles of the name. My grandfather was the last of our +branch of the Kilbrights. His name was Amos, and he was a Bixbury man. +From what part of the country do you come, sir?"</p> + +<p>"My name is Amos, and I was born in Bixbury."</p> + +<p>Old Mr. Scott sat up very straight in his chair. "Young man, that seems +to me impossible!" he exclaimed. "How could there be any Kilbrights in +Bixbury and I not know of it?" Then taking a pair of big silver +spectacles from his pocket he put them on and attentively surveyed his +visitor, whose countenance during this scrutiny was filled with emotion.</p> + +<p>Presently the old gentleman took off his spectacles and, rising from his +chair, went into another room. Quickly returning, he brought with him a +small oil-painting in a narrow, old-fashioned frame. He stood it up on a +table in a position where a good light from the lamp fell upon it. It +was the portrait of a young man with a fresh, healthy face, dressed in +an old-style high-collared coat, with a wide cravat coming up under his +chin, and a bit of ruffle sticking out from his shirt-bosom. My wife and +I gazed at it with awe.</p> + +<p>"That," said old Mr. Scott, "is the picture of my grandfather, Amos +Kilbright, taken at twenty-five. He was drowned at sea some years +afterward, but exactly how I do not know. My mother did not remember +him at all. And I must say," he continued, putting on his spectacles +again, "that there is something of a family likeness between you, sir, +and that picture. If it wasn't for the continental clothes in the +painting there would be a good deal of resemblance—yes, a very great +deal."</p> + +<p>"It is my portrait," said Mr. Kilbright, his voice trembling as he +spoke. "It was painted by Tatlow Munson in the winter of seventeen +eighty, in payment for my surveying a large tract of land north of the +town, he having no money to otherwise compensate me. He wrote his name +in ink upon the back of the canvas."</p> + +<p>Old Mr. Scott took up the picture and turned it around. And there we all +saw plainly written upon the time-stained back, "Tatlow Munson, 1780."</p> + +<p>Old Mr. Scott laid the picture upon the table, took off his spectacles, +and with wide-open eyes gazed first at Mr. Kilbright and then at us.</p> + +<p>The sight of the picture had finished the conversion of my wife. "Oh, +Mr. Scott," she cried, leaning so far forward in her chair that it +seemed as if she were about to go down on her knees before the old man, +"this gentleman is your grandfather! Yes, he is, indeed! Oh, don't +discard him, for it was you who were the cause of his being here. Don't +you remember when you went to the spiritualist meeting, and asked to see +the spirit of your grandfather? That spirit came, but you didn't know +it. The people who materialized him were surprised when they saw this +young man, and they thought he couldn't be your grandfather, and so they +didn't say anything about it; and they left him right in the middle of +whatever they use, and he kept on materializing without their thinking +of him until he became just what you see him now. And if he now wore +old-fashioned clothes with a queue, he would be the exact image of that +portrait of him which you have, only a little bit older looking and +fuller in the face. But the spiritualists made him cut off his long +hair, because they said that wouldn't do in these days, and dressed him +in those common clothes just like any other person. And oh, dear Mr. +Scott, you must see for yourself that he is truly your grandfather!"</p> + +<p>Old Mr. Scott made no answer, but still sat with wide-open eyes gazing +from one to the other of us. As I looked at that aged, white-haired man +and thought of his mother, who must have died ever so long ago, being +the daughter of the young man who sat opposite to him, it was indeed +difficult to believe that these things could be so.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Scott," exclaimed my wife, "will you not speak to him? Will you +not give him your hand? Will you not acknowledge him as your +grandfather, whose picture you have always had near you, and which, when +a little boy, I expect your dear mother has often told you to look up to +and try to be like? And if you have grown old, and he has not, on +account of differences in circumstances, why should that make any +difference in your feelings, dear Mr. Scott? Oh, why don't you let him +take you to his heart? I don't see how you can help it," she said, with +a sob, "and you his little daughter's only child!"</p> + +<p>Old Mr. Scott rose to his feet. He pulled down the sleeves of his coat, +and gave an adjusting shake to its collar and lapels. Then he turned to +my wife and said: "Madam, let us two dance a Virginia reel while your +husband and that other one take the poker and tongs and beat out the +music on the shovel. We might as well be durned fools one way as +another, and all go to the lunatic asylum together."</p> + +<p>Now arose Mr. Kilbright to his feet, and stood up very tall. "Grandson +Lemuel," he said, "I leave not your house in anger. I see well that too +heavy a task has been laid upon your declining years when you are asked +to believe that which you have heard to-day. But I wish you to know +that I am here to ask nothing of you save that you will give me your +hand. I earnestly crave that I may again touch one of my own flesh and +blood."</p> + +<p>Old Mr. Scott picked up the portrait and looked at it. Then he laid it +down and looked at Mr. Kilbright. "Young man," said he, "can you stand +there and put your hand upon your heart, and say to me that you are +truly Amos Kilbright, my mother's father, who was drowned in the last +century, and who was brought back and turned into a live man by those +spiritualists; and that you are willing to come here and let yourself be +vouched for by Mr. and Mrs. Colesworthy, who belong to some sort of +society of that kind and ought to know about such things?"</p> + +<p>I was on the point of remarking that the Society for Psychical Research +had nothing to do with spiritualism except to investigate it, but my +wife saw my intention and checked me.</p> + +<p>Mr. Kilbright put his hand upon his heart and bowed. "What you have +heard is true," he said. "On my honor, I swear it."</p> + +<p>"Then, grandfather," said old Mr. Scott, "here is my hand. It doesn't do +to doubt things in these days. I didn't believe in the telephone when +they first told me of it, but when I had a talk with Squire Braddon +through a wire, and heard his new boots creak as he came up to see who +it was wanted him, and he in his own house a good two miles away, I gave +in. 'Fetch on your wonders,' says I, 'I am ready.' And I don't suppose I +ought to be any more dumfounded at seeing my grandfather than at any of +the other wonders. I'm getting too old now to try to find out the whys +and the wherefores of the new things that turn up every day. I must just +take them as they come. And so if you, grandfather Kilbright, and our +good friends, Mr. and Mrs. Colesworthy, will come into the back room +we'll have a cup of tea, and a talk over old times. To be sure, there +will be some gaps which none of us will be able to get over, but we must +do the best we can."</p> + +<p>After this Mr. Kilbright and his grandson saw a good deal of each other, +and the old gentleman always treated his mother's father with the +respectful deference which was due to such a relative.</p> + +<p>"There are times," he once said to me, "when this grandfather business +looks to me about as big and tough as anything that any human being was +ever called on to swallow. But then I consider that you and Mrs. +Colesworthy have looked into these matters, and I haven't, and that +knowin' nothin' I ought to say nothin'; and if it ever happens to look +particularly tough, I just call to mind the telephone and Squire +Braddon's creaking boots, and that settles it."</p> + +<p>Mr. Kilbright became more and more useful to me, particularly after he +had disciplined his mind to the new style of spelling. And when he had +been with me about a month I insisted that he should take a holiday and +visit Bixbury, for I knew that to do this was the great desire of his +heart. He could easily reach his native place by rail, but believing +that he would rather not go at all than travel on a train, I procured a +saddle-horse for him, and when I had given him full directions as to the +roads, he set out.</p> + +<p>In four days he returned. "How did you find Bixbury?" I asked of him.</p> + +<p>"There is no longer such a place," he answered, sadly. "I found a town +of that name, but it is not the Bixbury in which I was born. That has +utterly disappeared."</p> + +<p>And, after this, he never again alluded to his native place.</p> + +<p>The high character and many admirable qualities of this man daily +increased the affectionate regard and esteem in which he was held by my +wife and myself; and feeling that we could do nothing better for him +than to endeavor to make him forget the things of the past, and take a +lively and earnest interest in those of the present, we set ourselves to +work upon this task. In a great degree our efforts were successful, and +we soon perceived that Mr. Kilbright cared more and more for what he saw +about him. It was, indeed, natural that he should do this, for he was +still a young man, and able to adapt himself to changes in his +surroundings.</p> + +<p>As I have said, he gradually did so adapt himself, and in the course of +the autumn this adaptation took a form which at first amused Mrs. +Colesworthy and myself, and afterward enlisted our hearty sympathy. He +became attached to Miss Budworth, the librarian of our town library. He +frequently went there for books, and as she was a very intelligent young +woman, and very willing to aid him in his selections, it was not strange +that he should become interested in her. Very often he would remain at +the library until it closed in the evening, when he would walk to her +home with her, discoursing upon literary and historical subjects.</p> + +<p>My wife and I discussed this situation very thoroughly. Lilian Budworth +was a good girl, a sensible one, and a very good-looking one. Her family +was highly respectable and her years well proportioned to those of Mr. +Kilbright. There seemed to be, therefore, no reason why this intimacy +should not be encouraged. But yet we talked over the matter night after +night.</p> + +<p>"You see," said my wife, "it all seems plain and simple enough; but, on +the other hand, it isn't. In the first place, she does not know that he +has had a wife, or what old Mr. Scott is to him. He has promised us that +he will never say anything to anybody about having lived in the last +century without first consulting us; and old Mr. Scott has said over and +over again that he doesn't intend to speak of it; and the spiritualists +have left town long ago; so, of course, she knows nothing about it. But, +if things go on, she must be told, and what will happen then, I would +like to know!"</p> + +<p>"I am very sorry, indeed, that I cannot tell you," I answered.</p> + +<p>"It would be a queer case, anyway," Mrs. Colesworthy continued. "Mr. +Kilbright has had a wife, but he never was a widower. Now, having been +married, and never having been a widower, it would seem as if he ought +not to marry again. But his first wife is dead now, there can be no +doubt about that."</p> + +<p>It was not long before there was no further need for suppositions in +regard to this matter, for Mr. Kilbright came to us and announced that +he had determined to offer himself in marriage to Miss Budworth.</p> + +<p>"I think it is meet and proper," he said, "that I should wed and take +that position at the head of a family which a right-minded and +respectable man of my age should fill. I reasoned thus when for the +first time I took upon me this pleasing duty, and these reasons have now +the self-same weight as then. I have been studying the surveying methods +of the present day, and I believe I could re-establish myself in my +former profession. Thus could I maintain a wife, if, happily, I get +her."</p> + +<p>"Get her!" exclaimed Mrs. Colesworthy, "of course you will get her! She +can't help accepting you."</p> + +<p>"I should feel the more hope, madam," said Mr. Kilbright, "were it not +requisite that she be informed of all that has happened to me. And all +this must she know before I require her to make answer to me."</p> + +<p>"I must admit," I said, "that I am afraid you are going to have a tough +job."</p> + +<p>"I don't believe it!" warmly exclaimed my wife. "Lilian Budworth is a +girl of good, solid sense, and when she knows just exactly what has +happened, it is my opinion she will not object a bit."</p> + +<p>"Madam," said Mr. Kilbright, "you greatly embolden me, and I shall speak +to Miss Budworth this very day."</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding my wife's confidence in Miss Lilian's good sense, she +was as much surprised as I when, the next morning, Mr. Kilbright +informed us that he had been accepted. As it was yet an hour before the +library would open, she hurried around to Miss Budworth's home to know +all about it.</p> + +<p>The young lady was found, pale, but very happy. "When he left me last +night," she said, "my mind was in a strange hubbub. He had told me that +he loved me, and had asked me to marry him, and my heart would not let +me say anything but 'yes;' and yet, after he had gone, his wondrous +story came up before me as it had not come when he told it, having just +told something else. I did not sleep all night, thinking of it. I have +read and pondered a great deal upon these subjects, but have never been +able to make up my mind whether or not to put faith in the strange +spiritual manifestations of which we are told. So I determined, a good +while ago, not to consider the matter at all. I could do nothing with +it, and it would be better that I should let it alone. To this same +determination I came early this morning in the case of Mr. Kilbright. +None of us know what we may once have been, nor what we may become. All +we know is what we are. Mr. Kilbright may be mistaken as to what he was, +but I know what he is. And to that man I give myself as I am. I am +perfectly satisfied with the present."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Colesworthy enfolded her in an approbatory embrace, and hurried +home to tell me about it. "There now!" she exclaimed, "didn't I say that +Lilian Budworth was a girl of good, sound common-sense?"</p> + +<p>"That is what you said," I answered, "but I must admit that I was afraid +her common-sense would interfere with her acceptance of his story. We +had outside evidence in regard to it, but she had only his simple +statement."</p> + +<p>"Which is quite enough, when a woman truly loves," said Mrs. +Colesworthy.</p> + +<p>When old Mr. Scott was informed what had happened, he put down his +newspaper, took off his spectacles, and smiled a strange, wide smile. "I +have been reading," he said, "about a little machine, or box, that you +can talk into and then cork up and send by mail across the ocean to +anybody you know there. And then he can uncork it, and out will come +all you have said in your very words and voice, with the sniffles and +sneezes that might have got in accidental. So that if one of the Old +Testament Egyptians that they've been diggin' up lately had had one of +these boxes with him it might have been uncorked and people could have +heard in his own voice just who he was and what was his personal opinion +of Moses and his brother Aaron. Now, when an old man like me has just +come to know of a thing of this kind, it isn't for him to have a word to +say when he is told that Lilian Budworth is to be his step-grandmother; +he must take it in along with the other wonders."</p> + +<p>As to Mr. Kilbright and his lady-love they troubled themselves about no +wonders. Life was very real to them, and very delightful; and they were +happy. Despite her resolutions to give no consideration whatever to her +lover's previous existence, Miss Budworth did consider it a good deal, +and talked and thought about it, and at last came to understand and +appreciate the fact as thoroughly as did Mrs. Colesworthy and myself; +and she learned much more of Mr. Kilbright's former life than his +modesty had allowed him to tell us. And some of these things she related +with much pride. He had been a soldier during the Revolution, having +enlisted, at the age of twenty-three, under General Sullivan, when his +forces lay near Newport. He afterward followed that commander in his +Indian campaigns in Western New York, and served during the rest of the +war. It was when the army was in winter quarters in 1780 that Tatlow +Munson painted his portrait in payment of an old debt. Miss Budworth's +glowing rendition of Mr. Kilbright's allusions to some of the +revolutionary incidents in which he had had a part, made us proud to +shake hands with a man who had fought for our liberties and helped to +give us the independence which we now enjoy.</p> + +<p>Mr. Kilbright's business prospects soon began to look promising. As was +quite natural, his ideas upon some subjects were a little antiquated. +But, although many of the changes and improvements he saw about him met +with no favor in his eyes, he had sense enough to take advantage of +certain modern progressive ideas, especially such as related to his +profession of surveying. My introduction of him as a friend from Bixbury +helped him much in respect to patronage, and having devoted all his +spare time during the autumn and winter to study and the formation of +business connections, he secured enough profitable employment for the +coming season to justify him in taking to himself a wife; and his +marriage with Miss Budworth was appointed for the middle of April.</p> + +<p>It was about the end of March when I received a letter from Mr. +Corbridge, the spiritualist manager, in which he informed me that Dr. +Hildstein, the German scientist, of whom he had previously spoken to me, +had set sail for America and would probably arrive in about ten days. +"As soon as possible after his arrival," wrote Mr. Corbridge, "we shall +resume possession of the subject of whom you have been kind enough to +take charge during the time when we had no need of him. He will then be +dematerialized in order that we may cause him to manifest himself in our +séances whenever it may be desirable; but never, I may say, in the +complete and perfect physical condition to which he was unintentionally +materialized the first time. I promised you that I would give you at +least three days' notice of our intention to resume work on this +subject, and I have now been much better than my word. I have written +very plainly of our intentions, because we wish you to understand +exactly what we are going to do; and should we succeed in our proposed +experiment, which we certainly expect to do, we shall, probably, make +public our whole action in the affair, for this course would most +greatly benefit both ourselves and our cause. It will not be necessary +for you to inform the subject of our intention, for our power over him +will be as great at one time and at one place as at another; and as his +co-operation is not in any way needful, you will see for yourself that +it will be pleasanter for him not to concern himself with what we are +about to do."</p> + +<p>When I had read this letter, I sat for half an hour with it open in my +hands. It came upon me like a shower of iced water. I had supposed that +the spiritualists had utterly abandoned their endeavors to dematerialize +Mr. Kilbright. Therefore, the news of the revival of these criminal +intentions greatly shocked me. To be sure, the coming scientist might +have no such power as he pretended to possess, but this supposition did +not comfort me. If the man had not already had success in that sort of +thing it is not likely that he would come over here to attempt it now.</p> + +<p>When I had sufficiently quieted my mental agitation I wrote instantly to +Mr. Corbridge, and in my letter I assumed a very confident tone. I told +him that Mr. Kilbright's circumstances had so changed that the intended +action of the spiritualists in regard to him was now rendered +impossible. He had become an active member of society, had gone into +business, and would be married in April. The mere statement of these +facts would, I felt quite certain—so I wrote—cause the spiritualists +to instantly relinquish all idea of carrying out their previous +intention in regard to this most estimable man. If, however, any inhuman +craving for scientific investigation should cause them to persist in +their cruel and criminal designs, the utmost power of the law should be +invoked against them. "To take away human life," I wrote, "in a case +like this is murder, no matter how it is done, and should you take away +Mr. Kilbright's life, or even attempt it, you shall be indicted and +punished for this cold-blooded and premeditated crime."</p> + +<p>Before I had read this letter, I found it absolutely necessary for my +peace of mind that I should make my wife acquainted with the threatened +danger, and confer with her as to what it would be well to do. Of +course, Mrs. Colesworthy was greatly shocked when I read her Corbridge's +letter, but she recovered courage sooner than I had done.</p> + +<p>"It's all stuff and nonsense," she said. "The man is just as much alive +as you and I are, and I don't believe any human power can turn him into +a spirit. They might kill him, but then he would be a dead man and not a +spiritual mist or vapor. I don't believe they even intend to try to do +anything of the kind. They merely wish you to hand him over to them so +they can make him work for them for little or no pay. They think, and +with good reason, too, that by this time you have taught him how to get +along at the present day, and that he may now be of some use to them."</p> + +<p>I showed her the letter I had written, and she highly approved of it. +"If I were you," she said, "I would send that letter, and then I would +not do another thing. Take my word for it, you will never hear from +those people again."</p> + +<p>We resolved, of course, that we would say nothing to Mr. Kilbright or +Lilian about this matter, for it was unwise to needlessly trouble their +minds; but we could not help talking about it a great deal ourselves. In +spite of the reassuring arguments which we continually thought of, or +spoke of to each other, we were troubled, anxious, and apprehensive.</p> + +<p>"If we could only get them safely married," said Mrs. Colesworthy, "I +should feel at ease. Certainly those people would not do anything to him +then."</p> + +<p>"I don't believe they can do anything to him at all," I answered. "But +how a marriage is going to protect him I cannot imagine."</p> + +<p>"Of course, you can't explain such things," said my wife, "but I do +wish they were married and settled."</p> + +<p>Not long after this she came to me with a supposition. "Supposing," she +said, "that those people find it impossible to dematerialize him, they +might do something which would be a great deal worse."</p> + +<p>"What could that possibly be?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"They might materialize his first wife," said she, "and could anything +be more dreadful than that? I suppose that woman lived to a good old +age, and to bring her forward now would be a height of cruelty of which +I believe those people to be fully capable."</p> + +<p>"My dear," I exclaimed, "don't bring up any harrowing possibilities +which no one but yourself is likely to think of."</p> + +<p>"I wish I could be sure of that," she said. "I have heard, but I don't +know how true it is, that spirits cannot be called up and materialized +unless somebody wants them, and I don't suppose there is anybody who +wants the first Mrs. Kilbright. But these men might so work on Mr. +Kilbright's mind as to make him think that he ought to want her."</p> + +<p>I groaned. "Dear me!" I said. "I suppose if they did that they would +also bring up old Mr. Scott's mother, and then we should have a united +family."</p> + +<p>"And a very funny one it would be," said my wife, smiling, +notwithstanding her fears, "for now I remember that old Mr. Scott told +me that his grandmother died before she was sixty, but that his mother +lived to be seventy-five. Now, he is eighty, if he is a day, so there +would be a regular gradation of ages in the family, only it would run +backward instead of in the usual way. But, thinking it over, I don't +believe the spiritualists will permanently bring up any more of that +family. If they did, they would have to support them, for they could not +ask old Mr. Scott to do it, who hasn't money enough to satisfy his +descendants, and ought not to be expected to support his ancestors."</p> + +<p>My letter must have had a good deal of effect upon Mr. Corbridge, for in +less than a week after it was written he came into my office. He +informed me that he and his associates were about to give a series of +séances in our town, but that he had come on before the others in order +to talk to me. "I am extremely sorry," he said, "to hear of this +proposed marriage. We want to do what is right and fair, and we have no +desire that any act of ours shall create a widow."</p> + +<p>"Then," I exclaimed, "you relinquish your design against Mr. +Kilbright?"</p> + +<p>"Not at all," said he. "We shall carry out our plan before our subject +marries. If you choose to hurry up matters and have the wedding take +place before we are ready to proceed with our dematerializing process, +we shall be very sorry, but the blame must rest on you. You should have +had consideration enough for all parties to prevent any such +complication as an engagement to marry. As to what you said in your +letter in regard to invoking the law against us, I attach no weight +whatever to that threat."</p> + +<p>"You will find you have made a great mistake," said I, angrily, "when I +have brought the law to bear upon you, which now I shall not delay to +do."</p> + +<p>"You will merely bring ridicule upon yourself," he said, "if you assert +that the man you wish to protect is Amos Kilbright. We can prove by +records, still to be seen in Bixbury, that said person died in seventeen +eighty-five. On the other hand, if you choose to assert that he is, or +was, anybody else, how are you going to prove it? All that you can say +is that the person you refer to came from, you knew not where, and has +gone, you know not where. If you declare that at one time he was a +materialized spirit, you know very well how such a statement as that +would be received in a court of law. It will be much wiser to let it be +supposed that the person who has lately been seen about this town has +run off to Canada, than to make any sort of legal inquiry into the +matter. If said person were really a man we could have nothing to do +with his disappearance, while if he were a materialized spirit the law +would have nothing to do with him."</p> + +<p>I arose and paced the floor. There was entirely too much force in this +man's arguments, but, although I could not immediately answer him, his +cool determination to persevere in his iniquitous designs so angered me +that I declared that he should be punished if I had to do it myself.</p> + +<p>"Then you admit," he said, with a smile, "that the law cannot do it. The +situation," he continued, "is very plain to us. Although the law can +take no cognizance of our action, the case will be very different with +all believers in spiritualism, and those who are interested in us. The +news that we have done this thing will spread through the spiritualistic +circles of the world."</p> + +<p>"Has your German arrived?" I asked, abruptly.</p> + +<p>"Not yet," answered Corbridge, "but we expect him in a few days. He +will come directly to this town, because we wish to give him an +opportunity of observing the subject in his present form before +beginning the dematerializing process."</p> + +<p>"What refinement of cruelty!" I exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"Oh, of course, the doctor will not make himself known," said Corbridge. +"He will merely wish to take a good look at the subject, and see for +himself how perfect his materialization has been. Then he will know just +what work is before him."</p> + +<p>And, so saying, Mr. Corbridge went away, leaving me too angry to speak, +if, indeed, I could have thought of anything which it would have been +worth my while to say.</p> + +<p>When Mrs. Colesworthy heard what Corbridge had said, she turned white. +"They must be married instantly!" she exclaimed. "I knew that was the +only way."</p> + +<p>It was all very well to talk of an immediate marriage, but it was not so +easy to bring it about. It was yet a week before the day fixed for the +wedding, and the happy lovers were busy with their preparations, never +dreaming of the danger which hung over them. What reason could we give +for hastening the marriage rites? At one time we thought it might be +wise to explain to them fully the state of the case, but from this +course we were deterred for fear of the terrible effect that the news +might have on Lilian. Should she hear of the design of Dr. Hildstein, +she would never again have a moment's peace, married or unmarried. Once +I advised that the two be dissuaded from marrying, at least for a year. +In that time we could see if these people really had any power over Mr. +Kilbright.</p> + +<p>"That will not do at all," said Mrs. Colesworthy. "It will be very long +to postpone their happiness; and besides, if that German gets hold of +Mr. Kilbright while he is still unmarried, he will snap him up, or +rather, blow him out in no time."</p> + +<p>"I thought we had persuaded ourselves," I said, sadly, "that no one +could have any real power of dematerialization."</p> + +<p>"So we had," said she, "but that sort of persuasion does not always +last."</p> + +<p>The result was that we did nothing but hope for the best. But we could +not blame ourselves, for, really, there was nothing else to do. I had +given up all idea of endeavoring to put Mr. Corbridge and his associates +under legal restriction, because if they had power to do the evil we +feared, they could do it in one place as well as another, and no court +could determine when, how, or by whom Mr. Kilbright had been +dematerialized.</p> + +<p>The day before the wedding-day the German doctor arrived in our town; +and, having heard this, I went immediately to the hotel where Mr. +Corbridge and his party were staying. The spiritualistic manager was not +glad to see me, and frankly said so.</p> + +<p>"I had hoped," he remarked, "that you had concluded to keep out of this +thing. It is no concern of yours; you can be of no possible good to +anybody; and the wisest thing you can do will be to drop it."</p> + +<p>I assured him that I had no intention of dropping it, and that I should +do everything in my power to protect Mr. Kilbright.</p> + +<p>"Then, again," continued Corbridge, "there is really no need of giving +yourself all this worry. Dr. Hildstein may succeed, and he may not. We +have failed, and so may he. He has seen the subject, and has come to a +very philosophical and sensible conclusion in regard to him. He will not +believe, merely on our assertion, that the man is a materialized spirit. +He will proceed with his experiments, and if they fail he will consider +that the man is a man, and was never anything else. If they succeed, +then he will be quite satisfied that he had a perfect right to +dematerialize what we had materialized."</p> + +<p>"Then you really believe," I said, "that there is a chance that he may +fail?"</p> + +<p>"Of course there is," said Corbridge. "I do not know his methods, and +there may be nothing in them."</p> + +<p>I had no doubt that this change of tone in Corbridge was intended to +produce in me a feeling of security, that they might thus rid themselves +of me. But, though I saw through his purpose, the man's words encouraged +me. Of course there must be a good deal of doubt about the German's +powers; and, after all, there might be no cause whatever for our +anxieties.</p> + +<p>"Now, sir," said Corbridge, as I left, "if I were you I would trouble +myself no more about this matter. If Dr. Hildstein fails, you will still +have your man to do your copying, or your surveying, or anything you +like. If he succeeds, we are all in the same condition we were a year +ago. 'That subject did not exist at that time; he does not exist at this +time;' that will be all we shall have to say about it."</p> + +<p>"You forget," I said, severely, "the wife he may leave behind him."</p> + +<p>"I have nothing to say about that," said Corbridge, rather sharply. "It +is a reprehensible business, and I have nothing to do with it."</p> + +<p>I went away without seeing the German doctor, but as I heard he spoke no +English, and as I did not know German, an interview with him would have +been of no avail.</p> + +<p>Neither Mrs. Colesworthy nor myself slept that night; we were so filled +with anxious fears. But when the day broke, bright and clear, and I had +hurried round to Mr. Kilbright's lodgings, and had found him as full of +life and vigor as I had ever seen him, we were greatly comforted, and +ate our breakfasts with fair appetites.</p> + +<p>"If it had been a dark and lowering day," said my wife, "I don't believe +I could have swallowed a mouthful."</p> + +<p>The marriage was to take place at noon, and the happy pair were to start +by the first afternoon train for the sea-shore, where they were to spend +a week. Mr. Kilbright hated locomotives and railroads almost as much as +ever, but he had told me some time before that he intended to conquer +this prejudice, if such a thing were possible.</p> + +<p>"Being one of you, I must do as you do," he had said.</p> + +<p>The wedding was to be a very simple one. Miss Budworth was to go from +her mother's house to the church, where Mr. Kilbright was to meet her. +We insisted that he should dress at our house, where he would find +better accommodations than at his lodgings; and we assigned him our best +guest-room, where he repaired in very good season, to array himself in +his wedding suit.</p> + +<p>It was not quite eleven o'clock when I went upstairs to see if I could +be of any use to Mr. Kilbright in regard to the conclusion of his +toilette. I knocked at the door, but received no answer. Waiting a few +moments, I opened it and entered. On the floor, in front of a tall +dressing-glass, was a suit of clothes. Not only did I see the black +broadcloth suit—not laid out at length, but all in a compact heap—but +I saw the shoes and stockings, the collar and cravat; everything. Near +by lay a whisk broom.</p> + +<p>The truth was plain. While giving the last touches to his wedding +attire, all that was Amos Kilbright had utterly disappeared!</p> + +<p>I stood where I had stopped, just inside the door, trembling, scarcely +breathing, so stunned by the terrible sight of those clothes that I +could not move, nor scarcely think. If I had seen his dead body there I +should have been shocked, but to see nothing! It was awful to such an +extent that my mind could not deal with it!</p> + +<p>Presently I heard a step, and slightly turning, saw my wife close by me. +She had passed the open door, and seeing me standing as if stricken into +a statue, had entered.</p> + +<p>It did not need that I should speak to her. Pale as a sheet she stood +beside me, her hand tightly grasping my arm, and with her lips pallid +with horror, she formed the words: "They have done it!"</p> + +<p>In a few moments she pulled me gently back, and said, in quick, low +tones, as if we had been in presence of the dead: "In less than an hour +she will be at the church. We must not stay here."</p> + +<p>With this she turned and stepped quickly from the room. I followed, +closing the door behind me.</p> + +<p>Swiftly moving, and without a word, my wife put on her hat and left the +house. Mechanically I followed. I could speak no word of comfort to that +poor girl, at this moment the happiest of expectant brides. I knew that +I had not the power to even attempt to explain to her the nature of the +dreadful calamity that had fallen upon her. But I could not let my wife +go alone. She, indeed, must speak to Lilian, but there were other +members of the family; I might do something.</p> + +<p>To my great surprise, Mrs. Colesworthy did not turn into the street +which led to the Budworths' house, but went straight on. I thought at +first she was going to the church to countermand the wedding +preparations. But before I could put a question to her she had gone +around a corner, and was hurrying up the steps of the principal hotel in +our town.</p> + +<p>"Is Dr. Hildstein in?" she asked of the first person she met.</p> + +<p>The man, gazing astonished at her pallid face, replied that he was, and +immediately conducted us to a little parlor on the first floor, the door +of which stood partly open. Without knocking, Mrs. Colesworthy hastily +entered, I closely following. A middle-aged man suddenly arose from a +small table at which he was sitting, and turning quickly toward us, made +an abrupt exclamation in German.</p> + +<p>As I have said, I do not understand German, but Mrs. Colesworthy knows +the language well, and, stepping up to the man, she said (she afterward +told me the meaning of the words that passed between them): "Are you Dr. +Hildstein?"</p> + +<p>"I am," he said, his face agitated by emotion, and his eyes sparkling, +"but I can see no one, speak to no one! I go out this moment to observe +the result of an important experiment!"</p> + +<p>My wife motioned to me to close the door. "You need not go," she said, +"I can tell you that your experiment has succeeded. You have +dematerialized Mr. Kilbright. In one hour he was to be married to a +noble, loving woman; and now all that remains where he stood is a pile +of clothes!"</p> + +<p>"Do you tell me that?" exclaimed the doctor, wildly seizing his hat.</p> + +<p>"Stop!" cried Mrs. Colesworthy, her face glowing with excitement, her +eyes flashing, and her right arm extended. "Stir not one step! Do you +know what you have done?"</p> + +<p>"I have done what I had a right to do!" exclaimed the doctor, almost in +a shout. "If he is gone he was nothing but a spirit. Tell me where—"</p> + +<p>"I will tell you this!" exclaimed my wife. "He was a great deal more +than a spirit. He was a man engaged to be married at twelve o'clock this +day. You may think there is no law that will sweep down on you, but I +tell you there is; and before the clock strikes twelve you shall know +it. Do you imagine you have come upon a people who will endure the +presence of an ogre? a wretch, who reduces to nothing a fellow human +being, and calls it an experiment? When we tell what you have done—my +husband cannot speak German, but he is a leader in this town, and he +supports me in all I say—when we have told what you have done there +will be no need of courts, or judges, or lawyers for you. Like a wild +beast you will be hunted down; you will be trampled under foot; you will +be torn to pieces! Fire, the sword, the hangman's noose, clubs, and +crowbars will not be enough to satisfy the vengeance of an outraged +people upon a cold-blooded wretch who came to this country solely for +the purpose of perpetrating a crime more awful than anything that was +ever known before! Did you ever hear of lynching? I see by your face you +know what that means. You are in the midst of a people who, in ten short +minutes, will be shrieking for your blood!"</p> + +<p>The man's face changed, and he looked anxiously at me. I did not know +what my wife had been saying, but I had seen by her manner that she had +been threatening him, and I shook my uplifted fist.</p> + +<p>"Now heed what I say," cried Mrs. Colesworthy, "if you do not wish to +perish at the hands of an infuriated mob; to die a thousand deaths +before your vile spirit leaves this world, knowing that, besides the +torments you feel, and those which are to come, you will be in the power +of men who will bring you back in a half-finished form to make sport at +their meetings whenever they feel like it—"</p> + +<p>Drops of perspiration stood on the doctor's face. "Stop that!" he +cried, throwing up his arm. "I cannot stand that! I did not know the +subject had such friends!"</p> + +<p>"Nothing shall be stopped!" exclaimed my wife, "and everything shall +happen unless you immediately sit down at that table, or wherever you do +those things, and rematerialize Mr. Kilbright, just as you found him, +and into the very clothes that were left lying upon the floor!"</p> + +<p>The doctor stepped forward—his face was now pale—and addressed himself +very deferentially to my wife, totally ignoring me. "If you will +retire," he said, "I will try; I swear to you that I will try."</p> + +<p>"There is not a minute to be lost," said Mrs. Colesworthy, "not one +second. And, if as much as a finger-nail is missing, remember what I +have told you!"</p> + +<p>And with this we quickly left the room.</p> + +<p>As we went down the steps of the hotel Mrs. Colesworthy looked at her +watch. "It is twenty-five minutes to twelve," she said. "We must get +home as fast as we can."</p> + +<p>We hurried along, sometimes almost running. When we reached our house, +Mrs. Colesworthy motioned to me to go upstairs. She had no breath left +with which to speak. I ran up, and stood for a moment at the closed door +of our guest-room. With my hand on the knob, I was unable to open it. I +heard a step on the stairs behind me, and I opened the door.</p> + +<p>There stood Mr. Kilbright in his wedding clothes, with the whisk-broom +in his hand.</p> + +<p>He turned at the sound of my entrance.</p> + +<p>"Do you know," cried the cheery voice of my wife, from just outside the +door, "that we have barely fifteen minutes in which to get to the +church?"</p> + +<p>"Can that be?" cried Mr. Kilbright. "The time has flown without my +knowing it. We must truly make haste!"</p> + +<p>"Indeed we must," said Mrs. Colesworthy, and as she stepped back from +the door, she whispered in my ear: "Not a look, not a tremble to let him +know!"</p> + +<p>In less than thirty seconds we were on our way to the church, in the +carriage which had been ordered for the purpose.</p> + +<p>On the church porch we found old Mr. Scott. He was dressed in his best +clothes, and greeted us cordially. "In good time," he said. "I am glad +to see that. It promises well." And then, looking around to see that no +one was within hearing, he came nearer to us. "If I were you," he +continued, "I wouldn't say nothin' to folks in general about +relationships, for there are people, and very good people, too, whose +minds haven't got on far enough to make 'em able to understand +telephones and the other new kinds of wonders."</p> + +<p>We acknowledged the force of his remarks, and all went into the church.</p> + +<p>Three days after the departure of Mr. and Mrs. Kilbright on their +wedding tour, my wife received a letter from Dr. Hildstein, written by +himself from New York, but addressed in the handwriting of Mr. +Corbridge.</p> + +<p>"I return," he wrote, "to Germany, perfectly happy in having succeeded +in my experiments; but nevermore, esteemed lady, will I dematerialize a +subject who has remained long enough in this world to make friends, and +I am the only man who can do this thing."</p> + +<p>This letter greatly satisfied us. "It shows that he has some heart, +after all," said Mrs. Colesworthy, "but as to that man Corbridge, I +believe he would have kept poor Mr. Kilbright dancing backward and +forward between this world and the other as long as a dollar could be +made out of him. But there is only one way in which he can do us any +harm now, and that is by materializing the first Mrs. Kilbright; but, +knowing us, as he now does, I don't believe he will ever try that."</p> + +<p>"No," said I, "I don't believe he ever will."</p> + +<p>Should you ever meet with Mr. Amos Kilbright, you need not hesitate to +entrust him with any surveying you may have on hand. Mr. Corbridge +cannot dematerialize him, the German scientist will not, and there is no +one else in the world who would even think of such a thing. Therefore, +you need feel no fear that he may suddenly vanish from your sight, +leaving nothing behind him but his clothes and the contents of his +pockets; unless, indeed, he should again be so foolish as to go to swim +in the ocean at a point where there is a strong ebb tide.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='THE_REVERSIBLE_LANDSCAPE'></a><h2>THE REVERSIBLE LANDSCAPE.</h2> +<br /> + +<p>To look at me no one would suppose it; but it is, nevertheless, a fact +that I am a member of a fire company. I am somewhat middle-aged, +somewhat stout, and, at certain times of the year, somewhat stiff in the +joints; and my general dress and demeanor, that of a sober business man, +would not at all suggest the active and impetuous fireman of the period. +I do not belong to any paid department, but to a volunteer Hook and +Ladder Company, composed of the active-bodied or active-minded male +citizens of the country town where I live. I am included in the +active-minded portion of the company; and in an organization like ours, +which is not only intended to assist in putting out the fires of burning +buildings, but to light the torch of the mind, this sort of member is +very valuable. In the building which we occupy, our truck, with its +hooks and ladders, stands upon the lower floor, while the large room +above is used as a club and reading-room. At the beginning of the first +winter of our occupancy of the building, we found that this room, which +had been very pleasant in summer, was extremely uncomfortable in winter. +The long apartment had been originally intended for purposes of storage; +and although we had ornamented it and fitted it up very neatly, a good +deal of carpentry and some mason's work was necessary before it could be +made tight and draught-proof for cold weather. But lately we had spent +money very freely, and our treasury was absolutely empty. I was chairman +of the committee which had charge of everything pertaining to our rooms, +and I felt the responsibilities of my position. The necessary work +should be begun immediately, but how could the money be raised to pay +for it? Subscriptions for this and that had been made until the members +were tired of that sort of thing; and the ill success of the last one +showed that it would not do to try it again.</p> + +<p>I revolved in my mind a great many plans for raising the sum required, +and one morning, as I was going to my place of business in the city, I +was seized with a happy idea. At the moment of seizure I was standing in +front of a large show-window, in which were a number of oil paintings, +all of them very fresh and bright. "How would it do," thought I to +myself, "to buy a picture at a moderate price and put it up at a +raffle? People who are not willing to give money outright will often +enter into a scheme of this kind. I will go in and make inquiries."</p> + +<p>When I entered I found myself in a large showroom, the walls of which +were covered with paintings. A person advanced to meet me who, as it +soon became evident, was the proprietor of the place. He was a large +man, dressed in black, with an open shirt-front and an expansive +countenance. His eyes and hair were black, and his ears stood out from +his head in a manner which, according to a recent writer, indicates the +money-getting faculty; and he plainly belonged to that class of persons +who in the Middle Ages did not, as is the present custom, pay money for +having their teeth extracted, but often disbursed large sums for the +privilege of retaining them. When I asked him if I could procure a good +and effective picture at a moderate price, he threw out his chest and +waved his arms toward his walls. "There, sir," he said, "you can see oil +paintings of every subject, of every style, and of every class; and at +prices, sir, lower than they can be found elsewhere in the known world. +Mention the kind of picture you want, and I can accommodate you."</p> + +<p>I replied that I did not know exactly what I wanted, and that I would +see what he had. I now began to look at the pictures on the walls, +occasionally mentioning my ideas in regard to their merits, when +suddenly my companion turned to me and said:</p> + +<p>"Are you connected with the press, sir?"</p> + +<p>I replied that I was not, although I occasionally wrote for periodicals.</p> + +<p>"Upon art subjects?" he asked.</p> + +<p>I answered in the negative.</p> + +<p>"Then you are unprejudiced," he said, "and I believe from your +appearance that you are a man of influence, and there is nothing I would +like better than to exhibit the workings of my art organization to a man +of influence, unprejudiced on the subject. My object is, sir, to +popularize art; to place high art within the reach of the masses, and +thus to educate the artistic faculties of even the poorest citizens."</p> + +<p>I said that I supposed the chromo movement was intended to do all that.</p> + +<p>"No, sir," he replied, warmly; "chromos cannot accomplish the object. +They are too expensive; and, besides, they are not the real thing. They +are printed, not painted; and what the public wants is the real thing, +the work of the brush; and that is what I give them. The pictures you +see here, and an immense stock besides, are all copies of valuable +paintings, many of them in the finest galleries of Europe. I sell no +originals. I guarantee everything to be a copy. Honesty is at the bottom +of all I do. But my copies are exactly like the originals; that is all I +claim. I would like, sir, to show you through my establishment, and let +you see how I am carrying on the great work of art education. There are +picture-dealers in this city, sir, plenty of them, who try to make the +public believe that the vile daubs they sell are originals, and the +works of well-known painters; and when they do admit that the picture is +a copy, they say it is the work of some distinguished student; that +there is no other copy in the country; or they make some other +misstatement about it. These people conceal their processes, but their +tricks are beginning to be well known to the public. Now, sir, I conceal +nothing. The day for that sort of thing is past. I want men of influence +to know the facilities I have for the production of art-work upon a +grand scale. We will first go into the basement. Sir," said he, as I +followed him down-stairs, "you know how the watch-making business has +been revolutionized by the great companies which manufacture watches by +machinery. The slow, uncertain, and expensive work of the poor toilers +who made watches by hand has been superseded by the swift, unerring, and +beautiful operations of machinery and steam. Now, sir, the great purpose +of my life is to introduce machinery into art, and, ultimately, steam. +And yet I will have no shams, no chromos. Everything shall be real—the +work of the brush. Here, sir," he continued, showing me into a long room +filled with workmen, "you see the men engaged in putting together the +frames on which to stretch my canvases. Every stick is cut, planed, and +jointed at a mill in Vermont, and sent on here by the car-load. Beyond +are the workmen cutting up, stretching, and preparing the canvas, bales +upon bales of which are used in a day. At the far end are the mills for +grinding and mixing colors. And now we will go to the upper floors, and +see the true art-work. Here, sir," he said, continuing to talk as we +walked through the rooms on the various floors, "is the landscape and +marine department. That row of men are putting in skies; they do nothing +else. Each has his copy before him, and, day after day, month after +month, paints nothing but that sky; and of course he does it with great +rapidity and fidelity. Above, on those shelves, are sky-pots of every +variety; blue-serene pots, tempest pots, sunset pots in compartments, +morning-gray pots, and many others. Then the work passes to the +middle-ground painters, who have their half-tone pots within easy reach. +After that the foreground men take it up, and the figurists put in the +men and animals. That man there has been painting that foreground cow +ever since the first of August. He can now put her in three and a half +times in fifteen minutes, and will probably rise to sixteen cows an hour +by the end of this month. These girls do nothing but put white-caps to +waves. There's a great demand at present for the windy marine. This next +room is devoted to portraits to order. You see that row of old ladies +without heads, each holding a pair of spectacles, and with one finger in +the Bible to keep the place; that's very popular, and we put in a head +when the photograph is sent. There is a great rage at present for +portraits of babies without any clothes on. Here is a lot of undraped +infants with bodies all finished, but with no heads. We can finish them +to order at very short notice. I have one girl who puts in all the +dimples. You would be surprised to see what a charming dimple she can +make with one twist of her brush. Long practice at one thing, sir, is +the foundation of the success of this great establishment. Take that +girl away from her dimple-pot, and she is nothing. She is now upstairs, +putting dimples into a large Correggio order from the West. This next +room is our figure department, battle-pieces, groups, single figures, +everything. As you have seen before, each man only copies from the +original that part which is his specialty. In addition to its other +advantages, this system is a great protection to us. None of my men can +work at home at nights and Sundays, and forge pictures. Not one of them +can do a whole one. And now, sir, you have seen the greater part of my +establishment. The varnishing, packing, and storage rooms are in another +building. I am now perfecting plans for the erection of an immense +edifice with steam-engines in the cellar, in which my paintings shall be +done by machinery. No chromos, mind you, but real oil-paintings, done by +brushes revolving on cylinders. I shall have rolls of canvas a mile +long, like the paper on which our great dailies are printed, and the +machines shall do everything; cut off the picture, when it has passed +among the cylinders, whereupon fresh canvas will be rolled in for a new +one; another machine will stretch them; and they will pass through a +varnish bath in the twinkling of an eye. But this is in the future. What +I want of you, sir, and of other men of influence in society, is to let +our people know of the great good that is ready for them now, and of +the greater benefit that is coming. And, more than that, you can do +incalculable good to our artists. Those poor toilers on the solitary +canvas should know how to become prosperous, great, and happy; tell them +to go into some other business. And now, sir, I must see what I can do +for you. We will return to my gallery, and I will show you exactly what +you want."</p> + +<p>When we reached the back part of the showroom, down-stairs, he brought +out an unframed picture about three feet long and two high, and placed +it in a favorable light. "There," said he, "is a picture which will suit +you. It is what we call a reversible landscape, and is copied from the +only genuine picture of the kind in the world. It is just as good as two +pictures. In this position, you see, a line of land stretches across the +middle of the picture, with trees, houses, and figures, with a light sky +above and a lake, darker in hue, below. Everything on the land is +reflected accurately in the water. It is a landscape in morning light. +Turn it upside down, so, and it is an evening scene; darkening sky +above, light water beneath; the morning star, which you saw faintly +glimmering in the other picture, is now the reflection of the evening +star."</p> + +<p>I do not pretend to be a judge of pictures, but I fancy I appreciate an +original idea when I see it, and I thought that this picture might +answer my purpose.</p> + +<p>"What is the price of the painting?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"Well, sir," said he, "to you, as a man of influence, I will fix the +price of this great painting, from a comparatively unknown work of +Gaspar Poussin, at four dollars and a half."</p> + +<p>In spite of what I had seen of the facilities possessed by this +establishment for producing cheap work, I must confess that I was +surprised at the smallness of the sum asked for an oil-painting of that +size; I had expected to give forty or fifty dollars. But, although I am +not a judge of paintings, I am a business man, and accustomed to make +bargains. Therefore I said:</p> + +<p>"I will give you two dollars and fifty cents for the picture."</p> + +<p>"Done," said he. "Where shall I send it?"</p> + +<p>I gave him my city address, and paid the money. As he accompanied me to +the door, he said: "If you would like more of these pictures, I will +sell you one dozen for eighteen dollars, or the whole lot of one +hundred, just finished—and there will be no more of them painted—for +one hundred dollars." I told him one was all I wanted, and departed. I +carried the picture home that afternoon, and in the evening exhibited it +at our club-room, and made known my scheme for raising the money we +needed by getting up a raffle with this painting as the prize; one +hundred tickets at the low price of two dollars each. The reversible +landscape was set up, first one way and then the other, a great many +times, and created quite a sensation.</p> + +<p>"I don't think it's worth the half of two hundred dollars," said Mr. +Buckby, our president, "but as the money is for the use of our +Association, I don't mind that. But my objection to the scheme is that, +if I should gain the prize, I should be laughed at by all my +fellow-members: for, to tell the truth, I think that painting is a good +deal more funny than otherwise. It's not what I call high art."</p> + +<p>The other members generally agreed with him. They were very much amused +by the picture, but they did not care to possess it, imagining that +those who ridiculed it might also ridicule its owner. This opposition +discouraged me, and I retired to reflect. In about five minutes I +returned to the company, which had now greatly increased, as it was one +of our regular meeting nights, and I asked if they would consent to this +raffle if I would engage that the winner of the picture should not be +laughed at by any other member.</p> + +<p>"How will you guarantee that?" asked Mr. Buckby.</p> + +<p>"I will put the matter in the hands of the Association," I answered. +"If, after the raffle is over, a majority of the members shall decide +that any of us have reason to laugh at the winner of this painting, I +will refund all the money paid for tickets."</p> + +<p>There was something in this proposition which aroused the curiosity of +my fellow-firemen; and when the meeting was called to order, a +resolution was adopted that we would have the raffle, and that the +management of it should be placed in my hands, subject to the conditions +mentioned above. There were a good many surmises as to what I was going +to do to keep the people from laughing at the prize-winner, the general +opinion being that I intended to have the picture altered so that it +would be like an ordinary landscape, and not reversible. But the affair +was something novel, and promised to put the much-needed money into our +treasury; and several gentlemen assured me that they would make it their +business to see that every member took a ticket, one generous man +promising, in the interests of the Association, to present them to such +of the few members as might decline to buy them for themselves. This +offer was made in consequence of my insistance that every one of us +should have a chance in the raffle.</p> + +<p>The next morning I went to the art-factory and told the proprietor that +I would take the lot of reversibles he had on hand, if he would include +the one already purchased, and receive ninety-seven dollars and a half +as the balance due.</p> + +<p>"All right!" said he. "I have the ninety-nine still on hand. Are you in +the tea business, sir?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no," said I; "the pictures are intended for a large Association."</p> + +<p>"No better way of extending the influence of art, sir," he said, +heartily. "I shall charge you nothing for boxing. The same address, +sir?"</p> + +<p>"No, they must be forwarded to my residence," and I gave him the needful +directions, and a check.</p> + +<p>The next day the ninety-nine pictures arrived and were stored in my +barn. My wife, to whom I had told my plan, made some objections to it, +saying it did not seem right to use half the money paid in to buy so +many pictures; but I told her that no one could expect in a raffle to +clear all the money subscribed, and that although we should not gain as +much as I had hoped, we should clear a hundred dollars, and every man +would have a picture. This was surely fair, and the fact was that the +unsympathetic state of mind of our members made it necessary for me to +do something of this kind, if I expected to raise the needed money at +all.</p> + +<p>The raffle was announced, and on the appointed evening there was a full +attendance. The prize was won by a Mr. Horter, an art-collector of a +nervous temperament, who had objected to the raffle, and who had +consented to buy a ticket only after repeated solicitations.</p> + +<p>"Now mind," he said to me, "you promised that the other men should not +laugh at me, and I hold you to your contract."</p> + +<p>I answered that I intended to stand by it, and that the painting should +be sent to him in the morning from my house, whither it had been +removed. Every member present announced his intention of calling on +Horter the following evening to see why he should not be laughed at.</p> + +<p>All the next forenoon my man, with a horse and light wagon, was engaged +in delivering the reversible landscapes, one to every member of our +club. These gentlemen were, in almost every case, absent at their places +of business. When they came home in the evening each found his picture, +with his name on the back of it, and a printed slip informing him that +in this raffle there had been no blanks, and that every man had drawn a +prize.</p> + +<p>Not a man called upon Mr. Horter that evening, and he greatly wondered +why they did not come in, either to laugh or to say why they should not +do so; but every other member of our club was visited by nearly all his +fellow-firemen, who ran in to see if it were true that he also had one +of those ridiculous reversible landscapes. As everybody knew that Mr. +Horter had one, there was no need to call on him; and even if they had +hoped to be able to laugh at him they could not do so, when each of them +had drawn one of the pictures himself. A good many called on me, and +some were a little severe in their remarks, saying that although it +might be a very pretty joke, I must have used up nearly all the money +that they had given for the good of the Association, for, of course, +none of them cared for the absurd prize.</p> + +<p>But when, on the next meeting night, I paid in one hundred dollars to +the treasury, a sum more than sufficient to make our room comfortable, +they were quite satisfied. The only thing that troubled them was to know +what to do with the pictures they had drawn. Not one of them was +willing to keep his preposterous landscape in his house. It was Mrs. +Buckby, our president's wife, who suggested a way out of the difficulty.</p> + +<p>"Of course," she said to her husband, "it would have been much better if +each one of you had given the two dollars without any raffle, and then +you would have had all your money. But one can't expect men to do a +thing like that."</p> + +<p>"Not after we had all paid in our regular dues, and had been subscribing +and subscribing for this, that, and the other thing for nearly a year," +said I, who was present at the time. "Some extra inducement was +necessary."</p> + +<p>"But, as you have all those horrid landscapes," she continued, "why +don't you take them and put them up along the top of your walls, next +the ceiling, where those openings are which used to ventilate the room +when it was used for storage? That would save all the money that you +would have to pay to carpenters and painters to have those places made +tight and decent-looking; and it would give your room a gorgeous +appearance."</p> + +<p>This idea was hailed with delight. Every man brought his picture to the +hall, and we nailed the whole hundred in a row along the top of the four +walls, turning one with the darker half up, and the next the other way, +so as to present alternate views of morning and evening along the whole +distance. The arrangement answered admirably. The draughts of air from +outside were perfectly excluded: and as our walls were very lofty, the +general effect was good.</p> + +<p>"Art of that kind cannot be too high," said Mr. Horter.</p> + +<p>A week or two after this, when I arrived at home one afternoon, my wife +told me that there was a present for me in the dining-room. As such +things were not common, I hurried in to see what it was. I found a very +large flat package, tied up in brown paper, and on it a card with my +name and a long inscription. The latter was to the effect that my +associates of the Hook and Ladder Company, desirous of testifying their +gratitude to the originator and promoter of the raffle scheme, took +pleasure in presenting him with the accompanying work of art, which, +when hung upon the walls of his house, would be a perpetual reminder to +him of the great and good work he had done for the Association.</p> + +<p>I cannot deny that this pleased me much.</p> + +<p>"Well!" I exclaimed to my wife, "it is very seldom that a man gets any +thanks for his gratuitous efforts in behalf of his fellow-beings; and +although I must say that my services in raising money for the +Association deserved recognition, I did not expect that the members +would do themselves the justice to make me a present."</p> + +<p>Unwrapping the package, I discovered, to my intense disgust, a copy of +the Reversible Landscape! My first thought was that some of the members, +for a joke, had taken down one of the paintings from our meeting-room +and had sent it to me; but, on carefully examining the canvas and frame, +I was quite certain that this picture had never been nailed to a wall. +It was evidently a new and fresh copy of the painting of which I had +been assured no more would be produced. I must admit that I had felt a +certain pride in decorating our hall with the style of picture that +could not be seen elsewhere; and, moreover, I greatly dislike to be +overreached in business matters, and my wrath against the manufacturer +of high art entirely overpowered and dissipated any little resentment I +might have felt against my waggish fellow-members who had sent me the +painting.</p> + +<p>Early the next morning I went direct to the art-factory, and was just +about entering when my attention was attracted by a prominent picture +in the window. I stepped back to look at it. It was our reversible +landscape, mounted upon an easel, and labelled "A Morning Scene." While +I examined it to assure myself that it was really the landscape with +which I was so familiar, it was turned upside down by some concealed +machinery, and appeared labelled, "An Evening Scene." At the foot of the +easel I now noticed a placard inscribed: "The Reversible Landscape: A +New Idea in Art."</p> + +<p>I stood for a moment astounded. The rascally picture-monger had not only +made another of these pictures, but he was prepared to furnish them in +any number. Rushing into the gallery, I demanded to see the proprietor.</p> + +<p>"Look here!" said I, "what docs this mean? You told me that there were +to be no more of those pictures painted; that I was to possess a unique +lot."</p> + +<p>"That's not the same picture, sir," he exclaimed. "I am surprised that +you should think so. Step outside with me, sir, and I'll prove it to +you. There, sir!" said he, as we stood before the painting, which was +now Morning side up, "you see that star? In the pictures we sold you the +morning star was Venus; in this one it is Jupiter. This is not the same +picture. Do you imagine that we would deceive a customer? That, sir, is +a thing we never do!"</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='DUSKY_PHILOSOPHY'></a><h2>DUSKY PHILOSOPHY.</h2> + +<h3>IN TWO EXPOSITIONS.</h3> +<br /> + +<a name='FIRST_EXPOSITION'></a><h3>FIRST EXPOSITION: A STORY OF SEVEN DEVILS.</h3> +<br /> + +<p>The negro church which stood in the pine-woods near the little village +of Oxford Cross Roads, in one of the lower counties of Virginia, was +presided over by an elderly individual, known to the community in +general as Uncle Pete; but on Sundays the members of his congregation +addressed him as Brudder Pete. He was an earnest and energetic man, and, +although he could neither read nor write, he had for many years +expounded the Scriptures to the satisfaction of his hearers. His memory +was good, and those portions of the Bible, which from time to time he +had heard read, were used by him, and frequently with powerful effect, +in his sermons. His interpretations of the Scriptures were generally +entirely original, and were made to suit the needs, or what he supposed +to be the needs, of his congregation.</p> + +<p>Whether as "Uncle Pete" in the garden and corn-field, or "Brudder Pete" +in the church, he enjoyed the good opinion of everybody excepting one +person, and that was his wife. She was a high-tempered and somewhat +dissatisfied person, who had conceived the idea that her husband was in +the habit of giving too much time to the church, and too little to the +acquisition of corn-bread and pork. On a certain Saturday she gave him a +most tremendous scolding, which so affected the spirits of the good man +that it influenced his decision in regard to the selection of the +subject for his sermon the next day.</p> + +<p>His congregation was accustomed to being astonished, and rather liked +it, but never before had their minds received such a shock as when the +preacher announced the subject of his discourse. He did not take any +particular text, for this was not his custom, but he boldly stated that +the Bible declared that every woman in this world was possessed by seven +devils; and the evils which this state of things had brought upon the +world he showed forth with much warmth and feeling. Subject-matter, +principally from his own experience, crowded in upon his mind, and he +served it out to his audience hot and strong. If his deductions could +have been proved to be correct, all women were creatures who, by reason +of their seven-fold diabolic possession, were not capable of independent +thought or action, and who should in tears and humility place themselves +absolutely under the direction and authority of the other sex.</p> + +<p>When he approached the conclusion of his sermon, Brother Peter closed +with a bang the Bible, which, although he could not read a word of it, +always lay open before him while he preached, and delivered the +concluding exhortation of his sermon.</p> + +<p>"Now, my dear brev'ren ob dis congregation," he said, "I want you to +understan' dat dar's nuffin in dis yer sarmon wot you've jus' heerd ter +make you think yousefs angels. By no means, brev'ren; you was all brung +up by women, an' you've got ter lib wid' em, an ef anythin' in dis yer +worl' is ketchin', my dear brev'ren, it's habin debbils, an' from wot +I've seen ob some ob de men ob dis worl' I 'spect dey is persest ob +'bout all de debbils dey got room fur. But de Bible don' say nuffin +p'intedly on de subjec' ob de number ob debbils in man, an' I 'spec' +dose dat's got 'em—an' we ought ter feel pow'ful thankful, my dear +brev'ren, dat de Bible don' say we all's got 'em—has 'em 'cordin to +sarcumstances. But wid de women it's dif'rent; dey's got jus' sebin, an' +bless my soul, brev'ren, I think dat's 'nuff.</p> + +<p>"While I was a-turnin' ober in my min' de subjec' ob dis sarmon, dere +come ter me a bit ob Scripter wot I heerd at a big preachin' an' +baptizin' at Kyarter's Mills, 'bout ten year' ago. One ob de preachers +was a-tellin' about ole mudder Ebe a-eatin' de apple, and says he: De +sarpint fus' come along wid a red apple, an' says he: You gib dis yer to +your husban', an' he think it so mighty good dat when he done eat it he +gib you anything you ax him fur, ef you tell him whar de tree is. Ebe, +she took one bite, an' den she frew dat apple away. 'Wot you mean, you +triflin' sarpint,' says she, 'a fotchin' me dat apple wot ain't good fur +nuffin but ter make cider wid.' Den de sarpint he go fotch her a yaller +apple, an' she took one bite an' den says she: 'Go 'long wid ye, you +fool sarpint, wot you fotch me dat June apple wot ain't got no taste to +it?' Den de sarpint he think she like sumpin' sharp, an' he fotch her a +green apple. She takes one bite ob it, an' den she frows it at his head, +an' sings out: 'Is you 'spectin' me to gib dat apple to yer Uncle Adam +an' gib him de colic?' Den de debbil he fotch her a lady-apple, but she +say she won't take no sich triflin' nubbins as dat to her husban', an' +she took one bite ob it, an' frew it away. Den he go fotch her two udder +kin' ob apples, one yaller wid red stripes, an' de udder one red on one +side an' green on de udder,—mighty good lookin' apples, too—de kin' +you git two dollars a bar'l fur at the store. But Ebe, she wouldn't hab +neider ob 'em, an' when she done took one bite out ob each one, she frew +it away. Den de ole debbil-sarpint, he scratch he head, an' he say to +hese'f: 'Dis yer Ebe, she pow'ful 'ticklar 'bout her apples. Reckin I'll +have ter wait till after fros', an' fotch her a real good one.' An' he +done wait till after fros', and then he fotch her a' Albemarle pippin, +an' when she took one bite ob dat, she jus' go 'long an' eat it all up, +core, seeds, an' all. 'Look h'yar, sarpint,' says she, 'hab you got +anudder ob dem apples in your pocket?' An' den he tuk one out, an' gib +it to her. ''Cuse me,' says she, 'I's gwine ter look up Adam, an' ef he +don' want ter know war de tree is wot dese apples grow on, you can hab +him fur a corn-field han'.'</p> + +<p>"An' now, my dear brev'ren," said Brother Peter, "while I was a-turnin' +dis subjec' ober in my min', an' wonderin' how de women come ter hab +jus' seben debbils apiece, I done reckerleck dat bit ob Scripter wot I +heerd at Kyarter's Mills, an' I reckin dat 'splains how de debbils got +inter woman. De sarpint he done fotch mudder Ebe seben apples, an' ebery +one she take a bite out of gib her a debbil."</p> + +<p>As might have been expected, this sermon produced a great sensation, +and made a deep impression on the congregation. As a rule the men were +tolerably well satisfied with it; and when the services were over many +of them made it the occasion of shy but very plainly pointed remarks to +their female friends and relatives.</p> + +<p>But the women did not like it at all. Some of them became angry, and +talked very forcibly, and feelings of indignation soon spread among all +the sisters of the church. If their minister had seen fit to stay at +home and preach a sermon like this to his own wife (who, it may be +remarked, was not present on this occasion), it would have been well +enough, provided he had made no allusions to outsiders; but to come +there and preach such things to them was entirely too much for their +endurance. Each one of the women knew she had not seven devils, and only +a few of them would admit of the possibility of any of the others being +possessed by quite so many.</p> + +<p>Their preacher's explanation of the manner in which every woman came to +be possessed of just so many devils appeared to them of little +importance. What they objected to was the fundamental doctrine of his +sermon, which was based on his assertion that the Bible declared every +woman had seven devils. They were not willing to believe that the Bible +said any such thing. Some of them went so far as to state it was their +opinion that Uncle Pete had got this fool notion from some of the +lawyers at the court-house when he was on a jury a month or so before. +It was quite noticeable that, although Sunday afternoon had scarcely +begun, the majority of the women of the congregation called their +minister Uncle Pete. This was very strong evidence of a sudden decline +in his popularity.</p> + +<p>Some of the more vigorous-minded women, not seeing their minister among +the other people in the clearing in front of the log church, went to +look for him, but he was not to be found. His wife had ordered him to be +home early, and soon after the congregation had been dismissed he +departed by a short cut through the woods. That afternoon an irate +committee, composed principally of women, but including also a few men +who had expressed disbelief in the new doctrine, arrived at the cabin of +their preacher, but found there only his wife, cross-grained old Aunt +Rebecca. She informed them that her husband was not at home.</p> + +<p>"He's done 'gaged hisse'f," she said, "ter cut an' haul wood fur Kunnel +Martin ober on Little Mount'n fur de whole ob nex' week. It's fourteen +or thirteen mile' from h'yar, an' ef he'd started ter-morrer mawnin', +he'd los' a'mos' a whole day, 'Sides dat, I done tole him dat ef he git +dar ter-night he'd have his supper frowed in. Wot you all want wid him? +Gwine to pay him fur preachin'?"</p> + +<p>Any such intention as this was instantaneously denied, and Aunt Rebecca +was informed of the subject upon which her visitors had come to have a +very plain talk with her husband.</p> + +<p>Strange to say, the announcement of the new and startling dogma had +apparently no disturbing effect upon Aunt Rebecca. On the contrary, the +old woman seemed rather to enjoy the news.</p> + +<p>"Reckin he oughter know all 'bout dat," she said. "He's done had three +wives, an' he ain't got rid o' dis one yit."</p> + +<p>Judging from her chuckles and waggings of the head when she made this +remark, it might be imagined that Aunt Rebecca was rather proud of the +fact that her husband thought her capable of exhibiting a different kind +of diabolism every day in the week.</p> + +<p>The leader of the indignant church members was Susan Henry, a mulatto +woman of a very independent turn of mind. She prided herself that she +never worked in anybody's house but her own, and this immunity from +outside service gave her a certain pre-eminence among her sisters. Not +only did Susan share the general resentment with which the startling +statement of old Peter had been received, but she felt that its +promulgation had affected her position in the community. If every woman +was possessed by seven devils, then, in this respect, she was no better +nor worse than any of the others; and at this her proud heart rebelled. +If the preacher had said some women had eight devils and others six, it +would have been better. She might then have made a mental arrangement in +regard to her relative position which would have somewhat consoled her. +But now there was no chance for that. The words of the preacher had +equally debased all women.</p> + +<p>A meeting of the disaffected church members was held the next night at +Susan Henry's cabin, or rather in the little yard about it, for the +house was not large enough to hold the people who attended it. The +meeting was not regularly organized, but everybody said what he or she +had to say, and the result was a great deal of clamor, and a general +increase of indignation against Uncle Pete.</p> + +<p>"Look h'yar!" cried Susan, at the end of some energetic remarks, "is dar +enny pusson h'yar who kin count up figgers?"</p> + +<p>Inquiries on the subject ran through the crowd, and in a few moments a +black boy, about fourteen, was pushed forward as an expert in +arithmetic.</p> + +<p>"Now, you Jim," said Susan, "you's been to school, an' you kin count up +figgers. 'Cordin' ter de chu'ch books dar's forty-seben women b'longin' +to our meetin', an' ef each one ob dem dar has got seben debbils in her, +I jus' wants you ter tell me how many debbils come to chu'ch ebery clear +Sunday ter hear dat ole Uncle Pete preach."</p> + +<p>This view of the case created a sensation, and much interest was shown +in the result of Jim's calculations, which were made by the aid of a +back of an old letter and a piece of pencil furnished by Susan. The +result was at last announced as three hundred and nineteen, which, +although not precisely correct, was near enough to satisfy the company.</p> + +<p>"Now, you jus' turn dat ober in you all's minds," said Susan. "More'n +free hunderd debbils in chu'ch ebery Sunday, an' we women fotchin 'em. +Does anybody s'pose I'se gwine ter b'lieve dat fool talk?"</p> + +<p>A middle-aged man now lifted up his voice and said: "Ise been thinkin' +ober dis h'yar matter and Ise 'cluded dat p'r'aps de words ob de +preacher was used in a figgeratous form o' sense. P'r'aps de seben +debbils meant chillun."</p> + +<p>These remarks were received with no favor by the assemblage.</p> + +<p>"Oh, you git out!" cried Susan. "Your ole woman's got seben chillun, +shore 'nuf, an' I s'pec' dey's all debbils. But dem sent'ments don't +apply ter all de udder women h'yar, 'tic'larly ter dem dar young uns wot +ain't married yit."</p> + +<p>This was good logic, but the feeling on the subject proved to be even +stronger, for the mothers in the company became so angry at their +children being considered devils that for a time there seemed to be +danger of an Amazonian attack on the unfortunate speaker. This was +averted, but a great deal of uproar now ensued, and it was the general +feeling that something ought to be done to show the deep-seated +resentment with which the horrible charge against the mothers and +sisters of the congregation had been met. Many violent propositions were +made, some of the younger men going so far as to offer to burn down the +church. It was finally agreed, quite unanimously, that old Peter should +be unceremoniously ousted from his place in the pulpit which he had +filled so many years.</p> + +<p>As the week passed on, some of the older men of the congregation who had +friendly feelings toward their old companion and preacher talked the +matter over among themselves, and afterward, with many of their +fellow-members, succeeded at last in gaining the general consent that +Uncle Pete should be allowed a chance to explain himself, and give his +grounds and reasons for his astounding statement in regard to womankind. +If he could show biblical authority for this, of course nothing more +could be said. But if he could not, then he must get down from the +pulpit, and sit for the rest of his life on a back seat of the church. +This proposition met with the more favor, because even those who were +most indignant had an earnest curiosity to know what the old man would +say for himself.</p> + +<p>During all this time of angry discussion, good old Peter was quietly and +calmly cutting and hauling wood on the Little Mountain. His mind was in +a condition of great comfort and peace, for not only had he been able to +rid himself, in his last sermon, of many of the hard thoughts concerning +women that had been gathering themselves together for years, but his +absence from home had given him a holiday from the harassments of Aunt +Rebecca's tongue, so that no new notions of woman's culpability had +risen within him. He had dismissed the subject altogether, and had been +thinking over a sermon regarding baptism, which he thought he could make +convincing to certain of the younger members of his congregation.</p> + +<p>He arrived at home very late on Saturday night, and retired to his +simple couch without knowing anything of the terrible storm which had +been gathering through the week, and which was to burst upon him on the +morrow. But the next morning, long before church time, he received +warning enough of what was going to happen. Individuals and deputations +gathered in and about his cabin—some to tell him all that had been said +and done; some to inform him what was expected of him; some to stand +about and look at him; some to scold; some to denounce; but, alas! not +one to encourage; nor one to call him "Brudder Pete," that Sunday +appellation dear to his ears. But the old man possessed a stubborn soul, +not easily to be frightened.</p> + +<p>"Wot I says in de pulpit," he remarked, "I'll 'splain in de pulpit, an' +you all ud better git 'long to de chu'ch, an' when de time fur de +sarvice come, I'll be dar."</p> + +<p>This advice was not promptly acted upon, but in the course of half an +hour nearly all the villagers and loungers had gone off to the church in +the woods; and when Uncle Peter had put on his high black hat, somewhat +battered, but still sufficiently clerical looking for that congregation, +and had given something of a polish to his cowhide shoes, he betook +himself by the accustomed path to the log building where he had so often +held forth to his people. As soon as he entered the church he was +formally instructed by a committee of the leading members that before he +began to open the services, he must make it plain to the congregation +that what he had said on the preceding Sunday about every woman being +possessed by seven devils was Scripture truth, and not mere wicked +nonsense out of his own brain. If he could not do that, they wanted no +more praying or preaching from him.</p> + +<p>Uncle Peter made no answer, but, ascending the little pulpit, he put his +hat on the bench behind him where it was used to repose, took out his +red cotton handkerchief and blew his nose in his accustomed way, and +looked about him. The house was crowded. Even Aunt Rebecca was there.</p> + +<p>After a deliberate survey of his audience the preacher spoke: "Brev'eren +an' sisters, I see afore me Brudder Bill Hines, who kin read de Bible, +an' has got one. Ain't dat so, Brudder?"</p> + +<p>Bill Hines having nodded and modestly grunted assent, the preacher +continued. "An' dars' Aun' Priscilla's boy, Jake, who ain't a brudder +yit, though he's plenty old 'nuf, min', I tell ye; an' he kin read de +Bible, fus' rate, an' has read it ter me ober an' ober ag'in. Ain't dat +so, Jake?"</p> + +<p>Jake grinned, nodded, and hung his head, very uncomfortable at being +thus publicly pointed out.</p> + +<p>"An' dar's good ole Aun' Patty, who knows more Scripter' dan ennybuddy +h'yar, havin' been teached by de little gals from Kunnel Jasper's an' by +dere mudders afore 'em. I reckin she know' de hull Bible straight froo, +from de Garden of Eden to de New Jerus'lum. An' dar are udders h'yar who +knows de Scripters, some one part an' some anudder. Now I axes ebery one +ob you all wot know de Scripters ef he don' 'member how de Bible tells +how our Lor' when he was on dis yearth cas' seben debbils out o' Mary +Magdalum?"</p> + +<p>A murmur of assent came from the congregation. Most of them remembered +that.</p> + +<p>"But did enny ob you ebber read, or hab read to you, dat he ebber cas' +'em out o'enny udder woman?"</p> + +<p>Negative grunts and shakes of the head signified that nobody had ever +heard of this.</p> + +<p>"Well, den," said the preacher, gazing blandly around, "all de udder +women got 'em yit."</p> + +<p>A deep silence fell upon the assembly, and in a few moments an elderly +member arose. "Brudder Pete," he said, "I reckin you mought as well gib +out de hyme."</p> +<br /> + +<a name='SECOND_EXPOSITION'></a><h3>SECOND EXPOSITION: GRANDISON'S QUANDARY.</h3> +<br /> + +<p>Grandison Pratt was a colored man of about thirty, who, with his wife +and two or three children, lived in a neat log cabin in one of the +Southern States. He was a man of an independent turn of mind, and he +much desired to own the house in which he lived and the small +garden-patch around it. This valuable piece of property belonged to Mr. +Morris, and as it was an outlying corner of his large farm he had no +objection to sell it to Grandison, provided the latter could pay for it; +but of this he had great doubts. The man was industrious enough, but he +often seemed to have a great deal of difficulty about paying the very +small rental charged for his place, and Mr. Morris, consequently, had +well-grounded doubts about his ability to purchase it.</p> + +<p>"But, sah," said Grandison one day when these objections had been placed +before him, "I's been turnin' dis thing ober in my min' ober an' ober. I +know jes' how much I kin make an' how much I's got to spend an' how I +kin save ter buy the house, an' if I agree to pay you so much money on +such a day an' so much on such anudder day I's gwine ter do it. You kin +jes' put that down, sah, for sartin shuh."</p> + +<p>"Well, Grandison," said Mr. Morris, "I'll give you a trial. If, at the +end of six months, you can pay me the first instalment, I'll have the +necessary papers made out, and you can go on and buy the place, but if +you are not up to time on the first payment, I want to hear no more +about the purchase."</p> + +<p>"All right, Mahs'r Morris," said Grandison. "If I gibs you my word ter +pay de money on de fus' day ob October, I's gwine to do it. Dat's sartin +shuh."</p> + +<p>Months passed on, and, although Grandison worked as steadily as usual, +he found toward the end of September that, in the ordinary course of +things, he would not be able to make up the sum necessary for the first +payment. Other methods out of the ordinary course came into his mind, +but he had doubts about availing himself of them. He was extremely +anxious to make up the amount due, for he knew very well that if he did +not pay it on the day appointed he might bid farewell to his hope of +becoming a freeholder. In his perplexity he resolved to consult Brother +'Bijah, the minister of the little church in the pine-woods to which +Grandison belonged.</p> + +<p>"Now, look-a-heah, Brudder 'Bijah," said he, "wot's I gwine to do 'bout +dis bizness? I done promised ter pay dis money on de fus' day ob de +comin' month, an' dar's six dollars ob it dat I ain't got yit."</p> + +<p>"An' aint dar any way ter git it?" asked 'Bijah.</p> + +<p>"Yaas, dar's one way," said Grandison, "I's been turnin' dis matter ober +an' ober in my min', an' dar's only one way. I mought sell apples. +Apples is mighty skarse dis fall, an' I kin git two dollars a bar'l for +'em in town. Now, if I was ter sell three bar'ls of apples I'd hab dat +dar six dollars, sartin shuh. Don' you see dat, Brudder 'Bijah?"</p> + +<p>"Dat's all clar 'nuf," said the minister, "but whar you gwine ter git +three bar'ls o' apples? You don' mean ter tell me dat you's got 'nuf +apple-trees in your little gyardin fur ter shake down three bar'ls o' +apples."</p> + +<p>"Now look a-heah, Brudder 'Bijah," said Grandison, his eyes sparkling +with righteous indignation, "dat's too much 'to 'spec' ob a man who's +got ter work all day to s'port his wife an' chillun. I digs, an' I +plows, an' I plants, an' I hoes. But all dem things ain't 'nuf ter make +apple-trees grow in my gyardin like as dey was corn-field peas."</p> + +<p>"Dat's so," said 'Bijah, reflectively. "Dat's too much to spec' ob any +man. But how's you gwine ter sell de apples if you ain't got 'em?"</p> + +<p>"I's got ter git em," said Grandison. "Dar's apples 'nuf growin' roun' +an' not so fur away dat I can't tote 'em ter my house in a bahsket. It's +pow'ful hard on a man wot's worked all day ter have ter tote apples +ahfter night, but dar ain' no other way ob gittin' dat dar money."</p> + +<p>"I spec' de orchard whar you's thinkin' o' gwine is Mahs'r Morrises," +said the minister.</p> + +<p>"You don' 'spose Ise gwine ter any ob dose low down orchards on de udder +side de creek, does ye? Mahs'r Morris has got the bes' apples in dis +county. Dat's de kin' wot fetch two dollars a bar'l."</p> + +<p>"Brudder Gran'son," said 'Bijah, solemnly, "is you min' runnin on takin' +Mahs'r Morrises apples inter town an' sellin' em?"</p> + +<p>"Well, he gits de money, don't he?" answered the other, "and if I don't +sell his apples 'taint no use sellin' none. Dem udder little nubbins +roun' heah won't fetch no two dollars a bar'l."</p> + +<p>"Dem ain't justifyin' deeds wot's runnin' in your mind," said 'Bijah. +"Dey ain't justifyin'."</p> + +<p>"Ob course," said Grandison, "dey wouldn't be justifyin' if I had de six +dollars. But I ain't got 'em, an' Ise promised to pay 'em. Now, is I ter +stick to de truf, or isn't I?"</p> + +<p>"Truf is mighty," said the preacher, "an' ought not to be hendered from +prevailin'."</p> + +<p>"Dat's so! dat's so!" exclaimed Grandison. "You can't go agin de +Scripters. Truf <i>is</i> mighty, an' 'tain't fur pore human critters like us +to try to upsot her. Wot we're got ter do is ter stick to her through +thick an' thin."</p> + +<p>"Ob course, dat's wot we oughter do," said 'Bijah, "but I can't see my +way clar to you sellin' dem apples."</p> + +<p>"But dar ain't nuffin else ter do!" exclaimed Grandison, "an' ef I don't +do dat, away goes de truf, clar out o' sight. An' wot sort o' 'ligion +you call dat, Brudder 'Bijah?"</p> + +<p>"'Tain't no kind at all," said 'Bijah, "fur we's bound ter stick to de +truf, which is de bottom corner-stone ob piousness. But dem apples don't +seem ter git demselves straightened out in my mind, Brudder Gran'son."</p> + +<p>"It 'pears ter me, Brudder 'Bijah, dat you doan' look at dem apples in +de right light. If I was gwine ter sell 'em to git money ter buy a lot +o' spotted calliker ter make frocks for de chillen, or eben to buy two +pars o' shoes fur me an' Judy ter go to church in, dat would be a sin, +sartin shuh. But you done furgit dat I's gwine ter take de money ter +Mahs'r Morris. If apples is riz an' I gits two dollars an' a quarter a +bar'l, ob course I keeps de extry quarter, which don' pay anyhow fur de +trouble ob pickin' 'em. But de six dollars I gibs, cash down, ter +Mahs'r Morris. Don' you call dat puffectly fa'r an' squar, Brudder +'Bijah?"</p> + +<p>'Bijah shook his head. "Dis is a mighty dubersome question, Brudder +Gran'son, a mighty dubersome question."</p> + +<p>Grandison stood with a disappointed expression on his countenance. He +greatly desired to gain from his minister sanction for the financial +operation he had proposed. But this the solemn 'Bijah did not appear +prepared to give. As the two men stood together by the roadside they +saw, riding toward them, Mr. Morris himself.</p> + +<p>"Now, den," exclaimed Grandison, "heah comes Mahs'r Morris, and I's +gwine ter put dis question to hisse'f. He oughter know how ter 'cide +bout it, if anybody does."</p> + +<p>"You ain't truly gwine ter put dat question to him, is ye?" asked +'Bijah, quickly.</p> + +<p>"No, sah," replied the other. "I's gwine to put the case on a dif'rent +show-pint. But 'twill be the same thing as de udder."</p> + +<p>Mr. Morris was a genial-natured man, who took a good deal of interest in +his negro neighbors, and was fond of listening to their peculiar humor. +Therefore, when he saw that Grandison wished to speak to him he readily +pulled up his horse.</p> + +<p>"Mahs'r Morris," said Grandison, removing his hat, "Brudder 'Bijah an' +me has been argyin on de subjick ob truf. An' jes' as you was comin' up +I was gwine ter tell him a par'ble 'bout sticken ter truf. An' if you's +got time, Mahs'r Morris, I'd be pow'ful glad ter tell you de par'ble, +an' let you 'cide 'tween us."</p> + +<p>"Very well," said Mr. Morris, "go on with your parable."</p> + +<p>"Dis yere par'ble," said Grandison, "has got a justifyin' meanin' in it, +an' it's 'bout a bar an' a' possum. De 'possum he was a-gwine out early +in de mawnin' ter git a little corn fur his breakfus'—"</p> + +<p>"Very wrong in the opossum," said Mr. Morris, "for I am sure he hadn't +planted any corn."</p> + +<p>"Well, den, sah," said Grandison, "p'raps 'twas akerns; but, anyway, +afore he was out ob de woods he see a big, ole bar a-comin' straight +'long to him. De 'possum he ain't got no time ter climb a tree an' git +out on de leetlest end ob a long limb, an' so he lay hese'f flat down on +de groun' an' make b'lieve he's dead. When de ole bar came up he sot +down an' look at de 'possum. Fus' he turn his head on one side an' den +he turn his head on de udder, but he look at de 'possum all de time. +D'reckly he gits done lookin' an' he says:</p> + +<p>"'Look-a-heah, 'possum, is you dead or is you libin'? If you's dead I +won't eat you, fur I neber eats dead critters, but if you's libin' den +I eats you for my breakfus', fur I is bilin' hungry, not havin' had +nuffin sence sun-up but a little smack dat I took afore gwine out inter +de damp air ob de mawnin'. Now, den, 'possum, speak out and tell me is +you 'libe or is you dead?'</p> + +<p>"Dat are question frew de 'possum inter a pow'ful sweat. If he told de +truf an' said he was alibe he knowed well 'nuf dat de bar would gobble +him up quicker'n if he'd been a hot ash cake an' a bowl of buttermilk; +but if he said he was dead so's de bar wouldn't eat him, de bar, like +'nuf, would know he lied, an' would eat him all de same. So he turn de +matter ober an' ober in his min', an' he wrastled with his 'victions, +but he couldn't come ter no 'clusion. 'Now don't you tink,' said de bar, +'dat I's got time to sit here de whole mawnin' waitin' fer you ter make +up your mind whether you's dead or not. If you don't 'cide pretty quick, +I'll put a big rock a-top o' you, an' stop fer you answer when I come +back in de ebenin'.' Now dis gib de 'possum a pow'ful skeer, an' 'twas +cl'ar to his min' dat he mus' 'cide de question straight off. If he tole +de truf, and said he was alibe, he'd be eat up shuh; but if he said he +was dead, de bar mought b'lieve him. 'Twarn't very likely dat he would, +but dar was dat one leetle chance, an' he done took it. 'I is dead,' +says he. 'You's a long time makin' up your min' 'bout it,' says de bar. +'How long you been dead?' 'Sence day 'fore yestidday,' says the 'possum. +'All right!' says de bar, 'when dey've on'y been dead two or free days, +an' kin talk, I eats 'em all de same.' An' he eat him up."</p> + +<p>"And now, Grandison," said Mr. Morris, "where is the moral of that +parable?"</p> + +<p>"De moral is dis," said Grandison; "stick ter de truf. If de 'possum had +tole de truf, an' said he was alibe, de bar couldn't eat him no more'n +he did eat him; no bar could do dat. An' I axes you, Mahs'r Morris, don' +dat par'ble show dat eb'rybody oughter stick ter de truf, no matter what +happens."</p> + +<p>"Well, I don't think your moral is very clear," said Mr. Morris, "for it +would have been about as bad for the 'possum one way as the other. But, +after all, it would have been better for the little beast to tell the +truth and die with a clear conscience."</p> + +<p>"Dat's so!" cried Brother 'Bijah, speaking in his ministerial capacity, +"de great thing in dis worl' is ter die wid a clear conscience."</p> + +<p>"But you can't do dat," said Grandison, "if you let dis thing an' dat +thing come in ter hinder ye. Now dat's jes' wot we's been disputin' +'bout, Mahs'r Morris. I 'clared dat we oughter stick ter de truf widout +lookin' to de right or de lef'; but Brudder 'Bijah, his min' wasn't +quite made up on de subjick. Now, wot you say, Mahs'r Morris?"</p> + +<p>"I say stick to the truth, of course," said Mr. Morris, gathering up his +reins. "And, by the way, Grandison, do you expect to make that payment +on your place which is due next week?"</p> + +<p>"Yaas, sah, sartin shuh," said Grandison. "I done tole you I'd do it, +Mahs'r Morris, an' I 'tends ter stick ter de truf."</p> + +<p>"Now, den," said Grandison, in a tone of triumph, when Mr. Morris had +ridden away, "you see I's right in my 'clusions, and Mahs'r Morris +'grees with me."</p> + +<p>"Dunno," said Brother 'Bijah, shaking his head, "dis is a mighty +dubersome question. You kep' dem apples clar out o' sight, Brudder +Gran'son; clar out o' sight."</p> + +<p>It was about a week after this, quite early in the morning, that +Grandison was slowly driving into town with a horse and a wagon which he +had borrowed from a neighbor. In the wagon were three barrels of fine +apples. Suddenly, at a turn in the road, he was greatly surprised to +meet Mr. Morris, riding homeward.</p> + +<p>"What have you in those barrels, Grandison?" inquired his landlord.</p> + +<p>"Dey's apples, sah," was the reply, "dat I's got de job ob haulin' ter +town, sah."</p> + +<p>Mr. Morris rode up to the wagon and removed the piece of old canvas that +was thrown over the tops of the barrels; there was no need of asking any +questions. No one but himself, for many miles around, had +"Belle-flowers" and "Jeannettes" like these.</p> + +<p>"How much do you lack, Grandison," he said, "of making up the money you +owe me to-morrow?"</p> + +<p>"Six dollars, sah," said Grandison.</p> + +<p>"Six dollars—three barrels—very good," said Mr. Morris. "I see you are +determined to stick to the truth, Grandison, and keep your engagement. +But I will trouble you to turn that wagon round and haul those apples to +my house. And, if you still want to buy the place, you can come on +Monday morning and work out the balance you have to make up on the first +instalment; and, after this, you can make all your payments in work. A +day's labor is fair and plain, but your ways of sticking to the truth +are very crooked."</p> + +<p>It was not long after this that Grandison was ploughing in one of Mr. +Morris' fields, when Brother 'Bijah came along and sat upon the fence.</p> + +<p>"Brudder Gran'son," said he, when the ploughman had reached the end of +the furrow and was preparing to turn, "jes' you let your hoss res' a +minnit till I tells you a par'ble."</p> + +<p>"Wot par'ble?" said Grandison, in a tone of unconcern, but stopping his +horse, all the same.</p> + +<p>"Why, dis one!" said 'Bijah. "Dar was an ole mule an' he b'longed to a +cullud man named Harris who used to carry de mail from de Coht House ter +Cary's Cross-roads. De ole mule was a pow'ful triflin' critter an' he +got lazier an' lazier, an' 'fore long he got so dreffle slow dat it tuk +him more'n one day ter go from de Coht House ter de crossroads, an' he +allus come in de day ahfter mail-day, when de people was done gone home. +So de cullud man, Harris, he says:</p> + +<p>"'You is too ole fur ter carry de mail, you triflin' mule, an' I hain't +got no udder use fur you.'</p> + +<p>"So he put him in a gully-field, whar dar was nuffin but bar' groun' an' +hog weed. Now, dar was nuffin in dis worl' dat triflin' mule hated so +much as hog weed, an' he says to hese'f: 'I's boun' ter do somefin' +better'n dis fur a libin. I reckin I'll go skeer dat ole Harris, an' +make him gib me a feed o' corn.' So he jump ober de fence, fur he was +spry 'nuf when he had a min' ter, an' he steals an ole bar skin dat he'd +seen hangin' up in de store po'ch, an' he pretty nigh kivered himse'f +all up wid it. Den he go down to de pos' offis, whar de mail had jes' +come in. When dis triflin' ole mule seed de cullud man, Harris, sittin' +on de bottom step ob de po'ch, he begin to kick up his heels an' make +all de noise he could wid he mouf. 'Wot's dat?' cried de cullud man, +Harris. 'I's a big grizzly bar,' said de mule, ''scaped from de 'nagerie +when 'twas fordin' Scott's Creek.' 'When did you git out?' said de +cullud man, Harris. 'I bus' from de cage at half pas' free o'clock dis +ebenin'.' 'An' is you reely a grizzly bar?' 'Dat's de truf,' said de +triflin' mule, 'an' I's pow'ful hungry, an' if you don' go git me a feed +o' corn I'll swaller you down whole.' An' he begun to roar as like a +grizzly bar as he knew how. 'Dat all de truf, you tellin' me?' de cullud +man, Harris, ask. 'Dat's all true as I's libin',' says de triflin' mule. +'All right, den,' says de cullud man, Harris, 'if you kin come from de +ford on Scott's Creek in a hour an' a half, you kin carry de mail jes' +as well as any udder mule, an' I's gwine ter buy a big cart whip, an' +make you do it. So take off dat bar skin, an' come 'long wid me.' So you +see Brudder Gran'son," continued 'Bijah, "dar's dif'rent kinds ob truf, +an' you's got ter be mighty 'ticklar wot kind you sticks ter."</p> + +<p>"Git up," said Grandison to his drowsy horse, as he started him on +another furrow.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='PLAIN_FISHING'></a><h2>PLAIN FISHING.</h2> +<br /> + +<p>"Well, sir," said old Peter, as he came out on the porch with his pipe, +"so you came here to go fishin'?"</p> + +<p>Peter Gruse was the owner of the farm-house where I had arrived that +day, just before supper-time. He was a short, strong-built old man, with +a pair of pretty daughters, and little gold rings in his ears. Two +things distinguished him from the farmers in the country round about: +one was the rings in his ears, and the other was the large and +comfortable house in which he kept his pretty daughters. The other +farmers in that region had fine large barns for their cattle and horses, +but very poor houses for their daughters. Old Peter's ear-rings were +indirectly connected with his house. He had not always lived among those +mountains. He had been on the sea, where his ears were decorated, and he +had travelled a good deal on land, where he had ornamented his mind with +many ideas which were not in general use in the part of his State in +which he was born. His house stood a little back from the high road, +and if a traveller wished to be entertained, Peter was generally willing +to take him in, provided he had left his wife and family at home. The +old man himself had no objection to wives and children, but his two +pretty daughters had.</p> + +<p>These young women had waited on their father and myself at supper-time, +one continually bringing hot griddle cakes, and the other giving me +every opportunity to test the relative merits of the seven different +kinds of preserved fruit which, in little glass plates, covered the +otherwise unoccupied spaces on the tablecloth. The latter, when she +found that there was no further possible way of serving us, presumed to +sit down at the corner of the table and begin her supper. But in spite +of this apparent humility, which was only a custom of the country, there +was that in the general air of the pretty daughters which left no doubt +in the mind of the intelligent observer that they stood at the wheel in +that house. There was a son of fourteen, who sat at table with us, but +he did not appear to count as a member of the family.</p> + +<p>"Yes," I answered, "I understood that there was good fishing hereabout, +and, at any rate, I should like to spend a few days among these hills +and mountains."</p> + +<p>"Well," said Peter, "there's trout in some of our streams, though not +as many as there used to be, and there's hills a plenty, and mountains +too, if you choose to walk fur enough. They're a good deal furder off +than they look. What did you bring with you to fish with?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing at all," I answered. "I was told in the town that you were a +great fisherman, and that you could let me have all the tackle I would +need."</p> + +<p>"Upon my word," said old Peter, resting his pipe-hand on his knee and +looking steadfastly at me, "you're the queerest fisherman I've see'd +yet. Nigh every year, some two or three of 'em stop here in the fishin' +season, and there was never a man who didn't bring his jinted pole, and +his reels, and his lines, and his hooks, and his dry-goods flies, and +his whiskey-flask with a long strap to it. Now, if you want all these +things, I haven't got 'em."</p> + +<p>"Whatever you use yourself will suit me," I answered.</p> + +<p>"All right, then," said he. "I'll do the best I can for you in the +mornin'. But it's plain enough to me that you're not a game fisherman, +or you wouldn't come here without your tools."</p> + +<p>To this remark I made answer to the effect that, though I was very fond +of fishing, my pleasure in it did not depend upon the possession of all +the appliances of professional sport.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you think," said the old man, "from the way I spoke, that I +don't believe them fellers with the jinted poles can ketch fish, but +that ain't so. That old story about the little boy with the pin-hook who +ketched all the fish, while the gentleman with the modern improvements, +who stood alongside of him, kep' throwin' out his beautiful flies and +never got nothin', is a pure lie. The fancy chaps, who must have +ev'rythin' jist so, gen'rally gits fish. But for all that, I don't like +their way of fishin', and I take no stock in it myself. I've been +fishin', on and off, ever since I was a little boy, and I've caught nigh +every kind there is, from the big jew-fish and cavalyoes down South, to +the trout and minnies round about here. But when I ketch a fish, the +first thing I do is to try to git him on the hook, and the next thing is +to git him out of the water jist as soon as I kin. I don't put in no +time worryin' him. There's only two animals in the world that likes to +worry smaller creeturs a good while afore they kill 'em; one is the cat, +and the other is what they call the game fisherman. This kind of a +feller never goes after no fish that don't mind being ketched. He goes +fur them kinds that loves their home in the water and hates most to +leave it, and he makes it jist as hard fur 'em as he kin. What the game +fisher likes is the smallest kind of a hook, the thinnest line, and a +fish that it takes a good while to weaken. The longer the weak'nin' +business kin be spun out, the more the sport. The idee is to let the +fish think there's a chance fur him to git away. That's jist like the +cat with her mouse. She lets the little creetur hop off, but the minnit +he gits fur enough away, she jumps on him and jabs him with her claws, +and then, if there's any game left in him, she lets him try again. Of +course the game fisher could have a strong line and a stout pole and git +his fish in a good sight quicker, if he wanted to, but that wouldn't be +sport. He couldn't give him the butt and spin him out, and reel him in, +and let him jump and run till his pluck is clean worn out. Now, I likes +to git my fish ashore with all the pluck in 'em. It makes 'em taste +better. And as fur fun, I'll be bound I've had jist as much of that, and +more, too, than most of these fellers who are so dreadful anxious to +have everythin' jist right, and think they can't go fishin' till they've +spent enough money to buy a suit of Sunday clothes. As a gen'ral rule +they're a solemn lot, and work pretty hard at their fun. When I work I +want to be paid fur it, and when I go in fur fun I want to take it easy +and cheerful. Now I wouldn't say so much agen these fellers," said old +Peter, as he arose and put his empty pipe on a little shelf under the +porch-roof, "if it wasn't for one thing, and that is, that they think +that their kind of fishin' is the only kind worth considerin'. The way +they look down upon plain Christian fishin' is enough to rile a +hitchin'-post. I don't want to say nothin' agen no man's way of +attendin' to his own affairs, whether it's kitchen-gardenin', or whether +it's fishin', if he says nothin' agen my way; but when he looks down on +me, and grins at me, I want to haul myself up, and grin at him, if I +kin. And in this case, I kin. I s'pose the house-cat and the cat-fisher +(by which I don't mean the man who fishes for cat-fish) was both made as +they is, and they can't help it; but that don't give 'em no right to put +on airs before other bein's, who gits their meat with a square kill. +Good-night. And sence I've talked so much about it, I've a mind to go +fishin' with you to-morrow myself."</p> + +<p>The next morning found old Peter of the same mind, and after breakfast +he proceeded to fit me out for a day of what he called "plain Christian +trout-fishin'." He gave me a reed rod, about nine feet long, light, +strong, and nicely balanced. The tackle he produced was not of the fancy +order, but his lines were of fine strong linen, and his hooks were of +good shape, clean and sharp, and snooded to the lines with a neatness +that indicated the hand of a man who had been where he learned to wear +little gold rings in his ears.</p> + +<p>"Here are some of these feather insects," he said, "which you kin take +along if you like." And he handed me a paper containing a few artificial +flies. "They're pretty nat'ral," he said, "and the hooks is good. A man +who came here fishin' gave 'em to me, but I shan't want 'em to-day. At +this time of year grasshoppers is the best bait in the kind of place +where we're goin' to fish. The stream, after it comes down from the +mountain, runs through half a mile of medder land before it strikes into +the woods agen. A grasshopper is a little creetur that's got as much +conceit as if his jinted legs was fish-poles, and he thinks he kin jump +over this narrer run of water whenever he pleases; but he don't always +do it, and then if he doesn't git snapped up by the trout that lie along +the banks in the medder, he is floated along into the woods, where +there's always fish enough to come to the second table."</p> + +<p>Having got me ready, Peter took his own particular pole, which he +assured me he had used for eleven years, and hooking on his left arm a +good-sized basket, which his elder pretty daughter had packed with cold +meat, bread, butter, and preserves, we started forth for a three-mile +walk to the fishing-ground. The day was a favorable one for our purpose, +the sky being sometimes over-clouded, which was good for fishing, and +also for walking on a highroad; and sometimes bright, which was good for +effects of mountain-scenery. Not far from the spot where old Peter +proposed to begin our sport, a small frame-house stood by the roadside, +and here the old man halted and entered the open door without knocking +or giving so much as a premonitory stamp. I followed, imitating my +companion in leaving my pole outside, which appeared to be the only +ceremony that the etiquette of those parts required of visitors. In the +room we entered, a small man in his shirt-sleeves sat mending a +basket-handle. He nodded to Peter, and Peter nodded to him.</p> + +<p>"We've come up a-fishin'," said the old man. "Kin your boys give us some +grasshoppers?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know that they've got any ready ketched," said he, "for I +reckon I used what they had this mornin'. But they kin git you some. +Here, Dan, you and Sile go and ketch Mr. Gruse and this young man some +grasshoppers. Take that mustard-box, and see that you git it full."</p> + +<p>Peter and I now took seats, and the conversation began about a black +cow which Peter had to sell, and which the other was willing to buy if +the old man would trade for sheep, which animals, however, the +basket-mender did not appear just at that time to have in his +possession. As I was not very much interested in this subject, I walked +to the back-door and watched two small boys in scanty shirts and +trousers, and ragged straw hats, who were darting about in the grass +catching grasshoppers, of which insects, judging by the frequent pounces +of the boys, there seemed a plentiful supply.</p> + +<p>"Got it full?" said their father, when the boys came in.</p> + +<p>"Crammed," said Dan.</p> + +<p>Old Peter took the little can, pressed the top firmly on, put it in his +coat-tail pocket, and rose to go. "You'd better think about that cow, +Barney," said he. He said nothing to the boys about the box of bait; but +I could not let them catch grasshoppers for us for nothing, and I took a +dime from my pocket, and gave it to Dan. Dan grinned, and Sile looked +sheepishly happy, and at the sight of the piece of silver an expression +of interest came over the face of the father. "Wait a minute," said he, +and he went into a little room that seemed to be a kitchen. Returning, +he brought with him a small string of trout. "Do you want to buy some +fish?" he said. "These is nice fresh ones. I ketched 'em this mornin'."</p> + +<p>To offer to sell fish to a man who is just about to go out to catch them +for himself might, in most cases, be considered an insult, but it was +quite evident that nothing of the kind was intended by Barney. He +probably thought that if I bought grasshoppers, I might buy fish. "You +kin have 'em for a quarter," he said.</p> + +<p>It was derogatory to my pride to buy fish at such a moment, but the man +looked very poor, and there was a shade of anxiety on his face which +touched me. Old Peter stood by without saying a word. "It might be +well," I said, turning to him, "to buy these fish, for we may not catch +enough for supper."</p> + +<p>"Such things do happen," said the old man.</p> + +<p>"Well," said I, "if we have these we shall feel safe in any case." And I +took the fish and gave the man a quarter. It was not, perhaps, a +professional act, but the trout were well worth the money, and I felt +that I was doing a deed of charity.</p> + +<p>Old Peter and I now took our rods, and crossed the road into an enclosed +field, and thence into a wide stretch of grass land, bounded by hills +in front of us and to the right, while a thick forest lay to the left. +We had walked but a short distance, when Peter said: "I'll go down into +the woods, and try my luck there, and you'd better go along up stream, +about a quarter of a mile, to where it's rocky. P'raps you ain't used to +fishin' in the woods, and you might git your line cotched. You'll find +the trout'll bite in the rough water."</p> + +<p>"Where is the stream?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"This is it," he said, pointing to a little brook, which was scarcely +too wide for me to step across, "and there's fish right here, but +they're hard to ketch, fur they git plenty of good livin' and are mighty +sassy about their eatin'. But you kin ketch 'em up there."</p> + +<p>Old Peter now went down toward the woods, while I walked up the little +stream. I had seen trout-brooks before, but never one so diminutive as +this. However, when I came nearer to the point where the stream issued +from between two of the foot-hills of the mountains, which lifted their +forest-covered heights in the distance, I found it wider and shallower, +breaking over its rocky bottom in sparkling little cascades.</p> + +<p>Fishing in such a jolly little stream, surrounded by this mountain +scenery, and with the privileges of the beautiful situation all to +myself, would have been a joy to me if I had had never a bite. But no +such ill-luck befell me. Peter had given me the can of grasshoppers +after putting half of them into his own bait-box, and these I used with +much success. It was grasshopper season, and the trout were evidently on +the lookout for them. I fished in the ripples under the little +waterfalls; and every now and then I drew out a lively trout. Most of +these were of moderate size, and some of them might have been called +small. The large ones probably fancied the forest shades, where old +Peter went. But all I caught were fit for the table, and I was very well +satisfied with the result of my sport.</p> + +<p>About noon I began to feel hungry, and thought it time to look up the +old man, who had the lunch-basket. I walked down the bank of the brook, +and some time before I reached the woods I came to a place where it +expanded to a width of about ten feet. The water here was very clear, +and the motion quiet, so that I could easily see to the bottom, which +did not appear to be more than a foot below the surface. Gazing into +this transparent water, as I walked, I saw a large trout glide across +the stream, and disappear under the grassy bank which overhung the +opposite side. I instantly stopped. This was a much larger fish than +any I had caught, and I determined to try for him.</p> + +<p>I stepped back from the bank, so as to be out of sight, and put a fine +grasshopper on my hook; then I lay, face downward, on the grass, and +worked myself slowly forward until I could see the middle of the stream; +then quietly raising my pole, I gave my grasshopper a good swing, as if +he had made a wager to jump over the stream at its widest part. But as +he certainly would have failed in such an ambitious endeavor, especially +if he had been caught by a puff of wind, I let him come down upon the +surface of the water, a little beyond the middle of the brook. +Grasshoppers do not sink when they fall into the water, and so I kept +this fellow upon the surface, and gently moved him along, as if, with +all the conceit taken out of him by the result of his ill-considered +leap, he was ignominiously endeavoring to swim to shore. As I did this, +I saw the trout come out from under the bank, move slowly toward the +grasshopper, and stop directly under him. Trembling with anxiety and +eager expectation, I endeavored to make the movements of the insect +still more natural, and, as far as I was able, I threw into him a sudden +perception of his danger, and a frenzied desire to get away. But, +either the trout had had all the grasshoppers he wanted, or he was able, +from long experience, to perceive the difference between a natural +exhibition of emotion and a histrionic imitation of it, for he slowly +turned, and, with a few slight movements of his tail, glided back under +the bank. In vain did the grasshopper continue his frantic efforts to +reach the shore; in vain did he occasionally become exhausted, and sink +a short distance below the surface; in vain did he do everything that he +knew, to show that he appreciated what a juicy and delicious morsel he +was, and how he feared that the trout might yet be tempted to seize him; +the fish did not come out again.</p> + +<p>Then I withdrew my line, and moved back from the stream. I now +determined to try Mr. Trout with a fly, and I took out the paper old +Peter Gruse had given me. I did not know exactly what kind of winged +insects were in order at this time of the year, but I was sure that +yellow butterflies were not particular about just what month it was, so +long as the sun shone warmly. I therefore chose that one of Peter's +flies which was made of the yellowest feathers, and, removing the snood +and hook from my line, I hastily attached this fly, which was provided +with a hook quite suitable for my desired prize. Crouching on the +grass, I again approached the brook. Gaily flitting above the glassy +surface of the water, in all the fancied security of tender youth and +innocence, came my yellow fly. Backward and forward over the water he +gracefully flew, sometimes rising a little into the air, as if to view +the varied scenery of the woods and mountains, and then settling for a +moment close to the surface, to better inspect his glittering image as +it came up from below, and showing in his every movement his intense +enjoyment of summer-time and life.</p> + +<p>Out from his dark retreat now came the trout, and settling quietly at +the bottom of the brook, he appeared to regard the venturesome insect +with a certain interest. But he must have detected the iron-barb of vice +beneath the mask of blitheful innocence, for, after a short +deliberation, the trout turned and disappeared under the bank. As he +slowly moved away, he seemed to be bigger than ever. I must catch that +fish! Surely he would bite at something. It was quite evident that his +mind was not wholly unsusceptible to emotions emanating from an +awakening appetite, and I believed that if he saw exactly what he +wanted, he would not neglect an opportunity of availing himself of it. +But what did he want? I must certainly find out. Drawing myself back +again, I took off the yellow fly, and put on another. This was a white +one, with black blotches, like a big miller moth which had fallen into +an ink-pot. It was surely a conspicuous creature, and as I crept forward +and sent it swooping over the stream, I could not see how any trout, +with a single insectivorous tooth in his head, could fail to rise to +such an occasion. But this trout did not rise. He would not even come +out from under his bank to look at the swiftly flitting creature. He +probably could see it well enough from where he was.</p> + +<p>But I was not to be discouraged. I put on another fly; a green one with +a red tail. It did not look like any insect that I had ever seen, but I +thought that the trout might know more about such things than I. He did +come out to look at it, but probably considering it a product of that +modern æstheticism which sacrifices natural beauty to mediæval crudeness +of color and form, he retired without evincing any disposition to +countenance this style of art.</p> + +<p>It was evident that it would be useless to put on any other flies, for +the two I had left were a good deal bedraggled, and not nearly so +attractive as those I had used. Just before leaving the house that +morning, Peter's son had given me a wooden match-box filled with worms +for bait, which, although I did not expect to need, I put in my pocket. +As a last resort I determined to try the trout with a worm. I selected +the plumpest and most comely of the lot; I put a new hook on my line; I +looped him about it in graceful coils, and cautiously approached the +water, as before. Now a worm never attempts to wildly leap across a +flowing brook, nor does he flit in thoughtless innocence through the +sunny air, and over the bright transparent stream. If he happens to fall +into the water, he sinks to the bottom; and if he be of a kind not +subject to drowning, he generally endeavors to secrete himself under a +stone, or to burrow in the soft mud. With this knowledge of his nature I +gently dropped my worm upon the surface of the stream, and then allowed +him slowly to sink. Out sailed the trout from under the bank, but +stopped before reaching the sinking worm. There was a certain something +in his action which seemed to indicate a disgust at the sight of such +plebeian food, and a fear seized me that he might now swim off, and pay +no further attention to my varied baits. Suddenly there was a ripple in +the water, and I felt a pull on the line. Instantly I struck; and then +there was a tug. My blood boiled through every vein and artery, and I +sprang to my feet. I did not give him the butt; I did not let him run +with yards of line down the brook; nor reel him in, and let him make +another mad course up stream; I did not turn him over as he jumped into +the air; nor endeavor, in any way, to show him that I understood those +tricks, which his depraved nature prompted him to play upon the angler. +With an absolute dependence upon the strength of old Peter's tackle, I +lifted the fish. Out he came from the water, which held him with a +gentle suction as if unwilling to let him go, and then he whirled +through the air like a meteor flecked with rosy fire, and landed on the +fresh green grass a dozen feet behind me. Down on my knees I dropped +before him as he tossed and rolled, his beautiful spots and colors +glistening in the sun. He was truly a splendid trout, fully a foot long, +round and heavy. Carefully seizing him, I easily removed the hook from +the bony roof of his capacious mouth thickly set with sparkling teeth, +and then I tenderly killed him, with all his pluck, as old Peter would +have said, still in him.</p> + +<p>I covered the rest of the fish in my basket with wet plantain leaves, +and laid my trout king on this cool green bed. Then I hurried off to the +old man, whom I saw coming out of the woods. When I opened my basket and +showed him what I had caught, Peter looked surprised, and, taking up +the trout, examined it.</p> + +<p>"Why, this is a big fellow," he said. "At first I thought it was Barney +Sloat's boss trout, but it isn't long enough for him. Barney showed me +his trout, that gen'rally keeps in a deep pool, where a tree has fallen +over the stream down there. Barney tells me he often sees him, and he's +been tryin' fur two years to ketch him, but he never has, and I say he +never will, fur them big trout's got too much sense to fool round any +kind of victuals that's got a string to it. They let a little fish eat +all he wants, and then they eat him. How did you ketch this one?"</p> + +<p>I gave an account of the manner of the capture, to which Peter listened +with interest and approval.</p> + +<p>"If you'd a stood off and made a cast at that feller, you'd either have +caught him at the first flip, which isn't likely, as he didn't seem to +want no feather flies, or else you'd a skeered him away. That's all well +enough in the tumblin' water, where you gen'rally go fur trout, but the +man that's got the true feelin' fur fish will try to suit his idees to +theirs, and if he keeps on doin' that, he's like to learn a thing or two +that may do him good. That's a fine fish, and you ketched him well. I've +got a lot of 'em, but nothin' of that heft."</p> + +<p>After luncheon we fished for an hour or two with no result worth +recording, and then we started for home. A couple of partridges ran +across the road some distance ahead of us, and these gave Peter an idea.</p> + +<p>"Do you know," said he, "if things go on as they're goin' on now, that +there'll come a time when it won't be considered high-toned sport to +shoot a bird slam-bang dead. The game gunners will pop 'em with little +harpoons, with long threads tied to 'em, and the feller that can tire +out his bird, and haul him in with the longest and thinnest piece of +spool thread, will be the crackest sportsman."</p> + +<p>At this point I remarked to my companion that perhaps he was a little +hard on the game fishermen.</p> + +<p>"Well," said old Peter, with a smile on his corrugated visage, "I reckon +I'd have to do a lot of talkin' before I'd git even with 'em, fur the +way they give me the butt for my style of fishin'. What I say behind +their backs I say to their faces. I seed one of these fellers once with +a fish on his hook, that he was runnin' up an' down the stream like a +chased chicken. 'Why don't you pull him in?' says I. 'And break my rod +an' line?' says he. 'Why don't you have a stronger line and pole?' says +I. 'There wouldn't be no science in that,' says he. 'If it's your +science you want to show off,' says I, 'you ought to fish for mud eels. +There's more game in 'em than there is in any other fish round here, and +as they're mighty lively out of water you might play one of 'em fur half +an hour after you got him on shore, and it would take all your science +to keep him from reelin' up his end of the line faster than you could +yourn.'"</p> + +<p>When we reached the farm the old man went into the barn, and I took the +fish into the house. I found the two pretty daughters in the large room, +where the eating and some of the cooking was done. I opened my basket, +and with great pride showed them the big trout I had caught. They +evidently thought it was a large fish, but they looked at each other, +and smiled in a way that I did not understand. I had expected from them, +at least, as much admiration for my prize and my skill as their father +had shown.</p> + +<p>"You don't seem to think much of this fine trout that I took such +trouble to catch," I remarked.</p> + +<p>"You mean," said the elder girl, with a laugh, "that you bought of +Barney Sloat."</p> + +<p>I looked at her in astonishment.</p> + +<p>"Barney was along here to-day," she said, "and he told about your buying +your fish of him."</p> + +<p>"Bought of him!" I exclaimed, indignantly. "A little string of fish at +the bottom of the basket I bought of him, but all the others, and this +big one, I caught myself."</p> + +<p>"Oh, of course," said the pretty daughter, "bought the little ones and +caught all the big ones!"</p> + +<p>"Barney Sloat ought to have kept his mouth shut," said the younger +pretty daughter, looking at me with an expression of pity. "He'd got his +money, and he hadn't no business to go telling on people. Nobody likes +that sort of thing. But this big fish is a real nice one, and you shall +have it for your supper."</p> + +<p>"Thank you," I said, with dignity, and left the room.</p> + +<p>I did not intend to have any further words with these young women on +this subject, but I cannot deny that I was annoyed and mortified. This +was the result of a charitable action. I think I was never more proud of +anything than of catching that trout; and it was a good deal of a +downfall to suddenly find myself regarded as a mere city man fishing +with a silver hook. But, after all, what did it matter?</p> + +<p>The boy who did not seem to be accounted a member of the family came +into the house, and as he passed me he smiled good-humoredly, and said: +"Buyed 'em!"</p> + +<p>I felt like throwing a chair at him, but refrained out of respect to my +host. Before supper the old man came out on to the porch where I was +sitting. "It seems," said he, "that my gals has got it inter their heads +that you bought that big fish of Barney Sloat, and as I can't say I seed +you ketch it, they're not willin' to give in, 'specially as I didn't git +no such big one. 'Tain't wise to buy fish when you're goin' fishin' +yourself. It's pretty certain to tell agen you."</p> + +<p>"You ought to have given me that advice before," I said, somewhat +shortly. "You saw me buy the fish."</p> + +<p>"You don't s'pose," said old Peter, "that I'm goin' to say anythin' to +keep money out of my neighbor's pockets. We don't do that way in these +parts. But I've told the gals they're not to speak another word about +it, so you needn't give your mind no worry on that score. And now let's +go in to supper. If you're as hungry as I am, there won't be many of +them fish left fur breakfast."</p> + +<p>That evening, as we were sitting smoking on the porch, old Peter's mind +reverted to the subject of the unfounded charge against me. "It goes +pretty hard," he remarked, "to have to stand up and take a thing you +don' like when there's no call fur it. It's bad enough when there is a +call fur it. That matter about your fish buyin' reminds me of what +happened two summers ago to my sister, or ruther to her two little +boys—or, more correct yit, to one of 'em. Them was two cur'ous little +boys. They was allus tradin' with each other. Their father deals mostly +in horses, and they must have got it from him. At the time I'm tellin' +of they'd traded everythin' they had, and when they hadn't nothin' else +left to swap they traded names. Joe he took Johnny's name, and Johnny he +took Joe's. Jist about when they'd done this, they both got sick with +sumthin' or other, the oldest one pretty bad, the other not much. Now +there ain't no doctor inside of twenty miles of where my sister lives. +But there's one who sometimes has a call to go through that part of the +country, and the people about there is allus very glad when they chance +to be sick when he comes along. Now this good luck happened to my +sister, fur the doctor come by jist at this time. He looks into the +state of the boys, and while their mother has gone downstairs he mixes +some medicine he has along with him. 'What's your name?' he says to the +oldest boy when he'd done it. Now as he'd traded names with his brother, +fair and square, he wasn't goin' back on the trade, and he said, 'Joe.' +'And my name's Johnny,' up and says the other one. Then the doctor he +goes and gives the bottle of medicine to their mother, and says he: +'This medicine is fur Joe. You must give him a tablespoonful every two +hours. Keep up the treatment, and he'll be all right. As fur Johnny, +there's nothin' much the matter with him. He don't need no medicine.' +And then he went away. Every two hours after that Joe, who wasn't sick +worth mentionin', had to swallow a dose of horrid stuff, and pretty soon +he took to his bed, and Johnny he jist played round and got well in the +nat'ral way. Joe's mother kept up the treatment, gittin' up in the night +to feed that stuff to him; but the poor little boy got wuss and wuss, +and one mornin' he says to his mother, says he: 'Mother, I guess I'm +goin' to die, and I'd ruther do that than take any more of that +medicine, and I wish you'd call Johnny and we'll trade names back agen, +and if he don't want to come and do it, you kin tell him he kin keep the +old minkskin I gave him to boot, on account of his name havin' a Wesley +in it.' 'Trade names,' says his mother, 'what do you mean by that?' And +then he told her what he and Johnny had done. 'And did you ever tell +anybody about this?' says she. 'Nobody but Dr. Barnes,' says he. 'After +that I got sick and forgot it.' When my sister heard that, an idee +struck into her like you put a fork into an apple dumplin'. Traded +names, and told the doctor! She'd all along thought it strange that the +boy that seemed wuss should be turned out, and the other one put under +treatment; but it wasn't fur her to set up her opinion agen that of a +man like Dr. Barnes. Down she went, in about seventeen jumps, to where +Eli Timmins, the hired man, was ploughin' in the corn. 'Take that horse +out of that,' she hollers, 'and you may kill him if you have to, but git +Dr. Barnes here before my little boy dies.' When the doctor come he +heard the story, and looked at the sick youngster, and then says he: 'If +he'd kept his minkskin, and not hankered after a Wesley to his name, +he'd a had a better time of it. Stop the treatment, and he'll be all +right.' Which she did; and he was. Now it seems to me that this is a +good deal like your case. You've had to take a lot of medicine that +didn't belong to you, and I guess it's made you feel pretty bad; but +I've told my gals to stop the treatment, and you'll be all right in the +mornin'. Good-night. Your candlestick is on the kitchen table."</p> + +<p>For two days longer I remained in this neighborhood, wandering alone +over the hills, and up the mountain-sides, and by the brooks, which +tumbled and gurgled through the lonely forest. Each evening I brought +home a goodly supply of trout, but never a great one like the noble +fellow for which I angled in the meadow stream.</p> + +<p>On the morning of my departure I stood on the porch with old Peter +waiting for the arrival of the mail driver, who was to take me to the +nearest railroad town.</p> + +<p>"I don't want to say nothin'," remarked the old man, "that would keep +them fellers with the jinted poles from stoppin' at my house when they +comes to these parts a-fishin'. I ain't got no objections to their +poles; 'tain't that. And I don't mind nuther their standin' off, and +throwin' their flies as fur as they've a mind to; that's not it. And it +ain't even the way they have of worryin' their fish. I wouldn't do it +myself, but if they like it, that's their business. But what does rile +me is the cheeky way in which they stand up and say that there isn't no +decent way of fishin' but their way. And that to a man that's ketched +more fish, of more different kinds, with more game in 'em, and had more +fun at it, with a lot less money, and less tomfoolin' than any fishin' +feller that ever come here and talked to me like an old cat tryin' to +teach a dog to ketch rabbits. No, sir; agen I say that I don't take no +money fur entertainin' the only man that ever come out here to go +a-fishin' in a plain, Christian way. But if you feel tetchy about not +payin' nothin', you kin send me one of them poles in three pieces, a +good strong one, that'll lift Barney Sloat's trout, if ever I hook him."</p> + +<p>I sent him the rod; and next summer I am going out to see him use it.</p> + +<br> +<br> +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13531 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..03c300f --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #13531 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13531) diff --git a/old/13531-8.txt b/old/13531-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..97f76da --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13531-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3467 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Amos Kilbright; His Adscititious Experiences, +by Frank R. Stockton + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Amos Kilbright; His Adscititious Experiences + +Author: Frank R. Stockton + +Release Date: September 26, 2004 [eBook #13531] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMOS KILBRIGHT; HIS ADSCITITIOUS +EXPERIENCES*** + + +E-text prepared by Steven desJardins and Project Gutenberg Distributed +Proofreaders + + + +AMOS KILBRIGHT; HIS ADSCITITIOUS EXPERIENCES + +With Other Stories + +by + +FRANK R. STOCKTON + +1888 + + + + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +AMOS KILBRIGHT: HIS ADSCITITIOUS EXPERIENCES + +THE REVERSIBLE LANDSCAPE + +DUSKY PHILOSOPHY--IN TWO EXPOSITIONS: + FIRST EXPOSITION: A STORY OF SEVEN DEVILS + SECOND EXPOSITION: GRANDISON'S QUANDARY + +PLAIN FISHING + + + + + +AMOS KILBRIGHT: HIS ADSCITITIOUS EXPERIENCES. + +[This story is told by Mr. Richard Colesworthy, an attorney-at-law, in +a large town in one of our Eastern States. The fact that Mr. Colesworthy +is a practical man, and but little given, outside of his profession, to +speculative theorizing, adds a weight to his statements which they might +not otherwise possess.] + +In the practice of my profession I am in the habit of meeting with all +sorts and conditions of men, women, and even children. But I do not know +that I ever encountered anyone who excited in me a greater interest than +the man about whom I am going to tell you. + +I was busily engaged one morning in my office, which is on the ground +floor of my dwelling and opens upon the street, when, after a +preliminary knock, a young man entered and asked leave to speak with me. +He was tall and well made, plainly but decently dressed, and with a +fresh, healthy color on his smoothly shaven face. There was something in +his air, a sort of respectful awkwardness, which was not without a +suggestion of good breeding, and in his countenance there was an +annoyed or troubled expression which did not sit well upon it. I asked +him to take a chair, and as he did so the thought came to me that I +should like to be of service to him. Of course I desire to aid and +benefit all my clients, but there are some persons whose appearance +excites in one an instinctive sympathy, and toward whom there arise at +first sight sentiments of kindliness. The man had said almost nothing; +it was simply his manner that had impressed me. I mention these points +because generally I do not take an interest in persons until I know a +good deal about them. + +"What can I do for you?" I asked. + +The man did not immediately answer, but began searching for something in +one of the pockets of his coat. The little awkwardness which I had first +noticed, now became more apparent. He appeared to be looking for his +pockets rather than for what might be in one of them. He was conscious +of his ungainliness and reddened a little as he fumbled on the inside +and outside of his coat. + +"I pray you pardon me," he said, "but I will bring before you instantly +the matter of my business." + +And so saying, he got his hand into a breast pocket and drew out a +little packet. There was a certain intonation of his voice which, at +first made me think that he was not an American, but in that intonation +there was really nothing foreign. He was certainly a stranger, he might +be from the backwoods, and both his manner and speech appeared odd to +me; but soon I had no doubt about his being my countryman. In fact, +there was something in his general appearance which seemed to me to be +distinctively American. + +"I came to you, sir," he said, "to ask if you would have the goodness to +purchase one or more of these tickets?" And he held out to me a card +entitling one person to admission to a séance to be given by a party of +spiritualists in one of the public buildings of the town. + +A feeling of anger arose within me. I was chagrined to think that I had +begun to interest myself in a person who merely came to interrupt me in +my business by trying to sell me tickets to a spiritualistic exhibition. +My instant impulse was to turn from the man and let him see that I was +offended by his intrusion, but my reason told me that he had done +nothing that called for resentment. If I had expected something more +important from him, that was my affair. He had not pretended to have any +other business than that which brought him. + +And, besides, he offered me something which in fact I wanted. I am a +member of a society for psychical research, which, about a year before, +had been organized in our town. It is composed almost exclusively of +persons who are desirous of honestly investigating the facts, as well as +theories, connected with the spiritual phenomena, not only of our own +day, but of all ages. We had heard of the spiritualistic exhibitions +which were to be given in our town, and I, with a number of my +fellow-members, had determined to attend them. If there was anything +real or tangible in the performances of these people we wanted to know +it. Considering all this, it would be foolish for me to be angry with a +man who had brought me the very tickets I intended to buy, and, instead +of turning away from him, I took out my pocket-book. + +"I will take one ticket for each of the three séances," I said. And I +placed the money on the table. + +I should have been glad to buy two sets of tickets; one for my wife; but +I knew this would be useless. She did not belong to our society, and +took no interest in its investigations. + +"These things are all tricks and nonsense," she said. "I don't want to +know anything about them. And if they were true, I most certainly would +not want to know anything about them." + +So I contented myself with the tickets for my own use, and as the man +slowly selected them from his little package, I asked him if he had sold +many of them. + +"These you now buy are the first of which I have made disposal," he +answered. "For two days I have endeavored to sell them, but to no +purpose. There are many people to whom I cannot bring myself to speak +upon the matter, and those I have asked care not for these things. I +would not have come to you, but having twice passed your open window, I +liked your face and took courage." + +I smiled. So this man had been studying me before I began to study him; +and this discovery revived in me the desire that he had come on some +more interesting business than that of selling tickets; a thing he did +so badly as to make me wonder why he had undertaken it. + +"I imagine," said I, "that this sort of business is out of your line." + +He looked at me a moment, and then with earnestness exclaimed: +"Entirely! utterly! absolutely! I am altogether unfitted for this +calling, and it is an injustice to those who send me out for me to +longer continue in it. Some other person might sell their tickets; I +cannot. And yet," he said, with a sigh, "what is there that I may do?" + +The idea that that strong, well-grown man should have any difficulty in +finding something to do surprised me. If he chose to go out and labor +with his hands--and surely no man who was willing to wander about +selling tickets should object to that--there would be no difficulty in +his obtaining a livelihood in our town. + +"If you want regular employment," I said, "I think you can easily find +it." + +"I want it," he answered, his face clouded by a troubled expression, +"but I cannot take it." + +"Cannot take it!" I exclaimed. + +"No," he said, "I am not my own master. I am as much a slave as any +negro hereabouts!" + +I was rather surprised at this meaningless allusion, but contented +myself with asking him what he meant by not being his own master. + +He looked on the floor and then he looked at me, with a steady, earnest +gaze. "I should like well to tell you my story," he said. "I have been +ordered not to tell it, but I have resolved that when I should meet a +man to whom I should be moved to speak I would speak." + +Now, I felt a very natural emotion of pride. My perception of objects +of interest was a quick and a correct one. "Speak on," I said, "I shall +be very glad to hear what you have to say." + +He looked toward the open door. I arose and closed it. When I had +resumed my seat he drew his chair closer to me, leaned toward me, and +said: + +"In the first place you should know that I am a materialized spirit." + +I sat up, hard pressed against the back of my chair. + +"Nay, start not," he said, "I am now as truly flesh and blood as you +are; but a short three weeks ago I was a spirit in the realms of endless +space. I know," he continued, "that my history is a sore thing to +inflict upon any man, and there are few to whom I would have broached +it, but I will make it brief. Three weeks ago these spiritualists held +privately in this town what they call a séance, and at that time I was +impelled, by a power I understood not, to appear among them. After I had +come it was supposed that a mistake had been made, and that I was not +the spirit wanted. In the temporary confusion occasioned by this +supposition, and while the attention of the exhibitors was otherwise +occupied, I was left exposed to the influence of the materializing +agencies for a much longer time than had been intended; so long, +indeed, that instead of remaining in the misty, indistinct form in which +spirits are presented by these men to their patrons, I became as +thoroughly embodied, as full of physical life and energy, and as +complete a mortal man as I was when I disappeared from this earth, one +hundred and two years ago." + +"One hundred and two years!" I mechanically ejaculated. There was upon +me the impulse to get up and go where I could breathe the outer air; to +find my wife and talk to her about marketing or some household affair, +to get away from this being--human or whatever he was--but this was +impossible. That interest which dawned upon me when I first perceived my +visitor now held me as if it had been a spell. + +"Yes," he said, "I deceased in 1785, being then in my thirtieth year. I +was a citizen of Bixbury, on the Massachusetts coast, but I am not +unconnected with this place. Old Mr. Scott, of your town, is my +grandson." + +I am obliged to chronicle the fact that my present part in this +conversation consisted entirely of ejaculations. "Old Mr. Scott your +grandson!" I said. + +"Yes," he replied; "my daughter, who was but two years old when I left +her, married Lemuel Scott, of Bixbury, who moved to this town soon after +old Mr. Scott was born. It was, indeed, on account of this good old man +that I became materialized. He was present at the private séance of +which I have spoken, and being asked if he would like to see a person +from the other world, he replied that he should be pleased to behold his +grandfather. When the necessary influences were set to work I appeared. +The spiritualists, who, without much thought, had conceived the idea +that the grandfather of old Mr. Scott ought, in the ordinary nature of +things, to be a very venerable personage, were disappointed when they +saw me, and concluded I was one who, by some mistake, had been +wrongfully summoned. They, therefore, set me aside, as it were, and +occupied themselves with other matters. Old Mr. Scott went away +unsatisfied, and strengthened in his disbelief in the powers of the +spiritualists, while I, as I have before said, was left unnoticed under +the power of the materializing force, until I was made corporeal as I am +now. When the spiritualists discovered what had happened they were much +disturbed, and immediately set about to dematerialize me, for it is not +their purpose or desire to cause departed spirits to again become +inhabitants of this world. But all their efforts were of no avail. I +remained as much a man as anyone of themselves. They found me in full +health and vigor, for I had never had a day's sickness in my life, +having come to my death by drowning while foolishly swimming too far +from land in a strong ebb tide, and my body, being carried out to sea, +was never recovered. Being thus put to their wit's end, they determined +to keep the matter privy, and to make the best of it, and the first +necessity was to provide me with clothing, for on my second entrance +into this world I was as totally without apparel as when I first came +into it. They gave me these garments of the ordinary fashion of the day, +but to which I find myself much unaccustomed, and enjoined upon me to +keep silent in regard to what had happened; fearing, as I was made aware +by some unguarded words, that their efforts to dematerialize me might +bring them into trouble." + +My professional instincts now came to the front. "That would be murder," +I said, "and nothing less." + +"So I myself told them," he continued, "for I had come to the +determination that I would choose to finish out the life I had broken +off so suddenly. But they paid little heed to my words and continued +their experiments. But, as I have told you, their efforts were without +avail, and they have ceased to make further trial of dematerialization. +As, of course, it would be impossible to keep a full-grown man for any +considerable length of time secluded and unseen, they judged it wise to +permit me to appear as an ordinary human being; and having no other use +to which they could put me, they set me to selling tickets for them, and +in this business I have fared so badly that I shall restore to them +these that are left, and counsel them to seek another agent, I being of +detriment to them rather than profit. What may then happen I do not +know, for, as I told you, I am not my own master." + +"I do not understand you," I said. "If you have been, in this +unparalleled manner, restored to your physical existence, surely you are +free to do as you please. What these spiritualists have done for you was +done by accident. They intended you no benefit, and they have no claim +upon you." + +"That is true," he said, with a sigh, "but they have a hold upon me. It +was but yesterday that they informed me that, although, so far, they had +failed to restore me to what they call my normal spiritual existence, +they had every reason to believe that they soon would be able to do so. +A psychic scientist of Germany has discovered a process of +dematerialization, and they have sent to him for his formula. This, in a +short time, they expect to receive, and they assure me that they will +not hesitate to put it in force if I should cause them trouble. Now, +sir," he continued, and as he spoke there was a moisture about his eyes, +"I am very fond of life. I have been restored to that mortality from +which I was suddenly snatched by the cruel sea, and I do not wish to +lose it again until I have lived out my natural term of years. My family +is one of long life, and I feel that I have a right to fifty more years +of existence, and this strong desire for the natural remainder of my +life is that which gives these men their power over me. I was never a +coward, but I cannot but fear those who may at any moment cause this +form, these limbs, my physical state and life, to vanish like a +candle-flame blown out." + +My sympathies were now strongly aroused in behalf of the subject of +these most extraordinary conditions. "That which you fear must not be +allowed," I said. "No man has the right to take away the life of +another, no matter what plan or method he may use. I will see the +spiritualists, and make it plain to them that what they threaten they +cannot be allowed to do." + +The man arose. "Sir," he said, "I feel that I have truly found a +friend. Whatever may happen to me, I shall never forget your kindness to +a very stranger." He held out his hand, and I stood up by him and took +it. It was as much a flesh and blood hand as my own. + +"What is your name?" I asked. "You have not yet told me that." + +"I am Amos Kilbright, of Bixbury," he answered. + +"You have not revisited your native place?" I said. + +"No," he replied, "I much desire to do so, but I have no money for a +journey, even on foot, and I doubt me much if those men would suffer me +to go to Bixbury." + +"And have you spoken to your grandson, old Mr. Scott?" I said. "It is +but right that you should make yourself known to him." + +"So have I thought," he answered, "and I have felt an earnest drawing +toward my daughter's child. I have seen him thrice, but have not had the +heart to speak to him and declare myself the progenitor of that mother +whose memory I know he cherishes." + +"You shall make yourself known to him," I said. "I will prepare the +way." + +He shook me again by the hand and took his leave without a word. He was +deeply affected. + +I reseated myself by my table, one thought after another rushing through +my mind. Had ever man heard a story such as this! What were all the +experiences of the members of the Society for Psychical Research, their +stories of apparitions, their instances of occult influences, their best +authenticated incidents of supernaturalism compared to this experience +of mine! Should I hasten and tell it all to my wife? I hesitated. If +what I had heard should not be true--and this, my first doubt or +suspicion impressed upon me how impossible to me had been doubt or +suspicion during the presence of my visitor--it would be wrong to +uselessly excite her mind. On the other hand, if I had heard nothing but +the truth, what would happen should she sympathize as deeply with Amos +Kilbright as I did, and then should that worthy man suddenly become +dematerialized, perhaps before her very eyes? No, I would not tell +her--at least not yet. But I must see the spiritualists. And that +afternoon I went to them. + +The leader and principal worker of the men who were about to give a +series of spiritual manifestations in our town was Mr. Corbridge, a man +of middle-age with a large head and earnest visage. When I spoke to him +of Amos Kilbright he was very much annoyed. + +"So he has been talking to you," he said, "and after all the warnings I +gave him! Well, he does that sort of thing at his own risk!" + +"We all do things at our own risk," I said, "and he has as much right to +choose his line of conduct as anybody else." + +"No, he hasn't," said Mr. Corbridge, "he belongs to us, and it is for us +to choose his line of conduct for him." + +"That is nonsense," said I. "You have no more right over him than I +have." + +"Now then," said Mr. Corbridge, his eyes beginning to sparkle, "I may as +well talk plainly to you. My associates and myself have considered this +matter very carefully. At first we thought that if this fellow should +tell his story we would simply pooh-pooh the whole of it, and let people +think he was a little touched in his mind, which would be so natural a +conclusion that everybody might be expected to come to it. But as we +have determined to dematerialize him, his disappearance would bring +suspicion upon us, and we might get into trouble if he should be +considered a mere commonplace person. So we decided to speak out +plainly, say what we had done, and what we were going to do, and thus +put ourselves at the head of the spirit operators of the world. But we +are not yet ready to do anything or to make our announcements, and if he +had held his tongue we might have given him a pretty long string." + +"And do you mean," I said, "that you and your associates positively +intend to dematerialize Mr. Kilbright?" + +"Certainly," he answered. + +"Then, I declare such an act would be inhuman; a horrible crime." + +"No," said Mr. Corbridge, "it would be neither. In the first place he +isn't human. It is by accident that he is what he is. But it was our +affair entirely, and it was a most wonderfully fortunate thing for us +that it happened. At first it frightened us a little, but we have got +used to it now, and we see the great opportunities that this entirely +unparalleled case will give us. As he is, he is of no earthly good to +anybody. You can't take a man out of the last century and expect him to +get on in any sort of business at the present day. He is too +old-fashioned. He doesn't know how we do things in the year eighteen +eighty-seven. We put this subject to work selling tickets just to keep +him occupied; but he can't even do that. But, as a spirit who can be +materialized or dematerialized whenever we please, he will be of the +greatest value to us. When a spirit has been brought out as strongly as +he has been it will be the easiest thing in the world to do it again. +Every time you bring one out the less trouble it is to make it appear +the next time you want it; and in this case the conditions are so +favorable that it will be absolute business suicide in us if we allow +ourselves to lose the chance of working it. So you see, sir, that we +have marked out our course, and I assure you that we intend to stick to +it." + +"And I assure you," said I, rising to go, "that I shall make it my +business to interfere with your wicked machinations." + +Mr. Corbridge laughed. "You'll find," he said, "that we have turned this +thing over pretty carefully, and we are ready for whatever the courts +may do. If we are charged with making away with anybody, we can, if we +like, make him appear, alive and well, before judge and jury. And then +what will there be to say against us? Besides, we are quite sure that no +laws can be found against bringing beings from the other world, or +sending them back into it, provided it can be proved by the subject's +admission, or in any other manner, that he really died once in a natural +way. You cannot be tried for causing a man's death a second time." + +I was not prepared to make any answer on this point, but I went away +with a firm resolution to protect Amos Kilbright in the full enjoyment +of his reassumed physical existence, if the power of law, or any other +power, could do it. + +The next morning Mr. Corbridge called on me at my office. "I shall be +very sorry," he said, "if any of my remarks of yesterday should cause +unpleasant feelings between us. We are desirous of being on good terms +with everybody, especially with members of the Society for Psychical +Research. You ought to work with us." + +"We do not work with you," I replied, "nor ever shall. Our object is to +search earnestly and honestly into the subject of spiritual +manifestation, and not to make money out of unfortunate subjects of +experiment." + +"You misunderstand us," said he, "but I am not going to argue the +question. I wish to be on good terms with you and to act fairly and +plainly all around. We find that we cannot make use of the +dematerialization process as soon as we expected, for the German +scientist who controls it has declined to send us his formula, but has +consented to come over and work it on this subject himself. His +engagements will not allow him to visit this country immediately, but +he is very enthusiastic about it, and he is bound to come before long. +Now, as you seem to be interested in this ex-Kilbright, we will make you +an offer. We will give him into your charge until we want him. He is of +no use to us, as he can't tell us anything about spiritual matters, his +present memory beginning just where it broke off when he sank in the +ocean in seventeen eighty-five, but he might be very useful to a man who +was inclined to study up old-time manners and customs. And so, if it +suits you, we will make him over to you, agreeing to give you three +days' notice before we take any measures to dematerialize him. We are +not afraid of your getting away with him, for our power over him will be +all the same, no matter where he is." + +"I will have no man made over to me," said I, "and Mr. Kilbright being +his own master, can do with himself what he pleases; but, as I said +before, I shall protect him, and do everything in my power to thwart +your schemes against him. And you must remember he will have other +friends besides me. He has relatives in this town." + +"None but old Mr. Scott, at least so far as I know," said Corbridge, +"and he need not expect any help from him, for that ancient personage +is a most arrant disbeliever in spiritualism." + +And with this remark he took his leave. + +That very afternoon came to me Amos Kilbright, his face shining with +pleasure. He greeted me warmly, and thanked me for having so kindly +offered to give him employment by which he might live and feel under +obligations to no man. + +I had promised nothing of the kind, and my mind was filled with +abhorrence of such men as Corbridge, who would not only send a person +into the other world simply to gratify a scientific curiosity or for +purposes of profit, but would rehabilitate a departed spirit with all +his lost needs and appetites, and then foist him upon a comparative +stranger for care and sustenance. Such conduct was not only mean, but +criminal in its nature, and if there was no law against it, one ought to +be made. + +Kilbright then proceeded to tell me how happy he had been when Corbridge +informed him that his dematerialization had been indefinitely postponed, +and that I had consented to take him into my service. "It is now plain +to me," he said, "that they have no power to do this thing and cannot +obtain it from others. This discardment of me proves that they have +abandoned their hopes." + +It was evident that Corbridge had said nothing of the expected coming +of the German scientist, and I would not be cruel enough to speak of it +myself. Besides, I intended to have said scientist arrested and put +under bonds as soon as he set foot on our shores. + +"I do not feel," continued Kilbright, "that I am beginning a new life, +but that I am taking up my old one at the point where I left it off." + +"You cannot do that," I said. "Things have changed very much, and you +will have to adapt yourself to those changes. In many ways you must +begin again." + +"I know that," he said, "and with respect to much that I see about me, I +am but a child. But as I am truly a man, I shall begin to do a man's +work, and what I know not of the things that are about me, that will I +learn as quickly as may be. It is my purpose, sir, to labor with you in +any manner which you may deem fit, and in which I may be found +serviceable until I have gained sufficient money to travel to Bixbury, +and there endeavor to establish myself in some worthy employment. I had +at that place a small estate, but of that I shall take no heed. Without +doubt it has gone, rightly, to my heirs, and even if I could deprive +them of it I would not." + +"Have you living heirs besides your grandson here?" I asked. + +"That I know not," he said; "but if there be such I greatly long to see +them." + +"And how about old Mr. Scott?" said I. "When shall we go to him and tell +him who you are?" + +"I greatly desire that that may be done soon," answered Kilbright, "but +first I wish to establish myself in some means of livelihood, so that he +may not think that I come to him for maintenance." + +Of course it was not possible for me to turn this man away and tell him +I had nothing for him to do, and therefore I must devise employment for +him. I found that he wrote a fair hand, a little stiff and labored, but +legible and neat, and as I had a good deal of copying to do I decided to +set him to work upon this. I procured board and lodging for him in a +house near by, and a very happy being was Amos Kilbright. + +As for me I felt that I was doing my duty, and a good work. But the +responsibility was heavy, and my road was not at all clear before me. My +principal source of anxiety was in regard to my wife. Should I tell her +the truth about my new copyist, or not? In the course of a night I +resolved this question and determined to tell her everything. When the +man was merely Mr. Corbridge's subject the case was different; but to +have daily in my office a clerk who had been drowned one hundred and two +years before, and not tell Mrs. Colesworthy of it would be an injustice +to her. + +When I first made known to her the facts of the case my wife declared +that she believed "Psychics" had turned my brain; but when I offered to +show her the very man who had been materialized, she consented to go +down and look at him. I informed Kilbright that my wife knew his story, +and we three had a long and very interesting conversation. After an +hour's talk, during which my wife asked a great many questions which I +should never have thought of, we went upstairs and left Kilbright to his +work. + +"His story is a most wonderful one," said Mrs. Colesworthy, "but I don't +believe he is a materialized spirit, because the thing is impossible. +Still it will not do to make any mistakes, and we must try all we can to +help him in case he was drowned when he says he was, and that German +comes over to end his mortal career a second time. Science is getting to +be such a wicked thing that I am sure if he crosses the ocean on purpose +to dematerialize Mr. Kilbright, he will try to do it in some way or +other, whether the poor man was ever a spirit before or not. One thing, +however, is certain, I want to be present when old Mr. Scott is told +that that young man is his grandfather." + +Mr. Kilbright worked very assiduously, and soon proved himself of +considerable use to me. When he had lived in Bixbury he had been a +surveyor and a farmer, and now when he finished his copying duties for +the day, or when I had no work of that kind ready for him, it delighted +him much to go into my garden and rake and hoe among the flowers and +vegetables. I frequently walked with him about the town, showing and +explaining to him the great changes that had taken place since the +former times in which he had lived. But he was not impressed by these +things as I expected him to be. + +"It seems to me," he said, "as though I were in a foreign country, and I +look upon what lies about me as if everything had always been as I see +it. This town is so different from anything I have ever known that I +cannot imagine it has changed from a condition which was once familiar +to me. At Bixbury, however, I think the case will be otherwise. If there +are changes there I shall notice them. In a little place like that, +however, I have hopes that the changes will not be great." + +He was very conservative, and I could see that in many cases he thought +the old ways of doing things much better than the new ones. He was, +however, a polite and sensible man, and knew better than to make +criticisms to one who had befriended him; but in some cases he could not +conceal his disapprobation. He had seen a train of cars before I met +him, and I was not able to induce him to approach again a railroad +track. Whatever other feelings he may have had at first sight of a train +in motion were entirely swallowed up in his abhorrence of this mode of +travelling. + +"We must not be in a hurry," said my wife when we talked of these +matters. "When he gets more accustomed to these things he will be more +surprised at them." + +There were some changes, however, which truly did astonish him, and +these were the alterations--in his opinion entirely uncalled for and +unwarrantable--which had been made in the spelling of the words of our +language since he had gone to school. No steam-engine, no application of +electricity, none of the modern inventions which I showed him, caused +him the emotions of amazement which were occasioned by the information +that in this country "honor" was now spelled without a u. + +During this time Mr. Kilbright's interest in his grandson seemed to be +on the increase. He would frequently walk past the house of that old +gentleman merely for the purpose of looking at him as he sat by the open +window reading his newspaper or quietly smoking his evening pipe on a +bench in his side yard. When he had been with me about ten days he said: +"I now feel that I must go and make myself known to my grandson. I am +earning my own subsistence; and, however he may look upon me, he need +not fear that I am come to be a burden upon him. You will not wonder, +sir, that I long to meet with this son of the little baby girl I left +behind me." + +I did not wonder, and my wife and I agreed to go with him that very +evening to old Mr. Scott's house. The old gentleman received us very +cordially in his little parlor. + +"You are a stranger in this town, sir," he said to Kilbright. "I did not +exactly catch your name--Kilbright?" he said, when it had been repeated +to him, "that is one of my family names, but it is long since I have +heard of anyone bearing it. My mother was a Kilbright, but she had no +brothers, and no uncles of the name. My grandfather was the last of our +branch of the Kilbrights. His name was Amos, and he was a Bixbury man. +From what part of the country do you come, sir?" + +"My name is Amos, and I was born in Bixbury." + +Old Mr. Scott sat up very straight in his chair. "Young man, that seems +to me impossible!" he exclaimed. "How could there be any Kilbrights in +Bixbury and I not know of it?" Then taking a pair of big silver +spectacles from his pocket he put them on and attentively surveyed his +visitor, whose countenance during this scrutiny was filled with emotion. + +Presently the old gentleman took off his spectacles and, rising from his +chair, went into another room. Quickly returning, he brought with him a +small oil-painting in a narrow, old-fashioned frame. He stood it up on a +table in a position where a good light from the lamp fell upon it. It +was the portrait of a young man with a fresh, healthy face, dressed in +an old-style high-collared coat, with a wide cravat coming up under his +chin, and a bit of ruffle sticking out from his shirt-bosom. My wife and +I gazed at it with awe. + +"That," said old Mr. Scott, "is the picture of my grandfather, Amos +Kilbright, taken at twenty-five. He was drowned at sea some years +afterward, but exactly how I do not know. My mother did not remember +him at all. And I must say," he continued, putting on his spectacles +again, "that there is something of a family likeness between you, sir, +and that picture. If it wasn't for the continental clothes in the +painting there would be a good deal of resemblance--yes, a very great +deal." + +"It is my portrait," said Mr. Kilbright, his voice trembling as he +spoke. "It was painted by Tatlow Munson in the winter of seventeen +eighty, in payment for my surveying a large tract of land north of the +town, he having no money to otherwise compensate me. He wrote his name +in ink upon the back of the canvas." + +Old Mr. Scott took up the picture and turned it around. And there we all +saw plainly written upon the time-stained back, "Tatlow Munson, 1780." + +Old Mr. Scott laid the picture upon the table, took off his spectacles, +and with wide-open eyes gazed first at Mr. Kilbright and then at us. + +The sight of the picture had finished the conversion of my wife. "Oh, +Mr. Scott," she cried, leaning so far forward in her chair that it +seemed as if she were about to go down on her knees before the old man, +"this gentleman is your grandfather! Yes, he is, indeed! Oh, don't +discard him, for it was you who were the cause of his being here. Don't +you remember when you went to the spiritualist meeting, and asked to see +the spirit of your grandfather? That spirit came, but you didn't know +it. The people who materialized him were surprised when they saw this +young man, and they thought he couldn't be your grandfather, and so they +didn't say anything about it; and they left him right in the middle of +whatever they use, and he kept on materializing without their thinking +of him until he became just what you see him now. And if he now wore +old-fashioned clothes with a queue, he would be the exact image of that +portrait of him which you have, only a little bit older looking and +fuller in the face. But the spiritualists made him cut off his long +hair, because they said that wouldn't do in these days, and dressed him +in those common clothes just like any other person. And oh, dear Mr. +Scott, you must see for yourself that he is truly your grandfather!" + +Old Mr. Scott made no answer, but still sat with wide-open eyes gazing +from one to the other of us. As I looked at that aged, white-haired man +and thought of his mother, who must have died ever so long ago, being +the daughter of the young man who sat opposite to him, it was indeed +difficult to believe that these things could be so. + +"Mr. Scott," exclaimed my wife, "will you not speak to him? Will you +not give him your hand? Will you not acknowledge him as your +grandfather, whose picture you have always had near you, and which, when +a little boy, I expect your dear mother has often told you to look up to +and try to be like? And if you have grown old, and he has not, on +account of differences in circumstances, why should that make any +difference in your feelings, dear Mr. Scott? Oh, why don't you let him +take you to his heart? I don't see how you can help it," she said, with +a sob, "and you his little daughter's only child!" + +Old Mr. Scott rose to his feet. He pulled down the sleeves of his coat, +and gave an adjusting shake to its collar and lapels. Then he turned to +my wife and said: "Madam, let us two dance a Virginia reel while your +husband and that other one take the poker and tongs and beat out the +music on the shovel. We might as well be durned fools one way as +another, and all go to the lunatic asylum together." + +Now arose Mr. Kilbright to his feet, and stood up very tall. "Grandson +Lemuel," he said, "I leave not your house in anger. I see well that too +heavy a task has been laid upon your declining years when you are asked +to believe that which you have heard to-day. But I wish you to know +that I am here to ask nothing of you save that you will give me your +hand. I earnestly crave that I may again touch one of my own flesh and +blood." + +Old Mr. Scott picked up the portrait and looked at it. Then he laid it +down and looked at Mr. Kilbright. "Young man," said he, "can you stand +there and put your hand upon your heart, and say to me that you are +truly Amos Kilbright, my mother's father, who was drowned in the last +century, and who was brought back and turned into a live man by those +spiritualists; and that you are willing to come here and let yourself be +vouched for by Mr. and Mrs. Colesworthy, who belong to some sort of +society of that kind and ought to know about such things?" + +I was on the point of remarking that the Society for Psychical Research +had nothing to do with spiritualism except to investigate it, but my +wife saw my intention and checked me. + +Mr. Kilbright put his hand upon his heart and bowed. "What you have +heard is true," he said. "On my honor, I swear it." + +"Then, grandfather," said old Mr. Scott, "here is my hand. It doesn't do +to doubt things in these days. I didn't believe in the telephone when +they first told me of it, but when I had a talk with Squire Braddon +through a wire, and heard his new boots creak as he came up to see who +it was wanted him, and he in his own house a good two miles away, I gave +in. 'Fetch on your wonders,' says I, 'I am ready.' And I don't suppose I +ought to be any more dumfounded at seeing my grandfather than at any of +the other wonders. I'm getting too old now to try to find out the whys +and the wherefores of the new things that turn up every day. I must just +take them as they come. And so if you, grandfather Kilbright, and our +good friends, Mr. and Mrs. Colesworthy, will come into the back room +we'll have a cup of tea, and a talk over old times. To be sure, there +will be some gaps which none of us will be able to get over, but we must +do the best we can." + +After this Mr. Kilbright and his grandson saw a good deal of each other, +and the old gentleman always treated his mother's father with the +respectful deference which was due to such a relative. + +"There are times," he once said to me, "when this grandfather business +looks to me about as big and tough as anything that any human being was +ever called on to swallow. But then I consider that you and Mrs. +Colesworthy have looked into these matters, and I haven't, and that +knowin' nothin' I ought to say nothin'; and if it ever happens to look +particularly tough, I just call to mind the telephone and Squire +Braddon's creaking boots, and that settles it." + +Mr. Kilbright became more and more useful to me, particularly after he +had disciplined his mind to the new style of spelling. And when he had +been with me about a month I insisted that he should take a holiday and +visit Bixbury, for I knew that to do this was the great desire of his +heart. He could easily reach his native place by rail, but believing +that he would rather not go at all than travel on a train, I procured a +saddle-horse for him, and when I had given him full directions as to the +roads, he set out. + +In four days he returned. "How did you find Bixbury?" I asked of him. + +"There is no longer such a place," he answered, sadly. "I found a town +of that name, but it is not the Bixbury in which I was born. That has +utterly disappeared." + +And, after this, he never again alluded to his native place. + +The high character and many admirable qualities of this man daily +increased the affectionate regard and esteem in which he was held by my +wife and myself; and feeling that we could do nothing better for him +than to endeavor to make him forget the things of the past, and take a +lively and earnest interest in those of the present, we set ourselves to +work upon this task. In a great degree our efforts were successful, and +we soon perceived that Mr. Kilbright cared more and more for what he saw +about him. It was, indeed, natural that he should do this, for he was +still a young man, and able to adapt himself to changes in his +surroundings. + +As I have said, he gradually did so adapt himself, and in the course of +the autumn this adaptation took a form which at first amused Mrs. +Colesworthy and myself, and afterward enlisted our hearty sympathy. He +became attached to Miss Budworth, the librarian of our town library. He +frequently went there for books, and as she was a very intelligent young +woman, and very willing to aid him in his selections, it was not strange +that he should become interested in her. Very often he would remain at +the library until it closed in the evening, when he would walk to her +home with her, discoursing upon literary and historical subjects. + +My wife and I discussed this situation very thoroughly. Lilian Budworth +was a good girl, a sensible one, and a very good-looking one. Her family +was highly respectable and her years well proportioned to those of Mr. +Kilbright. There seemed to be, therefore, no reason why this intimacy +should not be encouraged. But yet we talked over the matter night after +night. + +"You see," said my wife, "it all seems plain and simple enough; but, on +the other hand, it isn't. In the first place, she does not know that he +has had a wife, or what old Mr. Scott is to him. He has promised us that +he will never say anything to anybody about having lived in the last +century without first consulting us; and old Mr. Scott has said over and +over again that he doesn't intend to speak of it; and the spiritualists +have left town long ago; so, of course, she knows nothing about it. But, +if things go on, she must be told, and what will happen then, I would +like to know!" + +"I am very sorry, indeed, that I cannot tell you," I answered. + +"It would be a queer case, anyway," Mrs. Colesworthy continued. "Mr. +Kilbright has had a wife, but he never was a widower. Now, having been +married, and never having been a widower, it would seem as if he ought +not to marry again. But his first wife is dead now, there can be no +doubt about that." + +It was not long before there was no further need for suppositions in +regard to this matter, for Mr. Kilbright came to us and announced that +he had determined to offer himself in marriage to Miss Budworth. + +"I think it is meet and proper," he said, "that I should wed and take +that position at the head of a family which a right-minded and +respectable man of my age should fill. I reasoned thus when for the +first time I took upon me this pleasing duty, and these reasons have now +the self-same weight as then. I have been studying the surveying methods +of the present day, and I believe I could re-establish myself in my +former profession. Thus could I maintain a wife, if, happily, I get +her." + +"Get her!" exclaimed Mrs. Colesworthy, "of course you will get her! She +can't help accepting you." + +"I should feel the more hope, madam," said Mr. Kilbright, "were it not +requisite that she be informed of all that has happened to me. And all +this must she know before I require her to make answer to me." + +"I must admit," I said, "that I am afraid you are going to have a tough +job." + +"I don't believe it!" warmly exclaimed my wife. "Lilian Budworth is a +girl of good, solid sense, and when she knows just exactly what has +happened, it is my opinion she will not object a bit." + +"Madam," said Mr. Kilbright, "you greatly embolden me, and I shall speak +to Miss Budworth this very day." + +Notwithstanding my wife's confidence in Miss Lilian's good sense, she +was as much surprised as I when, the next morning, Mr. Kilbright +informed us that he had been accepted. As it was yet an hour before the +library would open, she hurried around to Miss Budworth's home to know +all about it. + +The young lady was found, pale, but very happy. "When he left me last +night," she said, "my mind was in a strange hubbub. He had told me that +he loved me, and had asked me to marry him, and my heart would not let +me say anything but 'yes;' and yet, after he had gone, his wondrous +story came up before me as it had not come when he told it, having just +told something else. I did not sleep all night, thinking of it. I have +read and pondered a great deal upon these subjects, but have never been +able to make up my mind whether or not to put faith in the strange +spiritual manifestations of which we are told. So I determined, a good +while ago, not to consider the matter at all. I could do nothing with +it, and it would be better that I should let it alone. To this same +determination I came early this morning in the case of Mr. Kilbright. +None of us know what we may once have been, nor what we may become. All +we know is what we are. Mr. Kilbright may be mistaken as to what he was, +but I know what he is. And to that man I give myself as I am. I am +perfectly satisfied with the present." + +Mrs. Colesworthy enfolded her in an approbatory embrace, and hurried +home to tell me about it. "There now!" she exclaimed, "didn't I say that +Lilian Budworth was a girl of good, sound common-sense?" + +"That is what you said," I answered, "but I must admit that I was afraid +her common-sense would interfere with her acceptance of his story. We +had outside evidence in regard to it, but she had only his simple +statement." + +"Which is quite enough, when a woman truly loves," said Mrs. +Colesworthy. + +When old Mr. Scott was informed what had happened, he put down his +newspaper, took off his spectacles, and smiled a strange, wide smile. "I +have been reading," he said, "about a little machine, or box, that you +can talk into and then cork up and send by mail across the ocean to +anybody you know there. And then he can uncork it, and out will come +all you have said in your very words and voice, with the sniffles and +sneezes that might have got in accidental. So that if one of the Old +Testament Egyptians that they've been diggin' up lately had had one of +these boxes with him it might have been uncorked and people could have +heard in his own voice just who he was and what was his personal opinion +of Moses and his brother Aaron. Now, when an old man like me has just +come to know of a thing of this kind, it isn't for him to have a word to +say when he is told that Lilian Budworth is to be his step-grandmother; +he must take it in along with the other wonders." + +As to Mr. Kilbright and his lady-love they troubled themselves about no +wonders. Life was very real to them, and very delightful; and they were +happy. Despite her resolutions to give no consideration whatever to her +lover's previous existence, Miss Budworth did consider it a good deal, +and talked and thought about it, and at last came to understand and +appreciate the fact as thoroughly as did Mrs. Colesworthy and myself; +and she learned much more of Mr. Kilbright's former life than his +modesty had allowed him to tell us. And some of these things she related +with much pride. He had been a soldier during the Revolution, having +enlisted, at the age of twenty-three, under General Sullivan, when his +forces lay near Newport. He afterward followed that commander in his +Indian campaigns in Western New York, and served during the rest of the +war. It was when the army was in winter quarters in 1780 that Tatlow +Munson painted his portrait in payment of an old debt. Miss Budworth's +glowing rendition of Mr. Kilbright's allusions to some of the +revolutionary incidents in which he had had a part, made us proud to +shake hands with a man who had fought for our liberties and helped to +give us the independence which we now enjoy. + +Mr. Kilbright's business prospects soon began to look promising. As was +quite natural, his ideas upon some subjects were a little antiquated. +But, although many of the changes and improvements he saw about him met +with no favor in his eyes, he had sense enough to take advantage of +certain modern progressive ideas, especially such as related to his +profession of surveying. My introduction of him as a friend from Bixbury +helped him much in respect to patronage, and having devoted all his +spare time during the autumn and winter to study and the formation of +business connections, he secured enough profitable employment for the +coming season to justify him in taking to himself a wife; and his +marriage with Miss Budworth was appointed for the middle of April. + +It was about the end of March when I received a letter from Mr. +Corbridge, the spiritualist manager, in which he informed me that Dr. +Hildstein, the German scientist, of whom he had previously spoken to me, +had set sail for America and would probably arrive in about ten days. +"As soon as possible after his arrival," wrote Mr. Corbridge, "we shall +resume possession of the subject of whom you have been kind enough to +take charge during the time when we had no need of him. He will then be +dematerialized in order that we may cause him to manifest himself in our +séances whenever it may be desirable; but never, I may say, in the +complete and perfect physical condition to which he was unintentionally +materialized the first time. I promised you that I would give you at +least three days' notice of our intention to resume work on this +subject, and I have now been much better than my word. I have written +very plainly of our intentions, because we wish you to understand +exactly what we are going to do; and should we succeed in our proposed +experiment, which we certainly expect to do, we shall, probably, make +public our whole action in the affair, for this course would most +greatly benefit both ourselves and our cause. It will not be necessary +for you to inform the subject of our intention, for our power over him +will be as great at one time and at one place as at another; and as his +co-operation is not in any way needful, you will see for yourself that +it will be pleasanter for him not to concern himself with what we are +about to do." + +When I had read this letter, I sat for half an hour with it open in my +hands. It came upon me like a shower of iced water. I had supposed that +the spiritualists had utterly abandoned their endeavors to dematerialize +Mr. Kilbright. Therefore, the news of the revival of these criminal +intentions greatly shocked me. To be sure, the coming scientist might +have no such power as he pretended to possess, but this supposition did +not comfort me. If the man had not already had success in that sort of +thing it is not likely that he would come over here to attempt it now. + +When I had sufficiently quieted my mental agitation I wrote instantly to +Mr. Corbridge, and in my letter I assumed a very confident tone. I told +him that Mr. Kilbright's circumstances had so changed that the intended +action of the spiritualists in regard to him was now rendered +impossible. He had become an active member of society, had gone into +business, and would be married in April. The mere statement of these +facts would, I felt quite certain--so I wrote--cause the spiritualists +to instantly relinquish all idea of carrying out their previous +intention in regard to this most estimable man. If, however, any inhuman +craving for scientific investigation should cause them to persist in +their cruel and criminal designs, the utmost power of the law should be +invoked against them. "To take away human life," I wrote, "in a case +like this is murder, no matter how it is done, and should you take away +Mr. Kilbright's life, or even attempt it, you shall be indicted and +punished for this cold-blooded and premeditated crime." + +Before I had read this letter, I found it absolutely necessary for my +peace of mind that I should make my wife acquainted with the threatened +danger, and confer with her as to what it would be well to do. Of +course, Mrs. Colesworthy was greatly shocked when I read her Corbridge's +letter, but she recovered courage sooner than I had done. + +"It's all stuff and nonsense," she said. "The man is just as much alive +as you and I are, and I don't believe any human power can turn him into +a spirit. They might kill him, but then he would be a dead man and not a +spiritual mist or vapor. I don't believe they even intend to try to do +anything of the kind. They merely wish you to hand him over to them so +they can make him work for them for little or no pay. They think, and +with good reason, too, that by this time you have taught him how to get +along at the present day, and that he may now be of some use to them." + +I showed her the letter I had written, and she highly approved of it. +"If I were you," she said, "I would send that letter, and then I would +not do another thing. Take my word for it, you will never hear from +those people again." + +We resolved, of course, that we would say nothing to Mr. Kilbright or +Lilian about this matter, for it was unwise to needlessly trouble their +minds; but we could not help talking about it a great deal ourselves. In +spite of the reassuring arguments which we continually thought of, or +spoke of to each other, we were troubled, anxious, and apprehensive. + +"If we could only get them safely married," said Mrs. Colesworthy, "I +should feel at ease. Certainly those people would not do anything to him +then." + +"I don't believe they can do anything to him at all," I answered. "But +how a marriage is going to protect him I cannot imagine." + +"Of course, you can't explain such things," said my wife, "but I do +wish they were married and settled." + +Not long after this she came to me with a supposition. "Supposing," she +said, "that those people find it impossible to dematerialize him, they +might do something which would be a great deal worse." + +"What could that possibly be?" I asked. + +"They might materialize his first wife," said she, "and could anything +be more dreadful than that? I suppose that woman lived to a good old +age, and to bring her forward now would be a height of cruelty of which +I believe those people to be fully capable." + +"My dear," I exclaimed, "don't bring up any harrowing possibilities +which no one but yourself is likely to think of." + +"I wish I could be sure of that," she said. "I have heard, but I don't +know how true it is, that spirits cannot be called up and materialized +unless somebody wants them, and I don't suppose there is anybody who +wants the first Mrs. Kilbright. But these men might so work on Mr. +Kilbright's mind as to make him think that he ought to want her." + +I groaned. "Dear me!" I said. "I suppose if they did that they would +also bring up old Mr. Scott's mother, and then we should have a united +family." + +"And a very funny one it would be," said my wife, smiling, +notwithstanding her fears, "for now I remember that old Mr. Scott told +me that his grandmother died before she was sixty, but that his mother +lived to be seventy-five. Now, he is eighty, if he is a day, so there +would be a regular gradation of ages in the family, only it would run +backward instead of in the usual way. But, thinking it over, I don't +believe the spiritualists will permanently bring up any more of that +family. If they did, they would have to support them, for they could not +ask old Mr. Scott to do it, who hasn't money enough to satisfy his +descendants, and ought not to be expected to support his ancestors." + +My letter must have had a good deal of effect upon Mr. Corbridge, for in +less than a week after it was written he came into my office. He +informed me that he and his associates were about to give a series of +séances in our town, but that he had come on before the others in order +to talk to me. "I am extremely sorry," he said, "to hear of this +proposed marriage. We want to do what is right and fair, and we have no +desire that any act of ours shall create a widow." + +"Then," I exclaimed, "you relinquish your design against Mr. +Kilbright?" + +"Not at all," said he. "We shall carry out our plan before our subject +marries. If you choose to hurry up matters and have the wedding take +place before we are ready to proceed with our dematerializing process, +we shall be very sorry, but the blame must rest on you. You should have +had consideration enough for all parties to prevent any such +complication as an engagement to marry. As to what you said in your +letter in regard to invoking the law against us, I attach no weight +whatever to that threat." + +"You will find you have made a great mistake," said I, angrily, "when I +have brought the law to bear upon you, which now I shall not delay to +do." + +"You will merely bring ridicule upon yourself," he said, "if you assert +that the man you wish to protect is Amos Kilbright. We can prove by +records, still to be seen in Bixbury, that said person died in seventeen +eighty-five. On the other hand, if you choose to assert that he is, or +was, anybody else, how are you going to prove it? All that you can say +is that the person you refer to came from, you knew not where, and has +gone, you know not where. If you declare that at one time he was a +materialized spirit, you know very well how such a statement as that +would be received in a court of law. It will be much wiser to let it be +supposed that the person who has lately been seen about this town has +run off to Canada, than to make any sort of legal inquiry into the +matter. If said person were really a man we could have nothing to do +with his disappearance, while if he were a materialized spirit the law +would have nothing to do with him." + +I arose and paced the floor. There was entirely too much force in this +man's arguments, but, although I could not immediately answer him, his +cool determination to persevere in his iniquitous designs so angered me +that I declared that he should be punished if I had to do it myself. + +"Then you admit," he said, with a smile, "that the law cannot do it. The +situation," he continued, "is very plain to us. Although the law can +take no cognizance of our action, the case will be very different with +all believers in spiritualism, and those who are interested in us. The +news that we have done this thing will spread through the spiritualistic +circles of the world." + +"Has your German arrived?" I asked, abruptly. + +"Not yet," answered Corbridge, "but we expect him in a few days. He +will come directly to this town, because we wish to give him an +opportunity of observing the subject in his present form before +beginning the dematerializing process." + +"What refinement of cruelty!" I exclaimed. + +"Oh, of course, the doctor will not make himself known," said Corbridge. +"He will merely wish to take a good look at the subject, and see for +himself how perfect his materialization has been. Then he will know just +what work is before him." + +And, so saying, Mr. Corbridge went away, leaving me too angry to speak, +if, indeed, I could have thought of anything which it would have been +worth my while to say. + +When Mrs. Colesworthy heard what Corbridge had said, she turned white. +"They must be married instantly!" she exclaimed. "I knew that was the +only way." + +It was all very well to talk of an immediate marriage, but it was not so +easy to bring it about. It was yet a week before the day fixed for the +wedding, and the happy lovers were busy with their preparations, never +dreaming of the danger which hung over them. What reason could we give +for hastening the marriage rites? At one time we thought it might be +wise to explain to them fully the state of the case, but from this +course we were deterred for fear of the terrible effect that the news +might have on Lilian. Should she hear of the design of Dr. Hildstein, +she would never again have a moment's peace, married or unmarried. Once +I advised that the two be dissuaded from marrying, at least for a year. +In that time we could see if these people really had any power over Mr. +Kilbright. + +"That will not do at all," said Mrs. Colesworthy. "It will be very long +to postpone their happiness; and besides, if that German gets hold of +Mr. Kilbright while he is still unmarried, he will snap him up, or +rather, blow him out in no time." + +"I thought we had persuaded ourselves," I said, sadly, "that no one +could have any real power of dematerialization." + +"So we had," said she, "but that sort of persuasion does not always +last." + +The result was that we did nothing but hope for the best. But we could +not blame ourselves, for, really, there was nothing else to do. I had +given up all idea of endeavoring to put Mr. Corbridge and his associates +under legal restriction, because if they had power to do the evil we +feared, they could do it in one place as well as another, and no court +could determine when, how, or by whom Mr. Kilbright had been +dematerialized. + +The day before the wedding-day the German doctor arrived in our town; +and, having heard this, I went immediately to the hotel where Mr. +Corbridge and his party were staying. The spiritualistic manager was not +glad to see me, and frankly said so. + +"I had hoped," he remarked, "that you had concluded to keep out of this +thing. It is no concern of yours; you can be of no possible good to +anybody; and the wisest thing you can do will be to drop it." + +I assured him that I had no intention of dropping it, and that I should +do everything in my power to protect Mr. Kilbright. + +"Then, again," continued Corbridge, "there is really no need of giving +yourself all this worry. Dr. Hildstein may succeed, and he may not. We +have failed, and so may he. He has seen the subject, and has come to a +very philosophical and sensible conclusion in regard to him. He will not +believe, merely on our assertion, that the man is a materialized spirit. +He will proceed with his experiments, and if they fail he will consider +that the man is a man, and was never anything else. If they succeed, +then he will be quite satisfied that he had a perfect right to +dematerialize what we had materialized." + +"Then you really believe," I said, "that there is a chance that he may +fail?" + +"Of course there is," said Corbridge. "I do not know his methods, and +there may be nothing in them." + +I had no doubt that this change of tone in Corbridge was intended to +produce in me a feeling of security, that they might thus rid themselves +of me. But, though I saw through his purpose, the man's words encouraged +me. Of course there must be a good deal of doubt about the German's +powers; and, after all, there might be no cause whatever for our +anxieties. + +"Now, sir," said Corbridge, as I left, "if I were you I would trouble +myself no more about this matter. If Dr. Hildstein fails, you will still +have your man to do your copying, or your surveying, or anything you +like. If he succeeds, we are all in the same condition we were a year +ago. 'That subject did not exist at that time; he does not exist at this +time;' that will be all we shall have to say about it." + +"You forget," I said, severely, "the wife he may leave behind him." + +"I have nothing to say about that," said Corbridge, rather sharply. "It +is a reprehensible business, and I have nothing to do with it." + +I went away without seeing the German doctor, but as I heard he spoke no +English, and as I did not know German, an interview with him would have +been of no avail. + +Neither Mrs. Colesworthy nor myself slept that night; we were so filled +with anxious fears. But when the day broke, bright and clear, and I had +hurried round to Mr. Kilbright's lodgings, and had found him as full of +life and vigor as I had ever seen him, we were greatly comforted, and +ate our breakfasts with fair appetites. + +"If it had been a dark and lowering day," said my wife, "I don't believe +I could have swallowed a mouthful." + +The marriage was to take place at noon, and the happy pair were to start +by the first afternoon train for the sea-shore, where they were to spend +a week. Mr. Kilbright hated locomotives and railroads almost as much as +ever, but he had told me some time before that he intended to conquer +this prejudice, if such a thing were possible. + +"Being one of you, I must do as you do," he had said. + +The wedding was to be a very simple one. Miss Budworth was to go from +her mother's house to the church, where Mr. Kilbright was to meet her. +We insisted that he should dress at our house, where he would find +better accommodations than at his lodgings; and we assigned him our best +guest-room, where he repaired in very good season, to array himself in +his wedding suit. + +It was not quite eleven o'clock when I went upstairs to see if I could +be of any use to Mr. Kilbright in regard to the conclusion of his +toilette. I knocked at the door, but received no answer. Waiting a few +moments, I opened it and entered. On the floor, in front of a tall +dressing-glass, was a suit of clothes. Not only did I see the black +broadcloth suit--not laid out at length, but all in a compact heap--but +I saw the shoes and stockings, the collar and cravat; everything. Near +by lay a whisk broom. + +The truth was plain. While giving the last touches to his wedding +attire, all that was Amos Kilbright had utterly disappeared! + +I stood where I had stopped, just inside the door, trembling, scarcely +breathing, so stunned by the terrible sight of those clothes that I +could not move, nor scarcely think. If I had seen his dead body there I +should have been shocked, but to see nothing! It was awful to such an +extent that my mind could not deal with it! + +Presently I heard a step, and slightly turning, saw my wife close by me. +She had passed the open door, and seeing me standing as if stricken into +a statue, had entered. + +It did not need that I should speak to her. Pale as a sheet she stood +beside me, her hand tightly grasping my arm, and with her lips pallid +with horror, she formed the words: "They have done it!" + +In a few moments she pulled me gently back, and said, in quick, low +tones, as if we had been in presence of the dead: "In less than an hour +she will be at the church. We must not stay here." + +With this she turned and stepped quickly from the room. I followed, +closing the door behind me. + +Swiftly moving, and without a word, my wife put on her hat and left the +house. Mechanically I followed. I could speak no word of comfort to that +poor girl, at this moment the happiest of expectant brides. I knew that +I had not the power to even attempt to explain to her the nature of the +dreadful calamity that had fallen upon her. But I could not let my wife +go alone. She, indeed, must speak to Lilian, but there were other +members of the family; I might do something. + +To my great surprise, Mrs. Colesworthy did not turn into the street +which led to the Budworths' house, but went straight on. I thought at +first she was going to the church to countermand the wedding +preparations. But before I could put a question to her she had gone +around a corner, and was hurrying up the steps of the principal hotel in +our town. + +"Is Dr. Hildstein in?" she asked of the first person she met. + +The man, gazing astonished at her pallid face, replied that he was, and +immediately conducted us to a little parlor on the first floor, the door +of which stood partly open. Without knocking, Mrs. Colesworthy hastily +entered, I closely following. A middle-aged man suddenly arose from a +small table at which he was sitting, and turning quickly toward us, made +an abrupt exclamation in German. + +As I have said, I do not understand German, but Mrs. Colesworthy knows +the language well, and, stepping up to the man, she said (she afterward +told me the meaning of the words that passed between them): "Are you Dr. +Hildstein?" + +"I am," he said, his face agitated by emotion, and his eyes sparkling, +"but I can see no one, speak to no one! I go out this moment to observe +the result of an important experiment!" + +My wife motioned to me to close the door. "You need not go," she said, +"I can tell you that your experiment has succeeded. You have +dematerialized Mr. Kilbright. In one hour he was to be married to a +noble, loving woman; and now all that remains where he stood is a pile +of clothes!" + +"Do you tell me that?" exclaimed the doctor, wildly seizing his hat. + +"Stop!" cried Mrs. Colesworthy, her face glowing with excitement, her +eyes flashing, and her right arm extended. "Stir not one step! Do you +know what you have done?" + +"I have done what I had a right to do!" exclaimed the doctor, almost in +a shout. "If he is gone he was nothing but a spirit. Tell me where--" + +"I will tell you this!" exclaimed my wife. "He was a great deal more +than a spirit. He was a man engaged to be married at twelve o'clock this +day. You may think there is no law that will sweep down on you, but I +tell you there is; and before the clock strikes twelve you shall know +it. Do you imagine you have come upon a people who will endure the +presence of an ogre? a wretch, who reduces to nothing a fellow human +being, and calls it an experiment? When we tell what you have done--my +husband cannot speak German, but he is a leader in this town, and he +supports me in all I say--when we have told what you have done there +will be no need of courts, or judges, or lawyers for you. Like a wild +beast you will be hunted down; you will be trampled under foot; you will +be torn to pieces! Fire, the sword, the hangman's noose, clubs, and +crowbars will not be enough to satisfy the vengeance of an outraged +people upon a cold-blooded wretch who came to this country solely for +the purpose of perpetrating a crime more awful than anything that was +ever known before! Did you ever hear of lynching? I see by your face you +know what that means. You are in the midst of a people who, in ten short +minutes, will be shrieking for your blood!" + +The man's face changed, and he looked anxiously at me. I did not know +what my wife had been saying, but I had seen by her manner that she had +been threatening him, and I shook my uplifted fist. + +"Now heed what I say," cried Mrs. Colesworthy, "if you do not wish to +perish at the hands of an infuriated mob; to die a thousand deaths +before your vile spirit leaves this world, knowing that, besides the +torments you feel, and those which are to come, you will be in the power +of men who will bring you back in a half-finished form to make sport at +their meetings whenever they feel like it--" + +Drops of perspiration stood on the doctor's face. "Stop that!" he +cried, throwing up his arm. "I cannot stand that! I did not know the +subject had such friends!" + +"Nothing shall be stopped!" exclaimed my wife, "and everything shall +happen unless you immediately sit down at that table, or wherever you do +those things, and rematerialize Mr. Kilbright, just as you found him, +and into the very clothes that were left lying upon the floor!" + +The doctor stepped forward--his face was now pale--and addressed himself +very deferentially to my wife, totally ignoring me. "If you will +retire," he said, "I will try; I swear to you that I will try." + +"There is not a minute to be lost," said Mrs. Colesworthy, "not one +second. And, if as much as a finger-nail is missing, remember what I +have told you!" + +And with this we quickly left the room. + +As we went down the steps of the hotel Mrs. Colesworthy looked at her +watch. "It is twenty-five minutes to twelve," she said. "We must get +home as fast as we can." + +We hurried along, sometimes almost running. When we reached our house, +Mrs. Colesworthy motioned to me to go upstairs. She had no breath left +with which to speak. I ran up, and stood for a moment at the closed door +of our guest-room. With my hand on the knob, I was unable to open it. I +heard a step on the stairs behind me, and I opened the door. + +There stood Mr. Kilbright in his wedding clothes, with the whisk-broom +in his hand. + +He turned at the sound of my entrance. + +"Do you know," cried the cheery voice of my wife, from just outside the +door, "that we have barely fifteen minutes in which to get to the +church?" + +"Can that be?" cried Mr. Kilbright. "The time has flown without my +knowing it. We must truly make haste!" + +"Indeed we must," said Mrs. Colesworthy, and as she stepped back from +the door, she whispered in my ear: "Not a look, not a tremble to let him +know!" + +In less than thirty seconds we were on our way to the church, in the +carriage which had been ordered for the purpose. + +On the church porch we found old Mr. Scott. He was dressed in his best +clothes, and greeted us cordially. "In good time," he said. "I am glad +to see that. It promises well." And then, looking around to see that no +one was within hearing, he came nearer to us. "If I were you," he +continued, "I wouldn't say nothin' to folks in general about +relationships, for there are people, and very good people, too, whose +minds haven't got on far enough to make 'em able to understand +telephones and the other new kinds of wonders." + +We acknowledged the force of his remarks, and all went into the church. + +Three days after the departure of Mr. and Mrs. Kilbright on their +wedding tour, my wife received a letter from Dr. Hildstein, written by +himself from New York, but addressed in the handwriting of Mr. +Corbridge. + +"I return," he wrote, "to Germany, perfectly happy in having succeeded +in my experiments; but nevermore, esteemed lady, will I dematerialize a +subject who has remained long enough in this world to make friends, and +I am the only man who can do this thing." + +This letter greatly satisfied us. "It shows that he has some heart, +after all," said Mrs. Colesworthy, "but as to that man Corbridge, I +believe he would have kept poor Mr. Kilbright dancing backward and +forward between this world and the other as long as a dollar could be +made out of him. But there is only one way in which he can do us any +harm now, and that is by materializing the first Mrs. Kilbright; but, +knowing us, as he now does, I don't believe he will ever try that." + +"No," said I, "I don't believe he ever will." + +Should you ever meet with Mr. Amos Kilbright, you need not hesitate to +entrust him with any surveying you may have on hand. Mr. Corbridge +cannot dematerialize him, the German scientist will not, and there is no +one else in the world who would even think of such a thing. Therefore, +you need feel no fear that he may suddenly vanish from your sight, +leaving nothing behind him but his clothes and the contents of his +pockets; unless, indeed, he should again be so foolish as to go to swim +in the ocean at a point where there is a strong ebb tide. + + + + +THE REVERSIBLE LANDSCAPE. + + +To look at me no one would suppose it; but it is, nevertheless, a fact +that I am a member of a fire company. I am somewhat middle-aged, +somewhat stout, and, at certain times of the year, somewhat stiff in the +joints; and my general dress and demeanor, that of a sober business man, +would not at all suggest the active and impetuous fireman of the period. +I do not belong to any paid department, but to a volunteer Hook and +Ladder Company, composed of the active-bodied or active-minded male +citizens of the country town where I live. I am included in the +active-minded portion of the company; and in an organization like ours, +which is not only intended to assist in putting out the fires of burning +buildings, but to light the torch of the mind, this sort of member is +very valuable. In the building which we occupy, our truck, with its +hooks and ladders, stands upon the lower floor, while the large room +above is used as a club and reading-room. At the beginning of the first +winter of our occupancy of the building, we found that this room, which +had been very pleasant in summer, was extremely uncomfortable in winter. +The long apartment had been originally intended for purposes of storage; +and although we had ornamented it and fitted it up very neatly, a good +deal of carpentry and some mason's work was necessary before it could be +made tight and draught-proof for cold weather. But lately we had spent +money very freely, and our treasury was absolutely empty. I was chairman +of the committee which had charge of everything pertaining to our rooms, +and I felt the responsibilities of my position. The necessary work +should be begun immediately, but how could the money be raised to pay +for it? Subscriptions for this and that had been made until the members +were tired of that sort of thing; and the ill success of the last one +showed that it would not do to try it again. + +I revolved in my mind a great many plans for raising the sum required, +and one morning, as I was going to my place of business in the city, I +was seized with a happy idea. At the moment of seizure I was standing in +front of a large show-window, in which were a number of oil paintings, +all of them very fresh and bright. "How would it do," thought I to +myself, "to buy a picture at a moderate price and put it up at a +raffle? People who are not willing to give money outright will often +enter into a scheme of this kind. I will go in and make inquiries." + +When I entered I found myself in a large showroom, the walls of which +were covered with paintings. A person advanced to meet me who, as it +soon became evident, was the proprietor of the place. He was a large +man, dressed in black, with an open shirt-front and an expansive +countenance. His eyes and hair were black, and his ears stood out from +his head in a manner which, according to a recent writer, indicates the +money-getting faculty; and he plainly belonged to that class of persons +who in the Middle Ages did not, as is the present custom, pay money for +having their teeth extracted, but often disbursed large sums for the +privilege of retaining them. When I asked him if I could procure a good +and effective picture at a moderate price, he threw out his chest and +waved his arms toward his walls. "There, sir," he said, "you can see oil +paintings of every subject, of every style, and of every class; and at +prices, sir, lower than they can be found elsewhere in the known world. +Mention the kind of picture you want, and I can accommodate you." + +I replied that I did not know exactly what I wanted, and that I would +see what he had. I now began to look at the pictures on the walls, +occasionally mentioning my ideas in regard to their merits, when +suddenly my companion turned to me and said: + +"Are you connected with the press, sir?" + +I replied that I was not, although I occasionally wrote for periodicals. + +"Upon art subjects?" he asked. + +I answered in the negative. + +"Then you are unprejudiced," he said, "and I believe from your +appearance that you are a man of influence, and there is nothing I would +like better than to exhibit the workings of my art organization to a man +of influence, unprejudiced on the subject. My object is, sir, to +popularize art; to place high art within the reach of the masses, and +thus to educate the artistic faculties of even the poorest citizens." + +I said that I supposed the chromo movement was intended to do all that. + +"No, sir," he replied, warmly; "chromos cannot accomplish the object. +They are too expensive; and, besides, they are not the real thing. They +are printed, not painted; and what the public wants is the real thing, +the work of the brush; and that is what I give them. The pictures you +see here, and an immense stock besides, are all copies of valuable +paintings, many of them in the finest galleries of Europe. I sell no +originals. I guarantee everything to be a copy. Honesty is at the bottom +of all I do. But my copies are exactly like the originals; that is all I +claim. I would like, sir, to show you through my establishment, and let +you see how I am carrying on the great work of art education. There are +picture-dealers in this city, sir, plenty of them, who try to make the +public believe that the vile daubs they sell are originals, and the +works of well-known painters; and when they do admit that the picture is +a copy, they say it is the work of some distinguished student; that +there is no other copy in the country; or they make some other +misstatement about it. These people conceal their processes, but their +tricks are beginning to be well known to the public. Now, sir, I conceal +nothing. The day for that sort of thing is past. I want men of influence +to know the facilities I have for the production of art-work upon a +grand scale. We will first go into the basement. Sir," said he, as I +followed him down-stairs, "you know how the watch-making business has +been revolutionized by the great companies which manufacture watches by +machinery. The slow, uncertain, and expensive work of the poor toilers +who made watches by hand has been superseded by the swift, unerring, and +beautiful operations of machinery and steam. Now, sir, the great purpose +of my life is to introduce machinery into art, and, ultimately, steam. +And yet I will have no shams, no chromos. Everything shall be real--the +work of the brush. Here, sir," he continued, showing me into a long room +filled with workmen, "you see the men engaged in putting together the +frames on which to stretch my canvases. Every stick is cut, planed, and +jointed at a mill in Vermont, and sent on here by the car-load. Beyond +are the workmen cutting up, stretching, and preparing the canvas, bales +upon bales of which are used in a day. At the far end are the mills for +grinding and mixing colors. And now we will go to the upper floors, and +see the true art-work. Here, sir," he said, continuing to talk as we +walked through the rooms on the various floors, "is the landscape and +marine department. That row of men are putting in skies; they do nothing +else. Each has his copy before him, and, day after day, month after +month, paints nothing but that sky; and of course he does it with great +rapidity and fidelity. Above, on those shelves, are sky-pots of every +variety; blue-serene pots, tempest pots, sunset pots in compartments, +morning-gray pots, and many others. Then the work passes to the +middle-ground painters, who have their half-tone pots within easy reach. +After that the foreground men take it up, and the figurists put in the +men and animals. That man there has been painting that foreground cow +ever since the first of August. He can now put her in three and a half +times in fifteen minutes, and will probably rise to sixteen cows an hour +by the end of this month. These girls do nothing but put white-caps to +waves. There's a great demand at present for the windy marine. This next +room is devoted to portraits to order. You see that row of old ladies +without heads, each holding a pair of spectacles, and with one finger in +the Bible to keep the place; that's very popular, and we put in a head +when the photograph is sent. There is a great rage at present for +portraits of babies without any clothes on. Here is a lot of undraped +infants with bodies all finished, but with no heads. We can finish them +to order at very short notice. I have one girl who puts in all the +dimples. You would be surprised to see what a charming dimple she can +make with one twist of her brush. Long practice at one thing, sir, is +the foundation of the success of this great establishment. Take that +girl away from her dimple-pot, and she is nothing. She is now upstairs, +putting dimples into a large Correggio order from the West. This next +room is our figure department, battle-pieces, groups, single figures, +everything. As you have seen before, each man only copies from the +original that part which is his specialty. In addition to its other +advantages, this system is a great protection to us. None of my men can +work at home at nights and Sundays, and forge pictures. Not one of them +can do a whole one. And now, sir, you have seen the greater part of my +establishment. The varnishing, packing, and storage rooms are in another +building. I am now perfecting plans for the erection of an immense +edifice with steam-engines in the cellar, in which my paintings shall be +done by machinery. No chromos, mind you, but real oil-paintings, done by +brushes revolving on cylinders. I shall have rolls of canvas a mile +long, like the paper on which our great dailies are printed, and the +machines shall do everything; cut off the picture, when it has passed +among the cylinders, whereupon fresh canvas will be rolled in for a new +one; another machine will stretch them; and they will pass through a +varnish bath in the twinkling of an eye. But this is in the future. What +I want of you, sir, and of other men of influence in society, is to let +our people know of the great good that is ready for them now, and of +the greater benefit that is coming. And, more than that, you can do +incalculable good to our artists. Those poor toilers on the solitary +canvas should know how to become prosperous, great, and happy; tell them +to go into some other business. And now, sir, I must see what I can do +for you. We will return to my gallery, and I will show you exactly what +you want." + +When we reached the back part of the showroom, down-stairs, he brought +out an unframed picture about three feet long and two high, and placed +it in a favorable light. "There," said he, "is a picture which will suit +you. It is what we call a reversible landscape, and is copied from the +only genuine picture of the kind in the world. It is just as good as two +pictures. In this position, you see, a line of land stretches across the +middle of the picture, with trees, houses, and figures, with a light sky +above and a lake, darker in hue, below. Everything on the land is +reflected accurately in the water. It is a landscape in morning light. +Turn it upside down, so, and it is an evening scene; darkening sky +above, light water beneath; the morning star, which you saw faintly +glimmering in the other picture, is now the reflection of the evening +star." + +I do not pretend to be a judge of pictures, but I fancy I appreciate an +original idea when I see it, and I thought that this picture might +answer my purpose. + +"What is the price of the painting?" I asked. + +"Well, sir," said he, "to you, as a man of influence, I will fix the +price of this great painting, from a comparatively unknown work of +Gaspar Poussin, at four dollars and a half." + +In spite of what I had seen of the facilities possessed by this +establishment for producing cheap work, I must confess that I was +surprised at the smallness of the sum asked for an oil-painting of that +size; I had expected to give forty or fifty dollars. But, although I am +not a judge of paintings, I am a business man, and accustomed to make +bargains. Therefore I said: + +"I will give you two dollars and fifty cents for the picture." + +"Done," said he. "Where shall I send it?" + +I gave him my city address, and paid the money. As he accompanied me to +the door, he said: "If you would like more of these pictures, I will +sell you one dozen for eighteen dollars, or the whole lot of one +hundred, just finished--and there will be no more of them painted--for +one hundred dollars." I told him one was all I wanted, and departed. I +carried the picture home that afternoon, and in the evening exhibited it +at our club-room, and made known my scheme for raising the money we +needed by getting up a raffle with this painting as the prize; one +hundred tickets at the low price of two dollars each. The reversible +landscape was set up, first one way and then the other, a great many +times, and created quite a sensation. + +"I don't think it's worth the half of two hundred dollars," said Mr. +Buckby, our president, "but as the money is for the use of our +Association, I don't mind that. But my objection to the scheme is that, +if I should gain the prize, I should be laughed at by all my +fellow-members: for, to tell the truth, I think that painting is a good +deal more funny than otherwise. It's not what I call high art." + +The other members generally agreed with him. They were very much amused +by the picture, but they did not care to possess it, imagining that +those who ridiculed it might also ridicule its owner. This opposition +discouraged me, and I retired to reflect. In about five minutes I +returned to the company, which had now greatly increased, as it was one +of our regular meeting nights, and I asked if they would consent to this +raffle if I would engage that the winner of the picture should not be +laughed at by any other member. + +"How will you guarantee that?" asked Mr. Buckby. + +"I will put the matter in the hands of the Association," I answered. +"If, after the raffle is over, a majority of the members shall decide +that any of us have reason to laugh at the winner of this painting, I +will refund all the money paid for tickets." + +There was something in this proposition which aroused the curiosity of +my fellow-firemen; and when the meeting was called to order, a +resolution was adopted that we would have the raffle, and that the +management of it should be placed in my hands, subject to the conditions +mentioned above. There were a good many surmises as to what I was going +to do to keep the people from laughing at the prize-winner, the general +opinion being that I intended to have the picture altered so that it +would be like an ordinary landscape, and not reversible. But the affair +was something novel, and promised to put the much-needed money into our +treasury; and several gentlemen assured me that they would make it their +business to see that every member took a ticket, one generous man +promising, in the interests of the Association, to present them to such +of the few members as might decline to buy them for themselves. This +offer was made in consequence of my insistance that every one of us +should have a chance in the raffle. + +The next morning I went to the art-factory and told the proprietor that +I would take the lot of reversibles he had on hand, if he would include +the one already purchased, and receive ninety-seven dollars and a half +as the balance due. + +"All right!" said he. "I have the ninety-nine still on hand. Are you in +the tea business, sir?" + +"Oh, no," said I; "the pictures are intended for a large Association." + +"No better way of extending the influence of art, sir," he said, +heartily. "I shall charge you nothing for boxing. The same address, +sir?" + +"No, they must be forwarded to my residence," and I gave him the needful +directions, and a check. + +The next day the ninety-nine pictures arrived and were stored in my +barn. My wife, to whom I had told my plan, made some objections to it, +saying it did not seem right to use half the money paid in to buy so +many pictures; but I told her that no one could expect in a raffle to +clear all the money subscribed, and that although we should not gain as +much as I had hoped, we should clear a hundred dollars, and every man +would have a picture. This was surely fair, and the fact was that the +unsympathetic state of mind of our members made it necessary for me to +do something of this kind, if I expected to raise the needed money at +all. + +The raffle was announced, and on the appointed evening there was a full +attendance. The prize was won by a Mr. Horter, an art-collector of a +nervous temperament, who had objected to the raffle, and who had +consented to buy a ticket only after repeated solicitations. + +"Now mind," he said to me, "you promised that the other men should not +laugh at me, and I hold you to your contract." + +I answered that I intended to stand by it, and that the painting should +be sent to him in the morning from my house, whither it had been +removed. Every member present announced his intention of calling on +Horter the following evening to see why he should not be laughed at. + +All the next forenoon my man, with a horse and light wagon, was engaged +in delivering the reversible landscapes, one to every member of our +club. These gentlemen were, in almost every case, absent at their places +of business. When they came home in the evening each found his picture, +with his name on the back of it, and a printed slip informing him that +in this raffle there had been no blanks, and that every man had drawn a +prize. + +Not a man called upon Mr. Horter that evening, and he greatly wondered +why they did not come in, either to laugh or to say why they should not +do so; but every other member of our club was visited by nearly all his +fellow-firemen, who ran in to see if it were true that he also had one +of those ridiculous reversible landscapes. As everybody knew that Mr. +Horter had one, there was no need to call on him; and even if they had +hoped to be able to laugh at him they could not do so, when each of them +had drawn one of the pictures himself. A good many called on me, and +some were a little severe in their remarks, saying that although it +might be a very pretty joke, I must have used up nearly all the money +that they had given for the good of the Association, for, of course, +none of them cared for the absurd prize. + +But when, on the next meeting night, I paid in one hundred dollars to +the treasury, a sum more than sufficient to make our room comfortable, +they were quite satisfied. The only thing that troubled them was to know +what to do with the pictures they had drawn. Not one of them was +willing to keep his preposterous landscape in his house. It was Mrs. +Buckby, our president's wife, who suggested a way out of the difficulty. + +"Of course," she said to her husband, "it would have been much better if +each one of you had given the two dollars without any raffle, and then +you would have had all your money. But one can't expect men to do a +thing like that." + +"Not after we had all paid in our regular dues, and had been subscribing +and subscribing for this, that, and the other thing for nearly a year," +said I, who was present at the time. "Some extra inducement was +necessary." + +"But, as you have all those horrid landscapes," she continued, "why +don't you take them and put them up along the top of your walls, next +the ceiling, where those openings are which used to ventilate the room +when it was used for storage? That would save all the money that you +would have to pay to carpenters and painters to have those places made +tight and decent-looking; and it would give your room a gorgeous +appearance." + +This idea was hailed with delight. Every man brought his picture to the +hall, and we nailed the whole hundred in a row along the top of the four +walls, turning one with the darker half up, and the next the other way, +so as to present alternate views of morning and evening along the whole +distance. The arrangement answered admirably. The draughts of air from +outside were perfectly excluded: and as our walls were very lofty, the +general effect was good. + +"Art of that kind cannot be too high," said Mr. Horter. + +A week or two after this, when I arrived at home one afternoon, my wife +told me that there was a present for me in the dining-room. As such +things were not common, I hurried in to see what it was. I found a very +large flat package, tied up in brown paper, and on it a card with my +name and a long inscription. The latter was to the effect that my +associates of the Hook and Ladder Company, desirous of testifying their +gratitude to the originator and promoter of the raffle scheme, took +pleasure in presenting him with the accompanying work of art, which, +when hung upon the walls of his house, would be a perpetual reminder to +him of the great and good work he had done for the Association. + +I cannot deny that this pleased me much. + +"Well!" I exclaimed to my wife, "it is very seldom that a man gets any +thanks for his gratuitous efforts in behalf of his fellow-beings; and +although I must say that my services in raising money for the +Association deserved recognition, I did not expect that the members +would do themselves the justice to make me a present." + +Unwrapping the package, I discovered, to my intense disgust, a copy of +the Reversible Landscape! My first thought was that some of the members, +for a joke, had taken down one of the paintings from our meeting-room +and had sent it to me; but, on carefully examining the canvas and frame, +I was quite certain that this picture had never been nailed to a wall. +It was evidently a new and fresh copy of the painting of which I had +been assured no more would be produced. I must admit that I had felt a +certain pride in decorating our hall with the style of picture that +could not be seen elsewhere; and, moreover, I greatly dislike to be +overreached in business matters, and my wrath against the manufacturer +of high art entirely overpowered and dissipated any little resentment I +might have felt against my waggish fellow-members who had sent me the +painting. + +Early the next morning I went direct to the art-factory, and was just +about entering when my attention was attracted by a prominent picture +in the window. I stepped back to look at it. It was our reversible +landscape, mounted upon an easel, and labelled "A Morning Scene." While +I examined it to assure myself that it was really the landscape with +which I was so familiar, it was turned upside down by some concealed +machinery, and appeared labelled, "An Evening Scene." At the foot of the +easel I now noticed a placard inscribed: "The Reversible Landscape: A +New Idea in Art." + +I stood for a moment astounded. The rascally picture-monger had not only +made another of these pictures, but he was prepared to furnish them in +any number. Rushing into the gallery, I demanded to see the proprietor. + +"Look here!" said I, "what docs this mean? You told me that there were +to be no more of those pictures painted; that I was to possess a unique +lot." + +"That's not the same picture, sir," he exclaimed. "I am surprised that +you should think so. Step outside with me, sir, and I'll prove it to +you. There, sir!" said he, as we stood before the painting, which was +now Morning side up, "you see that star? In the pictures we sold you the +morning star was Venus; in this one it is Jupiter. This is not the same +picture. Do you imagine that we would deceive a customer? That, sir, is +a thing we never do!" + + + + +DUSKY PHILOSOPHY. + +IN TWO EXPOSITIONS. + + +FIRST EXPOSITION: A STORY OF SEVEN DEVILS. + + +The negro church which stood in the pine-woods near the little village +of Oxford Cross Roads, in one of the lower counties of Virginia, was +presided over by an elderly individual, known to the community in +general as Uncle Pete; but on Sundays the members of his congregation +addressed him as Brudder Pete. He was an earnest and energetic man, and, +although he could neither read nor write, he had for many years +expounded the Scriptures to the satisfaction of his hearers. His memory +was good, and those portions of the Bible, which from time to time he +had heard read, were used by him, and frequently with powerful effect, +in his sermons. His interpretations of the Scriptures were generally +entirely original, and were made to suit the needs, or what he supposed +to be the needs, of his congregation. + +Whether as "Uncle Pete" in the garden and corn-field, or "Brudder Pete" +in the church, he enjoyed the good opinion of everybody excepting one +person, and that was his wife. She was a high-tempered and somewhat +dissatisfied person, who had conceived the idea that her husband was in +the habit of giving too much time to the church, and too little to the +acquisition of corn-bread and pork. On a certain Saturday she gave him a +most tremendous scolding, which so affected the spirits of the good man +that it influenced his decision in regard to the selection of the +subject for his sermon the next day. + +His congregation was accustomed to being astonished, and rather liked +it, but never before had their minds received such a shock as when the +preacher announced the subject of his discourse. He did not take any +particular text, for this was not his custom, but he boldly stated that +the Bible declared that every woman in this world was possessed by seven +devils; and the evils which this state of things had brought upon the +world he showed forth with much warmth and feeling. Subject-matter, +principally from his own experience, crowded in upon his mind, and he +served it out to his audience hot and strong. If his deductions could +have been proved to be correct, all women were creatures who, by reason +of their seven-fold diabolic possession, were not capable of independent +thought or action, and who should in tears and humility place themselves +absolutely under the direction and authority of the other sex. + +When he approached the conclusion of his sermon, Brother Peter closed +with a bang the Bible, which, although he could not read a word of it, +always lay open before him while he preached, and delivered the +concluding exhortation of his sermon. + +"Now, my dear brev'ren ob dis congregation," he said, "I want you to +understan' dat dar's nuffin in dis yer sarmon wot you've jus' heerd ter +make you think yousefs angels. By no means, brev'ren; you was all brung +up by women, an' you've got ter lib wid' em, an ef anythin' in dis yer +worl' is ketchin', my dear brev'ren, it's habin debbils, an' from wot +I've seen ob some ob de men ob dis worl' I 'spect dey is persest ob +'bout all de debbils dey got room fur. But de Bible don' say nuffin +p'intedly on de subjec' ob de number ob debbils in man, an' I 'spec' +dose dat's got 'em--an' we ought ter feel pow'ful thankful, my dear +brev'ren, dat de Bible don' say we all's got 'em--has 'em 'cordin to +sarcumstances. But wid de women it's dif'rent; dey's got jus' sebin, an' +bless my soul, brev'ren, I think dat's 'nuff. + +"While I was a-turnin' ober in my min' de subjec' ob dis sarmon, dere +come ter me a bit ob Scripter wot I heerd at a big preachin' an' +baptizin' at Kyarter's Mills, 'bout ten year' ago. One ob de preachers +was a-tellin' about ole mudder Ebe a-eatin' de apple, and says he: De +sarpint fus' come along wid a red apple, an' says he: You gib dis yer to +your husban', an' he think it so mighty good dat when he done eat it he +gib you anything you ax him fur, ef you tell him whar de tree is. Ebe, +she took one bite, an' den she frew dat apple away. 'Wot you mean, you +triflin' sarpint,' says she, 'a fotchin' me dat apple wot ain't good fur +nuffin but ter make cider wid.' Den de sarpint he go fotch her a yaller +apple, an' she took one bite an' den says she: 'Go 'long wid ye, you +fool sarpint, wot you fotch me dat June apple wot ain't got no taste to +it?' Den de sarpint he think she like sumpin' sharp, an' he fotch her a +green apple. She takes one bite ob it, an' den she frows it at his head, +an' sings out: 'Is you 'spectin' me to gib dat apple to yer Uncle Adam +an' gib him de colic?' Den de debbil he fotch her a lady-apple, but she +say she won't take no sich triflin' nubbins as dat to her husban', an' +she took one bite ob it, an' frew it away. Den he go fotch her two udder +kin' ob apples, one yaller wid red stripes, an' de udder one red on one +side an' green on de udder,--mighty good lookin' apples, too--de kin' +you git two dollars a bar'l fur at the store. But Ebe, she wouldn't hab +neider ob 'em, an' when she done took one bite out ob each one, she frew +it away. Den de ole debbil-sarpint, he scratch he head, an' he say to +hese'f: 'Dis yer Ebe, she pow'ful 'ticklar 'bout her apples. Reckin I'll +have ter wait till after fros', an' fotch her a real good one.' An' he +done wait till after fros', and then he fotch her a' Albemarle pippin, +an' when she took one bite ob dat, she jus' go 'long an' eat it all up, +core, seeds, an' all. 'Look h'yar, sarpint,' says she, 'hab you got +anudder ob dem apples in your pocket?' An' den he tuk one out, an' gib +it to her. ''Cuse me,' says she, 'I's gwine ter look up Adam, an' ef he +don' want ter know war de tree is wot dese apples grow on, you can hab +him fur a corn-field han'.' + +"An' now, my dear brev'ren," said Brother Peter, "while I was a-turnin' +dis subjec' ober in my min', an' wonderin' how de women come ter hab +jus' seben debbils apiece, I done reckerleck dat bit ob Scripter wot I +heerd at Kyarter's Mills, an' I reckin dat 'splains how de debbils got +inter woman. De sarpint he done fotch mudder Ebe seben apples, an' ebery +one she take a bite out of gib her a debbil." + +As might have been expected, this sermon produced a great sensation, +and made a deep impression on the congregation. As a rule the men were +tolerably well satisfied with it; and when the services were over many +of them made it the occasion of shy but very plainly pointed remarks to +their female friends and relatives. + +But the women did not like it at all. Some of them became angry, and +talked very forcibly, and feelings of indignation soon spread among all +the sisters of the church. If their minister had seen fit to stay at +home and preach a sermon like this to his own wife (who, it may be +remarked, was not present on this occasion), it would have been well +enough, provided he had made no allusions to outsiders; but to come +there and preach such things to them was entirely too much for their +endurance. Each one of the women knew she had not seven devils, and only +a few of them would admit of the possibility of any of the others being +possessed by quite so many. + +Their preacher's explanation of the manner in which every woman came to +be possessed of just so many devils appeared to them of little +importance. What they objected to was the fundamental doctrine of his +sermon, which was based on his assertion that the Bible declared every +woman had seven devils. They were not willing to believe that the Bible +said any such thing. Some of them went so far as to state it was their +opinion that Uncle Pete had got this fool notion from some of the +lawyers at the court-house when he was on a jury a month or so before. +It was quite noticeable that, although Sunday afternoon had scarcely +begun, the majority of the women of the congregation called their +minister Uncle Pete. This was very strong evidence of a sudden decline +in his popularity. + +Some of the more vigorous-minded women, not seeing their minister among +the other people in the clearing in front of the log church, went to +look for him, but he was not to be found. His wife had ordered him to be +home early, and soon after the congregation had been dismissed he +departed by a short cut through the woods. That afternoon an irate +committee, composed principally of women, but including also a few men +who had expressed disbelief in the new doctrine, arrived at the cabin of +their preacher, but found there only his wife, cross-grained old Aunt +Rebecca. She informed them that her husband was not at home. + +"He's done 'gaged hisse'f," she said, "ter cut an' haul wood fur Kunnel +Martin ober on Little Mount'n fur de whole ob nex' week. It's fourteen +or thirteen mile' from h'yar, an' ef he'd started ter-morrer mawnin', +he'd los' a'mos' a whole day, 'Sides dat, I done tole him dat ef he git +dar ter-night he'd have his supper frowed in. Wot you all want wid him? +Gwine to pay him fur preachin'?" + +Any such intention as this was instantaneously denied, and Aunt Rebecca +was informed of the subject upon which her visitors had come to have a +very plain talk with her husband. + +Strange to say, the announcement of the new and startling dogma had +apparently no disturbing effect upon Aunt Rebecca. On the contrary, the +old woman seemed rather to enjoy the news. + +"Reckin he oughter know all 'bout dat," she said. "He's done had three +wives, an' he ain't got rid o' dis one yit." + +Judging from her chuckles and waggings of the head when she made this +remark, it might be imagined that Aunt Rebecca was rather proud of the +fact that her husband thought her capable of exhibiting a different kind +of diabolism every day in the week. + +The leader of the indignant church members was Susan Henry, a mulatto +woman of a very independent turn of mind. She prided herself that she +never worked in anybody's house but her own, and this immunity from +outside service gave her a certain pre-eminence among her sisters. Not +only did Susan share the general resentment with which the startling +statement of old Peter had been received, but she felt that its +promulgation had affected her position in the community. If every woman +was possessed by seven devils, then, in this respect, she was no better +nor worse than any of the others; and at this her proud heart rebelled. +If the preacher had said some women had eight devils and others six, it +would have been better. She might then have made a mental arrangement in +regard to her relative position which would have somewhat consoled her. +But now there was no chance for that. The words of the preacher had +equally debased all women. + +A meeting of the disaffected church members was held the next night at +Susan Henry's cabin, or rather in the little yard about it, for the +house was not large enough to hold the people who attended it. The +meeting was not regularly organized, but everybody said what he or she +had to say, and the result was a great deal of clamor, and a general +increase of indignation against Uncle Pete. + +"Look h'yar!" cried Susan, at the end of some energetic remarks, "is dar +enny pusson h'yar who kin count up figgers?" + +Inquiries on the subject ran through the crowd, and in a few moments a +black boy, about fourteen, was pushed forward as an expert in +arithmetic. + +"Now, you Jim," said Susan, "you's been to school, an' you kin count up +figgers. 'Cordin' ter de chu'ch books dar's forty-seben women b'longin' +to our meetin', an' ef each one ob dem dar has got seben debbils in her, +I jus' wants you ter tell me how many debbils come to chu'ch ebery clear +Sunday ter hear dat ole Uncle Pete preach." + +This view of the case created a sensation, and much interest was shown +in the result of Jim's calculations, which were made by the aid of a +back of an old letter and a piece of pencil furnished by Susan. The +result was at last announced as three hundred and nineteen, which, +although not precisely correct, was near enough to satisfy the company. + +"Now, you jus' turn dat ober in you all's minds," said Susan. "More'n +free hunderd debbils in chu'ch ebery Sunday, an' we women fotchin 'em. +Does anybody s'pose I'se gwine ter b'lieve dat fool talk?" + +A middle-aged man now lifted up his voice and said: "Ise been thinkin' +ober dis h'yar matter and Ise 'cluded dat p'r'aps de words ob de +preacher was used in a figgeratous form o' sense. P'r'aps de seben +debbils meant chillun." + +These remarks were received with no favor by the assemblage. + +"Oh, you git out!" cried Susan. "Your ole woman's got seben chillun, +shore 'nuf, an' I s'pec' dey's all debbils. But dem sent'ments don't +apply ter all de udder women h'yar, 'tic'larly ter dem dar young uns wot +ain't married yit." + +This was good logic, but the feeling on the subject proved to be even +stronger, for the mothers in the company became so angry at their +children being considered devils that for a time there seemed to be +danger of an Amazonian attack on the unfortunate speaker. This was +averted, but a great deal of uproar now ensued, and it was the general +feeling that something ought to be done to show the deep-seated +resentment with which the horrible charge against the mothers and +sisters of the congregation had been met. Many violent propositions were +made, some of the younger men going so far as to offer to burn down the +church. It was finally agreed, quite unanimously, that old Peter should +be unceremoniously ousted from his place in the pulpit which he had +filled so many years. + +As the week passed on, some of the older men of the congregation who had +friendly feelings toward their old companion and preacher talked the +matter over among themselves, and afterward, with many of their +fellow-members, succeeded at last in gaining the general consent that +Uncle Pete should be allowed a chance to explain himself, and give his +grounds and reasons for his astounding statement in regard to womankind. +If he could show biblical authority for this, of course nothing more +could be said. But if he could not, then he must get down from the +pulpit, and sit for the rest of his life on a back seat of the church. +This proposition met with the more favor, because even those who were +most indignant had an earnest curiosity to know what the old man would +say for himself. + +During all this time of angry discussion, good old Peter was quietly and +calmly cutting and hauling wood on the Little Mountain. His mind was in +a condition of great comfort and peace, for not only had he been able to +rid himself, in his last sermon, of many of the hard thoughts concerning +women that had been gathering themselves together for years, but his +absence from home had given him a holiday from the harassments of Aunt +Rebecca's tongue, so that no new notions of woman's culpability had +risen within him. He had dismissed the subject altogether, and had been +thinking over a sermon regarding baptism, which he thought he could make +convincing to certain of the younger members of his congregation. + +He arrived at home very late on Saturday night, and retired to his +simple couch without knowing anything of the terrible storm which had +been gathering through the week, and which was to burst upon him on the +morrow. But the next morning, long before church time, he received +warning enough of what was going to happen. Individuals and deputations +gathered in and about his cabin--some to tell him all that had been said +and done; some to inform him what was expected of him; some to stand +about and look at him; some to scold; some to denounce; but, alas! not +one to encourage; nor one to call him "Brudder Pete," that Sunday +appellation dear to his ears. But the old man possessed a stubborn soul, +not easily to be frightened. + +"Wot I says in de pulpit," he remarked, "I'll 'splain in de pulpit, an' +you all ud better git 'long to de chu'ch, an' when de time fur de +sarvice come, I'll be dar." + +This advice was not promptly acted upon, but in the course of half an +hour nearly all the villagers and loungers had gone off to the church in +the woods; and when Uncle Peter had put on his high black hat, somewhat +battered, but still sufficiently clerical looking for that congregation, +and had given something of a polish to his cowhide shoes, he betook +himself by the accustomed path to the log building where he had so often +held forth to his people. As soon as he entered the church he was +formally instructed by a committee of the leading members that before he +began to open the services, he must make it plain to the congregation +that what he had said on the preceding Sunday about every woman being +possessed by seven devils was Scripture truth, and not mere wicked +nonsense out of his own brain. If he could not do that, they wanted no +more praying or preaching from him. + +Uncle Peter made no answer, but, ascending the little pulpit, he put his +hat on the bench behind him where it was used to repose, took out his +red cotton handkerchief and blew his nose in his accustomed way, and +looked about him. The house was crowded. Even Aunt Rebecca was there. + +After a deliberate survey of his audience the preacher spoke: "Brev'eren +an' sisters, I see afore me Brudder Bill Hines, who kin read de Bible, +an' has got one. Ain't dat so, Brudder?" + +Bill Hines having nodded and modestly grunted assent, the preacher +continued. "An' dars' Aun' Priscilla's boy, Jake, who ain't a brudder +yit, though he's plenty old 'nuf, min', I tell ye; an' he kin read de +Bible, fus' rate, an' has read it ter me ober an' ober ag'in. Ain't dat +so, Jake?" + +Jake grinned, nodded, and hung his head, very uncomfortable at being +thus publicly pointed out. + +"An' dar's good ole Aun' Patty, who knows more Scripter' dan ennybuddy +h'yar, havin' been teached by de little gals from Kunnel Jasper's an' by +dere mudders afore 'em. I reckin she know' de hull Bible straight froo, +from de Garden of Eden to de New Jerus'lum. An' dar are udders h'yar who +knows de Scripters, some one part an' some anudder. Now I axes ebery one +ob you all wot know de Scripters ef he don' 'member how de Bible tells +how our Lor' when he was on dis yearth cas' seben debbils out o' Mary +Magdalum?" + +A murmur of assent came from the congregation. Most of them remembered +that. + +"But did enny ob you ebber read, or hab read to you, dat he ebber cas' +'em out o'enny udder woman?" + +Negative grunts and shakes of the head signified that nobody had ever +heard of this. + +"Well, den," said the preacher, gazing blandly around, "all de udder +women got 'em yit." + +A deep silence fell upon the assembly, and in a few moments an elderly +member arose. "Brudder Pete," he said, "I reckin you mought as well gib +out de hyme." + + +SECOND EXPOSITION: GRANDISON'S QUANDARY. + + +Grandison Pratt was a colored man of about thirty, who, with his wife +and two or three children, lived in a neat log cabin in one of the +Southern States. He was a man of an independent turn of mind, and he +much desired to own the house in which he lived and the small +garden-patch around it. This valuable piece of property belonged to Mr. +Morris, and as it was an outlying corner of his large farm he had no +objection to sell it to Grandison, provided the latter could pay for it; +but of this he had great doubts. The man was industrious enough, but he +often seemed to have a great deal of difficulty about paying the very +small rental charged for his place, and Mr. Morris, consequently, had +well-grounded doubts about his ability to purchase it. + +"But, sah," said Grandison one day when these objections had been placed +before him, "I's been turnin' dis thing ober in my min' ober an' ober. I +know jes' how much I kin make an' how much I's got to spend an' how I +kin save ter buy the house, an' if I agree to pay you so much money on +such a day an' so much on such anudder day I's gwine ter do it. You kin +jes' put that down, sah, for sartin shuh." + +"Well, Grandison," said Mr. Morris, "I'll give you a trial. If, at the +end of six months, you can pay me the first instalment, I'll have the +necessary papers made out, and you can go on and buy the place, but if +you are not up to time on the first payment, I want to hear no more +about the purchase." + +"All right, Mahs'r Morris," said Grandison. "If I gibs you my word ter +pay de money on de fus' day ob October, I's gwine to do it. Dat's sartin +shuh." + +Months passed on, and, although Grandison worked as steadily as usual, +he found toward the end of September that, in the ordinary course of +things, he would not be able to make up the sum necessary for the first +payment. Other methods out of the ordinary course came into his mind, +but he had doubts about availing himself of them. He was extremely +anxious to make up the amount due, for he knew very well that if he did +not pay it on the day appointed he might bid farewell to his hope of +becoming a freeholder. In his perplexity he resolved to consult Brother +'Bijah, the minister of the little church in the pine-woods to which +Grandison belonged. + +"Now, look-a-heah, Brudder 'Bijah," said he, "wot's I gwine to do 'bout +dis bizness? I done promised ter pay dis money on de fus' day ob de +comin' month, an' dar's six dollars ob it dat I ain't got yit." + +"An' aint dar any way ter git it?" asked 'Bijah. + +"Yaas, dar's one way," said Grandison, "I's been turnin' dis matter ober +an' ober in my min', an' dar's only one way. I mought sell apples. +Apples is mighty skarse dis fall, an' I kin git two dollars a bar'l for +'em in town. Now, if I was ter sell three bar'ls of apples I'd hab dat +dar six dollars, sartin shuh. Don' you see dat, Brudder 'Bijah?" + +"Dat's all clar 'nuf," said the minister, "but whar you gwine ter git +three bar'ls o' apples? You don' mean ter tell me dat you's got 'nuf +apple-trees in your little gyardin fur ter shake down three bar'ls o' +apples." + +"Now look a-heah, Brudder 'Bijah," said Grandison, his eyes sparkling +with righteous indignation, "dat's too much 'to 'spec' ob a man who's +got ter work all day to s'port his wife an' chillun. I digs, an' I +plows, an' I plants, an' I hoes. But all dem things ain't 'nuf ter make +apple-trees grow in my gyardin like as dey was corn-field peas." + +"Dat's so," said 'Bijah, reflectively. "Dat's too much to spec' ob any +man. But how's you gwine ter sell de apples if you ain't got 'em?" + +"I's got ter git em," said Grandison. "Dar's apples 'nuf growin' roun' +an' not so fur away dat I can't tote 'em ter my house in a bahsket. It's +pow'ful hard on a man wot's worked all day ter have ter tote apples +ahfter night, but dar ain' no other way ob gittin' dat dar money." + +"I spec' de orchard whar you's thinkin' o' gwine is Mahs'r Morrises," +said the minister. + +"You don' 'spose Ise gwine ter any ob dose low down orchards on de udder +side de creek, does ye? Mahs'r Morris has got the bes' apples in dis +county. Dat's de kin' wot fetch two dollars a bar'l." + +"Brudder Gran'son," said 'Bijah, solemnly, "is you min' runnin on takin' +Mahs'r Morrises apples inter town an' sellin' em?" + +"Well, he gits de money, don't he?" answered the other, "and if I don't +sell his apples 'taint no use sellin' none. Dem udder little nubbins +roun' heah won't fetch no two dollars a bar'l." + +"Dem ain't justifyin' deeds wot's runnin' in your mind," said 'Bijah. +"Dey ain't justifyin'." + +"Ob course," said Grandison, "dey wouldn't be justifyin' if I had de six +dollars. But I ain't got 'em, an' Ise promised to pay 'em. Now, is I ter +stick to de truf, or isn't I?" + +"Truf is mighty," said the preacher, "an' ought not to be hendered from +prevailin'." + +"Dat's so! dat's so!" exclaimed Grandison. "You can't go agin de +Scripters. Truf _is_ mighty, an' 'tain't fur pore human critters like us +to try to upsot her. Wot we're got ter do is ter stick to her through +thick an' thin." + +"Ob course, dat's wot we oughter do," said 'Bijah, "but I can't see my +way clar to you sellin' dem apples." + +"But dar ain't nuffin else ter do!" exclaimed Grandison, "an' ef I don't +do dat, away goes de truf, clar out o' sight. An' wot sort o' 'ligion +you call dat, Brudder 'Bijah?" + +"'Tain't no kind at all," said 'Bijah, "fur we's bound ter stick to de +truf, which is de bottom corner-stone ob piousness. But dem apples don't +seem ter git demselves straightened out in my mind, Brudder Gran'son." + +"It 'pears ter me, Brudder 'Bijah, dat you doan' look at dem apples in +de right light. If I was gwine ter sell 'em to git money ter buy a lot +o' spotted calliker ter make frocks for de chillen, or eben to buy two +pars o' shoes fur me an' Judy ter go to church in, dat would be a sin, +sartin shuh. But you done furgit dat I's gwine ter take de money ter +Mahs'r Morris. If apples is riz an' I gits two dollars an' a quarter a +bar'l, ob course I keeps de extry quarter, which don' pay anyhow fur de +trouble ob pickin' 'em. But de six dollars I gibs, cash down, ter +Mahs'r Morris. Don' you call dat puffectly fa'r an' squar, Brudder +'Bijah?" + +'Bijah shook his head. "Dis is a mighty dubersome question, Brudder +Gran'son, a mighty dubersome question." + +Grandison stood with a disappointed expression on his countenance. He +greatly desired to gain from his minister sanction for the financial +operation he had proposed. But this the solemn 'Bijah did not appear +prepared to give. As the two men stood together by the roadside they +saw, riding toward them, Mr. Morris himself. + +"Now, den," exclaimed Grandison, "heah comes Mahs'r Morris, and I's +gwine ter put dis question to hisse'f. He oughter know how ter 'cide +bout it, if anybody does." + +"You ain't truly gwine ter put dat question to him, is ye?" asked +'Bijah, quickly. + +"No, sah," replied the other. "I's gwine to put the case on a dif'rent +show-pint. But 'twill be the same thing as de udder." + +Mr. Morris was a genial-natured man, who took a good deal of interest in +his negro neighbors, and was fond of listening to their peculiar humor. +Therefore, when he saw that Grandison wished to speak to him he readily +pulled up his horse. + +"Mahs'r Morris," said Grandison, removing his hat, "Brudder 'Bijah an' +me has been argyin on de subjick ob truf. An' jes' as you was comin' up +I was gwine ter tell him a par'ble 'bout sticken ter truf. An' if you's +got time, Mahs'r Morris, I'd be pow'ful glad ter tell you de par'ble, +an' let you 'cide 'tween us." + +"Very well," said Mr. Morris, "go on with your parable." + +"Dis yere par'ble," said Grandison, "has got a justifyin' meanin' in it, +an' it's 'bout a bar an' a' possum. De 'possum he was a-gwine out early +in de mawnin' ter git a little corn fur his breakfus'--" + +"Very wrong in the opossum," said Mr. Morris, "for I am sure he hadn't +planted any corn." + +"Well, den, sah," said Grandison, "p'raps 'twas akerns; but, anyway, +afore he was out ob de woods he see a big, ole bar a-comin' straight +'long to him. De 'possum he ain't got no time ter climb a tree an' git +out on de leetlest end ob a long limb, an' so he lay hese'f flat down on +de groun' an' make b'lieve he's dead. When de ole bar came up he sot +down an' look at de 'possum. Fus' he turn his head on one side an' den +he turn his head on de udder, but he look at de 'possum all de time. +D'reckly he gits done lookin' an' he says: + +"'Look-a-heah, 'possum, is you dead or is you libin'? If you's dead I +won't eat you, fur I neber eats dead critters, but if you's libin' den +I eats you for my breakfus', fur I is bilin' hungry, not havin' had +nuffin sence sun-up but a little smack dat I took afore gwine out inter +de damp air ob de mawnin'. Now, den, 'possum, speak out and tell me is +you 'libe or is you dead?' + +"Dat are question frew de 'possum inter a pow'ful sweat. If he told de +truf an' said he was alibe he knowed well 'nuf dat de bar would gobble +him up quicker'n if he'd been a hot ash cake an' a bowl of buttermilk; +but if he said he was dead so's de bar wouldn't eat him, de bar, like +'nuf, would know he lied, an' would eat him all de same. So he turn de +matter ober an' ober in his min', an' he wrastled with his 'victions, +but he couldn't come ter no 'clusion. 'Now don't you tink,' said de bar, +'dat I's got time to sit here de whole mawnin' waitin' fer you ter make +up your mind whether you's dead or not. If you don't 'cide pretty quick, +I'll put a big rock a-top o' you, an' stop fer you answer when I come +back in de ebenin'.' Now dis gib de 'possum a pow'ful skeer, an' 'twas +cl'ar to his min' dat he mus' 'cide de question straight off. If he tole +de truf, and said he was alibe, he'd be eat up shuh; but if he said he +was dead, de bar mought b'lieve him. 'Twarn't very likely dat he would, +but dar was dat one leetle chance, an' he done took it. 'I is dead,' +says he. 'You's a long time makin' up your min' 'bout it,' says de bar. +'How long you been dead?' 'Sence day 'fore yestidday,' says the 'possum. +'All right!' says de bar, 'when dey've on'y been dead two or free days, +an' kin talk, I eats 'em all de same.' An' he eat him up." + +"And now, Grandison," said Mr. Morris, "where is the moral of that +parable?" + +"De moral is dis," said Grandison; "stick ter de truf. If de 'possum had +tole de truf, an' said he was alibe, de bar couldn't eat him no more'n +he did eat him; no bar could do dat. An' I axes you, Mahs'r Morris, don' +dat par'ble show dat eb'rybody oughter stick ter de truf, no matter what +happens." + +"Well, I don't think your moral is very clear," said Mr. Morris, "for it +would have been about as bad for the 'possum one way as the other. But, +after all, it would have been better for the little beast to tell the +truth and die with a clear conscience." + +"Dat's so!" cried Brother 'Bijah, speaking in his ministerial capacity, +"de great thing in dis worl' is ter die wid a clear conscience." + +"But you can't do dat," said Grandison, "if you let dis thing an' dat +thing come in ter hinder ye. Now dat's jes' wot we's been disputin' +'bout, Mahs'r Morris. I 'clared dat we oughter stick ter de truf widout +lookin' to de right or de lef'; but Brudder 'Bijah, his min' wasn't +quite made up on de subjick. Now, wot you say, Mahs'r Morris?" + +"I say stick to the truth, of course," said Mr. Morris, gathering up his +reins. "And, by the way, Grandison, do you expect to make that payment +on your place which is due next week?" + +"Yaas, sah, sartin shuh," said Grandison. "I done tole you I'd do it, +Mahs'r Morris, an' I 'tends ter stick ter de truf." + +"Now, den," said Grandison, in a tone of triumph, when Mr. Morris had +ridden away, "you see I's right in my 'clusions, and Mahs'r Morris +'grees with me." + +"Dunno," said Brother 'Bijah, shaking his head, "dis is a mighty +dubersome question. You kep' dem apples clar out o' sight, Brudder +Gran'son; clar out o' sight." + +It was about a week after this, quite early in the morning, that +Grandison was slowly driving into town with a horse and a wagon which he +had borrowed from a neighbor. In the wagon were three barrels of fine +apples. Suddenly, at a turn in the road, he was greatly surprised to +meet Mr. Morris, riding homeward. + +"What have you in those barrels, Grandison?" inquired his landlord. + +"Dey's apples, sah," was the reply, "dat I's got de job ob haulin' ter +town, sah." + +Mr. Morris rode up to the wagon and removed the piece of old canvas that +was thrown over the tops of the barrels; there was no need of asking any +questions. No one but himself, for many miles around, had +"Belle-flowers" and "Jeannettes" like these. + +"How much do you lack, Grandison," he said, "of making up the money you +owe me to-morrow?" + +"Six dollars, sah," said Grandison. + +"Six dollars--three barrels--very good," said Mr. Morris. "I see you are +determined to stick to the truth, Grandison, and keep your engagement. +But I will trouble you to turn that wagon round and haul those apples to +my house. And, if you still want to buy the place, you can come on +Monday morning and work out the balance you have to make up on the first +instalment; and, after this, you can make all your payments in work. A +day's labor is fair and plain, but your ways of sticking to the truth +are very crooked." + +It was not long after this that Grandison was ploughing in one of Mr. +Morris' fields, when Brother 'Bijah came along and sat upon the fence. + +"Brudder Gran'son," said he, when the ploughman had reached the end of +the furrow and was preparing to turn, "jes' you let your hoss res' a +minnit till I tells you a par'ble." + +"Wot par'ble?" said Grandison, in a tone of unconcern, but stopping his +horse, all the same. + +"Why, dis one!" said 'Bijah. "Dar was an ole mule an' he b'longed to a +cullud man named Harris who used to carry de mail from de Coht House ter +Cary's Cross-roads. De ole mule was a pow'ful triflin' critter an' he +got lazier an' lazier, an' 'fore long he got so dreffle slow dat it tuk +him more'n one day ter go from de Coht House ter de crossroads, an' he +allus come in de day ahfter mail-day, when de people was done gone home. +So de cullud man, Harris, he says: + +"'You is too ole fur ter carry de mail, you triflin' mule, an' I hain't +got no udder use fur you.' + +"So he put him in a gully-field, whar dar was nuffin but bar' groun' an' +hog weed. Now, dar was nuffin in dis worl' dat triflin' mule hated so +much as hog weed, an' he says to hese'f: 'I's boun' ter do somefin' +better'n dis fur a libin. I reckin I'll go skeer dat ole Harris, an' +make him gib me a feed o' corn.' So he jump ober de fence, fur he was +spry 'nuf when he had a min' ter, an' he steals an ole bar skin dat he'd +seen hangin' up in de store po'ch, an' he pretty nigh kivered himse'f +all up wid it. Den he go down to de pos' offis, whar de mail had jes' +come in. When dis triflin' ole mule seed de cullud man, Harris, sittin' +on de bottom step ob de po'ch, he begin to kick up his heels an' make +all de noise he could wid he mouf. 'Wot's dat?' cried de cullud man, +Harris. 'I's a big grizzly bar,' said de mule, ''scaped from de 'nagerie +when 'twas fordin' Scott's Creek.' 'When did you git out?' said de +cullud man, Harris. 'I bus' from de cage at half pas' free o'clock dis +ebenin'.' 'An' is you reely a grizzly bar?' 'Dat's de truf,' said de +triflin' mule, 'an' I's pow'ful hungry, an' if you don' go git me a feed +o' corn I'll swaller you down whole.' An' he begun to roar as like a +grizzly bar as he knew how. 'Dat all de truf, you tellin' me?' de cullud +man, Harris, ask. 'Dat's all true as I's libin',' says de triflin' mule. +'All right, den,' says de cullud man, Harris, 'if you kin come from de +ford on Scott's Creek in a hour an' a half, you kin carry de mail jes' +as well as any udder mule, an' I's gwine ter buy a big cart whip, an' +make you do it. So take off dat bar skin, an' come 'long wid me.' So you +see Brudder Gran'son," continued 'Bijah, "dar's dif'rent kinds ob truf, +an' you's got ter be mighty 'ticklar wot kind you sticks ter." + +"Git up," said Grandison to his drowsy horse, as he started him on +another furrow. + + + + +PLAIN FISHING. + + +"Well, sir," said old Peter, as he came out on the porch with his pipe, +"so you came here to go fishin'?" + +Peter Gruse was the owner of the farm-house where I had arrived that +day, just before supper-time. He was a short, strong-built old man, with +a pair of pretty daughters, and little gold rings in his ears. Two +things distinguished him from the farmers in the country round about: +one was the rings in his ears, and the other was the large and +comfortable house in which he kept his pretty daughters. The other +farmers in that region had fine large barns for their cattle and horses, +but very poor houses for their daughters. Old Peter's ear-rings were +indirectly connected with his house. He had not always lived among those +mountains. He had been on the sea, where his ears were decorated, and he +had travelled a good deal on land, where he had ornamented his mind with +many ideas which were not in general use in the part of his State in +which he was born. His house stood a little back from the high road, +and if a traveller wished to be entertained, Peter was generally willing +to take him in, provided he had left his wife and family at home. The +old man himself had no objection to wives and children, but his two +pretty daughters had. + +These young women had waited on their father and myself at supper-time, +one continually bringing hot griddle cakes, and the other giving me +every opportunity to test the relative merits of the seven different +kinds of preserved fruit which, in little glass plates, covered the +otherwise unoccupied spaces on the tablecloth. The latter, when she +found that there was no further possible way of serving us, presumed to +sit down at the corner of the table and begin her supper. But in spite +of this apparent humility, which was only a custom of the country, there +was that in the general air of the pretty daughters which left no doubt +in the mind of the intelligent observer that they stood at the wheel in +that house. There was a son of fourteen, who sat at table with us, but +he did not appear to count as a member of the family. + +"Yes," I answered, "I understood that there was good fishing hereabout, +and, at any rate, I should like to spend a few days among these hills +and mountains." + +"Well," said Peter, "there's trout in some of our streams, though not +as many as there used to be, and there's hills a plenty, and mountains +too, if you choose to walk fur enough. They're a good deal furder off +than they look. What did you bring with you to fish with?" + +"Nothing at all," I answered. "I was told in the town that you were a +great fisherman, and that you could let me have all the tackle I would +need." + +"Upon my word," said old Peter, resting his pipe-hand on his knee and +looking steadfastly at me, "you're the queerest fisherman I've see'd +yet. Nigh every year, some two or three of 'em stop here in the fishin' +season, and there was never a man who didn't bring his jinted pole, and +his reels, and his lines, and his hooks, and his dry-goods flies, and +his whiskey-flask with a long strap to it. Now, if you want all these +things, I haven't got 'em." + +"Whatever you use yourself will suit me," I answered. + +"All right, then," said he. "I'll do the best I can for you in the +mornin'. But it's plain enough to me that you're not a game fisherman, +or you wouldn't come here without your tools." + +To this remark I made answer to the effect that, though I was very fond +of fishing, my pleasure in it did not depend upon the possession of all +the appliances of professional sport. + +"Perhaps you think," said the old man, "from the way I spoke, that I +don't believe them fellers with the jinted poles can ketch fish, but +that ain't so. That old story about the little boy with the pin-hook who +ketched all the fish, while the gentleman with the modern improvements, +who stood alongside of him, kep' throwin' out his beautiful flies and +never got nothin', is a pure lie. The fancy chaps, who must have +ev'rythin' jist so, gen'rally gits fish. But for all that, I don't like +their way of fishin', and I take no stock in it myself. I've been +fishin', on and off, ever since I was a little boy, and I've caught nigh +every kind there is, from the big jew-fish and cavalyoes down South, to +the trout and minnies round about here. But when I ketch a fish, the +first thing I do is to try to git him on the hook, and the next thing is +to git him out of the water jist as soon as I kin. I don't put in no +time worryin' him. There's only two animals in the world that likes to +worry smaller creeturs a good while afore they kill 'em; one is the cat, +and the other is what they call the game fisherman. This kind of a +feller never goes after no fish that don't mind being ketched. He goes +fur them kinds that loves their home in the water and hates most to +leave it, and he makes it jist as hard fur 'em as he kin. What the game +fisher likes is the smallest kind of a hook, the thinnest line, and a +fish that it takes a good while to weaken. The longer the weak'nin' +business kin be spun out, the more the sport. The idee is to let the +fish think there's a chance fur him to git away. That's jist like the +cat with her mouse. She lets the little creetur hop off, but the minnit +he gits fur enough away, she jumps on him and jabs him with her claws, +and then, if there's any game left in him, she lets him try again. Of +course the game fisher could have a strong line and a stout pole and git +his fish in a good sight quicker, if he wanted to, but that wouldn't be +sport. He couldn't give him the butt and spin him out, and reel him in, +and let him jump and run till his pluck is clean worn out. Now, I likes +to git my fish ashore with all the pluck in 'em. It makes 'em taste +better. And as fur fun, I'll be bound I've had jist as much of that, and +more, too, than most of these fellers who are so dreadful anxious to +have everythin' jist right, and think they can't go fishin' till they've +spent enough money to buy a suit of Sunday clothes. As a gen'ral rule +they're a solemn lot, and work pretty hard at their fun. When I work I +want to be paid fur it, and when I go in fur fun I want to take it easy +and cheerful. Now I wouldn't say so much agen these fellers," said old +Peter, as he arose and put his empty pipe on a little shelf under the +porch-roof, "if it wasn't for one thing, and that is, that they think +that their kind of fishin' is the only kind worth considerin'. The way +they look down upon plain Christian fishin' is enough to rile a +hitchin'-post. I don't want to say nothin' agen no man's way of +attendin' to his own affairs, whether it's kitchen-gardenin', or whether +it's fishin', if he says nothin' agen my way; but when he looks down on +me, and grins at me, I want to haul myself up, and grin at him, if I +kin. And in this case, I kin. I s'pose the house-cat and the cat-fisher +(by which I don't mean the man who fishes for cat-fish) was both made as +they is, and they can't help it; but that don't give 'em no right to put +on airs before other bein's, who gits their meat with a square kill. +Good-night. And sence I've talked so much about it, I've a mind to go +fishin' with you to-morrow myself." + +The next morning found old Peter of the same mind, and after breakfast +he proceeded to fit me out for a day of what he called "plain Christian +trout-fishin'." He gave me a reed rod, about nine feet long, light, +strong, and nicely balanced. The tackle he produced was not of the fancy +order, but his lines were of fine strong linen, and his hooks were of +good shape, clean and sharp, and snooded to the lines with a neatness +that indicated the hand of a man who had been where he learned to wear +little gold rings in his ears. + +"Here are some of these feather insects," he said, "which you kin take +along if you like." And he handed me a paper containing a few artificial +flies. "They're pretty nat'ral," he said, "and the hooks is good. A man +who came here fishin' gave 'em to me, but I shan't want 'em to-day. At +this time of year grasshoppers is the best bait in the kind of place +where we're goin' to fish. The stream, after it comes down from the +mountain, runs through half a mile of medder land before it strikes into +the woods agen. A grasshopper is a little creetur that's got as much +conceit as if his jinted legs was fish-poles, and he thinks he kin jump +over this narrer run of water whenever he pleases; but he don't always +do it, and then if he doesn't git snapped up by the trout that lie along +the banks in the medder, he is floated along into the woods, where +there's always fish enough to come to the second table." + +Having got me ready, Peter took his own particular pole, which he +assured me he had used for eleven years, and hooking on his left arm a +good-sized basket, which his elder pretty daughter had packed with cold +meat, bread, butter, and preserves, we started forth for a three-mile +walk to the fishing-ground. The day was a favorable one for our purpose, +the sky being sometimes over-clouded, which was good for fishing, and +also for walking on a highroad; and sometimes bright, which was good for +effects of mountain-scenery. Not far from the spot where old Peter +proposed to begin our sport, a small frame-house stood by the roadside, +and here the old man halted and entered the open door without knocking +or giving so much as a premonitory stamp. I followed, imitating my +companion in leaving my pole outside, which appeared to be the only +ceremony that the etiquette of those parts required of visitors. In the +room we entered, a small man in his shirt-sleeves sat mending a +basket-handle. He nodded to Peter, and Peter nodded to him. + +"We've come up a-fishin'," said the old man. "Kin your boys give us some +grasshoppers?" + +"I don't know that they've got any ready ketched," said he, "for I +reckon I used what they had this mornin'. But they kin git you some. +Here, Dan, you and Sile go and ketch Mr. Gruse and this young man some +grasshoppers. Take that mustard-box, and see that you git it full." + +Peter and I now took seats, and the conversation began about a black +cow which Peter had to sell, and which the other was willing to buy if +the old man would trade for sheep, which animals, however, the +basket-mender did not appear just at that time to have in his +possession. As I was not very much interested in this subject, I walked +to the back-door and watched two small boys in scanty shirts and +trousers, and ragged straw hats, who were darting about in the grass +catching grasshoppers, of which insects, judging by the frequent pounces +of the boys, there seemed a plentiful supply. + +"Got it full?" said their father, when the boys came in. + +"Crammed," said Dan. + +Old Peter took the little can, pressed the top firmly on, put it in his +coat-tail pocket, and rose to go. "You'd better think about that cow, +Barney," said he. He said nothing to the boys about the box of bait; but +I could not let them catch grasshoppers for us for nothing, and I took a +dime from my pocket, and gave it to Dan. Dan grinned, and Sile looked +sheepishly happy, and at the sight of the piece of silver an expression +of interest came over the face of the father. "Wait a minute," said he, +and he went into a little room that seemed to be a kitchen. Returning, +he brought with him a small string of trout. "Do you want to buy some +fish?" he said. "These is nice fresh ones. I ketched 'em this mornin'." + +To offer to sell fish to a man who is just about to go out to catch them +for himself might, in most cases, be considered an insult, but it was +quite evident that nothing of the kind was intended by Barney. He +probably thought that if I bought grasshoppers, I might buy fish. "You +kin have 'em for a quarter," he said. + +It was derogatory to my pride to buy fish at such a moment, but the man +looked very poor, and there was a shade of anxiety on his face which +touched me. Old Peter stood by without saying a word. "It might be +well," I said, turning to him, "to buy these fish, for we may not catch +enough for supper." + +"Such things do happen," said the old man. + +"Well," said I, "if we have these we shall feel safe in any case." And I +took the fish and gave the man a quarter. It was not, perhaps, a +professional act, but the trout were well worth the money, and I felt +that I was doing a deed of charity. + +Old Peter and I now took our rods, and crossed the road into an enclosed +field, and thence into a wide stretch of grass land, bounded by hills +in front of us and to the right, while a thick forest lay to the left. +We had walked but a short distance, when Peter said: "I'll go down into +the woods, and try my luck there, and you'd better go along up stream, +about a quarter of a mile, to where it's rocky. P'raps you ain't used to +fishin' in the woods, and you might git your line cotched. You'll find +the trout'll bite in the rough water." + +"Where is the stream?" I asked. + +"This is it," he said, pointing to a little brook, which was scarcely +too wide for me to step across, "and there's fish right here, but +they're hard to ketch, fur they git plenty of good livin' and are mighty +sassy about their eatin'. But you kin ketch 'em up there." + +Old Peter now went down toward the woods, while I walked up the little +stream. I had seen trout-brooks before, but never one so diminutive as +this. However, when I came nearer to the point where the stream issued +from between two of the foot-hills of the mountains, which lifted their +forest-covered heights in the distance, I found it wider and shallower, +breaking over its rocky bottom in sparkling little cascades. + +Fishing in such a jolly little stream, surrounded by this mountain +scenery, and with the privileges of the beautiful situation all to +myself, would have been a joy to me if I had had never a bite. But no +such ill-luck befell me. Peter had given me the can of grasshoppers +after putting half of them into his own bait-box, and these I used with +much success. It was grasshopper season, and the trout were evidently on +the lookout for them. I fished in the ripples under the little +waterfalls; and every now and then I drew out a lively trout. Most of +these were of moderate size, and some of them might have been called +small. The large ones probably fancied the forest shades, where old +Peter went. But all I caught were fit for the table, and I was very well +satisfied with the result of my sport. + +About noon I began to feel hungry, and thought it time to look up the +old man, who had the lunch-basket. I walked down the bank of the brook, +and some time before I reached the woods I came to a place where it +expanded to a width of about ten feet. The water here was very clear, +and the motion quiet, so that I could easily see to the bottom, which +did not appear to be more than a foot below the surface. Gazing into +this transparent water, as I walked, I saw a large trout glide across +the stream, and disappear under the grassy bank which overhung the +opposite side. I instantly stopped. This was a much larger fish than +any I had caught, and I determined to try for him. + +I stepped back from the bank, so as to be out of sight, and put a fine +grasshopper on my hook; then I lay, face downward, on the grass, and +worked myself slowly forward until I could see the middle of the stream; +then quietly raising my pole, I gave my grasshopper a good swing, as if +he had made a wager to jump over the stream at its widest part. But as +he certainly would have failed in such an ambitious endeavor, especially +if he had been caught by a puff of wind, I let him come down upon the +surface of the water, a little beyond the middle of the brook. +Grasshoppers do not sink when they fall into the water, and so I kept +this fellow upon the surface, and gently moved him along, as if, with +all the conceit taken out of him by the result of his ill-considered +leap, he was ignominiously endeavoring to swim to shore. As I did this, +I saw the trout come out from under the bank, move slowly toward the +grasshopper, and stop directly under him. Trembling with anxiety and +eager expectation, I endeavored to make the movements of the insect +still more natural, and, as far as I was able, I threw into him a sudden +perception of his danger, and a frenzied desire to get away. But, +either the trout had had all the grasshoppers he wanted, or he was able, +from long experience, to perceive the difference between a natural +exhibition of emotion and a histrionic imitation of it, for he slowly +turned, and, with a few slight movements of his tail, glided back under +the bank. In vain did the grasshopper continue his frantic efforts to +reach the shore; in vain did he occasionally become exhausted, and sink +a short distance below the surface; in vain did he do everything that he +knew, to show that he appreciated what a juicy and delicious morsel he +was, and how he feared that the trout might yet be tempted to seize him; +the fish did not come out again. + +Then I withdrew my line, and moved back from the stream. I now +determined to try Mr. Trout with a fly, and I took out the paper old +Peter Gruse had given me. I did not know exactly what kind of winged +insects were in order at this time of the year, but I was sure that +yellow butterflies were not particular about just what month it was, so +long as the sun shone warmly. I therefore chose that one of Peter's +flies which was made of the yellowest feathers, and, removing the snood +and hook from my line, I hastily attached this fly, which was provided +with a hook quite suitable for my desired prize. Crouching on the +grass, I again approached the brook. Gaily flitting above the glassy +surface of the water, in all the fancied security of tender youth and +innocence, came my yellow fly. Backward and forward over the water he +gracefully flew, sometimes rising a little into the air, as if to view +the varied scenery of the woods and mountains, and then settling for a +moment close to the surface, to better inspect his glittering image as +it came up from below, and showing in his every movement his intense +enjoyment of summer-time and life. + +Out from his dark retreat now came the trout, and settling quietly at +the bottom of the brook, he appeared to regard the venturesome insect +with a certain interest. But he must have detected the iron-barb of vice +beneath the mask of blitheful innocence, for, after a short +deliberation, the trout turned and disappeared under the bank. As he +slowly moved away, he seemed to be bigger than ever. I must catch that +fish! Surely he would bite at something. It was quite evident that his +mind was not wholly unsusceptible to emotions emanating from an +awakening appetite, and I believed that if he saw exactly what he +wanted, he would not neglect an opportunity of availing himself of it. +But what did he want? I must certainly find out. Drawing myself back +again, I took off the yellow fly, and put on another. This was a white +one, with black blotches, like a big miller moth which had fallen into +an ink-pot. It was surely a conspicuous creature, and as I crept forward +and sent it swooping over the stream, I could not see how any trout, +with a single insectivorous tooth in his head, could fail to rise to +such an occasion. But this trout did not rise. He would not even come +out from under his bank to look at the swiftly flitting creature. He +probably could see it well enough from where he was. + +But I was not to be discouraged. I put on another fly; a green one with +a red tail. It did not look like any insect that I had ever seen, but I +thought that the trout might know more about such things than I. He did +come out to look at it, but probably considering it a product of that +modern æstheticism which sacrifices natural beauty to mediæval crudeness +of color and form, he retired without evincing any disposition to +countenance this style of art. + +It was evident that it would be useless to put on any other flies, for +the two I had left were a good deal bedraggled, and not nearly so +attractive as those I had used. Just before leaving the house that +morning, Peter's son had given me a wooden match-box filled with worms +for bait, which, although I did not expect to need, I put in my pocket. +As a last resort I determined to try the trout with a worm. I selected +the plumpest and most comely of the lot; I put a new hook on my line; I +looped him about it in graceful coils, and cautiously approached the +water, as before. Now a worm never attempts to wildly leap across a +flowing brook, nor does he flit in thoughtless innocence through the +sunny air, and over the bright transparent stream. If he happens to fall +into the water, he sinks to the bottom; and if he be of a kind not +subject to drowning, he generally endeavors to secrete himself under a +stone, or to burrow in the soft mud. With this knowledge of his nature I +gently dropped my worm upon the surface of the stream, and then allowed +him slowly to sink. Out sailed the trout from under the bank, but +stopped before reaching the sinking worm. There was a certain something +in his action which seemed to indicate a disgust at the sight of such +plebeian food, and a fear seized me that he might now swim off, and pay +no further attention to my varied baits. Suddenly there was a ripple in +the water, and I felt a pull on the line. Instantly I struck; and then +there was a tug. My blood boiled through every vein and artery, and I +sprang to my feet. I did not give him the butt; I did not let him run +with yards of line down the brook; nor reel him in, and let him make +another mad course up stream; I did not turn him over as he jumped into +the air; nor endeavor, in any way, to show him that I understood those +tricks, which his depraved nature prompted him to play upon the angler. +With an absolute dependence upon the strength of old Peter's tackle, I +lifted the fish. Out he came from the water, which held him with a +gentle suction as if unwilling to let him go, and then he whirled +through the air like a meteor flecked with rosy fire, and landed on the +fresh green grass a dozen feet behind me. Down on my knees I dropped +before him as he tossed and rolled, his beautiful spots and colors +glistening in the sun. He was truly a splendid trout, fully a foot long, +round and heavy. Carefully seizing him, I easily removed the hook from +the bony roof of his capacious mouth thickly set with sparkling teeth, +and then I tenderly killed him, with all his pluck, as old Peter would +have said, still in him. + +I covered the rest of the fish in my basket with wet plantain leaves, +and laid my trout king on this cool green bed. Then I hurried off to the +old man, whom I saw coming out of the woods. When I opened my basket and +showed him what I had caught, Peter looked surprised, and, taking up +the trout, examined it. + +"Why, this is a big fellow," he said. "At first I thought it was Barney +Sloat's boss trout, but it isn't long enough for him. Barney showed me +his trout, that gen'rally keeps in a deep pool, where a tree has fallen +over the stream down there. Barney tells me he often sees him, and he's +been tryin' fur two years to ketch him, but he never has, and I say he +never will, fur them big trout's got too much sense to fool round any +kind of victuals that's got a string to it. They let a little fish eat +all he wants, and then they eat him. How did you ketch this one?" + +I gave an account of the manner of the capture, to which Peter listened +with interest and approval. + +"If you'd a stood off and made a cast at that feller, you'd either have +caught him at the first flip, which isn't likely, as he didn't seem to +want no feather flies, or else you'd a skeered him away. That's all well +enough in the tumblin' water, where you gen'rally go fur trout, but the +man that's got the true feelin' fur fish will try to suit his idees to +theirs, and if he keeps on doin' that, he's like to learn a thing or two +that may do him good. That's a fine fish, and you ketched him well. I've +got a lot of 'em, but nothin' of that heft." + +After luncheon we fished for an hour or two with no result worth +recording, and then we started for home. A couple of partridges ran +across the road some distance ahead of us, and these gave Peter an idea. + +"Do you know," said he, "if things go on as they're goin' on now, that +there'll come a time when it won't be considered high-toned sport to +shoot a bird slam-bang dead. The game gunners will pop 'em with little +harpoons, with long threads tied to 'em, and the feller that can tire +out his bird, and haul him in with the longest and thinnest piece of +spool thread, will be the crackest sportsman." + +At this point I remarked to my companion that perhaps he was a little +hard on the game fishermen. + +"Well," said old Peter, with a smile on his corrugated visage, "I reckon +I'd have to do a lot of talkin' before I'd git even with 'em, fur the +way they give me the butt for my style of fishin'. What I say behind +their backs I say to their faces. I seed one of these fellers once with +a fish on his hook, that he was runnin' up an' down the stream like a +chased chicken. 'Why don't you pull him in?' says I. 'And break my rod +an' line?' says he. 'Why don't you have a stronger line and pole?' says +I. 'There wouldn't be no science in that,' says he. 'If it's your +science you want to show off,' says I, 'you ought to fish for mud eels. +There's more game in 'em than there is in any other fish round here, and +as they're mighty lively out of water you might play one of 'em fur half +an hour after you got him on shore, and it would take all your science +to keep him from reelin' up his end of the line faster than you could +yourn.'" + +When we reached the farm the old man went into the barn, and I took the +fish into the house. I found the two pretty daughters in the large room, +where the eating and some of the cooking was done. I opened my basket, +and with great pride showed them the big trout I had caught. They +evidently thought it was a large fish, but they looked at each other, +and smiled in a way that I did not understand. I had expected from them, +at least, as much admiration for my prize and my skill as their father +had shown. + +"You don't seem to think much of this fine trout that I took such +trouble to catch," I remarked. + +"You mean," said the elder girl, with a laugh, "that you bought of +Barney Sloat." + +I looked at her in astonishment. + +"Barney was along here to-day," she said, "and he told about your buying +your fish of him." + +"Bought of him!" I exclaimed, indignantly. "A little string of fish at +the bottom of the basket I bought of him, but all the others, and this +big one, I caught myself." + +"Oh, of course," said the pretty daughter, "bought the little ones and +caught all the big ones!" + +"Barney Sloat ought to have kept his mouth shut," said the younger +pretty daughter, looking at me with an expression of pity. "He'd got his +money, and he hadn't no business to go telling on people. Nobody likes +that sort of thing. But this big fish is a real nice one, and you shall +have it for your supper." + +"Thank you," I said, with dignity, and left the room. + +I did not intend to have any further words with these young women on +this subject, but I cannot deny that I was annoyed and mortified. This +was the result of a charitable action. I think I was never more proud of +anything than of catching that trout; and it was a good deal of a +downfall to suddenly find myself regarded as a mere city man fishing +with a silver hook. But, after all, what did it matter? + +The boy who did not seem to be accounted a member of the family came +into the house, and as he passed me he smiled good-humoredly, and said: +"Buyed 'em!" + +I felt like throwing a chair at him, but refrained out of respect to my +host. Before supper the old man came out on to the porch where I was +sitting. "It seems," said he, "that my gals has got it inter their heads +that you bought that big fish of Barney Sloat, and as I can't say I seed +you ketch it, they're not willin' to give in, 'specially as I didn't git +no such big one. 'Tain't wise to buy fish when you're goin' fishin' +yourself. It's pretty certain to tell agen you." + +"You ought to have given me that advice before," I said, somewhat +shortly. "You saw me buy the fish." + +"You don't s'pose," said old Peter, "that I'm goin' to say anythin' to +keep money out of my neighbor's pockets. We don't do that way in these +parts. But I've told the gals they're not to speak another word about +it, so you needn't give your mind no worry on that score. And now let's +go in to supper. If you're as hungry as I am, there won't be many of +them fish left fur breakfast." + +That evening, as we were sitting smoking on the porch, old Peter's mind +reverted to the subject of the unfounded charge against me. "It goes +pretty hard," he remarked, "to have to stand up and take a thing you +don' like when there's no call fur it. It's bad enough when there is a +call fur it. That matter about your fish buyin' reminds me of what +happened two summers ago to my sister, or ruther to her two little +boys--or, more correct yit, to one of 'em. Them was two cur'ous little +boys. They was allus tradin' with each other. Their father deals mostly +in horses, and they must have got it from him. At the time I'm tellin' +of they'd traded everythin' they had, and when they hadn't nothin' else +left to swap they traded names. Joe he took Johnny's name, and Johnny he +took Joe's. Jist about when they'd done this, they both got sick with +sumthin' or other, the oldest one pretty bad, the other not much. Now +there ain't no doctor inside of twenty miles of where my sister lives. +But there's one who sometimes has a call to go through that part of the +country, and the people about there is allus very glad when they chance +to be sick when he comes along. Now this good luck happened to my +sister, fur the doctor come by jist at this time. He looks into the +state of the boys, and while their mother has gone downstairs he mixes +some medicine he has along with him. 'What's your name?' he says to the +oldest boy when he'd done it. Now as he'd traded names with his brother, +fair and square, he wasn't goin' back on the trade, and he said, 'Joe.' +'And my name's Johnny,' up and says the other one. Then the doctor he +goes and gives the bottle of medicine to their mother, and says he: +'This medicine is fur Joe. You must give him a tablespoonful every two +hours. Keep up the treatment, and he'll be all right. As fur Johnny, +there's nothin' much the matter with him. He don't need no medicine.' +And then he went away. Every two hours after that Joe, who wasn't sick +worth mentionin', had to swallow a dose of horrid stuff, and pretty soon +he took to his bed, and Johnny he jist played round and got well in the +nat'ral way. Joe's mother kept up the treatment, gittin' up in the night +to feed that stuff to him; but the poor little boy got wuss and wuss, +and one mornin' he says to his mother, says he: 'Mother, I guess I'm +goin' to die, and I'd ruther do that than take any more of that +medicine, and I wish you'd call Johnny and we'll trade names back agen, +and if he don't want to come and do it, you kin tell him he kin keep the +old minkskin I gave him to boot, on account of his name havin' a Wesley +in it.' 'Trade names,' says his mother, 'what do you mean by that?' And +then he told her what he and Johnny had done. 'And did you ever tell +anybody about this?' says she. 'Nobody but Dr. Barnes,' says he. 'After +that I got sick and forgot it.' When my sister heard that, an idee +struck into her like you put a fork into an apple dumplin'. Traded +names, and told the doctor! She'd all along thought it strange that the +boy that seemed wuss should be turned out, and the other one put under +treatment; but it wasn't fur her to set up her opinion agen that of a +man like Dr. Barnes. Down she went, in about seventeen jumps, to where +Eli Timmins, the hired man, was ploughin' in the corn. 'Take that horse +out of that,' she hollers, 'and you may kill him if you have to, but git +Dr. Barnes here before my little boy dies.' When the doctor come he +heard the story, and looked at the sick youngster, and then says he: 'If +he'd kept his minkskin, and not hankered after a Wesley to his name, +he'd a had a better time of it. Stop the treatment, and he'll be all +right.' Which she did; and he was. Now it seems to me that this is a +good deal like your case. You've had to take a lot of medicine that +didn't belong to you, and I guess it's made you feel pretty bad; but +I've told my gals to stop the treatment, and you'll be all right in the +mornin'. Good-night. Your candlestick is on the kitchen table." + +For two days longer I remained in this neighborhood, wandering alone +over the hills, and up the mountain-sides, and by the brooks, which +tumbled and gurgled through the lonely forest. Each evening I brought +home a goodly supply of trout, but never a great one like the noble +fellow for which I angled in the meadow stream. + +On the morning of my departure I stood on the porch with old Peter +waiting for the arrival of the mail driver, who was to take me to the +nearest railroad town. + +"I don't want to say nothin'," remarked the old man, "that would keep +them fellers with the jinted poles from stoppin' at my house when they +comes to these parts a-fishin'. I ain't got no objections to their +poles; 'tain't that. And I don't mind nuther their standin' off, and +throwin' their flies as fur as they've a mind to; that's not it. And it +ain't even the way they have of worryin' their fish. I wouldn't do it +myself, but if they like it, that's their business. But what does rile +me is the cheeky way in which they stand up and say that there isn't no +decent way of fishin' but their way. And that to a man that's ketched +more fish, of more different kinds, with more game in 'em, and had more +fun at it, with a lot less money, and less tomfoolin' than any fishin' +feller that ever come here and talked to me like an old cat tryin' to +teach a dog to ketch rabbits. No, sir; agen I say that I don't take no +money fur entertainin' the only man that ever come out here to go +a-fishin' in a plain, Christian way. But if you feel tetchy about not +payin' nothin', you kin send me one of them poles in three pieces, a +good strong one, that'll lift Barney Sloat's trout, if ever I hook him." + +I sent him the rod; and next summer I am going out to see him use it. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMOS KILBRIGHT; HIS ADSCITITIOUS +EXPERIENCES*** + + +******* This file should be named 13531-8.txt or 13531-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/5/3/13531 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://www.gutenberg.org/about/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: +https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + diff --git a/old/13531-8.zip b/old/13531-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..2643dfe --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13531-8.zip diff --git a/old/13531-h.zip b/old/13531-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..67138f8 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13531-h.zip diff --git a/old/13531-h/13531-h.htm b/old/13531-h/13531-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..aadf17d --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13531-h/13531-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,3541 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Amos Kilbright; His Adscititious Experiences, by Frank R. Stockton</title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + P { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + } + HR { width: 33%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + } + BODY{margin-left: 6%; + margin-right: 6%; + } + .linenum {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 4%;} /* poetry number */ + .note {margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;} /* footnote */ + .blkquot {margin-left: 4em; margin-right: 4em;} /* block indent */ + .pagenum {position: absolute; left: 92%; font-size: smaller; text-align: right;} /* page numbers */ + .sidenote {width: 20%; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding-left: 1em; font-size: smaller; float: right; clear: right;} + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .poem br {display: none;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem span {display: block; margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 2em;} + .poem span.i4 {display: block; margin-left: 4em;} + .poem .caesura {vertical-align: -200%;} + hr.full { width: 100%; + height: 5px; } + a:link {color:#0000ff; + text-decoration:none} + link {color:#0000ff; + text-decoration:none} + a:visited {color:#0000ff; + text-decoration:none} + a:hover {color:#ff0000} + pre {font-size: 8pt;} + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> +</head> +<body> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Amos Kilbright; His Adscititious Experiences, +by Frank R. Stockton</h1> +<pre> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: Amos Kilbright; His Adscititious Experiences</p> +<p>Author: Frank R. Stockton</p> +<p>Release Date: September 26, 2004 [eBook #13531]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMOS KILBRIGHT; HIS ADSCITITIOUS EXPERIENCES***</p> +<br><br><center><h3>E-text prepared by Steven desJardins<br> + and Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders</h3></center><br><br> +<hr class="full" noshade> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h1>AMOS KILBRIGHT</h1> +<h2>HIS ADSCITITIOUS EXPERIENCES</h2> +<h3><i>With Other Stories</i></h3> +<br /> + +<h2>BY FRANK R. STOCKTON</h2> + +<br /> + +<h4>NEW YORK<br /> +CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS<br /> +1888</h4> + +<br /> + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<br> + +<br /> + +<a name='CONTENTS'></a><h2>CONTENTS.</h2> + +<br /> + +<h3><a href='#AMOS_KILBRIGHT_HIS_ADSCITITIOUS_EXPERIENCES'>AMOS KILBRIGHT: HIS ADSCITITIOUS EXPERIENCES</a></h3> +<h3><a href='#THE_REVERSIBLE_LANDSCAPE'>THE REVERSIBLE LANDSCAPE</a></h3> +<h3><a href='#DUSKY_PHILOSOPHY'>DUSKY PHILOSOPHY—IN TWO EXPOSITIONS:</a><br /> +<font SIZE="-1"><a href='#FIRST_EXPOSITION'>FIRST EXPOSITION: A STORY OF SEVEN DEVILS</a><br /> +<a href='#SECOND_EXPOSITION'>SECOND EXPOSITION: GRANDISON'S QUANDARY</a></font></h3> +<h3><a href='#PLAIN_FISHING'>PLAIN FISHING</a></h3> + +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<br> + +<br /> + +<a name='AMOS_KILBRIGHT_HIS_ADSCITITIOUS_EXPERIENCES'></a><h2>AMOS KILBRIGHT: HIS ADSCITITIOUS EXPERIENCES.</h2> + +<br /> + +<blockquote><p>[<i>This story is told by Mr. Richard Colesworthy, an attorney-at-law, in +a large town in one of our Eastern States. The fact that Mr. Colesworthy +is a practical man, and but little given, outside of his profession, to +speculative theorizing, adds a weight to his statements which they might +not otherwise possess.</i>]</p></blockquote> + +<p>In the practice of my profession I am in the habit of meeting with all +sorts and conditions of men, women, and even children. But I do not know +that I ever encountered anyone who excited in me a greater interest than +the man about whom I am going to tell you.</p> + +<p>I was busily engaged one morning in my office, which is on the ground +floor of my dwelling and opens upon the street, when, after a +preliminary knock, a young man entered and asked leave to speak with me. +He was tall and well made, plainly but decently dressed, and with a +fresh, healthy color on his smoothly shaven face. There was something in +his air, a sort of respectful awkwardness, which was not without a +suggestion of good breeding, and in his countenance there was an +annoyed or troubled expression which did not sit well upon it. I asked +him to take a chair, and as he did so the thought came to me that I +should like to be of service to him. Of course I desire to aid and +benefit all my clients, but there are some persons whose appearance +excites in one an instinctive sympathy, and toward whom there arise at +first sight sentiments of kindliness. The man had said almost nothing; +it was simply his manner that had impressed me. I mention these points +because generally I do not take an interest in persons until I know a +good deal about them.</p> + +<p>"What can I do for you?" I asked.</p> + +<p>The man did not immediately answer, but began searching for something in +one of the pockets of his coat. The little awkwardness which I had first +noticed, now became more apparent. He appeared to be looking for his +pockets rather than for what might be in one of them. He was conscious +of his ungainliness and reddened a little as he fumbled on the inside +and outside of his coat.</p> + +<p>"I pray you pardon me," he said, "but I will bring before you instantly +the matter of my business."</p> + +<p>And so saying, he got his hand into a breast pocket and drew out a +little packet. There was a certain intonation of his voice which, at +first made me think that he was not an American, but in that intonation +there was really nothing foreign. He was certainly a stranger, he might +be from the backwoods, and both his manner and speech appeared odd to +me; but soon I had no doubt about his being my countryman. In fact, +there was something in his general appearance which seemed to me to be +distinctively American.</p> + +<p>"I came to you, sir," he said, "to ask if you would have the goodness to +purchase one or more of these tickets?" And he held out to me a card +entitling one person to admission to a séance to be given by a party of +spiritualists in one of the public buildings of the town.</p> + +<p>A feeling of anger arose within me. I was chagrined to think that I had +begun to interest myself in a person who merely came to interrupt me in +my business by trying to sell me tickets to a spiritualistic exhibition. +My instant impulse was to turn from the man and let him see that I was +offended by his intrusion, but my reason told me that he had done +nothing that called for resentment. If I had expected something more +important from him, that was my affair. He had not pretended to have any +other business than that which brought him.</p> + +<p>And, besides, he offered me something which in fact I wanted. I am a +member of a society for psychical research, which, about a year before, +had been organized in our town. It is composed almost exclusively of +persons who are desirous of honestly investigating the facts, as well as +theories, connected with the spiritual phenomena, not only of our own +day, but of all ages. We had heard of the spiritualistic exhibitions +which were to be given in our town, and I, with a number of my +fellow-members, had determined to attend them. If there was anything +real or tangible in the performances of these people we wanted to know +it. Considering all this, it would be foolish for me to be angry with a +man who had brought me the very tickets I intended to buy, and, instead +of turning away from him, I took out my pocket-book.</p> + +<p>"I will take one ticket for each of the three séances," I said. And I +placed the money on the table.</p> + +<p>I should have been glad to buy two sets of tickets; one for my wife; but +I knew this would be useless. She did not belong to our society, and +took no interest in its investigations.</p> + +<p>"These things are all tricks and nonsense," she said. "I don't want to +know anything about them. And if they were true, I most certainly would +not want to know anything about them."</p> + +<p>So I contented myself with the tickets for my own use, and as the man +slowly selected them from his little package, I asked him if he had sold +many of them.</p> + +<p>"These you now buy are the first of which I have made disposal," he +answered. "For two days I have endeavored to sell them, but to no +purpose. There are many people to whom I cannot bring myself to speak +upon the matter, and those I have asked care not for these things. I +would not have come to you, but having twice passed your open window, I +liked your face and took courage."</p> + +<p>I smiled. So this man had been studying me before I began to study him; +and this discovery revived in me the desire that he had come on some +more interesting business than that of selling tickets; a thing he did +so badly as to make me wonder why he had undertaken it.</p> + +<p>"I imagine," said I, "that this sort of business is out of your line."</p> + +<p>He looked at me a moment, and then with earnestness exclaimed: +"Entirely! utterly! absolutely! I am altogether unfitted for this +calling, and it is an injustice to those who send me out for me to +longer continue in it. Some other person might sell their tickets; I +cannot. And yet," he said, with a sigh, "what is there that I may do?"</p> + +<p>The idea that that strong, well-grown man should have any difficulty in +finding something to do surprised me. If he chose to go out and labor +with his hands—and surely no man who was willing to wander about +selling tickets should object to that—there would be no difficulty in +his obtaining a livelihood in our town.</p> + +<p>"If you want regular employment," I said, "I think you can easily find +it."</p> + +<p>"I want it," he answered, his face clouded by a troubled expression, +"but I cannot take it."</p> + +<p>"Cannot take it!" I exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"No," he said, "I am not my own master. I am as much a slave as any +negro hereabouts!"</p> + +<p>I was rather surprised at this meaningless allusion, but contented +myself with asking him what he meant by not being his own master.</p> + +<p>He looked on the floor and then he looked at me, with a steady, earnest +gaze. "I should like well to tell you my story," he said. "I have been +ordered not to tell it, but I have resolved that when I should meet a +man to whom I should be moved to speak I would speak."</p> + +<p>Now, I felt a very natural emotion of pride. My perception of objects +of interest was a quick and a correct one. "Speak on," I said, "I shall +be very glad to hear what you have to say."</p> + +<p>He looked toward the open door. I arose and closed it. When I had +resumed my seat he drew his chair closer to me, leaned toward me, and +said:</p> + +<p>"In the first place you should know that I am a materialized spirit."</p> + +<p>I sat up, hard pressed against the back of my chair.</p> + +<p>"Nay, start not," he said, "I am now as truly flesh and blood as you +are; but a short three weeks ago I was a spirit in the realms of endless +space. I know," he continued, "that my history is a sore thing to +inflict upon any man, and there are few to whom I would have broached +it, but I will make it brief. Three weeks ago these spiritualists held +privately in this town what they call a séance, and at that time I was +impelled, by a power I understood not, to appear among them. After I had +come it was supposed that a mistake had been made, and that I was not +the spirit wanted. In the temporary confusion occasioned by this +supposition, and while the attention of the exhibitors was otherwise +occupied, I was left exposed to the influence of the materializing +agencies for a much longer time than had been intended; so long, +indeed, that instead of remaining in the misty, indistinct form in which +spirits are presented by these men to their patrons, I became as +thoroughly embodied, as full of physical life and energy, and as +complete a mortal man as I was when I disappeared from this earth, one +hundred and two years ago."</p> + +<p>"One hundred and two years!" I mechanically ejaculated. There was upon +me the impulse to get up and go where I could breathe the outer air; to +find my wife and talk to her about marketing or some household affair, +to get away from this being—human or whatever he was—but this was +impossible. That interest which dawned upon me when I first perceived my +visitor now held me as if it had been a spell.</p> + +<p>"Yes," he said, "I deceased in 1785, being then in my thirtieth year. I +was a citizen of Bixbury, on the Massachusetts coast, but I am not +unconnected with this place. Old Mr. Scott, of your town, is my +grandson."</p> + +<p>I am obliged to chronicle the fact that my present part in this +conversation consisted entirely of ejaculations. "Old Mr. Scott your +grandson!" I said.</p> + +<p>"Yes," he replied; "my daughter, who was but two years old when I left +her, married Lemuel Scott, of Bixbury, who moved to this town soon after +old Mr. Scott was born. It was, indeed, on account of this good old man +that I became materialized. He was present at the private séance of +which I have spoken, and being asked if he would like to see a person +from the other world, he replied that he should be pleased to behold his +grandfather. When the necessary influences were set to work I appeared. +The spiritualists, who, without much thought, had conceived the idea +that the grandfather of old Mr. Scott ought, in the ordinary nature of +things, to be a very venerable personage, were disappointed when they +saw me, and concluded I was one who, by some mistake, had been +wrongfully summoned. They, therefore, set me aside, as it were, and +occupied themselves with other matters. Old Mr. Scott went away +unsatisfied, and strengthened in his disbelief in the powers of the +spiritualists, while I, as I have before said, was left unnoticed under +the power of the materializing force, until I was made corporeal as I am +now. When the spiritualists discovered what had happened they were much +disturbed, and immediately set about to dematerialize me, for it is not +their purpose or desire to cause departed spirits to again become +inhabitants of this world. But all their efforts were of no avail. I +remained as much a man as anyone of themselves. They found me in full +health and vigor, for I had never had a day's sickness in my life, +having come to my death by drowning while foolishly swimming too far +from land in a strong ebb tide, and my body, being carried out to sea, +was never recovered. Being thus put to their wit's end, they determined +to keep the matter privy, and to make the best of it, and the first +necessity was to provide me with clothing, for on my second entrance +into this world I was as totally without apparel as when I first came +into it. They gave me these garments of the ordinary fashion of the day, +but to which I find myself much unaccustomed, and enjoined upon me to +keep silent in regard to what had happened; fearing, as I was made aware +by some unguarded words, that their efforts to dematerialize me might +bring them into trouble."</p> + +<p>My professional instincts now came to the front. "That would be murder," +I said, "and nothing less."</p> + +<p>"So I myself told them," he continued, "for I had come to the +determination that I would choose to finish out the life I had broken +off so suddenly. But they paid little heed to my words and continued +their experiments. But, as I have told you, their efforts were without +avail, and they have ceased to make further trial of dematerialization. +As, of course, it would be impossible to keep a full-grown man for any +considerable length of time secluded and unseen, they judged it wise to +permit me to appear as an ordinary human being; and having no other use +to which they could put me, they set me to selling tickets for them, and +in this business I have fared so badly that I shall restore to them +these that are left, and counsel them to seek another agent, I being of +detriment to them rather than profit. What may then happen I do not +know, for, as I told you, I am not my own master."</p> + +<p>"I do not understand you," I said. "If you have been, in this +unparalleled manner, restored to your physical existence, surely you are +free to do as you please. What these spiritualists have done for you was +done by accident. They intended you no benefit, and they have no claim +upon you."</p> + +<p>"That is true," he said, with a sigh, "but they have a hold upon me. It +was but yesterday that they informed me that, although, so far, they had +failed to restore me to what they call my normal spiritual existence, +they had every reason to believe that they soon would be able to do so. +A psychic scientist of Germany has discovered a process of +dematerialization, and they have sent to him for his formula. This, in a +short time, they expect to receive, and they assure me that they will +not hesitate to put it in force if I should cause them trouble. Now, +sir," he continued, and as he spoke there was a moisture about his eyes, +"I am very fond of life. I have been restored to that mortality from +which I was suddenly snatched by the cruel sea, and I do not wish to +lose it again until I have lived out my natural term of years. My family +is one of long life, and I feel that I have a right to fifty more years +of existence, and this strong desire for the natural remainder of my +life is that which gives these men their power over me. I was never a +coward, but I cannot but fear those who may at any moment cause this +form, these limbs, my physical state and life, to vanish like a +candle-flame blown out."</p> + +<p>My sympathies were now strongly aroused in behalf of the subject of +these most extraordinary conditions. "That which you fear must not be +allowed," I said. "No man has the right to take away the life of +another, no matter what plan or method he may use. I will see the +spiritualists, and make it plain to them that what they threaten they +cannot be allowed to do."</p> + +<p>The man arose. "Sir," he said, "I feel that I have truly found a +friend. Whatever may happen to me, I shall never forget your kindness to +a very stranger." He held out his hand, and I stood up by him and took +it. It was as much a flesh and blood hand as my own.</p> + +<p>"What is your name?" I asked. "You have not yet told me that."</p> + +<p>"I am Amos Kilbright, of Bixbury," he answered.</p> + +<p>"You have not revisited your native place?" I said.</p> + +<p>"No," he replied, "I much desire to do so, but I have no money for a +journey, even on foot, and I doubt me much if those men would suffer me +to go to Bixbury."</p> + +<p>"And have you spoken to your grandson, old Mr. Scott?" I said. "It is +but right that you should make yourself known to him."</p> + +<p>"So have I thought," he answered, "and I have felt an earnest drawing +toward my daughter's child. I have seen him thrice, but have not had the +heart to speak to him and declare myself the progenitor of that mother +whose memory I know he cherishes."</p> + +<p>"You shall make yourself known to him," I said. "I will prepare the +way."</p> + +<p>He shook me again by the hand and took his leave without a word. He was +deeply affected.</p> + +<p>I reseated myself by my table, one thought after another rushing through +my mind. Had ever man heard a story such as this! What were all the +experiences of the members of the Society for Psychical Research, their +stories of apparitions, their instances of occult influences, their best +authenticated incidents of supernaturalism compared to this experience +of mine! Should I hasten and tell it all to my wife? I hesitated. If +what I had heard should not be true—and this, my first doubt or +suspicion impressed upon me how impossible to me had been doubt or +suspicion during the presence of my visitor—it would be wrong to +uselessly excite her mind. On the other hand, if I had heard nothing but +the truth, what would happen should she sympathize as deeply with Amos +Kilbright as I did, and then should that worthy man suddenly become +dematerialized, perhaps before her very eyes? No, I would not tell +her—at least not yet. But I must see the spiritualists. And that +afternoon I went to them.</p> + +<p>The leader and principal worker of the men who were about to give a +series of spiritual manifestations in our town was Mr. Corbridge, a man +of middle-age with a large head and earnest visage. When I spoke to him +of Amos Kilbright he was very much annoyed.</p> + +<p>"So he has been talking to you," he said, "and after all the warnings I +gave him! Well, he does that sort of thing at his own risk!"</p> + +<p>"We all do things at our own risk," I said, "and he has as much right to +choose his line of conduct as anybody else."</p> + +<p>"No, he hasn't," said Mr. Corbridge, "he belongs to us, and it is for us +to choose his line of conduct for him."</p> + +<p>"That is nonsense," said I. "You have no more right over him than I +have."</p> + +<p>"Now then," said Mr. Corbridge, his eyes beginning to sparkle, "I may as +well talk plainly to you. My associates and myself have considered this +matter very carefully. At first we thought that if this fellow should +tell his story we would simply pooh-pooh the whole of it, and let people +think he was a little touched in his mind, which would be so natural a +conclusion that everybody might be expected to come to it. But as we +have determined to dematerialize him, his disappearance would bring +suspicion upon us, and we might get into trouble if he should be +considered a mere commonplace person. So we decided to speak out +plainly, say what we had done, and what we were going to do, and thus +put ourselves at the head of the spirit operators of the world. But we +are not yet ready to do anything or to make our announcements, and if he +had held his tongue we might have given him a pretty long string."</p> + +<p>"And do you mean," I said, "that you and your associates positively +intend to dematerialize Mr. Kilbright?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly," he answered.</p> + +<p>"Then, I declare such an act would be inhuman; a horrible crime."</p> + +<p>"No," said Mr. Corbridge, "it would be neither. In the first place he +isn't human. It is by accident that he is what he is. But it was our +affair entirely, and it was a most wonderfully fortunate thing for us +that it happened. At first it frightened us a little, but we have got +used to it now, and we see the great opportunities that this entirely +unparalleled case will give us. As he is, he is of no earthly good to +anybody. You can't take a man out of the last century and expect him to +get on in any sort of business at the present day. He is too +old-fashioned. He doesn't know how we do things in the year eighteen +eighty-seven. We put this subject to work selling tickets just to keep +him occupied; but he can't even do that. But, as a spirit who can be +materialized or dematerialized whenever we please, he will be of the +greatest value to us. When a spirit has been brought out as strongly as +he has been it will be the easiest thing in the world to do it again. +Every time you bring one out the less trouble it is to make it appear +the next time you want it; and in this case the conditions are so +favorable that it will be absolute business suicide in us if we allow +ourselves to lose the chance of working it. So you see, sir, that we +have marked out our course, and I assure you that we intend to stick to +it."</p> + +<p>"And I assure you," said I, rising to go, "that I shall make it my +business to interfere with your wicked machinations."</p> + +<p>Mr. Corbridge laughed. "You'll find," he said, "that we have turned this +thing over pretty carefully, and we are ready for whatever the courts +may do. If we are charged with making away with anybody, we can, if we +like, make him appear, alive and well, before judge and jury. And then +what will there be to say against us? Besides, we are quite sure that no +laws can be found against bringing beings from the other world, or +sending them back into it, provided it can be proved by the subject's +admission, or in any other manner, that he really died once in a natural +way. You cannot be tried for causing a man's death a second time."</p> + +<p>I was not prepared to make any answer on this point, but I went away +with a firm resolution to protect Amos Kilbright in the full enjoyment +of his reassumed physical existence, if the power of law, or any other +power, could do it.</p> + +<p>The next morning Mr. Corbridge called on me at my office. "I shall be +very sorry," he said, "if any of my remarks of yesterday should cause +unpleasant feelings between us. We are desirous of being on good terms +with everybody, especially with members of the Society for Psychical +Research. You ought to work with us."</p> + +<p>"We do not work with you," I replied, "nor ever shall. Our object is to +search earnestly and honestly into the subject of spiritual +manifestation, and not to make money out of unfortunate subjects of +experiment."</p> + +<p>"You misunderstand us," said he, "but I am not going to argue the +question. I wish to be on good terms with you and to act fairly and +plainly all around. We find that we cannot make use of the +dematerialization process as soon as we expected, for the German +scientist who controls it has declined to send us his formula, but has +consented to come over and work it on this subject himself. His +engagements will not allow him to visit this country immediately, but +he is very enthusiastic about it, and he is bound to come before long. +Now, as you seem to be interested in this ex-Kilbright, we will make you +an offer. We will give him into your charge until we want him. He is of +no use to us, as he can't tell us anything about spiritual matters, his +present memory beginning just where it broke off when he sank in the +ocean in seventeen eighty-five, but he might be very useful to a man who +was inclined to study up old-time manners and customs. And so, if it +suits you, we will make him over to you, agreeing to give you three +days' notice before we take any measures to dematerialize him. We are +not afraid of your getting away with him, for our power over him will be +all the same, no matter where he is."</p> + +<p>"I will have no man made over to me," said I, "and Mr. Kilbright being +his own master, can do with himself what he pleases; but, as I said +before, I shall protect him, and do everything in my power to thwart +your schemes against him. And you must remember he will have other +friends besides me. He has relatives in this town."</p> + +<p>"None but old Mr. Scott, at least so far as I know," said Corbridge, +"and he need not expect any help from him, for that ancient personage +is a most arrant disbeliever in spiritualism."</p> + +<p>And with this remark he took his leave.</p> + +<p>That very afternoon came to me Amos Kilbright, his face shining with +pleasure. He greeted me warmly, and thanked me for having so kindly +offered to give him employment by which he might live and feel under +obligations to no man.</p> + +<p>I had promised nothing of the kind, and my mind was filled with +abhorrence of such men as Corbridge, who would not only send a person +into the other world simply to gratify a scientific curiosity or for +purposes of profit, but would rehabilitate a departed spirit with all +his lost needs and appetites, and then foist him upon a comparative +stranger for care and sustenance. Such conduct was not only mean, but +criminal in its nature, and if there was no law against it, one ought to +be made.</p> + +<p>Kilbright then proceeded to tell me how happy he had been when Corbridge +informed him that his dematerialization had been indefinitely postponed, +and that I had consented to take him into my service. "It is now plain +to me," he said, "that they have no power to do this thing and cannot +obtain it from others. This discardment of me proves that they have +abandoned their hopes."</p> + +<p>It was evident that Corbridge had said nothing of the expected coming +of the German scientist, and I would not be cruel enough to speak of it +myself. Besides, I intended to have said scientist arrested and put +under bonds as soon as he set foot on our shores.</p> + +<p>"I do not feel," continued Kilbright, "that I am beginning a new life, +but that I am taking up my old one at the point where I left it off."</p> + +<p>"You cannot do that," I said. "Things have changed very much, and you +will have to adapt yourself to those changes. In many ways you must +begin again."</p> + +<p>"I know that," he said, "and with respect to much that I see about me, I +am but a child. But as I am truly a man, I shall begin to do a man's +work, and what I know not of the things that are about me, that will I +learn as quickly as may be. It is my purpose, sir, to labor with you in +any manner which you may deem fit, and in which I may be found +serviceable until I have gained sufficient money to travel to Bixbury, +and there endeavor to establish myself in some worthy employment. I had +at that place a small estate, but of that I shall take no heed. Without +doubt it has gone, rightly, to my heirs, and even if I could deprive +them of it I would not."</p> + +<p>"Have you living heirs besides your grandson here?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"That I know not," he said; "but if there be such I greatly long to see +them."</p> + +<p>"And how about old Mr. Scott?" said I. "When shall we go to him and tell +him who you are?"</p> + +<p>"I greatly desire that that may be done soon," answered Kilbright, "but +first I wish to establish myself in some means of livelihood, so that he +may not think that I come to him for maintenance."</p> + +<p>Of course it was not possible for me to turn this man away and tell him +I had nothing for him to do, and therefore I must devise employment for +him. I found that he wrote a fair hand, a little stiff and labored, but +legible and neat, and as I had a good deal of copying to do I decided to +set him to work upon this. I procured board and lodging for him in a +house near by, and a very happy being was Amos Kilbright.</p> + +<p>As for me I felt that I was doing my duty, and a good work. But the +responsibility was heavy, and my road was not at all clear before me. My +principal source of anxiety was in regard to my wife. Should I tell her +the truth about my new copyist, or not? In the course of a night I +resolved this question and determined to tell her everything. When the +man was merely Mr. Corbridge's subject the case was different; but to +have daily in my office a clerk who had been drowned one hundred and two +years before, and not tell Mrs. Colesworthy of it would be an injustice +to her.</p> + +<p>When I first made known to her the facts of the case my wife declared +that she believed "Psychics" had turned my brain; but when I offered to +show her the very man who had been materialized, she consented to go +down and look at him. I informed Kilbright that my wife knew his story, +and we three had a long and very interesting conversation. After an +hour's talk, during which my wife asked a great many questions which I +should never have thought of, we went upstairs and left Kilbright to his +work.</p> + +<p>"His story is a most wonderful one," said Mrs. Colesworthy, "but I don't +believe he is a materialized spirit, because the thing is impossible. +Still it will not do to make any mistakes, and we must try all we can to +help him in case he was drowned when he says he was, and that German +comes over to end his mortal career a second time. Science is getting to +be such a wicked thing that I am sure if he crosses the ocean on purpose +to dematerialize Mr. Kilbright, he will try to do it in some way or +other, whether the poor man was ever a spirit before or not. One thing, +however, is certain, I want to be present when old Mr. Scott is told +that that young man is his grandfather."</p> + +<p>Mr. Kilbright worked very assiduously, and soon proved himself of +considerable use to me. When he had lived in Bixbury he had been a +surveyor and a farmer, and now when he finished his copying duties for +the day, or when I had no work of that kind ready for him, it delighted +him much to go into my garden and rake and hoe among the flowers and +vegetables. I frequently walked with him about the town, showing and +explaining to him the great changes that had taken place since the +former times in which he had lived. But he was not impressed by these +things as I expected him to be.</p> + +<p>"It seems to me," he said, "as though I were in a foreign country, and I +look upon what lies about me as if everything had always been as I see +it. This town is so different from anything I have ever known that I +cannot imagine it has changed from a condition which was once familiar +to me. At Bixbury, however, I think the case will be otherwise. If there +are changes there I shall notice them. In a little place like that, +however, I have hopes that the changes will not be great."</p> + +<p>He was very conservative, and I could see that in many cases he thought +the old ways of doing things much better than the new ones. He was, +however, a polite and sensible man, and knew better than to make +criticisms to one who had befriended him; but in some cases he could not +conceal his disapprobation. He had seen a train of cars before I met +him, and I was not able to induce him to approach again a railroad +track. Whatever other feelings he may have had at first sight of a train +in motion were entirely swallowed up in his abhorrence of this mode of +travelling.</p> + +<p>"We must not be in a hurry," said my wife when we talked of these +matters. "When he gets more accustomed to these things he will be more +surprised at them."</p> + +<p>There were some changes, however, which truly did astonish him, and +these were the alterations—in his opinion entirely uncalled for and +unwarrantable—which had been made in the spelling of the words of our +language since he had gone to school. No steam-engine, no application of +electricity, none of the modern inventions which I showed him, caused +him the emotions of amazement which were occasioned by the information +that in this country "honor" was now spelled without a u.</p> + +<p>During this time Mr. Kilbright's interest in his grandson seemed to be +on the increase. He would frequently walk past the house of that old +gentleman merely for the purpose of looking at him as he sat by the open +window reading his newspaper or quietly smoking his evening pipe on a +bench in his side yard. When he had been with me about ten days he said: +"I now feel that I must go and make myself known to my grandson. I am +earning my own subsistence; and, however he may look upon me, he need +not fear that I am come to be a burden upon him. You will not wonder, +sir, that I long to meet with this son of the little baby girl I left +behind me."</p> + +<p>I did not wonder, and my wife and I agreed to go with him that very +evening to old Mr. Scott's house. The old gentleman received us very +cordially in his little parlor.</p> + +<p>"You are a stranger in this town, sir," he said to Kilbright. "I did not +exactly catch your name—Kilbright?" he said, when it had been repeated +to him, "that is one of my family names, but it is long since I have +heard of anyone bearing it. My mother was a Kilbright, but she had no +brothers, and no uncles of the name. My grandfather was the last of our +branch of the Kilbrights. His name was Amos, and he was a Bixbury man. +From what part of the country do you come, sir?"</p> + +<p>"My name is Amos, and I was born in Bixbury."</p> + +<p>Old Mr. Scott sat up very straight in his chair. "Young man, that seems +to me impossible!" he exclaimed. "How could there be any Kilbrights in +Bixbury and I not know of it?" Then taking a pair of big silver +spectacles from his pocket he put them on and attentively surveyed his +visitor, whose countenance during this scrutiny was filled with emotion.</p> + +<p>Presently the old gentleman took off his spectacles and, rising from his +chair, went into another room. Quickly returning, he brought with him a +small oil-painting in a narrow, old-fashioned frame. He stood it up on a +table in a position where a good light from the lamp fell upon it. It +was the portrait of a young man with a fresh, healthy face, dressed in +an old-style high-collared coat, with a wide cravat coming up under his +chin, and a bit of ruffle sticking out from his shirt-bosom. My wife and +I gazed at it with awe.</p> + +<p>"That," said old Mr. Scott, "is the picture of my grandfather, Amos +Kilbright, taken at twenty-five. He was drowned at sea some years +afterward, but exactly how I do not know. My mother did not remember +him at all. And I must say," he continued, putting on his spectacles +again, "that there is something of a family likeness between you, sir, +and that picture. If it wasn't for the continental clothes in the +painting there would be a good deal of resemblance—yes, a very great +deal."</p> + +<p>"It is my portrait," said Mr. Kilbright, his voice trembling as he +spoke. "It was painted by Tatlow Munson in the winter of seventeen +eighty, in payment for my surveying a large tract of land north of the +town, he having no money to otherwise compensate me. He wrote his name +in ink upon the back of the canvas."</p> + +<p>Old Mr. Scott took up the picture and turned it around. And there we all +saw plainly written upon the time-stained back, "Tatlow Munson, 1780."</p> + +<p>Old Mr. Scott laid the picture upon the table, took off his spectacles, +and with wide-open eyes gazed first at Mr. Kilbright and then at us.</p> + +<p>The sight of the picture had finished the conversion of my wife. "Oh, +Mr. Scott," she cried, leaning so far forward in her chair that it +seemed as if she were about to go down on her knees before the old man, +"this gentleman is your grandfather! Yes, he is, indeed! Oh, don't +discard him, for it was you who were the cause of his being here. Don't +you remember when you went to the spiritualist meeting, and asked to see +the spirit of your grandfather? That spirit came, but you didn't know +it. The people who materialized him were surprised when they saw this +young man, and they thought he couldn't be your grandfather, and so they +didn't say anything about it; and they left him right in the middle of +whatever they use, and he kept on materializing without their thinking +of him until he became just what you see him now. And if he now wore +old-fashioned clothes with a queue, he would be the exact image of that +portrait of him which you have, only a little bit older looking and +fuller in the face. But the spiritualists made him cut off his long +hair, because they said that wouldn't do in these days, and dressed him +in those common clothes just like any other person. And oh, dear Mr. +Scott, you must see for yourself that he is truly your grandfather!"</p> + +<p>Old Mr. Scott made no answer, but still sat with wide-open eyes gazing +from one to the other of us. As I looked at that aged, white-haired man +and thought of his mother, who must have died ever so long ago, being +the daughter of the young man who sat opposite to him, it was indeed +difficult to believe that these things could be so.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Scott," exclaimed my wife, "will you not speak to him? Will you +not give him your hand? Will you not acknowledge him as your +grandfather, whose picture you have always had near you, and which, when +a little boy, I expect your dear mother has often told you to look up to +and try to be like? And if you have grown old, and he has not, on +account of differences in circumstances, why should that make any +difference in your feelings, dear Mr. Scott? Oh, why don't you let him +take you to his heart? I don't see how you can help it," she said, with +a sob, "and you his little daughter's only child!"</p> + +<p>Old Mr. Scott rose to his feet. He pulled down the sleeves of his coat, +and gave an adjusting shake to its collar and lapels. Then he turned to +my wife and said: "Madam, let us two dance a Virginia reel while your +husband and that other one take the poker and tongs and beat out the +music on the shovel. We might as well be durned fools one way as +another, and all go to the lunatic asylum together."</p> + +<p>Now arose Mr. Kilbright to his feet, and stood up very tall. "Grandson +Lemuel," he said, "I leave not your house in anger. I see well that too +heavy a task has been laid upon your declining years when you are asked +to believe that which you have heard to-day. But I wish you to know +that I am here to ask nothing of you save that you will give me your +hand. I earnestly crave that I may again touch one of my own flesh and +blood."</p> + +<p>Old Mr. Scott picked up the portrait and looked at it. Then he laid it +down and looked at Mr. Kilbright. "Young man," said he, "can you stand +there and put your hand upon your heart, and say to me that you are +truly Amos Kilbright, my mother's father, who was drowned in the last +century, and who was brought back and turned into a live man by those +spiritualists; and that you are willing to come here and let yourself be +vouched for by Mr. and Mrs. Colesworthy, who belong to some sort of +society of that kind and ought to know about such things?"</p> + +<p>I was on the point of remarking that the Society for Psychical Research +had nothing to do with spiritualism except to investigate it, but my +wife saw my intention and checked me.</p> + +<p>Mr. Kilbright put his hand upon his heart and bowed. "What you have +heard is true," he said. "On my honor, I swear it."</p> + +<p>"Then, grandfather," said old Mr. Scott, "here is my hand. It doesn't do +to doubt things in these days. I didn't believe in the telephone when +they first told me of it, but when I had a talk with Squire Braddon +through a wire, and heard his new boots creak as he came up to see who +it was wanted him, and he in his own house a good two miles away, I gave +in. 'Fetch on your wonders,' says I, 'I am ready.' And I don't suppose I +ought to be any more dumfounded at seeing my grandfather than at any of +the other wonders. I'm getting too old now to try to find out the whys +and the wherefores of the new things that turn up every day. I must just +take them as they come. And so if you, grandfather Kilbright, and our +good friends, Mr. and Mrs. Colesworthy, will come into the back room +we'll have a cup of tea, and a talk over old times. To be sure, there +will be some gaps which none of us will be able to get over, but we must +do the best we can."</p> + +<p>After this Mr. Kilbright and his grandson saw a good deal of each other, +and the old gentleman always treated his mother's father with the +respectful deference which was due to such a relative.</p> + +<p>"There are times," he once said to me, "when this grandfather business +looks to me about as big and tough as anything that any human being was +ever called on to swallow. But then I consider that you and Mrs. +Colesworthy have looked into these matters, and I haven't, and that +knowin' nothin' I ought to say nothin'; and if it ever happens to look +particularly tough, I just call to mind the telephone and Squire +Braddon's creaking boots, and that settles it."</p> + +<p>Mr. Kilbright became more and more useful to me, particularly after he +had disciplined his mind to the new style of spelling. And when he had +been with me about a month I insisted that he should take a holiday and +visit Bixbury, for I knew that to do this was the great desire of his +heart. He could easily reach his native place by rail, but believing +that he would rather not go at all than travel on a train, I procured a +saddle-horse for him, and when I had given him full directions as to the +roads, he set out.</p> + +<p>In four days he returned. "How did you find Bixbury?" I asked of him.</p> + +<p>"There is no longer such a place," he answered, sadly. "I found a town +of that name, but it is not the Bixbury in which I was born. That has +utterly disappeared."</p> + +<p>And, after this, he never again alluded to his native place.</p> + +<p>The high character and many admirable qualities of this man daily +increased the affectionate regard and esteem in which he was held by my +wife and myself; and feeling that we could do nothing better for him +than to endeavor to make him forget the things of the past, and take a +lively and earnest interest in those of the present, we set ourselves to +work upon this task. In a great degree our efforts were successful, and +we soon perceived that Mr. Kilbright cared more and more for what he saw +about him. It was, indeed, natural that he should do this, for he was +still a young man, and able to adapt himself to changes in his +surroundings.</p> + +<p>As I have said, he gradually did so adapt himself, and in the course of +the autumn this adaptation took a form which at first amused Mrs. +Colesworthy and myself, and afterward enlisted our hearty sympathy. He +became attached to Miss Budworth, the librarian of our town library. He +frequently went there for books, and as she was a very intelligent young +woman, and very willing to aid him in his selections, it was not strange +that he should become interested in her. Very often he would remain at +the library until it closed in the evening, when he would walk to her +home with her, discoursing upon literary and historical subjects.</p> + +<p>My wife and I discussed this situation very thoroughly. Lilian Budworth +was a good girl, a sensible one, and a very good-looking one. Her family +was highly respectable and her years well proportioned to those of Mr. +Kilbright. There seemed to be, therefore, no reason why this intimacy +should not be encouraged. But yet we talked over the matter night after +night.</p> + +<p>"You see," said my wife, "it all seems plain and simple enough; but, on +the other hand, it isn't. In the first place, she does not know that he +has had a wife, or what old Mr. Scott is to him. He has promised us that +he will never say anything to anybody about having lived in the last +century without first consulting us; and old Mr. Scott has said over and +over again that he doesn't intend to speak of it; and the spiritualists +have left town long ago; so, of course, she knows nothing about it. But, +if things go on, she must be told, and what will happen then, I would +like to know!"</p> + +<p>"I am very sorry, indeed, that I cannot tell you," I answered.</p> + +<p>"It would be a queer case, anyway," Mrs. Colesworthy continued. "Mr. +Kilbright has had a wife, but he never was a widower. Now, having been +married, and never having been a widower, it would seem as if he ought +not to marry again. But his first wife is dead now, there can be no +doubt about that."</p> + +<p>It was not long before there was no further need for suppositions in +regard to this matter, for Mr. Kilbright came to us and announced that +he had determined to offer himself in marriage to Miss Budworth.</p> + +<p>"I think it is meet and proper," he said, "that I should wed and take +that position at the head of a family which a right-minded and +respectable man of my age should fill. I reasoned thus when for the +first time I took upon me this pleasing duty, and these reasons have now +the self-same weight as then. I have been studying the surveying methods +of the present day, and I believe I could re-establish myself in my +former profession. Thus could I maintain a wife, if, happily, I get +her."</p> + +<p>"Get her!" exclaimed Mrs. Colesworthy, "of course you will get her! She +can't help accepting you."</p> + +<p>"I should feel the more hope, madam," said Mr. Kilbright, "were it not +requisite that she be informed of all that has happened to me. And all +this must she know before I require her to make answer to me."</p> + +<p>"I must admit," I said, "that I am afraid you are going to have a tough +job."</p> + +<p>"I don't believe it!" warmly exclaimed my wife. "Lilian Budworth is a +girl of good, solid sense, and when she knows just exactly what has +happened, it is my opinion she will not object a bit."</p> + +<p>"Madam," said Mr. Kilbright, "you greatly embolden me, and I shall speak +to Miss Budworth this very day."</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding my wife's confidence in Miss Lilian's good sense, she +was as much surprised as I when, the next morning, Mr. Kilbright +informed us that he had been accepted. As it was yet an hour before the +library would open, she hurried around to Miss Budworth's home to know +all about it.</p> + +<p>The young lady was found, pale, but very happy. "When he left me last +night," she said, "my mind was in a strange hubbub. He had told me that +he loved me, and had asked me to marry him, and my heart would not let +me say anything but 'yes;' and yet, after he had gone, his wondrous +story came up before me as it had not come when he told it, having just +told something else. I did not sleep all night, thinking of it. I have +read and pondered a great deal upon these subjects, but have never been +able to make up my mind whether or not to put faith in the strange +spiritual manifestations of which we are told. So I determined, a good +while ago, not to consider the matter at all. I could do nothing with +it, and it would be better that I should let it alone. To this same +determination I came early this morning in the case of Mr. Kilbright. +None of us know what we may once have been, nor what we may become. All +we know is what we are. Mr. Kilbright may be mistaken as to what he was, +but I know what he is. And to that man I give myself as I am. I am +perfectly satisfied with the present."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Colesworthy enfolded her in an approbatory embrace, and hurried +home to tell me about it. "There now!" she exclaimed, "didn't I say that +Lilian Budworth was a girl of good, sound common-sense?"</p> + +<p>"That is what you said," I answered, "but I must admit that I was afraid +her common-sense would interfere with her acceptance of his story. We +had outside evidence in regard to it, but she had only his simple +statement."</p> + +<p>"Which is quite enough, when a woman truly loves," said Mrs. +Colesworthy.</p> + +<p>When old Mr. Scott was informed what had happened, he put down his +newspaper, took off his spectacles, and smiled a strange, wide smile. "I +have been reading," he said, "about a little machine, or box, that you +can talk into and then cork up and send by mail across the ocean to +anybody you know there. And then he can uncork it, and out will come +all you have said in your very words and voice, with the sniffles and +sneezes that might have got in accidental. So that if one of the Old +Testament Egyptians that they've been diggin' up lately had had one of +these boxes with him it might have been uncorked and people could have +heard in his own voice just who he was and what was his personal opinion +of Moses and his brother Aaron. Now, when an old man like me has just +come to know of a thing of this kind, it isn't for him to have a word to +say when he is told that Lilian Budworth is to be his step-grandmother; +he must take it in along with the other wonders."</p> + +<p>As to Mr. Kilbright and his lady-love they troubled themselves about no +wonders. Life was very real to them, and very delightful; and they were +happy. Despite her resolutions to give no consideration whatever to her +lover's previous existence, Miss Budworth did consider it a good deal, +and talked and thought about it, and at last came to understand and +appreciate the fact as thoroughly as did Mrs. Colesworthy and myself; +and she learned much more of Mr. Kilbright's former life than his +modesty had allowed him to tell us. And some of these things she related +with much pride. He had been a soldier during the Revolution, having +enlisted, at the age of twenty-three, under General Sullivan, when his +forces lay near Newport. He afterward followed that commander in his +Indian campaigns in Western New York, and served during the rest of the +war. It was when the army was in winter quarters in 1780 that Tatlow +Munson painted his portrait in payment of an old debt. Miss Budworth's +glowing rendition of Mr. Kilbright's allusions to some of the +revolutionary incidents in which he had had a part, made us proud to +shake hands with a man who had fought for our liberties and helped to +give us the independence which we now enjoy.</p> + +<p>Mr. Kilbright's business prospects soon began to look promising. As was +quite natural, his ideas upon some subjects were a little antiquated. +But, although many of the changes and improvements he saw about him met +with no favor in his eyes, he had sense enough to take advantage of +certain modern progressive ideas, especially such as related to his +profession of surveying. My introduction of him as a friend from Bixbury +helped him much in respect to patronage, and having devoted all his +spare time during the autumn and winter to study and the formation of +business connections, he secured enough profitable employment for the +coming season to justify him in taking to himself a wife; and his +marriage with Miss Budworth was appointed for the middle of April.</p> + +<p>It was about the end of March when I received a letter from Mr. +Corbridge, the spiritualist manager, in which he informed me that Dr. +Hildstein, the German scientist, of whom he had previously spoken to me, +had set sail for America and would probably arrive in about ten days. +"As soon as possible after his arrival," wrote Mr. Corbridge, "we shall +resume possession of the subject of whom you have been kind enough to +take charge during the time when we had no need of him. He will then be +dematerialized in order that we may cause him to manifest himself in our +séances whenever it may be desirable; but never, I may say, in the +complete and perfect physical condition to which he was unintentionally +materialized the first time. I promised you that I would give you at +least three days' notice of our intention to resume work on this +subject, and I have now been much better than my word. I have written +very plainly of our intentions, because we wish you to understand +exactly what we are going to do; and should we succeed in our proposed +experiment, which we certainly expect to do, we shall, probably, make +public our whole action in the affair, for this course would most +greatly benefit both ourselves and our cause. It will not be necessary +for you to inform the subject of our intention, for our power over him +will be as great at one time and at one place as at another; and as his +co-operation is not in any way needful, you will see for yourself that +it will be pleasanter for him not to concern himself with what we are +about to do."</p> + +<p>When I had read this letter, I sat for half an hour with it open in my +hands. It came upon me like a shower of iced water. I had supposed that +the spiritualists had utterly abandoned their endeavors to dematerialize +Mr. Kilbright. Therefore, the news of the revival of these criminal +intentions greatly shocked me. To be sure, the coming scientist might +have no such power as he pretended to possess, but this supposition did +not comfort me. If the man had not already had success in that sort of +thing it is not likely that he would come over here to attempt it now.</p> + +<p>When I had sufficiently quieted my mental agitation I wrote instantly to +Mr. Corbridge, and in my letter I assumed a very confident tone. I told +him that Mr. Kilbright's circumstances had so changed that the intended +action of the spiritualists in regard to him was now rendered +impossible. He had become an active member of society, had gone into +business, and would be married in April. The mere statement of these +facts would, I felt quite certain—so I wrote—cause the spiritualists +to instantly relinquish all idea of carrying out their previous +intention in regard to this most estimable man. If, however, any inhuman +craving for scientific investigation should cause them to persist in +their cruel and criminal designs, the utmost power of the law should be +invoked against them. "To take away human life," I wrote, "in a case +like this is murder, no matter how it is done, and should you take away +Mr. Kilbright's life, or even attempt it, you shall be indicted and +punished for this cold-blooded and premeditated crime."</p> + +<p>Before I had read this letter, I found it absolutely necessary for my +peace of mind that I should make my wife acquainted with the threatened +danger, and confer with her as to what it would be well to do. Of +course, Mrs. Colesworthy was greatly shocked when I read her Corbridge's +letter, but she recovered courage sooner than I had done.</p> + +<p>"It's all stuff and nonsense," she said. "The man is just as much alive +as you and I are, and I don't believe any human power can turn him into +a spirit. They might kill him, but then he would be a dead man and not a +spiritual mist or vapor. I don't believe they even intend to try to do +anything of the kind. They merely wish you to hand him over to them so +they can make him work for them for little or no pay. They think, and +with good reason, too, that by this time you have taught him how to get +along at the present day, and that he may now be of some use to them."</p> + +<p>I showed her the letter I had written, and she highly approved of it. +"If I were you," she said, "I would send that letter, and then I would +not do another thing. Take my word for it, you will never hear from +those people again."</p> + +<p>We resolved, of course, that we would say nothing to Mr. Kilbright or +Lilian about this matter, for it was unwise to needlessly trouble their +minds; but we could not help talking about it a great deal ourselves. In +spite of the reassuring arguments which we continually thought of, or +spoke of to each other, we were troubled, anxious, and apprehensive.</p> + +<p>"If we could only get them safely married," said Mrs. Colesworthy, "I +should feel at ease. Certainly those people would not do anything to him +then."</p> + +<p>"I don't believe they can do anything to him at all," I answered. "But +how a marriage is going to protect him I cannot imagine."</p> + +<p>"Of course, you can't explain such things," said my wife, "but I do +wish they were married and settled."</p> + +<p>Not long after this she came to me with a supposition. "Supposing," she +said, "that those people find it impossible to dematerialize him, they +might do something which would be a great deal worse."</p> + +<p>"What could that possibly be?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"They might materialize his first wife," said she, "and could anything +be more dreadful than that? I suppose that woman lived to a good old +age, and to bring her forward now would be a height of cruelty of which +I believe those people to be fully capable."</p> + +<p>"My dear," I exclaimed, "don't bring up any harrowing possibilities +which no one but yourself is likely to think of."</p> + +<p>"I wish I could be sure of that," she said. "I have heard, but I don't +know how true it is, that spirits cannot be called up and materialized +unless somebody wants them, and I don't suppose there is anybody who +wants the first Mrs. Kilbright. But these men might so work on Mr. +Kilbright's mind as to make him think that he ought to want her."</p> + +<p>I groaned. "Dear me!" I said. "I suppose if they did that they would +also bring up old Mr. Scott's mother, and then we should have a united +family."</p> + +<p>"And a very funny one it would be," said my wife, smiling, +notwithstanding her fears, "for now I remember that old Mr. Scott told +me that his grandmother died before she was sixty, but that his mother +lived to be seventy-five. Now, he is eighty, if he is a day, so there +would be a regular gradation of ages in the family, only it would run +backward instead of in the usual way. But, thinking it over, I don't +believe the spiritualists will permanently bring up any more of that +family. If they did, they would have to support them, for they could not +ask old Mr. Scott to do it, who hasn't money enough to satisfy his +descendants, and ought not to be expected to support his ancestors."</p> + +<p>My letter must have had a good deal of effect upon Mr. Corbridge, for in +less than a week after it was written he came into my office. He +informed me that he and his associates were about to give a series of +séances in our town, but that he had come on before the others in order +to talk to me. "I am extremely sorry," he said, "to hear of this +proposed marriage. We want to do what is right and fair, and we have no +desire that any act of ours shall create a widow."</p> + +<p>"Then," I exclaimed, "you relinquish your design against Mr. +Kilbright?"</p> + +<p>"Not at all," said he. "We shall carry out our plan before our subject +marries. If you choose to hurry up matters and have the wedding take +place before we are ready to proceed with our dematerializing process, +we shall be very sorry, but the blame must rest on you. You should have +had consideration enough for all parties to prevent any such +complication as an engagement to marry. As to what you said in your +letter in regard to invoking the law against us, I attach no weight +whatever to that threat."</p> + +<p>"You will find you have made a great mistake," said I, angrily, "when I +have brought the law to bear upon you, which now I shall not delay to +do."</p> + +<p>"You will merely bring ridicule upon yourself," he said, "if you assert +that the man you wish to protect is Amos Kilbright. We can prove by +records, still to be seen in Bixbury, that said person died in seventeen +eighty-five. On the other hand, if you choose to assert that he is, or +was, anybody else, how are you going to prove it? All that you can say +is that the person you refer to came from, you knew not where, and has +gone, you know not where. If you declare that at one time he was a +materialized spirit, you know very well how such a statement as that +would be received in a court of law. It will be much wiser to let it be +supposed that the person who has lately been seen about this town has +run off to Canada, than to make any sort of legal inquiry into the +matter. If said person were really a man we could have nothing to do +with his disappearance, while if he were a materialized spirit the law +would have nothing to do with him."</p> + +<p>I arose and paced the floor. There was entirely too much force in this +man's arguments, but, although I could not immediately answer him, his +cool determination to persevere in his iniquitous designs so angered me +that I declared that he should be punished if I had to do it myself.</p> + +<p>"Then you admit," he said, with a smile, "that the law cannot do it. The +situation," he continued, "is very plain to us. Although the law can +take no cognizance of our action, the case will be very different with +all believers in spiritualism, and those who are interested in us. The +news that we have done this thing will spread through the spiritualistic +circles of the world."</p> + +<p>"Has your German arrived?" I asked, abruptly.</p> + +<p>"Not yet," answered Corbridge, "but we expect him in a few days. He +will come directly to this town, because we wish to give him an +opportunity of observing the subject in his present form before +beginning the dematerializing process."</p> + +<p>"What refinement of cruelty!" I exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"Oh, of course, the doctor will not make himself known," said Corbridge. +"He will merely wish to take a good look at the subject, and see for +himself how perfect his materialization has been. Then he will know just +what work is before him."</p> + +<p>And, so saying, Mr. Corbridge went away, leaving me too angry to speak, +if, indeed, I could have thought of anything which it would have been +worth my while to say.</p> + +<p>When Mrs. Colesworthy heard what Corbridge had said, she turned white. +"They must be married instantly!" she exclaimed. "I knew that was the +only way."</p> + +<p>It was all very well to talk of an immediate marriage, but it was not so +easy to bring it about. It was yet a week before the day fixed for the +wedding, and the happy lovers were busy with their preparations, never +dreaming of the danger which hung over them. What reason could we give +for hastening the marriage rites? At one time we thought it might be +wise to explain to them fully the state of the case, but from this +course we were deterred for fear of the terrible effect that the news +might have on Lilian. Should she hear of the design of Dr. Hildstein, +she would never again have a moment's peace, married or unmarried. Once +I advised that the two be dissuaded from marrying, at least for a year. +In that time we could see if these people really had any power over Mr. +Kilbright.</p> + +<p>"That will not do at all," said Mrs. Colesworthy. "It will be very long +to postpone their happiness; and besides, if that German gets hold of +Mr. Kilbright while he is still unmarried, he will snap him up, or +rather, blow him out in no time."</p> + +<p>"I thought we had persuaded ourselves," I said, sadly, "that no one +could have any real power of dematerialization."</p> + +<p>"So we had," said she, "but that sort of persuasion does not always +last."</p> + +<p>The result was that we did nothing but hope for the best. But we could +not blame ourselves, for, really, there was nothing else to do. I had +given up all idea of endeavoring to put Mr. Corbridge and his associates +under legal restriction, because if they had power to do the evil we +feared, they could do it in one place as well as another, and no court +could determine when, how, or by whom Mr. Kilbright had been +dematerialized.</p> + +<p>The day before the wedding-day the German doctor arrived in our town; +and, having heard this, I went immediately to the hotel where Mr. +Corbridge and his party were staying. The spiritualistic manager was not +glad to see me, and frankly said so.</p> + +<p>"I had hoped," he remarked, "that you had concluded to keep out of this +thing. It is no concern of yours; you can be of no possible good to +anybody; and the wisest thing you can do will be to drop it."</p> + +<p>I assured him that I had no intention of dropping it, and that I should +do everything in my power to protect Mr. Kilbright.</p> + +<p>"Then, again," continued Corbridge, "there is really no need of giving +yourself all this worry. Dr. Hildstein may succeed, and he may not. We +have failed, and so may he. He has seen the subject, and has come to a +very philosophical and sensible conclusion in regard to him. He will not +believe, merely on our assertion, that the man is a materialized spirit. +He will proceed with his experiments, and if they fail he will consider +that the man is a man, and was never anything else. If they succeed, +then he will be quite satisfied that he had a perfect right to +dematerialize what we had materialized."</p> + +<p>"Then you really believe," I said, "that there is a chance that he may +fail?"</p> + +<p>"Of course there is," said Corbridge. "I do not know his methods, and +there may be nothing in them."</p> + +<p>I had no doubt that this change of tone in Corbridge was intended to +produce in me a feeling of security, that they might thus rid themselves +of me. But, though I saw through his purpose, the man's words encouraged +me. Of course there must be a good deal of doubt about the German's +powers; and, after all, there might be no cause whatever for our +anxieties.</p> + +<p>"Now, sir," said Corbridge, as I left, "if I were you I would trouble +myself no more about this matter. If Dr. Hildstein fails, you will still +have your man to do your copying, or your surveying, or anything you +like. If he succeeds, we are all in the same condition we were a year +ago. 'That subject did not exist at that time; he does not exist at this +time;' that will be all we shall have to say about it."</p> + +<p>"You forget," I said, severely, "the wife he may leave behind him."</p> + +<p>"I have nothing to say about that," said Corbridge, rather sharply. "It +is a reprehensible business, and I have nothing to do with it."</p> + +<p>I went away without seeing the German doctor, but as I heard he spoke no +English, and as I did not know German, an interview with him would have +been of no avail.</p> + +<p>Neither Mrs. Colesworthy nor myself slept that night; we were so filled +with anxious fears. But when the day broke, bright and clear, and I had +hurried round to Mr. Kilbright's lodgings, and had found him as full of +life and vigor as I had ever seen him, we were greatly comforted, and +ate our breakfasts with fair appetites.</p> + +<p>"If it had been a dark and lowering day," said my wife, "I don't believe +I could have swallowed a mouthful."</p> + +<p>The marriage was to take place at noon, and the happy pair were to start +by the first afternoon train for the sea-shore, where they were to spend +a week. Mr. Kilbright hated locomotives and railroads almost as much as +ever, but he had told me some time before that he intended to conquer +this prejudice, if such a thing were possible.</p> + +<p>"Being one of you, I must do as you do," he had said.</p> + +<p>The wedding was to be a very simple one. Miss Budworth was to go from +her mother's house to the church, where Mr. Kilbright was to meet her. +We insisted that he should dress at our house, where he would find +better accommodations than at his lodgings; and we assigned him our best +guest-room, where he repaired in very good season, to array himself in +his wedding suit.</p> + +<p>It was not quite eleven o'clock when I went upstairs to see if I could +be of any use to Mr. Kilbright in regard to the conclusion of his +toilette. I knocked at the door, but received no answer. Waiting a few +moments, I opened it and entered. On the floor, in front of a tall +dressing-glass, was a suit of clothes. Not only did I see the black +broadcloth suit—not laid out at length, but all in a compact heap—but +I saw the shoes and stockings, the collar and cravat; everything. Near +by lay a whisk broom.</p> + +<p>The truth was plain. While giving the last touches to his wedding +attire, all that was Amos Kilbright had utterly disappeared!</p> + +<p>I stood where I had stopped, just inside the door, trembling, scarcely +breathing, so stunned by the terrible sight of those clothes that I +could not move, nor scarcely think. If I had seen his dead body there I +should have been shocked, but to see nothing! It was awful to such an +extent that my mind could not deal with it!</p> + +<p>Presently I heard a step, and slightly turning, saw my wife close by me. +She had passed the open door, and seeing me standing as if stricken into +a statue, had entered.</p> + +<p>It did not need that I should speak to her. Pale as a sheet she stood +beside me, her hand tightly grasping my arm, and with her lips pallid +with horror, she formed the words: "They have done it!"</p> + +<p>In a few moments she pulled me gently back, and said, in quick, low +tones, as if we had been in presence of the dead: "In less than an hour +she will be at the church. We must not stay here."</p> + +<p>With this she turned and stepped quickly from the room. I followed, +closing the door behind me.</p> + +<p>Swiftly moving, and without a word, my wife put on her hat and left the +house. Mechanically I followed. I could speak no word of comfort to that +poor girl, at this moment the happiest of expectant brides. I knew that +I had not the power to even attempt to explain to her the nature of the +dreadful calamity that had fallen upon her. But I could not let my wife +go alone. She, indeed, must speak to Lilian, but there were other +members of the family; I might do something.</p> + +<p>To my great surprise, Mrs. Colesworthy did not turn into the street +which led to the Budworths' house, but went straight on. I thought at +first she was going to the church to countermand the wedding +preparations. But before I could put a question to her she had gone +around a corner, and was hurrying up the steps of the principal hotel in +our town.</p> + +<p>"Is Dr. Hildstein in?" she asked of the first person she met.</p> + +<p>The man, gazing astonished at her pallid face, replied that he was, and +immediately conducted us to a little parlor on the first floor, the door +of which stood partly open. Without knocking, Mrs. Colesworthy hastily +entered, I closely following. A middle-aged man suddenly arose from a +small table at which he was sitting, and turning quickly toward us, made +an abrupt exclamation in German.</p> + +<p>As I have said, I do not understand German, but Mrs. Colesworthy knows +the language well, and, stepping up to the man, she said (she afterward +told me the meaning of the words that passed between them): "Are you Dr. +Hildstein?"</p> + +<p>"I am," he said, his face agitated by emotion, and his eyes sparkling, +"but I can see no one, speak to no one! I go out this moment to observe +the result of an important experiment!"</p> + +<p>My wife motioned to me to close the door. "You need not go," she said, +"I can tell you that your experiment has succeeded. You have +dematerialized Mr. Kilbright. In one hour he was to be married to a +noble, loving woman; and now all that remains where he stood is a pile +of clothes!"</p> + +<p>"Do you tell me that?" exclaimed the doctor, wildly seizing his hat.</p> + +<p>"Stop!" cried Mrs. Colesworthy, her face glowing with excitement, her +eyes flashing, and her right arm extended. "Stir not one step! Do you +know what you have done?"</p> + +<p>"I have done what I had a right to do!" exclaimed the doctor, almost in +a shout. "If he is gone he was nothing but a spirit. Tell me where—"</p> + +<p>"I will tell you this!" exclaimed my wife. "He was a great deal more +than a spirit. He was a man engaged to be married at twelve o'clock this +day. You may think there is no law that will sweep down on you, but I +tell you there is; and before the clock strikes twelve you shall know +it. Do you imagine you have come upon a people who will endure the +presence of an ogre? a wretch, who reduces to nothing a fellow human +being, and calls it an experiment? When we tell what you have done—my +husband cannot speak German, but he is a leader in this town, and he +supports me in all I say—when we have told what you have done there +will be no need of courts, or judges, or lawyers for you. Like a wild +beast you will be hunted down; you will be trampled under foot; you will +be torn to pieces! Fire, the sword, the hangman's noose, clubs, and +crowbars will not be enough to satisfy the vengeance of an outraged +people upon a cold-blooded wretch who came to this country solely for +the purpose of perpetrating a crime more awful than anything that was +ever known before! Did you ever hear of lynching? I see by your face you +know what that means. You are in the midst of a people who, in ten short +minutes, will be shrieking for your blood!"</p> + +<p>The man's face changed, and he looked anxiously at me. I did not know +what my wife had been saying, but I had seen by her manner that she had +been threatening him, and I shook my uplifted fist.</p> + +<p>"Now heed what I say," cried Mrs. Colesworthy, "if you do not wish to +perish at the hands of an infuriated mob; to die a thousand deaths +before your vile spirit leaves this world, knowing that, besides the +torments you feel, and those which are to come, you will be in the power +of men who will bring you back in a half-finished form to make sport at +their meetings whenever they feel like it—"</p> + +<p>Drops of perspiration stood on the doctor's face. "Stop that!" he +cried, throwing up his arm. "I cannot stand that! I did not know the +subject had such friends!"</p> + +<p>"Nothing shall be stopped!" exclaimed my wife, "and everything shall +happen unless you immediately sit down at that table, or wherever you do +those things, and rematerialize Mr. Kilbright, just as you found him, +and into the very clothes that were left lying upon the floor!"</p> + +<p>The doctor stepped forward—his face was now pale—and addressed himself +very deferentially to my wife, totally ignoring me. "If you will +retire," he said, "I will try; I swear to you that I will try."</p> + +<p>"There is not a minute to be lost," said Mrs. Colesworthy, "not one +second. And, if as much as a finger-nail is missing, remember what I +have told you!"</p> + +<p>And with this we quickly left the room.</p> + +<p>As we went down the steps of the hotel Mrs. Colesworthy looked at her +watch. "It is twenty-five minutes to twelve," she said. "We must get +home as fast as we can."</p> + +<p>We hurried along, sometimes almost running. When we reached our house, +Mrs. Colesworthy motioned to me to go upstairs. She had no breath left +with which to speak. I ran up, and stood for a moment at the closed door +of our guest-room. With my hand on the knob, I was unable to open it. I +heard a step on the stairs behind me, and I opened the door.</p> + +<p>There stood Mr. Kilbright in his wedding clothes, with the whisk-broom +in his hand.</p> + +<p>He turned at the sound of my entrance.</p> + +<p>"Do you know," cried the cheery voice of my wife, from just outside the +door, "that we have barely fifteen minutes in which to get to the +church?"</p> + +<p>"Can that be?" cried Mr. Kilbright. "The time has flown without my +knowing it. We must truly make haste!"</p> + +<p>"Indeed we must," said Mrs. Colesworthy, and as she stepped back from +the door, she whispered in my ear: "Not a look, not a tremble to let him +know!"</p> + +<p>In less than thirty seconds we were on our way to the church, in the +carriage which had been ordered for the purpose.</p> + +<p>On the church porch we found old Mr. Scott. He was dressed in his best +clothes, and greeted us cordially. "In good time," he said. "I am glad +to see that. It promises well." And then, looking around to see that no +one was within hearing, he came nearer to us. "If I were you," he +continued, "I wouldn't say nothin' to folks in general about +relationships, for there are people, and very good people, too, whose +minds haven't got on far enough to make 'em able to understand +telephones and the other new kinds of wonders."</p> + +<p>We acknowledged the force of his remarks, and all went into the church.</p> + +<p>Three days after the departure of Mr. and Mrs. Kilbright on their +wedding tour, my wife received a letter from Dr. Hildstein, written by +himself from New York, but addressed in the handwriting of Mr. +Corbridge.</p> + +<p>"I return," he wrote, "to Germany, perfectly happy in having succeeded +in my experiments; but nevermore, esteemed lady, will I dematerialize a +subject who has remained long enough in this world to make friends, and +I am the only man who can do this thing."</p> + +<p>This letter greatly satisfied us. "It shows that he has some heart, +after all," said Mrs. Colesworthy, "but as to that man Corbridge, I +believe he would have kept poor Mr. Kilbright dancing backward and +forward between this world and the other as long as a dollar could be +made out of him. But there is only one way in which he can do us any +harm now, and that is by materializing the first Mrs. Kilbright; but, +knowing us, as he now does, I don't believe he will ever try that."</p> + +<p>"No," said I, "I don't believe he ever will."</p> + +<p>Should you ever meet with Mr. Amos Kilbright, you need not hesitate to +entrust him with any surveying you may have on hand. Mr. Corbridge +cannot dematerialize him, the German scientist will not, and there is no +one else in the world who would even think of such a thing. Therefore, +you need feel no fear that he may suddenly vanish from your sight, +leaving nothing behind him but his clothes and the contents of his +pockets; unless, indeed, he should again be so foolish as to go to swim +in the ocean at a point where there is a strong ebb tide.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='THE_REVERSIBLE_LANDSCAPE'></a><h2>THE REVERSIBLE LANDSCAPE.</h2> +<br /> + +<p>To look at me no one would suppose it; but it is, nevertheless, a fact +that I am a member of a fire company. I am somewhat middle-aged, +somewhat stout, and, at certain times of the year, somewhat stiff in the +joints; and my general dress and demeanor, that of a sober business man, +would not at all suggest the active and impetuous fireman of the period. +I do not belong to any paid department, but to a volunteer Hook and +Ladder Company, composed of the active-bodied or active-minded male +citizens of the country town where I live. I am included in the +active-minded portion of the company; and in an organization like ours, +which is not only intended to assist in putting out the fires of burning +buildings, but to light the torch of the mind, this sort of member is +very valuable. In the building which we occupy, our truck, with its +hooks and ladders, stands upon the lower floor, while the large room +above is used as a club and reading-room. At the beginning of the first +winter of our occupancy of the building, we found that this room, which +had been very pleasant in summer, was extremely uncomfortable in winter. +The long apartment had been originally intended for purposes of storage; +and although we had ornamented it and fitted it up very neatly, a good +deal of carpentry and some mason's work was necessary before it could be +made tight and draught-proof for cold weather. But lately we had spent +money very freely, and our treasury was absolutely empty. I was chairman +of the committee which had charge of everything pertaining to our rooms, +and I felt the responsibilities of my position. The necessary work +should be begun immediately, but how could the money be raised to pay +for it? Subscriptions for this and that had been made until the members +were tired of that sort of thing; and the ill success of the last one +showed that it would not do to try it again.</p> + +<p>I revolved in my mind a great many plans for raising the sum required, +and one morning, as I was going to my place of business in the city, I +was seized with a happy idea. At the moment of seizure I was standing in +front of a large show-window, in which were a number of oil paintings, +all of them very fresh and bright. "How would it do," thought I to +myself, "to buy a picture at a moderate price and put it up at a +raffle? People who are not willing to give money outright will often +enter into a scheme of this kind. I will go in and make inquiries."</p> + +<p>When I entered I found myself in a large showroom, the walls of which +were covered with paintings. A person advanced to meet me who, as it +soon became evident, was the proprietor of the place. He was a large +man, dressed in black, with an open shirt-front and an expansive +countenance. His eyes and hair were black, and his ears stood out from +his head in a manner which, according to a recent writer, indicates the +money-getting faculty; and he plainly belonged to that class of persons +who in the Middle Ages did not, as is the present custom, pay money for +having their teeth extracted, but often disbursed large sums for the +privilege of retaining them. When I asked him if I could procure a good +and effective picture at a moderate price, he threw out his chest and +waved his arms toward his walls. "There, sir," he said, "you can see oil +paintings of every subject, of every style, and of every class; and at +prices, sir, lower than they can be found elsewhere in the known world. +Mention the kind of picture you want, and I can accommodate you."</p> + +<p>I replied that I did not know exactly what I wanted, and that I would +see what he had. I now began to look at the pictures on the walls, +occasionally mentioning my ideas in regard to their merits, when +suddenly my companion turned to me and said:</p> + +<p>"Are you connected with the press, sir?"</p> + +<p>I replied that I was not, although I occasionally wrote for periodicals.</p> + +<p>"Upon art subjects?" he asked.</p> + +<p>I answered in the negative.</p> + +<p>"Then you are unprejudiced," he said, "and I believe from your +appearance that you are a man of influence, and there is nothing I would +like better than to exhibit the workings of my art organization to a man +of influence, unprejudiced on the subject. My object is, sir, to +popularize art; to place high art within the reach of the masses, and +thus to educate the artistic faculties of even the poorest citizens."</p> + +<p>I said that I supposed the chromo movement was intended to do all that.</p> + +<p>"No, sir," he replied, warmly; "chromos cannot accomplish the object. +They are too expensive; and, besides, they are not the real thing. They +are printed, not painted; and what the public wants is the real thing, +the work of the brush; and that is what I give them. The pictures you +see here, and an immense stock besides, are all copies of valuable +paintings, many of them in the finest galleries of Europe. I sell no +originals. I guarantee everything to be a copy. Honesty is at the bottom +of all I do. But my copies are exactly like the originals; that is all I +claim. I would like, sir, to show you through my establishment, and let +you see how I am carrying on the great work of art education. There are +picture-dealers in this city, sir, plenty of them, who try to make the +public believe that the vile daubs they sell are originals, and the +works of well-known painters; and when they do admit that the picture is +a copy, they say it is the work of some distinguished student; that +there is no other copy in the country; or they make some other +misstatement about it. These people conceal their processes, but their +tricks are beginning to be well known to the public. Now, sir, I conceal +nothing. The day for that sort of thing is past. I want men of influence +to know the facilities I have for the production of art-work upon a +grand scale. We will first go into the basement. Sir," said he, as I +followed him down-stairs, "you know how the watch-making business has +been revolutionized by the great companies which manufacture watches by +machinery. The slow, uncertain, and expensive work of the poor toilers +who made watches by hand has been superseded by the swift, unerring, and +beautiful operations of machinery and steam. Now, sir, the great purpose +of my life is to introduce machinery into art, and, ultimately, steam. +And yet I will have no shams, no chromos. Everything shall be real—the +work of the brush. Here, sir," he continued, showing me into a long room +filled with workmen, "you see the men engaged in putting together the +frames on which to stretch my canvases. Every stick is cut, planed, and +jointed at a mill in Vermont, and sent on here by the car-load. Beyond +are the workmen cutting up, stretching, and preparing the canvas, bales +upon bales of which are used in a day. At the far end are the mills for +grinding and mixing colors. And now we will go to the upper floors, and +see the true art-work. Here, sir," he said, continuing to talk as we +walked through the rooms on the various floors, "is the landscape and +marine department. That row of men are putting in skies; they do nothing +else. Each has his copy before him, and, day after day, month after +month, paints nothing but that sky; and of course he does it with great +rapidity and fidelity. Above, on those shelves, are sky-pots of every +variety; blue-serene pots, tempest pots, sunset pots in compartments, +morning-gray pots, and many others. Then the work passes to the +middle-ground painters, who have their half-tone pots within easy reach. +After that the foreground men take it up, and the figurists put in the +men and animals. That man there has been painting that foreground cow +ever since the first of August. He can now put her in three and a half +times in fifteen minutes, and will probably rise to sixteen cows an hour +by the end of this month. These girls do nothing but put white-caps to +waves. There's a great demand at present for the windy marine. This next +room is devoted to portraits to order. You see that row of old ladies +without heads, each holding a pair of spectacles, and with one finger in +the Bible to keep the place; that's very popular, and we put in a head +when the photograph is sent. There is a great rage at present for +portraits of babies without any clothes on. Here is a lot of undraped +infants with bodies all finished, but with no heads. We can finish them +to order at very short notice. I have one girl who puts in all the +dimples. You would be surprised to see what a charming dimple she can +make with one twist of her brush. Long practice at one thing, sir, is +the foundation of the success of this great establishment. Take that +girl away from her dimple-pot, and she is nothing. She is now upstairs, +putting dimples into a large Correggio order from the West. This next +room is our figure department, battle-pieces, groups, single figures, +everything. As you have seen before, each man only copies from the +original that part which is his specialty. In addition to its other +advantages, this system is a great protection to us. None of my men can +work at home at nights and Sundays, and forge pictures. Not one of them +can do a whole one. And now, sir, you have seen the greater part of my +establishment. The varnishing, packing, and storage rooms are in another +building. I am now perfecting plans for the erection of an immense +edifice with steam-engines in the cellar, in which my paintings shall be +done by machinery. No chromos, mind you, but real oil-paintings, done by +brushes revolving on cylinders. I shall have rolls of canvas a mile +long, like the paper on which our great dailies are printed, and the +machines shall do everything; cut off the picture, when it has passed +among the cylinders, whereupon fresh canvas will be rolled in for a new +one; another machine will stretch them; and they will pass through a +varnish bath in the twinkling of an eye. But this is in the future. What +I want of you, sir, and of other men of influence in society, is to let +our people know of the great good that is ready for them now, and of +the greater benefit that is coming. And, more than that, you can do +incalculable good to our artists. Those poor toilers on the solitary +canvas should know how to become prosperous, great, and happy; tell them +to go into some other business. And now, sir, I must see what I can do +for you. We will return to my gallery, and I will show you exactly what +you want."</p> + +<p>When we reached the back part of the showroom, down-stairs, he brought +out an unframed picture about three feet long and two high, and placed +it in a favorable light. "There," said he, "is a picture which will suit +you. It is what we call a reversible landscape, and is copied from the +only genuine picture of the kind in the world. It is just as good as two +pictures. In this position, you see, a line of land stretches across the +middle of the picture, with trees, houses, and figures, with a light sky +above and a lake, darker in hue, below. Everything on the land is +reflected accurately in the water. It is a landscape in morning light. +Turn it upside down, so, and it is an evening scene; darkening sky +above, light water beneath; the morning star, which you saw faintly +glimmering in the other picture, is now the reflection of the evening +star."</p> + +<p>I do not pretend to be a judge of pictures, but I fancy I appreciate an +original idea when I see it, and I thought that this picture might +answer my purpose.</p> + +<p>"What is the price of the painting?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"Well, sir," said he, "to you, as a man of influence, I will fix the +price of this great painting, from a comparatively unknown work of +Gaspar Poussin, at four dollars and a half."</p> + +<p>In spite of what I had seen of the facilities possessed by this +establishment for producing cheap work, I must confess that I was +surprised at the smallness of the sum asked for an oil-painting of that +size; I had expected to give forty or fifty dollars. But, although I am +not a judge of paintings, I am a business man, and accustomed to make +bargains. Therefore I said:</p> + +<p>"I will give you two dollars and fifty cents for the picture."</p> + +<p>"Done," said he. "Where shall I send it?"</p> + +<p>I gave him my city address, and paid the money. As he accompanied me to +the door, he said: "If you would like more of these pictures, I will +sell you one dozen for eighteen dollars, or the whole lot of one +hundred, just finished—and there will be no more of them painted—for +one hundred dollars." I told him one was all I wanted, and departed. I +carried the picture home that afternoon, and in the evening exhibited it +at our club-room, and made known my scheme for raising the money we +needed by getting up a raffle with this painting as the prize; one +hundred tickets at the low price of two dollars each. The reversible +landscape was set up, first one way and then the other, a great many +times, and created quite a sensation.</p> + +<p>"I don't think it's worth the half of two hundred dollars," said Mr. +Buckby, our president, "but as the money is for the use of our +Association, I don't mind that. But my objection to the scheme is that, +if I should gain the prize, I should be laughed at by all my +fellow-members: for, to tell the truth, I think that painting is a good +deal more funny than otherwise. It's not what I call high art."</p> + +<p>The other members generally agreed with him. They were very much amused +by the picture, but they did not care to possess it, imagining that +those who ridiculed it might also ridicule its owner. This opposition +discouraged me, and I retired to reflect. In about five minutes I +returned to the company, which had now greatly increased, as it was one +of our regular meeting nights, and I asked if they would consent to this +raffle if I would engage that the winner of the picture should not be +laughed at by any other member.</p> + +<p>"How will you guarantee that?" asked Mr. Buckby.</p> + +<p>"I will put the matter in the hands of the Association," I answered. +"If, after the raffle is over, a majority of the members shall decide +that any of us have reason to laugh at the winner of this painting, I +will refund all the money paid for tickets."</p> + +<p>There was something in this proposition which aroused the curiosity of +my fellow-firemen; and when the meeting was called to order, a +resolution was adopted that we would have the raffle, and that the +management of it should be placed in my hands, subject to the conditions +mentioned above. There were a good many surmises as to what I was going +to do to keep the people from laughing at the prize-winner, the general +opinion being that I intended to have the picture altered so that it +would be like an ordinary landscape, and not reversible. But the affair +was something novel, and promised to put the much-needed money into our +treasury; and several gentlemen assured me that they would make it their +business to see that every member took a ticket, one generous man +promising, in the interests of the Association, to present them to such +of the few members as might decline to buy them for themselves. This +offer was made in consequence of my insistance that every one of us +should have a chance in the raffle.</p> + +<p>The next morning I went to the art-factory and told the proprietor that +I would take the lot of reversibles he had on hand, if he would include +the one already purchased, and receive ninety-seven dollars and a half +as the balance due.</p> + +<p>"All right!" said he. "I have the ninety-nine still on hand. Are you in +the tea business, sir?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no," said I; "the pictures are intended for a large Association."</p> + +<p>"No better way of extending the influence of art, sir," he said, +heartily. "I shall charge you nothing for boxing. The same address, +sir?"</p> + +<p>"No, they must be forwarded to my residence," and I gave him the needful +directions, and a check.</p> + +<p>The next day the ninety-nine pictures arrived and were stored in my +barn. My wife, to whom I had told my plan, made some objections to it, +saying it did not seem right to use half the money paid in to buy so +many pictures; but I told her that no one could expect in a raffle to +clear all the money subscribed, and that although we should not gain as +much as I had hoped, we should clear a hundred dollars, and every man +would have a picture. This was surely fair, and the fact was that the +unsympathetic state of mind of our members made it necessary for me to +do something of this kind, if I expected to raise the needed money at +all.</p> + +<p>The raffle was announced, and on the appointed evening there was a full +attendance. The prize was won by a Mr. Horter, an art-collector of a +nervous temperament, who had objected to the raffle, and who had +consented to buy a ticket only after repeated solicitations.</p> + +<p>"Now mind," he said to me, "you promised that the other men should not +laugh at me, and I hold you to your contract."</p> + +<p>I answered that I intended to stand by it, and that the painting should +be sent to him in the morning from my house, whither it had been +removed. Every member present announced his intention of calling on +Horter the following evening to see why he should not be laughed at.</p> + +<p>All the next forenoon my man, with a horse and light wagon, was engaged +in delivering the reversible landscapes, one to every member of our +club. These gentlemen were, in almost every case, absent at their places +of business. When they came home in the evening each found his picture, +with his name on the back of it, and a printed slip informing him that +in this raffle there had been no blanks, and that every man had drawn a +prize.</p> + +<p>Not a man called upon Mr. Horter that evening, and he greatly wondered +why they did not come in, either to laugh or to say why they should not +do so; but every other member of our club was visited by nearly all his +fellow-firemen, who ran in to see if it were true that he also had one +of those ridiculous reversible landscapes. As everybody knew that Mr. +Horter had one, there was no need to call on him; and even if they had +hoped to be able to laugh at him they could not do so, when each of them +had drawn one of the pictures himself. A good many called on me, and +some were a little severe in their remarks, saying that although it +might be a very pretty joke, I must have used up nearly all the money +that they had given for the good of the Association, for, of course, +none of them cared for the absurd prize.</p> + +<p>But when, on the next meeting night, I paid in one hundred dollars to +the treasury, a sum more than sufficient to make our room comfortable, +they were quite satisfied. The only thing that troubled them was to know +what to do with the pictures they had drawn. Not one of them was +willing to keep his preposterous landscape in his house. It was Mrs. +Buckby, our president's wife, who suggested a way out of the difficulty.</p> + +<p>"Of course," she said to her husband, "it would have been much better if +each one of you had given the two dollars without any raffle, and then +you would have had all your money. But one can't expect men to do a +thing like that."</p> + +<p>"Not after we had all paid in our regular dues, and had been subscribing +and subscribing for this, that, and the other thing for nearly a year," +said I, who was present at the time. "Some extra inducement was +necessary."</p> + +<p>"But, as you have all those horrid landscapes," she continued, "why +don't you take them and put them up along the top of your walls, next +the ceiling, where those openings are which used to ventilate the room +when it was used for storage? That would save all the money that you +would have to pay to carpenters and painters to have those places made +tight and decent-looking; and it would give your room a gorgeous +appearance."</p> + +<p>This idea was hailed with delight. Every man brought his picture to the +hall, and we nailed the whole hundred in a row along the top of the four +walls, turning one with the darker half up, and the next the other way, +so as to present alternate views of morning and evening along the whole +distance. The arrangement answered admirably. The draughts of air from +outside were perfectly excluded: and as our walls were very lofty, the +general effect was good.</p> + +<p>"Art of that kind cannot be too high," said Mr. Horter.</p> + +<p>A week or two after this, when I arrived at home one afternoon, my wife +told me that there was a present for me in the dining-room. As such +things were not common, I hurried in to see what it was. I found a very +large flat package, tied up in brown paper, and on it a card with my +name and a long inscription. The latter was to the effect that my +associates of the Hook and Ladder Company, desirous of testifying their +gratitude to the originator and promoter of the raffle scheme, took +pleasure in presenting him with the accompanying work of art, which, +when hung upon the walls of his house, would be a perpetual reminder to +him of the great and good work he had done for the Association.</p> + +<p>I cannot deny that this pleased me much.</p> + +<p>"Well!" I exclaimed to my wife, "it is very seldom that a man gets any +thanks for his gratuitous efforts in behalf of his fellow-beings; and +although I must say that my services in raising money for the +Association deserved recognition, I did not expect that the members +would do themselves the justice to make me a present."</p> + +<p>Unwrapping the package, I discovered, to my intense disgust, a copy of +the Reversible Landscape! My first thought was that some of the members, +for a joke, had taken down one of the paintings from our meeting-room +and had sent it to me; but, on carefully examining the canvas and frame, +I was quite certain that this picture had never been nailed to a wall. +It was evidently a new and fresh copy of the painting of which I had +been assured no more would be produced. I must admit that I had felt a +certain pride in decorating our hall with the style of picture that +could not be seen elsewhere; and, moreover, I greatly dislike to be +overreached in business matters, and my wrath against the manufacturer +of high art entirely overpowered and dissipated any little resentment I +might have felt against my waggish fellow-members who had sent me the +painting.</p> + +<p>Early the next morning I went direct to the art-factory, and was just +about entering when my attention was attracted by a prominent picture +in the window. I stepped back to look at it. It was our reversible +landscape, mounted upon an easel, and labelled "A Morning Scene." While +I examined it to assure myself that it was really the landscape with +which I was so familiar, it was turned upside down by some concealed +machinery, and appeared labelled, "An Evening Scene." At the foot of the +easel I now noticed a placard inscribed: "The Reversible Landscape: A +New Idea in Art."</p> + +<p>I stood for a moment astounded. The rascally picture-monger had not only +made another of these pictures, but he was prepared to furnish them in +any number. Rushing into the gallery, I demanded to see the proprietor.</p> + +<p>"Look here!" said I, "what docs this mean? You told me that there were +to be no more of those pictures painted; that I was to possess a unique +lot."</p> + +<p>"That's not the same picture, sir," he exclaimed. "I am surprised that +you should think so. Step outside with me, sir, and I'll prove it to +you. There, sir!" said he, as we stood before the painting, which was +now Morning side up, "you see that star? In the pictures we sold you the +morning star was Venus; in this one it is Jupiter. This is not the same +picture. Do you imagine that we would deceive a customer? That, sir, is +a thing we never do!"</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='DUSKY_PHILOSOPHY'></a><h2>DUSKY PHILOSOPHY.</h2> + +<h3>IN TWO EXPOSITIONS.</h3> +<br /> + +<a name='FIRST_EXPOSITION'></a><h3>FIRST EXPOSITION: A STORY OF SEVEN DEVILS.</h3> +<br /> + +<p>The negro church which stood in the pine-woods near the little village +of Oxford Cross Roads, in one of the lower counties of Virginia, was +presided over by an elderly individual, known to the community in +general as Uncle Pete; but on Sundays the members of his congregation +addressed him as Brudder Pete. He was an earnest and energetic man, and, +although he could neither read nor write, he had for many years +expounded the Scriptures to the satisfaction of his hearers. His memory +was good, and those portions of the Bible, which from time to time he +had heard read, were used by him, and frequently with powerful effect, +in his sermons. His interpretations of the Scriptures were generally +entirely original, and were made to suit the needs, or what he supposed +to be the needs, of his congregation.</p> + +<p>Whether as "Uncle Pete" in the garden and corn-field, or "Brudder Pete" +in the church, he enjoyed the good opinion of everybody excepting one +person, and that was his wife. She was a high-tempered and somewhat +dissatisfied person, who had conceived the idea that her husband was in +the habit of giving too much time to the church, and too little to the +acquisition of corn-bread and pork. On a certain Saturday she gave him a +most tremendous scolding, which so affected the spirits of the good man +that it influenced his decision in regard to the selection of the +subject for his sermon the next day.</p> + +<p>His congregation was accustomed to being astonished, and rather liked +it, but never before had their minds received such a shock as when the +preacher announced the subject of his discourse. He did not take any +particular text, for this was not his custom, but he boldly stated that +the Bible declared that every woman in this world was possessed by seven +devils; and the evils which this state of things had brought upon the +world he showed forth with much warmth and feeling. Subject-matter, +principally from his own experience, crowded in upon his mind, and he +served it out to his audience hot and strong. If his deductions could +have been proved to be correct, all women were creatures who, by reason +of their seven-fold diabolic possession, were not capable of independent +thought or action, and who should in tears and humility place themselves +absolutely under the direction and authority of the other sex.</p> + +<p>When he approached the conclusion of his sermon, Brother Peter closed +with a bang the Bible, which, although he could not read a word of it, +always lay open before him while he preached, and delivered the +concluding exhortation of his sermon.</p> + +<p>"Now, my dear brev'ren ob dis congregation," he said, "I want you to +understan' dat dar's nuffin in dis yer sarmon wot you've jus' heerd ter +make you think yousefs angels. By no means, brev'ren; you was all brung +up by women, an' you've got ter lib wid' em, an ef anythin' in dis yer +worl' is ketchin', my dear brev'ren, it's habin debbils, an' from wot +I've seen ob some ob de men ob dis worl' I 'spect dey is persest ob +'bout all de debbils dey got room fur. But de Bible don' say nuffin +p'intedly on de subjec' ob de number ob debbils in man, an' I 'spec' +dose dat's got 'em—an' we ought ter feel pow'ful thankful, my dear +brev'ren, dat de Bible don' say we all's got 'em—has 'em 'cordin to +sarcumstances. But wid de women it's dif'rent; dey's got jus' sebin, an' +bless my soul, brev'ren, I think dat's 'nuff.</p> + +<p>"While I was a-turnin' ober in my min' de subjec' ob dis sarmon, dere +come ter me a bit ob Scripter wot I heerd at a big preachin' an' +baptizin' at Kyarter's Mills, 'bout ten year' ago. One ob de preachers +was a-tellin' about ole mudder Ebe a-eatin' de apple, and says he: De +sarpint fus' come along wid a red apple, an' says he: You gib dis yer to +your husban', an' he think it so mighty good dat when he done eat it he +gib you anything you ax him fur, ef you tell him whar de tree is. Ebe, +she took one bite, an' den she frew dat apple away. 'Wot you mean, you +triflin' sarpint,' says she, 'a fotchin' me dat apple wot ain't good fur +nuffin but ter make cider wid.' Den de sarpint he go fotch her a yaller +apple, an' she took one bite an' den says she: 'Go 'long wid ye, you +fool sarpint, wot you fotch me dat June apple wot ain't got no taste to +it?' Den de sarpint he think she like sumpin' sharp, an' he fotch her a +green apple. She takes one bite ob it, an' den she frows it at his head, +an' sings out: 'Is you 'spectin' me to gib dat apple to yer Uncle Adam +an' gib him de colic?' Den de debbil he fotch her a lady-apple, but she +say she won't take no sich triflin' nubbins as dat to her husban', an' +she took one bite ob it, an' frew it away. Den he go fotch her two udder +kin' ob apples, one yaller wid red stripes, an' de udder one red on one +side an' green on de udder,—mighty good lookin' apples, too—de kin' +you git two dollars a bar'l fur at the store. But Ebe, she wouldn't hab +neider ob 'em, an' when she done took one bite out ob each one, she frew +it away. Den de ole debbil-sarpint, he scratch he head, an' he say to +hese'f: 'Dis yer Ebe, she pow'ful 'ticklar 'bout her apples. Reckin I'll +have ter wait till after fros', an' fotch her a real good one.' An' he +done wait till after fros', and then he fotch her a' Albemarle pippin, +an' when she took one bite ob dat, she jus' go 'long an' eat it all up, +core, seeds, an' all. 'Look h'yar, sarpint,' says she, 'hab you got +anudder ob dem apples in your pocket?' An' den he tuk one out, an' gib +it to her. ''Cuse me,' says she, 'I's gwine ter look up Adam, an' ef he +don' want ter know war de tree is wot dese apples grow on, you can hab +him fur a corn-field han'.'</p> + +<p>"An' now, my dear brev'ren," said Brother Peter, "while I was a-turnin' +dis subjec' ober in my min', an' wonderin' how de women come ter hab +jus' seben debbils apiece, I done reckerleck dat bit ob Scripter wot I +heerd at Kyarter's Mills, an' I reckin dat 'splains how de debbils got +inter woman. De sarpint he done fotch mudder Ebe seben apples, an' ebery +one she take a bite out of gib her a debbil."</p> + +<p>As might have been expected, this sermon produced a great sensation, +and made a deep impression on the congregation. As a rule the men were +tolerably well satisfied with it; and when the services were over many +of them made it the occasion of shy but very plainly pointed remarks to +their female friends and relatives.</p> + +<p>But the women did not like it at all. Some of them became angry, and +talked very forcibly, and feelings of indignation soon spread among all +the sisters of the church. If their minister had seen fit to stay at +home and preach a sermon like this to his own wife (who, it may be +remarked, was not present on this occasion), it would have been well +enough, provided he had made no allusions to outsiders; but to come +there and preach such things to them was entirely too much for their +endurance. Each one of the women knew she had not seven devils, and only +a few of them would admit of the possibility of any of the others being +possessed by quite so many.</p> + +<p>Their preacher's explanation of the manner in which every woman came to +be possessed of just so many devils appeared to them of little +importance. What they objected to was the fundamental doctrine of his +sermon, which was based on his assertion that the Bible declared every +woman had seven devils. They were not willing to believe that the Bible +said any such thing. Some of them went so far as to state it was their +opinion that Uncle Pete had got this fool notion from some of the +lawyers at the court-house when he was on a jury a month or so before. +It was quite noticeable that, although Sunday afternoon had scarcely +begun, the majority of the women of the congregation called their +minister Uncle Pete. This was very strong evidence of a sudden decline +in his popularity.</p> + +<p>Some of the more vigorous-minded women, not seeing their minister among +the other people in the clearing in front of the log church, went to +look for him, but he was not to be found. His wife had ordered him to be +home early, and soon after the congregation had been dismissed he +departed by a short cut through the woods. That afternoon an irate +committee, composed principally of women, but including also a few men +who had expressed disbelief in the new doctrine, arrived at the cabin of +their preacher, but found there only his wife, cross-grained old Aunt +Rebecca. She informed them that her husband was not at home.</p> + +<p>"He's done 'gaged hisse'f," she said, "ter cut an' haul wood fur Kunnel +Martin ober on Little Mount'n fur de whole ob nex' week. It's fourteen +or thirteen mile' from h'yar, an' ef he'd started ter-morrer mawnin', +he'd los' a'mos' a whole day, 'Sides dat, I done tole him dat ef he git +dar ter-night he'd have his supper frowed in. Wot you all want wid him? +Gwine to pay him fur preachin'?"</p> + +<p>Any such intention as this was instantaneously denied, and Aunt Rebecca +was informed of the subject upon which her visitors had come to have a +very plain talk with her husband.</p> + +<p>Strange to say, the announcement of the new and startling dogma had +apparently no disturbing effect upon Aunt Rebecca. On the contrary, the +old woman seemed rather to enjoy the news.</p> + +<p>"Reckin he oughter know all 'bout dat," she said. "He's done had three +wives, an' he ain't got rid o' dis one yit."</p> + +<p>Judging from her chuckles and waggings of the head when she made this +remark, it might be imagined that Aunt Rebecca was rather proud of the +fact that her husband thought her capable of exhibiting a different kind +of diabolism every day in the week.</p> + +<p>The leader of the indignant church members was Susan Henry, a mulatto +woman of a very independent turn of mind. She prided herself that she +never worked in anybody's house but her own, and this immunity from +outside service gave her a certain pre-eminence among her sisters. Not +only did Susan share the general resentment with which the startling +statement of old Peter had been received, but she felt that its +promulgation had affected her position in the community. If every woman +was possessed by seven devils, then, in this respect, she was no better +nor worse than any of the others; and at this her proud heart rebelled. +If the preacher had said some women had eight devils and others six, it +would have been better. She might then have made a mental arrangement in +regard to her relative position which would have somewhat consoled her. +But now there was no chance for that. The words of the preacher had +equally debased all women.</p> + +<p>A meeting of the disaffected church members was held the next night at +Susan Henry's cabin, or rather in the little yard about it, for the +house was not large enough to hold the people who attended it. The +meeting was not regularly organized, but everybody said what he or she +had to say, and the result was a great deal of clamor, and a general +increase of indignation against Uncle Pete.</p> + +<p>"Look h'yar!" cried Susan, at the end of some energetic remarks, "is dar +enny pusson h'yar who kin count up figgers?"</p> + +<p>Inquiries on the subject ran through the crowd, and in a few moments a +black boy, about fourteen, was pushed forward as an expert in +arithmetic.</p> + +<p>"Now, you Jim," said Susan, "you's been to school, an' you kin count up +figgers. 'Cordin' ter de chu'ch books dar's forty-seben women b'longin' +to our meetin', an' ef each one ob dem dar has got seben debbils in her, +I jus' wants you ter tell me how many debbils come to chu'ch ebery clear +Sunday ter hear dat ole Uncle Pete preach."</p> + +<p>This view of the case created a sensation, and much interest was shown +in the result of Jim's calculations, which were made by the aid of a +back of an old letter and a piece of pencil furnished by Susan. The +result was at last announced as three hundred and nineteen, which, +although not precisely correct, was near enough to satisfy the company.</p> + +<p>"Now, you jus' turn dat ober in you all's minds," said Susan. "More'n +free hunderd debbils in chu'ch ebery Sunday, an' we women fotchin 'em. +Does anybody s'pose I'se gwine ter b'lieve dat fool talk?"</p> + +<p>A middle-aged man now lifted up his voice and said: "Ise been thinkin' +ober dis h'yar matter and Ise 'cluded dat p'r'aps de words ob de +preacher was used in a figgeratous form o' sense. P'r'aps de seben +debbils meant chillun."</p> + +<p>These remarks were received with no favor by the assemblage.</p> + +<p>"Oh, you git out!" cried Susan. "Your ole woman's got seben chillun, +shore 'nuf, an' I s'pec' dey's all debbils. But dem sent'ments don't +apply ter all de udder women h'yar, 'tic'larly ter dem dar young uns wot +ain't married yit."</p> + +<p>This was good logic, but the feeling on the subject proved to be even +stronger, for the mothers in the company became so angry at their +children being considered devils that for a time there seemed to be +danger of an Amazonian attack on the unfortunate speaker. This was +averted, but a great deal of uproar now ensued, and it was the general +feeling that something ought to be done to show the deep-seated +resentment with which the horrible charge against the mothers and +sisters of the congregation had been met. Many violent propositions were +made, some of the younger men going so far as to offer to burn down the +church. It was finally agreed, quite unanimously, that old Peter should +be unceremoniously ousted from his place in the pulpit which he had +filled so many years.</p> + +<p>As the week passed on, some of the older men of the congregation who had +friendly feelings toward their old companion and preacher talked the +matter over among themselves, and afterward, with many of their +fellow-members, succeeded at last in gaining the general consent that +Uncle Pete should be allowed a chance to explain himself, and give his +grounds and reasons for his astounding statement in regard to womankind. +If he could show biblical authority for this, of course nothing more +could be said. But if he could not, then he must get down from the +pulpit, and sit for the rest of his life on a back seat of the church. +This proposition met with the more favor, because even those who were +most indignant had an earnest curiosity to know what the old man would +say for himself.</p> + +<p>During all this time of angry discussion, good old Peter was quietly and +calmly cutting and hauling wood on the Little Mountain. His mind was in +a condition of great comfort and peace, for not only had he been able to +rid himself, in his last sermon, of many of the hard thoughts concerning +women that had been gathering themselves together for years, but his +absence from home had given him a holiday from the harassments of Aunt +Rebecca's tongue, so that no new notions of woman's culpability had +risen within him. He had dismissed the subject altogether, and had been +thinking over a sermon regarding baptism, which he thought he could make +convincing to certain of the younger members of his congregation.</p> + +<p>He arrived at home very late on Saturday night, and retired to his +simple couch without knowing anything of the terrible storm which had +been gathering through the week, and which was to burst upon him on the +morrow. But the next morning, long before church time, he received +warning enough of what was going to happen. Individuals and deputations +gathered in and about his cabin—some to tell him all that had been said +and done; some to inform him what was expected of him; some to stand +about and look at him; some to scold; some to denounce; but, alas! not +one to encourage; nor one to call him "Brudder Pete," that Sunday +appellation dear to his ears. But the old man possessed a stubborn soul, +not easily to be frightened.</p> + +<p>"Wot I says in de pulpit," he remarked, "I'll 'splain in de pulpit, an' +you all ud better git 'long to de chu'ch, an' when de time fur de +sarvice come, I'll be dar."</p> + +<p>This advice was not promptly acted upon, but in the course of half an +hour nearly all the villagers and loungers had gone off to the church in +the woods; and when Uncle Peter had put on his high black hat, somewhat +battered, but still sufficiently clerical looking for that congregation, +and had given something of a polish to his cowhide shoes, he betook +himself by the accustomed path to the log building where he had so often +held forth to his people. As soon as he entered the church he was +formally instructed by a committee of the leading members that before he +began to open the services, he must make it plain to the congregation +that what he had said on the preceding Sunday about every woman being +possessed by seven devils was Scripture truth, and not mere wicked +nonsense out of his own brain. If he could not do that, they wanted no +more praying or preaching from him.</p> + +<p>Uncle Peter made no answer, but, ascending the little pulpit, he put his +hat on the bench behind him where it was used to repose, took out his +red cotton handkerchief and blew his nose in his accustomed way, and +looked about him. The house was crowded. Even Aunt Rebecca was there.</p> + +<p>After a deliberate survey of his audience the preacher spoke: "Brev'eren +an' sisters, I see afore me Brudder Bill Hines, who kin read de Bible, +an' has got one. Ain't dat so, Brudder?"</p> + +<p>Bill Hines having nodded and modestly grunted assent, the preacher +continued. "An' dars' Aun' Priscilla's boy, Jake, who ain't a brudder +yit, though he's plenty old 'nuf, min', I tell ye; an' he kin read de +Bible, fus' rate, an' has read it ter me ober an' ober ag'in. Ain't dat +so, Jake?"</p> + +<p>Jake grinned, nodded, and hung his head, very uncomfortable at being +thus publicly pointed out.</p> + +<p>"An' dar's good ole Aun' Patty, who knows more Scripter' dan ennybuddy +h'yar, havin' been teached by de little gals from Kunnel Jasper's an' by +dere mudders afore 'em. I reckin she know' de hull Bible straight froo, +from de Garden of Eden to de New Jerus'lum. An' dar are udders h'yar who +knows de Scripters, some one part an' some anudder. Now I axes ebery one +ob you all wot know de Scripters ef he don' 'member how de Bible tells +how our Lor' when he was on dis yearth cas' seben debbils out o' Mary +Magdalum?"</p> + +<p>A murmur of assent came from the congregation. Most of them remembered +that.</p> + +<p>"But did enny ob you ebber read, or hab read to you, dat he ebber cas' +'em out o'enny udder woman?"</p> + +<p>Negative grunts and shakes of the head signified that nobody had ever +heard of this.</p> + +<p>"Well, den," said the preacher, gazing blandly around, "all de udder +women got 'em yit."</p> + +<p>A deep silence fell upon the assembly, and in a few moments an elderly +member arose. "Brudder Pete," he said, "I reckin you mought as well gib +out de hyme."</p> +<br /> + +<a name='SECOND_EXPOSITION'></a><h3>SECOND EXPOSITION: GRANDISON'S QUANDARY.</h3> +<br /> + +<p>Grandison Pratt was a colored man of about thirty, who, with his wife +and two or three children, lived in a neat log cabin in one of the +Southern States. He was a man of an independent turn of mind, and he +much desired to own the house in which he lived and the small +garden-patch around it. This valuable piece of property belonged to Mr. +Morris, and as it was an outlying corner of his large farm he had no +objection to sell it to Grandison, provided the latter could pay for it; +but of this he had great doubts. The man was industrious enough, but he +often seemed to have a great deal of difficulty about paying the very +small rental charged for his place, and Mr. Morris, consequently, had +well-grounded doubts about his ability to purchase it.</p> + +<p>"But, sah," said Grandison one day when these objections had been placed +before him, "I's been turnin' dis thing ober in my min' ober an' ober. I +know jes' how much I kin make an' how much I's got to spend an' how I +kin save ter buy the house, an' if I agree to pay you so much money on +such a day an' so much on such anudder day I's gwine ter do it. You kin +jes' put that down, sah, for sartin shuh."</p> + +<p>"Well, Grandison," said Mr. Morris, "I'll give you a trial. If, at the +end of six months, you can pay me the first instalment, I'll have the +necessary papers made out, and you can go on and buy the place, but if +you are not up to time on the first payment, I want to hear no more +about the purchase."</p> + +<p>"All right, Mahs'r Morris," said Grandison. "If I gibs you my word ter +pay de money on de fus' day ob October, I's gwine to do it. Dat's sartin +shuh."</p> + +<p>Months passed on, and, although Grandison worked as steadily as usual, +he found toward the end of September that, in the ordinary course of +things, he would not be able to make up the sum necessary for the first +payment. Other methods out of the ordinary course came into his mind, +but he had doubts about availing himself of them. He was extremely +anxious to make up the amount due, for he knew very well that if he did +not pay it on the day appointed he might bid farewell to his hope of +becoming a freeholder. In his perplexity he resolved to consult Brother +'Bijah, the minister of the little church in the pine-woods to which +Grandison belonged.</p> + +<p>"Now, look-a-heah, Brudder 'Bijah," said he, "wot's I gwine to do 'bout +dis bizness? I done promised ter pay dis money on de fus' day ob de +comin' month, an' dar's six dollars ob it dat I ain't got yit."</p> + +<p>"An' aint dar any way ter git it?" asked 'Bijah.</p> + +<p>"Yaas, dar's one way," said Grandison, "I's been turnin' dis matter ober +an' ober in my min', an' dar's only one way. I mought sell apples. +Apples is mighty skarse dis fall, an' I kin git two dollars a bar'l for +'em in town. Now, if I was ter sell three bar'ls of apples I'd hab dat +dar six dollars, sartin shuh. Don' you see dat, Brudder 'Bijah?"</p> + +<p>"Dat's all clar 'nuf," said the minister, "but whar you gwine ter git +three bar'ls o' apples? You don' mean ter tell me dat you's got 'nuf +apple-trees in your little gyardin fur ter shake down three bar'ls o' +apples."</p> + +<p>"Now look a-heah, Brudder 'Bijah," said Grandison, his eyes sparkling +with righteous indignation, "dat's too much 'to 'spec' ob a man who's +got ter work all day to s'port his wife an' chillun. I digs, an' I +plows, an' I plants, an' I hoes. But all dem things ain't 'nuf ter make +apple-trees grow in my gyardin like as dey was corn-field peas."</p> + +<p>"Dat's so," said 'Bijah, reflectively. "Dat's too much to spec' ob any +man. But how's you gwine ter sell de apples if you ain't got 'em?"</p> + +<p>"I's got ter git em," said Grandison. "Dar's apples 'nuf growin' roun' +an' not so fur away dat I can't tote 'em ter my house in a bahsket. It's +pow'ful hard on a man wot's worked all day ter have ter tote apples +ahfter night, but dar ain' no other way ob gittin' dat dar money."</p> + +<p>"I spec' de orchard whar you's thinkin' o' gwine is Mahs'r Morrises," +said the minister.</p> + +<p>"You don' 'spose Ise gwine ter any ob dose low down orchards on de udder +side de creek, does ye? Mahs'r Morris has got the bes' apples in dis +county. Dat's de kin' wot fetch two dollars a bar'l."</p> + +<p>"Brudder Gran'son," said 'Bijah, solemnly, "is you min' runnin on takin' +Mahs'r Morrises apples inter town an' sellin' em?"</p> + +<p>"Well, he gits de money, don't he?" answered the other, "and if I don't +sell his apples 'taint no use sellin' none. Dem udder little nubbins +roun' heah won't fetch no two dollars a bar'l."</p> + +<p>"Dem ain't justifyin' deeds wot's runnin' in your mind," said 'Bijah. +"Dey ain't justifyin'."</p> + +<p>"Ob course," said Grandison, "dey wouldn't be justifyin' if I had de six +dollars. But I ain't got 'em, an' Ise promised to pay 'em. Now, is I ter +stick to de truf, or isn't I?"</p> + +<p>"Truf is mighty," said the preacher, "an' ought not to be hendered from +prevailin'."</p> + +<p>"Dat's so! dat's so!" exclaimed Grandison. "You can't go agin de +Scripters. Truf <i>is</i> mighty, an' 'tain't fur pore human critters like us +to try to upsot her. Wot we're got ter do is ter stick to her through +thick an' thin."</p> + +<p>"Ob course, dat's wot we oughter do," said 'Bijah, "but I can't see my +way clar to you sellin' dem apples."</p> + +<p>"But dar ain't nuffin else ter do!" exclaimed Grandison, "an' ef I don't +do dat, away goes de truf, clar out o' sight. An' wot sort o' 'ligion +you call dat, Brudder 'Bijah?"</p> + +<p>"'Tain't no kind at all," said 'Bijah, "fur we's bound ter stick to de +truf, which is de bottom corner-stone ob piousness. But dem apples don't +seem ter git demselves straightened out in my mind, Brudder Gran'son."</p> + +<p>"It 'pears ter me, Brudder 'Bijah, dat you doan' look at dem apples in +de right light. If I was gwine ter sell 'em to git money ter buy a lot +o' spotted calliker ter make frocks for de chillen, or eben to buy two +pars o' shoes fur me an' Judy ter go to church in, dat would be a sin, +sartin shuh. But you done furgit dat I's gwine ter take de money ter +Mahs'r Morris. If apples is riz an' I gits two dollars an' a quarter a +bar'l, ob course I keeps de extry quarter, which don' pay anyhow fur de +trouble ob pickin' 'em. But de six dollars I gibs, cash down, ter +Mahs'r Morris. Don' you call dat puffectly fa'r an' squar, Brudder +'Bijah?"</p> + +<p>'Bijah shook his head. "Dis is a mighty dubersome question, Brudder +Gran'son, a mighty dubersome question."</p> + +<p>Grandison stood with a disappointed expression on his countenance. He +greatly desired to gain from his minister sanction for the financial +operation he had proposed. But this the solemn 'Bijah did not appear +prepared to give. As the two men stood together by the roadside they +saw, riding toward them, Mr. Morris himself.</p> + +<p>"Now, den," exclaimed Grandison, "heah comes Mahs'r Morris, and I's +gwine ter put dis question to hisse'f. He oughter know how ter 'cide +bout it, if anybody does."</p> + +<p>"You ain't truly gwine ter put dat question to him, is ye?" asked +'Bijah, quickly.</p> + +<p>"No, sah," replied the other. "I's gwine to put the case on a dif'rent +show-pint. But 'twill be the same thing as de udder."</p> + +<p>Mr. Morris was a genial-natured man, who took a good deal of interest in +his negro neighbors, and was fond of listening to their peculiar humor. +Therefore, when he saw that Grandison wished to speak to him he readily +pulled up his horse.</p> + +<p>"Mahs'r Morris," said Grandison, removing his hat, "Brudder 'Bijah an' +me has been argyin on de subjick ob truf. An' jes' as you was comin' up +I was gwine ter tell him a par'ble 'bout sticken ter truf. An' if you's +got time, Mahs'r Morris, I'd be pow'ful glad ter tell you de par'ble, +an' let you 'cide 'tween us."</p> + +<p>"Very well," said Mr. Morris, "go on with your parable."</p> + +<p>"Dis yere par'ble," said Grandison, "has got a justifyin' meanin' in it, +an' it's 'bout a bar an' a' possum. De 'possum he was a-gwine out early +in de mawnin' ter git a little corn fur his breakfus'—"</p> + +<p>"Very wrong in the opossum," said Mr. Morris, "for I am sure he hadn't +planted any corn."</p> + +<p>"Well, den, sah," said Grandison, "p'raps 'twas akerns; but, anyway, +afore he was out ob de woods he see a big, ole bar a-comin' straight +'long to him. De 'possum he ain't got no time ter climb a tree an' git +out on de leetlest end ob a long limb, an' so he lay hese'f flat down on +de groun' an' make b'lieve he's dead. When de ole bar came up he sot +down an' look at de 'possum. Fus' he turn his head on one side an' den +he turn his head on de udder, but he look at de 'possum all de time. +D'reckly he gits done lookin' an' he says:</p> + +<p>"'Look-a-heah, 'possum, is you dead or is you libin'? If you's dead I +won't eat you, fur I neber eats dead critters, but if you's libin' den +I eats you for my breakfus', fur I is bilin' hungry, not havin' had +nuffin sence sun-up but a little smack dat I took afore gwine out inter +de damp air ob de mawnin'. Now, den, 'possum, speak out and tell me is +you 'libe or is you dead?'</p> + +<p>"Dat are question frew de 'possum inter a pow'ful sweat. If he told de +truf an' said he was alibe he knowed well 'nuf dat de bar would gobble +him up quicker'n if he'd been a hot ash cake an' a bowl of buttermilk; +but if he said he was dead so's de bar wouldn't eat him, de bar, like +'nuf, would know he lied, an' would eat him all de same. So he turn de +matter ober an' ober in his min', an' he wrastled with his 'victions, +but he couldn't come ter no 'clusion. 'Now don't you tink,' said de bar, +'dat I's got time to sit here de whole mawnin' waitin' fer you ter make +up your mind whether you's dead or not. If you don't 'cide pretty quick, +I'll put a big rock a-top o' you, an' stop fer you answer when I come +back in de ebenin'.' Now dis gib de 'possum a pow'ful skeer, an' 'twas +cl'ar to his min' dat he mus' 'cide de question straight off. If he tole +de truf, and said he was alibe, he'd be eat up shuh; but if he said he +was dead, de bar mought b'lieve him. 'Twarn't very likely dat he would, +but dar was dat one leetle chance, an' he done took it. 'I is dead,' +says he. 'You's a long time makin' up your min' 'bout it,' says de bar. +'How long you been dead?' 'Sence day 'fore yestidday,' says the 'possum. +'All right!' says de bar, 'when dey've on'y been dead two or free days, +an' kin talk, I eats 'em all de same.' An' he eat him up."</p> + +<p>"And now, Grandison," said Mr. Morris, "where is the moral of that +parable?"</p> + +<p>"De moral is dis," said Grandison; "stick ter de truf. If de 'possum had +tole de truf, an' said he was alibe, de bar couldn't eat him no more'n +he did eat him; no bar could do dat. An' I axes you, Mahs'r Morris, don' +dat par'ble show dat eb'rybody oughter stick ter de truf, no matter what +happens."</p> + +<p>"Well, I don't think your moral is very clear," said Mr. Morris, "for it +would have been about as bad for the 'possum one way as the other. But, +after all, it would have been better for the little beast to tell the +truth and die with a clear conscience."</p> + +<p>"Dat's so!" cried Brother 'Bijah, speaking in his ministerial capacity, +"de great thing in dis worl' is ter die wid a clear conscience."</p> + +<p>"But you can't do dat," said Grandison, "if you let dis thing an' dat +thing come in ter hinder ye. Now dat's jes' wot we's been disputin' +'bout, Mahs'r Morris. I 'clared dat we oughter stick ter de truf widout +lookin' to de right or de lef'; but Brudder 'Bijah, his min' wasn't +quite made up on de subjick. Now, wot you say, Mahs'r Morris?"</p> + +<p>"I say stick to the truth, of course," said Mr. Morris, gathering up his +reins. "And, by the way, Grandison, do you expect to make that payment +on your place which is due next week?"</p> + +<p>"Yaas, sah, sartin shuh," said Grandison. "I done tole you I'd do it, +Mahs'r Morris, an' I 'tends ter stick ter de truf."</p> + +<p>"Now, den," said Grandison, in a tone of triumph, when Mr. Morris had +ridden away, "you see I's right in my 'clusions, and Mahs'r Morris +'grees with me."</p> + +<p>"Dunno," said Brother 'Bijah, shaking his head, "dis is a mighty +dubersome question. You kep' dem apples clar out o' sight, Brudder +Gran'son; clar out o' sight."</p> + +<p>It was about a week after this, quite early in the morning, that +Grandison was slowly driving into town with a horse and a wagon which he +had borrowed from a neighbor. In the wagon were three barrels of fine +apples. Suddenly, at a turn in the road, he was greatly surprised to +meet Mr. Morris, riding homeward.</p> + +<p>"What have you in those barrels, Grandison?" inquired his landlord.</p> + +<p>"Dey's apples, sah," was the reply, "dat I's got de job ob haulin' ter +town, sah."</p> + +<p>Mr. Morris rode up to the wagon and removed the piece of old canvas that +was thrown over the tops of the barrels; there was no need of asking any +questions. No one but himself, for many miles around, had +"Belle-flowers" and "Jeannettes" like these.</p> + +<p>"How much do you lack, Grandison," he said, "of making up the money you +owe me to-morrow?"</p> + +<p>"Six dollars, sah," said Grandison.</p> + +<p>"Six dollars—three barrels—very good," said Mr. Morris. "I see you are +determined to stick to the truth, Grandison, and keep your engagement. +But I will trouble you to turn that wagon round and haul those apples to +my house. And, if you still want to buy the place, you can come on +Monday morning and work out the balance you have to make up on the first +instalment; and, after this, you can make all your payments in work. A +day's labor is fair and plain, but your ways of sticking to the truth +are very crooked."</p> + +<p>It was not long after this that Grandison was ploughing in one of Mr. +Morris' fields, when Brother 'Bijah came along and sat upon the fence.</p> + +<p>"Brudder Gran'son," said he, when the ploughman had reached the end of +the furrow and was preparing to turn, "jes' you let your hoss res' a +minnit till I tells you a par'ble."</p> + +<p>"Wot par'ble?" said Grandison, in a tone of unconcern, but stopping his +horse, all the same.</p> + +<p>"Why, dis one!" said 'Bijah. "Dar was an ole mule an' he b'longed to a +cullud man named Harris who used to carry de mail from de Coht House ter +Cary's Cross-roads. De ole mule was a pow'ful triflin' critter an' he +got lazier an' lazier, an' 'fore long he got so dreffle slow dat it tuk +him more'n one day ter go from de Coht House ter de crossroads, an' he +allus come in de day ahfter mail-day, when de people was done gone home. +So de cullud man, Harris, he says:</p> + +<p>"'You is too ole fur ter carry de mail, you triflin' mule, an' I hain't +got no udder use fur you.'</p> + +<p>"So he put him in a gully-field, whar dar was nuffin but bar' groun' an' +hog weed. Now, dar was nuffin in dis worl' dat triflin' mule hated so +much as hog weed, an' he says to hese'f: 'I's boun' ter do somefin' +better'n dis fur a libin. I reckin I'll go skeer dat ole Harris, an' +make him gib me a feed o' corn.' So he jump ober de fence, fur he was +spry 'nuf when he had a min' ter, an' he steals an ole bar skin dat he'd +seen hangin' up in de store po'ch, an' he pretty nigh kivered himse'f +all up wid it. Den he go down to de pos' offis, whar de mail had jes' +come in. When dis triflin' ole mule seed de cullud man, Harris, sittin' +on de bottom step ob de po'ch, he begin to kick up his heels an' make +all de noise he could wid he mouf. 'Wot's dat?' cried de cullud man, +Harris. 'I's a big grizzly bar,' said de mule, ''scaped from de 'nagerie +when 'twas fordin' Scott's Creek.' 'When did you git out?' said de +cullud man, Harris. 'I bus' from de cage at half pas' free o'clock dis +ebenin'.' 'An' is you reely a grizzly bar?' 'Dat's de truf,' said de +triflin' mule, 'an' I's pow'ful hungry, an' if you don' go git me a feed +o' corn I'll swaller you down whole.' An' he begun to roar as like a +grizzly bar as he knew how. 'Dat all de truf, you tellin' me?' de cullud +man, Harris, ask. 'Dat's all true as I's libin',' says de triflin' mule. +'All right, den,' says de cullud man, Harris, 'if you kin come from de +ford on Scott's Creek in a hour an' a half, you kin carry de mail jes' +as well as any udder mule, an' I's gwine ter buy a big cart whip, an' +make you do it. So take off dat bar skin, an' come 'long wid me.' So you +see Brudder Gran'son," continued 'Bijah, "dar's dif'rent kinds ob truf, +an' you's got ter be mighty 'ticklar wot kind you sticks ter."</p> + +<p>"Git up," said Grandison to his drowsy horse, as he started him on +another furrow.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='PLAIN_FISHING'></a><h2>PLAIN FISHING.</h2> +<br /> + +<p>"Well, sir," said old Peter, as he came out on the porch with his pipe, +"so you came here to go fishin'?"</p> + +<p>Peter Gruse was the owner of the farm-house where I had arrived that +day, just before supper-time. He was a short, strong-built old man, with +a pair of pretty daughters, and little gold rings in his ears. Two +things distinguished him from the farmers in the country round about: +one was the rings in his ears, and the other was the large and +comfortable house in which he kept his pretty daughters. The other +farmers in that region had fine large barns for their cattle and horses, +but very poor houses for their daughters. Old Peter's ear-rings were +indirectly connected with his house. He had not always lived among those +mountains. He had been on the sea, where his ears were decorated, and he +had travelled a good deal on land, where he had ornamented his mind with +many ideas which were not in general use in the part of his State in +which he was born. His house stood a little back from the high road, +and if a traveller wished to be entertained, Peter was generally willing +to take him in, provided he had left his wife and family at home. The +old man himself had no objection to wives and children, but his two +pretty daughters had.</p> + +<p>These young women had waited on their father and myself at supper-time, +one continually bringing hot griddle cakes, and the other giving me +every opportunity to test the relative merits of the seven different +kinds of preserved fruit which, in little glass plates, covered the +otherwise unoccupied spaces on the tablecloth. The latter, when she +found that there was no further possible way of serving us, presumed to +sit down at the corner of the table and begin her supper. But in spite +of this apparent humility, which was only a custom of the country, there +was that in the general air of the pretty daughters which left no doubt +in the mind of the intelligent observer that they stood at the wheel in +that house. There was a son of fourteen, who sat at table with us, but +he did not appear to count as a member of the family.</p> + +<p>"Yes," I answered, "I understood that there was good fishing hereabout, +and, at any rate, I should like to spend a few days among these hills +and mountains."</p> + +<p>"Well," said Peter, "there's trout in some of our streams, though not +as many as there used to be, and there's hills a plenty, and mountains +too, if you choose to walk fur enough. They're a good deal furder off +than they look. What did you bring with you to fish with?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing at all," I answered. "I was told in the town that you were a +great fisherman, and that you could let me have all the tackle I would +need."</p> + +<p>"Upon my word," said old Peter, resting his pipe-hand on his knee and +looking steadfastly at me, "you're the queerest fisherman I've see'd +yet. Nigh every year, some two or three of 'em stop here in the fishin' +season, and there was never a man who didn't bring his jinted pole, and +his reels, and his lines, and his hooks, and his dry-goods flies, and +his whiskey-flask with a long strap to it. Now, if you want all these +things, I haven't got 'em."</p> + +<p>"Whatever you use yourself will suit me," I answered.</p> + +<p>"All right, then," said he. "I'll do the best I can for you in the +mornin'. But it's plain enough to me that you're not a game fisherman, +or you wouldn't come here without your tools."</p> + +<p>To this remark I made answer to the effect that, though I was very fond +of fishing, my pleasure in it did not depend upon the possession of all +the appliances of professional sport.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you think," said the old man, "from the way I spoke, that I +don't believe them fellers with the jinted poles can ketch fish, but +that ain't so. That old story about the little boy with the pin-hook who +ketched all the fish, while the gentleman with the modern improvements, +who stood alongside of him, kep' throwin' out his beautiful flies and +never got nothin', is a pure lie. The fancy chaps, who must have +ev'rythin' jist so, gen'rally gits fish. But for all that, I don't like +their way of fishin', and I take no stock in it myself. I've been +fishin', on and off, ever since I was a little boy, and I've caught nigh +every kind there is, from the big jew-fish and cavalyoes down South, to +the trout and minnies round about here. But when I ketch a fish, the +first thing I do is to try to git him on the hook, and the next thing is +to git him out of the water jist as soon as I kin. I don't put in no +time worryin' him. There's only two animals in the world that likes to +worry smaller creeturs a good while afore they kill 'em; one is the cat, +and the other is what they call the game fisherman. This kind of a +feller never goes after no fish that don't mind being ketched. He goes +fur them kinds that loves their home in the water and hates most to +leave it, and he makes it jist as hard fur 'em as he kin. What the game +fisher likes is the smallest kind of a hook, the thinnest line, and a +fish that it takes a good while to weaken. The longer the weak'nin' +business kin be spun out, the more the sport. The idee is to let the +fish think there's a chance fur him to git away. That's jist like the +cat with her mouse. She lets the little creetur hop off, but the minnit +he gits fur enough away, she jumps on him and jabs him with her claws, +and then, if there's any game left in him, she lets him try again. Of +course the game fisher could have a strong line and a stout pole and git +his fish in a good sight quicker, if he wanted to, but that wouldn't be +sport. He couldn't give him the butt and spin him out, and reel him in, +and let him jump and run till his pluck is clean worn out. Now, I likes +to git my fish ashore with all the pluck in 'em. It makes 'em taste +better. And as fur fun, I'll be bound I've had jist as much of that, and +more, too, than most of these fellers who are so dreadful anxious to +have everythin' jist right, and think they can't go fishin' till they've +spent enough money to buy a suit of Sunday clothes. As a gen'ral rule +they're a solemn lot, and work pretty hard at their fun. When I work I +want to be paid fur it, and when I go in fur fun I want to take it easy +and cheerful. Now I wouldn't say so much agen these fellers," said old +Peter, as he arose and put his empty pipe on a little shelf under the +porch-roof, "if it wasn't for one thing, and that is, that they think +that their kind of fishin' is the only kind worth considerin'. The way +they look down upon plain Christian fishin' is enough to rile a +hitchin'-post. I don't want to say nothin' agen no man's way of +attendin' to his own affairs, whether it's kitchen-gardenin', or whether +it's fishin', if he says nothin' agen my way; but when he looks down on +me, and grins at me, I want to haul myself up, and grin at him, if I +kin. And in this case, I kin. I s'pose the house-cat and the cat-fisher +(by which I don't mean the man who fishes for cat-fish) was both made as +they is, and they can't help it; but that don't give 'em no right to put +on airs before other bein's, who gits their meat with a square kill. +Good-night. And sence I've talked so much about it, I've a mind to go +fishin' with you to-morrow myself."</p> + +<p>The next morning found old Peter of the same mind, and after breakfast +he proceeded to fit me out for a day of what he called "plain Christian +trout-fishin'." He gave me a reed rod, about nine feet long, light, +strong, and nicely balanced. The tackle he produced was not of the fancy +order, but his lines were of fine strong linen, and his hooks were of +good shape, clean and sharp, and snooded to the lines with a neatness +that indicated the hand of a man who had been where he learned to wear +little gold rings in his ears.</p> + +<p>"Here are some of these feather insects," he said, "which you kin take +along if you like." And he handed me a paper containing a few artificial +flies. "They're pretty nat'ral," he said, "and the hooks is good. A man +who came here fishin' gave 'em to me, but I shan't want 'em to-day. At +this time of year grasshoppers is the best bait in the kind of place +where we're goin' to fish. The stream, after it comes down from the +mountain, runs through half a mile of medder land before it strikes into +the woods agen. A grasshopper is a little creetur that's got as much +conceit as if his jinted legs was fish-poles, and he thinks he kin jump +over this narrer run of water whenever he pleases; but he don't always +do it, and then if he doesn't git snapped up by the trout that lie along +the banks in the medder, he is floated along into the woods, where +there's always fish enough to come to the second table."</p> + +<p>Having got me ready, Peter took his own particular pole, which he +assured me he had used for eleven years, and hooking on his left arm a +good-sized basket, which his elder pretty daughter had packed with cold +meat, bread, butter, and preserves, we started forth for a three-mile +walk to the fishing-ground. The day was a favorable one for our purpose, +the sky being sometimes over-clouded, which was good for fishing, and +also for walking on a highroad; and sometimes bright, which was good for +effects of mountain-scenery. Not far from the spot where old Peter +proposed to begin our sport, a small frame-house stood by the roadside, +and here the old man halted and entered the open door without knocking +or giving so much as a premonitory stamp. I followed, imitating my +companion in leaving my pole outside, which appeared to be the only +ceremony that the etiquette of those parts required of visitors. In the +room we entered, a small man in his shirt-sleeves sat mending a +basket-handle. He nodded to Peter, and Peter nodded to him.</p> + +<p>"We've come up a-fishin'," said the old man. "Kin your boys give us some +grasshoppers?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know that they've got any ready ketched," said he, "for I +reckon I used what they had this mornin'. But they kin git you some. +Here, Dan, you and Sile go and ketch Mr. Gruse and this young man some +grasshoppers. Take that mustard-box, and see that you git it full."</p> + +<p>Peter and I now took seats, and the conversation began about a black +cow which Peter had to sell, and which the other was willing to buy if +the old man would trade for sheep, which animals, however, the +basket-mender did not appear just at that time to have in his +possession. As I was not very much interested in this subject, I walked +to the back-door and watched two small boys in scanty shirts and +trousers, and ragged straw hats, who were darting about in the grass +catching grasshoppers, of which insects, judging by the frequent pounces +of the boys, there seemed a plentiful supply.</p> + +<p>"Got it full?" said their father, when the boys came in.</p> + +<p>"Crammed," said Dan.</p> + +<p>Old Peter took the little can, pressed the top firmly on, put it in his +coat-tail pocket, and rose to go. "You'd better think about that cow, +Barney," said he. He said nothing to the boys about the box of bait; but +I could not let them catch grasshoppers for us for nothing, and I took a +dime from my pocket, and gave it to Dan. Dan grinned, and Sile looked +sheepishly happy, and at the sight of the piece of silver an expression +of interest came over the face of the father. "Wait a minute," said he, +and he went into a little room that seemed to be a kitchen. Returning, +he brought with him a small string of trout. "Do you want to buy some +fish?" he said. "These is nice fresh ones. I ketched 'em this mornin'."</p> + +<p>To offer to sell fish to a man who is just about to go out to catch them +for himself might, in most cases, be considered an insult, but it was +quite evident that nothing of the kind was intended by Barney. He +probably thought that if I bought grasshoppers, I might buy fish. "You +kin have 'em for a quarter," he said.</p> + +<p>It was derogatory to my pride to buy fish at such a moment, but the man +looked very poor, and there was a shade of anxiety on his face which +touched me. Old Peter stood by without saying a word. "It might be +well," I said, turning to him, "to buy these fish, for we may not catch +enough for supper."</p> + +<p>"Such things do happen," said the old man.</p> + +<p>"Well," said I, "if we have these we shall feel safe in any case." And I +took the fish and gave the man a quarter. It was not, perhaps, a +professional act, but the trout were well worth the money, and I felt +that I was doing a deed of charity.</p> + +<p>Old Peter and I now took our rods, and crossed the road into an enclosed +field, and thence into a wide stretch of grass land, bounded by hills +in front of us and to the right, while a thick forest lay to the left. +We had walked but a short distance, when Peter said: "I'll go down into +the woods, and try my luck there, and you'd better go along up stream, +about a quarter of a mile, to where it's rocky. P'raps you ain't used to +fishin' in the woods, and you might git your line cotched. You'll find +the trout'll bite in the rough water."</p> + +<p>"Where is the stream?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"This is it," he said, pointing to a little brook, which was scarcely +too wide for me to step across, "and there's fish right here, but +they're hard to ketch, fur they git plenty of good livin' and are mighty +sassy about their eatin'. But you kin ketch 'em up there."</p> + +<p>Old Peter now went down toward the woods, while I walked up the little +stream. I had seen trout-brooks before, but never one so diminutive as +this. However, when I came nearer to the point where the stream issued +from between two of the foot-hills of the mountains, which lifted their +forest-covered heights in the distance, I found it wider and shallower, +breaking over its rocky bottom in sparkling little cascades.</p> + +<p>Fishing in such a jolly little stream, surrounded by this mountain +scenery, and with the privileges of the beautiful situation all to +myself, would have been a joy to me if I had had never a bite. But no +such ill-luck befell me. Peter had given me the can of grasshoppers +after putting half of them into his own bait-box, and these I used with +much success. It was grasshopper season, and the trout were evidently on +the lookout for them. I fished in the ripples under the little +waterfalls; and every now and then I drew out a lively trout. Most of +these were of moderate size, and some of them might have been called +small. The large ones probably fancied the forest shades, where old +Peter went. But all I caught were fit for the table, and I was very well +satisfied with the result of my sport.</p> + +<p>About noon I began to feel hungry, and thought it time to look up the +old man, who had the lunch-basket. I walked down the bank of the brook, +and some time before I reached the woods I came to a place where it +expanded to a width of about ten feet. The water here was very clear, +and the motion quiet, so that I could easily see to the bottom, which +did not appear to be more than a foot below the surface. Gazing into +this transparent water, as I walked, I saw a large trout glide across +the stream, and disappear under the grassy bank which overhung the +opposite side. I instantly stopped. This was a much larger fish than +any I had caught, and I determined to try for him.</p> + +<p>I stepped back from the bank, so as to be out of sight, and put a fine +grasshopper on my hook; then I lay, face downward, on the grass, and +worked myself slowly forward until I could see the middle of the stream; +then quietly raising my pole, I gave my grasshopper a good swing, as if +he had made a wager to jump over the stream at its widest part. But as +he certainly would have failed in such an ambitious endeavor, especially +if he had been caught by a puff of wind, I let him come down upon the +surface of the water, a little beyond the middle of the brook. +Grasshoppers do not sink when they fall into the water, and so I kept +this fellow upon the surface, and gently moved him along, as if, with +all the conceit taken out of him by the result of his ill-considered +leap, he was ignominiously endeavoring to swim to shore. As I did this, +I saw the trout come out from under the bank, move slowly toward the +grasshopper, and stop directly under him. Trembling with anxiety and +eager expectation, I endeavored to make the movements of the insect +still more natural, and, as far as I was able, I threw into him a sudden +perception of his danger, and a frenzied desire to get away. But, +either the trout had had all the grasshoppers he wanted, or he was able, +from long experience, to perceive the difference between a natural +exhibition of emotion and a histrionic imitation of it, for he slowly +turned, and, with a few slight movements of his tail, glided back under +the bank. In vain did the grasshopper continue his frantic efforts to +reach the shore; in vain did he occasionally become exhausted, and sink +a short distance below the surface; in vain did he do everything that he +knew, to show that he appreciated what a juicy and delicious morsel he +was, and how he feared that the trout might yet be tempted to seize him; +the fish did not come out again.</p> + +<p>Then I withdrew my line, and moved back from the stream. I now +determined to try Mr. Trout with a fly, and I took out the paper old +Peter Gruse had given me. I did not know exactly what kind of winged +insects were in order at this time of the year, but I was sure that +yellow butterflies were not particular about just what month it was, so +long as the sun shone warmly. I therefore chose that one of Peter's +flies which was made of the yellowest feathers, and, removing the snood +and hook from my line, I hastily attached this fly, which was provided +with a hook quite suitable for my desired prize. Crouching on the +grass, I again approached the brook. Gaily flitting above the glassy +surface of the water, in all the fancied security of tender youth and +innocence, came my yellow fly. Backward and forward over the water he +gracefully flew, sometimes rising a little into the air, as if to view +the varied scenery of the woods and mountains, and then settling for a +moment close to the surface, to better inspect his glittering image as +it came up from below, and showing in his every movement his intense +enjoyment of summer-time and life.</p> + +<p>Out from his dark retreat now came the trout, and settling quietly at +the bottom of the brook, he appeared to regard the venturesome insect +with a certain interest. But he must have detected the iron-barb of vice +beneath the mask of blitheful innocence, for, after a short +deliberation, the trout turned and disappeared under the bank. As he +slowly moved away, he seemed to be bigger than ever. I must catch that +fish! Surely he would bite at something. It was quite evident that his +mind was not wholly unsusceptible to emotions emanating from an +awakening appetite, and I believed that if he saw exactly what he +wanted, he would not neglect an opportunity of availing himself of it. +But what did he want? I must certainly find out. Drawing myself back +again, I took off the yellow fly, and put on another. This was a white +one, with black blotches, like a big miller moth which had fallen into +an ink-pot. It was surely a conspicuous creature, and as I crept forward +and sent it swooping over the stream, I could not see how any trout, +with a single insectivorous tooth in his head, could fail to rise to +such an occasion. But this trout did not rise. He would not even come +out from under his bank to look at the swiftly flitting creature. He +probably could see it well enough from where he was.</p> + +<p>But I was not to be discouraged. I put on another fly; a green one with +a red tail. It did not look like any insect that I had ever seen, but I +thought that the trout might know more about such things than I. He did +come out to look at it, but probably considering it a product of that +modern æstheticism which sacrifices natural beauty to mediæval crudeness +of color and form, he retired without evincing any disposition to +countenance this style of art.</p> + +<p>It was evident that it would be useless to put on any other flies, for +the two I had left were a good deal bedraggled, and not nearly so +attractive as those I had used. Just before leaving the house that +morning, Peter's son had given me a wooden match-box filled with worms +for bait, which, although I did not expect to need, I put in my pocket. +As a last resort I determined to try the trout with a worm. I selected +the plumpest and most comely of the lot; I put a new hook on my line; I +looped him about it in graceful coils, and cautiously approached the +water, as before. Now a worm never attempts to wildly leap across a +flowing brook, nor does he flit in thoughtless innocence through the +sunny air, and over the bright transparent stream. If he happens to fall +into the water, he sinks to the bottom; and if he be of a kind not +subject to drowning, he generally endeavors to secrete himself under a +stone, or to burrow in the soft mud. With this knowledge of his nature I +gently dropped my worm upon the surface of the stream, and then allowed +him slowly to sink. Out sailed the trout from under the bank, but +stopped before reaching the sinking worm. There was a certain something +in his action which seemed to indicate a disgust at the sight of such +plebeian food, and a fear seized me that he might now swim off, and pay +no further attention to my varied baits. Suddenly there was a ripple in +the water, and I felt a pull on the line. Instantly I struck; and then +there was a tug. My blood boiled through every vein and artery, and I +sprang to my feet. I did not give him the butt; I did not let him run +with yards of line down the brook; nor reel him in, and let him make +another mad course up stream; I did not turn him over as he jumped into +the air; nor endeavor, in any way, to show him that I understood those +tricks, which his depraved nature prompted him to play upon the angler. +With an absolute dependence upon the strength of old Peter's tackle, I +lifted the fish. Out he came from the water, which held him with a +gentle suction as if unwilling to let him go, and then he whirled +through the air like a meteor flecked with rosy fire, and landed on the +fresh green grass a dozen feet behind me. Down on my knees I dropped +before him as he tossed and rolled, his beautiful spots and colors +glistening in the sun. He was truly a splendid trout, fully a foot long, +round and heavy. Carefully seizing him, I easily removed the hook from +the bony roof of his capacious mouth thickly set with sparkling teeth, +and then I tenderly killed him, with all his pluck, as old Peter would +have said, still in him.</p> + +<p>I covered the rest of the fish in my basket with wet plantain leaves, +and laid my trout king on this cool green bed. Then I hurried off to the +old man, whom I saw coming out of the woods. When I opened my basket and +showed him what I had caught, Peter looked surprised, and, taking up +the trout, examined it.</p> + +<p>"Why, this is a big fellow," he said. "At first I thought it was Barney +Sloat's boss trout, but it isn't long enough for him. Barney showed me +his trout, that gen'rally keeps in a deep pool, where a tree has fallen +over the stream down there. Barney tells me he often sees him, and he's +been tryin' fur two years to ketch him, but he never has, and I say he +never will, fur them big trout's got too much sense to fool round any +kind of victuals that's got a string to it. They let a little fish eat +all he wants, and then they eat him. How did you ketch this one?"</p> + +<p>I gave an account of the manner of the capture, to which Peter listened +with interest and approval.</p> + +<p>"If you'd a stood off and made a cast at that feller, you'd either have +caught him at the first flip, which isn't likely, as he didn't seem to +want no feather flies, or else you'd a skeered him away. That's all well +enough in the tumblin' water, where you gen'rally go fur trout, but the +man that's got the true feelin' fur fish will try to suit his idees to +theirs, and if he keeps on doin' that, he's like to learn a thing or two +that may do him good. That's a fine fish, and you ketched him well. I've +got a lot of 'em, but nothin' of that heft."</p> + +<p>After luncheon we fished for an hour or two with no result worth +recording, and then we started for home. A couple of partridges ran +across the road some distance ahead of us, and these gave Peter an idea.</p> + +<p>"Do you know," said he, "if things go on as they're goin' on now, that +there'll come a time when it won't be considered high-toned sport to +shoot a bird slam-bang dead. The game gunners will pop 'em with little +harpoons, with long threads tied to 'em, and the feller that can tire +out his bird, and haul him in with the longest and thinnest piece of +spool thread, will be the crackest sportsman."</p> + +<p>At this point I remarked to my companion that perhaps he was a little +hard on the game fishermen.</p> + +<p>"Well," said old Peter, with a smile on his corrugated visage, "I reckon +I'd have to do a lot of talkin' before I'd git even with 'em, fur the +way they give me the butt for my style of fishin'. What I say behind +their backs I say to their faces. I seed one of these fellers once with +a fish on his hook, that he was runnin' up an' down the stream like a +chased chicken. 'Why don't you pull him in?' says I. 'And break my rod +an' line?' says he. 'Why don't you have a stronger line and pole?' says +I. 'There wouldn't be no science in that,' says he. 'If it's your +science you want to show off,' says I, 'you ought to fish for mud eels. +There's more game in 'em than there is in any other fish round here, and +as they're mighty lively out of water you might play one of 'em fur half +an hour after you got him on shore, and it would take all your science +to keep him from reelin' up his end of the line faster than you could +yourn.'"</p> + +<p>When we reached the farm the old man went into the barn, and I took the +fish into the house. I found the two pretty daughters in the large room, +where the eating and some of the cooking was done. I opened my basket, +and with great pride showed them the big trout I had caught. They +evidently thought it was a large fish, but they looked at each other, +and smiled in a way that I did not understand. I had expected from them, +at least, as much admiration for my prize and my skill as their father +had shown.</p> + +<p>"You don't seem to think much of this fine trout that I took such +trouble to catch," I remarked.</p> + +<p>"You mean," said the elder girl, with a laugh, "that you bought of +Barney Sloat."</p> + +<p>I looked at her in astonishment.</p> + +<p>"Barney was along here to-day," she said, "and he told about your buying +your fish of him."</p> + +<p>"Bought of him!" I exclaimed, indignantly. "A little string of fish at +the bottom of the basket I bought of him, but all the others, and this +big one, I caught myself."</p> + +<p>"Oh, of course," said the pretty daughter, "bought the little ones and +caught all the big ones!"</p> + +<p>"Barney Sloat ought to have kept his mouth shut," said the younger +pretty daughter, looking at me with an expression of pity. "He'd got his +money, and he hadn't no business to go telling on people. Nobody likes +that sort of thing. But this big fish is a real nice one, and you shall +have it for your supper."</p> + +<p>"Thank you," I said, with dignity, and left the room.</p> + +<p>I did not intend to have any further words with these young women on +this subject, but I cannot deny that I was annoyed and mortified. This +was the result of a charitable action. I think I was never more proud of +anything than of catching that trout; and it was a good deal of a +downfall to suddenly find myself regarded as a mere city man fishing +with a silver hook. But, after all, what did it matter?</p> + +<p>The boy who did not seem to be accounted a member of the family came +into the house, and as he passed me he smiled good-humoredly, and said: +"Buyed 'em!"</p> + +<p>I felt like throwing a chair at him, but refrained out of respect to my +host. Before supper the old man came out on to the porch where I was +sitting. "It seems," said he, "that my gals has got it inter their heads +that you bought that big fish of Barney Sloat, and as I can't say I seed +you ketch it, they're not willin' to give in, 'specially as I didn't git +no such big one. 'Tain't wise to buy fish when you're goin' fishin' +yourself. It's pretty certain to tell agen you."</p> + +<p>"You ought to have given me that advice before," I said, somewhat +shortly. "You saw me buy the fish."</p> + +<p>"You don't s'pose," said old Peter, "that I'm goin' to say anythin' to +keep money out of my neighbor's pockets. We don't do that way in these +parts. But I've told the gals they're not to speak another word about +it, so you needn't give your mind no worry on that score. And now let's +go in to supper. If you're as hungry as I am, there won't be many of +them fish left fur breakfast."</p> + +<p>That evening, as we were sitting smoking on the porch, old Peter's mind +reverted to the subject of the unfounded charge against me. "It goes +pretty hard," he remarked, "to have to stand up and take a thing you +don' like when there's no call fur it. It's bad enough when there is a +call fur it. That matter about your fish buyin' reminds me of what +happened two summers ago to my sister, or ruther to her two little +boys—or, more correct yit, to one of 'em. Them was two cur'ous little +boys. They was allus tradin' with each other. Their father deals mostly +in horses, and they must have got it from him. At the time I'm tellin' +of they'd traded everythin' they had, and when they hadn't nothin' else +left to swap they traded names. Joe he took Johnny's name, and Johnny he +took Joe's. Jist about when they'd done this, they both got sick with +sumthin' or other, the oldest one pretty bad, the other not much. Now +there ain't no doctor inside of twenty miles of where my sister lives. +But there's one who sometimes has a call to go through that part of the +country, and the people about there is allus very glad when they chance +to be sick when he comes along. Now this good luck happened to my +sister, fur the doctor come by jist at this time. He looks into the +state of the boys, and while their mother has gone downstairs he mixes +some medicine he has along with him. 'What's your name?' he says to the +oldest boy when he'd done it. Now as he'd traded names with his brother, +fair and square, he wasn't goin' back on the trade, and he said, 'Joe.' +'And my name's Johnny,' up and says the other one. Then the doctor he +goes and gives the bottle of medicine to their mother, and says he: +'This medicine is fur Joe. You must give him a tablespoonful every two +hours. Keep up the treatment, and he'll be all right. As fur Johnny, +there's nothin' much the matter with him. He don't need no medicine.' +And then he went away. Every two hours after that Joe, who wasn't sick +worth mentionin', had to swallow a dose of horrid stuff, and pretty soon +he took to his bed, and Johnny he jist played round and got well in the +nat'ral way. Joe's mother kept up the treatment, gittin' up in the night +to feed that stuff to him; but the poor little boy got wuss and wuss, +and one mornin' he says to his mother, says he: 'Mother, I guess I'm +goin' to die, and I'd ruther do that than take any more of that +medicine, and I wish you'd call Johnny and we'll trade names back agen, +and if he don't want to come and do it, you kin tell him he kin keep the +old minkskin I gave him to boot, on account of his name havin' a Wesley +in it.' 'Trade names,' says his mother, 'what do you mean by that?' And +then he told her what he and Johnny had done. 'And did you ever tell +anybody about this?' says she. 'Nobody but Dr. Barnes,' says he. 'After +that I got sick and forgot it.' When my sister heard that, an idee +struck into her like you put a fork into an apple dumplin'. Traded +names, and told the doctor! She'd all along thought it strange that the +boy that seemed wuss should be turned out, and the other one put under +treatment; but it wasn't fur her to set up her opinion agen that of a +man like Dr. Barnes. Down she went, in about seventeen jumps, to where +Eli Timmins, the hired man, was ploughin' in the corn. 'Take that horse +out of that,' she hollers, 'and you may kill him if you have to, but git +Dr. Barnes here before my little boy dies.' When the doctor come he +heard the story, and looked at the sick youngster, and then says he: 'If +he'd kept his minkskin, and not hankered after a Wesley to his name, +he'd a had a better time of it. Stop the treatment, and he'll be all +right.' Which she did; and he was. Now it seems to me that this is a +good deal like your case. You've had to take a lot of medicine that +didn't belong to you, and I guess it's made you feel pretty bad; but +I've told my gals to stop the treatment, and you'll be all right in the +mornin'. Good-night. Your candlestick is on the kitchen table."</p> + +<p>For two days longer I remained in this neighborhood, wandering alone +over the hills, and up the mountain-sides, and by the brooks, which +tumbled and gurgled through the lonely forest. Each evening I brought +home a goodly supply of trout, but never a great one like the noble +fellow for which I angled in the meadow stream.</p> + +<p>On the morning of my departure I stood on the porch with old Peter +waiting for the arrival of the mail driver, who was to take me to the +nearest railroad town.</p> + +<p>"I don't want to say nothin'," remarked the old man, "that would keep +them fellers with the jinted poles from stoppin' at my house when they +comes to these parts a-fishin'. I ain't got no objections to their +poles; 'tain't that. And I don't mind nuther their standin' off, and +throwin' their flies as fur as they've a mind to; that's not it. And it +ain't even the way they have of worryin' their fish. I wouldn't do it +myself, but if they like it, that's their business. But what does rile +me is the cheeky way in which they stand up and say that there isn't no +decent way of fishin' but their way. And that to a man that's ketched +more fish, of more different kinds, with more game in 'em, and had more +fun at it, with a lot less money, and less tomfoolin' than any fishin' +feller that ever come here and talked to me like an old cat tryin' to +teach a dog to ketch rabbits. No, sir; agen I say that I don't take no +money fur entertainin' the only man that ever come out here to go +a-fishin' in a plain, Christian way. But if you feel tetchy about not +payin' nothin', you kin send me one of them poles in three pieces, a +good strong one, that'll lift Barney Sloat's trout, if ever I hook him."</p> + +<p>I sent him the rod; and next summer I am going out to see him use it.</p> + +<br> +<br> +<hr class="full" noshade> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMOS KILBRIGHT; HIS ADSCITITIOUS EXPERIENCES***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 13531-h.txt or 13531-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/5/3/13531">https://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/5/3/13531</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution.</p> + + + +<pre> +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +<a href="https://gutenberg.org/license">https://gutenberg.org/license)</a>. + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS,' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://www.gutenberg.org/about/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: +https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Each eBook is in a subdirectory of the same number as the eBook's +eBook number, often in several formats including plain vanilla ASCII, +compressed (zipped), HTML and others. + +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks replace the old file and take over +the old filename and etext number. The replaced older file is renamed. +VERSIONS based on separate sources are treated as new eBooks receiving +new filenames and etext numbers. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + +<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">https://www.gutenberg.org</a> + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + +EBooks posted prior to November 2003, with eBook numbers BELOW #10000, +are filed in directories based on their release date. If you want to +download any of these eBooks directly, rather than using the regular +search system you may utilize the following addresses and just +download by the etext year. + +<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06">https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06</a> + + (Or /etext 05, 04, 03, 02, 01, 00, 99, + 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90) + +EBooks posted since November 2003, with etext numbers OVER #10000, are +filed in a different way. The year of a release date is no longer part +of the directory path. The path is based on the etext number (which is +identical to the filename). The path to the file is made up of single +digits corresponding to all but the last digit in the filename. For +example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at: + +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/0/2/3/10234 + +or filename 24689 would be found at: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/6/8/24689 + +An alternative method of locating eBooks: +<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/GUTINDEX.ALL">https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/GUTINDEX.ALL</a> + +*** END: FULL LICENSE *** +</pre> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/old/13531.txt b/old/13531.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3325828 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13531.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3467 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Amos Kilbright; His Adscititious Experiences, +by Frank R. Stockton + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Amos Kilbright; His Adscititious Experiences + +Author: Frank R. Stockton + +Release Date: September 26, 2004 [eBook #13531] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMOS KILBRIGHT; HIS ADSCITITIOUS +EXPERIENCES*** + + +E-text prepared by Steven desJardins and Project Gutenberg Distributed +Proofreaders + + + +AMOS KILBRIGHT; HIS ADSCITITIOUS EXPERIENCES + +With Other Stories + +by + +FRANK R. STOCKTON + +1888 + + + + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +AMOS KILBRIGHT: HIS ADSCITITIOUS EXPERIENCES + +THE REVERSIBLE LANDSCAPE + +DUSKY PHILOSOPHY--IN TWO EXPOSITIONS: + FIRST EXPOSITION: A STORY OF SEVEN DEVILS + SECOND EXPOSITION: GRANDISON'S QUANDARY + +PLAIN FISHING + + + + + +AMOS KILBRIGHT: HIS ADSCITITIOUS EXPERIENCES. + +[This story is told by Mr. Richard Colesworthy, an attorney-at-law, in +a large town in one of our Eastern States. The fact that Mr. Colesworthy +is a practical man, and but little given, outside of his profession, to +speculative theorizing, adds a weight to his statements which they might +not otherwise possess.] + +In the practice of my profession I am in the habit of meeting with all +sorts and conditions of men, women, and even children. But I do not know +that I ever encountered anyone who excited in me a greater interest than +the man about whom I am going to tell you. + +I was busily engaged one morning in my office, which is on the ground +floor of my dwelling and opens upon the street, when, after a +preliminary knock, a young man entered and asked leave to speak with me. +He was tall and well made, plainly but decently dressed, and with a +fresh, healthy color on his smoothly shaven face. There was something in +his air, a sort of respectful awkwardness, which was not without a +suggestion of good breeding, and in his countenance there was an +annoyed or troubled expression which did not sit well upon it. I asked +him to take a chair, and as he did so the thought came to me that I +should like to be of service to him. Of course I desire to aid and +benefit all my clients, but there are some persons whose appearance +excites in one an instinctive sympathy, and toward whom there arise at +first sight sentiments of kindliness. The man had said almost nothing; +it was simply his manner that had impressed me. I mention these points +because generally I do not take an interest in persons until I know a +good deal about them. + +"What can I do for you?" I asked. + +The man did not immediately answer, but began searching for something in +one of the pockets of his coat. The little awkwardness which I had first +noticed, now became more apparent. He appeared to be looking for his +pockets rather than for what might be in one of them. He was conscious +of his ungainliness and reddened a little as he fumbled on the inside +and outside of his coat. + +"I pray you pardon me," he said, "but I will bring before you instantly +the matter of my business." + +And so saying, he got his hand into a breast pocket and drew out a +little packet. There was a certain intonation of his voice which, at +first made me think that he was not an American, but in that intonation +there was really nothing foreign. He was certainly a stranger, he might +be from the backwoods, and both his manner and speech appeared odd to +me; but soon I had no doubt about his being my countryman. In fact, +there was something in his general appearance which seemed to me to be +distinctively American. + +"I came to you, sir," he said, "to ask if you would have the goodness to +purchase one or more of these tickets?" And he held out to me a card +entitling one person to admission to a seance to be given by a party of +spiritualists in one of the public buildings of the town. + +A feeling of anger arose within me. I was chagrined to think that I had +begun to interest myself in a person who merely came to interrupt me in +my business by trying to sell me tickets to a spiritualistic exhibition. +My instant impulse was to turn from the man and let him see that I was +offended by his intrusion, but my reason told me that he had done +nothing that called for resentment. If I had expected something more +important from him, that was my affair. He had not pretended to have any +other business than that which brought him. + +And, besides, he offered me something which in fact I wanted. I am a +member of a society for psychical research, which, about a year before, +had been organized in our town. It is composed almost exclusively of +persons who are desirous of honestly investigating the facts, as well as +theories, connected with the spiritual phenomena, not only of our own +day, but of all ages. We had heard of the spiritualistic exhibitions +which were to be given in our town, and I, with a number of my +fellow-members, had determined to attend them. If there was anything +real or tangible in the performances of these people we wanted to know +it. Considering all this, it would be foolish for me to be angry with a +man who had brought me the very tickets I intended to buy, and, instead +of turning away from him, I took out my pocket-book. + +"I will take one ticket for each of the three seances," I said. And I +placed the money on the table. + +I should have been glad to buy two sets of tickets; one for my wife; but +I knew this would be useless. She did not belong to our society, and +took no interest in its investigations. + +"These things are all tricks and nonsense," she said. "I don't want to +know anything about them. And if they were true, I most certainly would +not want to know anything about them." + +So I contented myself with the tickets for my own use, and as the man +slowly selected them from his little package, I asked him if he had sold +many of them. + +"These you now buy are the first of which I have made disposal," he +answered. "For two days I have endeavored to sell them, but to no +purpose. There are many people to whom I cannot bring myself to speak +upon the matter, and those I have asked care not for these things. I +would not have come to you, but having twice passed your open window, I +liked your face and took courage." + +I smiled. So this man had been studying me before I began to study him; +and this discovery revived in me the desire that he had come on some +more interesting business than that of selling tickets; a thing he did +so badly as to make me wonder why he had undertaken it. + +"I imagine," said I, "that this sort of business is out of your line." + +He looked at me a moment, and then with earnestness exclaimed: +"Entirely! utterly! absolutely! I am altogether unfitted for this +calling, and it is an injustice to those who send me out for me to +longer continue in it. Some other person might sell their tickets; I +cannot. And yet," he said, with a sigh, "what is there that I may do?" + +The idea that that strong, well-grown man should have any difficulty in +finding something to do surprised me. If he chose to go out and labor +with his hands--and surely no man who was willing to wander about +selling tickets should object to that--there would be no difficulty in +his obtaining a livelihood in our town. + +"If you want regular employment," I said, "I think you can easily find +it." + +"I want it," he answered, his face clouded by a troubled expression, +"but I cannot take it." + +"Cannot take it!" I exclaimed. + +"No," he said, "I am not my own master. I am as much a slave as any +negro hereabouts!" + +I was rather surprised at this meaningless allusion, but contented +myself with asking him what he meant by not being his own master. + +He looked on the floor and then he looked at me, with a steady, earnest +gaze. "I should like well to tell you my story," he said. "I have been +ordered not to tell it, but I have resolved that when I should meet a +man to whom I should be moved to speak I would speak." + +Now, I felt a very natural emotion of pride. My perception of objects +of interest was a quick and a correct one. "Speak on," I said, "I shall +be very glad to hear what you have to say." + +He looked toward the open door. I arose and closed it. When I had +resumed my seat he drew his chair closer to me, leaned toward me, and +said: + +"In the first place you should know that I am a materialized spirit." + +I sat up, hard pressed against the back of my chair. + +"Nay, start not," he said, "I am now as truly flesh and blood as you +are; but a short three weeks ago I was a spirit in the realms of endless +space. I know," he continued, "that my history is a sore thing to +inflict upon any man, and there are few to whom I would have broached +it, but I will make it brief. Three weeks ago these spiritualists held +privately in this town what they call a seance, and at that time I was +impelled, by a power I understood not, to appear among them. After I had +come it was supposed that a mistake had been made, and that I was not +the spirit wanted. In the temporary confusion occasioned by this +supposition, and while the attention of the exhibitors was otherwise +occupied, I was left exposed to the influence of the materializing +agencies for a much longer time than had been intended; so long, +indeed, that instead of remaining in the misty, indistinct form in which +spirits are presented by these men to their patrons, I became as +thoroughly embodied, as full of physical life and energy, and as +complete a mortal man as I was when I disappeared from this earth, one +hundred and two years ago." + +"One hundred and two years!" I mechanically ejaculated. There was upon +me the impulse to get up and go where I could breathe the outer air; to +find my wife and talk to her about marketing or some household affair, +to get away from this being--human or whatever he was--but this was +impossible. That interest which dawned upon me when I first perceived my +visitor now held me as if it had been a spell. + +"Yes," he said, "I deceased in 1785, being then in my thirtieth year. I +was a citizen of Bixbury, on the Massachusetts coast, but I am not +unconnected with this place. Old Mr. Scott, of your town, is my +grandson." + +I am obliged to chronicle the fact that my present part in this +conversation consisted entirely of ejaculations. "Old Mr. Scott your +grandson!" I said. + +"Yes," he replied; "my daughter, who was but two years old when I left +her, married Lemuel Scott, of Bixbury, who moved to this town soon after +old Mr. Scott was born. It was, indeed, on account of this good old man +that I became materialized. He was present at the private seance of +which I have spoken, and being asked if he would like to see a person +from the other world, he replied that he should be pleased to behold his +grandfather. When the necessary influences were set to work I appeared. +The spiritualists, who, without much thought, had conceived the idea +that the grandfather of old Mr. Scott ought, in the ordinary nature of +things, to be a very venerable personage, were disappointed when they +saw me, and concluded I was one who, by some mistake, had been +wrongfully summoned. They, therefore, set me aside, as it were, and +occupied themselves with other matters. Old Mr. Scott went away +unsatisfied, and strengthened in his disbelief in the powers of the +spiritualists, while I, as I have before said, was left unnoticed under +the power of the materializing force, until I was made corporeal as I am +now. When the spiritualists discovered what had happened they were much +disturbed, and immediately set about to dematerialize me, for it is not +their purpose or desire to cause departed spirits to again become +inhabitants of this world. But all their efforts were of no avail. I +remained as much a man as anyone of themselves. They found me in full +health and vigor, for I had never had a day's sickness in my life, +having come to my death by drowning while foolishly swimming too far +from land in a strong ebb tide, and my body, being carried out to sea, +was never recovered. Being thus put to their wit's end, they determined +to keep the matter privy, and to make the best of it, and the first +necessity was to provide me with clothing, for on my second entrance +into this world I was as totally without apparel as when I first came +into it. They gave me these garments of the ordinary fashion of the day, +but to which I find myself much unaccustomed, and enjoined upon me to +keep silent in regard to what had happened; fearing, as I was made aware +by some unguarded words, that their efforts to dematerialize me might +bring them into trouble." + +My professional instincts now came to the front. "That would be murder," +I said, "and nothing less." + +"So I myself told them," he continued, "for I had come to the +determination that I would choose to finish out the life I had broken +off so suddenly. But they paid little heed to my words and continued +their experiments. But, as I have told you, their efforts were without +avail, and they have ceased to make further trial of dematerialization. +As, of course, it would be impossible to keep a full-grown man for any +considerable length of time secluded and unseen, they judged it wise to +permit me to appear as an ordinary human being; and having no other use +to which they could put me, they set me to selling tickets for them, and +in this business I have fared so badly that I shall restore to them +these that are left, and counsel them to seek another agent, I being of +detriment to them rather than profit. What may then happen I do not +know, for, as I told you, I am not my own master." + +"I do not understand you," I said. "If you have been, in this +unparalleled manner, restored to your physical existence, surely you are +free to do as you please. What these spiritualists have done for you was +done by accident. They intended you no benefit, and they have no claim +upon you." + +"That is true," he said, with a sigh, "but they have a hold upon me. It +was but yesterday that they informed me that, although, so far, they had +failed to restore me to what they call my normal spiritual existence, +they had every reason to believe that they soon would be able to do so. +A psychic scientist of Germany has discovered a process of +dematerialization, and they have sent to him for his formula. This, in a +short time, they expect to receive, and they assure me that they will +not hesitate to put it in force if I should cause them trouble. Now, +sir," he continued, and as he spoke there was a moisture about his eyes, +"I am very fond of life. I have been restored to that mortality from +which I was suddenly snatched by the cruel sea, and I do not wish to +lose it again until I have lived out my natural term of years. My family +is one of long life, and I feel that I have a right to fifty more years +of existence, and this strong desire for the natural remainder of my +life is that which gives these men their power over me. I was never a +coward, but I cannot but fear those who may at any moment cause this +form, these limbs, my physical state and life, to vanish like a +candle-flame blown out." + +My sympathies were now strongly aroused in behalf of the subject of +these most extraordinary conditions. "That which you fear must not be +allowed," I said. "No man has the right to take away the life of +another, no matter what plan or method he may use. I will see the +spiritualists, and make it plain to them that what they threaten they +cannot be allowed to do." + +The man arose. "Sir," he said, "I feel that I have truly found a +friend. Whatever may happen to me, I shall never forget your kindness to +a very stranger." He held out his hand, and I stood up by him and took +it. It was as much a flesh and blood hand as my own. + +"What is your name?" I asked. "You have not yet told me that." + +"I am Amos Kilbright, of Bixbury," he answered. + +"You have not revisited your native place?" I said. + +"No," he replied, "I much desire to do so, but I have no money for a +journey, even on foot, and I doubt me much if those men would suffer me +to go to Bixbury." + +"And have you spoken to your grandson, old Mr. Scott?" I said. "It is +but right that you should make yourself known to him." + +"So have I thought," he answered, "and I have felt an earnest drawing +toward my daughter's child. I have seen him thrice, but have not had the +heart to speak to him and declare myself the progenitor of that mother +whose memory I know he cherishes." + +"You shall make yourself known to him," I said. "I will prepare the +way." + +He shook me again by the hand and took his leave without a word. He was +deeply affected. + +I reseated myself by my table, one thought after another rushing through +my mind. Had ever man heard a story such as this! What were all the +experiences of the members of the Society for Psychical Research, their +stories of apparitions, their instances of occult influences, their best +authenticated incidents of supernaturalism compared to this experience +of mine! Should I hasten and tell it all to my wife? I hesitated. If +what I had heard should not be true--and this, my first doubt or +suspicion impressed upon me how impossible to me had been doubt or +suspicion during the presence of my visitor--it would be wrong to +uselessly excite her mind. On the other hand, if I had heard nothing but +the truth, what would happen should she sympathize as deeply with Amos +Kilbright as I did, and then should that worthy man suddenly become +dematerialized, perhaps before her very eyes? No, I would not tell +her--at least not yet. But I must see the spiritualists. And that +afternoon I went to them. + +The leader and principal worker of the men who were about to give a +series of spiritual manifestations in our town was Mr. Corbridge, a man +of middle-age with a large head and earnest visage. When I spoke to him +of Amos Kilbright he was very much annoyed. + +"So he has been talking to you," he said, "and after all the warnings I +gave him! Well, he does that sort of thing at his own risk!" + +"We all do things at our own risk," I said, "and he has as much right to +choose his line of conduct as anybody else." + +"No, he hasn't," said Mr. Corbridge, "he belongs to us, and it is for us +to choose his line of conduct for him." + +"That is nonsense," said I. "You have no more right over him than I +have." + +"Now then," said Mr. Corbridge, his eyes beginning to sparkle, "I may as +well talk plainly to you. My associates and myself have considered this +matter very carefully. At first we thought that if this fellow should +tell his story we would simply pooh-pooh the whole of it, and let people +think he was a little touched in his mind, which would be so natural a +conclusion that everybody might be expected to come to it. But as we +have determined to dematerialize him, his disappearance would bring +suspicion upon us, and we might get into trouble if he should be +considered a mere commonplace person. So we decided to speak out +plainly, say what we had done, and what we were going to do, and thus +put ourselves at the head of the spirit operators of the world. But we +are not yet ready to do anything or to make our announcements, and if he +had held his tongue we might have given him a pretty long string." + +"And do you mean," I said, "that you and your associates positively +intend to dematerialize Mr. Kilbright?" + +"Certainly," he answered. + +"Then, I declare such an act would be inhuman; a horrible crime." + +"No," said Mr. Corbridge, "it would be neither. In the first place he +isn't human. It is by accident that he is what he is. But it was our +affair entirely, and it was a most wonderfully fortunate thing for us +that it happened. At first it frightened us a little, but we have got +used to it now, and we see the great opportunities that this entirely +unparalleled case will give us. As he is, he is of no earthly good to +anybody. You can't take a man out of the last century and expect him to +get on in any sort of business at the present day. He is too +old-fashioned. He doesn't know how we do things in the year eighteen +eighty-seven. We put this subject to work selling tickets just to keep +him occupied; but he can't even do that. But, as a spirit who can be +materialized or dematerialized whenever we please, he will be of the +greatest value to us. When a spirit has been brought out as strongly as +he has been it will be the easiest thing in the world to do it again. +Every time you bring one out the less trouble it is to make it appear +the next time you want it; and in this case the conditions are so +favorable that it will be absolute business suicide in us if we allow +ourselves to lose the chance of working it. So you see, sir, that we +have marked out our course, and I assure you that we intend to stick to +it." + +"And I assure you," said I, rising to go, "that I shall make it my +business to interfere with your wicked machinations." + +Mr. Corbridge laughed. "You'll find," he said, "that we have turned this +thing over pretty carefully, and we are ready for whatever the courts +may do. If we are charged with making away with anybody, we can, if we +like, make him appear, alive and well, before judge and jury. And then +what will there be to say against us? Besides, we are quite sure that no +laws can be found against bringing beings from the other world, or +sending them back into it, provided it can be proved by the subject's +admission, or in any other manner, that he really died once in a natural +way. You cannot be tried for causing a man's death a second time." + +I was not prepared to make any answer on this point, but I went away +with a firm resolution to protect Amos Kilbright in the full enjoyment +of his reassumed physical existence, if the power of law, or any other +power, could do it. + +The next morning Mr. Corbridge called on me at my office. "I shall be +very sorry," he said, "if any of my remarks of yesterday should cause +unpleasant feelings between us. We are desirous of being on good terms +with everybody, especially with members of the Society for Psychical +Research. You ought to work with us." + +"We do not work with you," I replied, "nor ever shall. Our object is to +search earnestly and honestly into the subject of spiritual +manifestation, and not to make money out of unfortunate subjects of +experiment." + +"You misunderstand us," said he, "but I am not going to argue the +question. I wish to be on good terms with you and to act fairly and +plainly all around. We find that we cannot make use of the +dematerialization process as soon as we expected, for the German +scientist who controls it has declined to send us his formula, but has +consented to come over and work it on this subject himself. His +engagements will not allow him to visit this country immediately, but +he is very enthusiastic about it, and he is bound to come before long. +Now, as you seem to be interested in this ex-Kilbright, we will make you +an offer. We will give him into your charge until we want him. He is of +no use to us, as he can't tell us anything about spiritual matters, his +present memory beginning just where it broke off when he sank in the +ocean in seventeen eighty-five, but he might be very useful to a man who +was inclined to study up old-time manners and customs. And so, if it +suits you, we will make him over to you, agreeing to give you three +days' notice before we take any measures to dematerialize him. We are +not afraid of your getting away with him, for our power over him will be +all the same, no matter where he is." + +"I will have no man made over to me," said I, "and Mr. Kilbright being +his own master, can do with himself what he pleases; but, as I said +before, I shall protect him, and do everything in my power to thwart +your schemes against him. And you must remember he will have other +friends besides me. He has relatives in this town." + +"None but old Mr. Scott, at least so far as I know," said Corbridge, +"and he need not expect any help from him, for that ancient personage +is a most arrant disbeliever in spiritualism." + +And with this remark he took his leave. + +That very afternoon came to me Amos Kilbright, his face shining with +pleasure. He greeted me warmly, and thanked me for having so kindly +offered to give him employment by which he might live and feel under +obligations to no man. + +I had promised nothing of the kind, and my mind was filled with +abhorrence of such men as Corbridge, who would not only send a person +into the other world simply to gratify a scientific curiosity or for +purposes of profit, but would rehabilitate a departed spirit with all +his lost needs and appetites, and then foist him upon a comparative +stranger for care and sustenance. Such conduct was not only mean, but +criminal in its nature, and if there was no law against it, one ought to +be made. + +Kilbright then proceeded to tell me how happy he had been when Corbridge +informed him that his dematerialization had been indefinitely postponed, +and that I had consented to take him into my service. "It is now plain +to me," he said, "that they have no power to do this thing and cannot +obtain it from others. This discardment of me proves that they have +abandoned their hopes." + +It was evident that Corbridge had said nothing of the expected coming +of the German scientist, and I would not be cruel enough to speak of it +myself. Besides, I intended to have said scientist arrested and put +under bonds as soon as he set foot on our shores. + +"I do not feel," continued Kilbright, "that I am beginning a new life, +but that I am taking up my old one at the point where I left it off." + +"You cannot do that," I said. "Things have changed very much, and you +will have to adapt yourself to those changes. In many ways you must +begin again." + +"I know that," he said, "and with respect to much that I see about me, I +am but a child. But as I am truly a man, I shall begin to do a man's +work, and what I know not of the things that are about me, that will I +learn as quickly as may be. It is my purpose, sir, to labor with you in +any manner which you may deem fit, and in which I may be found +serviceable until I have gained sufficient money to travel to Bixbury, +and there endeavor to establish myself in some worthy employment. I had +at that place a small estate, but of that I shall take no heed. Without +doubt it has gone, rightly, to my heirs, and even if I could deprive +them of it I would not." + +"Have you living heirs besides your grandson here?" I asked. + +"That I know not," he said; "but if there be such I greatly long to see +them." + +"And how about old Mr. Scott?" said I. "When shall we go to him and tell +him who you are?" + +"I greatly desire that that may be done soon," answered Kilbright, "but +first I wish to establish myself in some means of livelihood, so that he +may not think that I come to him for maintenance." + +Of course it was not possible for me to turn this man away and tell him +I had nothing for him to do, and therefore I must devise employment for +him. I found that he wrote a fair hand, a little stiff and labored, but +legible and neat, and as I had a good deal of copying to do I decided to +set him to work upon this. I procured board and lodging for him in a +house near by, and a very happy being was Amos Kilbright. + +As for me I felt that I was doing my duty, and a good work. But the +responsibility was heavy, and my road was not at all clear before me. My +principal source of anxiety was in regard to my wife. Should I tell her +the truth about my new copyist, or not? In the course of a night I +resolved this question and determined to tell her everything. When the +man was merely Mr. Corbridge's subject the case was different; but to +have daily in my office a clerk who had been drowned one hundred and two +years before, and not tell Mrs. Colesworthy of it would be an injustice +to her. + +When I first made known to her the facts of the case my wife declared +that she believed "Psychics" had turned my brain; but when I offered to +show her the very man who had been materialized, she consented to go +down and look at him. I informed Kilbright that my wife knew his story, +and we three had a long and very interesting conversation. After an +hour's talk, during which my wife asked a great many questions which I +should never have thought of, we went upstairs and left Kilbright to his +work. + +"His story is a most wonderful one," said Mrs. Colesworthy, "but I don't +believe he is a materialized spirit, because the thing is impossible. +Still it will not do to make any mistakes, and we must try all we can to +help him in case he was drowned when he says he was, and that German +comes over to end his mortal career a second time. Science is getting to +be such a wicked thing that I am sure if he crosses the ocean on purpose +to dematerialize Mr. Kilbright, he will try to do it in some way or +other, whether the poor man was ever a spirit before or not. One thing, +however, is certain, I want to be present when old Mr. Scott is told +that that young man is his grandfather." + +Mr. Kilbright worked very assiduously, and soon proved himself of +considerable use to me. When he had lived in Bixbury he had been a +surveyor and a farmer, and now when he finished his copying duties for +the day, or when I had no work of that kind ready for him, it delighted +him much to go into my garden and rake and hoe among the flowers and +vegetables. I frequently walked with him about the town, showing and +explaining to him the great changes that had taken place since the +former times in which he had lived. But he was not impressed by these +things as I expected him to be. + +"It seems to me," he said, "as though I were in a foreign country, and I +look upon what lies about me as if everything had always been as I see +it. This town is so different from anything I have ever known that I +cannot imagine it has changed from a condition which was once familiar +to me. At Bixbury, however, I think the case will be otherwise. If there +are changes there I shall notice them. In a little place like that, +however, I have hopes that the changes will not be great." + +He was very conservative, and I could see that in many cases he thought +the old ways of doing things much better than the new ones. He was, +however, a polite and sensible man, and knew better than to make +criticisms to one who had befriended him; but in some cases he could not +conceal his disapprobation. He had seen a train of cars before I met +him, and I was not able to induce him to approach again a railroad +track. Whatever other feelings he may have had at first sight of a train +in motion were entirely swallowed up in his abhorrence of this mode of +travelling. + +"We must not be in a hurry," said my wife when we talked of these +matters. "When he gets more accustomed to these things he will be more +surprised at them." + +There were some changes, however, which truly did astonish him, and +these were the alterations--in his opinion entirely uncalled for and +unwarrantable--which had been made in the spelling of the words of our +language since he had gone to school. No steam-engine, no application of +electricity, none of the modern inventions which I showed him, caused +him the emotions of amazement which were occasioned by the information +that in this country "honor" was now spelled without a u. + +During this time Mr. Kilbright's interest in his grandson seemed to be +on the increase. He would frequently walk past the house of that old +gentleman merely for the purpose of looking at him as he sat by the open +window reading his newspaper or quietly smoking his evening pipe on a +bench in his side yard. When he had been with me about ten days he said: +"I now feel that I must go and make myself known to my grandson. I am +earning my own subsistence; and, however he may look upon me, he need +not fear that I am come to be a burden upon him. You will not wonder, +sir, that I long to meet with this son of the little baby girl I left +behind me." + +I did not wonder, and my wife and I agreed to go with him that very +evening to old Mr. Scott's house. The old gentleman received us very +cordially in his little parlor. + +"You are a stranger in this town, sir," he said to Kilbright. "I did not +exactly catch your name--Kilbright?" he said, when it had been repeated +to him, "that is one of my family names, but it is long since I have +heard of anyone bearing it. My mother was a Kilbright, but she had no +brothers, and no uncles of the name. My grandfather was the last of our +branch of the Kilbrights. His name was Amos, and he was a Bixbury man. +From what part of the country do you come, sir?" + +"My name is Amos, and I was born in Bixbury." + +Old Mr. Scott sat up very straight in his chair. "Young man, that seems +to me impossible!" he exclaimed. "How could there be any Kilbrights in +Bixbury and I not know of it?" Then taking a pair of big silver +spectacles from his pocket he put them on and attentively surveyed his +visitor, whose countenance during this scrutiny was filled with emotion. + +Presently the old gentleman took off his spectacles and, rising from his +chair, went into another room. Quickly returning, he brought with him a +small oil-painting in a narrow, old-fashioned frame. He stood it up on a +table in a position where a good light from the lamp fell upon it. It +was the portrait of a young man with a fresh, healthy face, dressed in +an old-style high-collared coat, with a wide cravat coming up under his +chin, and a bit of ruffle sticking out from his shirt-bosom. My wife and +I gazed at it with awe. + +"That," said old Mr. Scott, "is the picture of my grandfather, Amos +Kilbright, taken at twenty-five. He was drowned at sea some years +afterward, but exactly how I do not know. My mother did not remember +him at all. And I must say," he continued, putting on his spectacles +again, "that there is something of a family likeness between you, sir, +and that picture. If it wasn't for the continental clothes in the +painting there would be a good deal of resemblance--yes, a very great +deal." + +"It is my portrait," said Mr. Kilbright, his voice trembling as he +spoke. "It was painted by Tatlow Munson in the winter of seventeen +eighty, in payment for my surveying a large tract of land north of the +town, he having no money to otherwise compensate me. He wrote his name +in ink upon the back of the canvas." + +Old Mr. Scott took up the picture and turned it around. And there we all +saw plainly written upon the time-stained back, "Tatlow Munson, 1780." + +Old Mr. Scott laid the picture upon the table, took off his spectacles, +and with wide-open eyes gazed first at Mr. Kilbright and then at us. + +The sight of the picture had finished the conversion of my wife. "Oh, +Mr. Scott," she cried, leaning so far forward in her chair that it +seemed as if she were about to go down on her knees before the old man, +"this gentleman is your grandfather! Yes, he is, indeed! Oh, don't +discard him, for it was you who were the cause of his being here. Don't +you remember when you went to the spiritualist meeting, and asked to see +the spirit of your grandfather? That spirit came, but you didn't know +it. The people who materialized him were surprised when they saw this +young man, and they thought he couldn't be your grandfather, and so they +didn't say anything about it; and they left him right in the middle of +whatever they use, and he kept on materializing without their thinking +of him until he became just what you see him now. And if he now wore +old-fashioned clothes with a queue, he would be the exact image of that +portrait of him which you have, only a little bit older looking and +fuller in the face. But the spiritualists made him cut off his long +hair, because they said that wouldn't do in these days, and dressed him +in those common clothes just like any other person. And oh, dear Mr. +Scott, you must see for yourself that he is truly your grandfather!" + +Old Mr. Scott made no answer, but still sat with wide-open eyes gazing +from one to the other of us. As I looked at that aged, white-haired man +and thought of his mother, who must have died ever so long ago, being +the daughter of the young man who sat opposite to him, it was indeed +difficult to believe that these things could be so. + +"Mr. Scott," exclaimed my wife, "will you not speak to him? Will you +not give him your hand? Will you not acknowledge him as your +grandfather, whose picture you have always had near you, and which, when +a little boy, I expect your dear mother has often told you to look up to +and try to be like? And if you have grown old, and he has not, on +account of differences in circumstances, why should that make any +difference in your feelings, dear Mr. Scott? Oh, why don't you let him +take you to his heart? I don't see how you can help it," she said, with +a sob, "and you his little daughter's only child!" + +Old Mr. Scott rose to his feet. He pulled down the sleeves of his coat, +and gave an adjusting shake to its collar and lapels. Then he turned to +my wife and said: "Madam, let us two dance a Virginia reel while your +husband and that other one take the poker and tongs and beat out the +music on the shovel. We might as well be durned fools one way as +another, and all go to the lunatic asylum together." + +Now arose Mr. Kilbright to his feet, and stood up very tall. "Grandson +Lemuel," he said, "I leave not your house in anger. I see well that too +heavy a task has been laid upon your declining years when you are asked +to believe that which you have heard to-day. But I wish you to know +that I am here to ask nothing of you save that you will give me your +hand. I earnestly crave that I may again touch one of my own flesh and +blood." + +Old Mr. Scott picked up the portrait and looked at it. Then he laid it +down and looked at Mr. Kilbright. "Young man," said he, "can you stand +there and put your hand upon your heart, and say to me that you are +truly Amos Kilbright, my mother's father, who was drowned in the last +century, and who was brought back and turned into a live man by those +spiritualists; and that you are willing to come here and let yourself be +vouched for by Mr. and Mrs. Colesworthy, who belong to some sort of +society of that kind and ought to know about such things?" + +I was on the point of remarking that the Society for Psychical Research +had nothing to do with spiritualism except to investigate it, but my +wife saw my intention and checked me. + +Mr. Kilbright put his hand upon his heart and bowed. "What you have +heard is true," he said. "On my honor, I swear it." + +"Then, grandfather," said old Mr. Scott, "here is my hand. It doesn't do +to doubt things in these days. I didn't believe in the telephone when +they first told me of it, but when I had a talk with Squire Braddon +through a wire, and heard his new boots creak as he came up to see who +it was wanted him, and he in his own house a good two miles away, I gave +in. 'Fetch on your wonders,' says I, 'I am ready.' And I don't suppose I +ought to be any more dumfounded at seeing my grandfather than at any of +the other wonders. I'm getting too old now to try to find out the whys +and the wherefores of the new things that turn up every day. I must just +take them as they come. And so if you, grandfather Kilbright, and our +good friends, Mr. and Mrs. Colesworthy, will come into the back room +we'll have a cup of tea, and a talk over old times. To be sure, there +will be some gaps which none of us will be able to get over, but we must +do the best we can." + +After this Mr. Kilbright and his grandson saw a good deal of each other, +and the old gentleman always treated his mother's father with the +respectful deference which was due to such a relative. + +"There are times," he once said to me, "when this grandfather business +looks to me about as big and tough as anything that any human being was +ever called on to swallow. But then I consider that you and Mrs. +Colesworthy have looked into these matters, and I haven't, and that +knowin' nothin' I ought to say nothin'; and if it ever happens to look +particularly tough, I just call to mind the telephone and Squire +Braddon's creaking boots, and that settles it." + +Mr. Kilbright became more and more useful to me, particularly after he +had disciplined his mind to the new style of spelling. And when he had +been with me about a month I insisted that he should take a holiday and +visit Bixbury, for I knew that to do this was the great desire of his +heart. He could easily reach his native place by rail, but believing +that he would rather not go at all than travel on a train, I procured a +saddle-horse for him, and when I had given him full directions as to the +roads, he set out. + +In four days he returned. "How did you find Bixbury?" I asked of him. + +"There is no longer such a place," he answered, sadly. "I found a town +of that name, but it is not the Bixbury in which I was born. That has +utterly disappeared." + +And, after this, he never again alluded to his native place. + +The high character and many admirable qualities of this man daily +increased the affectionate regard and esteem in which he was held by my +wife and myself; and feeling that we could do nothing better for him +than to endeavor to make him forget the things of the past, and take a +lively and earnest interest in those of the present, we set ourselves to +work upon this task. In a great degree our efforts were successful, and +we soon perceived that Mr. Kilbright cared more and more for what he saw +about him. It was, indeed, natural that he should do this, for he was +still a young man, and able to adapt himself to changes in his +surroundings. + +As I have said, he gradually did so adapt himself, and in the course of +the autumn this adaptation took a form which at first amused Mrs. +Colesworthy and myself, and afterward enlisted our hearty sympathy. He +became attached to Miss Budworth, the librarian of our town library. He +frequently went there for books, and as she was a very intelligent young +woman, and very willing to aid him in his selections, it was not strange +that he should become interested in her. Very often he would remain at +the library until it closed in the evening, when he would walk to her +home with her, discoursing upon literary and historical subjects. + +My wife and I discussed this situation very thoroughly. Lilian Budworth +was a good girl, a sensible one, and a very good-looking one. Her family +was highly respectable and her years well proportioned to those of Mr. +Kilbright. There seemed to be, therefore, no reason why this intimacy +should not be encouraged. But yet we talked over the matter night after +night. + +"You see," said my wife, "it all seems plain and simple enough; but, on +the other hand, it isn't. In the first place, she does not know that he +has had a wife, or what old Mr. Scott is to him. He has promised us that +he will never say anything to anybody about having lived in the last +century without first consulting us; and old Mr. Scott has said over and +over again that he doesn't intend to speak of it; and the spiritualists +have left town long ago; so, of course, she knows nothing about it. But, +if things go on, she must be told, and what will happen then, I would +like to know!" + +"I am very sorry, indeed, that I cannot tell you," I answered. + +"It would be a queer case, anyway," Mrs. Colesworthy continued. "Mr. +Kilbright has had a wife, but he never was a widower. Now, having been +married, and never having been a widower, it would seem as if he ought +not to marry again. But his first wife is dead now, there can be no +doubt about that." + +It was not long before there was no further need for suppositions in +regard to this matter, for Mr. Kilbright came to us and announced that +he had determined to offer himself in marriage to Miss Budworth. + +"I think it is meet and proper," he said, "that I should wed and take +that position at the head of a family which a right-minded and +respectable man of my age should fill. I reasoned thus when for the +first time I took upon me this pleasing duty, and these reasons have now +the self-same weight as then. I have been studying the surveying methods +of the present day, and I believe I could re-establish myself in my +former profession. Thus could I maintain a wife, if, happily, I get +her." + +"Get her!" exclaimed Mrs. Colesworthy, "of course you will get her! She +can't help accepting you." + +"I should feel the more hope, madam," said Mr. Kilbright, "were it not +requisite that she be informed of all that has happened to me. And all +this must she know before I require her to make answer to me." + +"I must admit," I said, "that I am afraid you are going to have a tough +job." + +"I don't believe it!" warmly exclaimed my wife. "Lilian Budworth is a +girl of good, solid sense, and when she knows just exactly what has +happened, it is my opinion she will not object a bit." + +"Madam," said Mr. Kilbright, "you greatly embolden me, and I shall speak +to Miss Budworth this very day." + +Notwithstanding my wife's confidence in Miss Lilian's good sense, she +was as much surprised as I when, the next morning, Mr. Kilbright +informed us that he had been accepted. As it was yet an hour before the +library would open, she hurried around to Miss Budworth's home to know +all about it. + +The young lady was found, pale, but very happy. "When he left me last +night," she said, "my mind was in a strange hubbub. He had told me that +he loved me, and had asked me to marry him, and my heart would not let +me say anything but 'yes;' and yet, after he had gone, his wondrous +story came up before me as it had not come when he told it, having just +told something else. I did not sleep all night, thinking of it. I have +read and pondered a great deal upon these subjects, but have never been +able to make up my mind whether or not to put faith in the strange +spiritual manifestations of which we are told. So I determined, a good +while ago, not to consider the matter at all. I could do nothing with +it, and it would be better that I should let it alone. To this same +determination I came early this morning in the case of Mr. Kilbright. +None of us know what we may once have been, nor what we may become. All +we know is what we are. Mr. Kilbright may be mistaken as to what he was, +but I know what he is. And to that man I give myself as I am. I am +perfectly satisfied with the present." + +Mrs. Colesworthy enfolded her in an approbatory embrace, and hurried +home to tell me about it. "There now!" she exclaimed, "didn't I say that +Lilian Budworth was a girl of good, sound common-sense?" + +"That is what you said," I answered, "but I must admit that I was afraid +her common-sense would interfere with her acceptance of his story. We +had outside evidence in regard to it, but she had only his simple +statement." + +"Which is quite enough, when a woman truly loves," said Mrs. +Colesworthy. + +When old Mr. Scott was informed what had happened, he put down his +newspaper, took off his spectacles, and smiled a strange, wide smile. "I +have been reading," he said, "about a little machine, or box, that you +can talk into and then cork up and send by mail across the ocean to +anybody you know there. And then he can uncork it, and out will come +all you have said in your very words and voice, with the sniffles and +sneezes that might have got in accidental. So that if one of the Old +Testament Egyptians that they've been diggin' up lately had had one of +these boxes with him it might have been uncorked and people could have +heard in his own voice just who he was and what was his personal opinion +of Moses and his brother Aaron. Now, when an old man like me has just +come to know of a thing of this kind, it isn't for him to have a word to +say when he is told that Lilian Budworth is to be his step-grandmother; +he must take it in along with the other wonders." + +As to Mr. Kilbright and his lady-love they troubled themselves about no +wonders. Life was very real to them, and very delightful; and they were +happy. Despite her resolutions to give no consideration whatever to her +lover's previous existence, Miss Budworth did consider it a good deal, +and talked and thought about it, and at last came to understand and +appreciate the fact as thoroughly as did Mrs. Colesworthy and myself; +and she learned much more of Mr. Kilbright's former life than his +modesty had allowed him to tell us. And some of these things she related +with much pride. He had been a soldier during the Revolution, having +enlisted, at the age of twenty-three, under General Sullivan, when his +forces lay near Newport. He afterward followed that commander in his +Indian campaigns in Western New York, and served during the rest of the +war. It was when the army was in winter quarters in 1780 that Tatlow +Munson painted his portrait in payment of an old debt. Miss Budworth's +glowing rendition of Mr. Kilbright's allusions to some of the +revolutionary incidents in which he had had a part, made us proud to +shake hands with a man who had fought for our liberties and helped to +give us the independence which we now enjoy. + +Mr. Kilbright's business prospects soon began to look promising. As was +quite natural, his ideas upon some subjects were a little antiquated. +But, although many of the changes and improvements he saw about him met +with no favor in his eyes, he had sense enough to take advantage of +certain modern progressive ideas, especially such as related to his +profession of surveying. My introduction of him as a friend from Bixbury +helped him much in respect to patronage, and having devoted all his +spare time during the autumn and winter to study and the formation of +business connections, he secured enough profitable employment for the +coming season to justify him in taking to himself a wife; and his +marriage with Miss Budworth was appointed for the middle of April. + +It was about the end of March when I received a letter from Mr. +Corbridge, the spiritualist manager, in which he informed me that Dr. +Hildstein, the German scientist, of whom he had previously spoken to me, +had set sail for America and would probably arrive in about ten days. +"As soon as possible after his arrival," wrote Mr. Corbridge, "we shall +resume possession of the subject of whom you have been kind enough to +take charge during the time when we had no need of him. He will then be +dematerialized in order that we may cause him to manifest himself in our +seances whenever it may be desirable; but never, I may say, in the +complete and perfect physical condition to which he was unintentionally +materialized the first time. I promised you that I would give you at +least three days' notice of our intention to resume work on this +subject, and I have now been much better than my word. I have written +very plainly of our intentions, because we wish you to understand +exactly what we are going to do; and should we succeed in our proposed +experiment, which we certainly expect to do, we shall, probably, make +public our whole action in the affair, for this course would most +greatly benefit both ourselves and our cause. It will not be necessary +for you to inform the subject of our intention, for our power over him +will be as great at one time and at one place as at another; and as his +co-operation is not in any way needful, you will see for yourself that +it will be pleasanter for him not to concern himself with what we are +about to do." + +When I had read this letter, I sat for half an hour with it open in my +hands. It came upon me like a shower of iced water. I had supposed that +the spiritualists had utterly abandoned their endeavors to dematerialize +Mr. Kilbright. Therefore, the news of the revival of these criminal +intentions greatly shocked me. To be sure, the coming scientist might +have no such power as he pretended to possess, but this supposition did +not comfort me. If the man had not already had success in that sort of +thing it is not likely that he would come over here to attempt it now. + +When I had sufficiently quieted my mental agitation I wrote instantly to +Mr. Corbridge, and in my letter I assumed a very confident tone. I told +him that Mr. Kilbright's circumstances had so changed that the intended +action of the spiritualists in regard to him was now rendered +impossible. He had become an active member of society, had gone into +business, and would be married in April. The mere statement of these +facts would, I felt quite certain--so I wrote--cause the spiritualists +to instantly relinquish all idea of carrying out their previous +intention in regard to this most estimable man. If, however, any inhuman +craving for scientific investigation should cause them to persist in +their cruel and criminal designs, the utmost power of the law should be +invoked against them. "To take away human life," I wrote, "in a case +like this is murder, no matter how it is done, and should you take away +Mr. Kilbright's life, or even attempt it, you shall be indicted and +punished for this cold-blooded and premeditated crime." + +Before I had read this letter, I found it absolutely necessary for my +peace of mind that I should make my wife acquainted with the threatened +danger, and confer with her as to what it would be well to do. Of +course, Mrs. Colesworthy was greatly shocked when I read her Corbridge's +letter, but she recovered courage sooner than I had done. + +"It's all stuff and nonsense," she said. "The man is just as much alive +as you and I are, and I don't believe any human power can turn him into +a spirit. They might kill him, but then he would be a dead man and not a +spiritual mist or vapor. I don't believe they even intend to try to do +anything of the kind. They merely wish you to hand him over to them so +they can make him work for them for little or no pay. They think, and +with good reason, too, that by this time you have taught him how to get +along at the present day, and that he may now be of some use to them." + +I showed her the letter I had written, and she highly approved of it. +"If I were you," she said, "I would send that letter, and then I would +not do another thing. Take my word for it, you will never hear from +those people again." + +We resolved, of course, that we would say nothing to Mr. Kilbright or +Lilian about this matter, for it was unwise to needlessly trouble their +minds; but we could not help talking about it a great deal ourselves. In +spite of the reassuring arguments which we continually thought of, or +spoke of to each other, we were troubled, anxious, and apprehensive. + +"If we could only get them safely married," said Mrs. Colesworthy, "I +should feel at ease. Certainly those people would not do anything to him +then." + +"I don't believe they can do anything to him at all," I answered. "But +how a marriage is going to protect him I cannot imagine." + +"Of course, you can't explain such things," said my wife, "but I do +wish they were married and settled." + +Not long after this she came to me with a supposition. "Supposing," she +said, "that those people find it impossible to dematerialize him, they +might do something which would be a great deal worse." + +"What could that possibly be?" I asked. + +"They might materialize his first wife," said she, "and could anything +be more dreadful than that? I suppose that woman lived to a good old +age, and to bring her forward now would be a height of cruelty of which +I believe those people to be fully capable." + +"My dear," I exclaimed, "don't bring up any harrowing possibilities +which no one but yourself is likely to think of." + +"I wish I could be sure of that," she said. "I have heard, but I don't +know how true it is, that spirits cannot be called up and materialized +unless somebody wants them, and I don't suppose there is anybody who +wants the first Mrs. Kilbright. But these men might so work on Mr. +Kilbright's mind as to make him think that he ought to want her." + +I groaned. "Dear me!" I said. "I suppose if they did that they would +also bring up old Mr. Scott's mother, and then we should have a united +family." + +"And a very funny one it would be," said my wife, smiling, +notwithstanding her fears, "for now I remember that old Mr. Scott told +me that his grandmother died before she was sixty, but that his mother +lived to be seventy-five. Now, he is eighty, if he is a day, so there +would be a regular gradation of ages in the family, only it would run +backward instead of in the usual way. But, thinking it over, I don't +believe the spiritualists will permanently bring up any more of that +family. If they did, they would have to support them, for they could not +ask old Mr. Scott to do it, who hasn't money enough to satisfy his +descendants, and ought not to be expected to support his ancestors." + +My letter must have had a good deal of effect upon Mr. Corbridge, for in +less than a week after it was written he came into my office. He +informed me that he and his associates were about to give a series of +seances in our town, but that he had come on before the others in order +to talk to me. "I am extremely sorry," he said, "to hear of this +proposed marriage. We want to do what is right and fair, and we have no +desire that any act of ours shall create a widow." + +"Then," I exclaimed, "you relinquish your design against Mr. +Kilbright?" + +"Not at all," said he. "We shall carry out our plan before our subject +marries. If you choose to hurry up matters and have the wedding take +place before we are ready to proceed with our dematerializing process, +we shall be very sorry, but the blame must rest on you. You should have +had consideration enough for all parties to prevent any such +complication as an engagement to marry. As to what you said in your +letter in regard to invoking the law against us, I attach no weight +whatever to that threat." + +"You will find you have made a great mistake," said I, angrily, "when I +have brought the law to bear upon you, which now I shall not delay to +do." + +"You will merely bring ridicule upon yourself," he said, "if you assert +that the man you wish to protect is Amos Kilbright. We can prove by +records, still to be seen in Bixbury, that said person died in seventeen +eighty-five. On the other hand, if you choose to assert that he is, or +was, anybody else, how are you going to prove it? All that you can say +is that the person you refer to came from, you knew not where, and has +gone, you know not where. If you declare that at one time he was a +materialized spirit, you know very well how such a statement as that +would be received in a court of law. It will be much wiser to let it be +supposed that the person who has lately been seen about this town has +run off to Canada, than to make any sort of legal inquiry into the +matter. If said person were really a man we could have nothing to do +with his disappearance, while if he were a materialized spirit the law +would have nothing to do with him." + +I arose and paced the floor. There was entirely too much force in this +man's arguments, but, although I could not immediately answer him, his +cool determination to persevere in his iniquitous designs so angered me +that I declared that he should be punished if I had to do it myself. + +"Then you admit," he said, with a smile, "that the law cannot do it. The +situation," he continued, "is very plain to us. Although the law can +take no cognizance of our action, the case will be very different with +all believers in spiritualism, and those who are interested in us. The +news that we have done this thing will spread through the spiritualistic +circles of the world." + +"Has your German arrived?" I asked, abruptly. + +"Not yet," answered Corbridge, "but we expect him in a few days. He +will come directly to this town, because we wish to give him an +opportunity of observing the subject in his present form before +beginning the dematerializing process." + +"What refinement of cruelty!" I exclaimed. + +"Oh, of course, the doctor will not make himself known," said Corbridge. +"He will merely wish to take a good look at the subject, and see for +himself how perfect his materialization has been. Then he will know just +what work is before him." + +And, so saying, Mr. Corbridge went away, leaving me too angry to speak, +if, indeed, I could have thought of anything which it would have been +worth my while to say. + +When Mrs. Colesworthy heard what Corbridge had said, she turned white. +"They must be married instantly!" she exclaimed. "I knew that was the +only way." + +It was all very well to talk of an immediate marriage, but it was not so +easy to bring it about. It was yet a week before the day fixed for the +wedding, and the happy lovers were busy with their preparations, never +dreaming of the danger which hung over them. What reason could we give +for hastening the marriage rites? At one time we thought it might be +wise to explain to them fully the state of the case, but from this +course we were deterred for fear of the terrible effect that the news +might have on Lilian. Should she hear of the design of Dr. Hildstein, +she would never again have a moment's peace, married or unmarried. Once +I advised that the two be dissuaded from marrying, at least for a year. +In that time we could see if these people really had any power over Mr. +Kilbright. + +"That will not do at all," said Mrs. Colesworthy. "It will be very long +to postpone their happiness; and besides, if that German gets hold of +Mr. Kilbright while he is still unmarried, he will snap him up, or +rather, blow him out in no time." + +"I thought we had persuaded ourselves," I said, sadly, "that no one +could have any real power of dematerialization." + +"So we had," said she, "but that sort of persuasion does not always +last." + +The result was that we did nothing but hope for the best. But we could +not blame ourselves, for, really, there was nothing else to do. I had +given up all idea of endeavoring to put Mr. Corbridge and his associates +under legal restriction, because if they had power to do the evil we +feared, they could do it in one place as well as another, and no court +could determine when, how, or by whom Mr. Kilbright had been +dematerialized. + +The day before the wedding-day the German doctor arrived in our town; +and, having heard this, I went immediately to the hotel where Mr. +Corbridge and his party were staying. The spiritualistic manager was not +glad to see me, and frankly said so. + +"I had hoped," he remarked, "that you had concluded to keep out of this +thing. It is no concern of yours; you can be of no possible good to +anybody; and the wisest thing you can do will be to drop it." + +I assured him that I had no intention of dropping it, and that I should +do everything in my power to protect Mr. Kilbright. + +"Then, again," continued Corbridge, "there is really no need of giving +yourself all this worry. Dr. Hildstein may succeed, and he may not. We +have failed, and so may he. He has seen the subject, and has come to a +very philosophical and sensible conclusion in regard to him. He will not +believe, merely on our assertion, that the man is a materialized spirit. +He will proceed with his experiments, and if they fail he will consider +that the man is a man, and was never anything else. If they succeed, +then he will be quite satisfied that he had a perfect right to +dematerialize what we had materialized." + +"Then you really believe," I said, "that there is a chance that he may +fail?" + +"Of course there is," said Corbridge. "I do not know his methods, and +there may be nothing in them." + +I had no doubt that this change of tone in Corbridge was intended to +produce in me a feeling of security, that they might thus rid themselves +of me. But, though I saw through his purpose, the man's words encouraged +me. Of course there must be a good deal of doubt about the German's +powers; and, after all, there might be no cause whatever for our +anxieties. + +"Now, sir," said Corbridge, as I left, "if I were you I would trouble +myself no more about this matter. If Dr. Hildstein fails, you will still +have your man to do your copying, or your surveying, or anything you +like. If he succeeds, we are all in the same condition we were a year +ago. 'That subject did not exist at that time; he does not exist at this +time;' that will be all we shall have to say about it." + +"You forget," I said, severely, "the wife he may leave behind him." + +"I have nothing to say about that," said Corbridge, rather sharply. "It +is a reprehensible business, and I have nothing to do with it." + +I went away without seeing the German doctor, but as I heard he spoke no +English, and as I did not know German, an interview with him would have +been of no avail. + +Neither Mrs. Colesworthy nor myself slept that night; we were so filled +with anxious fears. But when the day broke, bright and clear, and I had +hurried round to Mr. Kilbright's lodgings, and had found him as full of +life and vigor as I had ever seen him, we were greatly comforted, and +ate our breakfasts with fair appetites. + +"If it had been a dark and lowering day," said my wife, "I don't believe +I could have swallowed a mouthful." + +The marriage was to take place at noon, and the happy pair were to start +by the first afternoon train for the sea-shore, where they were to spend +a week. Mr. Kilbright hated locomotives and railroads almost as much as +ever, but he had told me some time before that he intended to conquer +this prejudice, if such a thing were possible. + +"Being one of you, I must do as you do," he had said. + +The wedding was to be a very simple one. Miss Budworth was to go from +her mother's house to the church, where Mr. Kilbright was to meet her. +We insisted that he should dress at our house, where he would find +better accommodations than at his lodgings; and we assigned him our best +guest-room, where he repaired in very good season, to array himself in +his wedding suit. + +It was not quite eleven o'clock when I went upstairs to see if I could +be of any use to Mr. Kilbright in regard to the conclusion of his +toilette. I knocked at the door, but received no answer. Waiting a few +moments, I opened it and entered. On the floor, in front of a tall +dressing-glass, was a suit of clothes. Not only did I see the black +broadcloth suit--not laid out at length, but all in a compact heap--but +I saw the shoes and stockings, the collar and cravat; everything. Near +by lay a whisk broom. + +The truth was plain. While giving the last touches to his wedding +attire, all that was Amos Kilbright had utterly disappeared! + +I stood where I had stopped, just inside the door, trembling, scarcely +breathing, so stunned by the terrible sight of those clothes that I +could not move, nor scarcely think. If I had seen his dead body there I +should have been shocked, but to see nothing! It was awful to such an +extent that my mind could not deal with it! + +Presently I heard a step, and slightly turning, saw my wife close by me. +She had passed the open door, and seeing me standing as if stricken into +a statue, had entered. + +It did not need that I should speak to her. Pale as a sheet she stood +beside me, her hand tightly grasping my arm, and with her lips pallid +with horror, she formed the words: "They have done it!" + +In a few moments she pulled me gently back, and said, in quick, low +tones, as if we had been in presence of the dead: "In less than an hour +she will be at the church. We must not stay here." + +With this she turned and stepped quickly from the room. I followed, +closing the door behind me. + +Swiftly moving, and without a word, my wife put on her hat and left the +house. Mechanically I followed. I could speak no word of comfort to that +poor girl, at this moment the happiest of expectant brides. I knew that +I had not the power to even attempt to explain to her the nature of the +dreadful calamity that had fallen upon her. But I could not let my wife +go alone. She, indeed, must speak to Lilian, but there were other +members of the family; I might do something. + +To my great surprise, Mrs. Colesworthy did not turn into the street +which led to the Budworths' house, but went straight on. I thought at +first she was going to the church to countermand the wedding +preparations. But before I could put a question to her she had gone +around a corner, and was hurrying up the steps of the principal hotel in +our town. + +"Is Dr. Hildstein in?" she asked of the first person she met. + +The man, gazing astonished at her pallid face, replied that he was, and +immediately conducted us to a little parlor on the first floor, the door +of which stood partly open. Without knocking, Mrs. Colesworthy hastily +entered, I closely following. A middle-aged man suddenly arose from a +small table at which he was sitting, and turning quickly toward us, made +an abrupt exclamation in German. + +As I have said, I do not understand German, but Mrs. Colesworthy knows +the language well, and, stepping up to the man, she said (she afterward +told me the meaning of the words that passed between them): "Are you Dr. +Hildstein?" + +"I am," he said, his face agitated by emotion, and his eyes sparkling, +"but I can see no one, speak to no one! I go out this moment to observe +the result of an important experiment!" + +My wife motioned to me to close the door. "You need not go," she said, +"I can tell you that your experiment has succeeded. You have +dematerialized Mr. Kilbright. In one hour he was to be married to a +noble, loving woman; and now all that remains where he stood is a pile +of clothes!" + +"Do you tell me that?" exclaimed the doctor, wildly seizing his hat. + +"Stop!" cried Mrs. Colesworthy, her face glowing with excitement, her +eyes flashing, and her right arm extended. "Stir not one step! Do you +know what you have done?" + +"I have done what I had a right to do!" exclaimed the doctor, almost in +a shout. "If he is gone he was nothing but a spirit. Tell me where--" + +"I will tell you this!" exclaimed my wife. "He was a great deal more +than a spirit. He was a man engaged to be married at twelve o'clock this +day. You may think there is no law that will sweep down on you, but I +tell you there is; and before the clock strikes twelve you shall know +it. Do you imagine you have come upon a people who will endure the +presence of an ogre? a wretch, who reduces to nothing a fellow human +being, and calls it an experiment? When we tell what you have done--my +husband cannot speak German, but he is a leader in this town, and he +supports me in all I say--when we have told what you have done there +will be no need of courts, or judges, or lawyers for you. Like a wild +beast you will be hunted down; you will be trampled under foot; you will +be torn to pieces! Fire, the sword, the hangman's noose, clubs, and +crowbars will not be enough to satisfy the vengeance of an outraged +people upon a cold-blooded wretch who came to this country solely for +the purpose of perpetrating a crime more awful than anything that was +ever known before! Did you ever hear of lynching? I see by your face you +know what that means. You are in the midst of a people who, in ten short +minutes, will be shrieking for your blood!" + +The man's face changed, and he looked anxiously at me. I did not know +what my wife had been saying, but I had seen by her manner that she had +been threatening him, and I shook my uplifted fist. + +"Now heed what I say," cried Mrs. Colesworthy, "if you do not wish to +perish at the hands of an infuriated mob; to die a thousand deaths +before your vile spirit leaves this world, knowing that, besides the +torments you feel, and those which are to come, you will be in the power +of men who will bring you back in a half-finished form to make sport at +their meetings whenever they feel like it--" + +Drops of perspiration stood on the doctor's face. "Stop that!" he +cried, throwing up his arm. "I cannot stand that! I did not know the +subject had such friends!" + +"Nothing shall be stopped!" exclaimed my wife, "and everything shall +happen unless you immediately sit down at that table, or wherever you do +those things, and rematerialize Mr. Kilbright, just as you found him, +and into the very clothes that were left lying upon the floor!" + +The doctor stepped forward--his face was now pale--and addressed himself +very deferentially to my wife, totally ignoring me. "If you will +retire," he said, "I will try; I swear to you that I will try." + +"There is not a minute to be lost," said Mrs. Colesworthy, "not one +second. And, if as much as a finger-nail is missing, remember what I +have told you!" + +And with this we quickly left the room. + +As we went down the steps of the hotel Mrs. Colesworthy looked at her +watch. "It is twenty-five minutes to twelve," she said. "We must get +home as fast as we can." + +We hurried along, sometimes almost running. When we reached our house, +Mrs. Colesworthy motioned to me to go upstairs. She had no breath left +with which to speak. I ran up, and stood for a moment at the closed door +of our guest-room. With my hand on the knob, I was unable to open it. I +heard a step on the stairs behind me, and I opened the door. + +There stood Mr. Kilbright in his wedding clothes, with the whisk-broom +in his hand. + +He turned at the sound of my entrance. + +"Do you know," cried the cheery voice of my wife, from just outside the +door, "that we have barely fifteen minutes in which to get to the +church?" + +"Can that be?" cried Mr. Kilbright. "The time has flown without my +knowing it. We must truly make haste!" + +"Indeed we must," said Mrs. Colesworthy, and as she stepped back from +the door, she whispered in my ear: "Not a look, not a tremble to let him +know!" + +In less than thirty seconds we were on our way to the church, in the +carriage which had been ordered for the purpose. + +On the church porch we found old Mr. Scott. He was dressed in his best +clothes, and greeted us cordially. "In good time," he said. "I am glad +to see that. It promises well." And then, looking around to see that no +one was within hearing, he came nearer to us. "If I were you," he +continued, "I wouldn't say nothin' to folks in general about +relationships, for there are people, and very good people, too, whose +minds haven't got on far enough to make 'em able to understand +telephones and the other new kinds of wonders." + +We acknowledged the force of his remarks, and all went into the church. + +Three days after the departure of Mr. and Mrs. Kilbright on their +wedding tour, my wife received a letter from Dr. Hildstein, written by +himself from New York, but addressed in the handwriting of Mr. +Corbridge. + +"I return," he wrote, "to Germany, perfectly happy in having succeeded +in my experiments; but nevermore, esteemed lady, will I dematerialize a +subject who has remained long enough in this world to make friends, and +I am the only man who can do this thing." + +This letter greatly satisfied us. "It shows that he has some heart, +after all," said Mrs. Colesworthy, "but as to that man Corbridge, I +believe he would have kept poor Mr. Kilbright dancing backward and +forward between this world and the other as long as a dollar could be +made out of him. But there is only one way in which he can do us any +harm now, and that is by materializing the first Mrs. Kilbright; but, +knowing us, as he now does, I don't believe he will ever try that." + +"No," said I, "I don't believe he ever will." + +Should you ever meet with Mr. Amos Kilbright, you need not hesitate to +entrust him with any surveying you may have on hand. Mr. Corbridge +cannot dematerialize him, the German scientist will not, and there is no +one else in the world who would even think of such a thing. Therefore, +you need feel no fear that he may suddenly vanish from your sight, +leaving nothing behind him but his clothes and the contents of his +pockets; unless, indeed, he should again be so foolish as to go to swim +in the ocean at a point where there is a strong ebb tide. + + + + +THE REVERSIBLE LANDSCAPE. + + +To look at me no one would suppose it; but it is, nevertheless, a fact +that I am a member of a fire company. I am somewhat middle-aged, +somewhat stout, and, at certain times of the year, somewhat stiff in the +joints; and my general dress and demeanor, that of a sober business man, +would not at all suggest the active and impetuous fireman of the period. +I do not belong to any paid department, but to a volunteer Hook and +Ladder Company, composed of the active-bodied or active-minded male +citizens of the country town where I live. I am included in the +active-minded portion of the company; and in an organization like ours, +which is not only intended to assist in putting out the fires of burning +buildings, but to light the torch of the mind, this sort of member is +very valuable. In the building which we occupy, our truck, with its +hooks and ladders, stands upon the lower floor, while the large room +above is used as a club and reading-room. At the beginning of the first +winter of our occupancy of the building, we found that this room, which +had been very pleasant in summer, was extremely uncomfortable in winter. +The long apartment had been originally intended for purposes of storage; +and although we had ornamented it and fitted it up very neatly, a good +deal of carpentry and some mason's work was necessary before it could be +made tight and draught-proof for cold weather. But lately we had spent +money very freely, and our treasury was absolutely empty. I was chairman +of the committee which had charge of everything pertaining to our rooms, +and I felt the responsibilities of my position. The necessary work +should be begun immediately, but how could the money be raised to pay +for it? Subscriptions for this and that had been made until the members +were tired of that sort of thing; and the ill success of the last one +showed that it would not do to try it again. + +I revolved in my mind a great many plans for raising the sum required, +and one morning, as I was going to my place of business in the city, I +was seized with a happy idea. At the moment of seizure I was standing in +front of a large show-window, in which were a number of oil paintings, +all of them very fresh and bright. "How would it do," thought I to +myself, "to buy a picture at a moderate price and put it up at a +raffle? People who are not willing to give money outright will often +enter into a scheme of this kind. I will go in and make inquiries." + +When I entered I found myself in a large showroom, the walls of which +were covered with paintings. A person advanced to meet me who, as it +soon became evident, was the proprietor of the place. He was a large +man, dressed in black, with an open shirt-front and an expansive +countenance. His eyes and hair were black, and his ears stood out from +his head in a manner which, according to a recent writer, indicates the +money-getting faculty; and he plainly belonged to that class of persons +who in the Middle Ages did not, as is the present custom, pay money for +having their teeth extracted, but often disbursed large sums for the +privilege of retaining them. When I asked him if I could procure a good +and effective picture at a moderate price, he threw out his chest and +waved his arms toward his walls. "There, sir," he said, "you can see oil +paintings of every subject, of every style, and of every class; and at +prices, sir, lower than they can be found elsewhere in the known world. +Mention the kind of picture you want, and I can accommodate you." + +I replied that I did not know exactly what I wanted, and that I would +see what he had. I now began to look at the pictures on the walls, +occasionally mentioning my ideas in regard to their merits, when +suddenly my companion turned to me and said: + +"Are you connected with the press, sir?" + +I replied that I was not, although I occasionally wrote for periodicals. + +"Upon art subjects?" he asked. + +I answered in the negative. + +"Then you are unprejudiced," he said, "and I believe from your +appearance that you are a man of influence, and there is nothing I would +like better than to exhibit the workings of my art organization to a man +of influence, unprejudiced on the subject. My object is, sir, to +popularize art; to place high art within the reach of the masses, and +thus to educate the artistic faculties of even the poorest citizens." + +I said that I supposed the chromo movement was intended to do all that. + +"No, sir," he replied, warmly; "chromos cannot accomplish the object. +They are too expensive; and, besides, they are not the real thing. They +are printed, not painted; and what the public wants is the real thing, +the work of the brush; and that is what I give them. The pictures you +see here, and an immense stock besides, are all copies of valuable +paintings, many of them in the finest galleries of Europe. I sell no +originals. I guarantee everything to be a copy. Honesty is at the bottom +of all I do. But my copies are exactly like the originals; that is all I +claim. I would like, sir, to show you through my establishment, and let +you see how I am carrying on the great work of art education. There are +picture-dealers in this city, sir, plenty of them, who try to make the +public believe that the vile daubs they sell are originals, and the +works of well-known painters; and when they do admit that the picture is +a copy, they say it is the work of some distinguished student; that +there is no other copy in the country; or they make some other +misstatement about it. These people conceal their processes, but their +tricks are beginning to be well known to the public. Now, sir, I conceal +nothing. The day for that sort of thing is past. I want men of influence +to know the facilities I have for the production of art-work upon a +grand scale. We will first go into the basement. Sir," said he, as I +followed him down-stairs, "you know how the watch-making business has +been revolutionized by the great companies which manufacture watches by +machinery. The slow, uncertain, and expensive work of the poor toilers +who made watches by hand has been superseded by the swift, unerring, and +beautiful operations of machinery and steam. Now, sir, the great purpose +of my life is to introduce machinery into art, and, ultimately, steam. +And yet I will have no shams, no chromos. Everything shall be real--the +work of the brush. Here, sir," he continued, showing me into a long room +filled with workmen, "you see the men engaged in putting together the +frames on which to stretch my canvases. Every stick is cut, planed, and +jointed at a mill in Vermont, and sent on here by the car-load. Beyond +are the workmen cutting up, stretching, and preparing the canvas, bales +upon bales of which are used in a day. At the far end are the mills for +grinding and mixing colors. And now we will go to the upper floors, and +see the true art-work. Here, sir," he said, continuing to talk as we +walked through the rooms on the various floors, "is the landscape and +marine department. That row of men are putting in skies; they do nothing +else. Each has his copy before him, and, day after day, month after +month, paints nothing but that sky; and of course he does it with great +rapidity and fidelity. Above, on those shelves, are sky-pots of every +variety; blue-serene pots, tempest pots, sunset pots in compartments, +morning-gray pots, and many others. Then the work passes to the +middle-ground painters, who have their half-tone pots within easy reach. +After that the foreground men take it up, and the figurists put in the +men and animals. That man there has been painting that foreground cow +ever since the first of August. He can now put her in three and a half +times in fifteen minutes, and will probably rise to sixteen cows an hour +by the end of this month. These girls do nothing but put white-caps to +waves. There's a great demand at present for the windy marine. This next +room is devoted to portraits to order. You see that row of old ladies +without heads, each holding a pair of spectacles, and with one finger in +the Bible to keep the place; that's very popular, and we put in a head +when the photograph is sent. There is a great rage at present for +portraits of babies without any clothes on. Here is a lot of undraped +infants with bodies all finished, but with no heads. We can finish them +to order at very short notice. I have one girl who puts in all the +dimples. You would be surprised to see what a charming dimple she can +make with one twist of her brush. Long practice at one thing, sir, is +the foundation of the success of this great establishment. Take that +girl away from her dimple-pot, and she is nothing. She is now upstairs, +putting dimples into a large Correggio order from the West. This next +room is our figure department, battle-pieces, groups, single figures, +everything. As you have seen before, each man only copies from the +original that part which is his specialty. In addition to its other +advantages, this system is a great protection to us. None of my men can +work at home at nights and Sundays, and forge pictures. Not one of them +can do a whole one. And now, sir, you have seen the greater part of my +establishment. The varnishing, packing, and storage rooms are in another +building. I am now perfecting plans for the erection of an immense +edifice with steam-engines in the cellar, in which my paintings shall be +done by machinery. No chromos, mind you, but real oil-paintings, done by +brushes revolving on cylinders. I shall have rolls of canvas a mile +long, like the paper on which our great dailies are printed, and the +machines shall do everything; cut off the picture, when it has passed +among the cylinders, whereupon fresh canvas will be rolled in for a new +one; another machine will stretch them; and they will pass through a +varnish bath in the twinkling of an eye. But this is in the future. What +I want of you, sir, and of other men of influence in society, is to let +our people know of the great good that is ready for them now, and of +the greater benefit that is coming. And, more than that, you can do +incalculable good to our artists. Those poor toilers on the solitary +canvas should know how to become prosperous, great, and happy; tell them +to go into some other business. And now, sir, I must see what I can do +for you. We will return to my gallery, and I will show you exactly what +you want." + +When we reached the back part of the showroom, down-stairs, he brought +out an unframed picture about three feet long and two high, and placed +it in a favorable light. "There," said he, "is a picture which will suit +you. It is what we call a reversible landscape, and is copied from the +only genuine picture of the kind in the world. It is just as good as two +pictures. In this position, you see, a line of land stretches across the +middle of the picture, with trees, houses, and figures, with a light sky +above and a lake, darker in hue, below. Everything on the land is +reflected accurately in the water. It is a landscape in morning light. +Turn it upside down, so, and it is an evening scene; darkening sky +above, light water beneath; the morning star, which you saw faintly +glimmering in the other picture, is now the reflection of the evening +star." + +I do not pretend to be a judge of pictures, but I fancy I appreciate an +original idea when I see it, and I thought that this picture might +answer my purpose. + +"What is the price of the painting?" I asked. + +"Well, sir," said he, "to you, as a man of influence, I will fix the +price of this great painting, from a comparatively unknown work of +Gaspar Poussin, at four dollars and a half." + +In spite of what I had seen of the facilities possessed by this +establishment for producing cheap work, I must confess that I was +surprised at the smallness of the sum asked for an oil-painting of that +size; I had expected to give forty or fifty dollars. But, although I am +not a judge of paintings, I am a business man, and accustomed to make +bargains. Therefore I said: + +"I will give you two dollars and fifty cents for the picture." + +"Done," said he. "Where shall I send it?" + +I gave him my city address, and paid the money. As he accompanied me to +the door, he said: "If you would like more of these pictures, I will +sell you one dozen for eighteen dollars, or the whole lot of one +hundred, just finished--and there will be no more of them painted--for +one hundred dollars." I told him one was all I wanted, and departed. I +carried the picture home that afternoon, and in the evening exhibited it +at our club-room, and made known my scheme for raising the money we +needed by getting up a raffle with this painting as the prize; one +hundred tickets at the low price of two dollars each. The reversible +landscape was set up, first one way and then the other, a great many +times, and created quite a sensation. + +"I don't think it's worth the half of two hundred dollars," said Mr. +Buckby, our president, "but as the money is for the use of our +Association, I don't mind that. But my objection to the scheme is that, +if I should gain the prize, I should be laughed at by all my +fellow-members: for, to tell the truth, I think that painting is a good +deal more funny than otherwise. It's not what I call high art." + +The other members generally agreed with him. They were very much amused +by the picture, but they did not care to possess it, imagining that +those who ridiculed it might also ridicule its owner. This opposition +discouraged me, and I retired to reflect. In about five minutes I +returned to the company, which had now greatly increased, as it was one +of our regular meeting nights, and I asked if they would consent to this +raffle if I would engage that the winner of the picture should not be +laughed at by any other member. + +"How will you guarantee that?" asked Mr. Buckby. + +"I will put the matter in the hands of the Association," I answered. +"If, after the raffle is over, a majority of the members shall decide +that any of us have reason to laugh at the winner of this painting, I +will refund all the money paid for tickets." + +There was something in this proposition which aroused the curiosity of +my fellow-firemen; and when the meeting was called to order, a +resolution was adopted that we would have the raffle, and that the +management of it should be placed in my hands, subject to the conditions +mentioned above. There were a good many surmises as to what I was going +to do to keep the people from laughing at the prize-winner, the general +opinion being that I intended to have the picture altered so that it +would be like an ordinary landscape, and not reversible. But the affair +was something novel, and promised to put the much-needed money into our +treasury; and several gentlemen assured me that they would make it their +business to see that every member took a ticket, one generous man +promising, in the interests of the Association, to present them to such +of the few members as might decline to buy them for themselves. This +offer was made in consequence of my insistance that every one of us +should have a chance in the raffle. + +The next morning I went to the art-factory and told the proprietor that +I would take the lot of reversibles he had on hand, if he would include +the one already purchased, and receive ninety-seven dollars and a half +as the balance due. + +"All right!" said he. "I have the ninety-nine still on hand. Are you in +the tea business, sir?" + +"Oh, no," said I; "the pictures are intended for a large Association." + +"No better way of extending the influence of art, sir," he said, +heartily. "I shall charge you nothing for boxing. The same address, +sir?" + +"No, they must be forwarded to my residence," and I gave him the needful +directions, and a check. + +The next day the ninety-nine pictures arrived and were stored in my +barn. My wife, to whom I had told my plan, made some objections to it, +saying it did not seem right to use half the money paid in to buy so +many pictures; but I told her that no one could expect in a raffle to +clear all the money subscribed, and that although we should not gain as +much as I had hoped, we should clear a hundred dollars, and every man +would have a picture. This was surely fair, and the fact was that the +unsympathetic state of mind of our members made it necessary for me to +do something of this kind, if I expected to raise the needed money at +all. + +The raffle was announced, and on the appointed evening there was a full +attendance. The prize was won by a Mr. Horter, an art-collector of a +nervous temperament, who had objected to the raffle, and who had +consented to buy a ticket only after repeated solicitations. + +"Now mind," he said to me, "you promised that the other men should not +laugh at me, and I hold you to your contract." + +I answered that I intended to stand by it, and that the painting should +be sent to him in the morning from my house, whither it had been +removed. Every member present announced his intention of calling on +Horter the following evening to see why he should not be laughed at. + +All the next forenoon my man, with a horse and light wagon, was engaged +in delivering the reversible landscapes, one to every member of our +club. These gentlemen were, in almost every case, absent at their places +of business. When they came home in the evening each found his picture, +with his name on the back of it, and a printed slip informing him that +in this raffle there had been no blanks, and that every man had drawn a +prize. + +Not a man called upon Mr. Horter that evening, and he greatly wondered +why they did not come in, either to laugh or to say why they should not +do so; but every other member of our club was visited by nearly all his +fellow-firemen, who ran in to see if it were true that he also had one +of those ridiculous reversible landscapes. As everybody knew that Mr. +Horter had one, there was no need to call on him; and even if they had +hoped to be able to laugh at him they could not do so, when each of them +had drawn one of the pictures himself. A good many called on me, and +some were a little severe in their remarks, saying that although it +might be a very pretty joke, I must have used up nearly all the money +that they had given for the good of the Association, for, of course, +none of them cared for the absurd prize. + +But when, on the next meeting night, I paid in one hundred dollars to +the treasury, a sum more than sufficient to make our room comfortable, +they were quite satisfied. The only thing that troubled them was to know +what to do with the pictures they had drawn. Not one of them was +willing to keep his preposterous landscape in his house. It was Mrs. +Buckby, our president's wife, who suggested a way out of the difficulty. + +"Of course," she said to her husband, "it would have been much better if +each one of you had given the two dollars without any raffle, and then +you would have had all your money. But one can't expect men to do a +thing like that." + +"Not after we had all paid in our regular dues, and had been subscribing +and subscribing for this, that, and the other thing for nearly a year," +said I, who was present at the time. "Some extra inducement was +necessary." + +"But, as you have all those horrid landscapes," she continued, "why +don't you take them and put them up along the top of your walls, next +the ceiling, where those openings are which used to ventilate the room +when it was used for storage? That would save all the money that you +would have to pay to carpenters and painters to have those places made +tight and decent-looking; and it would give your room a gorgeous +appearance." + +This idea was hailed with delight. Every man brought his picture to the +hall, and we nailed the whole hundred in a row along the top of the four +walls, turning one with the darker half up, and the next the other way, +so as to present alternate views of morning and evening along the whole +distance. The arrangement answered admirably. The draughts of air from +outside were perfectly excluded: and as our walls were very lofty, the +general effect was good. + +"Art of that kind cannot be too high," said Mr. Horter. + +A week or two after this, when I arrived at home one afternoon, my wife +told me that there was a present for me in the dining-room. As such +things were not common, I hurried in to see what it was. I found a very +large flat package, tied up in brown paper, and on it a card with my +name and a long inscription. The latter was to the effect that my +associates of the Hook and Ladder Company, desirous of testifying their +gratitude to the originator and promoter of the raffle scheme, took +pleasure in presenting him with the accompanying work of art, which, +when hung upon the walls of his house, would be a perpetual reminder to +him of the great and good work he had done for the Association. + +I cannot deny that this pleased me much. + +"Well!" I exclaimed to my wife, "it is very seldom that a man gets any +thanks for his gratuitous efforts in behalf of his fellow-beings; and +although I must say that my services in raising money for the +Association deserved recognition, I did not expect that the members +would do themselves the justice to make me a present." + +Unwrapping the package, I discovered, to my intense disgust, a copy of +the Reversible Landscape! My first thought was that some of the members, +for a joke, had taken down one of the paintings from our meeting-room +and had sent it to me; but, on carefully examining the canvas and frame, +I was quite certain that this picture had never been nailed to a wall. +It was evidently a new and fresh copy of the painting of which I had +been assured no more would be produced. I must admit that I had felt a +certain pride in decorating our hall with the style of picture that +could not be seen elsewhere; and, moreover, I greatly dislike to be +overreached in business matters, and my wrath against the manufacturer +of high art entirely overpowered and dissipated any little resentment I +might have felt against my waggish fellow-members who had sent me the +painting. + +Early the next morning I went direct to the art-factory, and was just +about entering when my attention was attracted by a prominent picture +in the window. I stepped back to look at it. It was our reversible +landscape, mounted upon an easel, and labelled "A Morning Scene." While +I examined it to assure myself that it was really the landscape with +which I was so familiar, it was turned upside down by some concealed +machinery, and appeared labelled, "An Evening Scene." At the foot of the +easel I now noticed a placard inscribed: "The Reversible Landscape: A +New Idea in Art." + +I stood for a moment astounded. The rascally picture-monger had not only +made another of these pictures, but he was prepared to furnish them in +any number. Rushing into the gallery, I demanded to see the proprietor. + +"Look here!" said I, "what docs this mean? You told me that there were +to be no more of those pictures painted; that I was to possess a unique +lot." + +"That's not the same picture, sir," he exclaimed. "I am surprised that +you should think so. Step outside with me, sir, and I'll prove it to +you. There, sir!" said he, as we stood before the painting, which was +now Morning side up, "you see that star? In the pictures we sold you the +morning star was Venus; in this one it is Jupiter. This is not the same +picture. Do you imagine that we would deceive a customer? That, sir, is +a thing we never do!" + + + + +DUSKY PHILOSOPHY. + +IN TWO EXPOSITIONS. + + +FIRST EXPOSITION: A STORY OF SEVEN DEVILS. + + +The negro church which stood in the pine-woods near the little village +of Oxford Cross Roads, in one of the lower counties of Virginia, was +presided over by an elderly individual, known to the community in +general as Uncle Pete; but on Sundays the members of his congregation +addressed him as Brudder Pete. He was an earnest and energetic man, and, +although he could neither read nor write, he had for many years +expounded the Scriptures to the satisfaction of his hearers. His memory +was good, and those portions of the Bible, which from time to time he +had heard read, were used by him, and frequently with powerful effect, +in his sermons. His interpretations of the Scriptures were generally +entirely original, and were made to suit the needs, or what he supposed +to be the needs, of his congregation. + +Whether as "Uncle Pete" in the garden and corn-field, or "Brudder Pete" +in the church, he enjoyed the good opinion of everybody excepting one +person, and that was his wife. She was a high-tempered and somewhat +dissatisfied person, who had conceived the idea that her husband was in +the habit of giving too much time to the church, and too little to the +acquisition of corn-bread and pork. On a certain Saturday she gave him a +most tremendous scolding, which so affected the spirits of the good man +that it influenced his decision in regard to the selection of the +subject for his sermon the next day. + +His congregation was accustomed to being astonished, and rather liked +it, but never before had their minds received such a shock as when the +preacher announced the subject of his discourse. He did not take any +particular text, for this was not his custom, but he boldly stated that +the Bible declared that every woman in this world was possessed by seven +devils; and the evils which this state of things had brought upon the +world he showed forth with much warmth and feeling. Subject-matter, +principally from his own experience, crowded in upon his mind, and he +served it out to his audience hot and strong. If his deductions could +have been proved to be correct, all women were creatures who, by reason +of their seven-fold diabolic possession, were not capable of independent +thought or action, and who should in tears and humility place themselves +absolutely under the direction and authority of the other sex. + +When he approached the conclusion of his sermon, Brother Peter closed +with a bang the Bible, which, although he could not read a word of it, +always lay open before him while he preached, and delivered the +concluding exhortation of his sermon. + +"Now, my dear brev'ren ob dis congregation," he said, "I want you to +understan' dat dar's nuffin in dis yer sarmon wot you've jus' heerd ter +make you think yousefs angels. By no means, brev'ren; you was all brung +up by women, an' you've got ter lib wid' em, an ef anythin' in dis yer +worl' is ketchin', my dear brev'ren, it's habin debbils, an' from wot +I've seen ob some ob de men ob dis worl' I 'spect dey is persest ob +'bout all de debbils dey got room fur. But de Bible don' say nuffin +p'intedly on de subjec' ob de number ob debbils in man, an' I 'spec' +dose dat's got 'em--an' we ought ter feel pow'ful thankful, my dear +brev'ren, dat de Bible don' say we all's got 'em--has 'em 'cordin to +sarcumstances. But wid de women it's dif'rent; dey's got jus' sebin, an' +bless my soul, brev'ren, I think dat's 'nuff. + +"While I was a-turnin' ober in my min' de subjec' ob dis sarmon, dere +come ter me a bit ob Scripter wot I heerd at a big preachin' an' +baptizin' at Kyarter's Mills, 'bout ten year' ago. One ob de preachers +was a-tellin' about ole mudder Ebe a-eatin' de apple, and says he: De +sarpint fus' come along wid a red apple, an' says he: You gib dis yer to +your husban', an' he think it so mighty good dat when he done eat it he +gib you anything you ax him fur, ef you tell him whar de tree is. Ebe, +she took one bite, an' den she frew dat apple away. 'Wot you mean, you +triflin' sarpint,' says she, 'a fotchin' me dat apple wot ain't good fur +nuffin but ter make cider wid.' Den de sarpint he go fotch her a yaller +apple, an' she took one bite an' den says she: 'Go 'long wid ye, you +fool sarpint, wot you fotch me dat June apple wot ain't got no taste to +it?' Den de sarpint he think she like sumpin' sharp, an' he fotch her a +green apple. She takes one bite ob it, an' den she frows it at his head, +an' sings out: 'Is you 'spectin' me to gib dat apple to yer Uncle Adam +an' gib him de colic?' Den de debbil he fotch her a lady-apple, but she +say she won't take no sich triflin' nubbins as dat to her husban', an' +she took one bite ob it, an' frew it away. Den he go fotch her two udder +kin' ob apples, one yaller wid red stripes, an' de udder one red on one +side an' green on de udder,--mighty good lookin' apples, too--de kin' +you git two dollars a bar'l fur at the store. But Ebe, she wouldn't hab +neider ob 'em, an' when she done took one bite out ob each one, she frew +it away. Den de ole debbil-sarpint, he scratch he head, an' he say to +hese'f: 'Dis yer Ebe, she pow'ful 'ticklar 'bout her apples. Reckin I'll +have ter wait till after fros', an' fotch her a real good one.' An' he +done wait till after fros', and then he fotch her a' Albemarle pippin, +an' when she took one bite ob dat, she jus' go 'long an' eat it all up, +core, seeds, an' all. 'Look h'yar, sarpint,' says she, 'hab you got +anudder ob dem apples in your pocket?' An' den he tuk one out, an' gib +it to her. ''Cuse me,' says she, 'I's gwine ter look up Adam, an' ef he +don' want ter know war de tree is wot dese apples grow on, you can hab +him fur a corn-field han'.' + +"An' now, my dear brev'ren," said Brother Peter, "while I was a-turnin' +dis subjec' ober in my min', an' wonderin' how de women come ter hab +jus' seben debbils apiece, I done reckerleck dat bit ob Scripter wot I +heerd at Kyarter's Mills, an' I reckin dat 'splains how de debbils got +inter woman. De sarpint he done fotch mudder Ebe seben apples, an' ebery +one she take a bite out of gib her a debbil." + +As might have been expected, this sermon produced a great sensation, +and made a deep impression on the congregation. As a rule the men were +tolerably well satisfied with it; and when the services were over many +of them made it the occasion of shy but very plainly pointed remarks to +their female friends and relatives. + +But the women did not like it at all. Some of them became angry, and +talked very forcibly, and feelings of indignation soon spread among all +the sisters of the church. If their minister had seen fit to stay at +home and preach a sermon like this to his own wife (who, it may be +remarked, was not present on this occasion), it would have been well +enough, provided he had made no allusions to outsiders; but to come +there and preach such things to them was entirely too much for their +endurance. Each one of the women knew she had not seven devils, and only +a few of them would admit of the possibility of any of the others being +possessed by quite so many. + +Their preacher's explanation of the manner in which every woman came to +be possessed of just so many devils appeared to them of little +importance. What they objected to was the fundamental doctrine of his +sermon, which was based on his assertion that the Bible declared every +woman had seven devils. They were not willing to believe that the Bible +said any such thing. Some of them went so far as to state it was their +opinion that Uncle Pete had got this fool notion from some of the +lawyers at the court-house when he was on a jury a month or so before. +It was quite noticeable that, although Sunday afternoon had scarcely +begun, the majority of the women of the congregation called their +minister Uncle Pete. This was very strong evidence of a sudden decline +in his popularity. + +Some of the more vigorous-minded women, not seeing their minister among +the other people in the clearing in front of the log church, went to +look for him, but he was not to be found. His wife had ordered him to be +home early, and soon after the congregation had been dismissed he +departed by a short cut through the woods. That afternoon an irate +committee, composed principally of women, but including also a few men +who had expressed disbelief in the new doctrine, arrived at the cabin of +their preacher, but found there only his wife, cross-grained old Aunt +Rebecca. She informed them that her husband was not at home. + +"He's done 'gaged hisse'f," she said, "ter cut an' haul wood fur Kunnel +Martin ober on Little Mount'n fur de whole ob nex' week. It's fourteen +or thirteen mile' from h'yar, an' ef he'd started ter-morrer mawnin', +he'd los' a'mos' a whole day, 'Sides dat, I done tole him dat ef he git +dar ter-night he'd have his supper frowed in. Wot you all want wid him? +Gwine to pay him fur preachin'?" + +Any such intention as this was instantaneously denied, and Aunt Rebecca +was informed of the subject upon which her visitors had come to have a +very plain talk with her husband. + +Strange to say, the announcement of the new and startling dogma had +apparently no disturbing effect upon Aunt Rebecca. On the contrary, the +old woman seemed rather to enjoy the news. + +"Reckin he oughter know all 'bout dat," she said. "He's done had three +wives, an' he ain't got rid o' dis one yit." + +Judging from her chuckles and waggings of the head when she made this +remark, it might be imagined that Aunt Rebecca was rather proud of the +fact that her husband thought her capable of exhibiting a different kind +of diabolism every day in the week. + +The leader of the indignant church members was Susan Henry, a mulatto +woman of a very independent turn of mind. She prided herself that she +never worked in anybody's house but her own, and this immunity from +outside service gave her a certain pre-eminence among her sisters. Not +only did Susan share the general resentment with which the startling +statement of old Peter had been received, but she felt that its +promulgation had affected her position in the community. If every woman +was possessed by seven devils, then, in this respect, she was no better +nor worse than any of the others; and at this her proud heart rebelled. +If the preacher had said some women had eight devils and others six, it +would have been better. She might then have made a mental arrangement in +regard to her relative position which would have somewhat consoled her. +But now there was no chance for that. The words of the preacher had +equally debased all women. + +A meeting of the disaffected church members was held the next night at +Susan Henry's cabin, or rather in the little yard about it, for the +house was not large enough to hold the people who attended it. The +meeting was not regularly organized, but everybody said what he or she +had to say, and the result was a great deal of clamor, and a general +increase of indignation against Uncle Pete. + +"Look h'yar!" cried Susan, at the end of some energetic remarks, "is dar +enny pusson h'yar who kin count up figgers?" + +Inquiries on the subject ran through the crowd, and in a few moments a +black boy, about fourteen, was pushed forward as an expert in +arithmetic. + +"Now, you Jim," said Susan, "you's been to school, an' you kin count up +figgers. 'Cordin' ter de chu'ch books dar's forty-seben women b'longin' +to our meetin', an' ef each one ob dem dar has got seben debbils in her, +I jus' wants you ter tell me how many debbils come to chu'ch ebery clear +Sunday ter hear dat ole Uncle Pete preach." + +This view of the case created a sensation, and much interest was shown +in the result of Jim's calculations, which were made by the aid of a +back of an old letter and a piece of pencil furnished by Susan. The +result was at last announced as three hundred and nineteen, which, +although not precisely correct, was near enough to satisfy the company. + +"Now, you jus' turn dat ober in you all's minds," said Susan. "More'n +free hunderd debbils in chu'ch ebery Sunday, an' we women fotchin 'em. +Does anybody s'pose I'se gwine ter b'lieve dat fool talk?" + +A middle-aged man now lifted up his voice and said: "Ise been thinkin' +ober dis h'yar matter and Ise 'cluded dat p'r'aps de words ob de +preacher was used in a figgeratous form o' sense. P'r'aps de seben +debbils meant chillun." + +These remarks were received with no favor by the assemblage. + +"Oh, you git out!" cried Susan. "Your ole woman's got seben chillun, +shore 'nuf, an' I s'pec' dey's all debbils. But dem sent'ments don't +apply ter all de udder women h'yar, 'tic'larly ter dem dar young uns wot +ain't married yit." + +This was good logic, but the feeling on the subject proved to be even +stronger, for the mothers in the company became so angry at their +children being considered devils that for a time there seemed to be +danger of an Amazonian attack on the unfortunate speaker. This was +averted, but a great deal of uproar now ensued, and it was the general +feeling that something ought to be done to show the deep-seated +resentment with which the horrible charge against the mothers and +sisters of the congregation had been met. Many violent propositions were +made, some of the younger men going so far as to offer to burn down the +church. It was finally agreed, quite unanimously, that old Peter should +be unceremoniously ousted from his place in the pulpit which he had +filled so many years. + +As the week passed on, some of the older men of the congregation who had +friendly feelings toward their old companion and preacher talked the +matter over among themselves, and afterward, with many of their +fellow-members, succeeded at last in gaining the general consent that +Uncle Pete should be allowed a chance to explain himself, and give his +grounds and reasons for his astounding statement in regard to womankind. +If he could show biblical authority for this, of course nothing more +could be said. But if he could not, then he must get down from the +pulpit, and sit for the rest of his life on a back seat of the church. +This proposition met with the more favor, because even those who were +most indignant had an earnest curiosity to know what the old man would +say for himself. + +During all this time of angry discussion, good old Peter was quietly and +calmly cutting and hauling wood on the Little Mountain. His mind was in +a condition of great comfort and peace, for not only had he been able to +rid himself, in his last sermon, of many of the hard thoughts concerning +women that had been gathering themselves together for years, but his +absence from home had given him a holiday from the harassments of Aunt +Rebecca's tongue, so that no new notions of woman's culpability had +risen within him. He had dismissed the subject altogether, and had been +thinking over a sermon regarding baptism, which he thought he could make +convincing to certain of the younger members of his congregation. + +He arrived at home very late on Saturday night, and retired to his +simple couch without knowing anything of the terrible storm which had +been gathering through the week, and which was to burst upon him on the +morrow. But the next morning, long before church time, he received +warning enough of what was going to happen. Individuals and deputations +gathered in and about his cabin--some to tell him all that had been said +and done; some to inform him what was expected of him; some to stand +about and look at him; some to scold; some to denounce; but, alas! not +one to encourage; nor one to call him "Brudder Pete," that Sunday +appellation dear to his ears. But the old man possessed a stubborn soul, +not easily to be frightened. + +"Wot I says in de pulpit," he remarked, "I'll 'splain in de pulpit, an' +you all ud better git 'long to de chu'ch, an' when de time fur de +sarvice come, I'll be dar." + +This advice was not promptly acted upon, but in the course of half an +hour nearly all the villagers and loungers had gone off to the church in +the woods; and when Uncle Peter had put on his high black hat, somewhat +battered, but still sufficiently clerical looking for that congregation, +and had given something of a polish to his cowhide shoes, he betook +himself by the accustomed path to the log building where he had so often +held forth to his people. As soon as he entered the church he was +formally instructed by a committee of the leading members that before he +began to open the services, he must make it plain to the congregation +that what he had said on the preceding Sunday about every woman being +possessed by seven devils was Scripture truth, and not mere wicked +nonsense out of his own brain. If he could not do that, they wanted no +more praying or preaching from him. + +Uncle Peter made no answer, but, ascending the little pulpit, he put his +hat on the bench behind him where it was used to repose, took out his +red cotton handkerchief and blew his nose in his accustomed way, and +looked about him. The house was crowded. Even Aunt Rebecca was there. + +After a deliberate survey of his audience the preacher spoke: "Brev'eren +an' sisters, I see afore me Brudder Bill Hines, who kin read de Bible, +an' has got one. Ain't dat so, Brudder?" + +Bill Hines having nodded and modestly grunted assent, the preacher +continued. "An' dars' Aun' Priscilla's boy, Jake, who ain't a brudder +yit, though he's plenty old 'nuf, min', I tell ye; an' he kin read de +Bible, fus' rate, an' has read it ter me ober an' ober ag'in. Ain't dat +so, Jake?" + +Jake grinned, nodded, and hung his head, very uncomfortable at being +thus publicly pointed out. + +"An' dar's good ole Aun' Patty, who knows more Scripter' dan ennybuddy +h'yar, havin' been teached by de little gals from Kunnel Jasper's an' by +dere mudders afore 'em. I reckin she know' de hull Bible straight froo, +from de Garden of Eden to de New Jerus'lum. An' dar are udders h'yar who +knows de Scripters, some one part an' some anudder. Now I axes ebery one +ob you all wot know de Scripters ef he don' 'member how de Bible tells +how our Lor' when he was on dis yearth cas' seben debbils out o' Mary +Magdalum?" + +A murmur of assent came from the congregation. Most of them remembered +that. + +"But did enny ob you ebber read, or hab read to you, dat he ebber cas' +'em out o'enny udder woman?" + +Negative grunts and shakes of the head signified that nobody had ever +heard of this. + +"Well, den," said the preacher, gazing blandly around, "all de udder +women got 'em yit." + +A deep silence fell upon the assembly, and in a few moments an elderly +member arose. "Brudder Pete," he said, "I reckin you mought as well gib +out de hyme." + + +SECOND EXPOSITION: GRANDISON'S QUANDARY. + + +Grandison Pratt was a colored man of about thirty, who, with his wife +and two or three children, lived in a neat log cabin in one of the +Southern States. He was a man of an independent turn of mind, and he +much desired to own the house in which he lived and the small +garden-patch around it. This valuable piece of property belonged to Mr. +Morris, and as it was an outlying corner of his large farm he had no +objection to sell it to Grandison, provided the latter could pay for it; +but of this he had great doubts. The man was industrious enough, but he +often seemed to have a great deal of difficulty about paying the very +small rental charged for his place, and Mr. Morris, consequently, had +well-grounded doubts about his ability to purchase it. + +"But, sah," said Grandison one day when these objections had been placed +before him, "I's been turnin' dis thing ober in my min' ober an' ober. I +know jes' how much I kin make an' how much I's got to spend an' how I +kin save ter buy the house, an' if I agree to pay you so much money on +such a day an' so much on such anudder day I's gwine ter do it. You kin +jes' put that down, sah, for sartin shuh." + +"Well, Grandison," said Mr. Morris, "I'll give you a trial. If, at the +end of six months, you can pay me the first instalment, I'll have the +necessary papers made out, and you can go on and buy the place, but if +you are not up to time on the first payment, I want to hear no more +about the purchase." + +"All right, Mahs'r Morris," said Grandison. "If I gibs you my word ter +pay de money on de fus' day ob October, I's gwine to do it. Dat's sartin +shuh." + +Months passed on, and, although Grandison worked as steadily as usual, +he found toward the end of September that, in the ordinary course of +things, he would not be able to make up the sum necessary for the first +payment. Other methods out of the ordinary course came into his mind, +but he had doubts about availing himself of them. He was extremely +anxious to make up the amount due, for he knew very well that if he did +not pay it on the day appointed he might bid farewell to his hope of +becoming a freeholder. In his perplexity he resolved to consult Brother +'Bijah, the minister of the little church in the pine-woods to which +Grandison belonged. + +"Now, look-a-heah, Brudder 'Bijah," said he, "wot's I gwine to do 'bout +dis bizness? I done promised ter pay dis money on de fus' day ob de +comin' month, an' dar's six dollars ob it dat I ain't got yit." + +"An' aint dar any way ter git it?" asked 'Bijah. + +"Yaas, dar's one way," said Grandison, "I's been turnin' dis matter ober +an' ober in my min', an' dar's only one way. I mought sell apples. +Apples is mighty skarse dis fall, an' I kin git two dollars a bar'l for +'em in town. Now, if I was ter sell three bar'ls of apples I'd hab dat +dar six dollars, sartin shuh. Don' you see dat, Brudder 'Bijah?" + +"Dat's all clar 'nuf," said the minister, "but whar you gwine ter git +three bar'ls o' apples? You don' mean ter tell me dat you's got 'nuf +apple-trees in your little gyardin fur ter shake down three bar'ls o' +apples." + +"Now look a-heah, Brudder 'Bijah," said Grandison, his eyes sparkling +with righteous indignation, "dat's too much 'to 'spec' ob a man who's +got ter work all day to s'port his wife an' chillun. I digs, an' I +plows, an' I plants, an' I hoes. But all dem things ain't 'nuf ter make +apple-trees grow in my gyardin like as dey was corn-field peas." + +"Dat's so," said 'Bijah, reflectively. "Dat's too much to spec' ob any +man. But how's you gwine ter sell de apples if you ain't got 'em?" + +"I's got ter git em," said Grandison. "Dar's apples 'nuf growin' roun' +an' not so fur away dat I can't tote 'em ter my house in a bahsket. It's +pow'ful hard on a man wot's worked all day ter have ter tote apples +ahfter night, but dar ain' no other way ob gittin' dat dar money." + +"I spec' de orchard whar you's thinkin' o' gwine is Mahs'r Morrises," +said the minister. + +"You don' 'spose Ise gwine ter any ob dose low down orchards on de udder +side de creek, does ye? Mahs'r Morris has got the bes' apples in dis +county. Dat's de kin' wot fetch two dollars a bar'l." + +"Brudder Gran'son," said 'Bijah, solemnly, "is you min' runnin on takin' +Mahs'r Morrises apples inter town an' sellin' em?" + +"Well, he gits de money, don't he?" answered the other, "and if I don't +sell his apples 'taint no use sellin' none. Dem udder little nubbins +roun' heah won't fetch no two dollars a bar'l." + +"Dem ain't justifyin' deeds wot's runnin' in your mind," said 'Bijah. +"Dey ain't justifyin'." + +"Ob course," said Grandison, "dey wouldn't be justifyin' if I had de six +dollars. But I ain't got 'em, an' Ise promised to pay 'em. Now, is I ter +stick to de truf, or isn't I?" + +"Truf is mighty," said the preacher, "an' ought not to be hendered from +prevailin'." + +"Dat's so! dat's so!" exclaimed Grandison. "You can't go agin de +Scripters. Truf _is_ mighty, an' 'tain't fur pore human critters like us +to try to upsot her. Wot we're got ter do is ter stick to her through +thick an' thin." + +"Ob course, dat's wot we oughter do," said 'Bijah, "but I can't see my +way clar to you sellin' dem apples." + +"But dar ain't nuffin else ter do!" exclaimed Grandison, "an' ef I don't +do dat, away goes de truf, clar out o' sight. An' wot sort o' 'ligion +you call dat, Brudder 'Bijah?" + +"'Tain't no kind at all," said 'Bijah, "fur we's bound ter stick to de +truf, which is de bottom corner-stone ob piousness. But dem apples don't +seem ter git demselves straightened out in my mind, Brudder Gran'son." + +"It 'pears ter me, Brudder 'Bijah, dat you doan' look at dem apples in +de right light. If I was gwine ter sell 'em to git money ter buy a lot +o' spotted calliker ter make frocks for de chillen, or eben to buy two +pars o' shoes fur me an' Judy ter go to church in, dat would be a sin, +sartin shuh. But you done furgit dat I's gwine ter take de money ter +Mahs'r Morris. If apples is riz an' I gits two dollars an' a quarter a +bar'l, ob course I keeps de extry quarter, which don' pay anyhow fur de +trouble ob pickin' 'em. But de six dollars I gibs, cash down, ter +Mahs'r Morris. Don' you call dat puffectly fa'r an' squar, Brudder +'Bijah?" + +'Bijah shook his head. "Dis is a mighty dubersome question, Brudder +Gran'son, a mighty dubersome question." + +Grandison stood with a disappointed expression on his countenance. He +greatly desired to gain from his minister sanction for the financial +operation he had proposed. But this the solemn 'Bijah did not appear +prepared to give. As the two men stood together by the roadside they +saw, riding toward them, Mr. Morris himself. + +"Now, den," exclaimed Grandison, "heah comes Mahs'r Morris, and I's +gwine ter put dis question to hisse'f. He oughter know how ter 'cide +bout it, if anybody does." + +"You ain't truly gwine ter put dat question to him, is ye?" asked +'Bijah, quickly. + +"No, sah," replied the other. "I's gwine to put the case on a dif'rent +show-pint. But 'twill be the same thing as de udder." + +Mr. Morris was a genial-natured man, who took a good deal of interest in +his negro neighbors, and was fond of listening to their peculiar humor. +Therefore, when he saw that Grandison wished to speak to him he readily +pulled up his horse. + +"Mahs'r Morris," said Grandison, removing his hat, "Brudder 'Bijah an' +me has been argyin on de subjick ob truf. An' jes' as you was comin' up +I was gwine ter tell him a par'ble 'bout sticken ter truf. An' if you's +got time, Mahs'r Morris, I'd be pow'ful glad ter tell you de par'ble, +an' let you 'cide 'tween us." + +"Very well," said Mr. Morris, "go on with your parable." + +"Dis yere par'ble," said Grandison, "has got a justifyin' meanin' in it, +an' it's 'bout a bar an' a' possum. De 'possum he was a-gwine out early +in de mawnin' ter git a little corn fur his breakfus'--" + +"Very wrong in the opossum," said Mr. Morris, "for I am sure he hadn't +planted any corn." + +"Well, den, sah," said Grandison, "p'raps 'twas akerns; but, anyway, +afore he was out ob de woods he see a big, ole bar a-comin' straight +'long to him. De 'possum he ain't got no time ter climb a tree an' git +out on de leetlest end ob a long limb, an' so he lay hese'f flat down on +de groun' an' make b'lieve he's dead. When de ole bar came up he sot +down an' look at de 'possum. Fus' he turn his head on one side an' den +he turn his head on de udder, but he look at de 'possum all de time. +D'reckly he gits done lookin' an' he says: + +"'Look-a-heah, 'possum, is you dead or is you libin'? If you's dead I +won't eat you, fur I neber eats dead critters, but if you's libin' den +I eats you for my breakfus', fur I is bilin' hungry, not havin' had +nuffin sence sun-up but a little smack dat I took afore gwine out inter +de damp air ob de mawnin'. Now, den, 'possum, speak out and tell me is +you 'libe or is you dead?' + +"Dat are question frew de 'possum inter a pow'ful sweat. If he told de +truf an' said he was alibe he knowed well 'nuf dat de bar would gobble +him up quicker'n if he'd been a hot ash cake an' a bowl of buttermilk; +but if he said he was dead so's de bar wouldn't eat him, de bar, like +'nuf, would know he lied, an' would eat him all de same. So he turn de +matter ober an' ober in his min', an' he wrastled with his 'victions, +but he couldn't come ter no 'clusion. 'Now don't you tink,' said de bar, +'dat I's got time to sit here de whole mawnin' waitin' fer you ter make +up your mind whether you's dead or not. If you don't 'cide pretty quick, +I'll put a big rock a-top o' you, an' stop fer you answer when I come +back in de ebenin'.' Now dis gib de 'possum a pow'ful skeer, an' 'twas +cl'ar to his min' dat he mus' 'cide de question straight off. If he tole +de truf, and said he was alibe, he'd be eat up shuh; but if he said he +was dead, de bar mought b'lieve him. 'Twarn't very likely dat he would, +but dar was dat one leetle chance, an' he done took it. 'I is dead,' +says he. 'You's a long time makin' up your min' 'bout it,' says de bar. +'How long you been dead?' 'Sence day 'fore yestidday,' says the 'possum. +'All right!' says de bar, 'when dey've on'y been dead two or free days, +an' kin talk, I eats 'em all de same.' An' he eat him up." + +"And now, Grandison," said Mr. Morris, "where is the moral of that +parable?" + +"De moral is dis," said Grandison; "stick ter de truf. If de 'possum had +tole de truf, an' said he was alibe, de bar couldn't eat him no more'n +he did eat him; no bar could do dat. An' I axes you, Mahs'r Morris, don' +dat par'ble show dat eb'rybody oughter stick ter de truf, no matter what +happens." + +"Well, I don't think your moral is very clear," said Mr. Morris, "for it +would have been about as bad for the 'possum one way as the other. But, +after all, it would have been better for the little beast to tell the +truth and die with a clear conscience." + +"Dat's so!" cried Brother 'Bijah, speaking in his ministerial capacity, +"de great thing in dis worl' is ter die wid a clear conscience." + +"But you can't do dat," said Grandison, "if you let dis thing an' dat +thing come in ter hinder ye. Now dat's jes' wot we's been disputin' +'bout, Mahs'r Morris. I 'clared dat we oughter stick ter de truf widout +lookin' to de right or de lef'; but Brudder 'Bijah, his min' wasn't +quite made up on de subjick. Now, wot you say, Mahs'r Morris?" + +"I say stick to the truth, of course," said Mr. Morris, gathering up his +reins. "And, by the way, Grandison, do you expect to make that payment +on your place which is due next week?" + +"Yaas, sah, sartin shuh," said Grandison. "I done tole you I'd do it, +Mahs'r Morris, an' I 'tends ter stick ter de truf." + +"Now, den," said Grandison, in a tone of triumph, when Mr. Morris had +ridden away, "you see I's right in my 'clusions, and Mahs'r Morris +'grees with me." + +"Dunno," said Brother 'Bijah, shaking his head, "dis is a mighty +dubersome question. You kep' dem apples clar out o' sight, Brudder +Gran'son; clar out o' sight." + +It was about a week after this, quite early in the morning, that +Grandison was slowly driving into town with a horse and a wagon which he +had borrowed from a neighbor. In the wagon were three barrels of fine +apples. Suddenly, at a turn in the road, he was greatly surprised to +meet Mr. Morris, riding homeward. + +"What have you in those barrels, Grandison?" inquired his landlord. + +"Dey's apples, sah," was the reply, "dat I's got de job ob haulin' ter +town, sah." + +Mr. Morris rode up to the wagon and removed the piece of old canvas that +was thrown over the tops of the barrels; there was no need of asking any +questions. No one but himself, for many miles around, had +"Belle-flowers" and "Jeannettes" like these. + +"How much do you lack, Grandison," he said, "of making up the money you +owe me to-morrow?" + +"Six dollars, sah," said Grandison. + +"Six dollars--three barrels--very good," said Mr. Morris. "I see you are +determined to stick to the truth, Grandison, and keep your engagement. +But I will trouble you to turn that wagon round and haul those apples to +my house. And, if you still want to buy the place, you can come on +Monday morning and work out the balance you have to make up on the first +instalment; and, after this, you can make all your payments in work. A +day's labor is fair and plain, but your ways of sticking to the truth +are very crooked." + +It was not long after this that Grandison was ploughing in one of Mr. +Morris' fields, when Brother 'Bijah came along and sat upon the fence. + +"Brudder Gran'son," said he, when the ploughman had reached the end of +the furrow and was preparing to turn, "jes' you let your hoss res' a +minnit till I tells you a par'ble." + +"Wot par'ble?" said Grandison, in a tone of unconcern, but stopping his +horse, all the same. + +"Why, dis one!" said 'Bijah. "Dar was an ole mule an' he b'longed to a +cullud man named Harris who used to carry de mail from de Coht House ter +Cary's Cross-roads. De ole mule was a pow'ful triflin' critter an' he +got lazier an' lazier, an' 'fore long he got so dreffle slow dat it tuk +him more'n one day ter go from de Coht House ter de crossroads, an' he +allus come in de day ahfter mail-day, when de people was done gone home. +So de cullud man, Harris, he says: + +"'You is too ole fur ter carry de mail, you triflin' mule, an' I hain't +got no udder use fur you.' + +"So he put him in a gully-field, whar dar was nuffin but bar' groun' an' +hog weed. Now, dar was nuffin in dis worl' dat triflin' mule hated so +much as hog weed, an' he says to hese'f: 'I's boun' ter do somefin' +better'n dis fur a libin. I reckin I'll go skeer dat ole Harris, an' +make him gib me a feed o' corn.' So he jump ober de fence, fur he was +spry 'nuf when he had a min' ter, an' he steals an ole bar skin dat he'd +seen hangin' up in de store po'ch, an' he pretty nigh kivered himse'f +all up wid it. Den he go down to de pos' offis, whar de mail had jes' +come in. When dis triflin' ole mule seed de cullud man, Harris, sittin' +on de bottom step ob de po'ch, he begin to kick up his heels an' make +all de noise he could wid he mouf. 'Wot's dat?' cried de cullud man, +Harris. 'I's a big grizzly bar,' said de mule, ''scaped from de 'nagerie +when 'twas fordin' Scott's Creek.' 'When did you git out?' said de +cullud man, Harris. 'I bus' from de cage at half pas' free o'clock dis +ebenin'.' 'An' is you reely a grizzly bar?' 'Dat's de truf,' said de +triflin' mule, 'an' I's pow'ful hungry, an' if you don' go git me a feed +o' corn I'll swaller you down whole.' An' he begun to roar as like a +grizzly bar as he knew how. 'Dat all de truf, you tellin' me?' de cullud +man, Harris, ask. 'Dat's all true as I's libin',' says de triflin' mule. +'All right, den,' says de cullud man, Harris, 'if you kin come from de +ford on Scott's Creek in a hour an' a half, you kin carry de mail jes' +as well as any udder mule, an' I's gwine ter buy a big cart whip, an' +make you do it. So take off dat bar skin, an' come 'long wid me.' So you +see Brudder Gran'son," continued 'Bijah, "dar's dif'rent kinds ob truf, +an' you's got ter be mighty 'ticklar wot kind you sticks ter." + +"Git up," said Grandison to his drowsy horse, as he started him on +another furrow. + + + + +PLAIN FISHING. + + +"Well, sir," said old Peter, as he came out on the porch with his pipe, +"so you came here to go fishin'?" + +Peter Gruse was the owner of the farm-house where I had arrived that +day, just before supper-time. He was a short, strong-built old man, with +a pair of pretty daughters, and little gold rings in his ears. Two +things distinguished him from the farmers in the country round about: +one was the rings in his ears, and the other was the large and +comfortable house in which he kept his pretty daughters. The other +farmers in that region had fine large barns for their cattle and horses, +but very poor houses for their daughters. Old Peter's ear-rings were +indirectly connected with his house. He had not always lived among those +mountains. He had been on the sea, where his ears were decorated, and he +had travelled a good deal on land, where he had ornamented his mind with +many ideas which were not in general use in the part of his State in +which he was born. His house stood a little back from the high road, +and if a traveller wished to be entertained, Peter was generally willing +to take him in, provided he had left his wife and family at home. The +old man himself had no objection to wives and children, but his two +pretty daughters had. + +These young women had waited on their father and myself at supper-time, +one continually bringing hot griddle cakes, and the other giving me +every opportunity to test the relative merits of the seven different +kinds of preserved fruit which, in little glass plates, covered the +otherwise unoccupied spaces on the tablecloth. The latter, when she +found that there was no further possible way of serving us, presumed to +sit down at the corner of the table and begin her supper. But in spite +of this apparent humility, which was only a custom of the country, there +was that in the general air of the pretty daughters which left no doubt +in the mind of the intelligent observer that they stood at the wheel in +that house. There was a son of fourteen, who sat at table with us, but +he did not appear to count as a member of the family. + +"Yes," I answered, "I understood that there was good fishing hereabout, +and, at any rate, I should like to spend a few days among these hills +and mountains." + +"Well," said Peter, "there's trout in some of our streams, though not +as many as there used to be, and there's hills a plenty, and mountains +too, if you choose to walk fur enough. They're a good deal furder off +than they look. What did you bring with you to fish with?" + +"Nothing at all," I answered. "I was told in the town that you were a +great fisherman, and that you could let me have all the tackle I would +need." + +"Upon my word," said old Peter, resting his pipe-hand on his knee and +looking steadfastly at me, "you're the queerest fisherman I've see'd +yet. Nigh every year, some two or three of 'em stop here in the fishin' +season, and there was never a man who didn't bring his jinted pole, and +his reels, and his lines, and his hooks, and his dry-goods flies, and +his whiskey-flask with a long strap to it. Now, if you want all these +things, I haven't got 'em." + +"Whatever you use yourself will suit me," I answered. + +"All right, then," said he. "I'll do the best I can for you in the +mornin'. But it's plain enough to me that you're not a game fisherman, +or you wouldn't come here without your tools." + +To this remark I made answer to the effect that, though I was very fond +of fishing, my pleasure in it did not depend upon the possession of all +the appliances of professional sport. + +"Perhaps you think," said the old man, "from the way I spoke, that I +don't believe them fellers with the jinted poles can ketch fish, but +that ain't so. That old story about the little boy with the pin-hook who +ketched all the fish, while the gentleman with the modern improvements, +who stood alongside of him, kep' throwin' out his beautiful flies and +never got nothin', is a pure lie. The fancy chaps, who must have +ev'rythin' jist so, gen'rally gits fish. But for all that, I don't like +their way of fishin', and I take no stock in it myself. I've been +fishin', on and off, ever since I was a little boy, and I've caught nigh +every kind there is, from the big jew-fish and cavalyoes down South, to +the trout and minnies round about here. But when I ketch a fish, the +first thing I do is to try to git him on the hook, and the next thing is +to git him out of the water jist as soon as I kin. I don't put in no +time worryin' him. There's only two animals in the world that likes to +worry smaller creeturs a good while afore they kill 'em; one is the cat, +and the other is what they call the game fisherman. This kind of a +feller never goes after no fish that don't mind being ketched. He goes +fur them kinds that loves their home in the water and hates most to +leave it, and he makes it jist as hard fur 'em as he kin. What the game +fisher likes is the smallest kind of a hook, the thinnest line, and a +fish that it takes a good while to weaken. The longer the weak'nin' +business kin be spun out, the more the sport. The idee is to let the +fish think there's a chance fur him to git away. That's jist like the +cat with her mouse. She lets the little creetur hop off, but the minnit +he gits fur enough away, she jumps on him and jabs him with her claws, +and then, if there's any game left in him, she lets him try again. Of +course the game fisher could have a strong line and a stout pole and git +his fish in a good sight quicker, if he wanted to, but that wouldn't be +sport. He couldn't give him the butt and spin him out, and reel him in, +and let him jump and run till his pluck is clean worn out. Now, I likes +to git my fish ashore with all the pluck in 'em. It makes 'em taste +better. And as fur fun, I'll be bound I've had jist as much of that, and +more, too, than most of these fellers who are so dreadful anxious to +have everythin' jist right, and think they can't go fishin' till they've +spent enough money to buy a suit of Sunday clothes. As a gen'ral rule +they're a solemn lot, and work pretty hard at their fun. When I work I +want to be paid fur it, and when I go in fur fun I want to take it easy +and cheerful. Now I wouldn't say so much agen these fellers," said old +Peter, as he arose and put his empty pipe on a little shelf under the +porch-roof, "if it wasn't for one thing, and that is, that they think +that their kind of fishin' is the only kind worth considerin'. The way +they look down upon plain Christian fishin' is enough to rile a +hitchin'-post. I don't want to say nothin' agen no man's way of +attendin' to his own affairs, whether it's kitchen-gardenin', or whether +it's fishin', if he says nothin' agen my way; but when he looks down on +me, and grins at me, I want to haul myself up, and grin at him, if I +kin. And in this case, I kin. I s'pose the house-cat and the cat-fisher +(by which I don't mean the man who fishes for cat-fish) was both made as +they is, and they can't help it; but that don't give 'em no right to put +on airs before other bein's, who gits their meat with a square kill. +Good-night. And sence I've talked so much about it, I've a mind to go +fishin' with you to-morrow myself." + +The next morning found old Peter of the same mind, and after breakfast +he proceeded to fit me out for a day of what he called "plain Christian +trout-fishin'." He gave me a reed rod, about nine feet long, light, +strong, and nicely balanced. The tackle he produced was not of the fancy +order, but his lines were of fine strong linen, and his hooks were of +good shape, clean and sharp, and snooded to the lines with a neatness +that indicated the hand of a man who had been where he learned to wear +little gold rings in his ears. + +"Here are some of these feather insects," he said, "which you kin take +along if you like." And he handed me a paper containing a few artificial +flies. "They're pretty nat'ral," he said, "and the hooks is good. A man +who came here fishin' gave 'em to me, but I shan't want 'em to-day. At +this time of year grasshoppers is the best bait in the kind of place +where we're goin' to fish. The stream, after it comes down from the +mountain, runs through half a mile of medder land before it strikes into +the woods agen. A grasshopper is a little creetur that's got as much +conceit as if his jinted legs was fish-poles, and he thinks he kin jump +over this narrer run of water whenever he pleases; but he don't always +do it, and then if he doesn't git snapped up by the trout that lie along +the banks in the medder, he is floated along into the woods, where +there's always fish enough to come to the second table." + +Having got me ready, Peter took his own particular pole, which he +assured me he had used for eleven years, and hooking on his left arm a +good-sized basket, which his elder pretty daughter had packed with cold +meat, bread, butter, and preserves, we started forth for a three-mile +walk to the fishing-ground. The day was a favorable one for our purpose, +the sky being sometimes over-clouded, which was good for fishing, and +also for walking on a highroad; and sometimes bright, which was good for +effects of mountain-scenery. Not far from the spot where old Peter +proposed to begin our sport, a small frame-house stood by the roadside, +and here the old man halted and entered the open door without knocking +or giving so much as a premonitory stamp. I followed, imitating my +companion in leaving my pole outside, which appeared to be the only +ceremony that the etiquette of those parts required of visitors. In the +room we entered, a small man in his shirt-sleeves sat mending a +basket-handle. He nodded to Peter, and Peter nodded to him. + +"We've come up a-fishin'," said the old man. "Kin your boys give us some +grasshoppers?" + +"I don't know that they've got any ready ketched," said he, "for I +reckon I used what they had this mornin'. But they kin git you some. +Here, Dan, you and Sile go and ketch Mr. Gruse and this young man some +grasshoppers. Take that mustard-box, and see that you git it full." + +Peter and I now took seats, and the conversation began about a black +cow which Peter had to sell, and which the other was willing to buy if +the old man would trade for sheep, which animals, however, the +basket-mender did not appear just at that time to have in his +possession. As I was not very much interested in this subject, I walked +to the back-door and watched two small boys in scanty shirts and +trousers, and ragged straw hats, who were darting about in the grass +catching grasshoppers, of which insects, judging by the frequent pounces +of the boys, there seemed a plentiful supply. + +"Got it full?" said their father, when the boys came in. + +"Crammed," said Dan. + +Old Peter took the little can, pressed the top firmly on, put it in his +coat-tail pocket, and rose to go. "You'd better think about that cow, +Barney," said he. He said nothing to the boys about the box of bait; but +I could not let them catch grasshoppers for us for nothing, and I took a +dime from my pocket, and gave it to Dan. Dan grinned, and Sile looked +sheepishly happy, and at the sight of the piece of silver an expression +of interest came over the face of the father. "Wait a minute," said he, +and he went into a little room that seemed to be a kitchen. Returning, +he brought with him a small string of trout. "Do you want to buy some +fish?" he said. "These is nice fresh ones. I ketched 'em this mornin'." + +To offer to sell fish to a man who is just about to go out to catch them +for himself might, in most cases, be considered an insult, but it was +quite evident that nothing of the kind was intended by Barney. He +probably thought that if I bought grasshoppers, I might buy fish. "You +kin have 'em for a quarter," he said. + +It was derogatory to my pride to buy fish at such a moment, but the man +looked very poor, and there was a shade of anxiety on his face which +touched me. Old Peter stood by without saying a word. "It might be +well," I said, turning to him, "to buy these fish, for we may not catch +enough for supper." + +"Such things do happen," said the old man. + +"Well," said I, "if we have these we shall feel safe in any case." And I +took the fish and gave the man a quarter. It was not, perhaps, a +professional act, but the trout were well worth the money, and I felt +that I was doing a deed of charity. + +Old Peter and I now took our rods, and crossed the road into an enclosed +field, and thence into a wide stretch of grass land, bounded by hills +in front of us and to the right, while a thick forest lay to the left. +We had walked but a short distance, when Peter said: "I'll go down into +the woods, and try my luck there, and you'd better go along up stream, +about a quarter of a mile, to where it's rocky. P'raps you ain't used to +fishin' in the woods, and you might git your line cotched. You'll find +the trout'll bite in the rough water." + +"Where is the stream?" I asked. + +"This is it," he said, pointing to a little brook, which was scarcely +too wide for me to step across, "and there's fish right here, but +they're hard to ketch, fur they git plenty of good livin' and are mighty +sassy about their eatin'. But you kin ketch 'em up there." + +Old Peter now went down toward the woods, while I walked up the little +stream. I had seen trout-brooks before, but never one so diminutive as +this. However, when I came nearer to the point where the stream issued +from between two of the foot-hills of the mountains, which lifted their +forest-covered heights in the distance, I found it wider and shallower, +breaking over its rocky bottom in sparkling little cascades. + +Fishing in such a jolly little stream, surrounded by this mountain +scenery, and with the privileges of the beautiful situation all to +myself, would have been a joy to me if I had had never a bite. But no +such ill-luck befell me. Peter had given me the can of grasshoppers +after putting half of them into his own bait-box, and these I used with +much success. It was grasshopper season, and the trout were evidently on +the lookout for them. I fished in the ripples under the little +waterfalls; and every now and then I drew out a lively trout. Most of +these were of moderate size, and some of them might have been called +small. The large ones probably fancied the forest shades, where old +Peter went. But all I caught were fit for the table, and I was very well +satisfied with the result of my sport. + +About noon I began to feel hungry, and thought it time to look up the +old man, who had the lunch-basket. I walked down the bank of the brook, +and some time before I reached the woods I came to a place where it +expanded to a width of about ten feet. The water here was very clear, +and the motion quiet, so that I could easily see to the bottom, which +did not appear to be more than a foot below the surface. Gazing into +this transparent water, as I walked, I saw a large trout glide across +the stream, and disappear under the grassy bank which overhung the +opposite side. I instantly stopped. This was a much larger fish than +any I had caught, and I determined to try for him. + +I stepped back from the bank, so as to be out of sight, and put a fine +grasshopper on my hook; then I lay, face downward, on the grass, and +worked myself slowly forward until I could see the middle of the stream; +then quietly raising my pole, I gave my grasshopper a good swing, as if +he had made a wager to jump over the stream at its widest part. But as +he certainly would have failed in such an ambitious endeavor, especially +if he had been caught by a puff of wind, I let him come down upon the +surface of the water, a little beyond the middle of the brook. +Grasshoppers do not sink when they fall into the water, and so I kept +this fellow upon the surface, and gently moved him along, as if, with +all the conceit taken out of him by the result of his ill-considered +leap, he was ignominiously endeavoring to swim to shore. As I did this, +I saw the trout come out from under the bank, move slowly toward the +grasshopper, and stop directly under him. Trembling with anxiety and +eager expectation, I endeavored to make the movements of the insect +still more natural, and, as far as I was able, I threw into him a sudden +perception of his danger, and a frenzied desire to get away. But, +either the trout had had all the grasshoppers he wanted, or he was able, +from long experience, to perceive the difference between a natural +exhibition of emotion and a histrionic imitation of it, for he slowly +turned, and, with a few slight movements of his tail, glided back under +the bank. In vain did the grasshopper continue his frantic efforts to +reach the shore; in vain did he occasionally become exhausted, and sink +a short distance below the surface; in vain did he do everything that he +knew, to show that he appreciated what a juicy and delicious morsel he +was, and how he feared that the trout might yet be tempted to seize him; +the fish did not come out again. + +Then I withdrew my line, and moved back from the stream. I now +determined to try Mr. Trout with a fly, and I took out the paper old +Peter Gruse had given me. I did not know exactly what kind of winged +insects were in order at this time of the year, but I was sure that +yellow butterflies were not particular about just what month it was, so +long as the sun shone warmly. I therefore chose that one of Peter's +flies which was made of the yellowest feathers, and, removing the snood +and hook from my line, I hastily attached this fly, which was provided +with a hook quite suitable for my desired prize. Crouching on the +grass, I again approached the brook. Gaily flitting above the glassy +surface of the water, in all the fancied security of tender youth and +innocence, came my yellow fly. Backward and forward over the water he +gracefully flew, sometimes rising a little into the air, as if to view +the varied scenery of the woods and mountains, and then settling for a +moment close to the surface, to better inspect his glittering image as +it came up from below, and showing in his every movement his intense +enjoyment of summer-time and life. + +Out from his dark retreat now came the trout, and settling quietly at +the bottom of the brook, he appeared to regard the venturesome insect +with a certain interest. But he must have detected the iron-barb of vice +beneath the mask of blitheful innocence, for, after a short +deliberation, the trout turned and disappeared under the bank. As he +slowly moved away, he seemed to be bigger than ever. I must catch that +fish! Surely he would bite at something. It was quite evident that his +mind was not wholly unsusceptible to emotions emanating from an +awakening appetite, and I believed that if he saw exactly what he +wanted, he would not neglect an opportunity of availing himself of it. +But what did he want? I must certainly find out. Drawing myself back +again, I took off the yellow fly, and put on another. This was a white +one, with black blotches, like a big miller moth which had fallen into +an ink-pot. It was surely a conspicuous creature, and as I crept forward +and sent it swooping over the stream, I could not see how any trout, +with a single insectivorous tooth in his head, could fail to rise to +such an occasion. But this trout did not rise. He would not even come +out from under his bank to look at the swiftly flitting creature. He +probably could see it well enough from where he was. + +But I was not to be discouraged. I put on another fly; a green one with +a red tail. It did not look like any insect that I had ever seen, but I +thought that the trout might know more about such things than I. He did +come out to look at it, but probably considering it a product of that +modern aestheticism which sacrifices natural beauty to mediaeval crudeness +of color and form, he retired without evincing any disposition to +countenance this style of art. + +It was evident that it would be useless to put on any other flies, for +the two I had left were a good deal bedraggled, and not nearly so +attractive as those I had used. Just before leaving the house that +morning, Peter's son had given me a wooden match-box filled with worms +for bait, which, although I did not expect to need, I put in my pocket. +As a last resort I determined to try the trout with a worm. I selected +the plumpest and most comely of the lot; I put a new hook on my line; I +looped him about it in graceful coils, and cautiously approached the +water, as before. Now a worm never attempts to wildly leap across a +flowing brook, nor does he flit in thoughtless innocence through the +sunny air, and over the bright transparent stream. If he happens to fall +into the water, he sinks to the bottom; and if he be of a kind not +subject to drowning, he generally endeavors to secrete himself under a +stone, or to burrow in the soft mud. With this knowledge of his nature I +gently dropped my worm upon the surface of the stream, and then allowed +him slowly to sink. Out sailed the trout from under the bank, but +stopped before reaching the sinking worm. There was a certain something +in his action which seemed to indicate a disgust at the sight of such +plebeian food, and a fear seized me that he might now swim off, and pay +no further attention to my varied baits. Suddenly there was a ripple in +the water, and I felt a pull on the line. Instantly I struck; and then +there was a tug. My blood boiled through every vein and artery, and I +sprang to my feet. I did not give him the butt; I did not let him run +with yards of line down the brook; nor reel him in, and let him make +another mad course up stream; I did not turn him over as he jumped into +the air; nor endeavor, in any way, to show him that I understood those +tricks, which his depraved nature prompted him to play upon the angler. +With an absolute dependence upon the strength of old Peter's tackle, I +lifted the fish. Out he came from the water, which held him with a +gentle suction as if unwilling to let him go, and then he whirled +through the air like a meteor flecked with rosy fire, and landed on the +fresh green grass a dozen feet behind me. Down on my knees I dropped +before him as he tossed and rolled, his beautiful spots and colors +glistening in the sun. He was truly a splendid trout, fully a foot long, +round and heavy. Carefully seizing him, I easily removed the hook from +the bony roof of his capacious mouth thickly set with sparkling teeth, +and then I tenderly killed him, with all his pluck, as old Peter would +have said, still in him. + +I covered the rest of the fish in my basket with wet plantain leaves, +and laid my trout king on this cool green bed. Then I hurried off to the +old man, whom I saw coming out of the woods. When I opened my basket and +showed him what I had caught, Peter looked surprised, and, taking up +the trout, examined it. + +"Why, this is a big fellow," he said. "At first I thought it was Barney +Sloat's boss trout, but it isn't long enough for him. Barney showed me +his trout, that gen'rally keeps in a deep pool, where a tree has fallen +over the stream down there. Barney tells me he often sees him, and he's +been tryin' fur two years to ketch him, but he never has, and I say he +never will, fur them big trout's got too much sense to fool round any +kind of victuals that's got a string to it. They let a little fish eat +all he wants, and then they eat him. How did you ketch this one?" + +I gave an account of the manner of the capture, to which Peter listened +with interest and approval. + +"If you'd a stood off and made a cast at that feller, you'd either have +caught him at the first flip, which isn't likely, as he didn't seem to +want no feather flies, or else you'd a skeered him away. That's all well +enough in the tumblin' water, where you gen'rally go fur trout, but the +man that's got the true feelin' fur fish will try to suit his idees to +theirs, and if he keeps on doin' that, he's like to learn a thing or two +that may do him good. That's a fine fish, and you ketched him well. I've +got a lot of 'em, but nothin' of that heft." + +After luncheon we fished for an hour or two with no result worth +recording, and then we started for home. A couple of partridges ran +across the road some distance ahead of us, and these gave Peter an idea. + +"Do you know," said he, "if things go on as they're goin' on now, that +there'll come a time when it won't be considered high-toned sport to +shoot a bird slam-bang dead. The game gunners will pop 'em with little +harpoons, with long threads tied to 'em, and the feller that can tire +out his bird, and haul him in with the longest and thinnest piece of +spool thread, will be the crackest sportsman." + +At this point I remarked to my companion that perhaps he was a little +hard on the game fishermen. + +"Well," said old Peter, with a smile on his corrugated visage, "I reckon +I'd have to do a lot of talkin' before I'd git even with 'em, fur the +way they give me the butt for my style of fishin'. What I say behind +their backs I say to their faces. I seed one of these fellers once with +a fish on his hook, that he was runnin' up an' down the stream like a +chased chicken. 'Why don't you pull him in?' says I. 'And break my rod +an' line?' says he. 'Why don't you have a stronger line and pole?' says +I. 'There wouldn't be no science in that,' says he. 'If it's your +science you want to show off,' says I, 'you ought to fish for mud eels. +There's more game in 'em than there is in any other fish round here, and +as they're mighty lively out of water you might play one of 'em fur half +an hour after you got him on shore, and it would take all your science +to keep him from reelin' up his end of the line faster than you could +yourn.'" + +When we reached the farm the old man went into the barn, and I took the +fish into the house. I found the two pretty daughters in the large room, +where the eating and some of the cooking was done. I opened my basket, +and with great pride showed them the big trout I had caught. They +evidently thought it was a large fish, but they looked at each other, +and smiled in a way that I did not understand. I had expected from them, +at least, as much admiration for my prize and my skill as their father +had shown. + +"You don't seem to think much of this fine trout that I took such +trouble to catch," I remarked. + +"You mean," said the elder girl, with a laugh, "that you bought of +Barney Sloat." + +I looked at her in astonishment. + +"Barney was along here to-day," she said, "and he told about your buying +your fish of him." + +"Bought of him!" I exclaimed, indignantly. "A little string of fish at +the bottom of the basket I bought of him, but all the others, and this +big one, I caught myself." + +"Oh, of course," said the pretty daughter, "bought the little ones and +caught all the big ones!" + +"Barney Sloat ought to have kept his mouth shut," said the younger +pretty daughter, looking at me with an expression of pity. "He'd got his +money, and he hadn't no business to go telling on people. Nobody likes +that sort of thing. But this big fish is a real nice one, and you shall +have it for your supper." + +"Thank you," I said, with dignity, and left the room. + +I did not intend to have any further words with these young women on +this subject, but I cannot deny that I was annoyed and mortified. This +was the result of a charitable action. I think I was never more proud of +anything than of catching that trout; and it was a good deal of a +downfall to suddenly find myself regarded as a mere city man fishing +with a silver hook. But, after all, what did it matter? + +The boy who did not seem to be accounted a member of the family came +into the house, and as he passed me he smiled good-humoredly, and said: +"Buyed 'em!" + +I felt like throwing a chair at him, but refrained out of respect to my +host. Before supper the old man came out on to the porch where I was +sitting. "It seems," said he, "that my gals has got it inter their heads +that you bought that big fish of Barney Sloat, and as I can't say I seed +you ketch it, they're not willin' to give in, 'specially as I didn't git +no such big one. 'Tain't wise to buy fish when you're goin' fishin' +yourself. It's pretty certain to tell agen you." + +"You ought to have given me that advice before," I said, somewhat +shortly. "You saw me buy the fish." + +"You don't s'pose," said old Peter, "that I'm goin' to say anythin' to +keep money out of my neighbor's pockets. We don't do that way in these +parts. But I've told the gals they're not to speak another word about +it, so you needn't give your mind no worry on that score. And now let's +go in to supper. If you're as hungry as I am, there won't be many of +them fish left fur breakfast." + +That evening, as we were sitting smoking on the porch, old Peter's mind +reverted to the subject of the unfounded charge against me. "It goes +pretty hard," he remarked, "to have to stand up and take a thing you +don' like when there's no call fur it. It's bad enough when there is a +call fur it. That matter about your fish buyin' reminds me of what +happened two summers ago to my sister, or ruther to her two little +boys--or, more correct yit, to one of 'em. Them was two cur'ous little +boys. They was allus tradin' with each other. Their father deals mostly +in horses, and they must have got it from him. At the time I'm tellin' +of they'd traded everythin' they had, and when they hadn't nothin' else +left to swap they traded names. Joe he took Johnny's name, and Johnny he +took Joe's. Jist about when they'd done this, they both got sick with +sumthin' or other, the oldest one pretty bad, the other not much. Now +there ain't no doctor inside of twenty miles of where my sister lives. +But there's one who sometimes has a call to go through that part of the +country, and the people about there is allus very glad when they chance +to be sick when he comes along. Now this good luck happened to my +sister, fur the doctor come by jist at this time. He looks into the +state of the boys, and while their mother has gone downstairs he mixes +some medicine he has along with him. 'What's your name?' he says to the +oldest boy when he'd done it. Now as he'd traded names with his brother, +fair and square, he wasn't goin' back on the trade, and he said, 'Joe.' +'And my name's Johnny,' up and says the other one. Then the doctor he +goes and gives the bottle of medicine to their mother, and says he: +'This medicine is fur Joe. You must give him a tablespoonful every two +hours. Keep up the treatment, and he'll be all right. As fur Johnny, +there's nothin' much the matter with him. He don't need no medicine.' +And then he went away. Every two hours after that Joe, who wasn't sick +worth mentionin', had to swallow a dose of horrid stuff, and pretty soon +he took to his bed, and Johnny he jist played round and got well in the +nat'ral way. Joe's mother kept up the treatment, gittin' up in the night +to feed that stuff to him; but the poor little boy got wuss and wuss, +and one mornin' he says to his mother, says he: 'Mother, I guess I'm +goin' to die, and I'd ruther do that than take any more of that +medicine, and I wish you'd call Johnny and we'll trade names back agen, +and if he don't want to come and do it, you kin tell him he kin keep the +old minkskin I gave him to boot, on account of his name havin' a Wesley +in it.' 'Trade names,' says his mother, 'what do you mean by that?' And +then he told her what he and Johnny had done. 'And did you ever tell +anybody about this?' says she. 'Nobody but Dr. Barnes,' says he. 'After +that I got sick and forgot it.' When my sister heard that, an idee +struck into her like you put a fork into an apple dumplin'. Traded +names, and told the doctor! She'd all along thought it strange that the +boy that seemed wuss should be turned out, and the other one put under +treatment; but it wasn't fur her to set up her opinion agen that of a +man like Dr. Barnes. Down she went, in about seventeen jumps, to where +Eli Timmins, the hired man, was ploughin' in the corn. 'Take that horse +out of that,' she hollers, 'and you may kill him if you have to, but git +Dr. Barnes here before my little boy dies.' When the doctor come he +heard the story, and looked at the sick youngster, and then says he: 'If +he'd kept his minkskin, and not hankered after a Wesley to his name, +he'd a had a better time of it. Stop the treatment, and he'll be all +right.' Which she did; and he was. Now it seems to me that this is a +good deal like your case. You've had to take a lot of medicine that +didn't belong to you, and I guess it's made you feel pretty bad; but +I've told my gals to stop the treatment, and you'll be all right in the +mornin'. Good-night. Your candlestick is on the kitchen table." + +For two days longer I remained in this neighborhood, wandering alone +over the hills, and up the mountain-sides, and by the brooks, which +tumbled and gurgled through the lonely forest. Each evening I brought +home a goodly supply of trout, but never a great one like the noble +fellow for which I angled in the meadow stream. + +On the morning of my departure I stood on the porch with old Peter +waiting for the arrival of the mail driver, who was to take me to the +nearest railroad town. + +"I don't want to say nothin'," remarked the old man, "that would keep +them fellers with the jinted poles from stoppin' at my house when they +comes to these parts a-fishin'. I ain't got no objections to their +poles; 'tain't that. And I don't mind nuther their standin' off, and +throwin' their flies as fur as they've a mind to; that's not it. And it +ain't even the way they have of worryin' their fish. I wouldn't do it +myself, but if they like it, that's their business. But what does rile +me is the cheeky way in which they stand up and say that there isn't no +decent way of fishin' but their way. And that to a man that's ketched +more fish, of more different kinds, with more game in 'em, and had more +fun at it, with a lot less money, and less tomfoolin' than any fishin' +feller that ever come here and talked to me like an old cat tryin' to +teach a dog to ketch rabbits. No, sir; agen I say that I don't take no +money fur entertainin' the only man that ever come out here to go +a-fishin' in a plain, Christian way. But if you feel tetchy about not +payin' nothin', you kin send me one of them poles in three pieces, a +good strong one, that'll lift Barney Sloat's trout, if ever I hook him." + +I sent him the rod; and next summer I am going out to see him use it. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMOS KILBRIGHT; HIS ADSCITITIOUS +EXPERIENCES*** + + +******* This file should be named 13531.txt or 13531.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/5/3/13531 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://www.gutenberg.org/about/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: +https://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + diff --git a/old/13531.zip b/old/13531.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..478b3de --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13531.zip |