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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Chosen Few, 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: A Chosen Few
+       Short Stories
+
+Author: Frank R. Stockton
+
+Release Date: May 21, 2008 [EBook #25549]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CHOSEN FEW ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Audrey Longhurst, Barbara Tozier and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+                            A CHOSEN FEW
+
+                           SHORT STORIES
+
+                                 BY
+
+                         FRANK R. STOCKTON
+
+            WITH AN ETCHED PORTRAIT BY W. H. W. BICKNELL
+
+                              NEW YORK
+                      CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
+                                1895
+
+
+
+
+                        Copyright, 1895, by
+                      CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
+
+                        THE DE VINNE PRESS.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+The stories contained in this little volume were chosen, by virtue
+of a sort of literary civil-service examination, in order that they
+might be grouped together as a representative class of the author's
+best-known work in this line.
+
+Several of these stories have points of peculiar interest to the
+author. For instance, "Negative Gravity" was composed in Switzerland
+when the author was temporarily confined to the house in full view
+of unreachable Alps.
+
+"His Wife's Deceased Sister" was suggested by an editorial
+disposition to compare all the author's work with one previous
+production, and to discard everything which did not accord exactly
+with the particular story which had been selected as a standard of
+merit.
+
+"The Lady, or the Tiger?" was printed in the hope that the author
+might receive the cheerful coöperation of some of his readers in a
+satisfactory solution of the problem contained in the little story;
+but although he has had much valuable assistance in this direction
+he has also been the recipient of a great deal of scolding.
+
+After reading several stories by Clark Russell, the author's mind
+was led to consider the possibility of inventing some sort of
+shipwreck which had never yet been made the subject of a story. His
+efforts in this line resulted in "The Remarkable Wreck of the
+'Thomas Hyke.'"
+
+"A Piece of Red Calico" is a description, with exaggerated points,
+of an actual experience.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+  A TALE OF NEGATIVE GRAVITY
+    From "The Christmas Wreck"
+
+  ASAPH
+    From "The Watchmaker's Wife"
+
+  "HIS WIFE'S DECEASED SISTER"
+    From "The Lady, or the Tiger?"
+
+  THE LADY, OR THE TIGER?
+
+  THE REMARKABLE WRECK OF THE "THOMAS HYKE"
+    From "The Christmas Wreck"
+
+  OLD PIPES AND THE DRYAD
+    From "The Bee-man of Orn"
+
+  THE TRANSFERRED GHOST
+    From "The Lady, or the Tiger?"
+
+  "THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELATIVE EXISTENCES"
+    From "The Watchmaker's Wife"
+
+  A PIECE OF RED CALICO
+    From "The Lady, or the Tiger?"
+
+
+
+
+A TALE OF NEGATIVE GRAVITY
+
+
+My wife and I were staying at a small town in northern Italy; and on
+a certain pleasant afternoon in spring we had taken a walk of six or
+seven miles to see the sun set behind some low mountains to the west
+of the town. Most of our walk had been along a hard, smooth highway,
+and then we turned into a series of narrower roads, sometimes
+bordered by walls, and sometimes by light fences of reed or cane.
+Nearing the mountain, to a low spur of which we intended to ascend,
+we easily scaled a wall about four feet high, and found ourselves
+upon pasture-land, which led, sometimes by gradual ascents, and
+sometimes by bits of rough climbing, to the spot we wished to reach.
+We were afraid we were a little late, and therefore hurried on,
+running up the grassy hills, and bounding briskly over the rough and
+rocky places. I carried a knapsack strapped firmly to my shoulders,
+and under my wife's arm was a large, soft basket of a kind much used
+by tourists. Her arm was passed through the handles and around the
+bottom of the basket, which she pressed closely to her side. This
+was the way she always carried it. The basket contained two bottles
+of wine, one sweet for my wife, and another a little acid for
+myself. Sweet wines give me a headache.
+
+When we reached the grassy bluff, well known thereabouts to lovers
+of sunset views, I stepped immediately to the edge to gaze upon the
+scene, but my wife sat down to take a sip of wine, for she was very
+thirsty; and then, leaving her basket, she came to my side. The
+scene was indeed one of great beauty. Beneath us stretched a wide
+valley of many shades of green, with a little river running through
+it, and red-tiled houses here and there. Beyond rose a range of
+mountains, pink, pale green, and purple where their tips caught the
+reflection of the setting sun, and of a rich gray-green in shadows.
+Beyond all was the blue Italian sky, illumined by an especially fine
+sunset.
+
+My wife and I are Americans, and at the time of this story were
+middle-aged people and very fond of seeing in each other's company
+whatever there was of interest or beauty around us. We had a son
+about twenty-two years old, of whom we were also very fond; but he
+was not with us, being at that time a student in Germany. Although
+we had good health, we were not very robust people, and, under
+ordinary circumstances, not much given to long country tramps. I was
+of medium size, without much muscular development, while my wife was
+quite stout, and growing stouter.
+
+The reader may, perhaps, be somewhat surprised that a middle-aged
+couple, not very strong, or very good walkers, the lady loaded with
+a basket containing two bottles of wine and a metal drinking-cup,
+and the gentleman carrying a heavy knapsack, filled with all sorts
+of odds and ends, strapped to his shoulders, should set off on a
+seven-mile walk, jump over a wall, run up a hillside, and yet feel
+in very good trim to enjoy a sunset view. This peculiar state of
+things I will proceed to explain.
+
+I had been a professional man, but some years before had retired
+upon a very comfortable income. I had always been very fond of
+scientific pursuits, and now made these the occupation and pleasure
+of much of my leisure time. Our home was in a small town; and in a
+corner of my grounds I built a laboratory, where I carried on my
+work and my experiments. I had long been anxious to discover the
+means not only of producing, but of retaining and controlling, a
+natural force, really the same as centrifugal force, but which I
+called negative gravity. This name I adopted because it indicated
+better than any other the action of the force in question, as I
+produced it. Positive gravity attracts everything toward the centre
+of the earth. Negative gravity, therefore, would be that power which
+repels everything from the centre of the earth, just as the negative
+pole of a magnet repels the needle, while the positive pole attracts
+it. My object was, in fact, to store centrifugal force and to render
+it constant, controllable, and available for use. The advantages of
+such a discovery could scarcely be described. In a word, it would
+lighten the burdens of the world.
+
+I will not touch upon the labors and disappointments of several
+years. It is enough to say that at last I discovered a method of
+producing, storing, and controlling negative gravity.
+
+The mechanism of my invention was rather complicated, but the method
+of operating it was very simple. A strong metallic case, about eight
+inches long, and half as wide, contained the machinery for producing
+the force; and this was put into action by means of the pressure of
+a screw worked from the outside. As soon as this pressure was
+produced, negative gravity began to be evolved and stored, and the
+greater the pressure the greater the force. As the screw was moved
+outward, and the pressure diminished, the force decreased, and when
+the screw was withdrawn to its fullest extent, the action of
+negative gravity entirely ceased. Thus this force could be produced
+or dissipated at will to such degrees as might be desired, and its
+action, so long as the requisite pressure was maintained, was
+constant.
+
+When this little apparatus worked to my satisfaction I called my
+wife into my laboratory and explained to her my invention and its
+value. She had known that I had been at work with an important
+object, but I had never told her what it was. I had said that if I
+succeeded I would tell her all, but if I failed she need not be
+troubled with the matter at all. Being a very sensible woman, this
+satisfied her perfectly. Now I explained everything to her--the
+construction of the machine, and the wonderful uses to which this
+invention could be applied. I told her that it could diminish, or
+entirely dissipate, the weight of objects of any kind. A heavily
+loaded wagon, with two of these instruments fastened to its sides,
+and each screwed to a proper force, would be so lifted and supported
+that it would press upon the ground as lightly as an empty cart, and
+a small horse could draw it with ease. A bale of cotton, with one of
+these machines attached, could be handled and carried by a boy. A
+car, with a number of these machines, could be made to rise in the
+air like a balloon. Everything, in fact, that was heavy could be
+made light; and as a great part of labor, all over the world, is
+caused by the attraction of gravitation, so this repellent force,
+wherever applied, would make weight less and work easier. I told her
+of many, many ways in which the invention might be used, and would
+have told her of many more if she had not suddenly burst into tears.
+
+"The world has gained something wonderful," she exclaimed, between
+her sobs, "but I have lost a husband!"
+
+"What do you mean by that?" I asked, in surprise.
+
+"I haven't minded it so far," she said, "because it gave you
+something to do, and it pleased you, and it never interfered with
+our home pleasures and our home life. But now that is all over. You
+will never be your own master again. It will succeed, I am sure, and
+you may make a great deal of money, but we don't need money. What we
+need is the happiness which we have always had until now. Now there
+will be companies, and patents, and lawsuits, and experiments, and
+people calling you a humbug, and other people saying they discovered
+it long ago, and all sorts of persons coming to see you, and you'll
+be obliged to go to all sorts of places, and you will be an altered
+man, and we shall never be happy again. Millions of money will not
+repay us for the happiness we have lost."
+
+These words of my wife struck me with much force. Before I had
+called her my mind had begun to be filled and perplexed with ideas
+of what I ought to do now that the great invention was perfected.
+Until now the matter had not troubled me at all. Sometimes I had
+gone backward and sometimes forward, but, on the whole, I had always
+felt encouraged. I had taken great pleasure in the work, but I had
+never allowed myself to be too much absorbed by it. But now
+everything was different. I began to feel that it was due to myself
+and to my fellow-beings that I should properly put this invention
+before the world. And how should I set about it? What steps should I
+take? I must make no mistakes. When the matter should become known
+hundreds of scientific people might set themselves to work; how
+could I tell but that they might discover other methods of producing
+the same effect? I must guard myself against a great many things. I
+must get patents in all parts of the world. Already, as I have said,
+my mind began to be troubled and perplexed with these things. A
+turmoil of this sort did not suit my age or disposition. I could not
+but agree with my wife that the joys of a quiet and contented life
+were now about to be broken into.
+
+"My dear," said I, "I believe, with you, that the thing will do us
+more harm than good. If it were not for depriving the world of the
+invention I would throw the whole thing to the winds. And yet," I
+added, regretfully, "I had expected a great deal of personal
+gratification from the use of this invention."
+
+"Now listen," said my wife, eagerly; "don't you think it would be
+best to do this: use the thing as much as you please for your own
+amusement and satisfaction, but let the world wait? It has waited a
+long time, and let it wait a little longer. When we are dead let
+Herbert have the invention. He will then be old enough to judge for
+himself whether it will be better to take advantage of it for his
+own profit, or simply to give it to the public for nothing. It would
+be cheating him if we were to do the latter, but it would also be
+doing him a great wrong if we were, at his age, to load him with
+such a heavy responsibility. Besides, if he took it up, you could
+not help going into it, too."
+
+I took my wife's advice. I wrote a careful and complete account of
+the invention, and, sealing it up, I gave it to my lawyers to be
+handed to my son after my death. If he died first, I would make
+other arrangements. Then I determined to get all the good and fun
+out of the thing that was possible without telling any one anything
+about it. Even Herbert, who was away from home, was not to be told
+of the invention.
+
+The first thing I did was to buy a strong leathern knapsack, and
+inside of this I fastened my little machine, with a screw so
+arranged that it could be worked from the outside. Strapping this
+firmly to my shoulders, my wife gently turned the screw at the back
+until the upward tendency of the knapsack began to lift and sustain
+me. When I felt myself so gently supported and upheld that I seemed
+to weigh about thirty or forty pounds, I would set out for a walk.
+The knapsack did not raise me from the ground, but it gave me a very
+buoyant step. It was no labor at all to walk; it was a delight, an
+ecstasy. With the strength of a man and the weight of a child, I
+gayly strode along. The first day I walked half a dozen miles at a
+very brisk pace, and came back without feeling in the least degree
+tired. These walks now became one of the greatest joys of my life.
+When nobody was looking, I would bound over a fence, sometimes just
+touching it with one hand, and sometimes not touching it at all. I
+delighted in rough places. I sprang over streams. I jumped and I
+ran. I felt like Mercury himself.
+
+I now set about making another machine, so that my wife could
+accompany me in my walks; but when it was finished she positively
+refused to use it. "I can't wear a knapsack," she said, "and there
+is no other good way of fastening it to me. Besides, everybody about
+here knows I am no walker, and it would only set them talking."
+
+I occasionally made use of this second machine, but I will give only
+one instance of its application. Some repairs were needed to the
+foundation-walls of my barn, and a two-horse wagon, loaded with
+building-stone, had been brought into my yard and left there. In the
+evening, when the men had gone away, I took my two machines and
+fastened them, with strong chains, one on each side of the loaded
+wagon. Then, gradually turning the screws, the wagon was so lifted
+that its weight became very greatly diminished. We had an old donkey
+which used to belong to Herbert, and which was now occasionally used
+with a small cart to bring packages from the station. I went into
+the barn and put the harness on the little fellow, and, bringing him
+out to the wagon, I attached him to it. In this position he looked
+very funny with a long pole sticking out in front of him and the
+great wagon behind him. When all was ready I touched him up; and, to
+my great delight, he moved off with the two-horse load of stone as
+easily as if he were drawing his own cart. I led him out into the
+public road, along which he proceeded without difficulty. He was an
+opinionated little beast, and sometimes stopped, not liking the
+peculiar manner in which he was harnessed; but a touch of the switch
+made him move on, and I soon turned him and brought the wagon back
+into the yard. This determined the success of my invention in one of
+its most important uses, and with a satisfied heart I put the donkey
+into the stable and went into the house.
+
+Our trip to Europe was made a few months after this, and was mainly
+on our son Herbert's account. He, poor fellow, was in great trouble,
+and so, therefore, were we. He had become engaged, with our full
+consent, to a young lady in our town, the daughter of a gentleman
+whom we esteemed very highly. Herbert was young to be engaged to be
+married, but as we felt that he would never find a girl to make him
+so good a wife, we were entirely satisfied, especially as it was
+agreed on all hands that the marriage was not to take place for some
+time. It seemed to us that, in marrying Janet Gilbert, Herbert would
+secure for himself, in the very beginning of his career, the most
+important element of a happy life. But suddenly, without any reason
+that seemed to us justifiable, Mr. Gilbert, the only surviving
+parent of Janet, broke off the match; and he and his daughter soon
+after left the town for a trip to the West.
+
+This blow nearly broke poor Herbert's heart. He gave up his
+professional studies and came home to us, and for a time we thought
+he would be seriously ill. Then we took him to Europe, and after a
+Continental tour of a month or two we left him, at his own request,
+in Göttingen, where he thought it would do him good to go to work
+again. Then we went down to the little town in Italy where my story
+first finds us. My wife had suffered much in mind and body on her
+son's account, and for this reason I was anxious that she should
+take outdoor exercise, and enjoy as much as possible the bracing air
+of the country. I had brought with me both my little machines. One
+was still in my knapsack, and the other I had fastened to the inside
+of an enormous family trunk. As one is obliged to pay for nearly
+every pound of his baggage on the Continent, this saved me a great
+deal of money. Everything heavy was packed into this great
+trunk--books, papers, the bronze, iron, and marble relics we had
+picked up, and all the articles that usually weigh down a tourist's
+baggage. I screwed up the negative-gravity apparatus until the trunk
+could be handled with great ease by an ordinary porter. I could have
+made it weigh nothing at all, but this, of course, I did not wish to
+do. The lightness of my baggage, however, had occasioned some
+comment, and I had overheard remarks which were not altogether
+complimentary about people travelling around with empty trunks; but
+this only amused me.
+
+Desirous that my wife should have the advantage of negative gravity
+while taking our walks, I had removed the machine from the trunk and
+fastened it inside of the basket, which she could carry under her
+arm. This assisted her wonderfully. When one arm was tired she put
+the basket under the other, and thus, with one hand on my arm, she
+could easily keep up with the free and buoyant steps my knapsack
+enabled me to take. She did not object to long tramps here, because
+nobody knew that she was not a walker, and she always carried some
+wine or other refreshment in the basket, not only because it was
+pleasant to have it with us, but because it seemed ridiculous to go
+about carrying an empty basket.
+
+There were English-speaking people stopping at the hotel where we
+were, but they seemed more fond of driving than walking, and none of
+them offered to accompany us on our rambles, for which we were very
+glad. There was one man there, however, who was a great walker. He
+was an Englishman, a member of an Alpine Club, and generally went
+about dressed in a knickerbocker suit, with gray woollen stockings
+covering an enormous pair of calves. One evening this gentleman was
+talking to me and some others about the ascent of the Matterhorn,
+and I took occasion to deliver in pretty strong language my opinion
+upon such exploits. I declared them to be useless, foolhardy, and,
+if the climber had any one who loved him, wicked.
+
+"Even if the weather should permit a view," I said, "what is that
+compared to the terrible risk to life? Under certain circumstances,"
+I added (thinking of a kind of waistcoat I had some idea of making,
+which, set about with little negative-gravity machines, all
+connected with a conveniently handled screw, would enable the wearer
+at times to dispense with his weight altogether), "such ascents
+might be divested of danger, and be quite admissible; but ordinarily
+they should be frowned upon by the intelligent public."
+
+The Alpine Club man looked at me, especially regarding my somewhat
+slight figure and thinnish legs.
+
+"It's all very well for you to talk that way," he said, "because it
+is easy to see that you are not up to that sort of thing."
+
+"In conversations of this kind," I replied, "I never make personal
+allusions; but since you have chosen to do so, I feel inclined to
+invite you to walk with me to-morrow to the top of the mountain to
+the north of this town."
+
+"I'll do it," he said, "at any time you choose to name." And as I
+left the room soon afterward I heard him laugh.
+
+The next afternoon, about two o'clock, the Alpine Club man and
+myself set out for the mountain.
+
+"What have you got in your knapsack?" he said.
+
+"A hammer to use if I come across geological specimens, a
+field-glass, a flask of wine, and some other things."
+
+"I wouldn't carry any weight, if I were you," he said.
+
+"Oh, I don't mind it," I answered, and off we started.
+
+The mountain to which we were bound was about two miles from the
+town. Its nearest side was steep, and in places almost precipitous,
+but it sloped away more gradually toward the north, and up that side
+a road led by devious windings to a village near the summit. It was
+not a very high mountain, but it would do for an afternoon's climb.
+
+"I suppose you want to go up by the road," said my companion.
+
+"Oh no," I answered, "we won't go so far around as that. There is a
+path up this side, along which I have seen men driving their goats.
+I prefer to take that."
+
+"All right, if you say so," he answered, with a smile; "but you'll
+find it pretty tough."
+
+After a time he remarked:
+
+"I wouldn't walk so fast, if I were you."
+
+"Oh, I like to step along briskly," I said. And briskly on we went.
+
+My wife had screwed up the machine in the knapsack more than usual,
+and walking seemed scarcely any effort at all. I carried a long
+alpenstock, and when we reached the mountain and began the ascent, I
+found that with the help of this and my knapsack I could go uphill
+at a wonderful rate. My companion had taken the lead, so as to show
+me how to climb. Making a _détour_ over some rocks, I quickly passed
+him and went ahead. After that it was impossible for him to keep up
+with me. I ran up steep places, I cut off the windings of the path
+by lightly clambering over rocks, and even when I followed the
+beaten track my step was as rapid as if I had been walking on level
+ground.
+
+"Look here!" shouted the Alpine Club man from below, "you'll kill
+yourself if you go at that rate! That's no way to climb mountains."
+
+"It's my way!" I cried. And on I skipped.
+
+Twenty minutes after I arrived at the summit my companion joined me,
+puffing, and wiping his red face with his handkerchief.
+
+"Confound it!" he cried, "I never came up a mountain so fast in my
+life."
+
+"You need not have hurried," I said, coolly.
+
+"I was afraid something would happen to you," he growled, "and I
+wanted to stop you. I never saw a person climb in such an utterly
+absurd way."
+
+"I don't see why you should call it absurd," I said, smiling with an
+air of superiority. "I arrived here in a perfectly comfortable
+condition, neither heated nor wearied."
+
+He made no answer, but walked off to a little distance, fanning
+himself with his hat and growling words which I did not catch. After
+a time I proposed to descend.
+
+"You must be careful as you go down," he said. "It is much more
+dangerous to go down steep places than to climb up."
+
+"I am always prudent," I answered, and started in advance. I found
+the descent of the mountain much more pleasant than the ascent. It
+was positively exhilarating. I jumped from rocks and bluffs eight
+and ten feet in height, and touched the ground as gently as if I had
+stepped down but two feet. I ran down steep paths, and, with the aid
+of my alpenstock, stopped myself in an instant. I was careful to
+avoid dangerous places, but the runs and jumps I made were such as
+no man had ever made before upon that mountain-side. Once only I
+heard my companion's voice.
+
+"You'll break your ---- neck!" he yelled.
+
+"Never fear!" I called back, and soon left him far above.
+
+When I reached the bottom I would have waited for him, but my
+activity had warmed me up, and as a cool evening breeze was
+beginning to blow I thought it better not to stop and take cold.
+Half an hour after my arrival at the hotel I came down to the court,
+cool, fresh, and dressed for dinner, and just in time to meet the
+Alpine man as he entered, hot, dusty, and growling.
+
+"Excuse me for not waiting for you," I said; but without stopping to
+hear my reason, he muttered something about waiting in a place where
+no one would care to stay, and passed into the house.
+
+There was no doubt that what I had done gratified my pique and
+tickled my vanity.
+
+"I think now," I said, when I related the matter to my wife, "that
+he will scarcely say that I am not up to that sort of thing."
+
+"I am not sure," she answered, "that it was exactly fair. He did not
+know how you were assisted."
+
+"It was fair enough," I said. "He is enabled to climb well by the
+inherited vigor of his constitution and by his training. He did not
+tell me what methods of exercise he used to get those great muscles
+upon his legs. I am enabled to climb by the exercise of my
+intellect. My method is my business and his method is his business.
+It is all perfectly fair."
+
+Still she persisted:
+
+"He _thought_ that you climbed with your legs, and not with your
+head."
+
+And now, after this long digression, necessary to explain how a
+middle-aged couple of slight pedestrian ability, and loaded with a
+heavy knapsack and basket, should have started out on a rough walk
+and climb, fourteen miles in all, we will return to ourselves,
+standing on the little bluff and gazing out upon the sunset view.
+When the sky began to fade a little we turned from it and prepared
+to go back to the town.
+
+"Where is the basket?" I said.
+
+"I left it right here," answered my wife. "I unscrewed the machine
+and it lay perfectly flat."
+
+"Did you afterward take out the bottles?" I asked, seeing them lying
+on the grass.
+
+"Yes, I believe I did. I had to take out yours in order to get at
+mine."
+
+"Then," said I, after looking all about the grassy patch on which we
+stood, "I am afraid you did not entirely unscrew the instrument, and
+that when the weight of the bottles was removed the basket gently
+rose into the air."
+
+"It may be so," she said, lugubriously. "The basket was behind me as
+I drank my wine."
+
+"I believe that is just what has happened," I said. "Look up there!
+I vow that is our basket!"
+
+I pulled out my field-glass and directed it at a little speck high
+above our heads. It was the basket floating high in the air. I gave
+the glass to my wife to look, but she did not want to use it.
+
+"What shall I do?" she cried. "I can't walk home without that
+basket. It's perfectly dreadful!" And she looked as if she was going
+to cry.
+
+"Do not distress yourself," I said, although I was a good deal
+disturbed myself. "We shall get home very well. You shall put your
+hand on my shoulder, while I put my arm around you. Then you can
+screw up my machine a good deal higher, and it will support us both.
+In this way I am sure that we shall get on very well."
+
+We carried out this plan, and managed to walk on with moderate
+comfort. To be sure, with the knapsack pulling me upward, and the
+weight of my wife pulling me down, the straps hurt me somewhat,
+which they had not done before. We did not spring lightly over the
+wall into the road, but, still clinging to each other, we clambered
+awkwardly over it. The road for the most part declined gently toward
+the town, and with moderate ease we made our way along it. But we
+walked much more slowly than we had done before, and it was quite
+dark when we reached our hotel. If it had not been for the light
+inside the court it would have been difficult for us to find it. A
+travelling-carriage was standing before the entrance, and against
+the light. It was necessary to pass around it, and my wife went
+first. I attempted to follow her, but, strange to say, there was
+nothing under my feet. I stepped vigorously, but only wagged my legs
+in the air. To my horror I found that I was rising in the air! I
+soon saw, by the light below me, that I was some fifteen feet from
+the ground. The carriage drove away, and in the darkness I was not
+noticed. Of course I knew what had happened. The instrument in my
+knapsack had been screwed up to such an intensity, in order to
+support both myself and my wife, that when her weight was removed
+the force of the negative gravity was sufficient to raise me from
+the ground. But I was glad to find that when I had risen to the
+height I have mentioned I did not go up any higher, but hung in the
+air, about on a level with the second tier of windows of the hotel.
+
+I now began to try to reach the screw in my knapsack in order to
+reduce the force of the negative gravity; but, do what I would, I
+could not get my hand to it. The machine in the knapsack had been
+placed so as to support me in a well-balanced and comfortable way;
+and in doing this it had been impossible to set the screw so that I
+could reach it. But in a temporary arrangement of the kind this had
+not been considered necessary, as my wife always turned the screw
+for me until sufficient lifting power had been attained. I had
+intended, as I have said before, to construct a negative-gravity
+waistcoat, in which the screw should be in front, and entirely under
+the wearer's control; but this was a thing of the future.
+
+When I found that I could not turn the screw I began to be much
+alarmed. Here I was, dangling in the air, without any means of
+reaching the ground. I could not expect my wife to return to look
+for me, as she would naturally suppose I had stopped to speak to
+some one. I thought of loosening myself from the knapsack, but this
+would not do, for I should fall heavily, and either kill myself or
+break some of my bones. I did not dare to call for assistance, for
+if any of the simple-minded inhabitants of the town had discovered
+me floating in the air they would have taken me for a demon, and
+would probably have shot at me. A moderate breeze was blowing, and
+it wafted me gently down the street. If it had blown me against a
+tree I would have seized it, and have endeavored, so to speak, to
+climb down it; but there were no trees. There was a dim street-lamp
+here and there, but reflectors above them threw their light upon the
+pavement, and none up to me. On many accounts I was glad that the
+night was so dark, for, much as I desired to get down, I wanted no
+one to see me in my strange position, which, to any one but myself
+and wife, would be utterly unaccountable. If I could rise as high as
+the roofs I might get on one of them, and, tearing off an armful of
+tiles, so load myself that I would be heavy enough to descend. But I
+did not rise to the eaves of any of the houses. If there had been a
+telegraph-pole, or anything of the kind that I could have clung to,
+I would have taken off the knapsack, and would have endeavored to
+scramble down as well as I could. But there was nothing I could
+cling to. Even the water-spouts, if I could have reached the face of
+the houses, were embedded in the walls. At an open window, near
+which I was slowly blown, I saw two little boys going to bed by the
+light of a dim candle. I was dreadfully afraid that they would see
+me and raise an alarm. I actually came so near to the window that I
+threw out one foot and pushed against the wall with such force that
+I went nearly across the street. I thought I caught sight of a
+frightened look on the face of one of the boys; but of this I am not
+sure, and I heard no cries. I still floated, dangling, down the
+street. What was to be done? Should I call out? In that case, if I
+were not shot or stoned, my strange predicament, and the secret of
+my invention, would be exposed to the world. If I did not do this, I
+must either let myself drop and be killed or mangled, or hang there
+and die. When, during the course of the night, the air became more
+rarefied, I might rise higher and higher, perhaps to an altitude of
+one or two hundred feet. It would then be impossible for the people
+to reach me and get me down, even if they were convinced that I was
+not a demon. I should then expire, and when the birds of the air had
+eaten all of me that they could devour, I should forever hang above
+the unlucky town, a dangling skeleton with a knapsack on its back.
+
+Such thoughts were not reassuring, and I determined that if I could
+find no means of getting down without assistance, I would call out
+and run all risks; but so long as I could endure the tension of the
+straps I would hold out, and hope for a tree or a pole. Perhaps it
+might rain, and my wet clothes would then become so heavy that I
+would descend as low as the top of a lamp-post.
+
+As this thought was passing through my mind I saw a spark of light
+upon the street approaching me. I rightly imagined that it came from
+a tobacco-pipe, and presently I heard a voice. It was that of the
+Alpine Club man. Of all people in the world I did not want him to
+discover me, and I hung as motionless as possible. The man was
+speaking to another person who was walking with him.
+
+"He is crazy beyond a doubt," said the Alpine man. "Nobody but a
+maniac could have gone up and down that mountain as he did! He
+hasn't any muscles, and one need only look at him to know that he
+couldn't do any climbing in a natural way. It is only the excitement
+of insanity that gives him strength."
+
+The two now stopped almost under me, and the speaker continued:
+
+"Such things are very common with maniacs. At times they acquire an
+unnatural strength which is perfectly wonderful. I have seen a
+little fellow struggle and fight so that four strong men could not
+hold him."
+
+Then the other person spoke.
+
+"I am afraid what you say is too true," he remarked. "Indeed, I have
+known it for some time."
+
+At these words my breath almost stopped. It was the voice of Mr.
+Gilbert, my townsman, and the father of Janet. It must have been he
+who had arrived in the travelling-carriage. He was acquainted with
+the Alpine Club man, and they were talking of me. Proper or
+improper, I listened with all my ears.
+
+"It is a very sad case," Mr. Gilbert continued. "My daughter was
+engaged to marry his son, but I broke off the match. I could not
+have her marry the son of a lunatic, and there could be no doubt of
+his condition. He has been seen--a man of his age, and the head of a
+family--to load himself up with a heavy knapsack, which there was no
+earthly necessity for him to carry, and go skipping along the road
+for miles, vaulting over fences and jumping over rocks and ditches
+like a young calf or a colt. I myself saw a most heartrending
+instance of how a kindly man's nature can be changed by the
+derangement of his intellect. I was at some distance from his house,
+but I plainly saw him harness a little donkey which he owns to a
+large two-horse wagon loaded with stone, and beat and lash the poor
+little beast until it drew the heavy load some distance along the
+public road. I would have remonstrated with him on this horrible
+cruelty, but he had the wagon back in his yard before I could reach
+him."
+
+"Oh, there can be no doubt of his insanity," said the Alpine Club
+man, "and he oughtn't to be allowed to travel about in this way.
+Some day he will pitch his wife over a precipice just for the fun of
+seeing her shoot through the air."
+
+"I am sorry he is here," said Mr. Gilbert, "for it would be very
+painful to meet him. My daughter and I will retire very soon, and go
+away as early to-morrow morning as possible, so as to avoid seeing
+him."
+
+And then they walked back to the hotel.
+
+For a few moments I hung, utterly forgetful of my condition, and
+absorbed in the consideration of these revelations. One idea now
+filled my mind. Everything must be explained to Mr. Gilbert, even if
+it should be necessary to have him called to me, and for me to speak
+to him from the upper air.
+
+Just then I saw something white approaching me along the road. My
+eyes had become accustomed to the darkness, and I perceived that it
+was an upturned face. I recognized the hurried gait, the form; it
+was my wife. As she came near me, I called her name, and in the same
+breath entreated her not to scream. It must have been an effort for
+her to restrain herself, but she did it.
+
+"You must help me to get down," I said, "without anybody seeing us."
+
+"What shall I do?" she whispered.
+
+"Try to catch hold of this string."
+
+Taking a piece of twine from my pocket, I lowered one end to her.
+But it was too short; she could not reach it. I then tied my
+handkerchief to it, but still it was not long enough.
+
+"I can get more string, or handkerchiefs," she whispered, hurriedly.
+
+"No," I said; "you could not get them up to me. But, leaning against
+the hotel wall, on this side, in the corner, just inside of the
+garden gate, are some fishing-poles. I have seen them there every
+day. You can easily find them in the dark. Go, please, and bring me
+one of those."
+
+The hotel was not far away, and in a few minutes my wife returned
+with a fishing-pole. She stood on tiptoe, and reached it high in
+air; but all she could do was to strike my feet and legs with it. My
+most frantic exertions did not enable me to get my hands low enough
+to touch it.
+
+"Wait a minute," she said; and the rod was withdrawn.
+
+I knew what she was doing. There was a hook and line attached to the
+pole, and with womanly dexterity she was fastening the hook to the
+extreme end of the rod. Soon she reached up, and gently struck at my
+legs. After a few attempts the hook caught in my trousers, a little
+below my right knee. Then there was a slight pull, a long scratch
+down my leg, and the hook was stopped by the top of my boot. Then
+came a steady downward pull, and I felt myself descending. Gently
+and firmly the rod was drawn down; carefully the lower end was kept
+free from the ground; and in a few moments my ankle was seized with
+a vigorous grasp. Then some one seemed to climb up me, my feet
+touched the ground, an arm was thrown around my neck, the hand of
+another arm was busy at the back of my knapsack, and I soon stood
+firmly in the road, entirely divested of negative gravity.
+
+"Oh that I should have forgotten," sobbed my wife, "and that I
+should have dropped your arms and let you go up into the air! At
+first I thought that you had stopped below, and it was only a little
+while ago that the truth flashed upon me. Then I rushed out and
+began looking up for you. I knew that you had wax matches in your
+pocket, and hoped that you would keep on striking them, so that you
+would be seen."
+
+"But I did not wish to be seen," I said, as we hurried to the hotel;
+"and I can never be sufficiently thankful that it was you who found
+me and brought me down. Do you know that it is Mr. Gilbert and his
+daughter who have just arrived? I must see him instantly. I will
+explain it all to you when I come upstairs."
+
+I took off my knapsack and gave it to my wife, who carried it to our
+room, while I went to look for Mr. Gilbert. Fortunately I found him
+just as he was about to go up to his chamber. He took my offered
+hand, but looked at me sadly and gravely.
+
+"Mr. Gilbert," I said, "I must speak to you in private. Let us step
+into this room. There is no one here."
+
+"My friend," said Mr. Gilbert, "it will be much better to avoid
+discussing this subject. It is very painful to both of us, and no
+good can come from talking of it."
+
+"You cannot now comprehend what it is I want to say to you," I
+replied. "Come in here, and in a few minutes you will be very glad
+that you listened to me."
+
+My manner was so earnest and impressive that Mr. Gilbert was
+constrained to follow me, and we went into a small room called the
+smoking-room, but in which people seldom smoked, and closed the
+door. I immediately began my statement. I told my old friend that I
+had discovered, by means that I need not explain at present, that he
+had considered me crazy, and that now the most important object of
+my life was to set myself right in his eyes. I thereupon gave him
+the whole history of my invention, and explained the reason of the
+actions that had appeared to him those of a lunatic. I said nothing
+about the little incident of that evening. That was a mere accident,
+and I did not care now to speak of it.
+
+Mr. Gilbert listened to me very attentively.
+
+"Your wife is here?" he asked, when I had finished.
+
+"Yes," I said; "and she will corroborate my story in every item, and
+no one could ever suspect her of being crazy. I will go and bring
+her to you."
+
+In a few minutes my wife was in the room, had shaken hands with Mr.
+Gilbert, and had been told of my suspected madness. She turned pale,
+but smiled.
+
+"He did act like a crazy man," she said, "but I never supposed that
+anybody would think him one." And tears came into her eyes.
+
+"And now, my dear," said I, "perhaps you will tell Mr. Gilbert how I
+did all this."
+
+And then she told him the story that I had told.
+
+Mr. Gilbert looked from the one to the other of us with a troubled
+air.
+
+"Of course I do not doubt either of you, or rather I do not doubt
+that you believe what you say. All would be right if I could bring
+myself to credit that such a force as that you speak of can possibly
+exist."
+
+"That is a matter," said I, "which I can easily prove to you by
+actual demonstration. If you can wait a short time, until my wife
+and I have had something to eat--for I am nearly famished, and I am
+sure she must be--I will set your mind at rest upon that point."
+
+"I will wait here," said Mr. Gilbert, "and smoke a cigar. Don't
+hurry yourselves. I shall be glad to have some time to think about
+what you have told me."
+
+When we had finished the dinner, which had been set aside for us, I
+went upstairs and got my knapsack, and we both joined Mr. Gilbert in
+the smoking-room. I showed him the little machine, and explained,
+very briefly, the principle of its construction. I did not give any
+practical demonstration of its action, because there were people
+walking about the corridor who might at any moment come into the
+room; but, looking out of the window, I saw that the night was much
+clearer. The wind had dissipated the clouds, and the stars were
+shining brightly.
+
+"If you will come up the street with me," said I to Mr. Gilbert, "I
+will show you how this thing works."
+
+"That is just what I want to see," he answered.
+
+"I will go with you," said my wife, throwing a shawl over her head.
+And we started up the street.
+
+When we were outside the little town I found the starlight was quite
+sufficient for my purpose. The white roadway, the low walls, and
+objects about us, could easily be distinguished.
+
+"Now," said I to Mr. Gilbert, "I want to put this knapsack on you,
+and let you see how it feels, and how it will help you to walk." To
+this he assented with some eagerness, and I strapped it firmly on
+him. "I will now turn this screw," said I, "until you shall become
+lighter and lighter."
+
+"Be very careful not to turn it too much," said my wife, earnestly.
+
+"Oh, you may depend on me for that," said I, turning the screw very
+gradually.
+
+Mr. Gilbert was a stout man, and I was obliged to give the screw a
+good many turns.
+
+"There seems to be considerable hoist in it," he said, directly. And
+then I put my arms around him, and found that I could raise him from
+the ground.
+
+"Are you lifting me?" he exclaimed, in surprise.
+
+"Yes; I did it with ease," I answered.
+
+"Upon--my--word!" ejaculated Mr. Gilbert.
+
+I then gave the screw a half-turn more, and told him to walk and
+run. He started off, at first slowly, then he made long strides,
+then he began to run, and then to skip and jump. It had been many
+years since Mr. Gilbert had skipped and jumped. No one was in sight,
+and he was free to gambol as much as he pleased. "Could you give it
+another turn?" said he, bounding up to me. "I want to try that
+wall." I put on a little more negative gravity, and he vaulted over
+a five-foot wall with great ease. In an instant he had leaped back
+into the road, and in two bounds was at my side. "I came down as
+light as a cat," he said. "There was never anything like it." And
+away he went up the road, taking steps at least eight feet long,
+leaving my wife and me laughing heartily at the preternatural
+agility of our stout friend. In a few minutes he was with us again.
+"Take it off," he said. "If I wear it any longer I shall want one
+myself, and then I shall be taken for a crazy man, and perhaps
+clapped into an asylum."
+
+"Now," said I, as I turned back the screw before unstrapping the
+knapsack, "do you understand how I took long walks, and leaped and
+jumped; how I ran uphill and downhill, and how the little donkey
+drew the loaded wagon?"
+
+"I understand it all," cried he. "I take back all I ever said or
+thought about you, my friend."
+
+"And Herbert may marry Janet?" cried my wife.
+
+"_May_ marry her!" cried Mr. Gilbert. "Indeed, he _shall_ marry her,
+if I have anything to say about it! My poor girl has been drooping
+ever since I told her it could not be."
+
+My wife rushed at him, but whether she embraced him or only shook
+his hands I cannot say; for I had the knapsack in one hand and was
+rubbing my eyes with the other.
+
+"But, my dear fellow," said Mr. Gilbert, directly, "if you still
+consider it to your interest to keep your invention a secret, I wish
+you had never made it. No one having a machine like that can help
+using it, and it is often quite as bad to be considered a maniac as
+to be one."
+
+"My friend," I cried, with some excitement, "I have made up my mind
+on this subject. The little machine in this knapsack, which is the
+only one I now possess, has been a great pleasure to me. But I now
+know it has also been of the greatest injury indirectly to me and
+mine, not to mention some direct inconvenience and danger, which I
+will speak of another time. The secret lies with us three, and we
+will keep it. But the invention itself is too full of temptation and
+danger for any of us."
+
+As I said this I held the knapsack with one hand while I quickly
+turned the screw with the other. In a few moments it was high above
+my head, while I with difficulty held it down by the straps. "Look!"
+I cried. And then I released my hold, and the knapsack shot into the
+air and disappeared into the upper gloom.
+
+I was about to make a remark, but had no chance, for my wife threw
+herself upon my bosom, sobbing with joy.
+
+"Oh, I am so glad--so glad!" she said. "And you will never make
+another?"
+
+"Never another!" I answered.
+
+"And now let us hurry in and see Janet," said my wife.
+
+"You don't know how heavy and clumsy I feel," said Mr. Gilbert,
+striving to keep up with us as we walked back. "If I had worn that
+thing much longer, I should never have been willing to take it off!"
+
+Janet had retired, but my wife went up to her room.
+
+"I think she has felt it as much as our boy," she said, when she
+rejoined me. "But I tell you, my dear, I left a very happy girl in
+that little bedchamber over the garden."
+
+And there were three very happy elderly people talking together
+until quite late that evening. "I shall write to Herbert to-night,"
+I said, when we separated, "and tell him to meet us all in Geneva.
+It will do the young man no harm if we interrupt his studies just
+now."
+
+"You must let me add a postscript to the letter," said Mr. Gilbert,
+"and I am sure it will require no knapsack with a screw in the back
+to bring him quickly to us."
+
+And it did not.
+
+There is a wonderful pleasure in tripping over the earth like a
+winged Mercury, and in feeling one's self relieved of much of that
+attraction of gravitation which drags us down to earth and gradually
+makes the movement of our bodies but weariness and labor. But this
+pleasure is not to be compared, I think, to that given by the
+buoyancy and lightness of two young and loving hearts, reunited
+after a separation which they had supposed would last forever.
+
+What became of the basket and the knapsack, or whether they ever met
+in upper air, I do not know. If they but float away and stay away
+from ken of mortal man, I shall be satisfied.
+
+And whether or not the world will ever know more of the power of
+negative gravity depends entirely upon the disposition of my son
+Herbert, when--after a good many years, I hope--he shall open the
+packet my lawyers have in keeping.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[NOTE.--It would be quite useless for any one to interview my wife
+on this subject, for she has entirely forgotten how my machine was
+made. And as for Mr. Gilbert, he never knew.]
+
+
+
+
+ASAPH
+
+
+About a hundred feet back from the main street of a village in New
+Jersey there stood a very good white house. Half-way between it and
+the sidewalk was a large chestnut-tree, which had been the pride of
+Mr. Himes, who built the house, and was now the pride of Mrs. Himes,
+his widow, who lived there.
+
+Under the tree was a bench, and on the bench were two elderly men,
+both smoking pipes, and each one of them leaning forward with his
+elbows on his knees. One of these, Thomas Rooper by name, was a
+small man with gray side-whiskers, a rather thin face, and very good
+clothes. His pipe was a meerschaum, handsomely colored, with a long
+amber tip. He had bought that pipe while on a visit to Philadelphia
+during the great Centennial Exposition; and if any one noticed it
+and happened to remark what a fine pipe it was, that person would be
+likely to receive a detailed account of the circumstances of its
+purchase, with an appendix relating to the Main Building, the Art
+Building, the Agricultural Building, and many other salient points
+of the great Exposition which commemorated the centennial of our
+national independence.
+
+The other man, Asaph Scantle, was of a different type. He was a
+little older than his companion, but if his hair were gray, it did
+not show very much, as his rather long locks were of a sandy hue and
+his full face was clean shaven, at least on Wednesdays and Sundays.
+He was tall, round-shouldered, and his clothes were not good,
+possessing very evident claims to a position on the retired list.
+His pipe consisted of a common clay bowl with a long reed stem.
+
+For some minutes the two men continued to puff together as if they
+were playing a duet upon tobacco-pipes, and then Asaph, removing his
+reed from his lips, remarked, "What you ought to do, Thomas, is to
+marry money."
+
+"There's sense in that," replied the other; "but you wasn't the
+first to think of it."
+
+Asaph, who knew very well that Mr. Rooper never allowed any one to
+suppose that he received suggestions from without, took no notice of
+the last remark, but went on: "Lookin' at the matter in a friendly
+way, it seems to me it stands to reason that when the shingles on a
+man's house is so rotten that the rain comes through into every room
+on the top floor, and when the plaster on the ceilin' is tumblin'
+down more or less all the time, and the window-sashes is all loose,
+and things generally in a condition that he can't let that house
+without spendin' at least a year's rent on it to git it into decent
+order, and when a man's got to the time of life--"
+
+"There's nothin' the matter with the time of life," said Thomas;
+"that's all right."
+
+"What I was goin' to say was," continued Asaph, "that when a man
+gits to the time of life when he knows what it is to be comfortable
+in his mind as well as his body--and that time comes to sensible
+people as soon as they git fairly growed up--he don't want to give
+up his good room in the tavern and all the privileges of the house,
+and go to live on his own property and have the plaster come down on
+his own head and the rain come down on the coverlet of his own bed."
+
+"No, he don't," said Thomas; "and what is more, he isn't goin' to do
+it. But what I git from the rent of that house is what I have to
+live on; there's no gittin' around that pint."
+
+"Well, then," said Asaph, "if you don't marry money, what are you
+goin' to do? You can't go back to your old business."
+
+"I never had but one business," said Thomas. "I lived with my folks
+until I was a good deal more than growed up; and when the war broke
+out I went as sutler to the rigiment from this place; and all the
+money I made I put into my property in the village here. That's what
+I've lived on ever since. There's no more war, so there's no more
+sutlers, except away out West where I wouldn't go; and there are no
+more folks, for they are all dead; and if what Mrs. McJimsey says is
+true, there'll be no more tenants in my house after the 1st of next
+November. For when the McJimseys go on account of want of general
+repairs, it is not to be expected that anybody else will come there.
+There's nobody in this place that can stand as much as the McJimseys
+can."
+
+"Consequently," said Asaph, deliberately filling his pipe, "it
+stands to reason that there ain't nothin' for you to do but marry
+money."
+
+Thomas Rooper took his pipe from his mouth and sat up straight.
+Gazing steadfastly at his companion, he remarked, "If you think that
+is such a good thing to do, why don't you do it yourself? There
+can't be anybody much harder up than you are."
+
+"The law's agin' my doin' it," said Asaph. "A man can't marry his
+sister."
+
+"Are you thinkin' of Marietta Himes?" asked Mr. Rooper.
+
+"That's the one I'm thinkin' of," said Asaph. "If you can think of
+anybody better, I'd like you to mention her."
+
+Mr. Rooper did not immediately speak. He presently asked, "What do
+you call money?"
+
+"Well," said Asaph, with a little hesitation, "considerin' the
+circumstances, I should say that in a case like this about fifteen
+hundred a year, a first-rate house with not a loose shingle on it
+nor a crack anywhere, a good garden and an orchard, two cows, a
+piece of meadow-land on the other side of the creek, and all the
+clothes a woman need have, is money."
+
+Thomas shrugged his shoulders. "Clothes!" he said. "If she marries
+she'll go out of black, and then she'll have to have new ones, and
+lots of 'em. That would make a big hole in her money, Asaph."
+
+The other smiled. "I always knowed you was a far-seein' feller,
+Thomas; but it stands to reason that Marietta's got a lot of clothes
+that was on hand before she went into mournin', and she's not the
+kind of woman to waste 'em. She'll be twistin' 'em about and makin'
+'em over to suit the fashions, and it won't be like her to be buyin'
+new colored goods when she's got plenty of 'em already."
+
+There was now another pause in the conversation, and then Mr. Rooper
+remarked, "Mrs. Himes must be gettin' on pretty well in years."
+
+"She's not a young woman," said Asaph; "but if she was much younger
+she wouldn't have you, and if she was much older you wouldn't have
+her. So it strikes me she's just about the right pint."
+
+"How old was John Himes when he died?" asked Thomas.
+
+"I don't exactly know that; but he was a lot older than Marietta."
+
+Thomas shook his head. "It strikes me," said he, "that John Himes
+had a hearty constitution and hadn't ought to died as soon as he
+did. He fell away a good deal in the last years of his life."
+
+"And considerin' that he died of consumption, he had a right to fall
+away," said Asaph. "If what you are drivin' at, Thomas, is that
+Marietta isn't a good housekeeper and hasn't the right sort of
+notions of feedin', look at me. I've lived with Marietta just about
+a year, and in that time I have gained forty-two pounds. Now, of
+course, I ain't unreasonable, and don't mean to say that you would
+gain forty-two pounds in a year, 'cause you ain't got the frame and
+bone to put it on; but it wouldn't surprise me a bit if you was to
+gain twenty, or even twenty-five, pounds in eighteen months, anyway;
+and more than that you ought not to ask, Thomas, considerin' your
+height and general build."
+
+"Isn't Marietta Himes a good deal of a freethinker?" asked Thomas.
+
+"A what?" cried Asaph. "You mean an infidel?"
+
+"No," said Thomas, "I don't charge nobody with nothin' more than
+there's reason for; but they do say that she goes sometimes to one
+church and sometimes to another, and that if there was a Catholic
+church in this village she would go to that. And who's goin' to say
+where a woman will turn up when she don't know her own mind better
+than that?"
+
+Asaph colored a little. "The place where Marietta will turn up,"
+said he, warmly, "is on a front seat in the kingdom of heaven; and
+if the people that talk about her will mend their ways, they'll see
+that I am right. You need not trouble yourself about that, Thomas.
+Marietta Himes is pious to the heel."
+
+Mr. Rooper now shifted himself a little on the bench and crossed one
+leg over the other. "Now look here, Asaph," he said, with a little
+more animation than he had yet shown, "supposin' all you say is
+true, have you got any reason to think that Mrs. Himes ain't
+satisfied with things as they are?"
+
+"Yes, I have," said Asaph. "And I don't mind tellin' you that the
+thing she's least satisfied with is me. She wants a man in the
+house; that is nateral. She wouldn't be Marietta Himes if she
+didn't. When I come to live with her I thought the whole business
+was settled; but it isn't. I don't suit her. I don't say she's
+lookin' for another man, but if another man was to come along, and
+if he was the right kind of a man, it's my opinion she's ready for
+him. I wouldn't say this to everybody, but I say it to you, Thomas
+Rooper, 'cause I know what kind of a man you are."
+
+Mr. Rooper did not return the compliment. "I don't wonder your
+sister ain't satisfied with you," he said, "for you go ahead of all
+the lazy men I ever saw yet. They was sayin' down at the tavern
+yesterday--only yesterday--that you could do less work in more time
+than anybody they ever saw before."
+
+"There's two ways of workin'," said Asaph. "Some people work with
+their hands and some with their heads."
+
+Thomas grimly smiled. "It strikes me," said he, "that the most
+head-work you do is with your jaws."
+
+Asaph was not the man to take offence readily, especially when he
+considered it against his interest to do so, and he showed no
+resentment at this remark. "'Tain't so much my not makin' myself
+more generally useful," he said, "that Marietta objects to; though,
+of course, it could not be expected that a man that hasn't got any
+interest in property would keep workin' at it like a man that has
+got an interest in it, such as Marietta's husband would have; but
+it's my general appearance that she don't like. She's told me more
+than once she didn't so much mind my bein' lazy as lookin' lazy."
+
+"I don't wonder she thinks that way," said Thomas. "But look here,
+Asaph, do you suppose that if Marietta Himes was to marry a man, he
+would really come into her property?"
+
+"There ain't nobody that knows my sister better than I know her, and
+I can say, without any fear of bein' contradicted, that when she
+gives herself to a man the good-will and fixtures will be included."
+
+Thomas Rooper now leaned forward with his elbows on his knees
+without smoking, and Asaph Scantle leaned forward with his elbows on
+his knees without smoking. And thus they remained, saying nothing to
+each other, for the space of some ten minutes.
+
+Asaph was a man who truly used his head a great deal more than he
+used his hands. He had always been a shiftless fellow, but he was no
+fool, and this his sister found out soon after she asked him to come
+and make his home with her. She had not done this because she wanted
+a man in the house, for she had lived two or three years without
+that convenience and had not felt the need of it. But she heard that
+Asaph was in very uncomfortable circumstances, and she had sent for
+him solely for his own good. The arrangement proved to be a very
+good one for her brother, but not a good one for her. She had always
+known that Asaph's head was his main dependence, but she was just
+beginning to discover that he liked to use his head so that other
+people's hands should work for him.
+
+"There ain't nobody comin' to see your sister, is there?" asked
+Thomas, suddenly.
+
+"Not a livin' soul," said Asaph, "except women, married folk, and
+children. But it has always surprised me that nobody did come; but
+just at this minute the field's clear and the gate's open."
+
+"Well," said Mr. Rooper, "I'll think about it."
+
+"That's right," said Asaph, rubbing his knees with his hands.
+"That's right. But now tell me, Thomas Rooper, supposin' you get
+Marietta, what are you goin' to do for me?"
+
+"For you?" exclaimed the other. "What have you got to do with it?"
+
+"A good deal," said Asaph. "If you get Marietta with her fifteen
+hundred a year--and it wouldn't surprise me if it was eighteen
+hundred--and her house and her garden and her cattle and her field
+and her furniture, with not a leg loose nor a scratch, you will get
+her because I proposed her to you, and because I backed you up
+afterward. And now, then, I want to know what you are goin' to do
+for me?"
+
+"What do you want?" asked Thomas.
+
+"The first thing I want," said Asaph, "is a suit of clothes. These
+clothes is disgraceful."
+
+"You are right there," said Mr. Rooper. "I wonder your sister lets
+you come around in front of the house. But what do you mean by
+clothes--winter clothes or summer clothes?"
+
+"Winter," said Asaph, without hesitation. "I don't count summer
+clothes. And when I say a suit of clothes, I mean shoes and hat and
+underclothes."
+
+Mr. Rooper gave a sniff. "I wonder you don't say overcoat," he
+remarked.
+
+"I do say overcoat," replied Asaph. "A suit of winter clothes is a
+suit of clothes that you can go out into the weather in without
+missin' nothin'."
+
+Mr. Rooper smiled sarcastically. "Is there anything else you want?"
+he asked.
+
+"Yes," said Asaph, decidedly; "there is. I want a umbrella."
+
+"Cotton or silk?"
+
+Asaph hesitated. He had never had a silk umbrella in his hand in his
+life. He was afraid to strike too high, and he answered, "I want a
+good stout gingham."
+
+Mr. Rooper nodded his head. "Very good," he said. "And is that all?"
+
+"No," said Asaph, "it ain't all. There is one more thing I want, and
+that is a dictionary."
+
+The other man rose to his feet. "Upon my word," he exclaimed, "I
+never before saw a man that would sell his sister for a dictionary!
+And what you want with a dictionary is past my conceivin'."
+
+"Well, it ain't past mine," said Asaph. "For more than ten years I
+have wanted a dictionary. If I had a dictionary I could make use of
+my head in a way that I can't now. There is books in this house, but
+amongst 'em there is no dictionary. If there had been one I'd been a
+different man by this time from what I am now, and like as not
+Marietta wouldn't have wanted any other man in the house but me."
+
+Mr. Rooper stood looking upon the ground; and Asaph, who had also
+arisen, waited for him to speak. "You are a graspin' man, Asaph,"
+said Thomas. "But there is another thing I'd like to know: if I give
+you them clothes, you don't want them before she's married?"
+
+"Yes, I do," said Asaph. "If I come to the weddin', I can't wear
+these things. I have got to have them first."
+
+Mr. Rooper gave his head a little twist. "There's many a slip 'twixt
+the cup and the lip," said he.
+
+"Yes," said Asaph; "and there's different cups and different lips.
+But what's more, if I was to be best man--which would be nateral,
+considerin' I'm your friend and her brother--you wouldn't want me
+standin' up in this rig. And that's puttin' it in your own point of
+view, Thomas."
+
+"It strikes me," said the other, "that I could get a best man that
+would furnish his own clothes; but we will see about that. There's
+another thing, Asaph," he said, abruptly; "what are Mrs. Himes's
+views concernin' pipes?"
+
+This question startled and frightened Asaph. He knew that his sister
+could not abide the smell of tobacco and that Mr. Rooper was an
+inveterate smoker.
+
+"That depends," said he, "on the kind of tobacco. I don't mind
+sayin' that Marietta isn't partial to the kind of tobacco I smoke.
+But I ain't a moneyed man and I can't afford to buy nothin' but
+cheap stuff. But when it comes to a meerschaum pipe and the very
+finest Virginia or North Carolina smoking-tobacco, such as a moneyed
+man would be likely to use--"
+
+At this moment there came from the house the sound of a woman's
+voice, not loud, but clear and distinct, and it said "Asaph."
+
+This word sent through Mr. Rooper a gentle thrill such as he did not
+remember ever having felt before. There seemed to be in it a
+suggestion, a sort of prophecy, of what appeared to him as an
+undefined and chaotic bliss. He was not a fanciful man, but he could
+not help imagining himself standing alone under that chestnut-tree
+and that voice calling "Thomas."
+
+Upon Asaph the effect was different. The interruption was an
+agreeable one in one way, because it cut short his attempted
+explanation of the tobacco question; but in another way he knew that
+it meant the swinging of an axe, and that was not pleasant.
+
+Mr. Rooper walked back to the tavern in a cogitative state of mind.
+"That Asaph Scantle," he said to himself, "has got a head-piece,
+there's no denying it. If it had not been for him I do not believe I
+should have thought of his sister; at least not until the McJimseys
+had left my house, and then it might have been too late."
+
+Marietta Himes was a woman with a gentle voice and an appearance and
+demeanor indicative of a general softness of disposition; but
+beneath this mild exterior there was a great deal of firmness of
+purpose. Asaph had not seen very much of his sister since she had
+grown up and married; and when he came to live with her he thought
+that he was going to have things pretty much his own way. But it was
+not long before he entirely changed his mind.
+
+Mrs. Himes was of moderate height, pleasant countenance, and a
+figure inclined to plumpness. Her dark hair, in which there was not
+a line of gray, was brushed down smoothly on each side of her face,
+and her dress, while plain, was extremely neat. In fact, everything
+in the house and on the place was extremely neat, except Asaph.
+
+She was in the bright little dining-room which looked out on the
+flower-garden, preparing the table for supper, placing every plate,
+dish, glass, and cup with as much care and exactness as if a civil
+engineer had drawn a plan on the table-cloth with places marked for
+the position of each article.
+
+As she finished her work by placing a chair on each side of the
+table, a quiet smile, the result of a train of thought in which she
+had been indulging for the past half-hour, stole over her face. She
+passed through the kitchen, with a glance at the stove to see if the
+tea-kettle had begun to boil; and going out of the back door, she
+walked over to the shed where her brother was splitting
+kindling-wood.
+
+"Asaph," said Mrs. Himes, "if I were to give you a good suit of
+clothes, would you promise me that you would never smoke when
+wearing them?"
+
+Her brother looked at her in amazement. "Clothes!" he repeated.
+
+"Mr. Himes was about your size," said his sister, "and he left a
+good many clothes, which are most of them very good and carefully
+packed away, so that I am sure there is not a moth-hole in any one
+of them. I have several times thought, Asaph, that I might give you
+some of his clothes; but it did seem to me a desecration to have the
+clothes of such a man, who was so particular and nice, filled and
+saturated with horrible tobacco-smoke, which he detested. But now
+you are getting to be so awful shabby, I do not see how I can stand
+it any longer. But one thing I will not do--I will not have Mr.
+Himes's clothes smelling of tobacco as yours do; and not only your
+own tobacco, but Mr. Rooper's."
+
+"I think," said Asaph, "that you are not exactly right just there.
+What you smell about me is my smoke. Thomas Rooper never uses
+anything but the finest-scented and delicatest brands. I think that
+if you come to get used to his tobacco-smoke you would like it. But
+as to my takin' off my clothes and puttin' on a different suit every
+time I want to light my pipe, that's pretty hard lines, it seems to
+me."
+
+"It would be a good deal easier to give up the pipe," said his
+sister.
+
+"I will do that," said Asaph, "when you give up tea. But you know as
+well as I do that there's no use of either of us a-tryin' to change
+our comfortable habits at our time of life."
+
+"I kept on hoping," said Mrs. Himes, "that you would feel yourself
+that you were not fit to be seen by decent people, and that you
+would go to work and earn at least enough money to buy yourself some
+clothes. But as you don't seem inclined to do that, I thought I
+would make you this offer. But you must understand that I will not
+have you smoke in Mr. Himes's clothes."
+
+Asaph stood thinking, the head of his axe resting upon the ground, a
+position which suited him. He was in a little perplexity. Marietta's
+proposition seemed to interfere somewhat with the one he had made to
+Thomas Rooper. Here was a state of affairs which required most
+careful consideration. "I've been arrangin' about some clothes," he
+said, presently; "for I know very well I need 'em; but I don't know
+just yet how it will turn out."
+
+"I hope, Asaph," said Marietta, quickly, "that you are not thinking
+of going into debt for clothing, and I know that you haven't been
+working to earn money. What arrangements have you been making?"
+
+"That's my private affair," said Asaph, "but there's no debt in it.
+It is all fair and square--cash down, so to speak; though, of
+course, it's not cash, but work. But, as I said before, that isn't
+settled."
+
+"I am afraid, Asaph," said his sister, "that if you have to do the
+work first you will never get the clothes, and so you might as well
+come back to my offer."
+
+Asaph came back to it and thought about it very earnestly. If by any
+chance he could get two suits of clothes, he would then feel that he
+had a head worth having. "What would you say," he said, presently,
+"if when I wanted to smoke I was to put on a long duster--I guess
+Mr. Himes had dusters--and a nightcap and rubbers? I'd agree to hang
+the duster and the cap in the shed here and never smoke without
+putting 'em on." There was a deep purpose in this proposition, for,
+enveloped in the long duster, he might sit with Thomas Rooper under
+the chestnut-tree and smoke and talk and plan as long as he pleased,
+and his companion would not know that he did not need a new suit of
+clothes.
+
+"Nonsense," said Mrs. Himes; "you must make up your mind to act
+perfectly fairly, Asaph, or else say you will not accept my offer.
+But if you don't accept it, I can't see how you can keep on living
+with me."
+
+"What do you mean by clothes, Marietta?" he asked.
+
+"Well, I mean a complete suit, of course," said she.
+
+"Winter or summer?"
+
+"I hadn't thought of that," Mrs. Himes replied; "but that can be as
+you choose."
+
+"Overcoat?" asked Asaph.
+
+"Yes," said she, "and cane and umbrella, if you like, and
+pocket-handkerchiefs, too. I will fit you out completely, and shall
+be glad to have you looking like a decent man."
+
+At the mention of the umbrella another line of perplexity showed
+itself upon Asaph's brow. The idea came to him that if she would add
+a dictionary he would strike a bargain. Thomas Rooper was certainly
+a very undecided and uncertain sort of man. But then there came up
+the thought of his pipe, and he was all at sea again. Giving up
+smoking was almost the same as giving up eating. "Marietta," said
+he, "I will think about this."
+
+"Very well," she answered; "but it's my opinion, Asaph, that you
+ought not to take more than one minute to think about it. However, I
+will give you until to-morrow morning, and then if you decide that
+you don't care to look like a respectable citizen, I must have some
+further talk with you about our future arrangements."
+
+"Make it to-morrow night," said Asaph. And his sister consented.
+
+The next day Asaph was unusually brisk and active; and very soon
+after breakfast he walked over to the village tavern to see Mr.
+Rooper.
+
+"Hello!" exclaimed that individual, surprised at his visitor's early
+appearance at the business centre of the village. "What's started
+you out? Have you come after them clothes?"
+
+A happy thought struck Asaph. He had made this visit with the
+intention of feeling his way toward some decision on the important
+subject of his sister's proposition, and here a way seemed to be
+opened to him. "Thomas," said he, taking his friend aside, "I am in
+an awful fix. Marietta can't stand my clothes any longer. If she
+can't stand them she can't stand me, and when it comes to that, you
+can see for yourself that I can't help you."
+
+A shade settled upon Mr. Rooper's face. During the past evening he
+had been thinking and puffing, and puffing and thinking, until
+everybody else in the tavern had gone to bed; and he had finally
+made up his mind that, if he could do it, he would marry Marietta
+Himes. He had never been very intimate with her or her husband, but
+he had been to meals in the house, and he remembered the fragrant
+coffee and the light, puffy, well-baked rolls made by Marietta's own
+hands; and he thought of the many differences between living in that
+very good house with that gentle, pleasant-voiced lady and his
+present life in the village tavern.
+
+And so, having determined that without delay he would, with the
+advice and assistance of Asaph, begin his courtship, it was natural
+that he should feel a shock of discouragement when he heard Asaph's
+announcement that his sister could not endure him in the house any
+longer. To attack that house and its owner without the friendly
+offices upon which he depended was an undertaking for which he was
+not at all prepared.
+
+"I don't wonder at her," he said, sharply--"not a bit. But this puts
+a mighty different face on the thing what we talked about
+yesterday."
+
+"It needn't," said Asaph, quietly. "The clothes you was goin' to
+give me wouldn't cost a cent more to-day than they would in a couple
+of months, say; and when I've got 'em on Marietta will be glad to
+have me around. Everything can go on just as we bargained for."
+
+Thomas shook his head. "That would be a mighty resky piece of
+business," he said. "You would be all right, but that's not sayin'
+that I would; for it strikes me that your sister is about as much a
+bird in the bush as any flyin' critter."
+
+Asaph smiled. "If the bush was in the middle of a field," said he,
+"and there was only one boy after the bird, it would be a pretty tough
+job. But if the bush is in the corner of two high walls, and there's
+two boys, and one of 'em's got a fishnet what he can throw clean
+over the bush, why, then the chances is a good deal better. But
+droppin' figgers, Thomas, and speakin' plain and straightforward, as
+I always do--"
+
+"About things you want to git," interrupted Thomas.
+
+"--about everything," resumed Asaph. "I'll just tell you this: if I
+don't git decent clothes now to-day, or perhaps to-morrow, I have
+got to travel out of Marietta's house. I can do it and she knows it.
+I can go back to Drummondville and git my board for keepin' books in
+the store, and nobody there cares what sort of clothes I wear. But
+when that happens, your chance of gittin' Marietta goes up higher
+than a kite."
+
+To the mind of Mr. Rooper this was most conclusive reasoning; but he
+would not admit it and he did not like it. "Why don't your sister
+give you clothes?" he said. "Old Himes must have left some."
+
+A thin chill like a needleful of frozen thread ran down Asaph's
+back. "Mr. Himes's clothes!" he exclaimed. "What in the world are
+you talkin' about, Thomas Rooper? 'Tain't likely he had many, 'cept
+what he was buried in; and what's left, if there is any, Marietta
+would no more think of givin' away than she would of hangin' up his
+funeral wreath for the canary-bird to perch on. There's a room up in
+the garret where she keeps his special things--for she's awful
+particular--and if there is any of his clothes up there I expect
+she's got 'em framed."
+
+"If she thinks as much of him as that," muttered Mr. Rooper.
+
+"Now don't git any sech ideas as them into your head, Thomas," said
+Asaph, quickly. "Marietta ain't a woman to rake up the past, and you
+never need be afraid of her rakin' up Mr. Himes. All of the premises
+will be hern and yourn except that room in the garret, and it ain't
+likely she'll ever ask you to go in there."
+
+"The Lord knows I don't want to!" ejaculated Mr. Rooper.
+
+The two men walked slowly to the end of a line of well-used, or,
+rather, badly used, wooden arm-chairs which stood upon the tavern
+piazza, and seated themselves. Mr. Rooper's mind was in a highly
+perturbed condition. If he accepted Asaph's present proposition he
+would have to make a considerable outlay with a very shadowy
+prospect of return.
+
+"If you haven't got the ready money for the clothes," said Asaph,
+after having given his companion some minutes for silent
+consideration, "there ain't a man in this village what they would
+trust sooner at the store for clothes," and then after a pause he
+added, "or books, which, of course, they can order from town."
+
+At this Mr. Rooper simply shrugged his shoulders. The question of
+ready money or credit did not trouble him.
+
+At this moment a man in a low phaeton, drawn by a stout gray horse,
+passed the tavern.
+
+"Who's that?" asked Asaph, who knew everybody in the village.
+
+"That's Doctor Wicker," said Thomas. "He lives over at Timberley. He
+'tended John Himes in his last sickness."
+
+"He don't practise here, does he?" said Asaph. "I never see him."
+
+"No; but he was called in to consult." And then the speaker dropped
+again into cogitation.
+
+After a few minutes Asaph rose. He knew that Thomas Rooper had a
+slow-working mind, and thought it would be well to leave him to
+himself for a while. "I'll go home," said he, "and 'tend to my
+chores, and by the time you feel like comin' up and takin' a smoke
+with me under the chestnut-tree, I reckon you will have made up your
+mind, and we'll settle this thing. Fer if I have got to go back to
+Drummondville, I s'pose I'll have to pack up this afternoon."
+
+"If you'd say pack off instead of pack up," remarked the other,
+"you'd come nearer the facts, considerin' the amount of your
+personal property. But I'll be up there in an hour or two."
+
+When Asaph came within sight of his sister's house he was amazed to
+see a phaeton and a gray horse standing in front of the gate. From
+this it was easy to infer that the doctor was in the house. What on
+earth could have happened? Was anything the matter with Marietta?
+And if so, why did she send for a physician who lived at a distance,
+instead of Doctor McIlvaine, the village doctor? In a very anxious
+state of mind Asaph reached the gate, and irresolutely went into the
+yard. His impulse was to go to the house and see what had happened;
+but he hesitated. He felt that Marietta might object to having a
+comparative stranger know that such an exceedingly shabby fellow was
+her brother. And, besides, his sister could not have been overtaken
+by any sudden illness. She had always appeared perfectly well, and
+there would have been no time during his brief absence from the
+house to send over to Timberley for a doctor.
+
+So he sat down under the chestnut-tree to consider this strange
+condition of affairs. "Whatever it is," he said to himself, "it's
+nothin' suddint, and it's bound to be chronic, and that'll skeer
+Thomas. I wish I hadn't asked him to come up here. The best thing
+for me to do will be to pretend that I have been sent to git
+somethin' at the store, and go straight back and keep him from
+comin' up."
+
+But Asaph was a good deal quicker to think than to move, and he
+still sat with brows wrinkled and mind beset by doubts. For a moment
+he thought that it might be well to accept Marietta's proposition
+and let Thomas go; but then he remembered the conditions, and he
+shut his mental eyes at the prospect.
+
+At that moment the gate opened and in walked Thomas Rooper. He had
+made up his mind and had come to say so; but the sight of the
+phaeton and gray horse caused him to postpone his intended
+announcement. "What's Doctor Wicker doin' here?" he asked, abruptly.
+
+"Dunno," said Asaph, as carelessly as he could speak. "I don't
+meddle with household matters of that kind. I expect it's somethin'
+the matter with that gal Betsey, that Marietta hires to help her.
+She's always wrong some way or other so that she can't do her own
+proper work, which I know, havin' to do a good deal of it myself. I
+expect it's rickets, like as not. Gals do have that sort of thing,
+don't they?"
+
+"Never had anything to do with sick gals," said Thomas, "or sick
+people of any sort, and don't want to. But it must be somethin'
+pretty deep-seated for your sister to send all the way to Timberley
+for a doctor."
+
+Asaph knew very well that Mrs. Himes was too economical a person to
+think of doing such a thing as that, and he knew also that Betsey
+was as good a specimen of rustic health as could be found in the
+county. And therefore his companion's statement that he wanted to
+have nothing to do with sick people had for him a saddening import.
+
+"I settled that business of yourn," said Mr. Rooper, "pretty soon
+after you left me. I thought I might as well come straight around
+and tell you about it. I'll make you a fair and square offer. I'll
+give you them clothes, though it strikes me that winter goods will
+be pretty heavy for this time of year; but it will be on this
+condition: if I don't get Marietta, you have got to give 'em back."
+
+Asaph smiled.
+
+"I know what you are grinnin' at," said Thomas; "but you needn't
+think that you are goin' to have the wearin' of them clothes for two
+or three months and then give 'em back. I don't go in for any long
+courtships. What I do in that line will be short and sharp."
+
+"How short?" asked Asaph.
+
+"Well, this is Thursday," replied the other, "and I calculate to ask
+her on Monday."
+
+Asaph looked at his companion in amazement. "By George!" he
+exclaimed, "that won't work. Why, it took Marietta more'n five days
+to make up her mind whether she would have the chicken-house painted
+green or red, and you can't expect her to be quicker than that in
+takin' a new husband. She'd say No just as certain as she would now
+if you was to go in and ask her right before the doctor and Betsey.
+And I'll just tell you plain that it wouldn't pay me to do all the
+hustlin' around and talkin' and argyin' and recommendin' that I'd
+have to do just for the pleasure of wearin' a suit of warm clothes
+for four July days. I tell you what it is, it won't do to spring
+that sort of thing on a woman, especially when she's what you might
+call a trained widder. You got to give 'em time to think over the
+matter and to look up your references. There's no use talkin' about
+it; you must give 'em time, especially when the offer comes from a
+person that nobody but me has ever thought of as a marryin' man."
+
+"Humph!" said Thomas. "That's all you know about it."
+
+"Facts is facts, and you can't git around 'em. There isn't a woman
+in this village what wouldn't take at least two weeks to git it into
+her head that you was really courtin' her. She would be just as
+likely to think that you was tryin' to git a tenant in place of the
+McJimseys. But a month of your courtin' and a month of my workin'
+would just about make the matter all right with Marietta, and then
+you could sail in and settle it."
+
+"Very good," said Mr. Rooper, rising suddenly. "I will court your
+sister for one month; and if, on the 17th day of August, she takes
+me, you can go up to the store and git them clothes; but you can't
+do it one minute afore. Good-mornin'."
+
+Asaph, left alone, heaved a sigh. He did not despair; but truly,
+fate was heaping a great many obstacles in his path. He thought it
+was a very hard thing for a man to get his rights in this world.
+
+Mrs. Himes sat on one end of a black hair-covered sofa in the
+parlor, and Doctor Wicker sat on a black hair-covered chair opposite
+to her and not far away. The blinds of the window opening upon the
+garden were drawn up; but those on the front window, which commanded
+a view of the chestnut-tree, were down. Doctor Wicker had just made
+a proposal of marriage to Mrs. Himes, and at that moment they were
+both sitting in silence.
+
+The doctor, a bluff, hearty-looking man of about forty-five, had
+been very favorably impressed by Mrs. Himes when he first made her
+acquaintance, during her husband's sickness, and since that time he
+had seen her occasionally and had thought about her a great deal.
+Latterly letters had passed between them, and now he had come to
+make his declaration in person.
+
+It was true, as her brother had said, that Marietta was not quick in
+making up her mind. But in this case she was able to act more
+promptly than usual, because she had in a great measure settled this
+matter before the arrival of the doctor. She knew he was going to
+propose, and she was very much inclined to accept him. This it was
+which had made her smile when she was setting the table the
+afternoon before, and this it was which had prompted her to make her
+proposition to her brother in regard to his better personal
+appearance.
+
+But now she was in a condition of nervous trepidation, and made no
+answer. The doctor thought this was natural enough under the
+circumstances, but he had no idea of the cause of it. The cause of
+it was sitting under the chestnut-tree, the bright sunlight,
+streaming through a break in the branches above, illuminating and
+emphasizing and exaggerating his extreme shabbiness. The doctor had
+never seen Asaph, and it would have been a great shock to Marietta's
+self-respect to have him see her brother in his present aspect.
+
+Through a crack in the blind of the front window she had seen Asaph
+come in and sit down, and she had seen Mr. Rooper arrive and had
+noticed his departure. And now, with an anxiety which made her chin
+tremble, she sat and hoped that Asaph would get up and go away. For
+she knew that if she should say to the doctor what she was perfectly
+willing to say then and there, he would very soon depart, being a
+man of practical mind and pressing business; and that, going to the
+front door with him, she would be obliged to introduce him to a
+prospective brother-in-law whose appearance, she truly believed,
+would make him sick. For the doctor was a man, she well knew, who
+was quite as nice and particular about dress and personal appearance
+as the late Mr. Himes had been.
+
+Doctor Wicker, aware that the lady's perturbation was increasing
+instead of diminishing, thought it wise not to press the matter at
+this moment. He felt that he had been, perhaps, a little over-prompt
+in making his proposition. "Madam," said he, rising, "I will not ask
+you to give me an answer now. I will go away and let you think about
+it, and will come again to-morrow."
+
+Through the crack in the window-blind Marietta saw that Asaph was
+still under the tree. What could she do to delay the doctor? She did
+not offer to take leave of him, but stood looking upon the floor. It
+seemed a shame to make so good a man go all the way back to
+Timberley and come again next day, just because that ragged, dirty
+Asaph was sitting under the chestnut-tree.
+
+The doctor moved toward the door, and as she followed him she
+glanced once more through the crack in the window-blind, and, to her
+intense delight, she saw Asaph jump up from the bench and run around
+to the side of the house. He had heard the doctor's footsteps in the
+hallway and had not wished to meet him. The unsatisfactory condition
+of his outward appearance had been so strongly impressed upon him of
+late that he had become a little sensitive in regard to it when
+strangers were concerned. But if he had only known that his
+exceedingly unattractive garments had prevented his sister from
+making a compact which would have totally ruined his plans in regard
+to her matrimonial disposition and his own advantage, he would have
+felt for those old clothes the respect and gratitude with which a
+Roman soldier regarded the shield and sword which had won him a
+battle.
+
+Down the middle of the garden, at the back of the house, there ran a
+path, and along this path Asaph walked meditatively, with his hands
+in his trousers pockets. It was a discouraging place for him to
+walk, for the beds on each side of him were full of weeds, which he
+had intended to pull out as soon as he should find time for the
+work, but which had now grown so tall and strong that they could not
+be rooted up without injuring the plants, which were the legitimate
+occupants of the garden.
+
+Asaph did not know it, but at this moment there was not one person
+in the whole world who thought kindly of him. His sister was so
+mortified by him that she was in tears in the house. His crony,
+Thomas, had gone away almost angry with him, and even Betsey, whom
+he had falsely accused of rickets, and who had often shown a pity
+for him simply because he looked so forlorn, had steeled her heart
+against him that morning when she found he had gone away without
+providing her with any fuel for the kitchen fire.
+
+But he had not made a dozen turns up and down the path before he
+became aware of the feeling of Marietta. She looked out of the back
+door and then walked rapidly toward him. "Asaph," said she, "I hope
+you are considering what I said to you yesterday, for I mean to
+stick to my word. If you don't choose to accept my offer, I want you
+to go back to Drummondville early to-morrow morning. And I don't
+feel in the least as if I were turning you out of the house, for I
+have given you a chance to stay here, and have only asked you to act
+like a decent Christian. I will not have you here disgracing my
+home. When Doctor Wicker came to-day, and I looked out and saw you
+with that miserable little coat with the sleeves half-way up to the
+elbows and great holes in it which you will not let anybody patch
+because you are too proud to wear patches, and those wretched faded
+trousers, out at the knees, and which have been turned up and hemmed
+at the bottom so often that they are six inches above your shoes,
+and your whole scarecrow appearance, I was so ashamed of you that I
+could not keep the tears out of my eyes. To tell a respectable
+gentleman like Doctor Wicker that you were my brother was more than
+I could bear; and I was glad when I saw you get up and sneak out of
+the way. I hate to talk to you in this way, Asaph, but you have
+brought it on yourself."
+
+Her brother looked at her a moment. "Do you want me to go away
+before breakfast?" he said.
+
+"No," answered Marietta, "but immediately afterward." And in her
+mind she resolved that breakfast should be very early the next
+morning.
+
+If Asaph had any idea of yielding, he did not intend to show it
+until the last moment, and so he changed the subject. "What's the
+matter with Betsey?" said he. "If she's out of health you'd better
+get rid of her."
+
+"There's nothing the matter with Betsey," answered his sister.
+"Doctor Wicker came to see me."
+
+"Came to see you!" exclaimed her brother. "What in the world did he
+do that for? You never told me that you were ailin'. Is it that
+sprain in your ankle?"
+
+"Nonsense," said Marietta. "I had almost recovered from that sprain
+when you came here. There's nothing the matter with my ankle; the
+trouble is probably with my heart."
+
+The moment she said this she regretted it, for Asaph had so good a
+head, and could catch meanings so quickly.
+
+"I'm sorry to hear that, Marietta," said Asaph. "That's a good deal
+more serious."
+
+"Yes," said she. And she turned and went back to the house.
+
+Asaph continued to walk up and down the path. He had not done a
+stroke of work that morning, but he did not think of that. His
+sister's communication saddened him. He liked Marietta, and it
+grieved him to hear that she had anything the matter with her heart.
+He knew that that often happened to people who looked perfectly
+well, and there was no reason why he should have suspected any
+disorder in her. Of course, in this case, there was good reason for
+her sending for the very best doctor to be had. It was all plain
+enough to him now.
+
+But as he walked and walked and walked, and looked at the garden,
+and looked at the little orchard, and looked at the house and the
+top of the big chestnut-tree, which showed itself above the roof, a
+thought came into his mind which had never been there before--he was
+Marietta's heir. It was a dreadful thing to think of his sister's
+possible early departure from this world; but, after all, life is
+life, reality is reality, and business is business. He was
+Marietta's only legal heir.
+
+Of course he had known this before, but it had never seemed to be of
+any importance. He was a good deal older than she was, and he had
+always looked upon her as a marrying woman. When he made his
+proposition to Mr. Rooper the thought of his own heirship never came
+into his mind. In fact, if any one had offered him ten dollars for
+said heirship, he would have asked fifteen, and would have afterward
+agreed to split the difference and take twelve and a half.
+
+But now everything had changed. If Marietta had anything the matter
+with her heart there was no knowing when all that he saw might be
+his own. No sooner had he walked and thought long enough for his
+mind to fully appreciate the altered aspects of his future than he
+determined to instantly thrust out Mr. Rooper from all connection
+with that future. He would go and tell him so at once.
+
+To the dismay of Betsey, who had been watching him, expecting that
+he would soon stop walking about and go and saw some wood with which
+to cook the dinner, he went out of the front gate and strode rapidly
+into the village. He had some trouble in finding Mr. Rooper, who had
+gone off to take a walk and arrange a conversation with which to
+begin his courtship of Mrs. Himes; but he overtook him under a tree
+by the side of the creek. "Thomas," said he, "I have changed my mind
+about that business between us. You have been very hard on me, and
+I'm not goin' to stand it. I can get the clothes and things I need
+without makin' myself your slave and workin' myself to death, and,
+perhaps, settin' my sister agin me for life by tryin' to make her
+believe that black's white, that you are the kind of husband she
+ought to have, and that you hate pipes and never touch spirits. It
+would be a mean thing for me to do, and I won't do it. I did think
+you were a generous-minded man, with the right sort of feeling for
+them as wanted to be your friends; but I have found out that I was
+mistook, and I'm not goin' to sacrifice my sister to any such
+person. Now that's my state of mind plain and square."
+
+Thomas Rooper shrunk two inches in height. "Asaph Scantle," he said,
+in a voice which seemed also to have shrunk, "I don't understand
+you. I wasn't hard on you. I only wanted to make a fair bargain. If
+I'd got her, I'd paid up cash on delivery. You couldn't expect a man
+to do more than that. But I tell you, Asaph, that I am mighty
+serious about this. The more I have thought about your sister the
+more I want her. And when I tell you that I've been a-thinkin' about
+her pretty much all night, you may know that I want her a good deal.
+And I was intendin' to go to-morrow and begin to court her."
+
+"Well, you needn't," said Asaph. "It won't do no good. If you don't
+have me to back you up you might as well try to twist that tree as
+to move her. You can't do it."
+
+"But you don't mean to go agin me, do you, Asaph?" asked Thomas,
+ruefully.
+
+"'Tain't necessary," replied the other. "You will go agin yourself."
+
+For a few moments Mr. Rooper remained silent. He was greatly
+discouraged and dismayed by what had been said to him, but he could
+not yet give up what had become the great object of his life.
+"Asaph," said he, presently, "it cuts me to the in'ards to think
+that you have gone back on me; but I tell you what I'll do: if you
+will promise not to say anything agin me to Mrs. Himes, and not to
+set yourself in any way between me and her, I'll go along with you
+to the store now, and you can git that suit of clothes and the
+umbrella, and I'll tell 'em to order the dictionary and hand it over
+to you as soon as it comes. I'd like you to help me, but if you will
+only promise to stand out of the way and not hinder, I'll do the
+fair thing by you and pay in advance."
+
+"Humph!" said Asaph. "I do believe you think you are the only man
+that wants Marietta."
+
+A pang passed through the heart of Mr. Rooper. He had been thinking
+a great deal of Mrs. Himes and everything connected with her, and he
+had even thought of that visit of Doctor Wicker's. That gentleman
+was a widower and a well-to-do and well-appearing man; and it would
+have been a long way for him to come just for some trifling rickets
+in a servant-girl. Being really in love, his imagination was in a
+very capering mood, and he began to fear that the doctor had come to
+court Mrs. Himes. "Asaph," he said, quickly, "that's a good offer I
+make you. If you take it, in less than an hour you can walk home
+looking like a gentleman."
+
+Asaph had taken his reed pipe from his coat pocket and was filling
+it. As he pushed the coarse tobacco into the bowl, he considered.
+"Thomas," said he, "that ain't enough. Things have changed, and it
+wouldn't pay me. But I won't be hard on you. I'm a good friend of
+yourn, and I'll tell you what I'll do. If you will give me now all
+the things we spoke of between us--and I forgot to mention a cane
+and pocket-handkerchiefs--and give me, besides, that meerschaum pipe
+of yourn, I'll promise not to hinder you, but let you go ahead and
+git Marietta if you kin. I must say it's a good deal for me to do,
+knowin' how much you'll git and how little you'll give, and knowin',
+too, the other chances she's got if she wanted 'em; but I'll do it
+for the sake of friendship."
+
+"My meerschaum pipe!" groaned Mr. Rooper. "My Centennial Exhibition
+pipe!" His tones were so plaintive that for a moment Asaph felt a
+little touch of remorse. But then he reflected that if Thomas really
+did get Marietta the pipe would be of no use to him, for she would
+not allow him to smoke it. And, besides, realities were realities
+and business was business. "That pipe may be very dear to you," he
+said, "Thomas, but I want you to remember that Marietta's very dear
+to me."
+
+This touched Mr. Rooper, whose heart was sensitive as it had never
+been before. "Come along, Asaph," he said. "You shall have
+everything, meerschaum pipe included. If anybody but me is goin' to
+smoke that pipe, I'd like it to be my brother-in-law." Thus, with
+amber-tipped guile, Mr. Rooper hoped to win over his friend to not
+only not hinder, but to help him.
+
+As the two men walked away, Asaph thought that he was not acting an
+unfraternal part toward Marietta, for it would not be necessary for
+him to say or do anything to induce her to refuse so unsuitable a
+suitor as Thomas Rooper.
+
+About fifteen minutes before dinner--which had been cooked with bits
+of wood which Betsey had picked up here and there--was ready, Asaph
+walked into the front yard of his sister's house attired in a
+complete suit of new clothes, thick and substantial in texture,
+pepper-and-salt in color, and as long in the legs and arms as the
+most fastidious could desire. He had on a new shirt and a clean
+collar, with a handsome black silk cravat tied in a great bow; and a
+new felt hat was on his head. On his left arm he carried an
+overcoat, carefully folded, with the lining outside, and in his
+right hand an umbrella and a cane. In his pockets were half a dozen
+new handkerchiefs and the case containing Mr. Rooper's Centennial
+meerschaum.
+
+Marietta, who was in the hallway when he opened the front door,
+scarcely knew him as he approached.
+
+"Asaph!" she exclaimed. "What has happened to you? Why, you actually
+look like a gentleman!"
+
+Asaph grinned. "Do you want me to go to Drummondville right after
+breakfast to-morrow?" he asked.
+
+"My dear brother," said Marietta, "don't crush me by talking about
+that. But if you could have seen yourself as I saw you, and could
+have felt as I felt, you would not wonder at me. You must forget all
+that. I should be proud now to introduce you as my brother to any
+doctor or king or president. But tell me how you got those beautiful
+clothes."
+
+Asaph was sometimes beset by an absurd regard for truth, which much
+annoyed him. He could not say that he had worked for the clothes,
+and he did not wish his sister to think that he had run in debt for
+them. "They're paid for, every thread of 'em," he said. "I got 'em
+in trade. These things is mine, and I don't owe no man a cent for
+'em; and it seems to me that dinner must be ready."
+
+"And proud I am," said Marietta, who never before had shown such
+enthusiastic affection for her brother, "to sit down to the table
+with such a nice-looking fellow as you are."
+
+The next morning Mr. Rooper came into Mrs. Himes's yard, and there
+beheld Asaph, in all the glory of his new clothes, sitting under the
+chestnut-tree smoking the Centennial meerschaum pipe. Mr. Rooper
+himself was dressed in his very best clothes, but he carried with
+him no pipe.
+
+"Sit down," said Asaph, "and have a smoke."
+
+"No," replied the other; "I am goin' in the house. I have come to
+see your sister."
+
+"Goin' to begin already?" said Asaph.
+
+"Yes," said the other; "I told you I was goin' to begin to-day."
+
+"Very good," said his friend, crossing his pepper-and-salt legs;
+"and you will finish the 17th of August. That's a good, reasonable
+time."
+
+But Mr. Rooper had no intention of courting Mrs. Himes for a month.
+He intended to propose to her that very morning. He had been turning
+over the matter in his mind, and for several reasons had come to
+this conclusion. In the first place, he did not believe that he
+could trust Asaph, even for a single day, not to oppose him.
+Furthermore, his mind was in such a turmoil from the combined effect
+of the constantly present thought that Asaph was wearing his
+clothes, his hat, and his shoes, and smoking his beloved pipe, and
+of the perplexities and agitations consequent upon his sentiments
+toward Mrs. Himes, that he did not believe he could bear the mental
+strain during another night.
+
+Five minutes later Marietta Himes was sitting on the horsehair sofa
+in the parlor, with Mr. Rooper on the horsehair chair opposite to
+her, and not very far away, and he was delivering the address which
+he had prepared.
+
+"Madam," said he, "I am a man that takes things in this world as
+they comes, and is content to wait until the time comes for them to
+come. I was well acquainted with John Himes. I knowed him in life,
+and I helped lay him out. As long as there was reason to suppose
+that the late Mr. Himes--I mean that the grass over the grave of Mr.
+Himes had remained unwithered, I am not the man to take one step in
+the direction of his shoes, nor even to consider the size of 'em in
+connection with the measure of my own feet. But time will pass on in
+nater as well as in real life; and while I know very well, Mrs.
+Himes, that certain feelin's toward them that was is like the leaves
+of the oak-tree and can't be blowed off even by the fiercest
+tempests of affliction, still them leaves will wither in the fall
+and turn brown and curl up at the edges, though they don't depart,
+but stick on tight as wax all winter until in the springtime they is
+pushed off gently without knowin' it by the green leaves which come
+out in real life as well as nater."
+
+When he had finished this opening Mr. Rooper breathed a little sigh
+of relief. He had not forgotten any of it, and it pleased him.
+
+Marietta sat and looked at him. She had a good sense of humor, and,
+while she was naturally surprised at what had been said to her, she
+was greatly amused by it, and really wished to hear what else Thomas
+Rooper had to say to her.
+
+"Now, madam," he continued, "I am not the man to thrash a tree with
+a pole to knock the leaves off before their time. But when the young
+leaves is pushin' and the old leaves is droppin' (not to make any
+allusion, of course, to any shrivellin' of proper respect), then I
+come forward, madam, not to take the place of anybody else, but jest
+as the nateral consequence of the seasons, which everybody ought to
+expect; even such as you, madam, which I may liken to a
+hemlock-spruce which keeps straight on in the same general line of
+appearance without no reference to the fall of the year, nor winter
+nor summer. And so, Mrs. Himes, I come here to-day to offer to lead
+you agin to the altar. I have never been there myself, and there
+ain't no woman in the world that I'd go with but you. I'm a
+straightforward person, and when I've got a thing to say I say it,
+and now I have said it. And so I set here awaitin' your answer."
+
+At this moment the shutters of the front window, which had been
+closed, were opened, and Asaph put in his head. "Look here, Thomas
+Rooper," he said, "these shoes is pegged. I didn't bargain for no
+pegged shoes; I wanted 'em sewed; everything was to be first-class."
+
+Mr. Rooper, who had been leaning forward in his chair, his hands
+upon his knees, and his face glistening with his expressed feelings
+as brightly as the old-fashioned but shining silk hat which stood on
+the floor by his side, turned his head, grew red to the ears, and
+then sprang to his feet. "Asaph Scantle," he cried, with extended
+fist, "you have broke your word; you hindered."
+
+"No, I didn't," said Asaph, sulkily; "but pegged shoes is too much
+for any man to stand." And he withdrew from the window, closing the
+shutters again.
+
+"What does this mean?" asked Mrs. Himes, who had also risen.
+
+"It means," said Thomas, speaking with difficulty, his indignation
+was so great, "that your brother is a person of tricks and meanders
+beyond the reach of common human calculation. I don't like to say
+this of a man who is more or less likely to be my brother-in-law,
+but I can't help sayin' it, so entirely upset am I at his goin' back
+on me at such a minute."
+
+"Going back on you?" asked Mrs. Himes. "What do you mean? What has
+he promised?"
+
+Thomas hesitated. He did not wish to interrupt his courtship by the
+discussion of any new question, especially this question. "If we
+could settle what we have been talkin' about, Mrs. Himes," he said,
+"and if you would give me my answer, then I could git my mind down
+to commoner things. But swingin' on a hook as I am, I don't know
+whether my head or my heels is uppermost, or what's revolvin' around
+me."
+
+"Oh, I can give you your answer quickly enough," she said. "It is
+impossible for me to marry you, so that's all settled."
+
+"Impossible is a big word," said Mr. Rooper. "Has anybody else got
+afore me?"
+
+"I am not bound to answer that question," said Marietta, slightly
+coloring; "but I cannot accept you, Mr. Rooper."
+
+"Then there's somebody else, of course," said Thomas, gazing darkly
+upon the floor. "And what's more, Asaph knew it; that's just as
+clear as daylight. That's what made him come to me yesterday and go
+back on his first bargain."
+
+"Now then," said Mrs. Himes, speaking very decidedly, "I want to
+know what you mean by this talk about bargains."
+
+Mr. Rooper knit his brows. "This is mighty different talk," he said,
+"from the kind I expected when I come here. But you have answered my
+question, now I'll answer yours. Asaph Scantle, no longer ago than
+day before yesterday, after hearin' that things wasn't goin' very
+well with me, recommended me to marry you, and agreed that he would
+do his level best, by day and by night, to help me git you, if I
+would give him a suit of clothes, an umbrella, and a dictionary."
+
+At this Mrs. Himes gave a little gasp and sat down.
+
+"Now, I hadn't no thoughts of tradin' for a wife," continued Thomas,
+"especially in woollen goods and books; but when I considered and
+turned the matter over in my mind, and thought what a woman you was,
+and what a life there was afore me if I got you, I agreed to do it.
+Then he wanted pay aforehand, and that I wouldn't agree to, not
+because I thought you wasn't wuth it, but because I couldn't trust
+him if anybody offered him more before I got you. But that ain't the
+wust of it; yesterday he come down to see me and went back on his
+bargain, and that after I had spent the whole night thinkin' of you
+and what I was goin' to say. And he put on such high-cockalorum airs
+that I, bein' as soft as mush around the heart, jest wilted and
+agreed to give him everything he bargained for if he would promise
+not to hinder. But he wasn't satisfied with that and wouldn't come
+to no terms until I'd give him my Centennial pipe, what's been like
+a child to me this many a year. And when he saw how disgruntled I
+was at sich a loss, he said that my pipe might be very dear to me,
+but his sister was jest as dear to him. And then, on top of the
+whole thing, he pokes his head through the shutters and hinders jest
+at the most ticklish moment."
+
+"A dictionary and a pipe!" ejaculated poor Marietta, her eyes fixed
+upon the floor.
+
+"But I'm goin' to make him give 'em all back," exclaimed Thomas.
+"They was the price of not hinderin', and he hindered."
+
+"He shall give them back," said Marietta, rising, "but you must
+understand, Mr. Rooper, that in no way did Asaph interfere with your
+marrying me. That was a matter with which he did have and could have
+nothing to do. And now I wish you could get away without speaking to
+him. I do not want any quarrelling or high words here, and I will
+see him and arrange the matter better than you can do it."
+
+"Oh, I can git away without speakin' to him," said Mr. Rooper, with
+reddened face. And so saying, he strode out of the house, through
+the front yard, and out of the gate, without turning his head toward
+Asaph, still sitting under the tree.
+
+"Oh, ho!" said the latter to himself; "she's bounced him short and
+sharp; and it serves him right, too, after playin' that trick on me.
+Pegged shoes, indeed!"
+
+At this moment the word "Asaph" came from the house in tones
+shriller and sharper and higher than any in which he had ever heard
+it pronounced before. He sprang to his feet and went to the house.
+His sister took him into the parlor and shut the door. Her eyes were
+red and her face was pale. "Asaph," said she, "Mr. Rooper has told
+me the whole of your infamous conduct. Now I know what you meant
+when you said that you were making arrangements to get clothes. You
+were going to sell me for them. And when you found out that I was
+likely to marry Doctor Wicker, you put up your price and wanted a
+dictionary and a pipe."
+
+"No, Marietta," said Asaph, "the dictionary belonged to the first
+bargain. If you knew how I need a dictionary--"
+
+"Be still!" she cried. "I do not want you to say a word. You have
+acted most shamefully toward me, and I want you to go away this very
+day. And before you go you must give back to Mr. Rooper everything
+that you got from him. I will fit you out with some of Mr. Himes's
+clothes and make no conditions at all, only that you shall go away.
+Come upstairs with me, and I will get the clothes."
+
+The room in the garret was opened, and various garments which had
+belonged to the late Mr. Himes were brought out.
+
+"This is pretty hard on me, Marietta," said Asaph, as he held up a
+coat, "to give up new all-wool goods for things what has been worn
+and is part cotton, if I am a judge."
+
+Marietta said very little. She gave him what clothes he needed, and
+insisted on his putting them on, making a package of the things he
+had received from Mr. Rooper, and returning them to that gentleman.
+Asaph at first grumbled, but he finally obeyed with a willingness
+which might have excited the suspicions of Marietta had she not been
+so angry.
+
+With an enormous package wrapped in brown paper in one hand, and a
+cane, an umbrella, and a very small hand-bag in the other, Asaph
+approached the tavern. Mr. Rooper was sitting on the piazza alone.
+He was smoking a very common-looking clay pipe and gazing intently
+into the air in front of him. When his old crony came and stood
+before the piazza he did not turn his head nor his eyes.
+
+"Thomas Rooper," said Asaph, "you have got me into a very bad
+scrape. I have been turned out of doors on account of what you said
+about me. And where I am goin' I don't know, for I can't walk to
+Drummondville. And what's more, I kept my word and you didn't. I
+didn't hinder you; for how could I suppose that you was goin' to pop
+the question the very minute you got inside the door? And that
+dictionary you promised I've not got."
+
+Thomas Rooper answered not a word, but looked steadily in front of
+him. "And there's another thing," said Asaph. "What are you goin' to
+allow me for that suit of clothes what I've been wearin', what I
+took off in your room and left there?"
+
+At this Mr. Rooper sprang to his feet with such violence that the
+fire danced out of the bowl of his pipe. "What is the fare to
+Drummondville?" he cried.
+
+Asaph reflected a moment. "Three dollars and fifty cents, includin'
+supper."
+
+"I'll give you that for them clothes," said the other, and counted
+out the money.
+
+Asaph took it and sighed. "You've been hard on me, Thomas," said he,
+"but I bear you no grudge. Good-by."
+
+As he walked slowly toward the station Mr. Scantle stopped at the
+store. "Has that dictionary come that was ordered for me?" he said;
+and when told that it could not be expected for several days he did
+not despair, for it was possible that Thomas Rooper might be so
+angry that he would forget to countermand the order; in that case he
+might yet hope to obtain the coveted book.
+
+The package containing the Rooper winter suit was heavy, and Asaph
+walked slowly. He did not want to go to Drummondville, for he hated
+bookkeeping, and his year of leisure and good living had spoiled him
+for work and poor fare. In this moody state he was very glad to stop
+and have a little chat with Mrs. McJimsey, who was sitting at her
+front window.
+
+This good lady was the principal dressmaker of the village; and by
+hard work and attention to business she made a very comfortable
+living. She was a widow, small of stature, thin of feature, very
+neatly dressed and pleasant to look at. Asaph entered the little
+front yard, put his package on the door-step, and stood under the
+window to talk to her. Dressed in the clothes of the late Mr. Himes,
+her visitor presented such a respectable appearance that Mrs.
+McJimsey was not in the least ashamed to have people see him
+standing there, which she would have been a few days ago. Indeed,
+she felt complimented that he should want to stop. The conversation
+soon turned upon her removal from her present abode.
+
+"I'm awfully sorry to have to go," she said; "for my time is up just
+in the middle of my busy season, and that's goin' to throw me back
+dreadfully. He hasn't done right by me, that Mr. Rooper, in lettin'
+things go to rack and ruin in this way, and me payin' his rent so
+regular."
+
+"That's true," said Asaph. "Thomas Rooper is a hard man--a hard man,
+Mrs. McJimsey. I can see how he would be overbearin' with a lone
+woman like you, neither your son nor your daughter bein' of age yet
+to take your part."
+
+"Yes, Mr. Scantle, it's very hard."
+
+Asaph stood for a moment looking at a little bed of zinnias by the
+side of the door-step. "What you want, Mrs. McJimsey," said he, "is
+a man in the house."
+
+In an instant Mrs. McJimsey flushed pink. It was such a strange
+thing for a gentleman to say to her.
+
+Asaph saw the flush. He had not expected that result from his
+remark, but he was quick to take advantage of it. "Mrs. McJimsey,"
+said he, "you are a widow, and you are imposed upon, and you need
+somebody to take care of you. If you will put that job into my hands
+I will do it. I am a man what works with his head, and if you will
+let me I'll work for you. To put it square, I ask you to marry me.
+My sister's goin' to be married, and I'm on the pint of goin' away;
+for I could not abear to stay in her house when strangers come into
+it. But if you say the word, I'll stay here and be yours for ever
+and ever more."
+
+Mrs. McJimsey said not a word, but her head drooped and wild
+thoughts ran through her brain. Thoughts not wild, but well trained
+and broken, ran through Asaph's brain. The idea of going to
+Drummondville and spending for the journey thither a dollar and
+seventy-five cents of the money he had received from Mr. Rooper now
+became absolutely repulsive to him.
+
+"Mrs. McJimsey," said he, "I will say more. Not only do I ask you to
+marry me, but I ask you to do it now. The evenin' sun is settin',
+the evenin' birds is singin', and it seems to me, Mrs. McJimsey,
+that all nater pints to this softenin' hour as a marryin' moment.
+You say your son won't be home from his work until supper-time, and
+your daughter has gone out for a walk. Come with me to Mr. Parker's,
+the Methodist minister, and let us join hands at the altar there.
+The gardener and his wife is always ready to stand up as witnesses.
+And when your son and your daughter comes home to supper, they can
+find their mother here afore 'em married and settled."
+
+"But, Mr. Scantle," exclaimed Mrs. McJimsey, "it's so suddint. What
+will the neighbors say?"
+
+"As for bein' suddint, Mrs. McJimsey, I've knowed you for nearly a
+year, and now, bein' on the way to leave what's been my happy home,
+I couldn't keep the truth from you no longer. And as for the
+neighbors, they needn't know that we hain't been engaged for
+months."
+
+"It's so queer, so very queer," said the little dressmaker. And her
+face flushed again, and there were tears, not at all sorrowful ones,
+in her eyes; and her somewhat needle-pricked left hand accidentally
+laid itself upon the window-sill in easy reach of any one outside.
+
+The next morning Mr. Rooper, being of a practical way of thinking,
+turned his thoughts from love and resentment to the subject of his
+income. And he soon became convinced that it would be better to keep
+the McJimseys in his house, if it could be done without too great an
+outlay for repairs. So he walked over to his property. When he
+reached the house he was almost stupefied to see Asaph in a chair in
+the front yard, dressed in the new suit of clothes which he, Thomas
+Rooper, had paid for, and smoking the Centennial pipe.
+
+"Good-morning, Mr. Rooper," said Asaph, in a loud and cheery voice.
+"I suppose you've come to talk to Mrs. McJimsey about the work
+you've got to do here to make this house fit to live in. But there
+ain't no Mrs. McJimsey. She's Mrs. Scantle now, and I'm your tenant.
+You can talk to me."
+
+Doctor Wicker came to see Mrs. Himes in the afternoon of the day he
+had promised to come, and early in the autumn they were married.
+Since Asaph Scantle had married and settled he had not seen his
+sister nor spoken to her; but he determined that on so joyful an
+occasion as this he would show no resentment. So he attended the
+wedding in the village church dressed in the suit of clothes which
+had belonged to the late Mr. Himes.
+
+
+
+
+"HIS WIFE'S DECEASED SISTER"
+
+
+It is now five years since an event occurred which so colored my
+life, or rather so changed some of its original colors, that I have
+thought it well to write an account of it, deeming that its lessons
+may be of advantage to persons whose situations in life are similar
+to my own.
+
+When I was quite a young man I adopted literature as a profession;
+and having passed through the necessary preparatory grades, I found
+myself, after a good many years of hard and often unremunerative
+work, in possession of what might be called a fair literary
+practice. My articles, grave, gay, practical, or fanciful, had come
+to be considered with a favor by the editors of the various
+periodicals for which I wrote, on which I found in time I could rely
+with a very comfortable certainty. My productions created no
+enthusiasm in the reading public; they gave me no great reputation
+or very valuable pecuniary return; but they were always accepted,
+and my receipts from them, at the time to which I have referred,
+were as regular and reliable as a salary, and quite sufficient to
+give me more than a comfortable support.
+
+It was at this time I married. I had been engaged for more than a
+year, but had not been willing to assume the support of a wife until
+I felt that my pecuniary position was so assured that I could do so
+with full satisfaction to my own conscience. There was now no doubt
+in regard to this position, either in my mind or in that of my wife.
+I worked with great steadiness and regularity; I knew exactly where
+to place the productions of my pen, and could calculate, with a fair
+degree of accuracy, the sums I should receive for them. We were by
+no means rich; but we had enough, and were thoroughly satisfied and
+content.
+
+Those of my readers who are married will have no difficulty in
+remembering the peculiar ecstasy of the first weeks of their wedded
+life. It is then that the flowers of this world bloom brightest;
+that its sun is the most genial; that its clouds are the scarcest;
+that its fruit is the most delicious; that the air is the most
+balmy; that its cigars are of the highest flavor; that the warmth
+and radiance of early matrimonial felicity so rarefies the
+intellectual atmosphere that the soul mounts higher, and enjoys a
+wider prospect, than ever before.
+
+These experiences were mine. The plain claret of my mind was changed
+to sparkling champagne, and at the very height of its effervescence
+I wrote a story. The happy thought that then struck me for a tale
+was of a very peculiar character; and it interested me so much that
+I went to work at it with great delight and enthusiasm, and finished
+it in a comparatively short time. The title of the story was "His
+Wife's Deceased Sister"; and when I read it to Hypatia she was
+delighted with it, and at times was so affected by its pathos that
+her uncontrollable emotion caused a sympathetic dimness in my eyes,
+which prevented my seeing the words I had written. When the reading
+was ended, and my wife had dried her eyes, she turned to me and
+said, "This story will make your fortune. There has been nothing so
+pathetic since Lamartine's 'History of a Servant-girl.'"
+
+As soon as possible the next day I sent my story to the editor of
+the periodical for which I wrote most frequently, and in which my
+best productions generally appeared. In a few days I had a letter
+from the editor, in which he praised my story as he had never before
+praised anything from my pen. It had interested and charmed, he
+said, not only himself, but all his associates in the office. Even
+old Gibson, who never cared to read anything until it was in proof,
+and who never praised anything which had not a joke in it, was
+induced by the example of the others to read this manuscript, and
+shed, as he asserted, the first tears that had come from his eyes
+since his final paternal castigation some forty years before. The
+story would appear, the editor assured me, as soon as he could
+possibly find room for it.
+
+If anything could make our skies more genial, our flowers brighter,
+and the flavor of our fruit and cigars more delicious, it was a
+letter like this. And when, in a very short time, the story was
+published, we found that the reading public was inclined to receive
+it with as much sympathetic interest and favor as had been shown to
+it by the editors. My personal friends soon began to express
+enthusiastic opinions upon it. It was highly praised in many of the
+leading newspapers; and, altogether, it was a great literary
+success. I am not inclined to be vain of my writings, and, in
+general, my wife tells me, think too little of them; but I did feel
+a good deal of pride and satisfaction in the success of "His Wife's
+Deceased Sister." If it did not make my fortune, as my wife asserted
+that it would, it certainly would help me very much in my literary
+career.
+
+In less than a month from the writing of this story, something very
+unusual and unexpected happened to me. A manuscript was returned by
+the editor of the periodical in which "His Wife's Deceased Sister"
+had appeared. "It is a good story," he wrote, "but not equal to what
+you have just done. You have made a great hit; and it would not do
+to interfere with the reputation you have gained by publishing
+anything inferior to 'His Wife's Deceased Sister,' which has had
+such a deserved success."
+
+I was so unaccustomed to having my work thrown back on my hands that
+I think I must have turned a little pale when I read the letter. I
+said nothing of the matter to my wife, for it would be foolish to
+drop such grains of sand as this into the smoothly oiled machinery
+of our domestic felicity; but I immediately sent the story to
+another editor. I am not able to express the astonishment I felt
+when, in the course of a week, it was sent back to me. The tone of
+the note accompanying it indicated a somewhat injured feeling on the
+part of the editor. "I am reluctant," he said, "to decline a
+manuscript from you; but you know very well that if you sent me
+anything like 'His Wife's Deceased Sister' it would be most promptly
+accepted."
+
+I now felt obliged to speak of the affair to my wife, who was quite
+as much surprised, though, perhaps, not quite as much shocked, as I
+had been.
+
+"Let us read the story again," she said, "and see what is the matter
+with it." When we had finished its perusal, Hypatia remarked, "It is
+quite as good as many of the stories you have had printed, and I
+think it very interesting; although, of course, it is not equal to
+'His Wife's Deceased Sister.'"
+
+"Of course not," said I; "that was an inspiration that I cannot
+expect every day. But there must be something wrong about this last
+story which we do not perceive. Perhaps my recent success may have
+made me a little careless in writing it."
+
+"I don't believe that," said Hypatia.
+
+"At any rate," I continued, "I will lay it aside, and will go to
+work on a new one."
+
+In due course of time I had another manuscript finished, and I sent
+it to my favorite periodical. It was retained some weeks, and then
+came back to me. "It will never do," the editor wrote, quite warmly,
+"for you to go backward. The demand for the number containing 'His
+Wife's Deceased Sister' still continues, and we do not intend to let
+you disappoint that great body of readers who would be so eager to
+see another number containing one of your stories."
+
+I sent this manuscript to four other periodicals, and from each of
+them was it returned with remarks to the effect that, although it
+was not a bad story in itself, it was not what they would expect
+from the author of "His Wife's Deceased Sister."
+
+The editor of a Western magazine wrote to me for a story to be
+published in a special number which he would issue for the holidays.
+I wrote him one of the character and length he asked for, and sent
+it to him. By return mail it came back to me. "I had hoped," the
+editor wrote, "when I asked for a story from your pen, to receive
+something like 'His Wife's Deceased Sister,' and I must own that I
+am very much disappointed."
+
+I was so filled with anger when I read this note that I openly
+objurgated "His Wife's Deceased Sister." "You must excuse me," I
+said to my astonished wife, "for expressing myself thus in your
+presence; but that confounded story will be the ruin of me yet.
+Until it is forgotten nobody will ever take anything I write."
+
+"And you cannot expect it ever to be forgotten," said Hypatia, with
+tears in her eyes.
+
+It is needless for me to detail my literary efforts in the course of
+the next few months. The ideas of the editors with whom my principal
+business had been done, in regard to my literary ability, had been
+so raised by my unfortunate story of "His Wife's Deceased Sister"
+that I found it was of no use to send them anything of lesser merit.
+And as to the other journals which I tried, they evidently
+considered it an insult for me to send them matter inferior to that
+by which my reputation had lately risen. The fact was that my
+successful story had ruined me. My income was at end, and want
+actually stared me in the face; and I must admit that I did not like
+the expression of its countenance. It was of no use for me to try to
+write another story like "His Wife's Deceased Sister." I could not
+get married every time I began a new manuscript, and it was the
+exaltation of mind caused by my wedded felicity which produced that
+story.
+
+"It's perfectly dreadful!" said my wife. "If I had had a sister, and
+she had died, I would have thought it was my fault."
+
+"It could not be your fault," I answered, "and I do not think it was
+mine. I had no intention of deceiving anybody into the belief that I
+could do that sort of thing every time, and it ought not to be
+expected of me. Suppose Raphael's patrons had tried to keep him
+screwed up to the pitch of the Sistine Madonna, and had refused to
+buy anything which was not as good as that. In that case I think he
+would have occupied a much earlier and narrower grave than that on
+which Mr. Morris Moore hangs his funeral decorations."
+
+"But, my dear," said Hypatia, who was posted on such subjects, "the
+Sistine Madonna was one of his latest paintings."
+
+"Very true," said I; "but if he had married, as I did, he would have
+painted it earlier."
+
+I was walking homeward one afternoon about this time, when I met
+Barbel--a man I had known well in my early literary career. He was
+now about fifty years of age, but looked older. His hair and beard
+were quite gray; and his clothes, which were of the same general
+hue, gave me the idea that they, like his hair, had originally been
+black. Age is very hard on a man's external appointments. Barbel had
+an air of having been to let for a long time, and quite out of
+repair. But there was a kindly gleam in his eye, and he welcomed me
+cordially.
+
+"Why, what is the matter, old fellow?" said he. "I never saw you
+look so woebegone."
+
+I had no reason to conceal anything from Barbel. In my younger days
+he had been of great use to me, and he had a right to know the state
+of my affairs. I laid the whole case plainly before him.
+
+"Look here," he said, when I had finished, "come with me to my room:
+I have something I would like to say to you there."
+
+I followed Barbel to his room. It was at the top of a very dirty and
+well-worn house which stood in a narrow and lumpy street, into which
+few vehicles ever penetrated, except the ash and garbage carts, and
+the rickety wagons of the venders of stale vegetables.
+
+"This is not exactly a fashionable promenade," said Barbel, as we
+approached the house; "but in some respects it reminds me of the
+streets in Italian towns, where the palaces lean over toward each
+other in such a friendly way."
+
+Barbel's room was, to my mind, rather more doleful than the street.
+It was dark, it was dusty, and cobwebs hung from every corner. The
+few chairs upon the floor and the books upon a greasy table seemed
+to be afflicted with some dorsal epidemic, for their backs were
+either gone or broken. A little bedstead in the corner was covered
+with a spread made of New York _Heralds_, with their edges pasted
+together.
+
+"There is nothing better," said Barbel, noticing my glance toward
+this novel counterpane, "for a bed-covering than newspapers: they
+keep you as warm as a blanket, and are much lighter. I used to use
+_Tribunes_, but they rattled too much."
+
+The only part of the room which was well lighted was at one end near
+the solitary window. Here, upon a table with a spliced leg, stood a
+little grindstone.
+
+"At the other end of the room," said Barbel, "is my cook-stove,
+which you can't see unless I light the candle in the bottle which
+stands by it; but if you don't care particularly to examine it, I
+won't go to the expense of lighting up. You might pick up a good
+many odd pieces of bric-à-brac around here, if you chose to strike a
+match and investigate; but I would not advise you to do so. It would
+pay better to throw the things out of the window than to carry them
+downstairs. The particular piece of indoor decoration to which I
+wish to call your attention is this." And he led me to a little
+wooden frame which hung against the wall near the window. Behind a
+dusty piece of glass it held what appeared to be a leaf from a small
+magazine or journal. "There," said he, "you see a page from the
+_Grasshopper_, a humorous paper which flourished in this city some
+half-dozen years ago. I used to write regularly for that paper, as
+you may remember."
+
+"Oh yes, indeed!" I exclaimed. "And I shall never forget your
+'Conundrum of the Anvil' which appeared in it. How often have I
+laughed at that most wonderful conceit, and how often have I put it
+to my friends!"
+
+Barbel gazed at me silently for a moment, and then he pointed to the
+frame. "That printed page," he said, solemnly, "contains the
+'Conundrum of the Anvil.' I hang it there so that I can see it while
+I work. That conundrum ruined me. It was the last thing I wrote for
+the _Grasshopper_. How I ever came to imagine it I cannot tell. It
+is one of those things which occur to a man but once in a lifetime.
+After the wild shout of delight with which the public greeted that
+conundrum, my subsequent efforts met with hoots of derision. The
+_Grasshopper_ turned its hind legs upon me. I sank from bad to
+worse--much worse--until at last I found myself reduced to my
+present occupation, which is that of grinding points to pins. By
+this I procure my bread, coffee, and tobacco, and sometimes potatoes
+and meat. One day while I was hard at work an organ-grinder came
+into the street below. He played the serenade from "Trovatore"; and
+the familiar notes brought back visions of old days and old
+delights, when the successful writer wore good clothes and sat at
+operas, when he looked into sweet eyes and talked of Italian airs,
+when his future appeared all a succession of bright scenery and
+joyous acts, without any provision for a drop-curtain. And as my ear
+listened, and my mind wandered in this happy retrospect, my every
+faculty seemed exalted, and, without any thought upon the matter, I
+ground points upon my pins so fine, so regular and smooth, that they
+would have pierced with ease the leather of a boot, or slipped
+among, without abrasion, the finest threads of rare old lace. When
+the organ stopped, and I fell back into my real world of cobwebs and
+mustiness, I gazed upon the pins I had just ground, and, without a
+moment's hesitation, I threw them into the street, and reported the
+lot as spoiled. This cost me a little money, but it saved me my
+livelihood."
+
+After a few moments of silence, Barbel resumed:
+
+"I have no more to say to you, my young friend. All I want you to do
+is to look upon that framed conundrum, then upon this grindstone,
+and then to go home and reflect. As for me, I have a gross of pins
+to grind before the sun goes down."
+
+I cannot say that my depression of mind was at all relieved by what
+I had seen and heard. I had lost sight of Barbel for some years, and
+I had supposed him still floating on the sun-sparkling stream of
+prosperity where I had last seen him. It was a great shock to me to
+find him in such a condition of poverty and squalor, and to see a
+man who had originated the "Conundrum of the Anvil" reduced to the
+soul-depressing occupation of grinding pin-points. As I walked and
+thought, the dreadful picture of a totally eclipsed future arose
+before my mind. The moral of Barbel sank deep into my heart.
+
+When I reached home I told my wife the story of my friend Barbel.
+She listened with a sad and eager interest.
+
+"I am afraid," she said, "if our fortunes do not quickly mend, that
+we shall have to buy two little grindstones. You know I could help
+you at that sort of thing."
+
+For a long time we sat together and talked, and devised many plans
+for the future. I did not think it necessary yet for me to look out
+for a pin-contract; but I must find some way of making money, or we
+should starve to death. Of course the first thing that suggested
+itself was the possibility of finding some other business; but,
+apart from the difficulty of immediately obtaining remunerative work
+in occupations to which I had not been trained, I felt a great and
+natural reluctance to give up a profession for which I had carefully
+prepared myself, and which I had adopted as my life-work. It would
+be very hard for me to lay down my pen forever, and to close the top
+of my inkstand upon all the bright and happy fancies which I had
+seen mirrored in its tranquil pool. We talked and pondered the rest
+of that day and a good deal of the night, but we came to no
+conclusion as to what it would be best for us to do.
+
+The next day I determined to go and call upon the editor of the
+journal for which, in happier days, before the blight of "His Wife's
+Deceased Sister" rested upon me, I used most frequently to write,
+and, having frankly explained my condition to him, to ask his
+advice. The editor was a good man, and had always been my friend. He
+listened with great attention to what I told him, and evidently
+sympathized with me in my trouble.
+
+"As we have written to you," he said, "the only reason why we did
+not accept the manuscripts you sent us was that they would have
+disappointed the high hopes that the public had formed in regard to
+you. We have had letter after letter asking when we were going to
+publish another story like 'His Wife's Deceased Sister.' We felt,
+and we still feel, that it would be wrong to allow you to destroy
+the fair fabric which yourself has raised. But," he added, with a
+kind smile, "I see very plainly that your well-deserved reputation
+will be of little advantage to you if you should starve at the
+moment that its genial beams are, so to speak, lighting you up."
+
+"Its beams are not genial," I answered. "They have scorched and
+withered me."
+
+"How would you like," said the editor, after a short reflection, "to
+allow us to publish the stories you have recently written under some
+other name than your own? That would satisfy us and the public,
+would put money in your pocket, and would not interfere with your
+reputation."
+
+Joyfully I seized that noble fellow by the hand, and instantly
+accepted his proposition. "Of course," said I, "a reputation is a
+very good thing; but no reputation can take the place of food,
+clothes, and a house to live in; and I gladly agree to sink my
+over-illumined name into oblivion, and to appear before the public
+as a new and unknown writer."
+
+"I hope that need not be for long," he said, "for I feel sure that
+you will yet write stories as good as 'His Wife's Deceased Sister.'"
+
+All the manuscripts I had on hand I now sent to my good friend the
+editor, and in due and proper order they appeared in his journal
+under the name of John Darmstadt, which I had selected as a
+substitute for my own, permanently disabled. I made a similar
+arrangement with other editors, and John Darmstadt received the
+credit of everything that proceeded from my pen. Our circumstances
+now became very comfortable, and occasionally we even allowed
+ourselves to indulge in little dreams of prosperity.
+
+Time passed on very pleasantly; one year, another, and then a little
+son was born to us. It is often difficult, I believe, for thoughtful
+persons to decide whether the beginning of their conjugal career, or
+the earliest weeks in the life of their first-born, be the happiest
+and proudest period of their existence. For myself I can only say
+that the same exaltation of mind, the same rarefication of idea and
+invention, which succeeded upon my wedding-day came upon me now. As
+then, my ecstatic emotions crystallized themselves into a motive for
+a story, and without delay I set myself to work upon it. My boy was
+about six weeks old when the manuscript was finished; and one
+evening, as we sat before a comfortable fire in our sitting-room,
+with the curtains drawn, and the soft lamp lighted, and the baby
+sleeping soundly in the adjoining chamber, I read the story to my
+wife.
+
+When I had finished, my wife arose and threw herself into my arms.
+"I was never so proud of you," she said, her glad eyes sparkling,
+"as I am at this moment. That is a wonderful story! It is--indeed I
+am sure it is--just as good as 'His Wife's Deceased Sister.'"
+
+As she spoke these words a sudden and chilling sensation crept over
+us both. All her warmth and fervor, and the proud and happy glow
+engendered within me by this praise and appreciation from one I
+loved, vanished in an instant. We stepped apart, and gazed upon each
+other with pallid faces. In the same moment the terrible truth had
+flashed upon us both.
+
+This story _was_ as good as "His Wife's Deceased Sister"!
+
+We stood silent. The exceptional lot of Barbel's superpointed pins
+seemed to pierce our very souls. A dreadful vision rose before me of
+an impending fall and crash, in which our domestic happiness should
+vanish, and our prospects for our boy be wrecked, just as we had
+begun to build them up.
+
+My wife approached me and took my hand in hers, which was as cold as
+ice. "Be strong and firm," she said. "A great danger threatens us,
+but you must brace yourself against it. Be strong and firm."
+
+I pressed her hand, and we said no more that night.
+
+The next day I took the manuscript I had just written, and carefully
+infolded it in stout wrapping-paper. Then I went to a neighboring
+grocery-store and bought a small, strong tin box, originally
+intended for biscuit, with a cover that fitted tightly. In this I
+placed my manuscript; and then I took the box to a tinsmith and had
+the top fastened on with hard solder. When I went home I ascended
+into the garret, and brought down to my study a ship's cash-box,
+which had once belonged to one of my family who was a sea-captain.
+This box was very heavy, and firmly bound with iron, and was secured
+by two massive locks. Calling my wife, I told her of the contents of
+the tin case, which I then placed in the box, and, having shut down
+the heavy lid, I doubly locked it.
+
+"This key," said I, putting it in my pocket, "I shall throw into the
+river when I go out this afternoon."
+
+My wife watched me eagerly, with a pallid and firm, set countenance,
+but upon which I could see the faint glimmer of returning happiness.
+
+"Wouldn't it be well," she said, "to secure it still further by
+sealing-wax and pieces of tape?"
+
+"No," said I. "I do not believe that any one will attempt to tamper
+with our prosperity. And now, my dear," I continued, in an
+impressive voice, "no one but you, and, in the course of time, our
+son, shall know that this manuscript exists. When I am dead, those
+who survive me may, if they see fit, cause this box to be split open
+and the story published. The reputation it may give my name cannot
+harm me then."
+
+
+
+
+THE LADY, OR THE TIGER?
+
+
+In the very olden time there lived a semi-barbaric king, whose
+ideas, though somewhat polished and sharpened by the progressiveness
+of distant Latin neighbors, were still large, florid, and
+untrammelled, as became the half of him which was barbaric. He was a
+man of exuberant fancy, and, withal, of an authority so irresistible
+that, at his will, he turned his varied fancies into facts. He was
+greatly given to self-communing; and when he and himself agreed upon
+anything, the thing was done. When every member of his domestic and
+political systems moved smoothly in its appointed course, his nature
+was bland and genial; but whenever there was a little hitch, and
+some of his orbs got out of their orbits, he was blander and more
+genial still, for nothing pleased him so much as to make the crooked
+straight, and crush down uneven places.
+
+Among the borrowed notions by which his barbarism had become
+semified was that of the public arena, in which, by exhibitions of
+manly and beastly valor, the minds of his subjects were refined and
+cultured.
+
+But even here the exuberant and barbaric fancy asserted itself. The
+arena of the king was built not to give the people an opportunity of
+hearing the rhapsodies of dying gladiators, nor to enable them to
+view the inevitable conclusion of a conflict between religious
+opinions and hungry jaws, but for purposes far better adapted to
+widen and develop the mental energies of the people. This vast
+amphitheatre, with its encircling galleries, its mysterious vaults,
+and its unseen passages, was an agent of poetic justice, in which
+crime was punished, or virtue rewarded, by the decrees of an
+impartial and incorruptible chance.
+
+When a subject was accused of a crime of sufficient importance to
+interest the king, public notice was given that on an appointed day
+the fate of the accused person would be decided in the king's
+arena--a structure which well deserved its name; for, although its
+form and plan were borrowed from afar, its purpose emanated solely
+from the brain of this man, who, every barleycorn a king, knew no
+tradition to which he owed more allegiance than pleased his fancy,
+and who ingrafted on every adopted form of human thought and action
+the rich growth of his barbaric idealism.
+
+When all the people had assembled in the galleries, and the king,
+surrounded by his court, sat high up on his throne of royal state on
+one side of the arena, he gave a signal, a door beneath him opened,
+and the accused subject stepped out into the amphitheatre. Directly
+opposite him, on the other side of the enclosed space, were two
+doors, exactly alike and side by side. It was the duty and the
+privilege of the person on trial to walk directly to these doors and
+open one of them. He could open either door he pleased: he was
+subject to no guidance or influence but that of the afore-mentioned
+impartial and incorruptible chance. If he opened the one, there came
+out of it a hungry tiger, the fiercest and most cruel that could be
+procured, which immediately sprang upon him and tore him to pieces,
+as a punishment for his guilt. The moment that the case of the
+criminal was thus decided, doleful iron bells were clanged, great
+wails went up from the hired mourners posted on the outer rim of the
+arena, and the vast audience, with bowed heads and downcast hearts,
+wended slowly their homeward way, mourning greatly that one so young
+and fair, or so old and respected, should have merited so dire a
+fate.
+
+But if the accused person opened the other door, there came forth
+from it a lady, the most suitable to his years and station that his
+Majesty could select among his fair subjects; and to this lady he
+was immediately married, as a reward of his innocence. It mattered
+not that he might already possess a wife and family, or that his
+affections might be engaged upon an object of his own selection: the
+king allowed no such subordinate arrangements to interfere with his
+great scheme of retribution and reward. The exercises, as in the
+other instance, took place immediately, and in the arena. Another
+door opened beneath the king, and a priest, followed by a band of
+choristers, and dancing maidens blowing joyous airs on golden horns
+and treading an epithalamic measure, advanced to where the pair
+stood side by side; and the wedding was promptly and cheerily
+solemnized. Then the gay brass bells rang forth their merry peals,
+the people shouted glad hurrahs, and the innocent man, preceded by
+children strewing flowers on his path, led his bride to his home.
+
+This was the king's semibarbaric method of administering justice.
+Its perfect fairness is obvious. The criminal could not know out of
+which door would come the lady: he opened either he pleased, without
+having the slightest idea whether, in the next instant, he was to be
+devoured or married. On some occasions the tiger came out of one
+door, and on some out of the other. The decisions of this tribunal
+were not only fair, they were positively determinate: the accused
+person was instantly punished if he found himself guilty; and if
+innocent, he was rewarded on the spot, whether he liked it or not.
+There was no escape from the judgments of the king's arena.
+
+The institution was a very popular one. When the people gathered
+together on one of the great trial-days, they never knew whether
+they were to witness a bloody slaughter or a hilarious wedding. This
+element of uncertainty lent an interest to the occasion which it
+could not otherwise have attained. Thus the masses were entertained
+and pleased, and the thinking part of the community could bring no
+charge of unfairness against this plan; for did not the accused
+person have the whole matter in his own hands?
+
+This semibarbaric king had a daughter as blooming as his most florid
+fancies, and with a soul as fervent and imperious as his own. As is
+usual in such cases, she was the apple of his eye, and was loved by
+him above all humanity. Among his courtiers was a young man of that
+fineness of blood and lowness of station common to the conventional
+heroes of romance who love royal maidens. This royal maiden was well
+satisfied with her lover, for he was handsome and brave to a degree
+unsurpassed in all this kingdom; and she loved him with an ardor
+that had enough of barbarism in it to make it exceedingly warm and
+strong. This love-affair moved on happily for many months, until one
+day the king happened to discover its existence. He did not hesitate
+nor waver in regard to his duty in the premises. The youth was
+immediately cast into prison, and a day was appointed for his trial
+in the king's arena. This, of course, was an especially important
+occasion; and his Majesty, as well as all the people, was greatly
+interested in the workings and development of this trial. Never
+before had such a case occurred; never before had a subject dared to
+love the daughter of a king. In after-years such things became
+commonplace enough; but then they were, in no slight degree, novel
+and startling.
+
+The tiger-cages of the kingdom were searched for the most savage and
+relentless beasts, from which the fiercest monster might be selected
+for the arena; and the ranks of maiden youth and beauty throughout
+the land were carefully surveyed by competent judges, in order that
+the young man might have a fitting bride in case fate did not
+determine for him a different destiny. Of course everybody knew that
+the deed with which the accused was charged had been done. He had
+loved the princess, and neither he, she, nor any one else thought of
+denying the fact; but the king would not think of allowing any fact
+of this kind to interfere with the workings of the tribunal, in
+which he took such great delight and satisfaction. No matter how the
+affair turned out, the youth would be disposed of; and the king
+would take an æsthetic pleasure in watching the course of events,
+which would determine whether or not the young man had done wrong in
+allowing himself to love the princess.
+
+The appointed day arrived. From far and near the people gathered,
+and thronged the great galleries of the arena; and crowds, unable to
+gain admittance, massed themselves against its outside walls. The
+king and his court were in their places, opposite the twin
+doors--those fateful portals, so terrible in their similarity.
+
+All was ready. The signal was given. A door beneath the royal party
+opened, and the lover of the princess walked into the arena. Tall,
+beautiful, fair, his appearance was greeted with a low hum of
+admiration and anxiety. Half the audience had not known so grand a
+youth had lived among them. No wonder the princess loved him! What a
+terrible thing for him to be there!
+
+As the youth advanced into the arena, he turned, as the custom was,
+to bow to the king: but he did not think at all of that royal
+personage; his eyes were fixed upon the princess, who sat to the
+right of her father. Had it not been for the moiety of barbarism in
+her nature it is probable that lady would not have been there; but
+her intense and fervid soul would not allow her to be absent on an
+occasion in which she was so terribly interested. From the moment
+that the decree had gone forth that her lover should decide his fate
+in the king's arena, she had thought of nothing, night or day, but
+this great event and the various subjects connected with it.
+Possessed of more power, influence, and force of character than any
+one who had ever before been interested in such a case, she had done
+what no other person had done--she had possessed herself of the
+secret of the doors. She knew in which of the two rooms that lay
+behind those doors stood the cage of the tiger, with its open front,
+and in which waited the lady. Through these thick doors, heavily
+curtained with skins on the inside, it was impossible that any noise
+or suggestion should come from within to the person who should
+approach to raise the latch of one of them; but gold, and the power
+of a woman's will, had brought the secret to the princess.
+
+And not only did she know in which room stood the lady ready to
+emerge, all blushing and radiant, should her door be opened, but she
+knew who the lady was. It was one of the fairest and loveliest of
+the damsels of the court who had been selected as the reward of the
+accused youth, should he be proved innocent of the crime of aspiring
+to one so far above him; and the princess hated her. Often had she
+seen, or imagined that she had seen, this fair creature throwing
+glances of admiration upon the person of her lover, and sometimes
+she thought these glances were perceived and even returned. Now and
+then she had seen them talking together; it was but for a moment or
+two, but much can be said in a brief space; it may have been on most
+unimportant topics, but how could she know that? The girl was
+lovely, but she had dared to raise her eyes to the loved one of the
+princess; and, with all the intensity of the savage blood
+transmitted to her through long lines of wholly barbaric ancestors,
+she hated the woman who blushed and trembled behind that silent
+door.
+
+When her lover turned and looked at her, and his eye met hers as she
+sat there paler and whiter than any one in the vast ocean of anxious
+faces about her, he saw, by that power of quick perception which is
+given to those whose souls are one, that she knew behind which door
+crouched the tiger, and behind which stood the lady. He had expected
+her to know it. He understood her nature, and his soul was assured
+that she would never rest until she had made plain to herself this
+thing, hidden to all other lookers-on, even to the king. The only
+hope for the youth in which there was any element of certainty was
+based upon the success of the princess in discovering this mystery;
+and the moment he looked upon her, he saw she had succeeded, as in
+his soul he knew she would succeed.
+
+Then it was that his quick and anxious glance asked the question,
+"Which?" It was as plain to her as if he shouted it from where he
+stood. There was not an instant to be lost. The question was asked
+in a flash; it must be answered in another.
+
+Her right arm lay on the cushioned parapet before her. She raised
+her hand, and made a slight, quick movement toward the right. No one
+but her lover saw her. Every eye but his was fixed on the man in the
+arena.
+
+He turned, and with a firm and rapid step he walked across the empty
+space. Every heart stopped beating, every breath was held, every eye
+was fixed immovably upon that man. Without the slightest hesitation,
+he went to the door on the right, and opened it.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Now, the point of the story is this: Did the tiger come out of that
+door, or did the lady?
+
+The more we reflect upon this question the harder it is to answer.
+It involves a study of the human heart which leads us through
+devious mazes of passion, out of which it is difficult to find our
+way. Think of it, fair reader, not as if the decision of the
+question depended upon yourself, but upon that hot-blooded,
+semibarbaric princess, her soul at a white heat beneath the combined
+fires of despair and jealousy. She had lost him, but who should have
+him?
+
+How often, in her waking hours and in her dreams, had she started in
+wild horror and covered her face with her hands as she thought of
+her lover opening the door on the other side of which waited the
+cruel fangs of the tiger!
+
+But how much oftener had she seen him at the other door! How in her
+grievous reveries had she gnashed her teeth and torn her hair when
+she saw his start of rapturous delight as he opened the door of the
+lady! How her soul had burned in agony when she had seen him rush to
+meet that woman, with her flushing cheek and sparkling eye of
+triumph; when she had seen him lead her forth, his whole frame
+kindled with the joy of recovered life; when she had heard the glad
+shouts from the multitude, and the wild ringing of the happy bells;
+when she had seen the priest, with his joyous followers, advance to
+the couple, and make them man and wife before her very eyes; and
+when she had seen them walk away together upon their path of
+flowers, followed by the tremendous shouts of the hilarious
+multitude, in which her one despairing shriek was lost and drowned!
+
+Would it not be better for him to die at once, and go to wait for
+her in the blessed regions of semibarbaric futurity?
+
+And yet, that awful tiger, those shrieks, that blood!
+
+Her decision had been indicated in an instant, but it had been made
+after days and nights of anguished deliberation. She had known she
+would be asked, she had decided what she would answer, and, without
+the slightest hesitation, she had moved her hand to the right.
+
+The question of her decision is one not to be lightly considered,
+and it is not for me to presume to set myself up as the one person
+able to answer it. And so I leave it with all of you: Which came out
+of the opened door--the lady, or the tiger?
+
+
+
+
+THE REMARKABLE WRECK OF THE "THOMAS HYKE"
+
+
+It was half-past one by the clock in the office of the Registrar of
+Woes. The room was empty, for it was Wednesday, and the Registrar
+always went home early on Wednesday afternoons. He had made that
+arrangement when he accepted the office. He was willing to serve his
+fellow-citizens in any suitable position to which he might be
+called, but he had private interests which could not be neglected.
+He belonged to his country, but there was a house in the country
+which belonged to him; and there were a great many things
+appertaining to that house which needed attention, especially in
+pleasant summer weather. It is true he was often absent on
+afternoons which did not fall on the Wednesday, but the fact of his
+having appointed a particular time for the furtherance of his
+outside interests so emphasized their importance that his associates
+in the office had no difficulty in understanding that affairs of
+such moment could not always be attended to in a single afternoon of
+the week.
+
+But although the large room devoted to the especial use of the
+Registrar was unoccupied, there were other rooms connected with it
+which were not in that condition. With the suite of offices to the
+left we have nothing to do, but will confine our attention to a
+moderate-sized room to the right of the Registrar's office, and
+connected by a door, now closed, with that large and handsomely
+furnished chamber. This was the office of the Clerk of Shipwrecks,
+and it was at present occupied by five persons. One of these was the
+clerk himself, a man of goodly appearance, somewhere between
+twenty-five and forty-five years of age, and of a demeanor such as
+might be supposed to belong to one who had occupied a high position
+in state affairs, but who, by the cabals of his enemies, had been
+forced to resign the great operations of statesmanship which he had
+been directing, and who now stood, with a quite resigned air,
+pointing out to the populace the futile and disastrous efforts of
+the incompetent one who was endeavoring to fill his place. The Clerk
+of Shipwrecks had never fallen from such a position, having never
+occupied one, but he had acquired the demeanor referred to without
+going through the preliminary exercises.
+
+Another occupant was a very young man, the personal clerk of the
+Registrar of Woes, who always closed all the doors of the office of
+that functionary on Wednesday afternoons, and at other times when
+outside interests demanded his principal's absence, after which he
+betook himself to the room of his friend the Shipwreck Clerk.
+
+Then there was a middle-aged man named Mathers, also a friend of the
+clerk, and who was one of the eight who had made application for a
+subposition in this department, which was now filled by a man who
+was expected to resign when a friend of his, a gentleman of
+influence in an interior county, should succeed in procuring the
+nomination as congressional Representative of his district of an
+influential politician, whose election was considered assured in
+case certain expected action on the part of the administration
+should bring his party into power. The person now occupying the
+subposition hoped then to get something better, and Mathers,
+consequently, was very willing, while waiting for the place, to
+visit the offices of the department and acquaint himself with its
+duties.
+
+A fourth person was J. George Watts, a juryman by profession, who
+had brought with him his brother-in-law, a stranger in the city.
+
+The Shipwreck Clerk had taken off his good coat, which he had worn
+to luncheon, and had replaced it by a lighter garment of linen, much
+bespattered with ink; and he now produced a cigar-box, containing
+six cigars.
+
+"Gents," said he, "here is the fag end of a box of cigars. It's not
+like having the pick of a box, but they are all I have left."
+
+Mr. Mathers, J. George Watts, and the brother-in-law each took a
+cigar with that careless yet deferential manner which always
+distinguishes the treatee from the treator; and then the box was
+protruded in an offhand way toward Harry Covare, the personal clerk
+of the Registrar; but this young man declined, saying that he
+preferred cigarettes, a package of which he drew from his pocket. He
+had very often seen that cigar-box with a Havana brand, which he
+himself had brought from the other room after the Registrar had
+emptied it, passed around with six cigars, no more nor less, and he
+was wise enough to know that the Shipwreck Clerk did not expect to
+supply him with smoking-material. If that gentleman had offered to
+the friends who generally dropped in on him on Wednesday afternoon
+the paper bag of cigars sold at five cents each when bought singly,
+but half a dozen for a quarter of a dollar, they would have been
+quite as thankfully received; but it better pleased his deprecative
+soul to put them in an empty cigar-box, and thus throw around them
+the halo of the presumption that ninety-four of their imported
+companions had been smoked.
+
+The Shipwreck Clerk, having lighted a cigar for himself, sat down in
+his revolving chair, turned his back to his desk, and threw himself
+into an easy cross-legged attitude, which showed that he was
+perfectly at home in that office. Harry Covare mounted a high stool,
+while the visitors seated themselves in three wooden arm-chairs. But
+few words had been said, and each man had scarcely tossed his first
+tobacco-ashes on the floor, when some one wearing heavy boots was
+heard opening an outside door and entering the Registrar's room.
+Harry Covare jumped down from his stool, laid his half-smoked
+cigarette thereon, and bounced into the next room, closing the door
+after him. In about a minute he returned, and the Shipwreck Clerk
+looked at him inquiringly.
+
+"An old cock in a pea-jacket," said Mr. Covare, taking up his
+cigarette and mounting his stool. "I told him the Registrar would be
+here in the morning. He said he had something to report about a
+shipwreck, and I told him the Registrar would be here in the
+morning. Had to tell him that three times, and then he went."
+
+"School don't keep Wednesday afternoons," said Mr. J. George Watts,
+with a knowing smile.
+
+"No, sir," said the Shipwreck Clerk, emphatically, changing the
+crossing of his legs. "A man can't keep grinding on day in and out
+without breaking down. Outsiders may say what they please about it,
+but it can't be done. We've got to let up sometimes. People who do
+the work need the rest just as much as those who do the looking on."
+
+"And more too, I should say," observed Mr. Mathers.
+
+"Our little let-up on Wednesday afternoons," modestly observed Harry
+Covare, "is like death--it is sure to come; while the let-ups we get
+other days are more like the diseases which prevail in certain
+areas--you can't be sure whether you're going to get them or not."
+
+The Shipwreck Clerk smiled benignantly at this remark, and the rest
+laughed. Mr. Mathers had heard it before, but he would not impair
+the pleasantness of his relations with a future colleague by hinting
+that he remembered it.
+
+"He gets such ideas from his beastly statistics," said the Shipwreck
+Clerk.
+
+"Which come pretty heavy on him sometimes, I expect," observed Mr.
+Mathers.
+
+"They needn't," said the Shipwreck Clerk, "if things were managed
+here as they ought to be. If John J. Laylor"--meaning thereby the
+Registrar--"was the right kind of a man you'd see things very
+different here from what they are now. There'd be a larger force."
+
+"That's so," said Mr. Mathers.
+
+"And not only that, but there'd be better buildings and more
+accommodations. Were any of you ever up to Anster? Well, take a run
+up there some day, and see what sort of buildings the department has
+there. William Q. Green is a very different man from John J. Laylor.
+You don't see him sitting in his chair and picking his teeth the
+whole winter, while the Representative from his district never says
+a word about his department from one end of a session of Congress to
+the other. Now if I had charge of things here, I'd make such changes
+that you wouldn't know the place. I'd throw two rooms off here, and
+a corridor and entrance-door at that end of the building. I'd close
+up this door"--pointing toward the Registrar's room--"and if John J.
+Laylor wanted to come in here he might go round to the end door like
+other people."
+
+The thought struck Harry Covare that in that case there would be no
+John J. Laylor, but he would not interrupt.
+
+"And what is more," continued the Shipwreck Clerk, "I'd close up
+this whole department at twelve o'clock on Saturdays. The way things
+are managed now, a man has no time to attend to his own private
+business. Suppose I think of buying a piece of land, and want to go
+out and look at it, or suppose any one of you gentlemen were here
+and thought of buying a piece of land and wanted to go out and look
+at it, what are you going to do about it? You don't want to go on
+Sunday, and when are you going to go?"
+
+Not one of the other gentlemen had ever thought of buying a piece of
+land, nor had they any reason to suppose that they ever would
+purchase an inch of soil unless they bought it in a flower-pot; but
+they all agreed that the way things were managed now there was no
+time for a man to attend to his own business.
+
+"But you can't expect John J. Laylor to do anything," said the
+Shipwreck Clerk.
+
+However, there was one thing which that gentleman always expected
+John J. Laylor to do. When the clerk was surrounded by a number of
+persons in hours of business, and when he had succeeded in
+impressing them with the importance of his functions and the
+necessity of paying deferential attention to himself if they wished
+their business attended to, John J. Laylor would be sure to walk
+into the office and address the Shipwreck Clerk in such a manner as
+to let the people present know that he was a clerk and nothing else,
+and that he, the Registrar, was the head of that department. These
+humiliations the Shipwreck Clerk never forgot.
+
+There was a little pause here, and then Mr. Mathers remarked:
+
+"I should think you'd be awfully bored with the long stories of
+shipwrecks that the people come and tell you."
+
+He hoped to change the conversation, because, although he wished to
+remain on good terms with the subordinate officers, it was not
+desirable that he should be led to say much against John J. Laylor.
+
+"No, sir," said the Shipwreck Clerk, "I am not bored. I did not come
+here to be bored, and as long as I have charge of this office I
+don't intend to be. The long-winded old salts who come here to
+report their wrecks never spin out their prosy yarns to me. The
+first thing I do is to let them know just what I want of them; and
+not an inch beyond that does a man of them go, at least while I am
+managing the business. There are times when John J. Laylor comes in,
+and puts in his oar, and wants to hear the whole story; which is
+pure stuff and nonsense, for John J. Laylor doesn't know anything
+more about a shipwreck than he does about--"
+
+"The endemies in the Lake George area," suggested Harry Covare.
+
+"Yes; or any other part of his business," said the Shipwreck Clerk;
+"and when he takes it into his head to interfere, all business stops
+till some second mate of a coal-schooner has told his whole story
+from his sighting land on the morning of one day to his getting
+ashore on it on the afternoon of the next. Now I don't put up with
+any such nonsense. There's no man living that can tell me anything
+about shipwrecks. I've never been to sea myself, but that's not
+necessary; and if I had gone, it's not likely I'd been wrecked. But
+I've read about every kind of shipwreck that ever happened. When I
+first came here I took care to post myself upon these matters,
+because I knew it would save trouble. I have read 'Robinson Crusoe,'
+'The Wreck of the "Grosvenor,"' 'The Sinking of the "Royal George,"'
+and wrecks by water-spouts, tidal waves, and every other thing which
+would knock a ship into a cocked hat, and I've classified every sort
+of wreck under its proper head; and when I've found out to what
+class a wreck belongs, I know all about it. Now, when a man comes
+here to report a wreck, the first thing he has to do is just to shut
+down on his story, and to stand up square and answer a few questions
+that I put to him. In two minutes I know just what kind of shipwreck
+he's had; and then, when he gives me the name of his vessel, and one
+or two other points, he may go. I know all about that wreck, and I
+make a much better report of the business than he could have done if
+he'd stood here talking three days and three nights. The amount of
+money that's been saved to our taxpayers by the way I've
+systematized the business of this office is not to be calculated in
+figures."
+
+The brother-in-law of J. George Watts knocked the ashes from the
+remnant of his cigar, looked contemplatively at the coal for a
+moment, and then remarked:
+
+"I think you said there's no kind of shipwreck you don't know
+about?"
+
+"That's what I said," replied the Shipwreck Clerk.
+
+"I think," said the other, "I could tell you of a shipwreck, in
+which I was concerned, that wouldn't go into any of your classes."
+
+The Shipwreck Clerk threw away the end of his cigar, put both his
+hands into his trousers pockets, stretched out his legs, and looked
+steadfastly at the man who had made this unwarrantable remark. Then
+a pitying smile stole over his countenance, and he said: "Well, sir,
+I'd like to hear your account of it; and before you get a quarter
+through I can stop you just where you are, and go ahead and tell the
+rest of the story myself."
+
+"That's so," said Harry Covare. "You'll see him do it just as sure
+pop as a spread rail bounces the engine."
+
+"Well, then," said the brother-in-law of J. George Watts, "I'll tell
+it." And he began:
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"It was just two years ago the 1st of this month that I sailed for
+South America in the 'Thomas Hyke.'"
+
+At this point the Shipwreck Clerk turned and opened a large book at
+the letter T.
+
+"That wreck wasn't reported here," said the other, "and you won't
+find it in your book."
+
+"At Anster, perhaps?" said the Shipwreck Clerk, closing the volume
+and turning round again.
+
+"Can't say about that," replied the other. "I've never been to
+Anster, and haven't looked over their books."
+
+"Well, you needn't want to," said the clerk. "They've got good
+accommodations at Anster, and the Registrar has some ideas of the
+duties of his post, but they have no such system of wreck reports as
+we have here."
+
+"Very like," said the brother-in-law. And he went on with his story.
+"The 'Thomas Hyke' was a small iron steamer of six hundred tons, and
+she sailed from Ulford for Valparaiso with a cargo principally of
+pig-iron."
+
+"Pig-iron for Valparaiso?" remarked the Shipwreck Clerk. And then he
+knitted his brows thoughtfully, and said, "Go on."
+
+"She was a new vessel," continued the narrator, "and built with
+water-tight compartments; rather uncommon for a vessel of her class,
+but so she was. I am not a sailor, and don't know anything about
+ships. I went as passenger, and there was another one named William
+Anderson, and his son Sam, a boy about fifteen years old. We were
+all going to Valparaiso on business. I don't remember just how many
+days we were out, nor do I know just where we were, but it was
+somewhere off the coast of South America, when, one dark night--with
+a fog besides, for aught I know, for I was asleep--we ran into a
+steamer coming north. How we managed to do this, with room enough on
+both sides for all the ships in the world to pass, I don't know; but
+so it was. When I got on deck the other vessel had gone on, and we
+never saw anything more of her. Whether she sunk or got home is
+something I can't tell. But we pretty soon found that the 'Thomas
+Hyke' had some of the plates in her bow badly smashed, and she took
+in water like a thirsty dog. The captain had the forward water-tight
+bulkhead shut tight, and the pumps set to work, but it was no use.
+That forward compartment just filled up with water, and the 'Thomas
+Hyke' settled down with her bow clean under. Her deck was slanting
+forward like the side of a hill, and the propeller was lifted up so
+that it wouldn't have worked even if the engine had been kept going.
+The captain had the masts cut away, thinking this might bring her up
+some, but it didn't help much. There was a pretty heavy sea on, and
+the waves came rolling up the slant of the deck like the surf on the
+sea-shore. The captain gave orders to have all the hatches battened
+down so that water couldn't get in, and the only way by which
+anybody could go below was by the cabin door, which was far aft.
+This work of stopping up all openings in the deck was a dangerous
+business, for the decks sloped right down into the water, and if
+anybody had slipped, away he'd have gone into the ocean, with
+nothing to stop him; but the men made a line fast to themselves, and
+worked away with a good will, and soon got the deck and the house
+over the engine as tight as a bottle. The smoke-stack, which was
+well forward, had been broken down by a spar when the masts had been
+cut, and as the waves washed into the hole that it left, the captain
+had this plugged up with old sails, well fastened down. It was a
+dreadful thing to see the ship a-lying with her bows clean under
+water and her stern sticking up. If it hadn't been for her
+water-tight compartments that were left uninjured, she would have
+gone down to the bottom as slick as a whistle. On the afternoon of
+the day after the collision the wind fell, and the sea soon became
+pretty smooth. The captain was quite sure that there would be no
+trouble about keeping afloat until some ship came along and took us
+off. Our flag was flying, upside down, from a pole in the stern; and
+if anybody saw a ship making such a guy of herself as the 'Thomas
+Hyke' was then doing, they'd be sure to come to see what was the
+matter with her, even if she had no flag of distress flying. We
+tried to make ourselves as comfortable as we could, but this wasn't
+easy with everything on such a dreadful slant. But that night we
+heard a rumbling and grinding noise down in the hold, and the slant
+seemed to get worse. Pretty soon the captain roused all hands and
+told us that the cargo of pig-iron was shifting and sliding down to
+the bow, and that it wouldn't be long before it would break through
+all the bulkheads, and then we'd fill and go to the bottom like a
+shot. He said we must all take to the boats and get away as quick as
+we could. It was an easy matter launching the boats. They didn't
+lower them outside from the davits, but they just let 'em down on
+deck and slid 'em along forward into the water, and then held 'em
+there with a rope till everything was ready to start. They launched
+three boats, put plenty of provisions and water in 'em, and then
+everybody began to get aboard. But William Anderson and me and his
+son Sam couldn't make up our minds to get into those boats and row
+out on the dark, wide ocean. They were the biggest boats we had, but
+still they were little things enough. The ship seemed to us to be a
+good deal safer, and more likely to be seen when day broke, than
+those three boats, which might be blown off, if the wind rose,
+nobody knew where. It seemed to us that the cargo had done all the
+shifting it intended to, for the noise below had stopped; and,
+altogether, we agreed that we'd rather stick to the ship than go off
+in those boats. The captain he tried to make us go, but we wouldn't
+do it; and he told us if we chose to stay behind and be drowned it
+was our affair and he couldn't help it; and then he said there was a
+small boat aft, and we'd better launch her, and have her ready in
+case things should get worse and we should make up our minds to
+leave the vessel. He and the rest then rowed off so as not to be
+caught in the vortex if the steamer went down, and we three stayed
+aboard. We launched the small boat in the way we'd seen the others
+launched, being careful to have ropes tied to us while we were doing
+it; and we put things aboard that we thought we should want. Then we
+went into the cabin and waited for morning. It was a queer kind of a
+cabin, with a floor inclined like the roof of a house; but we sat
+down in the corners, and were glad to be there. The swinging lamp
+was burning, and it was a good deal more cheerful in there than it
+was outside. But, about daybreak, the grinding and rumbling down
+below began again, and the bow of the 'Thomas Hyke' kept going down
+more and more; and it wasn't long before the forward bulkhead of the
+cabin, which was what you might call its front wall when everything
+was all right, was under our feet, as level as a floor, and the lamp
+was lying close against the ceiling that it was hanging from. You
+may be sure that we thought it was time to get out of that. There
+were benches with arms to them fastened to the floor, and by these
+we climbed up to the foot of the cabin stairs, which, being turned
+bottom upward, we went down in order to get out. When we reached the
+cabin door we saw part of the deck below us, standing up like the
+side of a house that is built in the water, as they say the houses
+in Venice are. We had made our boat fast to the cabin door by a long
+line, and now we saw her floating quietly on the water, which was
+very smooth and about twenty feet below us. We drew her up as close
+under us as we could, and then we let the boy Sam down by a rope,
+and after some kicking and swinging he got into her; and then he
+took the oars and kept her right under us while we scrambled down by
+the ropes which we had used in getting her ready. As soon as we were
+in the boat we cut her rope and pulled away as hard as we could; and
+when we got to what we thought was a safe distance we stopped to
+look at the 'Thomas Hyke.' You never saw such a ship in all your
+born days. Two thirds of the hull was sunk in the water, and she was
+standing straight up and down with the stern in the air, her rudder
+up as high as the topsail ought to be, and the screw propeller
+looking like the wheel on the top of one of these windmills that
+they have in the country for pumping up water. Her cargo had shifted
+so far forward that it had turned her right upon end, but she
+couldn't sink, owing to the air in the compartments that the water
+hadn't got into; and on the top of the whole thing was the distress
+flag flying from the pole which stuck out over the stern. It was
+broad daylight, but not a thing did we see of the other boats. We'd
+supposed that they wouldn't row very far, but would lay off at a
+safe distance until daylight; but they must have been scared and
+rowed farther than they intended. Well, sir, we stayed in that boat
+all day and watched the 'Thomas Hyke'; but she just kept as she was
+and didn't seem to sink an inch. There was no use of rowing away,
+for we had no place to row to; and besides, we thought that passing
+ships would be much more likely to see that stern sticking high in
+the air than our little boat. We had enough to eat, and at night two
+of us slept while the other watched, dividing off the time and
+taking turns to this. In the morning there was the 'Thomas Hyke'
+standing stern up just as before. There was a long swell on the
+ocean now, and she'd rise and lean over a little on each wave, but
+she'd come up again just as straight as before. That night passed as
+the last one had, and in the morning we found we'd drifted a good
+deal farther from the 'Thomas Hyke'; but she was floating just as
+she had been, like a big buoy that's moored over a sandbar. We
+couldn't see a sign of the boats, and we about gave them up. We had
+our breakfast, which was a pretty poor meal, being nothing but
+hardtack and what was left of a piece of boiled beef. After we'd sat
+for a while doing nothing, but feeling mighty uncomfortable, William
+Anderson said, 'Look here, do you know that I think we would be
+three fools to keep on shivering all night, and living on hardtack
+in the daytime, when there's plenty on that vessel for us to eat and
+to keep us warm. If she's floated that way for two days and two
+nights, there's no knowing how much longer she'll float, and we
+might as well go on board and get the things we want as not.' 'All
+right,' said I, for I was tired doing nothing; and Sam was as
+willing as anybody. So we rowed up to the steamer, and stopped close
+to the deck, which, as I said before, was standing straight up out
+of the water like the wall of a house. The cabin door, which was the
+only opening into her, was about twenty feet above us, and the ropes
+which we had tied to the rails of the stairs inside were still
+hanging down. Sam was an active youngster, and he managed to climb
+up one of these ropes; but when he got to the door he drew it up and
+tied knots in it about a foot apart, and then he let it down to us,
+for neither William Anderson nor me could go up a rope hand over
+hand without knots or something to hold on to. As it was, we had a
+lot of bother getting up, but we did it at last; and then we walked
+up the stairs, treading on the front part of each step instead of
+the top of it, as we would have done if the stairs had been in their
+proper position. When we got to the floor of the cabin, which was
+now perpendicular like a wall, we had to clamber down by means of
+the furniture, which was screwed fast, until we reached the
+bulkhead, which was now the floor of the cabin. Close to this
+bulkhead was a small room which was the steward's pantry, and here
+we found lots of things to eat, but all jumbled up in a way that
+made us laugh. The boxes of biscuits and the tin cans and a lot of
+bottles in wicker covers were piled up on one end of the room, and
+everything in the lockers and drawers was jumbled together. William
+Anderson and me set to work to get out what we thought we'd want,
+and we told Sam to climb up into some of the state-rooms--of which
+there were four on each side of the cabin--and get some blankets to
+keep us warm, as well as a few sheets, which we thought we could rig
+up for an awning to the boat; for the days were just as hot as the
+nights were cool. When we'd collected what we wanted, William
+Anderson and me climbed into our own rooms, thinking we'd each pack
+a valise with what we most wanted to save of our clothes and things;
+and while we were doing this Sam called out to us that it was
+raining. He was sitting at the cabin door looking out. I first
+thought to tell him to shut the door so's to keep the rain from
+coming in; but when I thought how things really were, I laughed at
+the idea. There was a sort of little house built over the entrance
+to the cabin, and in one end of it was the door; and in the way the
+ship now was the open doorway was underneath the little house, and
+of course no rain could come in. Pretty soon we heard the rain
+pouring down, beating on the stern of the vessel like hail. We got
+to the stairs and looked out. The rain was falling in perfect
+sheets, in a way you never see except round about the tropics. 'It's
+a good thing we're inside,' said William Anderson, 'for if we'd been
+out in this rain we'd been drowned in the boat.' I agreed with him,
+and we made up our minds to stay where we were until the rain was
+over. Well, it rained about four hours; and when it stopped, and we
+looked out, we saw our little boat nearly full of water, and sunk so
+deep that if one of us had stepped on her she'd have gone down,
+sure. 'Here's a pretty kittle of fish,' said William Anderson;
+'there's nothing for us to do now but to stay where we are.' I
+believe in his heart he was glad of that, for if ever a man was
+tired of a little boat, William Anderson was tired of that one we'd
+been in for two days and two nights. At any rate, there was no use
+talking about it, and we set to work to make ourselves comfortable.
+We got some mattresses and pillows out of the state-rooms, and when
+it began to get dark we lighted the lamp--which we had filled with
+sweet-oil from a flask in the pantry, not finding any other
+kind--and we hung it from the railing of the stairs. We had a good
+night's rest, and the only thing that disturbed me was William
+Anderson lifting up his head every time he turned over and saying
+how much better this was than that blasted little boat. The next
+morning we had a good breakfast, even making some tea with a
+spirit-lamp we found, using brandy instead of alcohol. William
+Anderson and I wanted to get into the captain's room--which was near
+the stern and pretty high up--so as to see if there was anything
+there that we ought to get ready to save when a vessel should come
+along and pick us up; but we were not good at climbing, like Sam,
+and we didn't see how we could get up there. Sam said he was sure he
+had once seen a ladder in the compartment just forward of the
+bulkhead, and as William was very anxious to get up to the captain's
+room, we let the boy go and look for it. There was a sliding door in
+the bulkhead under our feet, and we opened this far enough to let
+Sam get through; and he scrambled down like a monkey into the next
+compartment, which was light enough, although the lower half of it,
+which was next to the engine-room, was under the water-line. Sam
+actually found a ladder with hooks at one end of it, and while he
+was handing it up to us--which was very hard to do, for he had to
+climb up on all sorts of things--he let it topple over, and the end
+with the iron hooks fell against the round glass of one of the
+port-holes. The glass was very thick and strong, but the ladder came
+down very heavy and shivered it. As bad luck would have it, this
+window was below the water-line, and the water came rushing in in a
+big spout. We chucked blankets down to Sam for him to stop up the
+hole, but 'twas of no use; for it was hard for him to get at the
+window, and when he did the water came in with such force that he
+couldn't get a blanket into the hole. We were afraid he'd be drowned
+down there, and told him to come out as quick as he could. He put up
+the ladder again, and hooked it on to the door in the bulkhead, and
+we held it while he climbed up. Looking down through the doorway, we
+saw, by the way the water was pouring in at the opening, that it
+wouldn't be long before that compartment was filled up; so we shoved
+the door to and made it all tight, and then said William Anderson,
+'The ship'll sink deeper and deeper as that fills up, and the water
+may get up to the cabin door, and we must go and make that as tight
+as we can.' Sam had pulled the ladder up after him, and this we
+found of great use in getting to the foot of the cabin stairs. We
+shut the cabin door, and locked and bolted it; and as it fitted
+pretty tight, we didn't think it would let in much water if the ship
+sunk that far. But over the top of the cabin stairs were a couple of
+folding doors, which shut down horizontally when the ship was in its
+proper position, and which were only used in very bad, cold weather.
+These we pulled to and fastened tight, thus having a double
+protection against the water. Well, we didn't get this done any too
+soon, for the water did come up to the cabin door, and a little
+trickled in from the outside door and through the cracks in the
+inner one. But we went to work and stopped these up with strips from
+the sheets, which we crammed well in with our pocket-knives. Then we
+sat down on the steps and waited to see what would happen next. The
+doors of all the state-rooms were open, and we could see through the
+thick plate-glass windows in them, which were all shut tight, that
+the ship was sinking more and more as the water came in. Sam climbed
+up into one of the after state-rooms, and said the outside water was
+nearly up to the stern; and pretty soon we looked up to the two
+portholes in the stern, and saw that they were covered with water;
+and as more and more water could be seen there, and as the light
+came through less easily, we knew that we were sinking under the
+surface of the ocean. 'It's a mighty good thing,' said William
+Anderson, 'that no water can get in here.' William had a hopeful
+kind of mind, and always looked on the bright side of things; but I
+must say that I was dreadfully scared when I looked through those
+stern windows and saw water instead of sky. It began to get duskier
+and duskier as we sank lower and lower; but still we could see
+pretty well, for it's astonishing how much light comes down through
+water. After a little while we noticed that the light remained about
+the same; and then William Anderson he sings out, 'Hooray, we've
+stopped sinking!' 'What difference does that make?' says I. 'We must
+be thirty or forty feet under water, and more yet, for aught I
+know.' 'Yes, that may be,' said he; 'but it is clear that all the
+water has got into that compartment that can get in, and we have
+sunk just as far down as we are going.' 'But that don't help
+matters,' said I; 'thirty or forty feet under water is just as bad
+as a thousand as to drowning a man.' 'Drowning!' said William; 'how
+are you going to be drowned? No water can get in here.' 'Nor no air,
+either,' said I; 'and people are drowned for want of air, as I take
+it.' 'It would be a queer sort of thing,' said William, 'to be
+drowned in the ocean and yet stay as dry as a chip. But it's no use
+being worried about air. We've got air enough here to last us for
+ever so long. This stern compartment is the biggest in the ship, and
+it's got lots of air in it. Just think of that hold! It must be
+nearly full of air. The stern compartment of the hold has got
+nothing in it but sewing-machines. I saw 'em loading her. The
+pig-iron was mostly amidships, or at least forward of this
+compartment. Now, there's no kind of a cargo that'll accommodate as
+much air as sewing-machines. They're packed in wooden frames, not
+boxes, and don't fill up half the room they take. There's air all
+through and around 'em. It's a very comforting thing to think the
+hold isn't filled up solid with bales of cotton or wheat in bulk.'
+It might be comforting, but I couldn't get much good out of it. And
+now Sam, who'd been scrambling all over the cabin to see how things
+were going on, sung out that the water was leaking in a little again
+at the cabin door and around some of the iron frames of the windows.
+'It's a lucky thing,' said William Anderson, 'that we didn't sink
+any deeper, or the pressure of the water would have burst in those
+heavy glasses. And what we've got to do now is to stop up all the
+cracks. The more we work the livelier we'll feel.' We tore off more
+strips of sheets and went all round, stopping up cracks wherever we
+found them. 'It's fortunate,' said William Anderson, 'that Sam found
+that ladder, for we would have had hard work getting to the windows
+of the stern state-rooms without it; but by resting it on the bottom
+step of the stairs, which now happens to be the top one, we can get
+to any part of the cabin.' I couldn't help thinking that if Sam
+hadn't found the ladder it would have been a good deal better for
+us; but I didn't want to damp William's spirits, and I said nothing.
+
+"And now I beg your pardon, sir," said the narrator, addressing the
+Shipwreck Clerk, "but I forgot that you said you'd finish this story
+yourself. Perhaps you'd like to take it up just here?"
+
+The Shipwreck Clerk seemed surprised, and had apparently forgotten
+his previous offer. "Oh no," said he, "tell your own story. This is
+not a matter of business."
+
+"Very well, then," said the brother-in-law of J. George Watts, "I'll
+go on. We made everything as tight as we could, and then we got our
+supper, having forgotten all about dinner, and being very hungry. We
+didn't make any tea and we didn't light the lamp, for we knew that
+would use up air; but we made a better meal than three people sunk
+out of sight in the ocean had a right to expect. 'What troubles me
+most,' said William Anderson, as he turned in, 'is the fact that if
+we are forty feet under water our flagpole must be covered up. Now,
+if the flag was sticking out, upside down, a ship sailing by would
+see it and would know there was something wrong.' 'If that's all
+that troubles you,' said I, 'I guess you'll sleep easy. And if a
+ship was to see the flag, I wonder how they'd know we were down
+here, and how they'd get us out if they did!' 'Oh, they'd manage
+it,' said William Anderson; 'trust those sea-captains for that.' And
+then he went to sleep. The next morning the air began to get mighty
+disagreeable in the part of the cabin where we were, and then
+William Anderson he says, 'What we've got to do is to climb up into
+the stern state-rooms, where the air is purer. We can come down here
+to get our meals, and then go up again to breathe comfortable.' 'And
+what are we going to do when the air up there gets foul?' says I to
+William, who seemed to be making arrangements for spending the
+summer in our present quarters. 'Oh, that'll be all right,' said he.
+'It don't do to be extravagant with air any more than with anything
+else. When we've used up all there is in this cabin, we can bore
+holes through the floor into the hold and let in air from there. If
+we're economical, there'll be enough to last for dear knows how
+long.' We passed the night each in a state-room, sleeping on the end
+wall instead of the berth, and it wasn't till the afternoon of the
+next day that the air of the cabin got so bad we thought we'd have
+some fresh; so we went down on the bulkhead, and with an auger that
+we found in the pantry we bored three holes, about a yard apart, in
+the cabin floor, which was now one of the walls of the room, just as
+the bulkhead was the floor, and the stern end, where the two round
+windows were, was the ceiling or roof. We each took a hole, and I
+tell you it was pleasant to breathe the air which came in from the
+hold. 'Isn't this jolly?' said William Anderson. 'And we ought to be
+mighty glad that that hold wasn't loaded with codfish or soap. But
+there's nothing that smells better than new sewing-machines that
+haven't ever been used, and this air is pleasant enough for
+anybody.' By William's advice we made three plugs, by which we
+stopped up the holes when we thought we'd had air enough for the
+present. 'And now,' says he, 'we needn't climb up into those awkward
+state-rooms any more. We can just stay down here and be comfortable,
+and let in air when we want it.' 'And how long do you suppose that
+air in the hold is going to last?' said I. 'Oh, ever so long,' said
+he, 'using it so economically as we do; and when it stops coming out
+lively through these little holes, as I suppose it will after a
+while, we can saw a big hole in this flooring and go into the hold
+and do our breathing, if we want to.' That evening we did saw a hole
+about a foot square, so as to have plenty of air while we were
+asleep; but we didn't go into the hold, it being pretty well filled
+up with machines; though the next day Sam and I sometimes stuck our
+heads in for a good sniff of air, though William Anderson was
+opposed to this, being of the opinion that we ought to put ourselves
+on short rations of breathing so as to make the supply of air hold
+out as long as possible. 'But what's the good,' said I to William,
+'of trying to make the air hold out if we've got to be suffocated in
+this place after all?' 'What's the good?' says he. 'Haven't you
+enough biscuits and canned meats and plenty of other things to eat,
+and a barrel of water in that room opposite the pantry, not to speak
+of wine and brandy if you want to cheer yourself up a bit, and
+haven't we good mattresses to sleep on, and why shouldn't we try to
+live and be comfortable as long as we can?' 'What I want,' said I,
+'is to get out of this box. The idea of being shut up in here down
+under the water is more than I can stand. I'd rather take my chances
+going up to the surface and swimming about till I found a piece of
+the wreck, or something to float on.' 'You needn't think of anything
+of that sort,' said William, 'for if we were to open a door or a
+window to get out, the water'd rush in and drive us back and fill up
+this place in no time; and then the whole concern would go to the
+bottom. And what would you do if you did get to the top of the
+water? It's not likely you'd find anything there to get on, and if
+you did you wouldn't live very long floating about with nothing to
+eat. No, sir,' says he, 'what we've got to do is to be content with
+the comforts we have around us, and something will turn up to get us
+out of this; you see if it don't.' There was no use talking against
+William Anderson, and I didn't say any more about getting out. As
+for Sam, he spent his time at the windows of the state-rooms
+a-looking out. We could see a good way into the water--farther than
+you would think--and we sometimes saw fishes, especially porpoises,
+swimming about, most likely trying to find out what a ship was doing
+hanging bows down under the water. What troubled Sam was that a
+swordfish might come along and jab his sword through one of the
+windows. In that case it would be all up, or rather down, with us.
+Every now and then he'd sing out, 'Here comes one!' And then, just
+as I'd give a jump, he'd say, 'No, it isn't; it's a porpoise.' I
+thought from the first, and I think now, that it would have been a
+great deal better for us if that boy hadn't been along. That night
+there was a good deal of motion to the ship, and she swung about and
+rose up and down more than she had done since we'd been left in her.
+'There must be a big sea running on top,' said William Anderson,
+'and if we were up there we'd be tossed about dreadful. Now the
+motion down here is just as easy as a cradle; and, what's more, we
+can't be sunk very deep, for if we were there wouldn't be any motion
+at all.' About noon the next day we felt a sudden tremble and shake
+run through the whole ship, and far down under us we heard a
+rumbling and grinding that nearly scared me out of my wits. I first
+thought we'd struck bottom; but William he said that couldn't be,
+for it was just as light in the cabin as it had been, and if we'd
+gone down it would have grown much darker, of course. The rumbling
+stopped after a little while, and then it seemed to grow lighter
+instead of darker; and Sam, who was looking up at the stern windows
+over our heads, he sung out, 'Sky!' And, sure enough, we could see
+the blue sky, as clear as daylight, through those windows! And then
+the ship she turned herself on the slant, pretty much as she had
+been when her forward compartment first took in water, and we found
+ourselves standing on the cabin floor instead of the bulkhead. I was
+near one of the open state-rooms, and as I looked in there was the
+sunlight coming through the wet glass in the window, and more
+cheerful than anything I ever saw before in this world. William
+Anderson he just made one jump, and, unscrewing one of the
+state-room windows, he jerked it open. We had thought the air inside
+was good enough to last some time longer; but when that window was
+open and the fresh air came rushing in, it was a different sort of
+thing, I can tell you. William put his head out and looked up and
+down and all around. 'She's nearly all out of water,' he shouted,
+'and we can open the cabin door!' Then we all three rushed at those
+stairs, which were nearly right side up now, and we had the cabin
+doors open in no time. When we looked out we saw that the ship was
+truly floating pretty much as she had been when the captain and crew
+left her, though we all agreed that her deck didn't slant as much
+forward as it did then. 'Do you know what's happened?' sung out
+William Anderson, after he'd stood still for a minute to look around
+and think. 'That bobbing up and down that the vessel got last night
+shook up and settled down the pig-iron inside of her, and the iron
+plates in the bow, that were smashed and loosened by the collision,
+have given way under the weight, and the whole cargo of pig-iron has
+burst through and gone to the bottom. Then, of course, up we came.
+Didn't I tell you something would happen to make us all right?'
+
+"Well, I won't make this story any longer than I can help. The next
+day after that we were taken off by a sugar-ship bound north, and we
+were carried safe back to Ulford, where we found our captain and the
+crew, who had been picked up by a ship after they'd been three or
+four days in their boats. This ship had sailed our way to find us,
+which, of course, she couldn't do, as at that time we were under
+water and out of sight.
+
+"And now, sir," said the brother-in-law of J. George Watts to the
+Shipwreck Clerk, "to which of your classes does this wreck of mine
+belong?"
+
+"Gents," said the Shipwreck Clerk, rising from his seat, "it's four
+o'clock, and at that hour this office closes."
+
+
+
+
+OLD PIPES AND THE DRYAD
+
+
+A mountain brook ran through a little village. Over the brook there
+was a narrow bridge, and from the bridge a foot-path led out from
+the village and up the hillside to the cottage of Old Pipes and his
+mother. For many, many years Old Pipes had been employed by the
+villagers to pipe the cattle down from the hills. Every afternoon,
+an hour before sunset, he would sit on a rock in front of his
+cottage and play on his pipes. Then all the flocks and herds that
+were grazing on the mountains would hear him, wherever they might
+happen to be, and would come down to the village--the cows by the
+easiest paths, the sheep by those not quite so easy, and the goats
+by the steep and rocky ways that were hardest of all.
+
+But now, for a year or more, Old Pipes had not piped the cattle
+home. It is true that every afternoon he sat upon the rock and
+played upon his familiar instrument; but the cattle did not hear
+him. He had grown old and his breath was feeble. The echoes of his
+cheerful notes, which used to come from the rocky hill on the other
+side of the valley, were heard no more; and twenty yards from Old
+Pipes one could scarcely tell what tune he was playing. He had
+become somewhat deaf, and did not know that the sound of his pipes
+was so thin and weak, and that the cattle did not hear him. The
+cows, the sheep, and the goats came down every afternoon as before,
+but this was because two boys and a girl were sent up after them.
+The villagers did not wish the good old man to know that his piping
+was no longer of any use, so they paid him his little salary every
+month, and said nothing about the two boys and the girl.
+
+Old Pipes's mother was, of course, a great deal older than he was,
+and was as deaf as a gate--posts, latch, hinges, and all--and she
+never knew that the sound of her son's pipe did not spread over all
+the mountain-side and echo back strong and clear from the opposite
+hills. She was very fond of Old Pipes, and proud of his piping; and
+as he was so much younger than she was, she never thought of him as
+being very old. She cooked for him, and made his bed, and mended his
+clothes; and they lived very comfortably on his little salary.
+
+One afternoon, at the end of the month, when Old Pipes had finished
+his piping, he took his stout staff and went down the hill to the
+village to receive the money for his month's work. The path seemed a
+great deal steeper and more difficult than it used to be; and Old
+Pipes thought that it must have been washed by the rains and greatly
+damaged. He remembered it as a path that was quite easy to traverse
+either up or down. But Old Pipes had been a very active man, and as
+his mother was so much older than he was, he never thought of
+himself as aged and infirm.
+
+When the Chief Villager had paid him, and he had talked a little
+with some of his friends, Old Pipes started to go home. But when he
+had crossed the bridge over the brook and gone a short distance up
+the hillside, he became very tired and sat down upon a stone. He had
+not been sitting there half a minute when along came two boys and a
+girl.
+
+"Children," said Old Pipes, "I'm very tired to-night, and I don't
+believe I can climb up this steep path to my home. I think I shall
+have to ask you to help me."
+
+"We will do that," said the boys and the girl, quite cheerfully; and
+one boy took him by the right hand and the other by the left, while
+the girl pushed him in the back. In this way he went up the hill
+quite easily, and soon reached his cottage door. Old Pipes gave each
+of the three children a copper coin, and then they sat down for a
+few minutes' rest before starting back to the village.
+
+"I'm sorry that I tired you so much," said Old Pipes.
+
+"Oh, that would not have tired us," said one of the boys, "if we had
+not been so far to-day after the cows, the sheep, and the goats.
+They rambled high up on the mountain, and we never before had such a
+time in finding them."
+
+"Had to go after the cows, the sheep, and the goats!" exclaimed Old
+Pipes. "What do you mean by that?"
+
+The girl, who stood behind the old man, shook her head, put her hand
+on her mouth, and made all sorts of signs to the boy to stop talking
+on this subject; but he did not notice her and promptly answered Old
+Pipes.
+
+"Why, you see, good sir," said he, "that as the cattle can't hear
+your pipes now, somebody has to go after them every evening to drive
+them down from the mountain, and the Chief Villager has hired us
+three to do it. Generally it is not very hard work, but to-night the
+cattle had wandered far."
+
+"How long have you been doing this?" asked the old man.
+
+The girl shook her head and clapped her hand on her mouth more
+vigorously than before, but the boy went on.
+
+"I think it is about a year now," he said, "since the people first
+felt sure that the cattle could not hear your pipes; and from that
+time we've been driving them down. But we are rested now and will go
+home. Good-night, sir."
+
+The three children then went down the hill, the girl scolding the
+boy all the way home. Old Pipes stood silent a few moments and then
+he went into his cottage.
+
+"Mother," he shouted, "did you hear what those children said?"
+
+"Children!" exclaimed the old woman; "I did not hear them. I did not
+know there were any children here."
+
+Then Old Pipes told his mother--shouting very loudly to make her
+hear--how the two boys and the girl had helped him up the hill, and
+what he had heard about his piping and the cattle.
+
+"They can't hear you?" cried his mother. "Why, what's the matter
+with the cattle?"
+
+"Ah me!" said Old Pipes, "I don't believe there's anything the
+matter with the cattle. It must be with me and my pipes that there
+is something the matter. But one thing is certain: if I do not earn
+the wages the Chief Villager pays me, I shall not take them. I shall
+go straight down to the village and give back the money I received
+to-day."
+
+"Nonsense!" cried his mother. "I'm sure you've piped as well as you
+could, and no more can be expected. And what are we to do without
+the money?"
+
+"I don't know," said Old Pipes; "but I'm going down to the village
+to pay it back."
+
+The sun had now set; but the moon was shining very brightly on the
+hillside, and Old Pipes could see his way very well. He did not take
+the same path by which he had gone before, but followed another,
+which led among the trees upon the hillside, and, though longer, was
+not so steep.
+
+When he had gone about half-way the old man sat down to rest,
+leaning his back against a great oak-tree. As he did so he heard a
+sound like knocking inside the tree, and then a voice distinctly
+said:
+
+"Let me out! let me out!"
+
+Old Pipes instantly forgot that he was tired, and sprang to his
+feet. "This must be a Dryad-tree!" he exclaimed. "If it is, I'll let
+her out."
+
+Old Pipes had never, to his knowledge, seen a Dryad-tree, but he
+knew there were such trees on the hillsides and the mountains, and
+that Dryads lived in them. He knew, too, that in the summer-time, on
+those days when the moon rose before the sun went down, a Dryad
+could come out of her tree if any one could find the key which
+locked her in, and turn it. Old Pipes closely examined the trunk of
+the tree, which stood in the full moonlight. "If I see that key," he
+said, "I shall surely turn it." Before long he perceived a piece of
+bark standing out from the tree, which appeared to him very much
+like the handle of a key. He took hold of it, and found he could
+turn it quite around. As he did so a large part of the side of the
+tree was pushed open, and a beautiful Dryad stepped quickly out.
+
+For a moment she stood motionless, gazing on the scene before
+her--the tranquil valley, the hills, the forest, and the
+mountain-side, all lying in the soft clear light of the moon. "Oh,
+lovely! lovely!" she exclaimed. "How long it is since I have seen
+anything like this!" And then, turning to Old Pipes, she said, "How
+good of you to let me out! I am so happy and so thankful that I must
+kiss you, you dear old man!" And she threw her arms around the neck
+of Old Pipes and kissed him on both cheeks. "You don't know," she
+then went on to say, "how doleful it is to be shut up so long in a
+tree. I don't mind it in the winter, for then I am glad to be
+sheltered; but in summer it is a rueful thing not to be able to see
+all the beauties of the world. And it's ever so long since I've been
+let out. People so seldom come this way; and when they do come at
+the right time they either don't hear me, or they are frightened and
+run away. But you, you dear old man, you were not frightened, and
+you looked and looked for the key, and you let me out, and now I
+shall not have to go back till winter has come and the air grows
+cold. Oh, it is glorious! What can I do for you to show you how
+grateful I am?"
+
+"I am very glad," said Old Pipes, "that I let you out, since I see
+that it makes you so happy; but I must admit that I tried to find
+the key because I had a great desire to see a Dryad. But if you wish
+to do something for me, you can, if you happen to be going down
+toward the village."
+
+"To the village!" exclaimed the Dryad. "I will go anywhere for you,
+my kind old benefactor."
+
+"Well, then," said Old Pipes, "I wish you would take this little bag
+of money to the Chief Villager and tell him that Old Pipes cannot
+receive pay for the services which he does not perform. It is now
+more than a year that I have not been able to make the cattle hear
+me when I piped to call them home. I did not know this until
+to-night; but now that I know it I cannot keep the money, and so I
+send it back." And, handing the little bag to the Dryad, he bade her
+good-night and turned toward his cottage.
+
+"Good-night," said the Dryad. "And I thank you over and over and
+over again, you good old man!"
+
+Old Pipes walked toward his home, very glad to be saved the fatigue
+of going all the way down to the village and back again. "To be
+sure," he said to himself, "this path does not seem at all steep,
+and I can walk along it very easily; but it would have tired me
+dreadfully to come up all the way from the village, especially as I
+could not have expected those children to help me again." When he
+reached home his mother was surprised to see him returning so soon.
+
+"What!" she exclaimed, "have you already come back? What did the
+Chief Villager say? Did he take the money?"
+
+Old Pipes was just about to tell her that he had sent the money to
+the village by a Dryad when he suddenly reflected that his mother
+would be sure to disapprove such a proceeding, and so he merely said
+he had sent it by a person whom he had met.
+
+"And how do you know that the person will ever take it to the Chief
+Villager?" cried his mother. "You will lose it, and the villagers
+will never get it. Oh, Pipes! Pipes! when will you be old enough to
+have ordinary common sense?"
+
+Old Pipes considered that as he was already seventy years of age he
+could scarcely expect to grow any wiser, but he made no remark on
+this subject; and, saying that he doubted not that the money would
+go safely to its destination, he sat down to his supper. His mother
+scolded him roundly, but he did not mind it; and after supper he
+went out and sat on a rustic chair in front of the cottage to look
+at the moon-lit village, and to wonder whether or not the Chief
+Villager really received the money. While he was doing these two
+things he went fast asleep.
+
+When Old Pipes left the Dryad, she did not go down to the village
+with the little bag of money. She held it in her hand and thought
+about what she had heard. "This is a good and honest old man," she
+said, "and it is a shame that he should lose this money. He looked
+as if he needed it, and I don't believe the people in the village
+will take it from one who has served them so long. Often, when in my
+tree, have I heard the sweet notes of his pipes. I am going to take
+the money back to him." She did not start immediately, because there
+were so many beautiful things to look at; but after a while she went
+up to the cottage, and, finding Old Pipes asleep in his chair, she
+slipped the little bag into his coat pocket and silently sped away.
+
+The next day Old Pipes told his mother that he would go up the
+mountain and cut some wood. He had a right to get wood from the
+mountain, but for a long time he had been content to pick up the
+dead branches which lay about his cottage. To-day, however, he felt
+so strong and vigorous that he thought he would go and cut some fuel
+that would be better than this. He worked all the morning, and when
+he came back he did not feel at all tired, and he had a very good
+appetite for his dinner.
+
+Now, Old Pipes knew a good deal about Dryads, but there was one
+thing which, although he had heard, he had forgotten. This was that
+a kiss from a Dryad made a person ten years younger. The people of
+the village knew this, and they were very careful not to let any
+child of ten years or younger go into the woods where the Dryads
+were supposed to be; for if they should chance to be kissed by one
+of these tree-nymphs, they would be set back so far that they would
+cease to exist. A story was told in the village that a very bad boy
+of eleven once ran away into the woods and had an adventure of this
+kind; and when his mother found him he was a little baby of one year
+old. Taking advantage of her opportunity, she brought him up more
+carefully than she had done before; and he grew to be a very good
+boy indeed.
+
+Now, Old Pipes had been kissed twice by the Dryad, once on each
+cheek, and he therefore felt as vigorous and active as when he was a
+hale man of fifty. His mother noticed how much work he was doing,
+and told him that he need not try in that way to make up for the
+loss of his piping wages; for he would only tire himself out and get
+sick. But her son answered that he had not felt so well for years,
+and that he was quite able to work. In the course of the afternoon,
+Old Pipes, for the first time that day, put his hand in his coat
+pocket, and there, to his amazement, he found the little bag of
+money. "Well, well!" he exclaimed, "I am stupid indeed! I really
+thought that I had seen a Dryad; but when I sat down by that big
+oak-tree I must have gone to sleep and dreamed it all; and then I
+came home thinking I had given the money to a Dryad, when it was in
+my pocket all the time. But the Chief Villager shall have the money.
+I shall not take it to him to-day; but to-morrow I wish to go to the
+village to see some of my old friends, and then I shall give up the
+money."
+
+Toward the close of the afternoon, Old Pipes, as had been his custom
+for so many years, took his pipes from the shelf on which they lay,
+and went out to the rock in front of the cottage.
+
+"What are you going to do?" cried his mother. "If you will not
+consent to be paid, why do you pipe?"
+
+"I am going to pipe for my own pleasure," said her son. "I am used
+to it, and I do not wish to give it up. It does not matter now
+whether the cattle hear me or not, and I am sure that my piping will
+injure no one."
+
+When the good man began to play upon his favorite instrument he was
+astonished at the sound that came from it. The beautiful notes of
+the pipes sounded clear and strong down into the valley, and spread
+over the hills and up the sides of the mountain beyond, while, after
+a little interval, an echo came back from the rocky hill on the
+other side of the valley.
+
+"Ha! ha!" he cried, "what has happened to my pipes? They must have
+been stopped up of late, but now they are as clear and good as
+ever."
+
+Again the merry notes went sounding far and wide. The cattle on the
+mountain heard them, and those that were old enough remembered how
+these notes had called them from their pastures every evening, and
+so they started down the mountain-side, the others following.
+
+The merry notes were heard in the village below, and the people were
+much astonished thereby. "Why, who can be blowing the pipes of Old
+Pipes?" they said. But, as they were all very busy, no one went up
+to see. One thing, however, was plain enough: the cattle were coming
+down the mountain. And so the two boys and the girl did not have to
+go after them, and had an hour for play, for which they were very
+glad.
+
+The next morning Old Pipes started down to the village with his
+money, and on the way he met the Dryad. "Oh, ho!" he cried, "is that
+you? Why, I thought my letting you out of the tree was nothing but a
+dream."
+
+"A dream!" cried the Dryad; "if you only knew how happy you have
+made me you would not think it merely a dream. And has it not
+benefited you? Do you not feel happier? Yesterday I heard you
+playing beautifully on your pipes."
+
+"Yes, yes," cried he. "I did not understand it before, but I see it
+all now. I have really grown younger. I thank you, I thank you, good
+Dryad, from the bottom of my heart. It was the finding of the money
+in my pocket that made me think it was a dream."
+
+"Oh, I put it in when you were asleep," she said, laughing, "because
+I thought you ought to keep it. Good-by, kind, honest man. May you
+live long and be as happy as I am now."
+
+Old Pipes was greatly delighted when he understood that he was really
+a younger man; but that made no difference about the money, and he
+kept on his way to the village. As soon as he reached it he was
+eagerly questioned as to who had been playing his pipes the evening
+before; and when the people heard that it was himself, they were
+very much surprised. Thereupon Old Pipes told what had happened to
+him, and then there was greater wonder, with hearty congratulations
+and hand-shakes; for Old Pipes was liked by every one. The Chief
+Villager refused to take his money, and, although Old Pipes said
+that he had not earned it, every one present insisted that, as he
+would now play on his pipes as before, he should lose nothing
+because, for a time, he was unable to perform his duty.
+
+So Old Pipes was obliged to keep his money, and after an hour or two
+spent in conversation with his friends, he returned to his cottage.
+
+There was one individual, however, who was not at all pleased with
+what had happened to Old Pipes. This was an Echo-dwarf, who lived on
+the hills on the other side of the valley, and whose duty it was to
+echo back the notes of the pipes whenever they could be heard. There
+were a great many other Echo-dwarfs on these hills, some of whom
+echoed back the songs of maidens, some the shouts of children, and
+others the music that was often heard in the village. But there was
+only one who could send back the strong notes of the pipes of Old
+Pipes, and this had been his sole duty for many years. But when the
+old man grew feeble, and the notes of his pipes could not be heard
+on the opposite hills, this Echo-dwarf had nothing to do, and he
+spent his time in delightful idleness; and he slept so much and grew
+so fat that it made his companions laugh to see him walk.
+
+On the afternoon on which, after so long an interval, the sound of
+the pipes was heard on the echo-hills, this dwarf was fast asleep
+behind a rock. As soon as the first notes reached them, some of his
+companions ran to wake him. Rolling to his feet, he echoed back the
+merry tune of Old Pipes. Naturally he was very much annoyed and
+indignant at being thus obliged to give up his life of comfortable
+leisure, and he hoped very much that this pipe-playing would not
+occur again. The next afternoon he was awake and listening, and,
+sure enough, at the usual hour, along came the notes of the pipes as
+clear and strong as they ever had been; and he was obliged to work
+as long as Old Pipes played. The Echo-dwarf was very angry. He had
+supposed, of course, that the pipe-playing had ceased forever, and
+he felt that he had a right to be indignant at being thus deceived.
+He was so much disturbed that he made up his mind to go and try to
+find out whether this was to be a temporary matter or not. He had
+plenty of time, as the pipes were played but once a day, and he set
+off early in the morning for the hill on which Old Pipes lived. It
+was hard work for the fat little fellow, and when he had crossed the
+valley and had gone some distance into the woods on the hillside, he
+stopped to rest, and in a few minutes the Dryad came tripping along.
+
+"Ho, ho!" exclaimed the dwarf; "what are you doing here? and how did
+you get out of your tree?"
+
+"Doing!" cried the Dryad, "I am being happy; that's what I am doing.
+And I was let out of my tree by a good old man who plays the pipes
+to call the cattle down from the mountain. And it makes me happier
+to think that I have been of service to him. I gave him two kisses
+of gratitude, and now he is young enough to play his pipes as well
+as ever."
+
+The Echo-dwarf stepped forward, his face pale with passion. "Am I to
+believe," he said, "that you are the cause of this great evil that
+has come upon me? and that you are the wicked creature who has again
+started this old man upon his career of pipe-playing? What have I
+ever done to you that you should have condemned me for years and
+years to echo back the notes of those wretched pipes?"
+
+At this the Dryad laughed loudly.
+
+"What a funny little fellow you are!" she said. "Any one would think
+you had been condemned to toil from morning till night; while what
+you really have to do is merely to imitate for half an hour every
+day the merry notes of Old Pipes's piping. Fie upon you, Echo-dwarf!
+You are lazy and selfish; and that is what is the matter with you.
+Instead of grumbling at being obliged to do a little wholesome
+work--which is less, I am sure, than that of any other Echo-dwarf
+upon the rocky hillside--you should rejoice at the good fortune of
+the old man who has regained so much of his strength and vigor. Go
+home and learn to be just and generous; and then, perhaps, you may
+be happy. Good-by."
+
+"Insolent creature!" shouted the dwarf, as he shook his fat little
+fist at her. "I'll make you suffer for this. You shall find out what
+it is to heap injury and insult upon one like me, and to snatch from
+him the repose that he has earned by long years of toil." And,
+shaking his head savagely, he hurried back to the rocky hillside.
+
+Every afternoon the merry notes of the pipes of Old Pipes sounded
+down into the valley and over the hills and up the mountain-side;
+and every afternoon when he had echoed them back, the little dwarf
+grew more and more angry with the Dryad. Each day, from early
+morning till it was time for him to go back to his duties upon the
+rocky hillside, he searched the woods for her. He intended, if he
+met her, to pretend to be very sorry for what he had said, and he
+thought he might be able to play a trick upon her which would avenge
+him well. One day, while thus wandering among the trees, he met Old
+Pipes. The Echo-dwarf did not generally care to see or speak to
+ordinary people; but now he was so anxious to find the object of his
+search that he stopped and asked Old Pipes if he had seen the Dryad.
+The piper had not noticed the little fellow, and he looked down on
+him with some surprise.
+
+"No," he said, "I have not seen her, and I have been looking
+everywhere for her."
+
+"You!" cried the dwarf; "what do you wish with her?"
+
+Old Pipes then sat down on a stone, so that he should be nearer the
+ear of his small companion, and he told what the Dryad had done for
+him.
+
+When the Echo-dwarf heard that this was the man whose pipes he was
+obliged to echo back every day, he would have slain him on the spot
+had he been able; but, as he was not able, he merely ground his
+teeth and listened to the rest of the story.
+
+"I am looking for the Dryad now," Old Pipes continued, "on account
+of my aged mother. When I was old myself, I did not notice how very
+old my mother was; but now it shocks me to see how feeble and
+decrepit her years have caused her to become; and I am looking for
+the Dryad to ask her to make my mother younger, as she made me."
+
+The eyes of the Echo-dwarf glistened. Here was a man who might help
+him in his plans.
+
+"Your idea is a good one," he said to Old Pipes, "and it does you
+honor. But you should know that a Dryad can make no person younger
+but one who lets her out of her tree. However, you can manage the
+affair very easily. All you need do is to find the Dryad, tell her
+what you want, and request her to step into her tree and be shut up
+for a short time. Then you will go and bring your mother to the
+tree; she will open it, and everything will be as you wish. Is not
+this a good plan?"
+
+"Excellent!" cried Old Pipes; "and I will go instantly and search
+more diligently for the Dryad."
+
+"Take me with you," said the Echo-dwarf. "You can easily carry me on
+your strong shoulders; and I shall be glad to help you in any way
+that I can."
+
+"Now, then," said the little fellow to himself, as Old Pipes carried
+him rapidly along, "if he persuades the Dryad to get into a
+tree--and she is quite foolish enough to do it--and then goes away
+to bring his mother, I shall take a stone or a club and I will break
+off the key of that tree, so that nobody can ever turn it again.
+Then Mistress Dryad will see what she has brought upon herself by
+her behavior to me."
+
+Before long they came to the great oak-tree in which the Dryad had
+lived, and, at a distance, they saw that beautiful creature herself
+coming toward them.
+
+"How excellently well everything happens!" said the dwarf. "Put me
+down, and I will go. Your business with the Dryad is more important
+than mine; and you need not say anything about my having suggested
+your plan to you. I am willing that you should have all the credit
+of it yourself."
+
+Old Pipes put the Echo-dwarf upon the ground, but the little rogue
+did not go away. He concealed himself between some low, mossy rocks,
+and he was so much of their color that you would not have noticed
+him if you had been looking straight at him.
+
+When the Dryad came up, Old Pipes lost no time in telling her about
+his mother, and what he wished her to do. At first the Dryad
+answered nothing, but stood looking very sadly at Old Pipes.
+
+"Do you really wish me to go into my tree again?" she said. "I
+should dreadfully dislike to do it, for I don't know what might
+happen. It is not at all necessary, for I could make your mother
+younger at any time if she would give me the opportunity. I had
+already thought of making you still happier in this way, and several
+times I have waited about your cottage, hoping to meet your aged
+mother; but she never comes outside, and you know a Dryad cannot
+enter a house. I cannot imagine what put this idea into your head.
+Did you think of it yourself?"
+
+"No, I cannot say that I did," answered Old Pipes. "A little dwarf
+whom I met in the woods proposed it to me."
+
+"Oh!" cried the Dryad, "now I see through it all. It is the scheme
+of that vile Echo-dwarf--your enemy and mine. Where is he? I should
+like to see him."
+
+"I think he has gone away," said Old Pipes.
+
+"No, he has not," said the Dryad, whose quick eyes perceived the
+Echo-dwarf among the rocks. "There he is. Seize him and drag him
+out, I beg of you."
+
+Old Pipes perceived the dwarf as soon as he was pointed out to him,
+and, running to the rocks, he caught the little fellow by the arm
+and pulled him out.
+
+"Now, then," cried the Dryad, who had opened the door of the great
+oak, "just stick him in there and we will shut him up. Then I shall
+be safe from his mischief for the rest of the time I am free."
+
+Old Pipes thrust the Echo-dwarf into the tree; the Dryad pushed the
+door shut; there was a clicking sound of bark and wood, and no one
+would have noticed that the big oak had ever had an opening in it.
+
+"There!" said the Dryad; "now we need not be afraid of him. And I
+assure you, my good piper, that I shall be very glad to make your
+mother younger as soon as I can. Will you not ask her to come out
+and meet me?"
+
+"Of course I will," cried Old Pipes; "and I will do it without
+delay."
+
+And then, the Dryad by his side, he hurried to his cottage. But when
+he mentioned the matter to his mother, the old woman became very
+angry indeed. She did not believe in Dryads; and, if they really did
+exist, she knew they must be witches and sorceresses, and she would
+have nothing to do with them. If her son had ever allowed himself to
+be kissed by one of them, he ought to be ashamed of himself. As to
+its doing him the least bit of good, she did not believe a word of
+it. He felt better than he used to feel, but that was very common;
+she had sometimes felt that way herself. And she forbade him ever to
+mention a Dryad to her again.
+
+That afternoon Old Pipes, feeling very sad that his plan in regard
+to his mother had failed, sat down upon the rock and played upon his
+pipes. The pleasant sounds went down the valley and up the hills and
+mountain, but, to the great surprise of some persons who happened to
+notice the fact, the notes were not echoed back from the rocky
+hillside, but from the woods on the side of the valley on which Old
+Pipes lived. The next day many of the villagers stopped in their
+work to listen to the echo of the pipes coming from the woods. The
+sound was not as clear and strong as it used to be when it was sent
+back from the rocky hillside, but it certainly came from among the
+trees. Such a thing as an echo changing its place in this way had
+never been heard of before, and nobody was able to explain how it
+could have happened. Old Pipes, however, knew very well that the
+sound came from the Echo-dwarf shut up in the great oak-tree. The
+sides of the tree were thin, and the sound of the pipes could be
+heard through them, and the dwarf was obliged by the laws of his
+being to echo back those notes whenever they came to him. But Old
+Pipes thought he might get the Dryad in trouble if he let any one
+know that the Echo-dwarf was shut up in the tree, and so he wisely
+said nothing about it.
+
+One day the two boys and the girl who had helped Old Pipes up the
+hill were playing in the woods. Stopping near the great oak-tree,
+they heard a sound of knocking within it, and then a voice plainly
+said:
+
+"Let me out! let me out!"
+
+For a moment the children stood still in astonishment, and then one
+of the boys exclaimed:
+
+"Oh, it is a Dryad, like the one Old Pipes found! Let's let her
+out!"
+
+"What are you thinking of?" cried the girl. "I am the oldest of all,
+and I am only thirteen. Do you wish to be turned into crawling
+babies? Run! run! run!"
+
+And the two boys and the girl dashed down into the valley as fast as
+their legs could carry them. There was no desire in their youthful
+hearts to be made younger than they were. And for fear that their
+parents might think it well that they should commence their careers
+anew, they never said a word about finding the Dryad-tree.
+
+As the summer days went on Old Pipes's mother grew feebler and
+feebler. One day when her son was away--for he now frequently went
+into the woods to hunt or fish, or down into the valley to work--she
+arose from her knitting to prepare the simple dinner. But she felt
+so weak and tired that she was not able to do the work to which she
+had been so long accustomed. "Alas! alas!" she said, "the time has
+come when I am too old to work. My son will have to hire some one to
+come here and cook his meals, make his bed, and mend his clothes.
+Alas! alas! I had hoped that as long as I lived I should be able to
+do these things. But it is not so. I have grown utterly worthless,
+and some one else must prepare the dinner for my son. I wonder where
+he is." And tottering to the door, she went outside to look for him.
+She did not feel able to stand, and reaching the rustic chair, she
+sank into it, quite exhausted, and soon fell asleep.
+
+The Dryad, who had often come to the cottage to see if she could
+find an opportunity of carrying out Old Pipes's affectionate design,
+now happened by; and seeing that the much-desired occasion had come,
+she stepped up quietly behind the old woman and gently kissed her on
+each cheek, and then as quietly disappeared.
+
+In a few minutes the mother of Old Pipes awoke, and looking up at
+the sun, she exclaimed, "Why, it is almost dinner-time! My son will
+be here directly, and I am not ready for him." And rising to her
+feet, she hurried into the house, made the fire, set the meat and
+vegetables to cook, laid the cloth, and by the time her son arrived
+the meal was on the table.
+
+"How a little sleep does refresh one!" she said to herself, as she
+was bustling about. She was a woman of very vigorous constitution,
+and at seventy had been a great deal stronger and more active than
+her son was at that age. The moment Old Pipes saw his mother, he
+knew that the Dryad had been there; but, while he felt as happy as a
+king, he was too wise to say anything about her.
+
+"It is astonishing how well I feel to-day," said his mother; "and
+either my hearing has improved or you speak much more plainly than
+you have done of late."
+
+The summer days went on and passed away, the leaves were falling
+from the trees, and the air was becoming cold.
+
+"Nature has ceased to be lovely," said the Dryad, "and the night
+winds chill me. It is time for me to go back into my comfortable
+quarters in the great oak. But first I must pay another visit to the
+cottage of Old Pipes."
+
+She found the piper and his mother sitting side by side on the rock
+in front of the door. The cattle were not to go to the mountain any
+more that season, and he was piping them down for the last time.
+Loud and merrily sounded the pipes of Old Pipes, and down the
+mountain-side came the cattle, the cows by the easiest paths, the
+sheep by those not quite so easy, and the goats by the most
+difficult ones among the rocks; while from the great oak-tree were
+heard the echoes of the cheerful music.
+
+"How happy they look, sitting there together!" said the Dryad; "and
+I don't believe it will do them a bit of harm to be still younger."
+And moving quietly up behind them, she first kissed Old Pipes on his
+cheek and then his mother.
+
+Old Pipes, who had stopped playing, knew what it was, but he did not
+move, and said nothing. His mother, thinking that her son had kissed
+her, turned to him with a smile and kissed him in return. And then
+she arose and went into the cottage, a vigorous woman of sixty,
+followed by her son, erect and happy, and twenty years younger than
+herself.
+
+The Dryad sped away to the woods, shrugging her shoulders as she
+felt the cool evening wind.
+
+When she reached the great oak, she turned the key and opened the
+door. "Come out," she said to the Echo-dwarf, who sat blinking
+within. "Winter is coming on, and I want the comfortable shelter of
+my tree for myself. The cattle have come down from the mountain for
+the last time this year, the pipes will no longer sound, and you can
+go to your rocks and have a holiday until next spring."
+
+Upon hearing these words the dwarf skipped quickly out, and the
+Dryad entered the tree and pulled the door shut after her. "Now,
+then," she said to herself, "he can break off the key if he likes.
+It does not matter to me. Another will grow out next spring. And
+although the good piper made me no promise, I know that when the
+warm days arrive next year he will come and let me out again."
+
+The Echo-dwarf did not stop to break the key of the tree. He was too
+happy to be released to think of anything else, and he hastened as
+fast as he could to his home on the rocky hillside.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Dryad was not mistaken when she trusted in the piper. When the
+warm days came again he went to the oak-tree to let her out. But, to
+his sorrow and surprise, he found the great tree lying upon the
+ground. A winter storm had blown it down, and it lay with its trunk
+shattered and split. And what became of the Dryad no one ever knew.
+
+
+
+
+THE TRANSFERRED GHOST
+
+
+The country residence of Mr. John Hinckman was a delightful place to
+me, for many reasons. It was the abode of a genial, though somewhat
+impulsive, hospitality. It had broad, smooth-shaven lawns and
+towering oaks and elms; there were bosky shades at several points,
+and not far from the house there was a little rill spanned by a
+rustic bridge with the bark on; there were fruits and flowers,
+pleasant people, chess, billiards, rides, walks, and fishing. These
+were great attractions; but none of them, nor all of them together,
+would have been sufficient to hold me to the place very long. I had
+been invited for the trout season, but should probably have finished
+my visit early in the summer had it not been that upon fair days,
+when the grass was dry, and the sun was not too hot, and there was
+but little wind, there strolled beneath the lofty elms, or passed
+lightly through the bosky shades, the form of my Madeline.
+
+This lady was not, in very truth, my Madeline. She had never given
+herself to me, nor had I, in any way, acquired possession of her.
+But as I considered her possession the only sufficient reason for
+the continuance of my existence, I called her, in my reveries, mine.
+It may have been that I would not have been obliged to confine the
+use of this possessive pronoun to my reveries had I confessed the
+state of my feelings to the lady.
+
+But this was an unusually difficult thing to do. Not only did I
+dread, as almost all lovers dread, taking the step which would in an
+instant put an end to that delightful season which may be termed the
+ante-interrogatory period of love, and which might at the same time
+terminate all intercourse or connection with the object of my
+passion, but I was also dreadfully afraid of John Hinckman. This
+gentleman was a good friend of mine, but it would have required a
+bolder man than I was at that time to ask him for the gift of his
+niece, who was the head of his household, and, according to his own
+frequent statement, the main prop of his declining years. Had
+Madeline acquiesced in my general views on the subject, I might have
+felt encouraged to open the matter to Mr. Hinckman; but, as I said
+before, I had never asked her whether or not she would be mine. I
+thought of these things at all hours of the day and night,
+particularly the latter.
+
+I was lying awake one night, in the great bed in my spacious
+chamber, when, by the dim light of the new moon, which partially
+filled the room, I saw John Hinckman standing by a large chair near
+the door. I was very much surprised at this, for two reasons. In the
+first place, my host had never before come into my room; and, in the
+second place, he had gone from home that morning, and had not
+expected to return for several days. It was for this reason that I
+had been able that evening to sit much later than usual with
+Madeline on the moon-lit porch. The figure was certainly that of
+John Hinckman in his ordinary dress, but there was a vagueness and
+indistinctness about it which presently assured me that it was a
+ghost. Had the good old man been murdered? and had his spirit come
+to tell me of the deed, and to confide to me the protection of his
+dear--? My heart fluttered at what I was about to think, but at this
+instant the figure spoke.
+
+"Do you know," he said, with a countenance that indicated anxiety,
+"if Mr. Hinckman will return to-night?"
+
+I thought it well to maintain a calm exterior, and I answered:
+
+"We do not expect him."
+
+"I am glad of that," said he, sinking into the chair by which he
+stood. "During the two years and a half that I have inhabited this
+house, that man has never before been away for a single night. You
+can't imagine the relief it gives me."
+
+And as he spoke he stretched out his legs and leaned back in the
+chair. His form became less vague, and the colors of his garments
+more distinct and evident, while an expression of gratified relief
+succeeded to the anxiety of his countenance.
+
+"Two years and a half!" I exclaimed. "I don't understand you."
+
+"It is fully that length of time," said the ghost, "since I first
+came here. Mine is not an ordinary case. But before I say anything
+more about it, let me ask you again if you are sure Mr. Hinckman
+will not return to-night?"
+
+"I am as sure of it as I can be of anything," I answered. "He left
+to-day for Bristol, two hundred miles away."
+
+"Then I will go on," said the ghost, "for I am glad to have the
+opportunity of talking to some one who will listen to me; but if
+John Hinckman should come in and catch me here I should be
+frightened out of my wits."
+
+"This is all very strange," I said, greatly puzzled by what I had
+heard. "Are you the ghost of Mr. Hinckman?"
+
+This was a bold question, but my mind was so full of other emotions
+that there seemed to be no room for that of fear.
+
+"Yes, I am his ghost," my companion replied, "and yet I have no
+right to be. And this is what makes me so uneasy, and so much afraid
+of him. It is a strange story, and, I truly believe, without
+precedent. Two years and a half ago John Hinckman was dangerously
+ill in this very room. At one time he was so far gone that he was
+really believed to be dead. It was in consequence of too precipitate
+a report in regard to this matter that I was, at that time,
+appointed to be his ghost. Imagine my surprise and horror, sir,
+when, after I had accepted the position and assumed its
+responsibilities, that old man revived, became convalescent, and
+eventually regained his usual health. My situation was now one of
+extreme delicacy and embarrassment. I had no power to return to my
+original unembodiment, and I had no right to be the ghost of a man
+who was not dead. I was advised by my friends to quietly maintain my
+position, and was assured that, as John Hinckman was an elderly man,
+it could not be long before I could rightfully assume the position
+for which I had been selected. But I tell you, sir," he continued,
+with animation, "the old fellow seems as vigorous as ever, and I
+have no idea how much longer this annoying state of things will
+continue. I spend my time trying to get out of that old man's way. I
+must not leave this house, and he seems to follow me everywhere. I
+tell you, sir, he haunts me."
+
+"That is truly a queer state of things," I remarked. "But why are
+you afraid of him? He couldn't hurt you."
+
+"Of course he couldn't," said the ghost. "But his very presence is a
+shock and terror to me. Imagine, sir, how you would feel if my case
+were yours."
+
+I could not imagine such a thing at all. I simply shuddered.
+
+"And if one must be a wrongful ghost at all," the apparition
+continued, "it would be much pleasanter to be the ghost of some man
+other than John Hinckman. There is in him an irascibility of temper,
+accompanied by a facility of invective, which is seldom met with.
+And what would happen if he were to see me, and find out, as I am
+sure he would, how long and why I had inhabited his house, I can
+scarcely conceive. I have seen him in his bursts of passion; and,
+although he did not hurt the people he stormed at any more than he
+would hurt me, they seemed to shrink before him."
+
+All this I knew to be very true. Had it not been for this
+peculiarity of Mr. Hinckman I might have been more willing to talk
+to him about his niece.
+
+"I feel sorry for you," I said, for I really began to have a
+sympathetic feeling toward this unfortunate apparition. "Your case
+is indeed a hard one. It reminds me of those persons who have had
+doubles, and I suppose a man would often be very angry indeed when
+he found that there was another being who was personating himself."
+
+"Oh, the cases are not similar at all," said the ghost. "A double or
+doppelgänger lives on the earth with a man, and, being exactly like
+him, he makes all sorts of trouble, of course. It is very different
+with me. I am not here to live with Mr. Hinckman. I am here to take
+his place. Now, it would make John Hinckman very angry if he knew
+that. Don't you know it would?"
+
+I assented promptly.
+
+"Now that he is away I can be easy for a little while," continued
+the ghost; "and I am so glad to have an opportunity of talking to
+you. I have frequently come into your room and watched you while you
+slept, but did not dare to speak to you for fear that if you talked
+with me Mr. Hinckman would hear you and come into the room to know
+why you were talking to yourself."
+
+"But would he not hear you?" I asked.
+
+"Oh no!" said the other; "there are times when any one may see me,
+but no one hears me except the person to whom I address myself."
+
+"But why did you wish to speak to me?" I asked.
+
+"Because," replied the ghost, "I like occasionally to talk to
+people, and especially to some one like yourself, whose mind is so
+troubled and perturbed that you are not likely to be frightened by a
+visit from one of us. But I particularly wanted to ask you to do me
+a favor. There is every probability, so far as I can see, that John
+Hinckman will live a long time, and my situation is becoming
+insupportable. My great object at present is to get myself
+transferred, and I think that you may, perhaps, be of use to me."
+
+"Transferred!" I exclaimed. "What do you mean by that?"
+
+"What I mean," said the other, "is this: now that I have started on
+my career I have got to be the ghost of somebody, and I want to be
+the ghost of a man who is really dead."
+
+"I should think that would be easy enough," I said. "Opportunities
+must continually occur."
+
+"Not at all! not at all!" said my companion, quickly. "You have no
+idea what a rush and pressure there is for situations of this kind.
+Whenever a vacancy occurs, if I may express myself in that way,
+there are crowds of applications for the ghostship."
+
+"I had no idea that such a state of things existed," I said,
+becoming quite interested in the matter. "There ought to be some
+regular system, or order of precedence, by which you could all take
+your turns like customers in a barber's shop."
+
+"Oh dear, that would never do at all!" said the other. "Some of us
+would have to wait forever. There is always a great rush whenever a
+good ghostship offers itself--while, as you know, there are some
+positions that no one would care for. And it was in consequence of
+my being in too great a hurry on an occasion of the kind that I got
+myself into my present disagreeable predicament, and I have thought
+that it might be possible that you would help me out of it. You
+might know of a case where an opportunity for a ghostship was not
+generally expected, but which might present itself at any moment. If
+you would give me a short notice I know I could arrange for a
+transfer."
+
+"What do you mean?" I exclaimed. "Do you want me to commit suicide?
+or to undertake a murder for your benefit?"
+
+"Oh no, no, no!" said the other, with a vapory smile. "I mean
+nothing of that kind. To be sure, there are lovers who are watched
+with considerable interest, such persons having been known, in
+moments of depression, to offer very desirable ghostships; but I did
+not think of anything of that kind in connection with you. You were
+the only person I cared to speak to, and I hoped that you might give
+me some information that would be of use; and, in return, I shall be
+very glad to help you in your love-affair."
+
+"You seem to know that I have such an affair," I said.
+
+"Oh yes!" replied the other, with a little yawn. "I could not be
+here so much as I have been without knowing all about that."
+
+There was something horrible in the idea of Madeline and myself
+having been watched by a ghost, even, perhaps, when we wandered
+together in the most delightful and bosky places. But then this was
+quite an exceptional ghost, and I could not have the objections to
+him which would ordinarily arise in regard to beings of his class.
+
+"I must go now," said the ghost, rising, "but I will see you
+somewhere to-morrow night. And remember--you help me and I'll help
+you."
+
+I had doubts the next morning as to the propriety of telling
+Madeline anything about this interview, and soon convinced myself
+that I must keep silent on the subject. If she knew there was a
+ghost about the house she would probably leave the place instantly.
+I did not mention the matter, and so regulated my demeanor that I am
+quite sure Madeline never suspected what had taken place. For some
+time I had wished that Mr. Hinckman would absent himself, for a day
+at least, from the premises. In such case I thought I might more
+easily nerve myself up to the point of speaking to Madeline on the
+subject of our future collateral existence; and, now that the
+opportunity for such speech had really occurred, I did not feel
+ready to avail myself of it. What would become of me if she refused
+me?
+
+I had an idea, however, that the lady thought that, if I were going
+to speak at all, this was the time. She must have known that certain
+sentiments were afloat within me, and she was not unreasonable in
+her wish to see the matter settled one way or the other. But I did
+not feel like taking a bold step in the dark. If she wished me to
+ask her to give herself to me she ought to offer me some reason to
+suppose that she would make the gift. If I saw no probability of
+such generosity I would prefer that things should remain as they
+were.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+That evening I was sitting with Madeline in the moon-lit porch. It
+was nearly ten o'clock, and ever since supper-time I had been
+working myself up to the point of making an avowal of my sentiments.
+I had not positively determined to do this, but wished gradually to
+reach the proper point, when, if the prospect looked bright, I might
+speak. My companion appeared to understand the situation--at least I
+imagined that the nearer I came to a proposal the more she seemed to
+expect it. It was certainly a very critical and important epoch in
+my life. If I spoke I should make myself happy or miserable forever;
+and if I did not speak I had every reason to believe that the lady
+would not give me another chance to do so.
+
+Sitting thus with Madeline, talking a little, and thinking very hard
+over these momentous matters, I looked up and saw the ghost not a
+dozen feet away from us. He was sitting on the railing of the porch,
+one leg thrown up before him, the other dangling down as he leaned
+against a post. He was behind Madeline, but almost in front of me,
+as I sat facing the lady. It was fortunate that Madeline was looking
+out over the landscape, for I must have appeared very much startled.
+The ghost had told me that he would see me sometime this night, but
+I did not think he would make his appearance when I was in the
+company of Madeline. If she should see the spirit of her uncle I
+could not answer for the consequences. I made no exclamation, but
+the ghost evidently saw that I was troubled.
+
+"Don't be afraid," he said. "I shall not let her see me; and she
+cannot hear me speak unless I address myself to her, which I do not
+intend to do."
+
+I suppose I looked grateful.
+
+"So you need not trouble yourself about that," the ghost continued;
+"but it seems to me that you are not getting along very well with
+your affair. If I were you I should speak out without waiting any
+longer. You will never have a better chance. You are not likely to
+be interrupted; and, so far as I can judge, the lady seems disposed
+to listen to you favorably; that is, if she ever intends to do so.
+There is no knowing when John Hinckman will go away again; certainly
+not this summer. If I were in your place I should never dare to make
+love to Hinckman's niece if he were anywhere about the place. If he
+should catch any one offering himself to Miss Madeline he would then
+be a terrible man to encounter."
+
+I agreed perfectly to all this.
+
+"I cannot bear to think of him!" I ejaculated aloud.
+
+"Think of whom?" asked Madeline, turning quickly toward me.
+
+Here was an awkward situation. The long speech of the ghost, to
+which Madeline paid no attention, but which I heard with perfect
+distinctness, had made me forget myself.
+
+It was necessary to explain quickly. Of course it would not do to
+admit that it was of her dear uncle that I was speaking; and so I
+mentioned hastily the first name I thought of.
+
+"Mr. Vilars," I said.
+
+This statement was entirely correct; for I never could bear to think
+of Mr. Vilars, who was a gentleman who had at various times paid
+much attention to Madeline.
+
+"It is wrong for you to speak in that way of Mr. Vilars," she said.
+"He is a remarkably well-educated and sensible young man, and has
+very pleasant manners. He expects to be elected to the legislature
+this fall, and I should not be surprised if he made his mark. He
+will do well in a legislative body, for whenever Mr. Vilars has
+anything to say he knows just how and when to say it."
+
+This was spoken very quietly and without any show of resentment,
+which was all very natural; for if Madeline thought at all favorably
+of me she could not feel displeased that I should have disagreeable
+emotions in regard to a possible rival. The concluding words
+contained a hint which I was not slow to understand. I felt very
+sure that if Mr. Vilars were in my present position he would speak
+quickly enough.
+
+"I know it is wrong to have such ideas about a person," I said, "but
+I cannot help it."
+
+The lady did not chide me, and after this she seemed even in a
+softer mood. As for me, I felt considerably annoyed, for I had not
+wished to admit that any thought of Mr. Vilars had ever occupied my
+mind.
+
+"You should not speak aloud that way," said the ghost, "or you may
+get yourself into trouble. I want to see everything go well with
+you, because then you may be disposed to help me, especially if I
+should chance to be of any assistance to you, which I hope I shall
+be."
+
+I longed to tell him that there was no way in which he could help me
+so much as by taking his instant departure. To make love to a young
+lady with a ghost sitting on the railing near by, and that ghost the
+apparition of a much-dreaded uncle, the very idea of whom in such a
+position and at such a time made me tremble, was a difficult, if not
+an impossible, thing to do; but I forbore to speak, although I may
+have looked, my mind.
+
+"I suppose," continued the ghost, "that you have not heard anything
+that might be of advantage to me. Of course I am very anxious to
+hear; but if you have anything to tell me I can wait until you are
+alone. I will come to you to-night in your room, or I will stay here
+until the lady goes away."
+
+"You need not wait here," I said; "I have nothing at all to say to
+you."
+
+Madeline sprang to her feet, her face flushed and her eyes ablaze.
+
+"Wait here!" she cried. "What do you suppose I am waiting for?
+Nothing to say to me indeed!--I should think so! What should you
+have to say to me?"
+
+"Madeline," I exclaimed, stepping toward her, "let me explain."
+
+But she had gone.
+
+Here was the end of the world for me! I turned fiercely to the
+ghost.
+
+"Wretched existence!" I cried. "You have ruined everything. You have
+blackened my whole life. Had it not been for you--"
+
+But here my voice faltered. I could say no more.
+
+"You wrong me," said the ghost. "I have not injured you. I have
+tried only to encourage and assist you, and it is your own folly
+that has done this mischief. But do not despair. Such mistakes as
+these can be explained. Keep up a brave heart. Good-by."
+
+And he vanished from the railing like a bursting soap-bubble.
+
+I went gloomily to bed, but I saw no apparitions that night except
+those of despair and misery which my wretched thoughts called up.
+The words I had uttered had sounded to Madeline like the basest
+insult. Of course there was only one interpretation she could put
+upon them.
+
+As to explaining my ejaculations, that was impossible. I thought the
+matter over and over again as I lay awake that night, and I
+determined that I would never tell Madeline the facts of the case.
+It would be better for me to suffer all my life than for her to know
+that the ghost of her uncle haunted the house. Mr. Hinckman was
+away, and if she knew of his ghost she could not be made to believe
+that he was not dead. She might not survive the shock! No, my heart
+could bleed, but I would never tell her.
+
+The next day was fine, neither too cool nor too warm; the breezes
+were gentle, and Nature smiled. But there were no walks or rides
+with Madeline. She seemed to be much engaged during the day, and I
+saw but little of her. When we met at meals she was polite, but very
+quiet and reserved. She had evidently determined on a course of
+conduct, and had resolved to assume that, although I had been very
+rude to her, she did not understand the import of my words. It would
+be quite proper, of course, for her not to know what I meant by my
+expressions of the night before.
+
+I was downcast and wretched and said but little, and the only bright
+streak across the black horizon of my woe was the fact that she did
+not appear to be happy, although she affected an air of unconcern.
+The moon-lit porch was deserted that evening, but wandering about
+the house, I found Madeline in the library alone. She was reading,
+but I went in and sat down near her. I felt that, although I could
+not do so fully, I must in a measure explain my conduct of the night
+before. She listened quietly to a somewhat labored apology I made
+for the words I had used.
+
+"I have not the slightest idea what you meant," she said, "but you
+were very rude."
+
+I earnestly disclaimed any intention of rudeness, and assured her,
+with a warmth of speech that must have made some impression upon
+her, that rudeness to her would be an action impossible to me. I
+said a great deal upon the subject, and implored her to believe that
+if it were not for a certain obstacle I could speak to her so
+plainly that she would understand everything.
+
+She was silent for a time, and then she said, rather more kindly, I
+thought, than she had spoken before:
+
+"Is that obstacle in any way connected with my uncle?"
+
+"Yes," I answered, after a little hesitation, "it is, in a measure,
+connected with him."
+
+She made no answer to this, and sat looking at her book, but not
+reading. From the expression of her face I thought she was somewhat
+softened toward me. She knew her uncle as well as I did, and she may
+have been thinking that, if he were the obstacle that prevented my
+speaking (and there were many ways in which he might be that
+obstacle), my position would be such a hard one that it would excuse
+some wildness of speech and eccentricity of manner. I saw, too, that
+the warmth of my partial explanations had had some effect on her,
+and I began to believe that it might be a good thing for me to speak
+my mind without delay. No matter how she should receive my
+proposition, my relations with her could not be worse than they had
+been the previous night and day, and there was something in her face
+which encouraged me to hope that she might forget my foolish
+exclamations of the evening before if I began to tell her my tale of
+love.
+
+I drew my chair a little nearer to her, and as I did so the ghost
+burst into the room from the doorway behind her. I say burst,
+although no door flew open and he made no noise. He was wildly
+excited, and waved his arms above his head. The moment I saw him my
+heart fell within me. With the entrance of that impertinent
+apparition every hope fled from me. I could not speak while he was
+in the room.
+
+I must have turned pale; and I gazed steadfastly at the ghost,
+almost without seeing Madeline, who sat between us.
+
+"Do you know," he cried, "that John Hinckman is coming up the hill?
+He will be here in fifteen minutes; and if you are doing anything in
+the way of love-making you had better hurry it up. But this is not
+what I came to tell you. I have glorious news! At last I am
+transferred! Not forty minutes ago a Russian nobleman was murdered
+by the Nihilists. Nobody ever thought of him in connection with an
+immediate ghostship. My friends instantly applied for the situation
+for me, and obtained my transfer. I am off before that horrid
+Hinckman comes up the hill. The moment I reach my new position I
+shall put off this hated semblance. Good-by. You can't imagine how
+glad I am to be, at last, the real ghost of somebody."
+
+"Oh!" I cried, rising to my feet, and stretching out my arms in
+utter wretchedness, "I would to Heaven you were mine!"
+
+"I _am_ yours," said Madeline, raising to me her tearful eyes.
+
+
+
+
+"THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELATIVE EXISTENCES"
+
+
+In a certain summer, not long gone, my friend Bentley and I found
+ourselves in a little hamlet which overlooked a placid valley,
+through which a river gently moved, winding its way through green
+stretches until it turned the end of a line of low hills and was
+lost to view. Beyond this river, far away, but visible from the door
+of the cottage where we dwelt, there lay a city. Through the mists
+which floated over the valley we could see the outlines of steeples
+and tall roofs; and buildings of a character which indicated thrift
+and business stretched themselves down to the opposite edge of the
+river. The more distant parts of the city, evidently a small one,
+lost themselves in the hazy summer atmosphere.
+
+Bentley was young, fair-haired, and a poet; I was a philosopher, or
+trying to be one. We were good friends, and had come down into this
+peaceful region to work together. Although we had fled from the
+bustle and distractions of the town, the appearance in this rural
+region of a city, which, so far as we could observe, exerted no
+influence on the quiet character of the valley in which it lay,
+aroused our interest. No craft plied up and down the river; there
+were no bridges from shore to shore; there were none of those
+scattered and half-squalid habitations which generally are found on
+the outskirts of a city; there came to us no distant sound of bells;
+and not the smallest wreath of smoke rose from any of the buildings.
+
+In answer to our inquiries our landlord told us that the city over
+the river had been built by one man, who was a visionary, and who
+had a great deal more money than common sense. "It is not as big a
+town as you would think, sirs," he said, "because the general
+mistiness of things in this valley makes them look larger than they
+are. Those hills, for instance, when you get to them are not as high
+as they look to be from here. But the town is big enough, and a good
+deal too big; for it ruined its builder and owner, who when he came
+to die had not money enough left to put up a decent tombstone at the
+head of his grave. He had a queer idea that he would like to have
+his town all finished before anybody lived in it, and so he kept on
+working and spending money year after year and year after year until
+the city was done and he had not a cent left. During all the time
+that the place was building hundreds of people came to him to buy
+houses, or to hire them, but he would not listen to anything of the
+kind. No one must live in his town until it was all done. Even his
+workmen were obliged to go away at night to lodge. It is a town,
+sirs, I am told, in which nobody has slept for even a night. There
+are streets there, and places of business, and churches, and public
+halls, and everything that a town full of inhabitants could need;
+but it is all empty and deserted, and has been so as far back as I
+can remember, and I came to this region when I was a little boy."
+
+"And is there no one to guard the place?" we asked; "no one to
+protect it from wandering vagrants who might choose to take
+possession of the buildings?"
+
+"There are not many vagrants in this part of the country," he said,
+"and if there were they would not go over to that city. It is
+haunted."
+
+"By what?" we asked.
+
+"Well, sirs, I scarcely can tell you; queer beings that are not
+flesh and blood, and that is all I know about it. A good many people
+living hereabouts have visited that place once in their lives, but I
+know of no one who has gone there a second time."
+
+"And travellers," I said, "are they not excited by curiosity to
+explore that strange uninhabited city?"
+
+"Oh yes," our host replied; "almost all visitors to the valley go
+over to that queer city--generally in small parties, for it is not a
+place in which one wishes to walk about alone. Sometimes they see
+things and sometimes they don't. But I never knew any man or woman
+to show a fancy for living there, although it is a very good town."
+
+This was said at supper-time, and, as it was the period of full
+moon, Bentley and I decided that we would visit the haunted city
+that evening. Our host endeavored to dissuade us, saying that no one
+ever went over there at night; but as we were not to be deterred he
+told us where we would find his small boat tied to a stake on the
+river-bank. We soon crossed the river, and landed at a broad but low
+stone pier, at the land end of which a line of tall grasses waved in
+the gentle night wind as if they were sentinels warning us from
+entering the silent city. We pushed through these, and walked up a
+street fairly wide, and so well paved that we noticed none of the
+weeds and other growths which generally denote desertion or little
+use. By the bright light of the moon we could see that the
+architecture was simple, and of a character highly gratifying to the
+eye. All the buildings were of stone, and of good size. We were
+greatly excited and interested, and proposed to continue our walks
+until the moon should set, and to return on the following
+morning--"to live here, perhaps," said Bentley. "What could be so
+romantic and yet so real? What could conduce better to the marriage
+of verse and philosophy?" But as he said this we saw around the
+corner of a cross-street some forms as of people hurrying away.
+
+"The spectres," said my companion, laying his hand on my arm.
+
+"Vagrants, more likely," I answered, "who have taken advantage of
+the superstition of the region to appropriate this comfort and
+beauty to themselves."
+
+"If that be so," said Bentley, "we must have a care for our lives."
+
+We proceeded cautiously, and soon saw other forms fleeing before us
+and disappearing, as we supposed, around corners and into houses.
+And now suddenly finding ourselves upon the edge of a wide, open
+public square, we saw in the dim light--for a tall steeple obscured
+the moon--the forms of vehicles, horses, and men moving here and
+there. But before, in our astonishment, we could say a word one to
+the other, the moon moved past the steeple, and in its bright light
+we could see none of the signs of life and traffic which had just
+astonished us.
+
+Timidly, with hearts beating fast, but with not one thought of
+turning back, nor any fear of vagrants--for we were now sure that
+what we had seen was not flesh and blood, and therefore harmless--we
+crossed the open space and entered a street down which the moon
+shone clearly. Here and there we saw dim figures, which quickly
+disappeared; but, approaching a low stone balcony in front of one of
+the houses, we were surprised to see, sitting thereon and leaning
+over a book which lay open upon the top of the carved parapet, the
+figure of a woman who did not appear to notice us.
+
+"That is a real person," whispered Bentley, "and she does not see
+us."
+
+"No," I replied; "it is like the others. Let us go near it."
+
+We drew near to the balcony and stood before it. At this the figure
+raised its head and looked at us. It was beautiful, it was young;
+but its substance seemed to be of an ethereal quality which we had
+never seen or known of. With its full, soft eyes fixed upon us, it
+spoke.
+
+"Why are you here?" it asked. "I have said to myself that the next
+time I saw any of you I would ask you why you come to trouble us.
+Cannot you live content in your own realms and spheres, knowing, as
+you must know, how timid we are, and how you frighten us and make us
+unhappy? In all this city there is, I believe, not one of us except
+myself who does not flee and hide from you whenever you cruelly come
+here. Even I would do that, had not I declared to myself that I
+would see you and speak to you, and endeavor to prevail upon you to
+leave us in peace."
+
+The clear, frank tones of the speaker gave me courage. "We are two
+men," I answered, "strangers in this region, and living for the time
+in the beautiful country on the other side of the river. Having
+heard of this quiet city, we have come to see it for ourselves. We
+had supposed it to be uninhabited, but now that we find that this is
+not the case, we would assure you from our hearts that we do not
+wish to disturb or annoy any one who lives here. We simply came as
+honest travellers to view the city."
+
+The figure now seated herself again, and as her countenance was
+nearer to us, we could see that it was filled with pensive thought.
+For a moment she looked at us without speaking. "Men!" she said.
+"And so I have been right. For a long time I have believed that the
+beings who sometimes come here, filling us with dread and awe, are
+men."
+
+"And you," I exclaimed--"who are you, and who are these forms that
+we have seen, these strange inhabitants of this city?"
+
+She gently smiled as she answered, "We are the ghosts of the future.
+We are the people who are to live in this city generations hence.
+But all of us do not know that, principally because we do not think
+about it and study about it enough to know it. And it is generally
+believed that the men and women who sometimes come here are ghosts
+who haunt the place."
+
+"And that is why you are terrified and flee from us?" I exclaimed.
+"You think we are ghosts from another world?"
+
+"Yes," she replied; "that is what is thought, and what I used to
+think."
+
+"And you," I asked, "are spirits of human beings yet to be?"
+
+"Yes," she answered; "but not for a long time. Generations of men--I
+know not how many--must pass away before we are men and women."
+
+"Heavens!" exclaimed Bentley, clasping his hands and raising his
+eyes to the sky, "I shall be a spirit before you are a woman."
+
+"Perhaps," she said again, with a sweet smile upon her face, "you
+may live to be very, very old."
+
+But Bentley shook his head. This did not console him. For some
+minutes I stood in contemplation, gazing upon the stone pavement
+beneath my feet. "And this," I ejaculated, "is a city inhabited by
+the ghosts of the future, who believe men and women to be phantoms
+and spectres?"
+
+She bowed her head.
+
+"But how is it," I asked, "that you discovered that you are spirits
+and we mortal men?"
+
+"There are so few of us who think of such things," she answered, "so
+few who study, ponder, and reflect. I am fond of study, and I love
+philosophy; and from the reading of many books I have learned much.
+From the book which I have here I have learned most; and from its
+teachings I have gradually come to the belief, which you tell me is
+the true one, that we are spirits and you men."
+
+"And what book is that?" I asked.
+
+"It is 'The Philosophy of Relative Existences,' by Rupert Vance."
+
+"Ye gods!" I exclaimed, springing upon the balcony, "that is my
+book, and I am Rupert Vance." I stepped toward the volume to seize
+it, but she raised her hand.
+
+"You cannot touch it," she said. "It is the ghost of a book. And did
+you write it?"
+
+"Write it? No," I said; "I am writing it. It is not yet finished."
+
+"But here it is," she said, turning over the last pages. "As a
+spirit book it is finished. It is very successful; it is held in
+high estimation by intelligent thinkers; it is a standard work."
+
+I stood trembling with emotion. "High estimation!" I said. "A
+standard work!"
+
+"Oh yes," she replied, with animation; "and it well deserves its
+great success, especially in its conclusion. I have read it twice."
+
+"But let me see these concluding pages," I exclaimed. "Let me look
+upon what I am to write."
+
+She smiled, and shook her head, and closed the book. "I would like
+to do that," she said, "but if you are really a man you must not
+know what you are going to do."
+
+"Oh, tell me, tell me," cried Bentley from below, "do you know a
+book called 'Stellar Studies,' by Arthur Bentley? It is a book of
+poems."
+
+The figure gazed at him. "No," it said, presently, "I never heard of
+it."
+
+I stood trembling. Had the youthful figure before me been flesh and
+blood, had the book been a real one, I would have torn it from her.
+
+"O wise and lovely being!" I exclaimed, falling on my knees before
+her, "be also benign and generous. Let me but see the last page of
+my book. If I have been of benefit to your world; more than all, if
+I have been of benefit to you, let me see, I implore you--let me see
+how it is that I have done it."
+
+She rose with the book in her hand. "You have only to wait until you
+have done it," she said, "and then you will know all that you could
+see here." I started to my feet and stood alone upon the balcony.
+
+"I am sorry," said Bentley, as we walked toward the pier where we
+had left our boat, "that we talked only to that ghost girl, and that
+the other spirits were all afraid of us. Persons whose souls are
+choked up with philosophy are not apt to care much for poetry; and
+even if my book is to be widely known, it is easy to see that she
+may not have heard of it."
+
+I walked triumphant. The moon, almost touching the horizon, beamed
+like red gold. "My dear friend," said I, "I have always told you
+that you should put more philosophy into your poetry. That would
+make it live."
+
+"And I have always told you," said he, "that you should not put so
+much poetry into your philosophy. It misleads people."
+
+"It didn't mislead that ghost girl," said I.
+
+"How do you know?" said Bentley. "Perhaps she is wrong, and the
+other inhabitants of the city are right, and we may be the ghosts
+after all. Such things, you know, are only relative. Anyway," he
+continued, after a little pause, "I wish I knew that those ghosts
+were now reading the poem which I am going to begin to-morrow."
+
+
+
+
+A PIECE OF RED CALICO
+
+
+I was going into town one morning from my suburban residence, when
+my wife handed me a little piece of red calico, and asked me if I
+would have time, during the day, to buy her two yards and a half of
+calico like that. I assured her that it would be no trouble at all;
+and putting the sample in my pocket, I took the train for the city.
+
+At lunch-time I stopped in at a large dry-goods store to attend to
+my wife's commission. I saw a well-dressed man walking the floor
+between the counters, where long lines of girls were waiting on much
+longer lines of customers, and asked him where I could see some red
+calico.
+
+"This way, sir." And he led me up the store. "Miss Stone," said he
+to a young lady, "show this gentleman some red calico."
+
+"What shade do you want?" asked Miss Stone.
+
+I showed her the little piece of calico that my wife had given me.
+She looked at it and handed it back to me. Then she took down a
+great roll of red calico and spread it out on the counter.
+
+"Why, that isn't the shade!" said I.
+
+"No, not exactly," said she; "but it is prettier than your sample."
+
+"That may be," said I; "but, you see, I want to match this piece.
+There is something already made of this kind of calico which needs
+to be enlarged or mended or something. I want some calico of the
+same shade."
+
+The girl made no answer, but took down another roll.
+
+"That's the shade," said she.
+
+"Yes," I replied, "but it's striped."
+
+"Stripes are more worn than anything else in calicoes," said she.
+
+"Yes, but this isn't to be worn. It's for furniture, I think. At any
+rate, I want perfectly plain stuff, to match something already in
+use."
+
+"Well, I don't think you can find it perfectly plain unless you get
+Turkey red."
+
+"What is Turkey red?" I asked.
+
+"Turkey red is perfectly plain in calicoes," she answered.
+
+"Well, let me see some."
+
+"We haven't any Turkey-red calico left," she said, "but we have some
+very nice plain calicoes in other colors."
+
+"I don't want any other color. I want stuff to match this."
+
+"It's hard to match cheap calico like that," she said. And so I left
+her.
+
+I next went into a store a few doors farther up the street. When I
+entered I approached the "floor-walker," and handing him my sample,
+said:
+
+"Have you any calico like this?"
+
+"Yes, sir," said he. "Third counter to the right."
+
+I went to the third counter to the right, and showed my sample to
+the salesman in attendance there. He looked at it on both sides.
+Then he said:
+
+"We haven't any of this."
+
+"I was told you had," said I.
+
+"We had it, but we're out of it now. You'll get that goods at an
+upholsterer's."
+
+I went across the street to an upholsterer's.
+
+"Have you any stuff like this?" I asked.
+
+"No," said the salesman, "we haven't. Is it for furniture?"
+
+"Yes," I replied.
+
+"Then Turkey red is what you want."
+
+"Is Turkey red just like this?" I asked.
+
+"No," said he; "but it's much better."
+
+"That makes no difference to me," I replied. "I want something just
+like this."
+
+"But they don't use that for furniture," he said.
+
+"I should think people could use anything they wanted for
+furniture," I remarked, somewhat sharply.
+
+"They can, but they don't," he said, quite calmly. "They don't use
+red like that. They use Turkey red."
+
+I said no more, but left. The next place I visited was a very large
+dry-goods store. Of the first salesman I saw I inquired if they kept
+red calico like my sample.
+
+"You'll find that on the second story," said he.
+
+I went upstairs. There I asked a man:
+
+"Where will I find red calico?"
+
+"In the far room to the left. Over there." And he pointed to a
+distant corner.
+
+I walked through the crowds of purchasers and salespeople, and
+around the counters and tables filled with goods, to the far room to
+the left. When I got there I asked for red calico.
+
+"The second counter down this side," said the man.
+
+I went there and produced my sample. "Calicoes downstairs," said the
+man.
+
+"They told me they were up here," I said.
+
+"Not these plain goods. You'll find 'em downstairs at the back of
+the store, over on that side."
+
+I went downstairs to the back of the store.
+
+"Where will I find red calico like this?" I asked.
+
+"Next counter but one," said the man addressed, walking with me in
+the direction pointed out.
+
+"Dunn, show red calicoes."
+
+Mr. Dunn took my sample and looked at it.
+
+"We haven't this shade in that quality of goods," he said.
+
+"Well, have you it in any quality of goods?" I asked.
+
+"Yes; we've got it finer." And he took down a piece of calico, and
+unrolled a yard or two of it on the counter.
+
+"That's not this shade," I said.
+
+"No," said he. "The goods is finer and the color's better."
+
+"I want it to match this," I said.
+
+"I thought you weren't particular about the match," said the
+salesman. "You said you didn't care for the quality of the goods,
+and you know you can't match goods without you take into
+consideration quality and color both. If you want that quality of
+goods in red, you ought to get Turkey red."
+
+I did not think it necessary to answer this remark, but said:
+
+"Then you've got nothing to match this?"
+
+"No, sir. But perhaps they may have it in the upholstery department,
+in the sixth story."
+
+So I got in the elevator and went up to the top of the house.
+
+"Have you any red stuff like this?" I said to a young man.
+
+"Red stuff? Upholstery department--other end of this floor."
+
+I went to the other end of the floor.
+
+"I want some red calico," I said to a man.
+
+"Furniture goods?" he asked.
+
+"Yes," said I.
+
+"Fourth counter to the left."
+
+I went to the fourth counter to the left, and showed my sample to a
+salesman. He looked at it, and said:
+
+"You'll get this down on the first floor--calico department."
+
+I turned on my heel, descended in the elevator, and went out on the
+street. I was thoroughly sick of red calico. But I determined to
+make one more trial. My wife had bought her red calico not long
+before, and there must be some to be had somewhere. I ought to have
+asked her where she obtained it, but I thought a simple little thing
+like that could be bought anywhere.
+
+I went into another large dry-goods store. As I entered the door a
+sudden tremor seized me. I could not bear to take out that piece of
+red calico. If I had had any other kind of a rag about me--a
+pen-wiper or anything of the sort--I think I would have asked them
+if they could match that.
+
+But I stepped up to a young woman and presented my sample, with the
+usual question.
+
+"Back room, counter on the left," she said.
+
+I went there.
+
+"Have you any red calico like this?" I asked of the saleswoman
+behind the counter.
+
+"No, sir," she said, "but we have it in Turkey red."
+
+Turkey red again! I surrendered.
+
+"All right," I said, "give me Turkey red."
+
+"How much, sir?" she asked.
+
+"I don't know--say five yards."
+
+She looked at me rather strangely, but measured off five yards of
+Turkey-red calico. Then she rapped on the counter and called out
+"Cash!" A little girl, with yellow hair in two long plaits, came
+slowly up. The lady wrote the number of yards, the name of the
+goods, her own number, the price, the amount of the bank-note I
+handed her, and some other matters, probably the color of my eyes
+and the direction and velocity of the wind, on a slip of paper. She
+then copied all this into a little book which she kept by her. Then
+she handed the slip of paper, the money, and the Turkey red to the
+yellow-haired girl. This young person copied the slip into a little
+book she carried, and then she went away with the calico, the paper
+slip, and the money.
+
+After a very long time--during which the little girl probably took
+the goods, the money, and the slip to some central desk, where the
+note was received, its amount and number entered in a book, change
+given to the girl, a copy of the slip made and entered, girl's entry
+examined and approved, goods wrapped up, girl registered, plaits
+counted and entered on a slip of paper and copied by the girl in her
+book, girl taken to a hydrant and washed, number of towel entered on
+a paper slip and copied by the girl in her book, value of my note
+and amount of change branded somewhere on the child, and said
+process noted on a slip of paper and copied in her book--the girl
+came to me, bringing my change and the package of Turkey-red calico.
+
+I had time for but very little work at the office that afternoon,
+and when I reached home I handed the package of calico to my wife.
+She unrolled it and exclaimed:
+
+"Why, this don't match the piece I gave you!"
+
+"Match it!" I cried. "Oh no! it don't match it. You didn't want that
+matched. You were mistaken. What you wanted was Turkey red--third
+counter to the left. I mean, Turkey red is what they use."
+
+My wife looked at me in amazement, and then I detailed to her my
+troubles.
+
+"Well," said she, "this Turkey red is a great deal prettier than
+what I had, and you've got so much of it that I needn't use the
+other at all. I wish I had thought of Turkey red before."
+
+"I wish from the bottom of my heart you had," said I.
+
+
+
+
+CAMEO EDITION.
+
+
+REVERIES OF A BACHELOR; or, a Book of the Heart. By Donald G.
+Mitchell. With an Etching by Percy Moran.
+
+DREAM LIFE. A Fable of the Seasons. With an Etching by Percy Moran.
+
+OLD CREOLE DAYS. By George W Cable. With an Etching by Percy Moran.
+
+IN OLE VIRGINIA. By Thomas Nelson Page. With an Etching by W. L.
+Sheppard.
+
+BITTER-SWEET. A Poem. By J. G. Holland. With an Etching by Otto
+Bacher.
+
+KATHRINA. A Poem. By J. G. Holland. With an Etching by Otto Bacher.
+
+LETTERS TO DEAD AUTHORS. By Andrew Lang. With an Etched Portrait by
+S. J. Ferris.
+
+"VIRGINIBUS PUERISQUE." By Robert Louis Stevenson With an Etched
+Portrait by S. J. Ferris.
+
+A CHOSEN FEW. Short Stories. By Frank R. Stockton. With an Etched
+Portrait by W. H. W. Bicknell.
+
+A LITTLE BOOK OF PROFITABLE TALES. By Eugene Field. With an Etched
+Portrait by W. H. W. Bicknell.
+
+THE REFLECTIONS OF A MARRIED MAN. By Robert Grant. With an Etching
+by W. H. Hyde.
+
+THE OPINIONS OF A PHILOSOPHER. By Robert Grant. With an Etching by
+W. H. Hyde.
+
+
+Each, one volume, 16mo.
+
+Half Calf, g. t., $2.75; half levant, $3.50; cloth, $1.25
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes
+
+Four typographic errors have been corrected:
+  Donald G. Mitchell. With an Etching by Percy Moran.[period inserted]
+  and then she'll have to have new ones, and lots[was: lot's]
+  standing on the cabin floor instead[was: intead] of the bulkhead.
+  him in there and we will shut him up[was: no]. Then I
+
+Three structural changes have been made:
+  The half-title text (A CHOSEN FEW) was removed.
+  The booklist "Cameo Edition" was moved from before the
+    frontispiece to the end of the book.
+  The original had the story names alone on a page before the
+    story, as well as on the page where the story started. These
+    duplicate titles have been removed.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Chosen Few, by Frank R. Stockton
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CHOSEN FEW ***
+
+***** This file should be named 25549-8.txt or 25549-8.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
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+	<title>A Chosen Few by Frank R. Stockton.</title>
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Chosen Few, 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: A Chosen Few
+       Short Stories
+
+Author: Frank R. Stockton
+
+Release Date: May 21, 2008 [EBook #25549]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CHOSEN FEW ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Audrey Longhurst, Barbara Tozier and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div id="frontmatter" class="section">
+	<div id="half-title">
+		<p><a class="pagenum disguise" id="pagenull1" title="null1">&nbsp;</a>A CHOSEN FEW</p>
+	</div>
+	<!-- Original location of booklist (page null2)-->
+	<!-- <a class="pagenum" id="pagei" title="i">&nbsp;</a>[Blank Page] -->
+
+	<a class="pagenum disguise" id="pageii" title="ii">&nbsp;</a>
+	<div id="frontispiece" class="image">
+		<img src="images/frontis.jpg" width="421" height="589" title="Etching of Frank R. Stockton" alt="A mustachioed man looks back from his desk. He's holding a pen to paper." />
+	</div>
+	<div id="title_page">
+		<a class="pagenum disguise" id="pageiii" title="iii">&nbsp;</a>
+		<h1>A CHOSEN FEW<br />
+			<span class="book_subtitle">SHORT STORIES</span></h1>
+
+
+		<p class="author"><span class="stopword">BY </span><br />
+			FRANK R. STOCKTON</p>
+
+
+		<p class="illustrator">WITH AN ETCHED PORTRAIT BY W. H. W. BICKNELL</p>
+
+
+		<p id="publish_info"><span class="publisher_city">NEW YORK</span><br />
+		<span class="publisher">CHARLES SCRIBNER&#8217;S SONS</span><br />
+		<span class="publish_date">1895</span></p>
+	</div>
+
+
+	<div id="copyright_page">
+		<p class="rights_statement"><a class="pagenum disguise" id="pageiv" title="iv">&nbsp;</a>Copyright, 1895, by<br />
+        <span class="copyright_holder">Charles Scribner&#8217;s Sons</span></p>
+
+		<p class="printer">THE DE VINNE PRESS.</p>
+	</div>
+</div>
+
+<div id="preface" class="section">
+	<a class="pagenum disguise" id="pagev" title="v">&nbsp;</a>
+	<h2 class="section_title">PREFACE</h2>
+
+	<p><span class="special_emphasis">The</span> stories contained in this little volume were
+	chosen, by virtue of a sort of literary civil-service
+	examination, in order that they might be grouped
+	together as a representative class of the author&#8217;s
+	best-known work in this line.</p>
+
+	<p>Several of these stories have points of peculiar
+	interest to the author. For instance, &#8220;Negative
+	Gravity&#8221; was composed in Switzerland when
+	the author was temporarily confined to the house
+	in full view of unreachable Alps.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;His Wife&#8217;s Deceased Sister&#8221; was suggested
+	by an editorial disposition to compare all the
+	author&#8217;s work with one previous production, and
+	to discard everything which did not accord exactly
+	with the particular story which had been
+	selected as a standard of merit.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;The Lady, or the Tiger?&#8221; was printed in the
+	<a class="pagenum" id="pagevi" title="vi">&nbsp;</a>hope that the author might receive the cheerful
+	coöperation of some of his readers in a satisfactory
+	solution of the problem contained in the little
+	story; but although he has had much valuable
+	assistance in this direction he has also been the
+	recipient of a great deal of scolding.</p>
+
+	<p>After reading several stories by Clark Russell,
+	the author&#8217;s mind was led to consider the possibility
+	of inventing some sort of shipwreck which
+	had never yet been made the subject of a story.
+	His efforts in this line resulted in &#8220;The Remarkable
+	Wreck of the &#8216;Thomas Hyke.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;A Piece of Red Calico&#8221; is a description, with
+	exaggerated points, of an actual experience.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div id="contents" class="section">
+	<h2 class="section_title"><a class="pagenum cheater disguise" id="pagevii" title="vii">&nbsp;</a>CONTENTS</h2>
+	<!-- PAGE -->
+	<ol>
+		<li><a href="#gravity">A Tale of Negative Gravity</a> <!-- 3 --><br />
+		  <span class="story_source">From &#8220;The Christmas Wreck&#8221;</span></li>
+		<li><a href="#gravity">Asaph</a>  <!-- 41 --><br />
+		  <span class="story_source">From &#8220;The Watchmaker&#8217;s Wife&#8221;</span></li>
+		<li><a href="#sister">&#8220;His Wife&#8217;s Deceased Sister&#8221;</a>   <!-- 97 --><br />
+		  <span class="story_source">From &#8220;The Lady, or the Tiger?&#8221;</span></li>
+		<li><a href="#tiger">The Lady, or the Tiger?</a>  <!-- 117 --></li>
+		<li><a href="#wreck">The Remarkable Wreck of the &#8220;Thomas Hyke&#8221;</a>  <!-- 131 --><br />
+		  <span class="story_source">From &#8220;The Christmas Wreck&#8221;</span></li>
+		<li><a href="#pipes">Old Pipes and the Dryad</a>  <!-- 167 --><br />
+		  <span class="story_source">From &#8220;The Bee-man of Orn&#8221;</span></li>
+		<li><a href="#ghost">The Transferred Ghost</a>  <!-- 197 --><br />
+		  <span class="story_source">From &#8220;The Lady, or the Tiger?&#8221;</span></li>
+		<li><a href="#existences">&#8220;The Philosophy of Relative Existences&#8221;</a>  <!-- 219 --><br />
+		  <span class="story_source">From &#8220;The Watchmaker&#8217;s Wife&#8221;</span></li>
+		<li><a href="#calico">A Piece of Red Calico</a>  <!-- 233 --><br />
+		  <span class="story_source">From &#8220;The Lady, or the Tiger?&#8221;</span></li>
+	</ol>
+
+	<!-- <a class="pagenum" id="pageviii" title="viii">&nbsp;</a>[Blank Page] -->
+
+</div>
+
+<div id="gravity" class="story">
+	<!-- <a class="pagenum" id="page1" title="1">&nbsp;</a>A TALE OF NEGATIVE GRAVITY
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page2" title="2">&nbsp;</a>[Blank Page] -->
+
+	<h2 class="story_title"><a class="pagenum" id="page3" title="3">&nbsp;</a>A TALE OF NEGATIVE GRAVITY</h2>
+
+	<p class="return_toc"><a href="#contents" title="Return to Contents">ToC</a></p>
+
+	<p class="first_paragraph"><span class="first_word">My</span> wife and I were staying at a small
+	town in northern Italy; and on a certain
+	pleasant afternoon in spring we
+	had taken a walk of six or seven miles
+	to see the sun set behind some low mountains to
+	the west of the town. Most of our walk had
+	been along a hard, smooth highway, and then we
+	turned into a series of narrower roads, sometimes
+	bordered by walls, and sometimes by light fences
+	of reed or cane. Nearing the mountain, to a low
+	spur of which we intended to ascend, we easily
+	scaled a wall about four feet high, and found ourselves
+	upon pasture-land, which led, sometimes by
+	gradual ascents, and sometimes by bits of rough
+	climbing, to the spot we wished to reach. We
+	were afraid we were a little late, and therefore hurried
+	on, running up the grassy hills, and bounding
+	briskly over the rough and rocky places. I carried
+	a knapsack strapped firmly to my shoulders,
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page4" title="4">&nbsp;</a>and under my wife&#8217;s arm was a large, soft basket
+	of a kind much used by tourists. Her arm was
+	passed through the handles and around the bottom
+	of the basket, which she pressed closely to her
+	side. This was the way she always carried it.
+	The basket contained two bottles of wine, one
+	sweet for my wife, and another a little acid for
+	myself. Sweet wines give me a headache.</p>
+
+	<p>When we reached the grassy bluff, well known
+	thereabouts to lovers of sunset views, I stepped
+	immediately to the edge to gaze upon the scene,
+	but my wife sat down to take a sip of wine, for
+	she was very thirsty; and then, leaving her basket,
+	she came to my side. The scene was indeed one
+	of great beauty. Beneath us stretched a wide
+	valley of many shades of green, with a little river
+	running through it, and red-tiled houses here and
+	there. Beyond rose a range of mountains, pink,
+	pale green, and purple where their tips caught the
+	reflection of the setting sun, and of a rich gray-green
+	in shadows. Beyond all was the blue Italian
+	sky, illumined by an especially fine sunset.</p>
+
+	<p>My wife and I are Americans, and at the time
+	of this story were middle-aged people and very
+	fond of seeing in each other&#8217;s company whatever
+	there was of interest or beauty around us. We
+	had a son about twenty-two years old, of whom
+	we were also very fond; but he was not with us,
+	being at that time a student in Germany. Although
+	we had good health, we were not very robust people,
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page5" title="5">&nbsp;</a>and, under ordinary circumstances, not much
+	given to long country tramps. I was of medium
+	size, without much muscular development,
+	while my wife was quite stout, and growing
+	stouter.</p>
+
+	<p>The reader may, perhaps, be somewhat surprised
+	that a middle-aged couple, not very strong,
+	or very good walkers, the lady loaded with a
+	basket containing two bottles of wine and a metal
+	drinking-cup, and the gentleman carrying a heavy
+	knapsack, filled with all sorts of odds and ends,
+	strapped to his shoulders, should set off on a
+	seven-mile walk, jump over a wall, run up a hillside,
+	and yet feel in very good trim to enjoy a
+	sunset view. This peculiar state of things I will
+	proceed to explain.</p>
+
+	<p>I had been a professional man, but some years
+	before had retired upon a very comfortable income.
+	I had always been very fond of scientific pursuits,
+	and now made these the occupation and pleasure
+	of much of my leisure time. Our home was in
+	a small town; and in a corner of my grounds I
+	built a laboratory, where I carried on my work
+	and my experiments. I had long been anxious to
+	discover the means not only of producing, but of
+	retaining and controlling, a natural force, really
+	the same as centrifugal force, but which I called
+	negative gravity. This name I adopted because
+	it indicated better than any other the action of
+	the force in question, as I produced it. Positive
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page6" title="6">&nbsp;</a>gravity attracts everything toward the centre of the
+	earth. Negative gravity, therefore, would be that
+	power which repels everything from the centre of
+	the earth, just as the negative pole of a magnet
+	repels the needle, while the positive pole attracts
+	it. My object was, in fact, to store centrifugal
+	force and to render it constant, controllable, and
+	available for use. The advantages of such a discovery
+	could scarcely be described. In a word,
+	it would lighten the burdens of the world.</p>
+
+	<p>I will not touch upon the labors and disappointments
+	of several years. It is enough to say that
+	at last I discovered a method of producing, storing,
+	and controlling negative gravity.</p>
+
+	<p>The mechanism of my invention was rather
+	complicated, but the method of operating it was
+	very simple. A strong metallic case, about eight
+	inches long, and half as wide, contained the machinery
+	for producing the force; and this was put
+	into action by means of the pressure of a screw
+	worked from the outside. As soon as this pressure
+	was produced, negative gravity began to be
+	evolved and stored, and the greater the pressure
+	the greater the force. As the screw was moved
+	outward, and the pressure diminished, the force
+	decreased, and when the screw was withdrawn to
+	its fullest extent, the action of negative gravity
+	entirely ceased. Thus this force could be produced
+	or dissipated at will to such degrees as
+	might be desired, and its action, so long as the
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page7" title="7">&nbsp;</a>requisite pressure was maintained, was constant.</p>
+
+	<p>When this little apparatus worked to my satisfaction
+	I called my wife into my laboratory and
+	explained to her my invention and its value. She
+	had known that I had been at work with an important
+	object, but I had never told her what it
+	was. I had said that if I succeeded I would tell
+	her all, but if I failed she need not be troubled
+	with the matter at all. Being a very sensible
+	woman, this satisfied her perfectly. Now I explained
+	everything to her&#8212;the construction of
+	the machine, and the wonderful uses to which
+	this invention could be applied. I told her that it
+	could diminish, or entirely dissipate, the weight
+	of objects of any kind. A heavily loaded wagon,
+	with two of these instruments fastened to its
+	sides, and each screwed to a proper force, would
+	be so lifted and supported that it would press
+	upon the ground as lightly as an empty cart, and
+	a small horse could draw it with ease. A bale of
+	cotton, with one of these machines attached,
+	could be handled and carried by a boy. A car,
+	with a number of these machines, could be made
+	to rise in the air like a balloon. Everything, in
+	fact, that was heavy could be made light; and as
+	a great part of labor, all over the world, is caused
+	by the attraction of gravitation, so this repellent
+	force, wherever applied, would make weight less
+	and work easier. I told her of many, many ways
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page8" title="8">&nbsp;</a>in which the invention might be used, and would
+	have told her of many more if she had not suddenly
+	burst into tears.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;The world has gained something wonderful,&#8221;
+	she exclaimed, between her sobs, &#8220;but I have
+	lost a husband!&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;What do you mean by that?&#8221; I asked, in
+	surprise.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I haven&#8217;t minded it so far,&#8221; she said, &#8220;because
+	it gave you something to do, and it pleased
+	you, and it never interfered with our home pleasures
+	and our home life. But now that is all
+	over. You will never be your own master again.
+	It will succeed, I am sure, and you may make a
+	great deal of money, but we don&#8217;t need money.
+	What we need is the happiness which we have
+	always had until now. Now there will be companies,
+	and patents, and lawsuits, and experiments,
+	and people calling you a humbug, and
+	other people saying they discovered it long ago,
+	and all sorts of persons coming to see you, and
+	you&#8217;ll be obliged to go to all sorts of places, and
+	you will be an altered man, and we shall never be
+	happy again. Millions of money will not repay
+	us for the happiness we have lost.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>These words of my wife struck me with much
+	force. Before I had called her my mind had begun
+	to be filled and perplexed with ideas of what
+	I ought to do now that the great invention was
+	perfected. Until now the matter had not troubled
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page9" title="9">&nbsp;</a>me at all. Sometimes I had gone backward and
+	sometimes forward, but, on the whole, I had always
+	felt encouraged. I had taken great pleasure
+	in the work, but I had never allowed myself to be
+	too much absorbed by it. But now everything
+	was different. I began to feel that it was due to
+	myself and to my fellow-beings that I should
+	properly put this invention before the world.
+	And how should I set about it? What steps
+	should I take? I must make no mistakes. When
+	the matter should become known hundreds of
+	scientific people might set themselves to work;
+	how could I tell but that they might discover
+	other methods of producing the same effect? I
+	must guard myself against a great many things.
+	I must get patents in all parts of the world.
+	Already, as I have said, my mind began to be
+	troubled and perplexed with these things. A
+	turmoil of this sort did not suit my age or disposition.
+	I could not but agree with my wife that
+	the joys of a quiet and contented life were now
+	about to be broken into.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;My dear,&#8221; said I, &#8220;I believe, with you, that
+	the thing will do us more harm than good. If it
+	were not for depriving the world of the invention
+	I would throw the whole thing to the winds.
+	And yet,&#8221; I added, regretfully, &#8220;I had expected
+	a great deal of personal gratification from the use
+	of this invention.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Now listen,&#8221; said my wife, eagerly; &#8220;don&#8217;t
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page10" title="10">&nbsp;</a>you think it would be best to do this: use the
+	thing as much as you please for your own amusement
+	and satisfaction, but let the world wait? It
+	has waited a long time, and let it wait a little
+	longer. When we are dead let Herbert have the
+	invention. He will then be old enough to judge
+	for himself whether it will be better to take advantage
+	of it for his own profit, or simply to give
+	it to the public for nothing. It would be cheating
+	him if we were to do the latter, but it would
+	also be doing him a great wrong if we were, at his
+	age, to load him with such a heavy responsibility.
+	Besides, if he took it up, you could not help going
+	into it, too.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I took my wife&#8217;s advice. I wrote a careful and
+	complete account of the invention, and, sealing it
+	up, I gave it to my lawyers to be handed to my
+	son after my death. If he died first, I would
+	make other arrangements. Then I determined to
+	get all the good and fun out of the thing that was
+	possible without telling any one anything about it.
+	Even Herbert, who was away from home, was not
+	to be told of the invention.</p>
+
+	<p>The first thing I did was to buy a strong
+	leathern knapsack, and inside of this I fastened
+	my little machine, with a screw so arranged that
+	it could be worked from the outside. Strapping
+	this firmly to my shoulders, my wife gently turned
+	the screw at the back until the upward tendency
+	of the knapsack began to lift and sustain me.
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page11" title="11">&nbsp;</a>When I felt myself so gently supported and upheld
+	that I seemed to weigh about thirty or forty
+	pounds, I would set out for a walk. The knapsack
+	did not raise me from the ground, but it
+	gave me a very buoyant step. It was no labor at
+	all to walk; it was a delight, an ecstasy. With
+	the strength of a man and the weight of a child, I
+	gayly strode along. The first day I walked half
+	a dozen miles at a very brisk pace, and came back
+	without feeling in the least degree tired. These
+	walks now became one of the greatest joys of my
+	life. When nobody was looking, I would bound
+	over a fence, sometimes just touching it with one
+	hand, and sometimes not touching it at all. I delighted
+	in rough places. I sprang over streams.
+	I jumped and I ran. I felt like Mercury himself.</p>
+
+	<p>I now set about making another machine, so
+	that my wife could accompany me in my walks;
+	but when it was finished she positively refused
+	to use it. &#8220;I can&#8217;t wear a knapsack,&#8221; she said,
+	&#8220;and there is no other good way of fastening it
+	to me. Besides, everybody about here knows I am
+	no walker, and it would only set them talking.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I occasionally made use of this second machine,
+	but I will give only one instance of its application.
+	Some repairs were needed to the foundation-walls
+	of my barn, and a two-horse wagon, loaded with
+	building-stone, had been brought into my yard
+	and left there. In the evening, when the men
+	had gone away, I took my two machines and
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page12" title="12">&nbsp;</a>fastened them, with strong chains, one on each
+	side of the loaded wagon. Then, gradually turning
+	the screws, the wagon was so lifted that its
+	weight became very greatly diminished. We had
+	an old donkey which used to belong to Herbert,
+	and which was now occasionally used with a
+	small cart to bring packages from the station. I
+	went into the barn and put the harness on the
+	little fellow, and, bringing him out to the wagon,
+	I attached him to it. In this position he looked
+	very funny with a long pole sticking out in front
+	of him and the great wagon behind him. When
+	all was ready I touched him up; and, to my great
+	delight, he moved off with the two-horse load of
+	stone as easily as if he were drawing his own
+	cart. I led him out into the public road, along
+	which he proceeded without difficulty. He was
+	an opinionated little beast, and sometimes stopped,
+	not liking the peculiar manner in which he was
+	harnessed; but a touch of the switch made him
+	move on, and I soon turned him and brought the
+	wagon back into the yard. This determined the
+	success of my invention in one of its most important
+	uses, and with a satisfied heart I put the
+	donkey into the stable and went into the house.</p>
+
+	<p>Our trip to Europe was made a few months
+	after this, and was mainly on our son Herbert&#8217;s
+	account. He, poor fellow, was in great trouble,
+	and so, therefore, were we. He had become engaged,
+	with our full consent, to a young lady in
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page13" title="13">&nbsp;</a>our town, the daughter of a gentleman whom we
+	esteemed very highly. Herbert was young to be
+	engaged to be married, but as we felt that he
+	would never find a girl to make him so good
+	a wife, we were entirely satisfied, especially as it
+	was agreed on all hands that the marriage was
+	not to take place for some time. It seemed to
+	us that, in marrying Janet Gilbert, Herbert would
+	secure for himself, in the very beginning of his
+	career, the most important element of a happy
+	life. But suddenly, without any reason that
+	seemed to us justifiable, Mr. Gilbert, the only
+	surviving parent of Janet, broke off the match;
+	and he and his daughter soon after left the town
+	for a trip to the West.</p>
+
+	<p>This blow nearly broke poor Herbert&#8217;s heart.
+	He gave up his professional studies and came
+	home to us, and for a time we thought he would
+	be seriously ill. Then we took him to Europe,
+	and after a Continental tour of a month or two
+	we left him, at his own request, in Göttingen,
+	where he thought it would do him good to go to
+	work again. Then we went down to the little
+	town in Italy where my story first finds us. My
+	wife had suffered much in mind and body on her
+	son&#8217;s account, and for this reason I was anxious
+	that she should take outdoor exercise, and enjoy
+	as much as possible the bracing air of the country.
+	I had brought with me both my little machines.
+	One was still in my knapsack, and the other I
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page14" title="14">&nbsp;</a>had fastened to the inside of an enormous family
+	trunk. As one is obliged to pay for nearly every
+	pound of his baggage on the Continent, this saved
+	me a great deal of money. Everything heavy was
+	packed into this great trunk&#8212;books, papers, the
+	bronze, iron, and marble relics we had picked
+	up, and all the articles that usually weigh down
+	a tourist&#8217;s baggage. I screwed up the negative-gravity
+	apparatus until the trunk could be handled
+	with great ease by an ordinary porter. I could
+	have made it weigh nothing at all, but this, of
+	course, I did not wish to do. The lightness of
+	my baggage, however, had occasioned some comment,
+	and I had overheard remarks which were
+	not altogether complimentary about people travelling
+	around with empty trunks; but this only
+	amused me.</p>
+
+	<p>Desirous that my wife should have the advantage
+	of negative gravity while taking our walks, I
+	had removed the machine from the trunk and
+	fastened it inside of the basket, which she could
+	carry under her arm. This assisted her wonderfully.
+	When one arm was tired she put the
+	basket under the other, and thus, with one hand
+	on my arm, she could easily keep up with the
+	free and buoyant steps my knapsack enabled me
+	to take. She did not object to long tramps here,
+	because nobody knew that she was not a walker,
+	and she always carried some wine or other refreshment
+	in the basket, not only because it was
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page15" title="15">&nbsp;</a>pleasant to have it with us, but because it seemed
+	ridiculous to go about carrying an empty basket.</p>
+
+	<p>There were English-speaking people stopping
+	at the hotel where we were, but they seemed
+	more fond of driving than walking, and none of
+	them offered to accompany us on our rambles,
+	for which we were very glad. There was one
+	man there, however, who was a great walker.
+	He was an Englishman, a member of an Alpine
+	Club, and generally went about dressed in a
+	knickerbocker suit, with gray woollen stockings
+	covering an enormous pair of calves. One evening
+	this gentleman was talking to me and some
+	others about the ascent of the Matterhorn, and I
+	took occasion to deliver in pretty strong language
+	my opinion upon such exploits. I declared them
+	to be useless, foolhardy, and, if the climber had
+	any one who loved him, wicked.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Even if the weather should permit a view,&#8221; I
+	said, &#8220;what is that compared to the terrible risk
+	to life? Under certain circumstances,&#8221; I added
+	(thinking of a kind of waistcoat I had some idea
+	of making, which, set about with little negative-gravity
+	machines, all connected with a conveniently
+	handled screw, would enable the wearer at
+	times to dispense with his weight altogether),
+	&#8220;such ascents might be divested of danger, and
+	be quite admissible; but ordinarily they should
+	be frowned upon by the intelligent public.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The Alpine Club man looked at me, especially
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page16" title="16">&nbsp;</a>regarding my somewhat slight figure and thinnish
+	legs.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s all very well for you to talk that way,&#8221; he
+	said, &#8220;because it is easy to see that you are not
+	up to that sort of thing.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;In conversations of this kind,&#8221; I replied, &#8220;I
+	never make personal allusions; but since you
+	have chosen to do so, I feel inclined to invite
+	you to walk with me to-morrow to the top of the
+	mountain to the north of this town.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll do it,&#8221; he said, &#8220;at any time you choose
+	to name.&#8221; And as I left the room soon afterward
+	I heard him laugh.</p>
+
+	<p>The next afternoon, about two o&#8217;clock, the
+	Alpine Club man and myself set out for the
+	mountain.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;What have you got in your knapsack?&#8221; he
+	said.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;A hammer to use if I come across geological
+	specimens, a field-glass, a flask of wine, and some
+	other things.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t carry any weight, if I were you,&#8221;
+	he said.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh, I don&#8217;t mind it,&#8221; I answered, and off we
+	started.</p>
+
+	<p>The mountain to which we were bound was
+	about two miles from the town. Its nearest side
+	was steep, and in places almost precipitous, but
+	it sloped away more gradually toward the north,
+	and up that side a road led by devious windings
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page17" title="17">&nbsp;</a>to a village near the summit. It was not a very
+	high mountain, but it would do for an afternoon&#8217;s
+	climb.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I suppose you want to go up by the road,&#8221;
+	said my companion.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh no,&#8221; I answered, &#8220;we won&#8217;t go so far
+	around as that. There is a path up this side,
+	along which I have seen men driving their goats.
+	I prefer to take that.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;All right, if you say so,&#8221; he answered, with
+	a smile; &#8220;but you&#8217;ll find it pretty tough.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>After a time he remarked:</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t walk so fast, if I were you.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh, I like to step along briskly,&#8221; I said.
+	And briskly on we went.</p>
+
+	<p>My wife had screwed up the machine in the
+	knapsack more than usual, and walking seemed
+	scarcely any effort at all. I carried a long alpenstock,
+	and when we reached the mountain and began
+	the ascent, I found that with the help of this
+	and my knapsack I could go uphill at a wonderful
+	rate. My companion had taken the lead, so as to
+	show me how to climb. Making a <em lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">détour</em> over
+	some rocks, I quickly passed him and went
+	ahead. After that it was impossible for him to
+	keep up with me. I ran up steep places, I cut
+	off the windings of the path by lightly clambering
+	over rocks, and even when I followed the beaten
+	track my step was as rapid as if I had been walking
+	on level ground.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page18" title="18">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;Look here!&#8221; shouted the Alpine Club man
+	from below, &#8220;you&#8217;ll kill yourself if you go at
+	that rate! That&#8217;s no way to climb mountains.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s my way!&#8221; I cried. And on I skipped.</p>
+
+	<p>Twenty minutes after I arrived at the summit
+	my companion joined me, puffing, and wiping his
+	red face with his handkerchief.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Confound it!&#8221; he cried, &#8220;I never came up a
+	mountain so fast in my life.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;You need not have hurried,&#8221; I said, coolly.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I was afraid something would happen to
+	you,&#8221; he growled, &#8220;and I wanted to stop you.
+	I never saw a person climb in such an utterly
+	absurd way.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t see why you should call it absurd,&#8221; I
+	said, smiling with an air of superiority. &#8220;I arrived
+	here in a perfectly comfortable condition,
+	neither heated nor wearied.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>He made no answer, but walked off to a little
+	distance, fanning himself with his hat and growling
+	words which I did not catch. After a time
+	I proposed to descend.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;You must be careful as you go down,&#8221; he
+	said. &#8220;It is much more dangerous to go down
+	steep places than to climb up.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I am always prudent,&#8221; I answered, and
+	started in advance. I found the descent of the
+	mountain much more pleasant than the ascent.
+	It was positively exhilarating. I jumped from
+	rocks and bluffs eight and ten feet in height, and
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page19" title="19">&nbsp;</a>touched the ground as gently as if I had stepped
+	down but two feet. I ran down steep paths, and,
+	with the aid of my alpenstock, stopped myself in
+	an instant. I was careful to avoid dangerous
+	places, but the runs and jumps I made were such
+	as no man had ever made before upon that mountain-side.
+	Once only I heard my companion&#8217;s
+	voice.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ll break your &#8212;&#8212; neck!&#8221; he yelled.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Never fear!&#8221; I called back, and soon left him
+	far above.</p>
+
+	<p>When I reached the bottom I would have
+	waited for him, but my activity had warmed me
+	up, and as a cool evening breeze was beginning
+	to blow I thought it better not to stop and take
+	cold. Half an hour after my arrival at the hotel
+	I came down to the court, cool, fresh, and dressed
+	for dinner, and just in time to meet the Alpine man
+	as he entered, hot, dusty, and growling.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Excuse me for not waiting for you,&#8221; I said;
+	but without stopping to hear my reason, he muttered
+	something about waiting in a place where
+	no one would care to stay, and passed into the
+	house.</p>
+
+	<p>There was no doubt that what I had done gratified
+	my pique and tickled my vanity.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I think now,&#8221; I said, when I related the
+	matter to my wife, &#8220;that he will scarcely say
+	that I am not up to that sort of thing.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I am not sure,&#8221; she answered, &#8220;that it was
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page20" title="20">&nbsp;</a>exactly fair. He did not know how you were
+	assisted.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;It was fair enough,&#8221; I said. &#8220;He is enabled
+	to climb well by the inherited vigor of his
+	constitution and by his training. He did not tell
+	me what methods of exercise he used to get those
+	great muscles upon his legs. I am enabled to
+	climb by the exercise of my intellect. My method
+	is my business and his method is his business.
+	It is all perfectly fair.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Still she persisted:</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;He <em>thought</em> that you climbed with your legs,
+	and not with your head.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>And now, after this long digression, necessary
+	to explain how a middle-aged couple of slight
+	pedestrian ability, and loaded with a heavy knapsack
+	and basket, should have started out on a
+	rough walk and climb, fourteen miles in all, we
+	will return to ourselves, standing on the little
+	bluff and gazing out upon the sunset view.
+	When the sky began to fade a little we turned
+	from it and prepared to go back to the town.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Where is the basket?&#8221; I said.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I left it right here,&#8221; answered my wife. &#8220;I
+	unscrewed the machine and it lay perfectly flat.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Did you afterward take out the bottles?&#8221; I
+	asked, seeing them lying on the grass.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Yes, I believe I did. I had to take out yours
+	in order to get at mine.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Then,&#8221; said I, after looking all about the
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page21" title="21">&nbsp;</a>grassy patch on which we stood, &#8220;I am afraid
+	you did not entirely unscrew the instrument, and
+	that when the weight of the bottles was removed
+	the basket gently rose into the air.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;It may be so,&#8221; she said, lugubriously. &#8220;The
+	basket was behind me as I drank my wine.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I believe that is just what has happened,&#8221; I
+	said. &#8220;Look up there! I vow that is our
+	basket!&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I pulled out my field-glass and directed it at a
+	little speck high above our heads. It was the
+	basket floating high in the air. I gave the glass
+	to my wife to look, but she did not want to use it.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;What shall I do?&#8221; she cried. &#8220;I can&#8217;t walk
+	home without that basket. It&#8217;s perfectly dreadful!&#8221;
+	And she looked as if she was going to
+	cry.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Do not distress yourself,&#8221; I said, although I
+	was a good deal disturbed myself. &#8220;We shall
+	get home very well. You shall put your hand
+	on my shoulder, while I put my arm around you.
+	Then you can screw up my machine a good deal
+	higher, and it will support us both. In this way
+	I am sure that we shall get on very well.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>We carried out this plan, and managed to walk
+	on with moderate comfort. To be sure, with the
+	knapsack pulling me upward, and the weight of
+	my wife pulling me down, the straps hurt me
+	somewhat, which they had not done before. We
+	did not spring lightly over the wall into the road,
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page22" title="22">&nbsp;</a>but, still clinging to each other, we clambered
+	awkwardly over it. The road for the most part
+	declined gently toward the town, and with moderate
+	ease we made our way along it. But we
+	walked much more slowly than we had done before,
+	and it was quite dark when we reached our
+	hotel. If it had not been for the light inside the
+	court it would have been difficult for us to find it.
+	A travelling-carriage was standing before the entrance,
+	and against the light. It was necessary
+	to pass around it, and my wife went first. I attempted
+	to follow her, but, strange to say, there
+	was nothing under my feet. I stepped vigorously,
+	but only wagged my legs in the air. To
+	my horror I found that I was rising in the air! I
+	soon saw, by the light below me, that I was some
+	fifteen feet from the ground. The carriage drove
+	away, and in the darkness I was not noticed. Of
+	course I knew what had happened. The instrument
+	in my knapsack had been screwed up to such
+	an intensity, in order to support both myself and
+	my wife, that when her weight was removed the
+	force of the negative gravity was sufficient to raise
+	me from the ground. But I was glad to find that
+	when I had risen to the height I have mentioned
+	I did not go up any higher, but hung in the air,
+	about on a level with the second tier of windows
+	of the hotel.</p>
+
+	<p>I now began to try to reach the screw in my
+	knapsack in order to reduce the force of the negative
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page23" title="23">&nbsp;</a>gravity; but, do what I would, I could not
+	get my hand to it. The machine in the knapsack
+	had been placed so as to support me in a well-balanced
+	and comfortable way; and in doing this
+	it had been impossible to set the screw so that I
+	could reach it. But in a temporary arrangement
+	of the kind this had not been considered necessary,
+	as my wife always turned the screw for me until
+	sufficient lifting power had been attained. I had
+	intended, as I have said before, to construct a
+	negative-gravity waistcoat, in which the screw
+	should be in front, and entirely under the wearer&#8217;s
+	control; but this was a thing of the future.</p>
+
+	<p>When I found that I could not turn the screw
+	I began to be much alarmed. Here I was,
+	dangling in the air, without any means of reaching
+	the ground. I could not expect my wife to
+	return to look for me, as she would naturally
+	suppose I had stopped to speak to some one. I
+	thought of loosening myself from the knapsack,
+	but this would not do, for I should fall heavily,
+	and either kill myself or break some of my bones.
+	I did not dare to call for assistance, for if any of
+	the simple-minded inhabitants of the town had
+	discovered me floating in the air they would have
+	taken me for a demon, and would probably have
+	shot at me. A moderate breeze was blowing, and
+	it wafted me gently down the street. If it had
+	blown me against a tree I would have seized it,
+	and have endeavored, so to speak, to climb down
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page24" title="24">&nbsp;</a>it; but there were no trees. There was a dim
+	street-lamp here and there, but reflectors above
+	them threw their light upon the pavement, and
+	none up to me. On many accounts I was glad
+	that the night was so dark, for, much as I desired
+	to get down, I wanted no one to see me in my
+	strange position, which, to any one but myself
+	and wife, would be utterly unaccountable. If I
+	could rise as high as the roofs I might get on
+	one of them, and, tearing off an armful of tiles,
+	so load myself that I would be heavy enough to
+	descend. But I did not rise to the eaves of any
+	of the houses. If there had been a telegraph-pole,
+	or anything of the kind that I could have
+	clung to, I would have taken off the knapsack,
+	and would have endeavored to scramble down as
+	well as I could. But there was nothing I could
+	cling to. Even the water-spouts, if I could have
+	reached the face of the houses, were embedded in
+	the walls. At an open window, near which I was
+	slowly blown, I saw two little boys going to bed
+	by the light of a dim candle. I was dreadfully
+	afraid that they would see me and raise an alarm.
+	I actually came so near to the window that I
+	threw out one foot and pushed against the wall
+	with such force that I went nearly across the
+	street. I thought I caught sight of a frightened
+	look on the face of one of the boys; but of this I
+	am not sure, and I heard no cries. I still floated,
+	dangling, down the street. What was to be done?
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page25" title="25">&nbsp;</a>Should I call out? In that case, if I were not
+	shot or stoned, my strange predicament, and the
+	secret of my invention, would be exposed to the
+	world. If I did not do this, I must either let myself
+	drop and be killed or mangled, or hang there
+	and die. When, during the course of the night,
+	the air became more rarefied, I might rise higher
+	and higher, perhaps to an altitude of one or two
+	hundred feet. It would then be impossible for
+	the people to reach me and get me down, even if
+	they were convinced that I was not a demon. I
+	should then expire, and when the birds of the air
+	had eaten all of me that they could devour, I
+	should forever hang above the unlucky town, a
+	dangling skeleton with a knapsack on its back.</p>
+
+	<p>Such thoughts were not reassuring, and I determined
+	that if I could find no means of getting
+	down without assistance, I would call out and
+	run all risks; but so long as I could endure the
+	tension of the straps I would hold out, and hope
+	for a tree or a pole. Perhaps it might rain, and
+	my wet clothes would then become so heavy that
+	I would descend as low as the top of a lamp-post.</p>
+
+	<p>As this thought was passing through my mind
+	I saw a spark of light upon the street approaching
+	me. I rightly imagined that it came from a
+	tobacco-pipe, and presently I heard a voice. It
+	was that of the Alpine Club man. Of all people
+	in the world I did not want him to discover me,
+	and I hung as motionless as possible. The man
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page26" title="26">&nbsp;</a>was speaking to another person who was walking
+	with him.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;He is crazy beyond a doubt,&#8221; said the Alpine
+	man. &#8220;Nobody but a maniac could have gone up
+	and down that mountain as he did! He hasn&#8217;t
+	any muscles, and one need only look at him to
+	know that he couldn&#8217;t do any climbing in a natural
+	way. It is only the excitement of insanity
+	that gives him strength.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The two now stopped almost under me, and
+	the speaker continued:</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Such things are very common with maniacs.
+	At times they acquire an unnatural strength which
+	is perfectly wonderful. I have seen a little fellow
+	struggle and fight so that four strong men could
+	not hold him.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Then the other person spoke.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I am afraid what you say is too true,&#8221; he remarked.
+	&#8220;Indeed, I have known it for some time.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>At these words my breath almost stopped. It
+	was the voice of Mr. Gilbert, my townsman, and
+	the father of Janet. It must have been he who
+	had arrived in the travelling-carriage. He was acquainted
+	with the Alpine Club man, and they were
+	talking of me. Proper or improper, I listened
+	with all my ears.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;It is a very sad case,&#8221; Mr. Gilbert continued.
+	&#8220;My daughter was engaged to marry his son,
+	but I broke off the match. I could not have her
+	marry the son of a lunatic, and there could be no
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page27" title="27">&nbsp;</a>doubt of his condition. He has been seen&#8212;a
+	man of his age, and the head of a family&#8212;to
+	load himself up with a heavy knapsack, which
+	there was no earthly necessity for him to carry,
+	and go skipping along the road for miles, vaulting
+	over fences and jumping over rocks and ditches
+	like a young calf or a colt. I myself saw a most
+	heartrending instance of how a kindly man&#8217;s nature
+	can be changed by the derangement of his
+	intellect. I was at some distance from his house,
+	but I plainly saw him harness a little donkey
+	which he owns to a large two-horse wagon loaded
+	with stone, and beat and lash the poor little beast
+	until it drew the heavy load some distance along
+	the public road. I would have remonstrated with
+	him on this horrible cruelty, but he had the wagon
+	back in his yard before I could reach him.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh, there can be no doubt of his insanity,&#8221;
+	said the Alpine Club man, &#8220;and he oughtn&#8217;t to be
+	allowed to travel about in this way. Some day he
+	will pitch his wife over a precipice just for the fun
+	of seeing her shoot through the air.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I am sorry he is here,&#8221; said Mr. Gilbert,
+	&#8220;for it would be very painful to meet him. My
+	daughter and I will retire very soon, and go
+	away as early to-morrow morning as possible, so
+	as to avoid seeing him.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>And then they walked back to the hotel.</p>
+
+	<p>For a few moments I hung, utterly forgetful of
+	my condition, and absorbed in the consideration
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page28" title="28">&nbsp;</a>of these revelations. One idea now filled my
+	mind. Everything must be explained to Mr.
+	Gilbert, even if it should be necessary to have
+	him called to me, and for me to speak to him
+	from the upper air.</p>
+
+	<p>Just then I saw something white approaching
+	me along the road. My eyes had become accustomed
+	to the darkness, and I perceived that it was
+	an upturned face. I recognized the hurried gait,
+	the form; it was my wife. As she came near
+	me, I called her name, and in the same breath
+	entreated her not to scream. It must have been
+	an effort for her to restrain herself, but she did it.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;You must help me to get down,&#8221; I said,
+	&#8220;without anybody seeing us.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;What shall I do?&#8221; she whispered.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Try to catch hold of this string.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Taking a piece of twine from my pocket, I lowered
+	one end to her. But it was too short; she
+	could not reach it. I then tied my handkerchief
+	to it, but still it was not long enough.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I can get more string, or handkerchiefs,&#8221; she
+	whispered, hurriedly.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; I said; &#8220;you could not get them up to
+	me. But, leaning against the hotel wall, on this
+	side, in the corner, just inside of the garden gate,
+	are some fishing-poles. I have seen them there
+	every day. You can easily find them in the dark.
+	Go, please, and bring me one of those.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The hotel was not far away, and in a few minutes
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page29" title="29">&nbsp;</a>my wife returned with a fishing-pole. She
+	stood on tiptoe, and reached it high in air; but
+	all she could do was to strike my feet and legs
+	with it. My most frantic exertions did not enable
+	me to get my hands low enough to touch it.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Wait a minute,&#8221; she said; and the rod was
+	withdrawn.</p>
+
+	<p>I knew what she was doing. There was a
+	hook and line attached to the pole, and with
+	womanly dexterity she was fastening the hook to
+	the extreme end of the rod. Soon she reached
+	up, and gently struck at my legs. After a few
+	attempts the hook caught in my trousers, a little
+	below my right knee. Then there was a slight
+	pull, a long scratch down my leg, and the hook
+	was stopped by the top of my boot. Then came
+	a steady downward pull, and I felt myself descending.
+	Gently and firmly the rod was drawn
+	down; carefully the lower end was kept free from
+	the ground; and in a few moments my ankle was
+	seized with a vigorous grasp. Then some one
+	seemed to climb up me, my feet touched the
+	ground, an arm was thrown around my neck, the
+	hand of another arm was busy at the back of my
+	knapsack, and I soon stood firmly in the road,
+	entirely divested of negative gravity.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh that I should have forgotten,&#8221; sobbed
+	my wife, &#8220;and that I should have dropped your
+	arms and let you go up into the air! At first I
+	thought that you had stopped below, and it was
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page30" title="30">&nbsp;</a>only a little while ago that the truth flashed upon
+	me. Then I rushed out and began looking up for
+	you. I knew that you had wax matches in your
+	pocket, and hoped that you would keep on striking
+	them, so that you would be seen.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;But I did not wish to be seen,&#8221; I said, as we
+	hurried to the hotel; &#8220;and I can never be sufficiently
+	thankful that it was you who found me and
+	brought me down. Do you know that it is Mr.
+	Gilbert and his daughter who have just arrived?
+	I must see him instantly. I will explain it all to
+	you when I come upstairs.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I took off my knapsack and gave it to my wife,
+	who carried it to our room, while I went to look
+	for Mr. Gilbert. Fortunately I found him just
+	as he was about to go up to his chamber. He
+	took my offered hand, but looked at me sadly and
+	gravely.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Mr. Gilbert,&#8221; I said, &#8220;I must speak to you
+	in private. Let us step into this room. There
+	is no one here.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;My friend,&#8221; said Mr. Gilbert, &#8220;it will be
+	much better to avoid discussing this subject. It
+	is very painful to both of us, and no good can
+	come from talking of it.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;You cannot now comprehend what it is I
+	want to say to you,&#8221; I replied. &#8220;Come in here,
+	and in a few minutes you will be very glad that
+	you listened to me.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>My manner was so earnest and impressive that
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page31" title="31">&nbsp;</a>Mr. Gilbert was constrained to follow me, and we
+	went into a small room called the smoking-room,
+	but in which people seldom smoked, and closed
+	the door. I immediately began my statement. I
+	told my old friend that I had discovered, by
+	means that I need not explain at present, that he
+	had considered me crazy, and that now the most
+	important object of my life was to set myself right
+	in his eyes. I thereupon gave him the whole
+	history of my invention, and explained the reason
+	of the actions that had appeared to him those of a
+	lunatic. I said nothing about the little incident
+	of that evening. That was a mere accident, and
+	I did not care now to speak of it.</p>
+
+	<p>Mr. Gilbert listened to me very attentively.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Your wife is here?&#8221; he asked, when I had
+	finished.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; I said; &#8220;and she will corroborate my
+	story in every item, and no one could ever suspect
+	her of being crazy. I will go and bring her
+	to you.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>In a few minutes my wife was in the room, had
+	shaken hands with Mr. Gilbert, and had been told
+	of my suspected madness. She turned pale, but
+	smiled.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;He did act like a crazy man,&#8221; she said, &#8220;but
+	I never supposed that anybody would think him
+	one.&#8221; And tears came into her eyes.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;And now, my dear,&#8221; said I, &#8220;perhaps you
+	will tell Mr. Gilbert how I did all this.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page32" title="32">&nbsp;</a>And then she told him the story that I had told.</p>
+
+	<p>Mr. Gilbert looked from the one to the other
+	of us with a troubled air.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Of course I do not doubt either of you, or
+	rather I do not doubt that you believe what you
+	say. All would be right if I could bring myself
+	to credit that such a force as that you speak of
+	can possibly exist.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;That is a matter,&#8221; said I, &#8220;which I can easily
+	prove to you by actual demonstration. If you
+	can wait a short time, until my wife and I have
+	had something to eat&#8212;for I am nearly famished,
+	and I am sure she must be&#8212;I will set your mind
+	at rest upon that point.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I will wait here,&#8221; said Mr. Gilbert, &#8220;and
+	smoke a cigar. Don&#8217;t hurry yourselves. I shall
+	be glad to have some time to think about what
+	you have told me.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>When we had finished the dinner, which had
+	been set aside for us, I went upstairs and got my
+	knapsack, and we both joined Mr. Gilbert in the
+	smoking-room. I showed him the little machine,
+	and explained, very briefly, the principle of its
+	construction. I did not give any practical demonstration
+	of its action, because there were people
+	walking about the corridor who might at any
+	moment come into the room; but, looking out
+	of the window, I saw that the night was much
+	clearer. The wind had dissipated the clouds,
+	and the stars were shining brightly.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page33" title="33">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;If you will come up the street with me,&#8221; said
+	I to Mr. Gilbert, &#8220;I will show you how this thing
+	works.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;That is just what I want to see,&#8221; he answered.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I will go with you,&#8221; said my wife, throwing
+	a shawl over her head. And we started up the
+	street.</p>
+
+	<p>When we were outside the little town I found
+	the starlight was quite sufficient for my purpose.
+	The white roadway, the low walls, and objects
+	about us, could easily be distinguished.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Now,&#8221; said I to Mr. Gilbert, &#8220;I want to put
+	this knapsack on you, and let you see how it
+	feels, and how it will help you to walk.&#8221; To
+	this he assented with some eagerness, and I
+	strapped it firmly on him. &#8220;I will now turn
+	this screw,&#8221; said I, &#8220;until you shall become
+	lighter and lighter.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Be very careful not to turn it too much,&#8221; said
+	my wife, earnestly.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh, you may depend on me for that,&#8221; said
+	I, turning the screw very gradually.</p>
+
+	<p>Mr. Gilbert was a stout man, and I was obliged
+	to give the screw a good many turns.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;There seems to be considerable hoist in it,&#8221;
+	he said, directly. And then I put my arms around
+	him, and found that I could raise him from the
+	ground.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Are you lifting me?&#8221; he exclaimed, in surprise.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page34" title="34">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;Yes; I did it with ease,&#8221; I answered.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Upon&#8212;my&#8212;word!&#8221; ejaculated Mr. Gilbert.</p>
+
+	<p>I then gave the screw a half-turn more, and
+	told him to walk and run. He started off, at
+	first slowly, then he made long strides, then he
+	began to run, and then to skip and jump. It had
+	been many years since Mr. Gilbert had skipped
+	and jumped. No one was in sight, and he was
+	free to gambol as much as he pleased. &#8220;Could
+	you give it another turn?&#8221; said he, bounding up
+	to me. &#8220;I want to try that wall.&#8221; I put on a
+	little more negative gravity, and he vaulted over
+	a five-foot wall with great ease. In an instant he
+	had leaped back into the road, and in two bounds
+	was at my side. &#8220;I came down as light as a
+	cat,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There was never anything like
+	it.&#8221; And away he went up the road, taking steps
+	at least eight feet long, leaving my wife and me
+	laughing heartily at the preternatural agility of
+	our stout friend. In a few minutes he was with
+	us again. &#8220;Take it off,&#8221; he said. &#8220;If I wear
+	it any longer I shall want one myself, and then I
+	shall be taken for a crazy man, and perhaps
+	clapped into an asylum.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Now,&#8221; said I, as I turned back the screw before
+	unstrapping the knapsack, &#8220;do you understand
+	how I took long walks, and leaped and
+	jumped; how I ran uphill and downhill, and
+	how the little donkey drew the loaded wagon?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page35" title="35">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;I understand it all,&#8221; cried he. &#8220;I take back
+	all I ever said or thought about you, my friend.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;And Herbert may marry Janet?&#8221; cried my wife.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;<em>May</em> marry her!&#8221; cried Mr. Gilbert. &#8220;Indeed,
+	he <em>shall</em> marry her, if I have anything to
+	say about it! My poor girl has been drooping
+	ever since I told her it could not be.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>My wife rushed at him, but whether she embraced
+	him or only shook his hands I cannot say;
+	for I had the knapsack in one hand and was rubbing
+	my eyes with the other.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;But, my dear fellow,&#8221; said Mr. Gilbert,
+	directly, &#8220;if you still consider it to your interest
+	to keep your invention a secret, I wish you had
+	never made it. No one having a machine like
+	that can help using it, and it is often quite as bad
+	to be considered a maniac as to be one.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;My friend,&#8221; I cried, with some excitement,
+	&#8220;I have made up my mind on this subject. The
+	little machine in this knapsack, which is the only
+	one I now possess, has been a great pleasure to
+	me. But I now know it has also been of the
+	greatest injury indirectly to me and mine, not to
+	mention some direct inconvenience and danger,
+	which I will speak of another time. The secret
+	lies with us three, and we will keep it. But the
+	invention itself is too full of temptation and danger
+	for any of us.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>As I said this I held the knapsack with one
+	hand while I quickly turned the screw with the
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page36" title="36">&nbsp;</a>other. In a few moments it was high above my
+	head, while I with difficulty held it down by the
+	straps. &#8220;Look!&#8221; I cried. And then I released
+	my hold, and the knapsack shot into the air and
+	disappeared into the upper gloom.</p>
+
+	<p>I was about to make a remark, but had no
+	chance, for my wife threw herself upon my bosom,
+	sobbing with joy.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh, I am so glad&#8212;so glad!&#8221; she said.
+	&#8220;And you will never make another?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Never another!&#8221; I answered.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;And now let us hurry in and see Janet,&#8221; said
+	my wife.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t know how heavy and clumsy I
+	feel,&#8221; said Mr. Gilbert, striving to keep up with
+	us as we walked back. &#8220;If I had worn that
+	thing much longer, I should never have been
+	willing to take it off!&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Janet had retired, but my wife went up to her
+	room.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I think she has felt it as much as our boy,&#8221;
+	she said, when she rejoined me. &#8220;But I tell
+	you, my dear, I left a very happy girl in that
+	little bedchamber over the garden.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>And there were three very happy elderly people
+	talking together until quite late that evening. &#8220;I
+	shall write to Herbert to-night,&#8221; I said, when we
+	separated, &#8220;and tell him to meet us all in Geneva.
+	It will do the young man no harm if we interrupt
+	his studies just now.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page37" title="37">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;You must let me add a postscript to the
+	letter,&#8221; said Mr. Gilbert, &#8220;and I am sure it will
+	require no knapsack with a screw in the back to
+	bring him quickly to us.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>And it did not.</p>
+
+	<p>There is a wonderful pleasure in tripping over
+	the earth like a winged Mercury, and in feeling
+	one&#8217;s self relieved of much of that attraction of
+	gravitation which drags us down to earth and
+	gradually makes the movement of our bodies but
+	weariness and labor. But this pleasure is not to
+	be compared, I think, to that given by the buoyancy
+	and lightness of two young and loving hearts,
+	reunited after a separation which they had supposed
+	would last forever.</p>
+
+	<p>What became of the basket and the knapsack,
+	or whether they ever met in upper air, I do not
+	know. If they but float away and stay away from
+	ken of mortal man, I shall be satisfied.</p>
+
+	<p>And whether or not the world will ever know
+	more of the power of negative gravity depends
+	entirely upon the disposition of my son Herbert,
+	when&#8212;after a good many years, I hope&#8212;he shall
+	open the packet my lawyers have in keeping.</p>
+
+	<hr class="thoughtbreak" />
+
+	<p class="post_thoughtbreak">[<strong class="special_emphasis">Note.</strong>&#8212;It would be quite useless for any one
+	to interview my wife on this subject, for she has
+	entirely forgotten how my machine was made.
+	And as for Mr. Gilbert, he never knew.]</p>
+
+	<!-- <a class="pagenum" id="page38" title="38">&nbsp;</a>[Blank Page] -->
+
+</div>
+
+<div id="asaph" class="story">
+	<!-- <a class="pagenum" id="page39" title="39">&nbsp;</a>ASAPH
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page40" title="40">&nbsp;</a>[Blank Page] -->
+
+	<h2 class="story_title"><a class="pagenum" id="page41" title="41">&nbsp;</a>ASAPH</h2>
+
+	<p class="return_toc"><a href="#contents" title="Return to Contents">ToC</a></p>
+
+	<p class="first_paragraph"><span class="first_word">About</span> a hundred feet back from the
+	main street of a village in New Jersey
+	there stood a very good white house.
+	Half-way between it and the sidewalk
+	was a large chestnut-tree, which had been the
+	pride of Mr. Himes, who built the house, and
+	was now the pride of Mrs. Himes, his widow,
+	who lived there.</p>
+
+	<p>Under the tree was a bench, and on the bench
+	were two elderly men, both smoking pipes, and
+	each one of them leaning forward with his elbows
+	on his knees. One of these, Thomas Rooper by
+	name, was a small man with gray side-whiskers,
+	a rather thin face, and very good clothes. His
+	pipe was a meerschaum, handsomely colored,
+	with a long amber tip. He had bought that pipe
+	while on a visit to Philadelphia during the great
+	Centennial Exposition; and if any one noticed it
+	and happened to remark what a fine pipe it was,
+	that person would be likely to receive a detailed
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page42" title="42">&nbsp;</a>account of the circumstances of its purchase, with
+	an appendix relating to the Main Building, the
+	Art Building, the Agricultural Building, and many
+	other salient points of the great Exposition which
+	commemorated the centennial of our national
+	independence.</p>
+
+	<p>The other man, Asaph Scantle, was of a different
+	type. He was a little older than his companion,
+	but if his hair were gray, it did not show
+	very much, as his rather long locks were of a
+	sandy hue and his full face was clean shaven, at
+	least on Wednesdays and Sundays. He was tall,
+	round-shouldered, and his clothes were not good,
+	possessing very evident claims to a position on
+	the retired list. His pipe consisted of a common
+	clay bowl with a long reed stem.</p>
+
+	<p>For some minutes the two men continued to
+	puff together as if they were playing a duet upon
+	tobacco-pipes, and then Asaph, removing his reed
+	from his lips, remarked, &#8220;What you ought to do,
+	Thomas, is to marry money.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s sense in that,&#8221; replied the other;
+	&#8220;but you wasn&#8217;t the first to think of it.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Asaph, who knew very well that Mr. Rooper
+	never allowed any one to suppose that he received
+	suggestions from without, took no notice of the
+	last remark, but went on: &#8220;Lookin&#8217; at the matter
+	in a friendly way, it seems to me it stands to reason
+	that when the shingles on a man&#8217;s house is so rotten
+	that the rain comes through into every room
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page43" title="43">&nbsp;</a>on the top floor, and when the plaster on the
+	ceilin&#8217; is tumblin&#8217; down more or less all the time,
+	and the window-sashes is all loose, and things
+	generally in a condition that he can&#8217;t let that
+	house without spendin&#8217; at least a year&#8217;s rent on it
+	to git it into decent order, and when a man&#8217;s got
+	to the time of life&#8212;&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s nothin&#8217; the matter with the time of
+	life,&#8221; said Thomas; &#8220;that&#8217;s all right.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;What I was goin&#8217; to say was,&#8221; continued
+	Asaph, &#8220;that when a man gits to the time of life
+	when he knows what it is to be comfortable in his
+	mind as well as his body&#8212;and that time comes to
+	sensible people as soon as they git fairly growed
+	up&#8212;he don&#8217;t want to give up his good room in
+	the tavern and all the privileges of the house, and
+	go to live on his own property and have the
+	plaster come down on his own head and the rain
+	come down on the coverlet of his own bed.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;No, he don&#8217;t,&#8221; said Thomas; &#8220;and what is
+	more, he isn&#8217;t goin&#8217; to do it. But what I git
+	from the rent of that house is what I have to live
+	on; there&#8217;s no gittin&#8217; around that pint.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Well, then,&#8221; said Asaph, &#8220;if you don&#8217;t marry
+	money, what are you goin&#8217; to do? You can&#8217;t go
+	back to your old business.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I never had but one business,&#8221; said Thomas.
+	&#8220;I lived with my folks until I was a good deal
+	more than growed up; and when the war broke
+	out I went as sutler to the rigiment from this
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page44" title="44">&nbsp;</a>place; and all the money I made I put into my
+	property in the village here. That&#8217;s what I&#8217;ve
+	lived on ever since. There&#8217;s no more war, so
+	there&#8217;s no more sutlers, except away out West
+	where I wouldn&#8217;t go; and there are no more
+	folks, for they are all dead; and if what Mrs.
+	McJimsey says is true, there&#8217;ll be no more tenants
+	in my house after the 1st of next November.
+	For when the McJimseys go on account of want of
+	general repairs, it is not to be expected that anybody
+	else will come there. There&#8217;s nobody in this
+	place that can stand as much as the McJimseys can.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Consequently,&#8221; said Asaph, deliberately filling
+	his pipe, &#8220;it stands to reason that there ain&#8217;t
+	nothin&#8217; for you to do but marry money.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Thomas Rooper took his pipe from his mouth
+	and sat up straight. Gazing steadfastly at his
+	companion, he remarked, &#8220;If you think that is
+	such a good thing to do, why don&#8217;t you do it
+	yourself? There can&#8217;t be anybody much harder
+	up than you are.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;The law&#8217;s agin&#8217; my doin&#8217; it,&#8221; said Asaph.
+	&#8220;A man can&#8217;t marry his sister.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Are you thinkin&#8217; of Marietta Himes?&#8221; asked
+	Mr. Rooper.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s the one I&#8217;m thinkin&#8217; of,&#8221; said Asaph.
+	&#8220;If you can think of anybody better, I&#8217;d like you
+	to mention her.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Mr. Rooper did not immediately speak. He
+	presently asked, &#8220;What do you call money?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page45" title="45">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;Well,&#8221; said Asaph, with a little hesitation,
+	&#8220;considerin&#8217; the circumstances, I should say that
+	in a case like this about fifteen hundred a year, a
+	first-rate house with not a loose shingle on it nor
+	a crack anywhere, a good garden and an orchard,
+	two cows, a piece of meadow-land on the other
+	side of the creek, and all the clothes a woman
+	need have, is money.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Thomas shrugged his shoulders. &#8220;Clothes!&#8221;
+	he said. &#8220;If she marries she&#8217;ll go out of black,
+	and then she&#8217;ll have to have new ones, and <ins id="ins1" class="correction" title="lot's">lots</ins>
+	of &#8217;em. That would make a big hole in her
+	money, Asaph.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The other smiled. &#8220;I always knowed you was
+	a far-seein&#8217; feller, Thomas; but it stands to reason
+	that Marietta&#8217;s got a lot of clothes that was on
+	hand before she went into mournin&#8217;, and she&#8217;s
+	not the kind of woman to waste &#8217;em. She&#8217;ll be
+	twistin&#8217; &#8217;em about and makin&#8217; &#8217;em over to suit
+	the fashions, and it won&#8217;t be like her to be buyin&#8217;
+	new colored goods when she&#8217;s got plenty of &#8217;em
+	already.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>There was now another pause in the conversation,
+	and then Mr. Rooper remarked, &#8220;Mrs.
+	Himes must be gettin&#8217; on pretty well in years.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;She&#8217;s not a young woman,&#8221; said Asaph; &#8220;but
+	if she was much younger she wouldn&#8217;t have you,
+	and if she was much older you wouldn&#8217;t have
+	her. So it strikes me she&#8217;s just about the right
+	pint.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page46" title="46">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;How old was John Himes when he died?&#8221;
+	asked Thomas.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t exactly know that; but he was a lot
+	older than Marietta.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Thomas shook his head. &#8220;It strikes me,&#8221;
+	said he, &#8220;that John Himes had a hearty constitution
+	and hadn&#8217;t ought to died as soon as he did.
+	He fell away a good deal in the last years of his
+	life.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;And considerin&#8217; that he died of consumption,
+	he had a right to fall away,&#8221; said Asaph. &#8220;If
+	what you are drivin&#8217; at, Thomas, is that Marietta
+	isn&#8217;t a good housekeeper and hasn&#8217;t the right sort
+	of notions of feedin&#8217;, look at me. I&#8217;ve lived with
+	Marietta just about a year, and in that time I have
+	gained forty-two pounds. Now, of course, I ain&#8217;t
+	unreasonable, and don&#8217;t mean to say that you
+	would gain forty-two pounds in a year, &#8216;cause you
+	ain&#8217;t got the frame and bone to put it on; but it
+	wouldn&#8217;t surprise me a bit if you was to gain
+	twenty, or even twenty-five, pounds in eighteen
+	months, anyway; and more than that you ought
+	not to ask, Thomas, considerin&#8217; your height and
+	general build.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Isn&#8217;t Marietta Himes a good deal of a freethinker?&#8221;
+	asked Thomas.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;A what?&#8221; cried Asaph. &#8220;You mean an infidel?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; said Thomas, &#8220;I don&#8217;t charge nobody
+	with nothin&#8217; more than there&#8217;s reason for; but
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page47" title="47">&nbsp;</a>they do say that she goes sometimes to one church
+	and sometimes to another, and that if there was
+	a Catholic church in this village she would go to
+	that. And who&#8217;s goin&#8217; to say where a woman
+	will turn up when she don&#8217;t know her own mind
+	better than that?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Asaph colored a little. &#8220;The place where
+	Marietta will turn up,&#8221; said he, warmly, &#8220;is on
+	a front seat in the kingdom of heaven; and if the
+	people that talk about her will mend their ways,
+	they&#8217;ll see that I am right. You need not trouble
+	yourself about that, Thomas. Marietta Himes is
+	pious to the heel.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Mr. Rooper now shifted himself a little on the
+	bench and crossed one leg over the other. &#8220;Now
+	look here, Asaph,&#8221; he said, with a little more animation
+	than he had yet shown, &#8220;supposin&#8217; all
+	you say is true, have you got any reason to think
+	that Mrs. Himes ain&#8217;t satisfied with things as they
+	are?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Yes, I have,&#8221; said Asaph. &#8220;And I don&#8217;t
+	mind tellin&#8217; you that the thing she&#8217;s least satisfied
+	with is me. She wants a man in the house; that
+	is nateral. She wouldn&#8217;t be Marietta Himes
+	if she didn&#8217;t. When I come to live with her I
+	thought the whole business was settled; but it
+	isn&#8217;t. I don&#8217;t suit her. I don&#8217;t say she&#8217;s lookin&#8217;
+	for another man, but if another man was to come
+	along, and if he was the right kind of a man, it&#8217;s
+	my opinion she&#8217;s ready for him. I wouldn&#8217;t say
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page48" title="48">&nbsp;</a>this to everybody, but I say it to you, Thomas
+	Rooper, &#8216;cause I know what kind of a man you are.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Mr. Rooper did not return the compliment.
+	&#8220;I don&#8217;t wonder your sister ain&#8217;t satisfied with
+	you,&#8221; he said, &#8220;for you go ahead of all the lazy
+	men I ever saw yet. They was sayin&#8217; down at
+	the tavern yesterday&#8212;only yesterday&#8212;that you
+	could do less work in more time than anybody
+	they ever saw before.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s two ways of workin&#8217;,&#8221; said Asaph.
+	&#8220;Some people work with their hands and some
+	with their heads.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Thomas grimly smiled. &#8220;It strikes me,&#8221; said
+	he, &#8220;that the most head-work you do is with your
+	jaws.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Asaph was not the man to take offence readily,
+	especially when he considered it against his interest
+	to do so, and he showed no resentment at this
+	remark. &#8220;&#8216;Tain&#8217;t so much my not makin&#8217; myself
+	more generally useful,&#8221; he said, &#8220;that Marietta
+	objects to; though, of course, it could not be
+	expected that a man that hasn&#8217;t got any interest
+	in property would keep workin&#8217; at it like a man
+	that has got an interest in it, such as Marietta&#8217;s
+	husband would have; but it&#8217;s my general appearance
+	that she don&#8217;t like. She&#8217;s told me more than
+	once she didn&#8217;t so much mind my bein&#8217; lazy as
+	lookin&#8217; lazy.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t wonder she thinks that way,&#8221; said
+	Thomas. &#8220;But look here, Asaph, do you suppose
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page49" title="49">&nbsp;</a>that if Marietta Himes was to marry a man,
+	he would really come into her property?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;There ain&#8217;t nobody that knows my sister better
+	than I know her, and I can say, without any
+	fear of bein&#8217; contradicted, that when she gives
+	herself to a man the good-will and fixtures will be
+	included.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Thomas Rooper now leaned forward with his
+	elbows on his knees without smoking, and Asaph
+	Scantle leaned forward with his elbows on his
+	knees without smoking. And thus they remained,
+	saying nothing to each other, for the space of some
+	ten minutes.</p>
+
+	<p>Asaph was a man who truly used his head a
+	great deal more than he used his hands. He
+	had always been a shiftless fellow, but he was no
+	fool, and this his sister found out soon after she
+	asked him to come and make his home with her.
+	She had not done this because she wanted a man
+	in the house, for she had lived two or three years
+	without that convenience and had not felt the
+	need of it. But she heard that Asaph was in
+	very uncomfortable circumstances, and she had
+	sent for him solely for his own good. The arrangement
+	proved to be a very good one for her
+	brother, but not a good one for her. She had
+	always known that Asaph&#8217;s head was his main
+	dependence, but she was just beginning to discover
+	that he liked to use his head so that other
+	people&#8217;s hands should work for him.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page50" title="50">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;There ain&#8217;t nobody comin&#8217; to see your sister,
+	is there?&#8221; asked Thomas, suddenly.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Not a livin&#8217; soul,&#8221; said Asaph, &#8220;except
+	women, married folk, and children. But it has
+	always surprised me that nobody did come; but
+	just at this minute the field&#8217;s clear and the gate&#8217;s
+	open.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; said Mr. Rooper, &#8220;I&#8217;ll think about it.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s right,&#8221; said Asaph, rubbing his knees
+	with his hands. &#8220;That&#8217;s right. But now tell
+	me, Thomas Rooper, supposin&#8217; you get Marietta,
+	what are you goin&#8217; to do for me?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;For you?&#8221; exclaimed the other. &#8220;What
+	have you got to do with it?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;A good deal,&#8221; said Asaph. &#8220;If you get
+	Marietta with her fifteen hundred a year&#8212;and it
+	wouldn&#8217;t surprise me if it was eighteen hundred&#8212;and
+	her house and her garden and her cattle
+	and her field and her furniture, with not a leg
+	loose nor a scratch, you will get her because I
+	proposed her to you, and because I backed you
+	up afterward. And now, then, I want to know
+	what you are goin&#8217; to do for me?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;What do you want?&#8221; asked Thomas.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;The first thing I want,&#8221; said Asaph, &#8220;is a
+	suit of clothes. These clothes is disgraceful.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;You are right there,&#8221; said Mr. Rooper. &#8220;I
+	wonder your sister lets you come around in front
+	of the house. But what do you mean by clothes&#8212;winter
+	clothes or summer clothes?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page51" title="51">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;Winter,&#8221; said Asaph, without hesitation. &#8220;I
+	don&#8217;t count summer clothes. And when I say a
+	suit of clothes, I mean shoes and hat and underclothes.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Mr. Rooper gave a sniff. &#8220;I wonder you
+	don&#8217;t say overcoat,&#8221; he remarked.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I do say overcoat,&#8221; replied Asaph. &#8220;A suit
+	of winter clothes is a suit of clothes that you can go
+	out into the weather in without missin&#8217; nothin&#8217;.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Mr. Rooper smiled sarcastically. &#8220;Is there
+	anything else you want?&#8221; he asked.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said Asaph, decidedly; &#8220;there is. I
+	want a umbrella.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Cotton or silk?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Asaph hesitated. He had never had a silk
+	umbrella in his hand in his life. He was afraid
+	to strike too high, and he answered, &#8220;I want a
+	good stout gingham.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Mr. Rooper nodded his head. &#8220;Very good,&#8221;
+	he said. &#8220;And is that all?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; said Asaph, &#8220;it ain&#8217;t all. There is one
+	more thing I want, and that is a dictionary.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The other man rose to his feet. &#8220;Upon my
+	word,&#8221; he exclaimed, &#8220;I never before saw a man
+	that would sell his sister for a dictionary! And
+	what you want with a dictionary is past my conceivin&#8217;.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Well, it ain&#8217;t past mine,&#8221; said Asaph. &#8220;For
+	more than ten years I have wanted a dictionary.
+	If I had a dictionary I could make use of my head
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page52" title="52">&nbsp;</a>in a way that I can&#8217;t now. There is books in this
+	house, but amongst &#8217;em there is no dictionary. If
+	there had been one I&#8217;d been a different man by
+	this time from what I am now, and like as not
+	Marietta wouldn&#8217;t have wanted any other man in
+	the house but me.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Mr. Rooper stood looking upon the ground;
+	and Asaph, who had also arisen, waited for him
+	to speak. &#8220;You are a graspin&#8217; man, Asaph,&#8221;
+	said Thomas. &#8220;But there is another thing I&#8217;d
+	like to know: if I give you them clothes, you
+	don&#8217;t want them before she&#8217;s married?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Yes, I do,&#8221; said Asaph. &#8220;If I come to the
+	weddin&#8217;, I can&#8217;t wear these things. I have got to
+	have them first.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Mr. Rooper gave his head a little twist.
+	&#8220;There&#8217;s many a slip &#8216;twixt the cup and the
+	lip,&#8221; said he.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said Asaph; &#8220;and there&#8217;s different
+	cups and different lips. But what&#8217;s more, if I
+	was to be best man&#8212;which would be nateral,
+	considerin&#8217; I&#8217;m your friend and her brother&#8212;you
+	wouldn&#8217;t want me standin&#8217; up in this rig. And
+	that&#8217;s puttin&#8217; it in your own point of view,
+	Thomas.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;It strikes me,&#8221; said the other, &#8220;that I could
+	get a best man that would furnish his own
+	clothes; but we will see about that. There&#8217;s
+	another thing, Asaph,&#8221; he said, abruptly; &#8220;what
+	are Mrs. Himes&#8217;s views concernin&#8217; pipes?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page53" title="53">&nbsp;</a>This question startled and frightened Asaph.
+	He knew that his sister could not abide the smell
+	of tobacco and that Mr. Rooper was an inveterate
+	smoker.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;That depends,&#8221; said he, &#8220;on the kind of
+	tobacco. I don&#8217;t mind sayin&#8217; that Marietta isn&#8217;t
+	partial to the kind of tobacco I smoke. But I
+	ain&#8217;t a moneyed man and I can&#8217;t afford to buy
+	nothin&#8217; but cheap stuff. But when it comes to a
+	meerschaum pipe and the very finest Virginia
+	or North Carolina smoking-tobacco, such as a
+	moneyed man would be likely to use&#8212;&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>At this moment there came from the house the
+	sound of a woman&#8217;s voice, not loud, but clear and
+	distinct, and it said &#8220;Asaph.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>This word sent through Mr. Rooper a gentle
+	thrill such as he did not remember ever having
+	felt before. There seemed to be in it a suggestion,
+	a sort of prophecy, of what appeared to him
+	as an undefined and chaotic bliss. He was not a
+	fanciful man, but he could not help imagining
+	himself standing alone under that chestnut-tree
+	and that voice calling &#8220;Thomas.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Upon Asaph the effect was different. The interruption
+	was an agreeable one in one way, because
+	it cut short his attempted explanation of the
+	tobacco question; but in another way he knew
+	that it meant the swinging of an axe, and that
+	was not pleasant.</p>
+
+	<p>Mr. Rooper walked back to the tavern in a
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page54" title="54">&nbsp;</a>cogitative state of mind. &#8220;That Asaph Scantle,&#8221;
+	he said to himself, &#8220;has got a head-piece, there&#8217;s
+	no denying it. If it had not been for him I do
+	not believe I should have thought of his sister;
+	at least not until the McJimseys had left my
+	house, and then it might have been too late.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Marietta Himes was a woman with a gentle
+	voice and an appearance and demeanor indicative
+	of a general softness of disposition; but beneath
+	this mild exterior there was a great deal of firmness
+	of purpose. Asaph had not seen very much
+	of his sister since she had grown up and married;
+	and when he came to live with her he thought
+	that he was going to have things pretty much his
+	own way. But it was not long before he entirely
+	changed his mind.</p>
+
+	<p>Mrs. Himes was of moderate height, pleasant
+	countenance, and a figure inclined to plumpness.
+	Her dark hair, in which there was not a line of
+	gray, was brushed down smoothly on each side
+	of her face, and her dress, while plain, was extremely
+	neat. In fact, everything in the house
+	and on the place was extremely neat, except
+	Asaph.</p>
+
+	<p>She was in the bright little dining-room which
+	looked out on the flower-garden, preparing the
+	table for supper, placing every plate, dish, glass,
+	and cup with as much care and exactness as if a
+	civil engineer had drawn a plan on the table-cloth
+	with places marked for the position of each article.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page55" title="55">&nbsp;</a>As she finished her work by placing a chair on
+	each side of the table, a quiet smile, the result of
+	a train of thought in which she had been indulging
+	for the past half-hour, stole over her face.
+	She passed through the kitchen, with a glance at
+	the stove to see if the tea-kettle had begun to
+	boil; and going out of the back door, she walked
+	over to the shed where her brother was splitting
+	kindling-wood.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Asaph,&#8221; said Mrs. Himes, &#8220;if I were to give
+	you a good suit of clothes, would you promise
+	me that you would never smoke when wearing
+	them?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Her brother looked at her in amazement.
+	&#8220;Clothes!&#8221; he repeated.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Mr. Himes was about your size,&#8221; said his
+	sister, &#8220;and he left a good many clothes, which
+	are most of them very good and carefully packed
+	away, so that I am sure there is not a moth-hole
+	in any one of them. I have several times thought,
+	Asaph, that I might give you some of his clothes;
+	but it did seem to me a desecration to have the
+	clothes of such a man, who was so particular and
+	nice, filled and saturated with horrible tobacco-smoke,
+	which he detested. But now you are
+	getting to be so awful shabby, I do not see how
+	I can stand it any longer. But one thing I will
+	not do&#8212;I will not have Mr. Himes&#8217;s clothes
+	smelling of tobacco as yours do; and not only
+	your own tobacco, but Mr. Rooper&#8217;s.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page56" title="56">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;I think,&#8221; said Asaph, &#8220;that you are not
+	exactly right just there. What you smell about
+	me is my smoke. Thomas Rooper never uses
+	anything but the finest-scented and delicatest
+	brands. I think that if you come to get used to
+	his tobacco-smoke you would like it. But as to
+	my takin&#8217; off my clothes and puttin&#8217; on a different
+	suit every time I want to light my pipe, that&#8217;s
+	pretty hard lines, it seems to me.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;It would be a good deal easier to give up the
+	pipe,&#8221; said his sister.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I will do that,&#8221; said Asaph, &#8220;when you
+	give up tea. But you know as well as I do that
+	there&#8217;s no use of either of us a-tryin&#8217; to change
+	our comfortable habits at our time of life.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I kept on hoping,&#8221; said Mrs. Himes, &#8220;that
+	you would feel yourself that you were not fit to
+	be seen by decent people, and that you would go
+	to work and earn at least enough money to buy
+	yourself some clothes. But as you don&#8217;t seem
+	inclined to do that, I thought I would make you
+	this offer. But you must understand that I will
+	not have you smoke in Mr. Himes&#8217;s clothes.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Asaph stood thinking, the head of his axe resting
+	upon the ground, a position which suited him.
+	He was in a little perplexity. Marietta&#8217;s proposition
+	seemed to interfere somewhat with the one he
+	had made to Thomas Rooper. Here was a state
+	of affairs which required most careful consideration.
+	&#8220;I&#8217;ve been arrangin&#8217; about some clothes,&#8221;
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page57" title="57">&nbsp;</a>he said, presently; &#8220;for I know very well I
+	need &#8217;em; but I don&#8217;t know just yet how it will
+	turn out.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I hope, Asaph,&#8221; said Marietta, quickly, &#8220;that
+	you are not thinking of going into debt for clothing,
+	and I know that you haven&#8217;t been working
+	to earn money. What arrangements have you
+	been making?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s my private affair,&#8221; said Asaph, &#8220;but
+	there&#8217;s no debt in it. It is all fair and square&#8212;cash
+	down, so to speak; though, of course, it&#8217;s
+	not cash, but work. But, as I said before, that
+	isn&#8217;t settled.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I am afraid, Asaph,&#8221; said his sister, &#8220;that if
+	you have to do the work first you will never get
+	the clothes, and so you might as well come back
+	to my offer.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Asaph came back to it and thought about it
+	very earnestly. If by any chance he could get
+	two suits of clothes, he would then feel that he
+	had a head worth having. &#8220;What would you
+	say,&#8221; he said, presently, &#8220;if when I wanted to
+	smoke I was to put on a long duster&#8212;I guess
+	Mr. Himes had dusters&#8212;and a nightcap and
+	rubbers? I&#8217;d agree to hang the duster and the
+	cap in the shed here and never smoke without
+	putting &#8217;em on.&#8221; There was a deep purpose in
+	this proposition, for, enveloped in the long duster,
+	he might sit with Thomas Rooper under the chestnut-tree
+	and smoke and talk and plan as long as
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page58" title="58">&nbsp;</a>he pleased, and his companion would not know
+	that he did not need a new suit of clothes.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Nonsense,&#8221; said Mrs. Himes; &#8220;you must
+	make up your mind to act perfectly fairly, Asaph,
+	or else say you will not accept my offer. But if
+	you don&#8217;t accept it, I can&#8217;t see how you can keep
+	on living with me.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;What do you mean by clothes, Marietta?&#8221;
+	he asked.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Well, I mean a complete suit, of course,&#8221;
+	said she.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Winter or summer?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I hadn&#8217;t thought of that,&#8221; Mrs. Himes replied;
+	&#8220;but that can be as you choose.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Overcoat?&#8221; asked Asaph.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said she, &#8220;and cane and umbrella, if
+	you like, and pocket-handkerchiefs, too. I will
+	fit you out completely, and shall be glad to have
+	you looking like a decent man.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>At the mention of the umbrella another line of
+	perplexity showed itself upon Asaph&#8217;s brow. The
+	idea came to him that if she would add a dictionary
+	he would strike a bargain. Thomas Rooper
+	was certainly a very undecided and uncertain sort
+	of man. But then there came up the thought of
+	his pipe, and he was all at sea again. Giving up
+	smoking was almost the same as giving up eating.
+	&#8220;Marietta,&#8221; said he, &#8220;I will think about this.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Very well,&#8221; she answered; &#8220;but it&#8217;s my
+	opinion, Asaph, that you ought not to take more
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page59" title="59">&nbsp;</a>than one minute to think about it. However, I
+	will give you until to-morrow morning, and then
+	if you decide that you don&#8217;t care to look like a
+	respectable citizen, I must have some further talk
+	with you about our future arrangements.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Make it to-morrow night,&#8221; said Asaph. And
+	his sister consented.</p>
+
+	<p>The next day Asaph was unusually brisk and
+	active; and very soon after breakfast he walked
+	over to the village tavern to see Mr. Rooper.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Hello!&#8221; exclaimed that individual, surprised
+	at his visitor&#8217;s early appearance at the business
+	centre of the village. &#8220;What&#8217;s started you out?
+	Have you come after them clothes?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>A happy thought struck Asaph. He had made
+	this visit with the intention of feeling his way toward
+	some decision on the important subject of
+	his sister&#8217;s proposition, and here a way seemed
+	to be opened to him. &#8220;Thomas,&#8221; said he, taking
+	his friend aside, &#8220;I am in an awful fix. Marietta
+	can&#8217;t stand my clothes any longer. If she can&#8217;t
+	stand them she can&#8217;t stand me, and when it comes
+	to that, you can see for yourself that I can&#8217;t help
+	you.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>A shade settled upon Mr. Rooper&#8217;s face. During
+	the past evening he had been thinking and
+	puffing, and puffing and thinking, until everybody
+	else in the tavern had gone to bed; and he had
+	finally made up his mind that, if he could do it,
+	he would marry Marietta Himes. He had never
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page60" title="60">&nbsp;</a>been very intimate with her or her husband, but
+	he had been to meals in the house, and he remembered
+	the fragrant coffee and the light, puffy,
+	well-baked rolls made by Marietta&#8217;s own hands;
+	and he thought of the many differences between
+	living in that very good house with that gentle,
+	pleasant-voiced lady and his present life in the
+	village tavern.</p>
+
+	<p>And so, having determined that without delay
+	he would, with the advice and assistance of Asaph,
+	begin his courtship, it was natural that he should
+	feel a shock of discouragement when he heard
+	Asaph&#8217;s announcement that his sister could not
+	endure him in the house any longer. To attack
+	that house and its owner without the friendly
+	offices upon which he depended was an undertaking
+	for which he was not at all prepared.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t wonder at her,&#8221; he said, sharply&#8212;&#8220;not
+	a bit. But this puts a mighty different face
+	on the thing what we talked about yesterday.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;It needn&#8217;t,&#8221; said Asaph, quietly. &#8220;The
+	clothes you was goin&#8217; to give me wouldn&#8217;t cost a
+	cent more to-day than they would in a couple of
+	months, say; and when I&#8217;ve got &#8217;em on Marietta
+	will be glad to have me around. Everything can
+	go on just as we bargained for.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Thomas shook his head. &#8220;That would be a
+	mighty resky piece of business,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You
+	would be all right, but that&#8217;s not sayin&#8217; that I
+	would; for it strikes me that your sister is
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page61" title="61">&nbsp;</a>about as much a bird in the bush as any flyin&#8217;
+	critter.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Asaph smiled. &#8220;If the bush was in the middle
+	of a field,&#8221; said he, &#8220;and there was only one
+	boy after the bird, it would be a pretty tough job.
+	But if the bush is in the corner of two high walls,
+	and there&#8217;s two boys, and one of &#8217;em&#8217;s got a fishnet
+	what he can throw clean over the bush, why,
+	then the chances is a good deal better. But
+	droppin&#8217; figgers, Thomas, and speakin&#8217; plain and
+	straightforward, as I always do&#8212;&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;About things you want to git,&#8221; interrupted
+	Thomas.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;&#8212;about everything,&#8221; resumed Asaph. &#8220;I&#8217;ll
+	just tell you this: if I don&#8217;t git decent clothes
+	now to-day, or perhaps to-morrow, I have got to
+	travel out of Marietta&#8217;s house. I can do it and
+	she knows it. I can go back to Drummondville
+	and git my board for keepin&#8217; books in the store,
+	and nobody there cares what sort of clothes I
+	wear. But when that happens, your chance of
+	gittin&#8217; Marietta goes up higher than a kite.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>To the mind of Mr. Rooper this was most conclusive
+	reasoning; but he would not admit it and
+	he did not like it. &#8220;Why don&#8217;t your sister give
+	you clothes?&#8221; he said. &#8220;Old Himes must have
+	left some.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>A thin chill like a needleful of frozen thread ran
+	down Asaph&#8217;s back. &#8220;Mr. Himes&#8217;s clothes!&#8221; he
+	exclaimed. &#8220;What in the world are you talkin&#8217;
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page62" title="62">&nbsp;</a>about, Thomas Rooper? &#8216;Tain&#8217;t likely he had
+	many, &#8216;cept what he was buried in; and what&#8217;s left,
+	if there is any, Marietta would no more think of
+	givin&#8217; away than she would of hangin&#8217; up his
+	funeral wreath for the canary-bird to perch on.
+	There&#8217;s a room up in the garret where she keeps
+	his special things&#8212;for she&#8217;s awful particular&#8212;and
+	if there is any of his clothes up there I expect
+	she&#8217;s got &#8217;em framed.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;If she thinks as much of him as that,&#8221; muttered
+	Mr. Rooper.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Now don&#8217;t git any sech ideas as them into your
+	head, Thomas,&#8221; said Asaph, quickly. &#8220;Marietta
+	ain&#8217;t a woman to rake up the past, and you never
+	need be afraid of her rakin&#8217; up Mr. Himes. All
+	of the premises will be hern and yourn except that
+	room in the garret, and it ain&#8217;t likely she&#8217;ll ever
+	ask you to go in there.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;The Lord knows I don&#8217;t want to!&#8221; ejaculated
+	Mr. Rooper.</p>
+
+	<p>The two men walked slowly to the end of a
+	line of well-used, or, rather, badly used, wooden
+	arm-chairs which stood upon the tavern piazza,
+	and seated themselves. Mr. Rooper&#8217;s mind was
+	in a highly perturbed condition. If he accepted
+	Asaph&#8217;s present proposition he would have to
+	make a considerable outlay with a very shadowy
+	prospect of return.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;If you haven&#8217;t got the ready money for the
+	clothes,&#8221; said Asaph, after having given his companion
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page63" title="63">&nbsp;</a>some minutes for silent consideration,
+	&#8220;there ain&#8217;t a man in this village what they
+	would trust sooner at the store for clothes,&#8221; and
+	then after a pause he added, &#8220;or books, which,
+	of course, they can order from town.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>At this Mr. Rooper simply shrugged his shoulders.
+	The question of ready money or credit did
+	not trouble him.</p>
+
+	<p>At this moment a man in a low phaeton, drawn
+	by a stout gray horse, passed the tavern.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Who&#8217;s that?&#8221; asked Asaph, who knew everybody
+	in the village.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s Doctor Wicker,&#8221; said Thomas. &#8220;He
+	lives over at Timberley. He &#8216;tended John Himes
+	in his last sickness.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;He don&#8217;t practise here, does he?&#8221; said Asaph.
+	&#8220;I never see him.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;No; but he was called in to consult.&#8221; And
+	then the speaker dropped again into cogitation.</p>
+
+	<p>After a few minutes Asaph rose. He knew that
+	Thomas Rooper had a slow-working mind, and
+	thought it would be well to leave him to himself
+	for a while. &#8220;I&#8217;ll go home,&#8221; said he, &#8220;and &#8216;tend
+	to my chores, and by the time you feel like comin&#8217;
+	up and takin&#8217; a smoke with me under the chestnut-tree,
+	I reckon you will have made up your mind,
+	and we&#8217;ll settle this thing. Fer if I have got to go
+	back to Drummondville, I s&#8217;pose I&#8217;ll have to pack
+	up this afternoon.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;If you&#8217;d say pack off instead of pack up,&#8221; remarked
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page64" title="64">&nbsp;</a>the other, &#8220;you&#8217;d come nearer the facts,
+	considerin&#8217; the amount of your personal property.
+	But I&#8217;ll be up there in an hour or two.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>When Asaph came within sight of his sister&#8217;s
+	house he was amazed to see a phaeton and a gray
+	horse standing in front of the gate. From this it
+	was easy to infer that the doctor was in the house.
+	What on earth could have happened? Was anything
+	the matter with Marietta? And if so, why
+	did she send for a physician who lived at a distance,
+	instead of Doctor McIlvaine, the village
+	doctor? In a very anxious state of mind Asaph
+	reached the gate, and irresolutely went into the
+	yard. His impulse was to go to the house and
+	see what had happened; but he hesitated. He
+	felt that Marietta might object to having a comparative
+	stranger know that such an exceedingly
+	shabby fellow was her brother. And, besides, his
+	sister could not have been overtaken by any sudden
+	illness. She had always appeared perfectly
+	well, and there would have been no time during
+	his brief absence from the house to send over to
+	Timberley for a doctor.</p>
+
+	<p>So he sat down under the chestnut-tree to consider
+	this strange condition of affairs. &#8220;Whatever
+	it is,&#8221; he said to himself, &#8220;it&#8217;s nothin&#8217; suddint,
+	and it&#8217;s bound to be chronic, and that&#8217;ll skeer
+	Thomas. I wish I hadn&#8217;t asked him to come up
+	here. The best thing for me to do will be to pretend
+	that I have been sent to git somethin&#8217; at the
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page65" title="65">&nbsp;</a>store, and go straight back and keep him from
+	comin&#8217; up.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>But Asaph was a good deal quicker to think
+	than to move, and he still sat with brows wrinkled
+	and mind beset by doubts. For a moment he
+	thought that it might be well to accept Marietta&#8217;s
+	proposition and let Thomas go; but then he remembered
+	the conditions, and he shut his mental
+	eyes at the prospect.</p>
+
+	<p>At that moment the gate opened and in walked
+	Thomas Rooper. He had made up his mind and
+	had come to say so; but the sight of the phaeton
+	and gray horse caused him to postpone his intended
+	announcement. &#8220;What&#8217;s Doctor Wicker
+	doin&#8217; here?&#8221; he asked, abruptly.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Dunno,&#8221; said Asaph, as carelessly as he could
+	speak. &#8220;I don&#8217;t meddle with household matters
+	of that kind. I expect it&#8217;s somethin&#8217; the matter
+	with that gal Betsey, that Marietta hires to help
+	her. She&#8217;s always wrong some way or other so
+	that she can&#8217;t do her own proper work, which I
+	know, havin&#8217; to do a good deal of it myself. I
+	expect it&#8217;s rickets, like as not. Gals do have that
+	sort of thing, don&#8217;t they?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Never had anything to do with sick gals,&#8221;
+	said Thomas, &#8220;or sick people of any sort, and
+	don&#8217;t want to. But it must be somethin&#8217; pretty
+	deep-seated for your sister to send all the way to
+	Timberley for a doctor.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Asaph knew very well that Mrs. Himes was
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page66" title="66">&nbsp;</a>too economical a person to think of doing such a
+	thing as that, and he knew also that Betsey was
+	as good a specimen of rustic health as could be
+	found in the county. And therefore his companion&#8217;s
+	statement that he wanted to have nothing
+	to do with sick people had for him a saddening
+	import.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I settled that business of yourn,&#8221; said Mr.
+	Rooper, &#8220;pretty soon after you left me. I thought
+	I might as well come straight around and tell you
+	about it. I&#8217;ll make you a fair and square offer.
+	I&#8217;ll give you them clothes, though it strikes me
+	that winter goods will be pretty heavy for this time
+	of year; but it will be on this condition: if I don&#8217;t
+	get Marietta, you have got to give &#8217;em back.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Asaph smiled.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I know what you are grinnin&#8217; at,&#8221; said
+	Thomas; &#8220;but you needn&#8217;t think that you are
+	goin&#8217; to have the wearin&#8217; of them clothes for two
+	or three months and then give &#8217;em back. I don&#8217;t
+	go in for any long courtships. What I do in that
+	line will be short and sharp.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;How short?&#8221; asked Asaph.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Well, this is Thursday,&#8221; replied the other,
+	&#8220;and I calculate to ask her on Monday.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Asaph looked at his companion in amazement.
+	&#8220;By George!&#8221; he exclaimed, &#8220;that won&#8217;t work.
+	Why, it took Marietta more&#8217;n five days to make
+	up her mind whether she would have the chicken-house
+	painted green or red, and you can&#8217;t expect
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page67" title="67">&nbsp;</a>her to be quicker than that in takin&#8217; a new husband.
+	She&#8217;d say No just as certain as she would
+	now if you was to go in and ask her right before
+	the doctor and Betsey. And I&#8217;ll just tell you
+	plain that it wouldn&#8217;t pay me to do all the hustlin&#8217;
+	around and talkin&#8217; and argyin&#8217; and recommendin&#8217;
+	that I&#8217;d have to do just for the pleasure of wearin&#8217;
+	a suit of warm clothes for four July days. I tell
+	you what it is, it won&#8217;t do to spring that sort of
+	thing on a woman, especially when she&#8217;s what you
+	might call a trained widder. You got to give
+	&#8217;em time to think over the matter and to look up
+	your references. There&#8217;s no use talkin&#8217; about it;
+	you must give &#8217;em time, especially when the offer
+	comes from a person that nobody but me has ever
+	thought of as a marryin&#8217; man.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Humph!&#8221; said Thomas. &#8220;That&#8217;s all you
+	know about it.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Facts is facts, and you can&#8217;t git around &#8217;em.
+	There isn&#8217;t a woman in this village what wouldn&#8217;t
+	take at least two weeks to git it into her head
+	that you was really courtin&#8217; her. She would be
+	just as likely to think that you was tryin&#8217; to git a
+	tenant in place of the McJimseys. But a month
+	of your courtin&#8217; and a month of my workin&#8217; would
+	just about make the matter all right with Marietta,
+	and then you could sail in and settle it.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Very good,&#8221; said Mr. Rooper, rising suddenly.
+	&#8220;I will court your sister for one month;
+	and if, on the 17th day of August, she takes me,
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page68" title="68">&nbsp;</a>you can go up to the store and git them clothes;
+	but you can&#8217;t do it one minute afore. Good-mornin&#8217;.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Asaph, left alone, heaved a sigh. He did not
+	despair; but truly, fate was heaping a great many
+	obstacles in his path. He thought it was a very
+	hard thing for a man to get his rights in this
+	world.</p>
+
+	<p>Mrs. Himes sat on one end of a black hair-covered
+	sofa in the parlor, and Doctor Wicker
+	sat on a black hair-covered chair opposite to her
+	and not far away. The blinds of the window
+	opening upon the garden were drawn up; but
+	those on the front window, which commanded a
+	view of the chestnut-tree, were down. Doctor
+	Wicker had just made a proposal of marriage to
+	Mrs. Himes, and at that moment they were both
+	sitting in silence.</p>
+
+	<p>The doctor, a bluff, hearty-looking man of about
+	forty-five, had been very favorably impressed by
+	Mrs. Himes when he first made her acquaintance,
+	during her husband&#8217;s sickness, and since that time
+	he had seen her occasionally and had thought about
+	her a great deal. Latterly letters had passed between
+	them, and now he had come to make his
+	declaration in person.</p>
+
+	<p>It was true, as her brother had said, that Marietta
+	was not quick in making up her mind. But
+	in this case she was able to act more promptly
+	than usual, because she had in a great measure
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page69" title="69">&nbsp;</a>settled this matter before the arrival of the doctor.
+	She knew he was going to propose, and she was
+	very much inclined to accept him. This it was
+	which had made her smile when she was setting
+	the table the afternoon before, and this it was
+	which had prompted her to make her proposition
+	to her brother in regard to his better personal
+	appearance.</p>
+
+	<p>But now she was in a condition of nervous
+	trepidation, and made no answer. The doctor
+	thought this was natural enough under the circumstances,
+	but he had no idea of the cause of it.
+	The cause of it was sitting under the chestnut-tree,
+	the bright sunlight, streaming through a break in
+	the branches above, illuminating and emphasizing
+	and exaggerating his extreme shabbiness. The
+	doctor had never seen Asaph, and it would have
+	been a great shock to Marietta&#8217;s self-respect to
+	have him see her brother in his present aspect.</p>
+
+	<p>Through a crack in the blind of the front window
+	she had seen Asaph come in and sit down, and
+	she had seen Mr. Rooper arrive and had noticed
+	his departure. And now, with an anxiety which
+	made her chin tremble, she sat and hoped that
+	Asaph would get up and go away. For she knew
+	that if she should say to the doctor what she was
+	perfectly willing to say then and there, he would
+	very soon depart, being a man of practical mind
+	and pressing business; and that, going to the front
+	door with him, she would be obliged to introduce
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page70" title="70">&nbsp;</a>him to a prospective brother-in-law whose appearance,
+	she truly believed, would make him sick.
+	For the doctor was a man, she well knew, who
+	was quite as nice and particular about dress and
+	personal appearance as the late Mr. Himes had
+	been.</p>
+
+	<p>Doctor Wicker, aware that the lady&#8217;s perturbation
+	was increasing instead of diminishing, thought
+	it wise not to press the matter at this moment.
+	He felt that he had been, perhaps, a little over-prompt
+	in making his proposition. &#8220;Madam,&#8221;
+	said he, rising, &#8220;I will not ask you to give me
+	an answer now. I will go away and let you think
+	about it, and will come again to-morrow.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Through the crack in the window-blind Marietta
+	saw that Asaph was still under the tree. What
+	could she do to delay the doctor? She did not
+	offer to take leave of him, but stood looking upon
+	the floor. It seemed a shame to make so good a
+	man go all the way back to Timberley and come
+	again next day, just because that ragged, dirty
+	Asaph was sitting under the chestnut-tree.</p>
+
+	<p>The doctor moved toward the door, and as she
+	followed him she glanced once more through the
+	crack in the window-blind, and, to her intense
+	delight, she saw Asaph jump up from the bench
+	and run around to the side of the house. He
+	had heard the doctor&#8217;s footsteps in the hallway
+	and had not wished to meet him. The unsatisfactory
+	condition of his outward appearance had
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page71" title="71">&nbsp;</a>been so strongly impressed upon him of late that
+	he had become a little sensitive in regard to it
+	when strangers were concerned. But if he had
+	only known that his exceedingly unattractive garments
+	had prevented his sister from making a compact
+	which would have totally ruined his plans in
+	regard to her matrimonial disposition and his own
+	advantage, he would have felt for those old clothes
+	the respect and gratitude with which a Roman
+	soldier regarded the shield and sword which had
+	won him a battle.</p>
+
+	<p>Down the middle of the garden, at the back of
+	the house, there ran a path, and along this path
+	Asaph walked meditatively, with his hands in his
+	trousers pockets. It was a discouraging place
+	for him to walk, for the beds on each side of him
+	were full of weeds, which he had intended to pull
+	out as soon as he should find time for the work,
+	but which had now grown so tall and strong that
+	they could not be rooted up without injuring the
+	plants, which were the legitimate occupants of the
+	garden.</p>
+
+	<p>Asaph did not know it, but at this moment
+	there was not one person in the whole world who
+	thought kindly of him. His sister was so mortified
+	by him that she was in tears in the house.
+	His crony, Thomas, had gone away almost angry
+	with him, and even Betsey, whom he had falsely
+	accused of rickets, and who had often shown a
+	pity for him simply because he looked so forlorn,
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page72" title="72">&nbsp;</a>had steeled her heart against him that morning
+	when she found he had gone away without providing
+	her with any fuel for the kitchen fire.</p>
+
+	<p>But he had not made a dozen turns up and down
+	the path before he became aware of the feeling of
+	Marietta. She looked out of the back door and
+	then walked rapidly toward him. &#8220;Asaph,&#8221; said
+	she, &#8220;I hope you are considering what I said to
+	you yesterday, for I mean to stick to my word.
+	If you don&#8217;t choose to accept my offer, I want
+	you to go back to Drummondville early to-morrow
+	morning. And I don&#8217;t feel in the least as if
+	I were turning you out of the house, for I have
+	given you a chance to stay here, and have only
+	asked you to act like a decent Christian. I will
+	not have you here disgracing my home. When
+	Doctor Wicker came to-day, and I looked out
+	and saw you with that miserable little coat with
+	the sleeves half-way up to the elbows and great
+	holes in it which you will not let anybody patch
+	because you are too proud to wear patches, and
+	those wretched faded trousers, out at the knees,
+	and which have been turned up and hemmed at
+	the bottom so often that they are six inches above
+	your shoes, and your whole scarecrow appearance,
+	I was so ashamed of you that I could not keep
+	the tears out of my eyes. To tell a respectable
+	gentleman like Doctor Wicker that you were my
+	brother was more than I could bear; and I was
+	glad when I saw you get up and sneak out of the
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page73" title="73">&nbsp;</a>way. I hate to talk to you in this way, Asaph,
+	but you have brought it on yourself.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Her brother looked at her a moment. &#8220;Do
+	you want me to go away before breakfast?&#8221; he
+	said.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; answered Marietta, &#8220;but immediately
+	afterward.&#8221; And in her mind she resolved that
+	breakfast should be very early the next morning.</p>
+
+	<p>If Asaph had any idea of yielding, he did not
+	intend to show it until the last moment, and so he
+	changed the subject. &#8220;What&#8217;s the matter with
+	Betsey?&#8221; said he. &#8220;If she&#8217;s out of health you&#8217;d
+	better get rid of her.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s nothing the matter with Betsey,&#8221;
+	answered his sister. &#8220;Doctor Wicker came to
+	see me.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Came to see you!&#8221; exclaimed her brother.
+	&#8220;What in the world did he do that for? You
+	never told me that you were ailin&#8217;. Is it that
+	sprain in your ankle?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Nonsense,&#8221; said Marietta. &#8220;I had almost
+	recovered from that sprain when you came here.
+	There&#8217;s nothing the matter with my ankle; the
+	trouble is probably with my heart.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The moment she said this she regretted it, for
+	Asaph had so good a head, and could catch meanings
+	so quickly.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m sorry to hear that, Marietta,&#8221; said Asaph.
+	&#8220;That&#8217;s a good deal more serious.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page74" title="74">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said she. And she turned and went
+	back to the house.</p>
+
+	<p>Asaph continued to walk up and down the path.
+	He had not done a stroke of work that morning,
+	but he did not think of that. His sister&#8217;s communication
+	saddened him. He liked Marietta,
+	and it grieved him to hear that she had anything
+	the matter with her heart. He knew that that
+	often happened to people who looked perfectly
+	well, and there was no reason why he should
+	have suspected any disorder in her. Of course,
+	in this case, there was good reason for her sending
+	for the very best doctor to be had. It was
+	all plain enough to him now.</p>
+
+	<p>But as he walked and walked and walked, and
+	looked at the garden, and looked at the little
+	orchard, and looked at the house and the top of
+	the big chestnut-tree, which showed itself above
+	the roof, a thought came into his mind which had
+	never been there before&#8212;he was Marietta&#8217;s heir.
+	It was a dreadful thing to think of his sister&#8217;s possible
+	early departure from this world; but, after
+	all, life is life, reality is reality, and business is
+	business. He was Marietta&#8217;s only legal heir.</p>
+
+	<p>Of course he had known this before, but it
+	had never seemed to be of any importance. He
+	was a good deal older than she was, and he had
+	always looked upon her as a marrying woman.
+	When he made his proposition to Mr. Rooper the
+	thought of his own heirship never came into his
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page75" title="75">&nbsp;</a>mind. In fact, if any one had offered him ten
+	dollars for said heirship, he would have asked
+	fifteen, and would have afterward agreed to split
+	the difference and take twelve and a half.</p>
+
+	<p>But now everything had changed. If Marietta
+	had anything the matter with her heart there was
+	no knowing when all that he saw might be his
+	own. No sooner had he walked and thought
+	long enough for his mind to fully appreciate the
+	altered aspects of his future than he determined
+	to instantly thrust out Mr. Rooper from all connection
+	with that future. He would go and tell
+	him so at once.</p>
+
+	<p>To the dismay of Betsey, who had been watching
+	him, expecting that he would soon stop walking
+	about and go and saw some wood with which
+	to cook the dinner, he went out of the front gate
+	and strode rapidly into the village. He had some
+	trouble in finding Mr. Rooper, who had gone off
+	to take a walk and arrange a conversation with
+	which to begin his courtship of Mrs. Himes; but
+	he overtook him under a tree by the side of the
+	creek. &#8220;Thomas,&#8221; said he, &#8220;I have changed
+	my mind about that business between us. You
+	have been very hard on me, and I&#8217;m not goin&#8217; to
+	stand it. I can get the clothes and things I need
+	without makin&#8217; myself your slave and workin&#8217;
+	myself to death, and, perhaps, settin&#8217; my sister
+	agin me for life by tryin&#8217; to make her believe that
+	black&#8217;s white, that you are the kind of husband
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page76" title="76">&nbsp;</a>she ought to have, and that you hate pipes and
+	never touch spirits. It would be a mean thing
+	for me to do, and I won&#8217;t do it. I did think you
+	were a generous-minded man, with the right sort
+	of feeling for them as wanted to be your friends;
+	but I have found out that I was mistook, and I&#8217;m
+	not goin&#8217; to sacrifice my sister to any such person.
+	Now that&#8217;s my state of mind plain and
+	square.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Thomas Rooper shrunk two inches in height.
+	&#8220;Asaph Scantle,&#8221; he said, in a voice which seemed
+	also to have shrunk, &#8220;I don&#8217;t understand you.
+	I wasn&#8217;t hard on you. I only wanted to make a
+	fair bargain. If I&#8217;d got her, I&#8217;d paid up cash on
+	delivery. You couldn&#8217;t expect a man to do more
+	than that. But I tell you, Asaph, that I am
+	mighty serious about this. The more I have
+	thought about your sister the more I want her.
+	And when I tell you that I&#8217;ve been a-thinkin&#8217;
+	about her pretty much all night, you may know
+	that I want her a good deal. And I was intendin&#8217;
+	to go to-morrow and begin to court her.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Well, you needn&#8217;t,&#8221; said Asaph. &#8220;It won&#8217;t
+	do no good. If you don&#8217;t have me to back you
+	up you might as well try to twist that tree as to
+	move her. You can&#8217;t do it.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;But you don&#8217;t mean to go agin me, do you,
+	Asaph?&#8221; asked Thomas, ruefully.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;&#8216;Tain&#8217;t necessary,&#8221; replied the other. &#8220;You
+	will go agin yourself.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page77" title="77">&nbsp;</a>For a few moments Mr. Rooper remained silent.
+	He was greatly discouraged and dismayed by what
+	had been said to him, but he could not yet give
+	up what had become the great object of his life.
+	&#8220;Asaph,&#8221; said he, presently, &#8220;it cuts me to the
+	in&#8217;ards to think that you have gone back on me;
+	but I tell you what I&#8217;ll do: if you will promise
+	not to say anything agin me to Mrs. Himes, and
+	not to set yourself in any way between me and
+	her, I&#8217;ll go along with you to the store now, and
+	you can git that suit of clothes and the umbrella,
+	and I&#8217;ll tell &#8217;em to order the dictionary and hand
+	it over to you as soon as it comes. I&#8217;d like you
+	to help me, but if you will only promise to stand
+	out of the way and not hinder, I&#8217;ll do the fair
+	thing by you and pay in advance.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Humph!&#8221; said Asaph. &#8220;I do believe you
+	think you are the only man that wants Marietta.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>A pang passed through the heart of Mr. Rooper.
+	He had been thinking a great deal of Mrs. Himes
+	and everything connected with her, and he had
+	even thought of that visit of Doctor Wicker&#8217;s.
+	That gentleman was a widower and a well-to-do
+	and well-appearing man; and it would have been
+	a long way for him to come just for some trifling
+	rickets in a servant-girl. Being really in love, his
+	imagination was in a very capering mood, and he
+	began to fear that the doctor had come to court
+	Mrs. Himes. &#8220;Asaph,&#8221; he said, quickly, &#8220;that&#8217;s
+	a good offer I make you. If you take it, in less
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page78" title="78">&nbsp;</a>than an hour you can walk home looking like a
+	gentleman.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Asaph had taken his reed pipe from his coat
+	pocket and was filling it. As he pushed the
+	coarse tobacco into the bowl, he considered.
+	&#8220;Thomas,&#8221; said he, &#8220;that ain&#8217;t enough. Things
+	have changed, and it wouldn&#8217;t pay me. But I
+	won&#8217;t be hard on you. I&#8217;m a good friend of
+	yourn, and I&#8217;ll tell you what I&#8217;ll do. If you will
+	give me now all the things we spoke of between
+	us&#8212;and I forgot to mention a cane and pocket-handkerchiefs&#8212;and
+	give me, besides, that meerschaum
+	pipe of yourn, I&#8217;ll promise not to hinder
+	you, but let you go ahead and git Marietta if you
+	kin. I must say it&#8217;s a good deal for me to do,
+	knowin&#8217; how much you&#8217;ll git and how little you&#8217;ll
+	give, and knowin&#8217;, too, the other chances she&#8217;s
+	got if she wanted &#8217;em; but I&#8217;ll do it for the sake
+	of friendship.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;My meerschaum pipe!&#8221; groaned Mr. Rooper.
+	&#8220;My Centennial Exhibition pipe!&#8221; His tones
+	were so plaintive that for a moment Asaph felt a
+	little touch of remorse. But then he reflected that
+	if Thomas really did get Marietta the pipe would
+	be of no use to him, for she would not allow him
+	to smoke it. And, besides, realities were realities
+	and business was business. &#8220;That pipe may
+	be very dear to you,&#8221; he said, &#8220;Thomas, but I
+	want you to remember that Marietta&#8217;s very dear
+	to me.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page79" title="79">&nbsp;</a>This touched Mr. Rooper, whose heart was
+	sensitive as it had never been before. &#8220;Come
+	along, Asaph,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You shall have everything,
+	meerschaum pipe included. If anybody
+	but me is goin&#8217; to smoke that pipe, I&#8217;d like it to
+	be my brother-in-law.&#8221; Thus, with amber-tipped
+	guile, Mr. Rooper hoped to win over his friend
+	to not only not hinder, but to help him.</p>
+
+	<p>As the two men walked away, Asaph thought
+	that he was not acting an unfraternal part toward
+	Marietta, for it would not be necessary for him
+	to say or do anything to induce her to refuse so
+	unsuitable a suitor as Thomas Rooper.</p>
+
+	<p>About fifteen minutes before dinner&#8212;which
+	had been cooked with bits of wood which Betsey
+	had picked up here and there&#8212;was ready, Asaph
+	walked into the front yard of his sister&#8217;s house
+	attired in a complete suit of new clothes, thick
+	and substantial in texture, pepper-and-salt in color,
+	and as long in the legs and arms as the most fastidious
+	could desire. He had on a new shirt and
+	a clean collar, with a handsome black silk cravat
+	tied in a great bow; and a new felt hat was on his
+	head. On his left arm he carried an overcoat,
+	carefully folded, with the lining outside, and in
+	his right hand an umbrella and a cane. In his
+	pockets were half a dozen new handkerchiefs
+	and the case containing Mr. Rooper&#8217;s Centennial
+	meerschaum.</p>
+
+	<p>Marietta, who was in the hallway when he
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page80" title="80">&nbsp;</a>opened the front door, scarcely knew him as he
+	approached.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Asaph!&#8221; she exclaimed. &#8220;What has happened
+	to you? Why, you actually look like a
+	gentleman!&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Asaph grinned. &#8220;Do you want me to go to
+	Drummondville right after breakfast to-morrow?&#8221;
+	he asked.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;My dear brother,&#8221; said Marietta, &#8220;don&#8217;t crush
+	me by talking about that. But if you could have
+	seen yourself as I saw you, and could have felt as
+	I felt, you would not wonder at me. You must
+	forget all that. I should be proud now to introduce
+	you as my brother to any doctor or king or
+	president. But tell me how you got those beautiful
+	clothes.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Asaph was sometimes beset by an absurd regard
+	for truth, which much annoyed him. He could
+	not say that he had worked for the clothes, and
+	he did not wish his sister to think that he had
+	run in debt for them. &#8220;They&#8217;re paid for, every
+	thread of &#8217;em,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I got &#8217;em in trade.
+	These things is mine, and I don&#8217;t owe no man a
+	cent for &#8217;em; and it seems to me that dinner must
+	be ready.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;And proud I am,&#8221; said Marietta, who never
+	before had shown such enthusiastic affection for
+	her brother, &#8220;to sit down to the table with such
+	a nice-looking fellow as you are.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The next morning Mr. Rooper came into Mrs.
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page81" title="81">&nbsp;</a>Himes&#8217;s yard, and there beheld Asaph, in all the
+	glory of his new clothes, sitting under the chestnut-tree
+	smoking the Centennial meerschaum pipe.
+	Mr. Rooper himself was dressed in his very best
+	clothes, but he carried with him no pipe.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Sit down,&#8221; said Asaph, &#8220;and have a smoke.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; replied the other; &#8220;I am goin&#8217; in the
+	house. I have come to see your sister.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Goin&#8217; to begin already?&#8221; said Asaph.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said the other; &#8220;I told you I was goin&#8217;
+	to begin to-day.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Very good,&#8221; said his friend, crossing his pepper-and-salt
+	legs; &#8220;and you will finish the 17th
+	of August. That&#8217;s a good, reasonable time.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>But Mr. Rooper had no intention of courting
+	Mrs. Himes for a month. He intended to propose
+	to her that very morning. He had been
+	turning over the matter in his mind, and for several
+	reasons had come to this conclusion. In the
+	first place, he did not believe that he could trust
+	Asaph, even for a single day, not to oppose him.
+	Furthermore, his mind was in such a turmoil
+	from the combined effect of the constantly present
+	thought that Asaph was wearing his clothes,
+	his hat, and his shoes, and smoking his beloved
+	pipe, and of the perplexities and agitations consequent
+	upon his sentiments toward Mrs. Himes,
+	that he did not believe he could bear the mental
+	strain during another night.</p>
+
+	<p>Five minutes later Marietta Himes was sitting
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page82" title="82">&nbsp;</a>on the horsehair sofa in the parlor, with Mr.
+	Rooper on the horsehair chair opposite to her,
+	and not very far away, and he was delivering the
+	address which he had prepared.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Madam,&#8221; said he, &#8220;I am a man that takes
+	things in this world as they comes, and is content
+	to wait until the time comes for them to
+	come. I was well acquainted with John Himes.
+	I knowed him in life, and I helped lay him out.
+	As long as there was reason to suppose that the
+	late Mr. Himes&#8212;I mean that the grass over the
+	grave of Mr. Himes had remained unwithered, I
+	am not the man to take one step in the direction
+	of his shoes, nor even to consider the size of &#8217;em
+	in connection with the measure of my own feet.
+	But time will pass on in nater as well as in real
+	life; and while I know very well, Mrs. Himes,
+	that certain feelin&#8217;s toward them that was is like
+	the leaves of the oak-tree and can&#8217;t be blowed off
+	even by the fiercest tempests of affliction, still
+	them leaves will wither in the fall and turn brown
+	and curl up at the edges, though they don&#8217;t depart,
+	but stick on tight as wax all winter until in
+	the springtime they is pushed off gently without
+	knowin&#8217; it by the green leaves which come out in
+	real life as well as nater.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>When he had finished this opening Mr. Rooper
+	breathed a little sigh of relief. He had not forgotten
+	any of it, and it pleased him.</p>
+
+	<p>Marietta sat and looked at him. She had a
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page83" title="83">&nbsp;</a>good sense of humor, and, while she was naturally
+	surprised at what had been said to her, she
+	was greatly amused by it, and really wished to
+	hear what else Thomas Rooper had to say to her.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Now, madam,&#8221; he continued, &#8220;I am not
+	the man to thrash a tree with a pole to knock the
+	leaves off before their time. But when the young
+	leaves is pushin&#8217; and the old leaves is droppin&#8217;
+	(not to make any allusion, of course, to any shrivellin&#8217;
+	of proper respect), then I come forward,
+	madam, not to take the place of anybody else,
+	but jest as the nateral consequence of the seasons,
+	which everybody ought to expect; even such as
+	you, madam, which I may liken to a hemlock-spruce
+	which keeps straight on in the same general
+	line of appearance without no reference to the
+	fall of the year, nor winter nor summer. And so,
+	Mrs. Himes, I come here to-day to offer to lead
+	you agin to the altar. I have never been there
+	myself, and there ain&#8217;t no woman in the world
+	that I&#8217;d go with but you. I&#8217;m a straightforward
+	person, and when I&#8217;ve got a thing to say I say
+	it, and now I have said it. And so I set here
+	awaitin&#8217; your answer.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>At this moment the shutters of the front window,
+	which had been closed, were opened, and
+	Asaph put in his head. &#8220;Look here, Thomas
+	Rooper,&#8221; he said, &#8220;these shoes is pegged. I
+	didn&#8217;t bargain for no pegged shoes; I wanted
+	&#8217;em sewed; everything was to be first-class.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page84" title="84">&nbsp;</a>Mr. Rooper, who had been leaning forward in
+	his chair, his hands upon his knees, and his face
+	glistening with his expressed feelings as brightly
+	as the old-fashioned but shining silk hat which
+	stood on the floor by his side, turned his head,
+	grew red to the ears, and then sprang to his feet.
+	&#8220;Asaph Scantle,&#8221; he cried, with extended fist,
+	&#8220;you have broke your word; you hindered.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;No, I didn&#8217;t,&#8221; said Asaph, sulkily; &#8220;but
+	pegged shoes is too much for any man to stand.&#8221;
+	And he withdrew from the window, closing the
+	shutters again.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;What does this mean?&#8221; asked Mrs. Himes,
+	who had also risen.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;It means,&#8221; said Thomas, speaking with difficulty,
+	his indignation was so great, &#8220;that your
+	brother is a person of tricks and meanders beyond
+	the reach of common human calculation. I
+	don&#8217;t like to say this of a man who is more or less
+	likely to be my brother-in-law, but I can&#8217;t help
+	sayin&#8217; it, so entirely upset am I at his goin&#8217; back
+	on me at such a minute.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Going back on you?&#8221; asked Mrs. Himes.
+	&#8220;What do you mean? What has he promised?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Thomas hesitated. He did not wish to interrupt
+	his courtship by the discussion of any new
+	question, especially this question. &#8220;If we could
+	settle what we have been talkin&#8217; about, Mrs.
+	Himes,&#8221; he said, &#8220;and if you would give me my
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page85" title="85">&nbsp;</a>answer, then I could git my mind down to commoner
+	things. But swingin&#8217; on a hook as I am,
+	I don&#8217;t know whether my head or my heels is
+	uppermost, or what&#8217;s revolvin&#8217; around me.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh, I can give you your answer quickly
+	enough,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It is impossible for me to
+	marry you, so that&#8217;s all settled.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Impossible is a big word,&#8221; said Mr. Rooper.
+	&#8220;Has anybody else got afore me?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I am not bound to answer that question,&#8221;
+	said Marietta, slightly coloring; &#8220;but I cannot
+	accept you, Mr. Rooper.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Then there&#8217;s somebody else, of course,&#8221; said
+	Thomas, gazing darkly upon the floor. &#8220;And
+	what&#8217;s more, Asaph knew it; that&#8217;s just as clear
+	as daylight. That&#8217;s what made him come to me
+	yesterday and go back on his first bargain.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Now then,&#8221; said Mrs. Himes, speaking very
+	decidedly, &#8220;I want to know what you mean by
+	this talk about bargains.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Mr. Rooper knit his brows. &#8220;This is mighty
+	different talk,&#8221; he said, &#8220;from the kind I expected
+	when I come here. But you have answered my
+	question, now I&#8217;ll answer yours. Asaph Scantle,
+	no longer ago than day before yesterday, after
+	hearin&#8217; that things wasn&#8217;t goin&#8217; very well with
+	me, recommended me to marry you, and agreed
+	that he would do his level best, by day and by
+	night, to help me git you, if I would give him a
+	suit of clothes, an umbrella, and a dictionary.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page86" title="86">&nbsp;</a>At this Mrs. Himes gave a little gasp and sat
+	down.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Now, I hadn&#8217;t no thoughts of tradin&#8217; for a
+	wife,&#8221; continued Thomas, &#8220;especially in woollen
+	goods and books; but when I considered and
+	turned the matter over in my mind, and thought
+	what a woman you was, and what a life there was
+	afore me if I got you, I agreed to do it. Then
+	he wanted pay aforehand, and that I wouldn&#8217;t
+	agree to, not because I thought you wasn&#8217;t wuth
+	it, but because I couldn&#8217;t trust him if anybody
+	offered him more before I got you. But that ain&#8217;t
+	the wust of it; yesterday he come down to see
+	me and went back on his bargain, and that after
+	I had spent the whole night thinkin&#8217; of you and
+	what I was goin&#8217; to say. And he put on such
+	high-cockalorum airs that I, bein&#8217; as soft as mush
+	around the heart, jest wilted and agreed to give
+	him everything he bargained for if he would promise
+	not to hinder. But he wasn&#8217;t satisfied with
+	that and wouldn&#8217;t come to no terms until I&#8217;d give
+	him my Centennial pipe, what&#8217;s been like a child
+	to me this many a year. And when he saw how
+	disgruntled I was at sich a loss, he said that my
+	pipe might be very dear to me, but his sister was
+	jest as dear to him. And then, on top of the
+	whole thing, he pokes his head through the shutters
+	and hinders jest at the most ticklish moment.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;A dictionary and a pipe!&#8221; ejaculated poor
+	Marietta, her eyes fixed upon the floor.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page87" title="87">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;But I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to make him give &#8217;em all back,&#8221;
+	exclaimed Thomas. &#8220;They was the price of not
+	hinderin&#8217;, and he hindered.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;He shall give them back,&#8221; said Marietta,
+	rising, &#8220;but you must understand, Mr. Rooper,
+	that in no way did Asaph interfere with your
+	marrying me. That was a matter with which he
+	did have and could have nothing to do. And now
+	I wish you could get away without speaking to
+	him. I do not want any quarrelling or high
+	words here, and I will see him and arrange the
+	matter better than you can do it.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh, I can git away without speakin&#8217; to him,&#8221;
+	said Mr. Rooper, with reddened face. And so
+	saying, he strode out of the house, through the
+	front yard, and out of the gate, without turning
+	his head toward Asaph, still sitting under the
+	tree.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh, ho!&#8221; said the latter to himself; &#8220;she&#8217;s
+	bounced him short and sharp; and it serves him
+	right, too, after playin&#8217; that trick on me. Pegged
+	shoes, indeed!&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>At this moment the word &#8220;Asaph&#8221; came from
+	the house in tones shriller and sharper and higher
+	than any in which he had ever heard it pronounced
+	before. He sprang to his feet and went to the
+	house. His sister took him into the parlor and
+	shut the door. Her eyes were red and her face
+	was pale. &#8220;Asaph,&#8221; said she, &#8220;Mr. Rooper has
+	told me the whole of your infamous conduct. Now
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page88" title="88">&nbsp;</a>I know what you meant when you said that you
+	were making arrangements to get clothes. You
+	were going to sell me for them. And when you
+	found out that I was likely to marry Doctor Wicker,
+	you put up your price and wanted a dictionary
+	and a pipe.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;No, Marietta,&#8221; said Asaph, &#8220;the dictionary
+	belonged to the first bargain. If you knew how
+	I need a dictionary&#8212;&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Be still!&#8221; she cried. &#8220;I do not want you
+	to say a word. You have acted most shamefully
+	toward me, and I want you to go away this very
+	day. And before you go you must give back to
+	Mr. Rooper everything that you got from him.
+	I will fit you out with some of Mr. Himes&#8217;s
+	clothes and make no conditions at all, only that
+	you shall go away. Come upstairs with me, and
+	I will get the clothes.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The room in the garret was opened, and various
+	garments which had belonged to the late
+	Mr. Himes were brought out.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;This is pretty hard on me, Marietta,&#8221; said
+	Asaph, as he held up a coat, &#8220;to give up new
+	all-wool goods for things what has been worn and
+	is part cotton, if I am a judge.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Marietta said very little. She gave him what
+	clothes he needed, and insisted on his putting
+	them on, making a package of the things he had
+	received from Mr. Rooper, and returning them
+	to that gentleman. Asaph at first grumbled, but
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page89" title="89">&nbsp;</a>he finally obeyed with a willingness which might
+	have excited the suspicions of Marietta had she
+	not been so angry.</p>
+
+	<p>With an enormous package wrapped in brown
+	paper in one hand, and a cane, an umbrella, and
+	a very small hand-bag in the other, Asaph approached
+	the tavern. Mr. Rooper was sitting on
+	the piazza alone. He was smoking a very common-looking
+	clay pipe and gazing intently into
+	the air in front of him. When his old crony
+	came and stood before the piazza he did not turn
+	his head nor his eyes.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Thomas Rooper,&#8221; said Asaph, &#8220;you have got
+	me into a very bad scrape. I have been turned
+	out of doors on account of what you said about
+	me. And where I am goin&#8217; I don&#8217;t know, for I
+	can&#8217;t walk to Drummondville. And what&#8217;s more,
+	I kept my word and you didn&#8217;t. I didn&#8217;t hinder
+	you; for how could I suppose that you was goin&#8217;
+	to pop the question the very minute you got inside
+	the door? And that dictionary you promised
+	I&#8217;ve not got.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Thomas Rooper answered not a word, but looked
+	steadily in front of him. &#8220;And there&#8217;s another
+	thing,&#8221; said Asaph. &#8220;What are you goin&#8217; to
+	allow me for that suit of clothes what I&#8217;ve been
+	wearin&#8217;, what I took off in your room and left
+	there?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>At this Mr. Rooper sprang to his feet with
+	such violence that the fire danced out of the bowl
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page90" title="90">&nbsp;</a>of his pipe. &#8220;What is the fare to Drummondville?&#8221;
+	he cried.</p>
+
+	<p>Asaph reflected a moment. &#8220;Three dollars and
+	fifty cents, includin&#8217; supper.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll give you that for them clothes,&#8221; said the
+	other, and counted out the money.</p>
+
+	<p>Asaph took it and sighed. &#8220;You&#8217;ve been hard
+	on me, Thomas,&#8221; said he, &#8220;but I bear you no
+	grudge. Good-by.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>As he walked slowly toward the station Mr.
+	Scantle stopped at the store. &#8220;Has that dictionary
+	come that was ordered for me?&#8221; he said; and
+	when told that it could not be expected for several
+	days he did not despair, for it was possible that
+	Thomas Rooper might be so angry that he would
+	forget to countermand the order; in that case he
+	might yet hope to obtain the coveted book.</p>
+
+	<p>The package containing the Rooper winter suit
+	was heavy, and Asaph walked slowly. He did
+	not want to go to Drummondville, for he hated
+	bookkeeping, and his year of leisure and good
+	living had spoiled him for work and poor fare.
+	In this moody state he was very glad to stop and
+	have a little chat with Mrs. McJimsey, who was
+	sitting at her front window.</p>
+
+	<p>This good lady was the principal dressmaker of
+	the village; and by hard work and attention to
+	business she made a very comfortable living. She
+	was a widow, small of stature, thin of feature, very
+	neatly dressed and pleasant to look at. Asaph
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page91" title="91">&nbsp;</a>entered the little front yard, put his package on
+	the door-step, and stood under the window to talk
+	to her. Dressed in the clothes of the late Mr.
+	Himes, her visitor presented such a respectable
+	appearance that Mrs. McJimsey was not in the
+	least ashamed to have people see him standing
+	there, which she would have been a few days ago.
+	Indeed, she felt complimented that he should want
+	to stop. The conversation soon turned upon her
+	removal from her present abode.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m awfully sorry to have to go,&#8221; she said;
+	&#8220;for my time is up just in the middle of my busy
+	season, and that&#8217;s goin&#8217; to throw me back dreadfully.
+	He hasn&#8217;t done right by me, that Mr.
+	Rooper, in lettin&#8217; things go to rack and ruin in
+	this way, and me payin&#8217; his rent so regular.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s true,&#8221; said Asaph. &#8220;Thomas Rooper
+	is a hard man&#8212;a hard man, Mrs. McJimsey. I
+	can see how he would be overbearin&#8217; with a lone
+	woman like you, neither your son nor your daughter
+	bein&#8217; of age yet to take your part.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Yes, Mr. Scantle, it&#8217;s very hard.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Asaph stood for a moment looking at a little bed
+	of zinnias by the side of the door-step. &#8220;What
+	you want, Mrs. McJimsey,&#8221; said he, &#8220;is a man
+	in the house.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>In an instant Mrs. McJimsey flushed pink. It
+	was such a strange thing for a gentleman to say
+	to her.</p>
+
+	<p>Asaph saw the flush. He had not expected
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page92" title="92">&nbsp;</a>that result from his remark, but he was quick to
+	take advantage of it. &#8220;Mrs. McJimsey,&#8221; said he,
+	&#8220;you are a widow, and you are imposed upon, and
+	you need somebody to take care of you. If you
+	will put that job into my hands I will do it. I
+	am a man what works with his head, and if you
+	will let me I&#8217;ll work for you. To put it square,
+	I ask you to marry me. My sister&#8217;s goin&#8217; to be
+	married, and I&#8217;m on the pint of goin&#8217; away; for I
+	could not abear to stay in her house when strangers
+	come into it. But if you say the word, I&#8217;ll stay
+	here and be yours for ever and ever more.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Mrs. McJimsey said not a word, but her head
+	drooped and wild thoughts ran through her brain.
+	Thoughts not wild, but well trained and broken,
+	ran through Asaph&#8217;s brain. The idea of going
+	to Drummondville and spending for the journey
+	thither a dollar and seventy-five cents of the money
+	he had received from Mr. Rooper now became
+	absolutely repulsive to him.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Mrs. McJimsey,&#8221; said he, &#8220;I will say more.
+	Not only do I ask you to marry me, but I ask
+	you to do it now. The evenin&#8217; sun is settin&#8217;, the
+	evenin&#8217; birds is singin&#8217;, and it seems to me, Mrs.
+	McJimsey, that all nater pints to this softenin&#8217;
+	hour as a marryin&#8217; moment. You say your son
+	won&#8217;t be home from his work until supper-time,
+	and your daughter has gone out for a walk. Come
+	with me to Mr. Parker&#8217;s, the Methodist minister,
+	and let us join hands at the altar there. The
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page93" title="93">&nbsp;</a>gardener and his wife is always ready to stand
+	up as witnesses. And when your son and your
+	daughter comes home to supper, they can find
+	their mother here afore &#8217;em married and settled.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;But, Mr. Scantle,&#8221; exclaimed Mrs. McJimsey,
+	&#8220;it&#8217;s so suddint. What will the neighbors
+	say?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;As for bein&#8217; suddint, Mrs. McJimsey, I&#8217;ve
+	knowed you for nearly a year, and now, bein&#8217; on
+	the way to leave what&#8217;s been my happy home, I
+	couldn&#8217;t keep the truth from you no longer.
+	And as for the neighbors, they needn&#8217;t know that
+	we hain&#8217;t been engaged for months.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s so queer, so very queer,&#8221; said the little
+	dressmaker. And her face flushed again, and
+	there were tears, not at all sorrowful ones, in her
+	eyes; and her somewhat needle-pricked left hand
+	accidentally laid itself upon the window-sill in easy
+	reach of any one outside.</p>
+
+	<p>The next morning Mr. Rooper, being of a
+	practical way of thinking, turned his thoughts
+	from love and resentment to the subject of his
+	income. And he soon became convinced that it
+	would be better to keep the McJimseys in his
+	house, if it could be done without too great an
+	outlay for repairs. So he walked over to his
+	property. When he reached the house he was
+	almost stupefied to see Asaph in a chair in the
+	front yard, dressed in the new suit of clothes
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page94" title="94">&nbsp;</a>which he, Thomas Rooper, had paid for, and
+	smoking the Centennial pipe.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Good-morning, Mr. Rooper,&#8221; said Asaph, in
+	a loud and cheery voice. &#8220;I suppose you&#8217;ve come
+	to talk to Mrs. McJimsey about the work you&#8217;ve
+	got to do here to make this house fit to live in.
+	But there ain&#8217;t no Mrs. McJimsey. She&#8217;s Mrs.
+	Scantle now, and I&#8217;m your tenant. You can talk
+	to me.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Doctor Wicker came to see Mrs. Himes in the
+	afternoon of the day he had promised to come,
+	and early in the autumn they were married.
+	Since Asaph Scantle had married and settled he
+	had not seen his sister nor spoken to her; but he
+	determined that on so joyful an occasion as this
+	he would show no resentment. So he attended
+	the wedding in the village church dressed in the
+	suit of clothes which had belonged to the late
+	Mr. Himes.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div id="sister" class="story">
+	<!-- <a class="pagenum" id="page95" title="95">&nbsp;</a>"HIS WIFE'S DECEASED SISTER"
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page96" title="96">&nbsp;</a>[Blank Page] -->
+
+	<h2 class="story_title"><a class="pagenum" id="page97" title="97">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;HIS WIFE&#8217;S DECEASED SISTER&#8221;</h2>
+
+	<p class="return_toc"><a href="#contents" title="Return to Contents">ToC</a></p>
+
+	<p class="first_paragraph"><span class="first_word">It</span> is now five years since an event occurred
+	which so colored my life, or
+	rather so changed some of its original
+	colors, that I have thought it well to
+	write an account of it, deeming that its lessons
+	may be of advantage to persons whose situations
+	in life are similar to my own.</p>
+
+	<p>When I was quite a young man I adopted literature
+	as a profession; and having passed through
+	the necessary preparatory grades, I found myself,
+	after a good many years of hard and often unremunerative
+	work, in possession of what might be
+	called a fair literary practice. My articles, grave,
+	gay, practical, or fanciful, had come to be considered
+	with a favor by the editors of the various
+	periodicals for which I wrote, on which I found
+	in time I could rely with a very comfortable certainty.
+	My productions created no enthusiasm in
+	the reading public; they gave me no great reputation
+	or very valuable pecuniary return; but they
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page98" title="98">&nbsp;</a>were always accepted, and my receipts from them,
+	at the time to which I have referred, were as regular
+	and reliable as a salary, and quite sufficient to
+	give me more than a comfortable support.</p>
+
+	<p>It was at this time I married. I had been engaged
+	for more than a year, but had not been
+	willing to assume the support of a wife until I
+	felt that my pecuniary position was so assured
+	that I could do so with full satisfaction to my
+	own conscience. There was now no doubt in
+	regard to this position, either in my mind or in
+	that of my wife. I worked with great steadiness
+	and regularity; I knew exactly where to place the
+	productions of my pen, and could calculate, with
+	a fair degree of accuracy, the sums I should receive
+	for them. We were by no means rich; but
+	we had enough, and were thoroughly satisfied and
+	content.</p>
+
+	<p>Those of my readers who are married will have
+	no difficulty in remembering the peculiar ecstasy
+	of the first weeks of their wedded life. It is
+	then that the flowers of this world bloom brightest;
+	that its sun is the most genial; that its clouds
+	are the scarcest; that its fruit is the most delicious;
+	that the air is the most balmy; that its cigars are
+	of the highest flavor; that the warmth and radiance
+	of early matrimonial felicity so rarefies the
+	intellectual atmosphere that the soul mounts
+	higher, and enjoys a wider prospect, than ever
+	before.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page99" title="99">&nbsp;</a>These experiences were mine. The plain claret
+	of my mind was changed to sparkling champagne,
+	and at the very height of its effervescence I wrote
+	a story. The happy thought that then struck me
+	for a tale was of a very peculiar character; and it
+	interested me so much that I went to work at it
+	with great delight and enthusiasm, and finished
+	it in a comparatively short time. The title of the
+	story was &#8220;His Wife&#8217;s Deceased Sister&#8221;; and
+	when I read it to Hypatia she was delighted with
+	it, and at times was so affected by its pathos that
+	her uncontrollable emotion caused a sympathetic
+	dimness in my eyes, which prevented my seeing
+	the words I had written. When the reading was
+	ended, and my wife had dried her eyes, she
+	turned to me and said, &#8220;This story will make
+	your fortune. There has been nothing so pathetic
+	since Lamartine&#8217;s &#8216;History of a Servant-girl.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>As soon as possible the next day I sent my
+	story to the editor of the periodical for which I
+	wrote most frequently, and in which my best
+	productions generally appeared. In a few days I
+	had a letter from the editor, in which he praised
+	my story as he had never before praised anything
+	from my pen. It had interested and charmed, he
+	said, not only himself, but all his associates in
+	the office. Even old Gibson, who never cared
+	to read anything until it was in proof, and who
+	never praised anything which had not a joke in
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page100" title="100">&nbsp;</a>it, was induced by the example of the others to
+	read this manuscript, and shed, as he asserted,
+	the first tears that had come from his eyes since
+	his final paternal castigation some forty years before.
+	The story would appear, the editor assured
+	me, as soon as he could possibly find room for it.</p>
+
+	<p>If anything could make our skies more genial,
+	our flowers brighter, and the flavor of our fruit
+	and cigars more delicious, it was a letter like this.
+	And when, in a very short time, the story was
+	published, we found that the reading public was
+	inclined to receive it with as much sympathetic
+	interest and favor as had been shown to it by
+	the editors. My personal friends soon began to
+	express enthusiastic opinions upon it. It was
+	highly praised in many of the leading newspapers;
+	and, altogether, it was a great literary
+	success. I am not inclined to be vain of my writings,
+	and, in general, my wife tells me, think too
+	little of them; but I did feel a good deal of pride
+	and satisfaction in the success of &#8220;His Wife&#8217;s
+	Deceased Sister.&#8221; If it did not make my fortune,
+	as my wife asserted that it would, it certainly
+	would help me very much in my literary career.</p>
+
+	<p>In less than a month from the writing of this
+	story, something very unusual and unexpected
+	happened to me. A manuscript was returned by
+	the editor of the periodical in which &#8220;His Wife&#8217;s
+	Deceased Sister&#8221; had appeared. &#8220;It is a good
+	story,&#8221; he wrote, &#8220;but not equal to what you
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page101" title="101">&nbsp;</a>have just done. You have made a great hit;
+	and it would not do to interfere with the reputation
+	you have gained by publishing anything inferior
+	to &#8216;His Wife&#8217;s Deceased Sister,&#8217; which has
+	had such a deserved success.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I was so unaccustomed to having my work
+	thrown back on my hands that I think I must
+	have turned a little pale when I read the letter. I
+	said nothing of the matter to my wife, for it would
+	be foolish to drop such grains of sand as this into
+	the smoothly oiled machinery of our domestic
+	felicity; but I immediately sent the story to another
+	editor. I am not able to express the astonishment
+	I felt when, in the course of a week,
+	it was sent back to me. The tone of the note accompanying
+	it indicated a somewhat injured feeling
+	on the part of the editor. &#8220;I am reluctant,&#8221;
+	he said, &#8220;to decline a manuscript from you; but
+	you know very well that if you sent me anything
+	like &#8216;His Wife&#8217;s Deceased Sister&#8217; it would be
+	most promptly accepted.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I now felt obliged to speak of the affair to my
+	wife, who was quite as much surprised, though,
+	perhaps, not quite as much shocked, as I had
+	been.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Let us read the story again,&#8221; she said, &#8220;and
+	see what is the matter with it.&#8221; When we had
+	finished its perusal, Hypatia remarked, &#8220;It is
+	quite as good as many of the stories you have
+	had printed, and I think it very interesting; although,
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page102" title="102">&nbsp;</a>of course, it is not equal to &#8216;His Wife&#8217;s
+	Deceased Sister.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Of course not,&#8221; said I; &#8220;that was an inspiration
+	that I cannot expect every day. But there
+	must be something wrong about this last story
+	which we do not perceive. Perhaps my recent
+	success may have made me a little careless in
+	writing it.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t believe that,&#8221; said Hypatia.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;At any rate,&#8221; I continued, &#8220;I will lay it
+	aside, and will go to work on a new one.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>In due course of time I had another manuscript
+	finished, and I sent it to my favorite periodical.
+	It was retained some weeks, and then came back
+	to me. &#8220;It will never do,&#8221; the editor wrote,
+	quite warmly, &#8220;for you to go backward. The
+	demand for the number containing &#8216;His Wife&#8217;s
+	Deceased Sister&#8217; still continues, and we do not
+	intend to let you disappoint that great body of
+	readers who would be so eager to see another
+	number containing one of your stories.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I sent this manuscript to four other periodicals,
+	and from each of them was it returned with
+	remarks to the effect that, although it was not a
+	bad story in itself, it was not what they would expect
+	from the author of &#8220;His Wife&#8217;s Deceased
+	Sister.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The editor of a Western magazine wrote to me
+	for a story to be published in a special number
+	which he would issue for the holidays. I wrote
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page103" title="103">&nbsp;</a>him one of the character and length he asked for,
+	and sent it to him. By return mail it came back
+	to me. &#8220;I had hoped,&#8221; the editor wrote, &#8220;when I
+	asked for a story from your pen, to receive something
+	like &#8216;His Wife&#8217;s Deceased Sister,&#8217; and I
+	must own that I am very much disappointed.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I was so filled with anger when I read this
+	note that I openly objurgated &#8220;His Wife&#8217;s Deceased
+	Sister.&#8221; &#8220;You must excuse me,&#8221; I said
+	to my astonished wife, &#8220;for expressing myself
+	thus in your presence; but that confounded story
+	will be the ruin of me yet. Until it is forgotten
+	nobody will ever take anything I write.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;And you cannot expect it ever to be forgotten,&#8221;
+	said Hypatia, with tears in her eyes.</p>
+
+	<p>It is needless for me to detail my literary efforts
+	in the course of the next few months. The ideas
+	of the editors with whom my principal business
+	had been done, in regard to my literary ability,
+	had been so raised by my unfortunate story of
+	&#8220;His Wife&#8217;s Deceased Sister&#8221; that I found it was
+	of no use to send them anything of lesser merit.
+	And as to the other journals which I tried, they
+	evidently considered it an insult for me to send
+	them matter inferior to that by which my reputation
+	had lately risen. The fact was that my successful
+	story had ruined me. My income was at
+	end, and want actually stared me in the face;
+	and I must admit that I did not like the expression
+	of its countenance. It was of no use for me
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page104" title="104">&nbsp;</a>to try to write another story like &#8220;His Wife&#8217;s
+	Deceased Sister.&#8221; I could not get married every
+	time I began a new manuscript, and it was the
+	exaltation of mind caused by my wedded felicity
+	which produced that story.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s perfectly dreadful!&#8221; said my wife. &#8220;If
+	I had had a sister, and she had died, I would have
+	thought it was my fault.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;It could not be your fault,&#8221; I answered, &#8220;and
+	I do not think it was mine. I had no intention of
+	deceiving anybody into the belief that I could do
+	that sort of thing every time, and it ought not to
+	be expected of me. Suppose Raphael&#8217;s patrons
+	had tried to keep him screwed up to the pitch of
+	the Sistine Madonna, and had refused to buy anything
+	which was not as good as that. In that case
+	I think he would have occupied a much earlier and
+	narrower grave than that on which Mr. Morris
+	Moore hangs his funeral decorations.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;But, my dear,&#8221; said Hypatia, who was posted
+	on such subjects, &#8220;the Sistine Madonna was one
+	of his latest paintings.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Very true,&#8221; said I; &#8220;but if he had married,
+	as I did, he would have painted it earlier.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I was walking homeward one afternoon about
+	this time, when I met Barbel&#8212;a man I had
+	known well in my early literary career. He was
+	now about fifty years of age, but looked older.
+	His hair and beard were quite gray; and his
+	clothes, which were of the same general hue,
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page105" title="105">&nbsp;</a>gave me the idea that they, like his hair, had
+	originally been black. Age is very hard on a
+	man&#8217;s external appointments. Barbel had an air
+	of having been to let for a long time, and quite
+	out of repair. But there was a kindly gleam in
+	his eye, and he welcomed me cordially.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Why, what is the matter, old fellow?&#8221; said
+	he. &#8220;I never saw you look so woebegone.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I had no reason to conceal anything from Barbel.
+	In my younger days he had been of great
+	use to me, and he had a right to know the state
+	of my affairs. I laid the whole case plainly
+	before him.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Look here,&#8221; he said, when I had finished,
+	&#8220;come with me to my room: I have something I
+	would like to say to you there.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I followed Barbel to his room. It was at the
+	top of a very dirty and well-worn house which
+	stood in a narrow and lumpy street, into which
+	few vehicles ever penetrated, except the ash and
+	garbage carts, and the rickety wagons of the
+	venders of stale vegetables.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;This is not exactly a fashionable promenade,&#8221;
+	said Barbel, as we approached the house; &#8220;but
+	in some respects it reminds me of the streets in
+	Italian towns, where the palaces lean over toward
+	each other in such a friendly way.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Barbel&#8217;s room was, to my mind, rather more
+	doleful than the street. It was dark, it was
+	dusty, and cobwebs hung from every corner.
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page106" title="106">&nbsp;</a>The few chairs upon the floor and the books
+	upon a greasy table seemed to be afflicted with
+	some dorsal epidemic, for their backs were either
+	gone or broken. A little bedstead in the corner
+	was covered with a spread made of New York
+	<cite>Heralds</cite>, with their edges pasted together.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;There is nothing better,&#8221; said Barbel, noticing
+	my glance toward this novel counterpane, &#8220;for
+	a bed-covering than newspapers: they keep you as
+	warm as a blanket, and are much lighter. I used
+	to use <cite>Tribunes</cite>, but they rattled too much.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The only part of the room which was well
+	lighted was at one end near the solitary window.
+	Here, upon a table with a spliced leg, stood a
+	little grindstone.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;At the other end of the room,&#8221; said Barbel,
+	&#8220;is my cook-stove, which you can&#8217;t see unless I
+	light the candle in the bottle which stands by it;
+	but if you don&#8217;t care particularly to examine it, I
+	won&#8217;t go to the expense of lighting up. You
+	might pick up a good many odd pieces of bric-à-brac
+	around here, if you chose to strike a match
+	and investigate; but I would not advise you to do
+	so. It would pay better to throw the things out
+	of the window than to carry them downstairs.
+	The particular piece of indoor decoration to which
+	I wish to call your attention is this.&#8221; And he led
+	me to a little wooden frame which hung against
+	the wall near the window. Behind a dusty piece
+	of glass it held what appeared to be a leaf from a
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page107" title="107">&nbsp;</a>small magazine or journal. &#8220;There,&#8221; said he,
+	&#8220;you see a page from the <cite>Grasshopper</cite>, a humorous
+	paper which flourished in this city some half-dozen
+	years ago. I used to write regularly for
+	that paper, as you may remember.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh yes, indeed!&#8221; I exclaimed. &#8220;And I
+	shall never forget your &#8216;Conundrum of the Anvil&#8217;
+	which appeared in it. How often have I laughed
+	at that most wonderful conceit, and how often
+	have I put it to my friends!&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Barbel gazed at me silently for a moment, and
+	then he pointed to the frame. &#8220;That printed
+	page,&#8221; he said, solemnly, &#8220;contains the &#8216;Conundrum
+	of the Anvil.&#8217; I hang it there so that I can
+	see it while I work. That conundrum ruined me.
+	It was the last thing I wrote for the <cite>Grasshopper</cite>.
+	How I ever came to imagine it I cannot tell. It
+	is one of those things which occur to a man but
+	once in a lifetime. After the wild shout of delight
+	with which the public greeted that conundrum,
+	my subsequent efforts met with hoots of derision.
+	The <cite>Grasshopper</cite> turned its hind legs upon me. I
+	sank from bad to worse&#8212;much worse&#8212;until at
+	last I found myself reduced to my present occupation,
+	which is that of grinding points to pins.
+	By this I procure my bread, coffee, and tobacco,
+	and sometimes potatoes and meat. One day
+	while I was hard at work an organ-grinder came
+	into the street below. He played the serenade
+	from &#8220;Trovatore&#8221;; and the familiar notes brought
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page108" title="108">&nbsp;</a>back visions of old days and old delights, when
+	the successful writer wore good clothes and sat at
+	operas, when he looked into sweet eyes and talked
+	of Italian airs, when his future appeared all a succession
+	of bright scenery and joyous acts, without
+	any provision for a drop-curtain. And as my ear
+	listened, and my mind wandered in this happy
+	retrospect, my every faculty seemed exalted, and,
+	without any thought upon the matter, I ground
+	points upon my pins so fine, so regular and
+	smooth, that they would have pierced with ease
+	the leather of a boot, or slipped among, without
+	abrasion, the finest threads of rare old lace.
+	When the organ stopped, and I fell back into my
+	real world of cobwebs and mustiness, I gazed
+	upon the pins I had just ground, and, without a
+	moment&#8217;s hesitation, I threw them into the street,
+	and reported the lot as spoiled. This cost me a
+	little money, but it saved me my livelihood.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>After a few moments of silence, Barbel resumed:</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I have no more to say to you, my young friend.
+	All I want you to do is to look upon that framed
+	conundrum, then upon this grindstone, and then
+	to go home and reflect. As for me, I have a gross
+	of pins to grind before the sun goes down.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I cannot say that my depression of mind was at
+	all relieved by what I had seen and heard. I had
+	lost sight of Barbel for some years, and I had
+	supposed him still floating on the sun-sparkling
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page109" title="109">&nbsp;</a>stream of prosperity where I had last seen him.
+	It was a great shock to me to find him in such a
+	condition of poverty and squalor, and to see a
+	man who had originated the &#8220;Conundrum of the
+	Anvil&#8221; reduced to the soul-depressing occupation
+	of grinding pin-points. As I walked and thought,
+	the dreadful picture of a totally eclipsed future
+	arose before my mind. The moral of Barbel sank
+	deep into my heart.</p>
+
+	<p>When I reached home I told my wife the story
+	of my friend Barbel. She listened with a sad and
+	eager interest.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I am afraid,&#8221; she said, &#8220;if our fortunes do
+	not quickly mend, that we shall have to buy two
+	little grindstones. You know I could help you
+	at that sort of thing.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>For a long time we sat together and talked,
+	and devised many plans for the future. I did
+	not think it necessary yet for me to look out for
+	a pin-contract; but I must find some way of making
+	money, or we should starve to death. Of
+	course the first thing that suggested itself was
+	the possibility of finding some other business;
+	but, apart from the difficulty of immediately obtaining
+	remunerative work in occupations to which
+	I had not been trained, I felt a great and natural
+	reluctance to give up a profession for which I
+	had carefully prepared myself, and which I had
+	adopted as my life-work. It would be very
+	hard for me to lay down my pen forever, and to
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page110" title="110">&nbsp;</a>close the top of my inkstand upon all the bright
+	and happy fancies which I had seen mirrored in
+	its tranquil pool. We talked and pondered the
+	rest of that day and a good deal of the night, but
+	we came to no conclusion as to what it would be
+	best for us to do.</p>
+
+	<p>The next day I determined to go and call upon
+	the editor of the journal for which, in happier
+	days, before the blight of &#8220;His Wife&#8217;s Deceased
+	Sister&#8221; rested upon me, I used most frequently
+	to write, and, having frankly explained my condition
+	to him, to ask his advice. The editor was
+	a good man, and had always been my friend.
+	He listened with great attention to what I told
+	him, and evidently sympathized with me in my
+	trouble.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;As we have written to you,&#8221; he said, &#8220;the
+	only reason why we did not accept the manuscripts
+	you sent us was that they would have
+	disappointed the high hopes that the public had
+	formed in regard to you. We have had letter
+	after letter asking when we were going to publish
+	another story like &#8216;His Wife&#8217;s Deceased Sister.&#8217;
+	We felt, and we still feel, that it would be wrong
+	to allow you to destroy the fair fabric which yourself
+	has raised. But,&#8221; he added, with a kind
+	smile, &#8220;I see very plainly that your well-deserved
+	reputation will be of little advantage to
+	you if you should starve at the moment that its
+	genial beams are, so to speak, lighting you up.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page111" title="111">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;Its beams are not genial,&#8221; I answered.
+	&#8220;They have scorched and withered me.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;How would you like,&#8221; said the editor, after
+	a short reflection, &#8220;to allow us to publish the
+	stories you have recently written under some other
+	name than your own? That would satisfy us and
+	the public, would put money in your pocket, and
+	would not interfere with your reputation.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Joyfully I seized that noble fellow by the hand,
+	and instantly accepted his proposition. &#8220;Of
+	course,&#8221; said I, &#8220;a reputation is a very good
+	thing; but no reputation can take the place of
+	food, clothes, and a house to live in; and I
+	gladly agree to sink my over-illumined name
+	into oblivion, and to appear before the public as
+	a new and unknown writer.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I hope that need not be for long,&#8221; he said,
+	&#8220;for I feel sure that you will yet write stories as
+	good as &#8216;His Wife&#8217;s Deceased Sister.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>All the manuscripts I had on hand I now sent
+	to my good friend the editor, and in due and
+	proper order they appeared in his journal under
+	the name of John Darmstadt, which I had selected
+	as a substitute for my own, permanently
+	disabled. I made a similar arrangement with
+	other editors, and John Darmstadt received the
+	credit of everything that proceeded from my pen.
+	Our circumstances now became very comfortable,
+	and occasionally we even allowed ourselves to
+	indulge in little dreams of prosperity.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page112" title="112">&nbsp;</a>Time passed on very pleasantly; one year, another,
+	and then a little son was born to us. It is
+	often difficult, I believe, for thoughtful persons
+	to decide whether the beginning of their conjugal
+	career, or the earliest weeks in the life of their
+	first-born, be the happiest and proudest period of
+	their existence. For myself I can only say that
+	the same exaltation of mind, the same rarefication
+	of idea and invention, which succeeded upon my
+	wedding-day came upon me now. As then, my
+	ecstatic emotions crystallized themselves into a
+	motive for a story, and without delay I set myself
+	to work upon it. My boy was about six weeks
+	old when the manuscript was finished; and one
+	evening, as we sat before a comfortable fire in
+	our sitting-room, with the curtains drawn, and
+	the soft lamp lighted, and the baby sleeping
+	soundly in the adjoining chamber, I read the
+	story to my wife.</p>
+
+	<p>When I had finished, my wife arose and threw
+	herself into my arms. &#8220;I was never so proud
+	of you,&#8221; she said, her glad eyes sparkling, &#8220;as
+	I am at this moment. That is a wonderful story!
+	It is&#8212;indeed I am sure it is&#8212;just as good as
+	&#8216;His Wife&#8217;s Deceased Sister.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>As she spoke these words a sudden and chilling
+	sensation crept over us both. All her warmth and
+	fervor, and the proud and happy glow engendered
+	within me by this praise and appreciation from
+	one I loved, vanished in an instant. We stepped
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page113" title="113">&nbsp;</a>apart, and gazed upon each other with pallid
+	faces. In the same moment the terrible truth
+	had flashed upon us both.</p>
+
+	<p>This story <em>was</em> as good as &#8220;His Wife&#8217;s Deceased
+	Sister&#8221;!</p>
+
+	<p>We stood silent. The exceptional lot of Barbel&#8217;s
+	superpointed pins seemed to pierce our very
+	souls. A dreadful vision rose before me of an
+	impending fall and crash, in which our domestic
+	happiness should vanish, and our prospects for
+	our boy be wrecked, just as we had begun to
+	build them up.</p>
+
+	<p>My wife approached me and took my hand in
+	hers, which was as cold as ice. &#8220;Be strong and
+	firm,&#8221; she said. &#8220;A great danger threatens us,
+	but you must brace yourself against it. Be
+	strong and firm.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I pressed her hand, and we said no more that
+	night.</p>
+
+	<p>The next day I took the manuscript I had just
+	written, and carefully infolded it in stout wrapping-paper.
+	Then I went to a neighboring
+	grocery-store and bought a small, strong tin
+	box, originally intended for biscuit, with a cover
+	that fitted tightly. In this I placed my manuscript;
+	and then I took the box to a tinsmith and
+	had the top fastened on with hard solder. When
+	I went home I ascended into the garret, and
+	brought down to my study a ship&#8217;s cash-box,
+	which had once belonged to one of my family
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page114" title="114">&nbsp;</a>who was a sea-captain. This box was very
+	heavy, and firmly bound with iron, and was secured
+	by two massive locks. Calling my wife, I
+	told her of the contents of the tin case, which I
+	then placed in the box, and, having shut down
+	the heavy lid, I doubly locked it.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;This key,&#8221; said I, putting it in my pocket,
+	&#8220;I shall throw into the river when I go out this
+	afternoon.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>My wife watched me eagerly, with a pallid and
+	firm, set countenance, but upon which I could see
+	the faint glimmer of returning happiness.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Wouldn&#8217;t it be well,&#8221; she said, &#8220;to secure it
+	still further by sealing-wax and pieces of tape?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; said I. &#8220;I do not believe that any one
+	will attempt to tamper with our prosperity. And
+	now, my dear,&#8221; I continued, in an impressive
+	voice, &#8220;no one but you, and, in the course of
+	time, our son, shall know that this manuscript
+	exists. When I am dead, those who survive me
+	may, if they see fit, cause this box to be split
+	open and the story published. The reputation it
+	may give my name cannot harm me then.&#8221;</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div id="tiger" class="story">
+	<!-- <a class="pagenum" id="page115" title="115">&nbsp;</a>THE LADY, OR THE TIGER?
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page116" title="116">&nbsp;</a>[Blank Page] -->
+
+	<h2 class="story_title"><a class="pagenum" id="page117" title="117">&nbsp;</a>THE LADY, OR THE TIGER?</h2>
+
+	<p class="return_toc"><a href="#contents" title="Return to Contents">ToC</a></p>
+
+	<p class="first_paragraph"><span class="first_word">In</span> the very olden time there lived a semi-barbaric
+	king, whose ideas, though
+	somewhat polished and sharpened by
+	the progressiveness of distant Latin
+	neighbors, were still large, florid, and untrammelled,
+	as became the half of him which was
+	barbaric. He was a man of exuberant fancy,
+	and, withal, of an authority so irresistible that,
+	at his will, he turned his varied fancies into facts.
+	He was greatly given to self-communing; and
+	when he and himself agreed upon anything, the
+	thing was done. When every member of his
+	domestic and political systems moved smoothly
+	in its appointed course, his nature was bland and
+	genial; but whenever there was a little hitch,
+	and some of his orbs got out of their orbits, he
+	was blander and more genial still, for nothing
+	pleased him so much as to make the crooked
+	straight, and crush down uneven places.</p>
+
+	<p>Among the borrowed notions by which his barbarism
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page118" title="118">&nbsp;</a>had become semified was that of the public
+	arena, in which, by exhibitions of manly and
+	beastly valor, the minds of his subjects were refined
+	and cultured.</p>
+
+	<p>But even here the exuberant and barbaric fancy
+	asserted itself. The arena of the king was built
+	not to give the people an opportunity of hearing
+	the rhapsodies of dying gladiators, nor to enable
+	them to view the inevitable conclusion of a conflict
+	between religious opinions and hungry jaws,
+	but for purposes far better adapted to widen and
+	develop the mental energies of the people. This
+	vast amphitheatre, with its encircling galleries,
+	its mysterious vaults, and its unseen passages,
+	was an agent of poetic justice, in which crime
+	was punished, or virtue rewarded, by the decrees
+	of an impartial and incorruptible chance.</p>
+
+	<p>When a subject was accused of a crime of sufficient
+	importance to interest the king, public notice
+	was given that on an appointed day the fate of the
+	accused person would be decided in the king&#8217;s
+	arena&#8212;a structure which well deserved its name;
+	for, although its form and plan were borrowed
+	from afar, its purpose emanated solely from the
+	brain of this man, who, every barleycorn a king,
+	knew no tradition to which he owed more allegiance
+	than pleased his fancy, and who ingrafted
+	on every adopted form of human thought and
+	action the rich growth of his barbaric idealism.</p>
+
+	<p>When all the people had assembled in the galleries,
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page119" title="119">&nbsp;</a>and the king, surrounded by his court, sat
+	high up on his throne of royal state on one side
+	of the arena, he gave a signal, a door beneath
+	him opened, and the accused subject stepped out
+	into the amphitheatre. Directly opposite him,
+	on the other side of the enclosed space, were two
+	doors, exactly alike and side by side. It was
+	the duty and the privilege of the person on trial
+	to walk directly to these doors and open one of
+	them. He could open either door he pleased: he
+	was subject to no guidance or influence but that
+	of the afore-mentioned impartial and incorruptible
+	chance. If he opened the one, there came out of
+	it a hungry tiger, the fiercest and most cruel that
+	could be procured, which immediately sprang
+	upon him and tore him to pieces, as a punishment
+	for his guilt. The moment that the case of
+	the criminal was thus decided, doleful iron bells
+	were clanged, great wails went up from the hired
+	mourners posted on the outer rim of the arena,
+	and the vast audience, with bowed heads and
+	downcast hearts, wended slowly their homeward
+	way, mourning greatly that one so young and
+	fair, or so old and respected, should have merited
+	so dire a fate.</p>
+
+	<p>But if the accused person opened the other
+	door, there came forth from it a lady, the most
+	suitable to his years and station that his Majesty
+	could select among his fair subjects; and to this
+	lady he was immediately married, as a reward of
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page120" title="120">&nbsp;</a>his innocence. It mattered not that he might already
+	possess a wife and family, or that his affections
+	might be engaged upon an object of his own
+	selection: the king allowed no such subordinate
+	arrangements to interfere with his great scheme
+	of retribution and reward. The exercises, as in
+	the other instance, took place immediately, and
+	in the arena. Another door opened beneath the
+	king, and a priest, followed by a band of choristers,
+	and dancing maidens blowing joyous airs on
+	golden horns and treading an epithalamic measure,
+	advanced to where the pair stood side by side; and
+	the wedding was promptly and cheerily solemnized.
+	Then the gay brass bells rang forth their
+	merry peals, the people shouted glad hurrahs, and
+	the innocent man, preceded by children strewing
+	flowers on his path, led his bride to his home.</p>
+
+	<p>This was the king&#8217;s semibarbaric method of administering
+	justice. Its perfect fairness is obvious.
+	The criminal could not know out of
+	which door would come the lady: he opened
+	either he pleased, without having the slightest
+	idea whether, in the next instant, he was to be
+	devoured or married. On some occasions the
+	tiger came out of one door, and on some out of
+	the other. The decisions of this tribunal were
+	not only fair, they were positively determinate:
+	the accused person was instantly punished if he
+	found himself guilty; and if innocent, he was
+	rewarded on the spot, whether he liked it or not.
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page121" title="121">&nbsp;</a>There was no escape from the judgments of the
+	king&#8217;s arena.</p>
+
+	<p>The institution was a very popular one. When
+	the people gathered together on one of the great
+	trial-days, they never knew whether they were to
+	witness a bloody slaughter or a hilarious wedding.
+	This element of uncertainty lent an interest to
+	the occasion which it could not otherwise have
+	attained. Thus the masses were entertained and
+	pleased, and the thinking part of the community
+	could bring no charge of unfairness against this
+	plan; for did not the accused person have the
+	whole matter in his own hands?</p>
+
+	<p>This semibarbaric king had a daughter as
+	blooming as his most florid fancies, and with a
+	soul as fervent and imperious as his own. As is
+	usual in such cases, she was the apple of his eye,
+	and was loved by him above all humanity. Among
+	his courtiers was a young man of that fineness
+	of blood and lowness of station common to the
+	conventional heroes of romance who love royal
+	maidens. This royal maiden was well satisfied
+	with her lover, for he was handsome and brave
+	to a degree unsurpassed in all this kingdom; and
+	she loved him with an ardor that had enough of
+	barbarism in it to make it exceedingly warm and
+	strong. This love-affair moved on happily for
+	many months, until one day the king happened
+	to discover its existence. He did not hesitate
+	nor waver in regard to his duty in the premises.
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page122" title="122">&nbsp;</a>The youth was immediately cast into prison, and
+	a day was appointed for his trial in the king&#8217;s
+	arena. This, of course, was an especially important
+	occasion; and his Majesty, as well as all
+	the people, was greatly interested in the workings
+	and development of this trial. Never before had
+	such a case occurred; never before had a subject
+	dared to love the daughter of a king. In after-years
+	such things became commonplace enough;
+	but then they were, in no slight degree, novel
+	and startling.</p>
+
+	<p>The tiger-cages of the kingdom were searched
+	for the most savage and relentless beasts, from
+	which the fiercest monster might be selected for
+	the arena; and the ranks of maiden youth and
+	beauty throughout the land were carefully surveyed
+	by competent judges, in order that the
+	young man might have a fitting bride in case fate
+	did not determine for him a different destiny. Of
+	course everybody knew that the deed with which
+	the accused was charged had been done. He had
+	loved the princess, and neither he, she, nor any
+	one else thought of denying the fact; but the king
+	would not think of allowing any fact of this kind
+	to interfere with the workings of the tribunal, in
+	which he took such great delight and satisfaction.
+	No matter how the affair turned out, the youth
+	would be disposed of; and the king would take
+	an æsthetic pleasure in watching the course of
+	events, which would determine whether or not
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page123" title="123">&nbsp;</a>the young man had done wrong in allowing himself
+	to love the princess.</p>
+
+	<p>The appointed day arrived. From far and
+	near the people gathered, and thronged the great
+	galleries of the arena; and crowds, unable to gain
+	admittance, massed themselves against its outside
+	walls. The king and his court were in their
+	places, opposite the twin doors&#8212;those fateful
+	portals, so terrible in their similarity.</p>
+
+	<p>All was ready. The signal was given. A door
+	beneath the royal party opened, and the lover of
+	the princess walked into the arena. Tall, beautiful,
+	fair, his appearance was greeted with a low
+	hum of admiration and anxiety. Half the audience
+	had not known so grand a youth had lived
+	among them. No wonder the princess loved him!
+	What a terrible thing for him to be there!</p>
+
+	<p>As the youth advanced into the arena, he turned,
+	as the custom was, to bow to the king: but he did
+	not think at all of that royal personage; his eyes
+	were fixed upon the princess, who sat to the right
+	of her father. Had it not been for the moiety of
+	barbarism in her nature it is probable that lady
+	would not have been there; but her intense and
+	fervid soul would not allow her to be absent on an
+	occasion in which she was so terribly interested.
+	From the moment that the decree had gone forth
+	that her lover should decide his fate in the king&#8217;s
+	arena, she had thought of nothing, night or day,
+	but this great event and the various subjects connected
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page124" title="124">&nbsp;</a>with it. Possessed of more power, influence,
+	and force of character than any one who had
+	ever before been interested in such a case, she had
+	done what no other person had done&#8212;she had
+	possessed herself of the secret of the doors. She
+	knew in which of the two rooms that lay behind
+	those doors stood the cage of the tiger, with its
+	open front, and in which waited the lady. Through
+	these thick doors, heavily curtained with skins on
+	the inside, it was impossible that any noise or
+	suggestion should come from within to the person
+	who should approach to raise the latch
+	of one of them; but gold, and the power of a
+	woman&#8217;s will, had brought the secret to the
+	princess.</p>
+
+	<p>And not only did she know in which room stood
+	the lady ready to emerge, all blushing and radiant,
+	should her door be opened, but she knew who the
+	lady was. It was one of the fairest and loveliest
+	of the damsels of the court who had been selected
+	as the reward of the accused youth, should he be
+	proved innocent of the crime of aspiring to one so
+	far above him; and the princess hated her. Often
+	had she seen, or imagined that she had seen, this
+	fair creature throwing glances of admiration upon
+	the person of her lover, and sometimes she thought
+	these glances were perceived and even returned.
+	Now and then she had seen them talking together;
+	it was but for a moment or two, but much can be
+	said in a brief space; it may have been on most
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page125" title="125">&nbsp;</a>unimportant topics, but how could she know that?
+	The girl was lovely, but she had dared to raise
+	her eyes to the loved one of the princess; and,
+	with all the intensity of the savage blood transmitted
+	to her through long lines of wholly barbaric
+	ancestors, she hated the woman who blushed and
+	trembled behind that silent door.</p>
+
+	<p>When her lover turned and looked at her, and
+	his eye met hers as she sat there paler and whiter
+	than any one in the vast ocean of anxious faces
+	about her, he saw, by that power of quick perception
+	which is given to those whose souls are one,
+	that she knew behind which door crouched the
+	tiger, and behind which stood the lady. He had
+	expected her to know it. He understood her nature,
+	and his soul was assured that she would never
+	rest until she had made plain to herself this thing,
+	hidden to all other lookers-on, even to the king.
+	The only hope for the youth in which there was
+	any element of certainty was based upon the success
+	of the princess in discovering this mystery;
+	and the moment he looked upon her, he saw she
+	had succeeded, as in his soul he knew she would
+	succeed.</p>
+
+	<p>Then it was that his quick and anxious glance
+	asked the question, &#8220;Which?&#8221; It was as plain
+	to her as if he shouted it from where he stood.
+	There was not an instant to be lost. The question
+	was asked in a flash; it must be answered in
+	another.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page126" title="126">&nbsp;</a>Her right arm lay on the cushioned parapet before
+	her. She raised her hand, and made a slight,
+	quick movement toward the right. No one but
+	her lover saw her. Every eye but his was fixed
+	on the man in the arena.</p>
+
+	<p>He turned, and with a firm and rapid step he
+	walked across the empty space. Every heart
+	stopped beating, every breath was held, every
+	eye was fixed immovably upon that man. Without
+	the slightest hesitation, he went to the door
+	on the right, and opened it.</p>
+
+	<hr class="thoughtbreak" />
+
+	<p class="post_thoughtbreak">Now, the point of the story is this: Did the
+	tiger come out of that door, or did the lady?</p>
+
+	<p>The more we reflect upon this question the
+	harder it is to answer. It involves a study of
+	the human heart which leads us through devious
+	mazes of passion, out of which it is difficult to
+	find our way. Think of it, fair reader, not as if
+	the decision of the question depended upon yourself,
+	but upon that hot-blooded, semibarbaric princess,
+	her soul at a white heat beneath the combined
+	fires of despair and jealousy. She had lost him,
+	but who should have him?</p>
+
+	<p>How often, in her waking hours and in her
+	dreams, had she started in wild horror and covered
+	her face with her hands as she thought of
+	her lover opening the door on the other side of
+	which waited the cruel fangs of the tiger!</p>
+
+	<p>But how much oftener had she seen him at the
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page127" title="127">&nbsp;</a>other door! How in her grievous reveries had
+	she gnashed her teeth and torn her hair when she
+	saw his start of rapturous delight as he opened the
+	door of the lady! How her soul had burned in
+	agony when she had seen him rush to meet that
+	woman, with her flushing cheek and sparkling
+	eye of triumph; when she had seen him lead her
+	forth, his whole frame kindled with the joy of recovered
+	life; when she had heard the glad shouts
+	from the multitude, and the wild ringing of the
+	happy bells; when she had seen the priest, with
+	his joyous followers, advance to the couple, and
+	make them man and wife before her very eyes;
+	and when she had seen them walk away together
+	upon their path of flowers, followed by the tremendous
+	shouts of the hilarious multitude, in
+	which her one despairing shriek was lost and
+	drowned!</p>
+
+	<p>Would it not be better for him to die at once,
+	and go to wait for her in the blessed regions of
+	semibarbaric futurity?</p>
+
+	<p>And yet, that awful tiger, those shrieks, that
+	blood!</p>
+
+	<p>Her decision had been indicated in an instant,
+	but it had been made after days and nights of
+	anguished deliberation. She had known she
+	would be asked, she had decided what she would
+	answer, and, without the slightest hesitation, she
+	had moved her hand to the right.</p>
+
+	<p>The question of her decision is one not to be
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page128" title="128">&nbsp;</a>lightly considered, and it is not for me to presume
+	to set myself up as the one person able to answer
+	it. And so I leave it with all of you: Which
+	came out of the opened door&#8212;the lady, or the
+	tiger?</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div id="wreck" class="story">
+	<!-- <a class="pagenum" id="page129" title="129">&nbsp;</a>THE REMARKABLE WRECK OF THE "THOMAS HYKE"
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page130" title="130">&nbsp;</a>[Blank Page] -->
+
+	<h2 class="story_titel"><a class="pagenum" id="page131" title="131">&nbsp;</a>THE REMARKABLE WRECK OF THE &#8220;THOMAS HYKE&#8221;</h2>
+
+	<p class="return_toc"><a href="#contents" title="Return to Contents">ToC</a></p>
+
+	<p class="first_paragraph"><span class="first_word">It</span> was half-past one by the clock in the
+	office of the Registrar of Woes. The
+	room was empty, for it was Wednesday,
+	and the Registrar always went
+	home early on Wednesday afternoons. He had
+	made that arrangement when he accepted the
+	office. He was willing to serve his fellow-citizens
+	in any suitable position to which he
+	might be called, but he had private interests
+	which could not be neglected. He belonged to
+	his country, but there was a house in the country
+	which belonged to him; and there were a great
+	many things appertaining to that house which
+	needed attention, especially in pleasant summer
+	weather. It is true he was often absent on afternoons
+	which did not fall on the Wednesday, but
+	the fact of his having appointed a particular time
+	for the furtherance of his outside interests so emphasized
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page132" title="132">&nbsp;</a>their importance that his associates in
+	the office had no difficulty in understanding that
+	affairs of such moment could not always be attended
+	to in a single afternoon of the week.</p>
+
+	<p>But although the large room devoted to the
+	especial use of the Registrar was unoccupied,
+	there were other rooms connected with it which
+	were not in that condition. With the suite of
+	offices to the left we have nothing to do, but will
+	confine our attention to a moderate-sized room to
+	the right of the Registrar&#8217;s office, and connected
+	by a door, now closed, with that large and handsomely
+	furnished chamber. This was the office
+	of the Clerk of Shipwrecks, and it was at present
+	occupied by five persons. One of these was the
+	clerk himself, a man of goodly appearance, somewhere
+	between twenty-five and forty-five years of
+	age, and of a demeanor such as might be supposed
+	to belong to one who had occupied a high position
+	in state affairs, but who, by the cabals of his
+	enemies, had been forced to resign the great operations
+	of statesmanship which he had been directing,
+	and who now stood, with a quite resigned air,
+	pointing out to the populace the futile and disastrous
+	efforts of the incompetent one who was
+	endeavoring to fill his place. The Clerk of Shipwrecks
+	had never fallen from such a position,
+	having never occupied one, but he had acquired
+	the demeanor referred to without going through
+	the preliminary exercises.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page133" title="133">&nbsp;</a>Another occupant was a very young man, the
+	personal clerk of the Registrar of Woes, who
+	always closed all the doors of the office of that
+	functionary on Wednesday afternoons, and at
+	other times when outside interests demanded his
+	principal&#8217;s absence, after which he betook himself
+	to the room of his friend the Shipwreck Clerk.</p>
+
+	<p>Then there was a middle-aged man named
+	Mathers, also a friend of the clerk, and who was
+	one of the eight who had made application for a
+	subposition in this department, which was now
+	filled by a man who was expected to resign when
+	a friend of his, a gentleman of influence in an interior
+	county, should succeed in procuring the
+	nomination as congressional Representative of his
+	district of an influential politician, whose election
+	was considered assured in case certain expected
+	action on the part of the administration should
+	bring his party into power. The person now occupying
+	the subposition hoped then to get something
+	better, and Mathers, consequently, was
+	very willing, while waiting for the place, to visit
+	the offices of the department and acquaint himself
+	with its duties.</p>
+
+	<p>A fourth person was J. George Watts, a juryman
+	by profession, who had brought with him
+	his brother-in-law, a stranger in the city.</p>
+
+	<p>The Shipwreck Clerk had taken off his good
+	coat, which he had worn to luncheon, and had
+	replaced it by a lighter garment of linen, much
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page134" title="134">&nbsp;</a>bespattered with ink; and he now produced a
+	cigar-box, containing six cigars.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Gents,&#8221; said he, &#8220;here is the fag end of a
+	box of cigars. It&#8217;s not like having the pick of a
+	box, but they are all I have left.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Mr. Mathers, J. George Watts, and the brother-in-law
+	each took a cigar with that careless yet deferential
+	manner which always distinguishes the
+	treatee from the treator; and then the box was
+	protruded in an offhand way toward Harry
+	Covare, the personal clerk of the Registrar; but
+	this young man declined, saying that he preferred
+	cigarettes, a package of which he drew from his
+	pocket. He had very often seen that cigar-box
+	with a Havana brand, which he himself had
+	brought from the other room after the Registrar
+	had emptied it, passed around with six cigars, no
+	more nor less, and he was wise enough to know
+	that the Shipwreck Clerk did not expect to supply
+	him with smoking-material. If that gentleman
+	had offered to the friends who generally dropped
+	in on him on Wednesday afternoon the paper
+	bag of cigars sold at five cents each when bought
+	singly, but half a dozen for a quarter of a dollar,
+	they would have been quite as thankfully received;
+	but it better pleased his deprecative soul
+	to put them in an empty cigar-box, and thus throw
+	around them the halo of the presumption that
+	ninety-four of their imported companions had
+	been smoked.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page135" title="135">&nbsp;</a>The Shipwreck Clerk, having lighted a cigar
+	for himself, sat down in his revolving chair,
+	turned his back to his desk, and threw himself
+	into an easy cross-legged attitude, which showed
+	that he was perfectly at home in that office. Harry
+	Covare mounted a high stool, while the visitors
+	seated themselves in three wooden arm-chairs.
+	But few words had been said, and each man had
+	scarcely tossed his first tobacco-ashes on the
+	floor, when some one wearing heavy boots was
+	heard opening an outside door and entering the
+	Registrar&#8217;s room. Harry Covare jumped down
+	from his stool, laid his half-smoked cigarette
+	thereon, and bounced into the next room, closing
+	the door after him. In about a minute he
+	returned, and the Shipwreck Clerk looked at him
+	inquiringly.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;An old cock in a pea-jacket,&#8221; said Mr.
+	Covare, taking up his cigarette and mounting
+	his stool. &#8220;I told him the Registrar would be
+	here in the morning. He said he had something
+	to report about a shipwreck, and I told him the
+	Registrar would be here in the morning. Had
+	to tell him that three times, and then he went.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;School don&#8217;t keep Wednesday afternoons,&#8221;
+	said Mr. J. George Watts, with a knowing smile.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;No, sir,&#8221; said the Shipwreck Clerk, emphatically,
+	changing the crossing of his legs.
+	&#8220;A man can&#8217;t keep grinding on day in and out
+	without breaking down. Outsiders may say what
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page136" title="136">&nbsp;</a>they please about it, but it can&#8217;t be done. We&#8217;ve
+	got to let up sometimes. People who do the
+	work need the rest just as much as those who do
+	the looking on.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;And more too, I should say,&#8221; observed Mr.
+	Mathers.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Our little let-up on Wednesday afternoons,&#8221;
+	modestly observed Harry Covare, &#8220;is like death&#8212;it
+	is sure to come; while the let-ups we get
+	other days are more like the diseases which prevail
+	in certain areas&#8212;you can&#8217;t be sure whether
+	you&#8217;re going to get them or not.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The Shipwreck Clerk smiled benignantly at this
+	remark, and the rest laughed. Mr. Mathers had
+	heard it before, but he would not impair the pleasantness
+	of his relations with a future colleague by
+	hinting that he remembered it.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;He gets such ideas from his beastly statistics,&#8221;
+	said the Shipwreck Clerk.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Which come pretty heavy on him sometimes,
+	I expect,&#8221; observed Mr. Mathers.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;They needn&#8217;t,&#8221; said the Shipwreck Clerk,
+	&#8220;if things were managed here as they ought to
+	be. If John J. Laylor&#8221;&#8212;meaning thereby the
+	Registrar&#8212;&#8220;was the right kind of a man you&#8217;d
+	see things very different here from what they are
+	now. There&#8217;d be a larger force.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s so,&#8221; said Mr. Mathers.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;And not only that, but there&#8217;d be better
+	buildings and more accommodations. Were any
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page137" title="137">&nbsp;</a>of you ever up to Anster? Well, take a run up
+	there some day, and see what sort of buildings
+	the department has there. William Q. Green is
+	a very different man from John J. Laylor. You
+	don&#8217;t see him sitting in his chair and picking his
+	teeth the whole winter, while the Representative
+	from his district never says a word about his department
+	from one end of a session of Congress
+	to the other. Now if I had charge of things
+	here, I&#8217;d make such changes that you wouldn&#8217;t
+	know the place. I&#8217;d throw two rooms off here,
+	and a corridor and entrance-door at that end of
+	the building. I&#8217;d close up this door&#8221;&#8212;pointing
+	toward the Registrar&#8217;s room&#8212;&#8220;and if John J.
+	Laylor wanted to come in here he might go round
+	to the end door like other people.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The thought struck Harry Covare that in that
+	case there would be no John J. Laylor, but he
+	would not interrupt.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;And what is more,&#8221; continued the Shipwreck
+	Clerk, &#8220;I&#8217;d close up this whole department at
+	twelve o&#8217;clock on Saturdays. The way things
+	are managed now, a man has no time to attend
+	to his own private business. Suppose I think
+	of buying a piece of land, and want to go out and
+	look at it, or suppose any one of you gentlemen
+	were here and thought of buying a piece of land
+	and wanted to go out and look at it, what are you
+	going to do about it? You don&#8217;t want to go on
+	Sunday, and when are you going to go?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page138" title="138">&nbsp;</a>Not one of the other gentlemen had ever
+	thought of buying a piece of land, nor had they
+	any reason to suppose that they ever would purchase
+	an inch of soil unless they bought it in
+	a flower-pot; but they all agreed that the way
+	things were managed now there was no time for
+	a man to attend to his own business.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;But you can&#8217;t expect John J. Laylor to do
+	anything,&#8221; said the Shipwreck Clerk.</p>
+
+	<p>However, there was one thing which that
+	gentleman always expected John J. Laylor to do.
+	When the clerk was surrounded by a number of
+	persons in hours of business, and when he had
+	succeeded in impressing them with the importance
+	of his functions and the necessity of paying
+	deferential attention to himself if they wished their
+	business attended to, John J. Laylor would be sure
+	to walk into the office and address the Shipwreck
+	Clerk in such a manner as to let the people present
+	know that he was a clerk and nothing else,
+	and that he, the Registrar, was the head of that
+	department. These humiliations the Shipwreck
+	Clerk never forgot.</p>
+
+	<p>There was a little pause here, and then Mr.
+	Mathers remarked:</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I should think you&#8217;d be awfully bored with
+	the long stories of shipwrecks that the people
+	come and tell you.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>He hoped to change the conversation, because,
+	although he wished to remain on good terms with
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page139" title="139">&nbsp;</a>the subordinate officers, it was not desirable that he
+	should be led to say much against John J. Laylor.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;No, sir,&#8221; said the Shipwreck Clerk, &#8220;I am
+	not bored. I did not come here to be bored, and
+	as long as I have charge of this office I don&#8217;t intend
+	to be. The long-winded old salts who come
+	here to report their wrecks never spin out their
+	prosy yarns to me. The first thing I do is to let
+	them know just what I want of them; and not an
+	inch beyond that does a man of them go, at least
+	while I am managing the business. There are
+	times when John J. Laylor comes in, and puts
+	in his oar, and wants to hear the whole story;
+	which is pure stuff and nonsense, for John J.
+	Laylor doesn&#8217;t know anything more about a shipwreck
+	than he does about&#8212;&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;The endemies in the Lake George area,&#8221;
+	suggested Harry Covare.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Yes; or any other part of his business,&#8221; said
+	the Shipwreck Clerk; &#8220;and when he takes it into
+	his head to interfere, all business stops till some
+	second mate of a coal-schooner has told his whole
+	story from his sighting land on the morning of
+	one day to his getting ashore on it on the afternoon
+	of the next. Now I don&#8217;t put up with any
+	such nonsense. There&#8217;s no man living that can
+	tell me anything about shipwrecks. I&#8217;ve never
+	been to sea myself, but that&#8217;s not necessary; and
+	if I had gone, it&#8217;s not likely I&#8217;d been wrecked.
+	But I&#8217;ve read about every kind of shipwreck that
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page140" title="140">&nbsp;</a>ever happened. When I first came here I took
+	care to post myself upon these matters, because
+	I knew it would save trouble. I have read
+	&#8216;Robinson Crusoe,&#8217; &#8216;The Wreck of the &#8220;Grosvenor,&#8221;&#8217;
+	&#8216;The Sinking of the &#8220;Royal George,&#8221;&#8217; and
+	wrecks by water-spouts, tidal waves, and every
+	other thing which would knock a ship into a
+	cocked hat, and I&#8217;ve classified every sort of wreck
+	under its proper head; and when I&#8217;ve found out
+	to what class a wreck belongs, I know all about it.
+	Now, when a man comes here to report a wreck,
+	the first thing he has to do is just to shut down on
+	his story, and to stand up square and answer a
+	few questions that I put to him. In two minutes
+	I know just what kind of shipwreck he&#8217;s had;
+	and then, when he gives me the name of his
+	vessel, and one or two other points, he may go.
+	I know all about that wreck, and I make a much
+	better report of the business than he could have
+	done if he&#8217;d stood here talking three days and
+	three nights. The amount of money that&#8217;s been
+	saved to our taxpayers by the way I&#8217;ve systematized
+	the business of this office is not to be calculated
+	in figures.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The brother-in-law of J. George Watts knocked
+	the ashes from the remnant of his cigar, looked
+	contemplatively at the coal for a moment, and
+	then remarked:</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I think you said there&#8217;s no kind of shipwreck
+	you don&#8217;t know about?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page141" title="141">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;That&#8217;s what I said,&#8221; replied the Shipwreck
+	Clerk.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I think,&#8221; said the other, &#8220;I could tell you
+	of a shipwreck, in which I was concerned, that
+	wouldn&#8217;t go into any of your classes.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The Shipwreck Clerk threw away the end of
+	his cigar, put both his hands into his trousers
+	pockets, stretched out his legs, and looked steadfastly
+	at the man who had made this unwarrantable
+	remark. Then a pitying smile stole over his
+	countenance, and he said: &#8220;Well, sir, I&#8217;d like
+	to hear your account of it; and before you get a
+	quarter through I can stop you just where you
+	are, and go ahead and tell the rest of the story
+	myself.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s so,&#8221; said Harry Covare. &#8220;You&#8217;ll see
+	him do it just as sure pop as a spread rail bounces
+	the engine.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Well, then,&#8221; said the brother-in-law of J.
+	George Watts, &#8220;I&#8217;ll tell it.&#8221; And he began:</p>
+
+	<hr class="thoughtbreak" />
+
+	<p class="post_thoughtbreak">&#8220;It was just two years ago the 1st of this
+	month that I sailed for South America in the
+	&#8216;Thomas Hyke.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>At this point the Shipwreck Clerk turned and
+	opened a large book at the letter T.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;That wreck wasn&#8217;t reported here,&#8221; said the
+	other, &#8220;and you won&#8217;t find it in your book.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;At Anster, perhaps?&#8221; said the Shipwreck
+	Clerk, closing the volume and turning round again.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page142" title="142">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;Can&#8217;t say about that,&#8221; replied the other.
+	&#8220;I&#8217;ve never been to Anster, and haven&#8217;t looked
+	over their books.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Well, you needn&#8217;t want to,&#8221; said the clerk.
+	&#8220;They&#8217;ve got good accommodations at Anster,
+	and the Registrar has some ideas of the duties of
+	his post, but they have no such system of wreck
+	reports as we have here.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Very like,&#8221; said the brother-in-law. And he
+	went on with his story. &#8220;The &#8216;Thomas Hyke&#8217;
+	was a small iron steamer of six hundred tons,
+	and she sailed from Ulford for Valparaiso with a
+	cargo principally of pig-iron.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Pig-iron for Valparaiso?&#8221; remarked the Shipwreck
+	Clerk. And then he knitted his brows
+	thoughtfully, and said, &#8220;Go on.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;She was a new vessel,&#8221; continued the narrator,
+	&#8220;and built with water-tight compartments;
+	rather uncommon for a vessel of her class, but so
+	she was. I am not a sailor, and don&#8217;t know
+	anything about ships. I went as passenger, and
+	there was another one named William Anderson,
+	and his son Sam, a boy about fifteen years old.
+	We were all going to Valparaiso on business. I
+	don&#8217;t remember just how many days we were out,
+	nor do I know just where we were, but it was
+	somewhere off the coast of South America, when,
+	one dark night&#8212;with a fog besides, for aught I
+	know, for I was asleep&#8212;we ran into a steamer
+	coming north. How we managed to do this,
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page143" title="143">&nbsp;</a>with room enough on both sides for all the ships
+	in the world to pass, I don&#8217;t know; but so it was.
+	When I got on deck the other vessel had gone on,
+	and we never saw anything more of her. Whether
+	she sunk or got home is something I can&#8217;t tell.
+	But we pretty soon found that the &#8216;Thomas
+	Hyke&#8217; had some of the plates in her bow badly
+	smashed, and she took in water like a thirsty dog.
+	The captain had the forward water-tight bulkhead
+	shut tight, and the pumps set to work, but it was
+	no use. That forward compartment just filled up
+	with water, and the &#8216;Thomas Hyke&#8217; settled down
+	with her bow clean under. Her deck was slanting
+	forward like the side of a hill, and the propeller
+	was lifted up so that it wouldn&#8217;t have
+	worked even if the engine had been kept going.
+	The captain had the masts cut away, thinking
+	this might bring her up some, but it didn&#8217;t help
+	much. There was a pretty heavy sea on, and the
+	waves came rolling up the slant of the deck like
+	the surf on the sea-shore. The captain gave orders
+	to have all the hatches battened down so that water
+	couldn&#8217;t get in, and the only way by which anybody
+	could go below was by the cabin door, which
+	was far aft. This work of stopping up all openings
+	in the deck was a dangerous business, for
+	the decks sloped right down into the water, and
+	if anybody had slipped, away he&#8217;d have gone into
+	the ocean, with nothing to stop him; but the men
+	made a line fast to themselves, and worked away
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page144" title="144">&nbsp;</a>with a good will, and soon got the deck and the
+	house over the engine as tight as a bottle. The
+	smoke-stack, which was well forward, had been
+	broken down by a spar when the masts had been
+	cut, and as the waves washed into the hole that it
+	left, the captain had this plugged up with old sails,
+	well fastened down. It was a dreadful thing to
+	see the ship a-lying with her bows clean under
+	water and her stern sticking up. If it hadn&#8217;t
+	been for her water-tight compartments that were
+	left uninjured, she would have gone down to the
+	bottom as slick as a whistle. On the afternoon
+	of the day after the collision the wind fell, and
+	the sea soon became pretty smooth. The captain
+	was quite sure that there would be no trouble
+	about keeping afloat until some ship came along
+	and took us off. Our flag was flying, upside
+	down, from a pole in the stern; and if anybody
+	saw a ship making such a guy of herself as the
+	&#8216;Thomas Hyke&#8217; was then doing, they&#8217;d be sure
+	to come to see what was the matter with her,
+	even if she had no flag of distress flying. We
+	tried to make ourselves as comfortable as we
+	could, but this wasn&#8217;t easy with everything on
+	such a dreadful slant. But that night we heard
+	a rumbling and grinding noise down in the hold,
+	and the slant seemed to get worse. Pretty soon
+	the captain roused all hands and told us that the
+	cargo of pig-iron was shifting and sliding down
+	to the bow, and that it wouldn&#8217;t be long before
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page145" title="145">&nbsp;</a>it would break through all the bulkheads, and
+	then we&#8217;d fill and go to the bottom like a shot.
+	He said we must all take to the boats and get
+	away as quick as we could. It was an easy
+	matter launching the boats. They didn&#8217;t lower
+	them outside from the davits, but they just let &#8217;em
+	down on deck and slid &#8217;em along forward into the
+	water, and then held &#8217;em there with a rope till
+	everything was ready to start. They launched
+	three boats, put plenty of provisions and water
+	in &#8217;em, and then everybody began to get aboard.
+	But William Anderson and me and his son Sam
+	couldn&#8217;t make up our minds to get into those boats
+	and row out on the dark, wide ocean. They were
+	the biggest boats we had, but still they were little
+	things enough. The ship seemed to us to be a
+	good deal safer, and more likely to be seen when
+	day broke, than those three boats, which might
+	be blown off, if the wind rose, nobody knew
+	where. It seemed to us that the cargo had done
+	all the shifting it intended to, for the noise below
+	had stopped; and, altogether, we agreed that
+	we&#8217;d rather stick to the ship than go off in those
+	boats. The captain he tried to make us go, but we
+	wouldn&#8217;t do it; and he told us if we chose to stay
+	behind and be drowned it was our affair and he
+	couldn&#8217;t help it; and then he said there was a
+	small boat aft, and we&#8217;d better launch her, and
+	have her ready in case things should get worse
+	and we should make up our minds to leave the
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page146" title="146">&nbsp;</a>vessel. He and the rest then rowed off so as not
+	to be caught in the vortex if the steamer went
+	down, and we three stayed aboard. We launched
+	the small boat in the way we&#8217;d seen the others
+	launched, being careful to have ropes tied to us
+	while we were doing it; and we put things aboard
+	that we thought we should want. Then we went
+	into the cabin and waited for morning. It was a
+	queer kind of a cabin, with a floor inclined like
+	the roof of a house; but we sat down in the corners,
+	and were glad to be there. The swinging
+	lamp was burning, and it was a good deal more
+	cheerful in there than it was outside. But, about
+	daybreak, the grinding and rumbling down below
+	began again, and the bow of the &#8216;Thomas Hyke&#8217;
+	kept going down more and more; and it wasn&#8217;t
+	long before the forward bulkhead of the cabin,
+	which was what you might call its front wall
+	when everything was all right, was under our
+	feet, as level as a floor, and the lamp was lying
+	close against the ceiling that it was hanging from.
+	You may be sure that we thought it was time to
+	get out of that. There were benches with arms
+	to them fastened to the floor, and by these we
+	climbed up to the foot of the cabin stairs, which,
+	being turned bottom upward, we went down in
+	order to get out. When we reached the cabin
+	door we saw part of the deck below us, standing up
+	like the side of a house that is built in the water,
+	as they say the houses in Venice are. We had
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page147" title="147">&nbsp;</a>made our boat fast to the cabin door by a long line,
+	and now we saw her floating quietly on the water,
+	which was very smooth and about twenty feet below
+	us. We drew her up as close under us as we
+	could, and then we let the boy Sam down by a
+	rope, and after some kicking and swinging he got
+	into her; and then he took the oars and kept her
+	right under us while we scrambled down by the
+	ropes which we had used in getting her ready.
+	As soon as we were in the boat we cut her rope
+	and pulled away as hard as we could; and when
+	we got to what we thought was a safe distance
+	we stopped to look at the &#8216;Thomas Hyke.&#8217; You
+	never saw such a ship in all your born days. Two
+	thirds of the hull was sunk in the water, and she
+	was standing straight up and down with the stern
+	in the air, her rudder up as high as the topsail
+	ought to be, and the screw propeller looking like
+	the wheel on the top of one of these windmills
+	that they have in the country for pumping up
+	water. Her cargo had shifted so far forward
+	that it had turned her right upon end, but she
+	couldn&#8217;t sink, owing to the air in the compartments
+	that the water hadn&#8217;t got into; and on the
+	top of the whole thing was the distress flag flying
+	from the pole which stuck out over the stern.
+	It was broad daylight, but not a thing did we see
+	of the other boats. We&#8217;d supposed that they
+	wouldn&#8217;t row very far, but would lay off at a
+	safe distance until daylight; but they must have
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page148" title="148">&nbsp;</a>been scared and rowed farther than they intended.
+	Well, sir, we stayed in that boat all day and
+	watched the &#8216;Thomas Hyke&#8217;; but she just kept
+	as she was and didn&#8217;t seem to sink an inch.
+	There was no use of rowing away, for we had
+	no place to row to; and besides, we thought that
+	passing ships would be much more likely to see
+	that stern sticking high in the air than our little
+	boat. We had enough to eat, and at night two
+	of us slept while the other watched, dividing off
+	the time and taking turns to this. In the morning
+	there was the &#8216;Thomas Hyke&#8217; standing stern
+	up just as before. There was a long swell on
+	the ocean now, and she&#8217;d rise and lean over a
+	little on each wave, but she&#8217;d come up again just
+	as straight as before. That night passed as the
+	last one had, and in the morning we found we&#8217;d
+	drifted a good deal farther from the &#8216;Thomas
+	Hyke&#8217;; but she was floating just as she had
+	been, like a big buoy that&#8217;s moored over a sandbar.
+	We couldn&#8217;t see a sign of the boats, and
+	we about gave them up. We had our breakfast,
+	which was a pretty poor meal, being nothing but
+	hardtack and what was left of a piece of boiled
+	beef. After we&#8217;d sat for a while doing nothing,
+	but feeling mighty uncomfortable, William Anderson
+	said, &#8216;Look here, do you know that I think
+	we would be three fools to keep on shivering all
+	night, and living on hardtack in the daytime,
+	when there&#8217;s plenty on that vessel for us to eat
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page149" title="149">&nbsp;</a>and to keep us warm. If she&#8217;s floated that way
+	for two days and two nights, there&#8217;s no knowing
+	how much longer she&#8217;ll float, and we might as
+	well go on board and get the things we want as
+	not.&#8217; &#8216;All right,&#8217; said I, for I was tired doing
+	nothing; and Sam was as willing as anybody. So
+	we rowed up to the steamer, and stopped close to
+	the deck, which, as I said before, was standing
+	straight up out of the water like the wall of a
+	house. The cabin door, which was the only
+	opening into her, was about twenty feet above us,
+	and the ropes which we had tied to the rails of
+	the stairs inside were still hanging down. Sam
+	was an active youngster, and he managed to
+	climb up one of these ropes; but when he got to
+	the door he drew it up and tied knots in it about
+	a foot apart, and then he let it down to us, for
+	neither William Anderson nor me could go up a
+	rope hand over hand without knots or something
+	to hold on to. As it was, we had a lot of bother
+	getting up, but we did it at last; and then we
+	walked up the stairs, treading on the front part
+	of each step instead of the top of it, as we would
+	have done if the stairs had been in their proper
+	position. When we got to the floor of the cabin,
+	which was now perpendicular like a wall, we had
+	to clamber down by means of the furniture, which
+	was screwed fast, until we reached the bulkhead,
+	which was now the floor of the cabin. Close to
+	this bulkhead was a small room which was the
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page150" title="150">&nbsp;</a>steward&#8217;s pantry, and here we found lots of
+	things to eat, but all jumbled up in a way that
+	made us laugh. The boxes of biscuits and the
+	tin cans and a lot of bottles in wicker covers were
+	piled up on one end of the room, and everything
+	in the lockers and drawers was jumbled together.
+	William Anderson and me set to work to get out
+	what we thought we&#8217;d want, and we told Sam to
+	climb up into some of the state-rooms&#8212;of which
+	there were four on each side of the cabin&#8212;and
+	get some blankets to keep us warm, as well as a
+	few sheets, which we thought we could rig up for
+	an awning to the boat; for the days were just as
+	hot as the nights were cool. When we&#8217;d collected
+	what we wanted, William Anderson and
+	me climbed into our own rooms, thinking we&#8217;d
+	each pack a valise with what we most wanted to
+	save of our clothes and things; and while we
+	were doing this Sam called out to us that it was
+	raining. He was sitting at the cabin door looking
+	out. I first thought to tell him to shut the
+	door so&#8217;s to keep the rain from coming in; but
+	when I thought how things really were, I laughed
+	at the idea. There was a sort of little house
+	built over the entrance to the cabin, and in one
+	end of it was the door; and in the way the ship
+	now was the open doorway was underneath the
+	little house, and of course no rain could come in.
+	Pretty soon we heard the rain pouring down,
+	beating on the stern of the vessel like hail. We
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page151" title="151">&nbsp;</a>got to the stairs and looked out. The rain was
+	falling in perfect sheets, in a way you never see
+	except round about the tropics. &#8216;It&#8217;s a good
+	thing we&#8217;re inside,&#8217; said William Anderson, &#8216;for
+	if we&#8217;d been out in this rain we&#8217;d been drowned
+	in the boat.&#8217; I agreed with him, and we made up
+	our minds to stay where we were until the rain
+	was over. Well, it rained about four hours; and
+	when it stopped, and we looked out, we saw our
+	little boat nearly full of water, and sunk so deep
+	that if one of us had stepped on her she&#8217;d have
+	gone down, sure. &#8216;Here&#8217;s a pretty kittle of fish,&#8217;
+	said William Anderson; &#8216;there&#8217;s nothing for us
+	to do now but to stay where we are.&#8217; I believe
+	in his heart he was glad of that, for if ever a man
+	was tired of a little boat, William Anderson was
+	tired of that one we&#8217;d been in for two days and two
+	nights. At any rate, there was no use talking
+	about it, and we set to work to make ourselves
+	comfortable. We got some mattresses and pillows
+	out of the state-rooms, and when it began to get
+	dark we lighted the lamp&#8212;which we had filled
+	with sweet-oil from a flask in the pantry, not
+	finding any other kind&#8212;and we hung it from
+	the railing of the stairs. We had a good night&#8217;s
+	rest, and the only thing that disturbed me was
+	William Anderson lifting up his head every time
+	he turned over and saying how much better this
+	was than that blasted little boat. The next morning
+	we had a good breakfast, even making some
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page152" title="152">&nbsp;</a>tea with a spirit-lamp we found, using brandy
+	instead of alcohol. William Anderson and I
+	wanted to get into the captain&#8217;s room&#8212;which
+	was near the stern and pretty high up&#8212;so as to
+	see if there was anything there that we ought to
+	get ready to save when a vessel should come
+	along and pick us up; but we were not good at
+	climbing, like Sam, and we didn&#8217;t see how we
+	could get up there. Sam said he was sure he
+	had once seen a ladder in the compartment just
+	forward of the bulkhead, and as William was
+	very anxious to get up to the captain&#8217;s room, we
+	let the boy go and look for it. There was a sliding
+	door in the bulkhead under our feet, and we
+	opened this far enough to let Sam get through;
+	and he scrambled down like a monkey into the
+	next compartment, which was light enough, although
+	the lower half of it, which was next to
+	the engine-room, was under the water-line. Sam
+	actually found a ladder with hooks at one end of
+	it, and while he was handing it up to us&#8212;which
+	was very hard to do, for he had to climb up on
+	all sorts of things&#8212;he let it topple over, and the
+	end with the iron hooks fell against the round
+	glass of one of the port-holes. The glass was
+	very thick and strong, but the ladder came down
+	very heavy and shivered it. As bad luck would
+	have it, this window was below the water-line,
+	and the water came rushing in in a big spout.
+	We chucked blankets down to Sam for him to
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page153" title="153">&nbsp;</a>stop up the hole, but &#8216;twas of no use; for it was
+	hard for him to get at the window, and when he
+	did the water came in with such force that he
+	couldn&#8217;t get a blanket into the hole. We were
+	afraid he&#8217;d be drowned down there, and told him
+	to come out as quick as he could. He put up the
+	ladder again, and hooked it on to the door in the
+	bulkhead, and we held it while he climbed up.
+	Looking down through the doorway, we saw, by
+	the way the water was pouring in at the opening,
+	that it wouldn&#8217;t be long before that compartment
+	was filled up; so we shoved the door to and made
+	it all tight, and then said William Anderson, &#8216;The
+	ship&#8217;ll sink deeper and deeper as that fills up, and
+	the water may get up to the cabin door, and we
+	must go and make that as tight as we can.&#8217; Sam
+	had pulled the ladder up after him, and this we
+	found of great use in getting to the foot of the
+	cabin stairs. We shut the cabin door, and locked
+	and bolted it; and as it fitted pretty tight, we didn&#8217;t
+	think it would let in much water if the ship sunk
+	that far. But over the top of the cabin stairs
+	were a couple of folding doors, which shut down
+	horizontally when the ship was in its proper position,
+	and which were only used in very bad, cold
+	weather. These we pulled to and fastened tight,
+	thus having a double protection against the water.
+	Well, we didn&#8217;t get this done any too soon, for the
+	water did come up to the cabin door, and a little
+	trickled in from the outside door and through the
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page154" title="154">&nbsp;</a>cracks in the inner one. But we went to work
+	and stopped these up with strips from the sheets,
+	which we crammed well in with our pocket-knives.
+	Then we sat down on the steps and waited to see
+	what would happen next. The doors of all the
+	state-rooms were open, and we could see through
+	the thick plate-glass windows in them, which
+	were all shut tight, that the ship was sinking
+	more and more as the water came in. Sam
+	climbed up into one of the after state-rooms, and
+	said the outside water was nearly up to the stern;
+	and pretty soon we looked up to the two portholes
+	in the stern, and saw that they were covered
+	with water; and as more and more water could
+	be seen there, and as the light came through less
+	easily, we knew that we were sinking under the
+	surface of the ocean. &#8216;It&#8217;s a mighty good thing,&#8217;
+	said William Anderson, &#8216;that no water can get in
+	here.&#8217; William had a hopeful kind of mind, and
+	always looked on the bright side of things; but I
+	must say that I was dreadfully scared when I
+	looked through those stern windows and saw
+	water instead of sky. It began to get duskier
+	and duskier as we sank lower and lower; but
+	still we could see pretty well, for it&#8217;s astonishing
+	how much light comes down through water.
+	After a little while we noticed that the light remained
+	about the same; and then William Anderson
+	he sings out, &#8216;Hooray, we&#8217;ve stopped sinking!&#8217;
+	&#8216;What difference does that make?&#8217; says I.
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page155" title="155">&nbsp;</a>&#8216;We must be thirty or forty feet under water, and
+	more yet, for aught I know.&#8217; &#8216;Yes, that may be,&#8217;
+	said he; &#8216;but it is clear that all the water has got
+	into that compartment that can get in, and we
+	have sunk just as far down as we are going.&#8217;
+	&#8216;But that don&#8217;t help matters,&#8217; said I; &#8216;thirty or
+	forty feet under water is just as bad as a thousand
+	as to drowning a man.&#8217; &#8216;Drowning!&#8217; said William;
+	&#8216;how are you going to be drowned? No
+	water can get in here.&#8217; &#8216;Nor no air, either,&#8217;
+	said I; &#8216;and people are drowned for want of air,
+	as I take it.&#8217; &#8216;It would be a queer sort of thing,&#8217;
+	said William, &#8216;to be drowned in the ocean and
+	yet stay as dry as a chip. But it&#8217;s no use being
+	worried about air. We&#8217;ve got air enough here to
+	last us for ever so long. This stern compartment
+	is the biggest in the ship, and it&#8217;s got lots of air
+	in it. Just think of that hold! It must be nearly
+	full of air. The stern compartment of the hold
+	has got nothing in it but sewing-machines. I
+	saw &#8217;em loading her. The pig-iron was mostly
+	amidships, or at least forward of this compartment.
+	Now, there&#8217;s no kind of a cargo that&#8217;ll
+	accommodate as much air as sewing-machines.
+	They&#8217;re packed in wooden frames, not boxes,
+	and don&#8217;t fill up half the room they take. There&#8217;s
+	air all through and around &#8217;em. It&#8217;s a very comforting
+	thing to think the hold isn&#8217;t filled up solid
+	with bales of cotton or wheat in bulk.&#8217; It might
+	be comforting, but I couldn&#8217;t get much good out
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page156" title="156">&nbsp;</a>of it. And now Sam, who&#8217;d been scrambling all
+	over the cabin to see how things were going on,
+	sung out that the water was leaking in a little
+	again at the cabin door and around some of the
+	iron frames of the windows. &#8216;It&#8217;s a lucky thing,&#8217;
+	said William Anderson, &#8216;that we didn&#8217;t sink any
+	deeper, or the pressure of the water would have
+	burst in those heavy glasses. And what we&#8217;ve
+	got to do now is to stop up all the cracks. The
+	more we work the livelier we&#8217;ll feel.&#8217; We tore off
+	more strips of sheets and went all round, stopping
+	up cracks wherever we found them. &#8216;It&#8217;s fortunate,&#8217;
+	said William Anderson, &#8216;that Sam found
+	that ladder, for we would have had hard work
+	getting to the windows of the stern state-rooms
+	without it; but by resting it on the bottom step
+	of the stairs, which now happens to be the top
+	one, we can get to any part of the cabin.&#8217; I
+	couldn&#8217;t help thinking that if Sam hadn&#8217;t found
+	the ladder it would have been a good deal better
+	for us; but I didn&#8217;t want to damp William&#8217;s
+	spirits, and I said nothing.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;And now I beg your pardon, sir,&#8221; said the
+	narrator, addressing the Shipwreck Clerk, &#8220;but
+	I forgot that you said you&#8217;d finish this story yourself.
+	Perhaps you&#8217;d like to take it up just here?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The Shipwreck Clerk seemed surprised, and
+	had apparently forgotten his previous offer. &#8220;Oh
+	no,&#8221; said he, &#8220;tell your own story. This is not
+	a matter of business.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page157" title="157">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;Very well, then,&#8221; said the brother-in-law of
+	J. George Watts, &#8220;I&#8217;ll go on. We made everything
+	as tight as we could, and then we got our
+	supper, having forgotten all about dinner, and
+	being very hungry. We didn&#8217;t make any tea and
+	we didn&#8217;t light the lamp, for we knew that would
+	use up air; but we made a better meal than three
+	people sunk out of sight in the ocean had a right
+	to expect. &#8216;What troubles me most,&#8217; said William
+	Anderson, as he turned in, &#8216;is the fact that if we
+	are forty feet under water our flagpole must be
+	covered up. Now, if the flag was sticking out,
+	upside down, a ship sailing by would see it and
+	would know there was something wrong.&#8217; &#8216;If
+	that&#8217;s all that troubles you,&#8217; said I, &#8216;I guess
+	you&#8217;ll sleep easy. And if a ship was to see the
+	flag, I wonder how they&#8217;d know we were down
+	here, and how they&#8217;d get us out if they did!&#8217;
+	&#8216;Oh, they&#8217;d manage it,&#8217; said William Anderson;
+	&#8216;trust those sea-captains for that.&#8217; And then he
+	went to sleep. The next morning the air began
+	to get mighty disagreeable in the part of the cabin
+	where we were, and then William Anderson he
+	says, &#8216;What we&#8217;ve got to do is to climb up into
+	the stern state-rooms, where the air is purer.
+	We can come down here to get our meals, and
+	then go up again to breathe comfortable.&#8217; &#8216;And
+	what are we going to do when the air up there
+	gets foul?&#8217; says I to William, who seemed to be
+	making arrangements for spending the summer
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page158" title="158">&nbsp;</a>in our present quarters. &#8216;Oh, that&#8217;ll be all right,&#8217;
+	said he. &#8216;It don&#8217;t do to be extravagant with air
+	any more than with anything else. When we&#8217;ve
+	used up all there is in this cabin, we can bore
+	holes through the floor into the hold and let in
+	air from there. If we&#8217;re economical, there&#8217;ll be
+	enough to last for dear knows how long.&#8217; We
+	passed the night each in a state-room, sleeping
+	on the end wall instead of the berth, and it wasn&#8217;t
+	till the afternoon of the next day that the air of
+	the cabin got so bad we thought we&#8217;d have some
+	fresh; so we went down on the bulkhead, and
+	with an auger that we found in the pantry we
+	bored three holes, about a yard apart, in the cabin
+	floor, which was now one of the walls of the room,
+	just as the bulkhead was the floor, and the stern
+	end, where the two round windows were, was the
+	ceiling or roof. We each took a hole, and I tell
+	you it was pleasant to breathe the air which came
+	in from the hold. &#8216;Isn&#8217;t this jolly?&#8217; said William
+	Anderson. &#8216;And we ought to be mighty glad
+	that that hold wasn&#8217;t loaded with codfish or soap.
+	But there&#8217;s nothing that smells better than new
+	sewing-machines that haven&#8217;t ever been used,
+	and this air is pleasant enough for anybody.&#8217; By
+	William&#8217;s advice we made three plugs, by which
+	we stopped up the holes when we thought we&#8217;d
+	had air enough for the present. &#8216;And now,&#8217; says
+	he, &#8216;we needn&#8217;t climb up into those awkward
+	state-rooms any more. We can just stay down
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page159" title="159">&nbsp;</a>here and be comfortable, and let in air when we
+	want it.&#8217; &#8216;And how long do you suppose that
+	air in the hold is going to last?&#8217; said I. &#8216;Oh,
+	ever so long,&#8217; said he, &#8216;using it so economically
+	as we do; and when it stops coming out lively
+	through these little holes, as I suppose it will
+	after a while, we can saw a big hole in this flooring
+	and go into the hold and do our breathing, if
+	we want to.&#8217; That evening we did saw a hole
+	about a foot square, so as to have plenty of air
+	while we were asleep; but we didn&#8217;t go into the
+	hold, it being pretty well filled up with machines;
+	though the next day Sam and I sometimes stuck
+	our heads in for a good sniff of air, though William
+	Anderson was opposed to this, being of the
+	opinion that we ought to put ourselves on short
+	rations of breathing so as to make the supply of
+	air hold out as long as possible. &#8216;But what&#8217;s the
+	good,&#8217; said I to William, &#8216;of trying to make the
+	air hold out if we&#8217;ve got to be suffocated in this
+	place after all?&#8217; &#8216;What&#8217;s the good?&#8217; says he.
+	&#8216;Haven&#8217;t you enough biscuits and canned meats
+	and plenty of other things to eat, and a barrel of
+	water in that room opposite the pantry, not to
+	speak of wine and brandy if you want to cheer
+	yourself up a bit, and haven&#8217;t we good mattresses
+	to sleep on, and why shouldn&#8217;t we try to live and
+	be comfortable as long as we can?&#8217; &#8216;What I
+	want,&#8217; said I, &#8216;is to get out of this box. The
+	idea of being shut up in here down under the
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page160" title="160">&nbsp;</a>water is more than I can stand. I&#8217;d rather take
+	my chances going up to the surface and swimming
+	about till I found a piece of the wreck, or something
+	to float on.&#8217; &#8216;You needn&#8217;t think of anything
+	of that sort,&#8217; said William, &#8216;for if we were
+	to open a door or a window to get out, the
+	water&#8217;d rush in and drive us back and fill up this
+	place in no time; and then the whole concern
+	would go to the bottom. And what would you
+	do if you did get to the top of the water? It&#8217;s
+	not likely you&#8217;d find anything there to get on,
+	and if you did you wouldn&#8217;t live very long floating
+	about with nothing to eat. No, sir,&#8217; says he,
+	&#8216;what we&#8217;ve got to do is to be content with the
+	comforts we have around us, and something will
+	turn up to get us out of this; you see if it don&#8217;t.&#8217;
+	There was no use talking against William Anderson,
+	and I didn&#8217;t say any more about getting out.
+	As for Sam, he spent his time at the windows of
+	the state-rooms a-looking out. We could see a
+	good way into the water&#8212;farther than you would
+	think&#8212;and we sometimes saw fishes, especially
+	porpoises, swimming about, most likely trying to
+	find out what a ship was doing hanging bows down
+	under the water. What troubled Sam was that a
+	swordfish might come along and jab his sword
+	through one of the windows. In that case it
+	would be all up, or rather down, with us.
+	Every now and then he&#8217;d sing out, &#8216;Here comes
+	one!&#8217; And then, just as I&#8217;d give a jump, he&#8217;d
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page161" title="161">&nbsp;</a>say, &#8216;No, it isn&#8217;t; it&#8217;s a porpoise.&#8217; I thought
+	from the first, and I think now, that it would have
+	been a great deal better for us if that boy hadn&#8217;t
+	been along. That night there was a good deal of
+	motion to the ship, and she swung about and rose
+	up and down more than she had done since we&#8217;d
+	been left in her. &#8216;There must be a big sea running
+	on top,&#8217; said William Anderson, &#8216;and if we
+	were up there we&#8217;d be tossed about dreadful.
+	Now the motion down here is just as easy as a
+	cradle; and, what&#8217;s more, we can&#8217;t be sunk very
+	deep, for if we were there wouldn&#8217;t be any motion
+	at all.&#8217; About noon the next day we felt a sudden
+	tremble and shake run through the whole ship,
+	and far down under us we heard a rumbling and
+	grinding that nearly scared me out of my wits. I
+	first thought we&#8217;d struck bottom; but William he
+	said that couldn&#8217;t be, for it was just as light in
+	the cabin as it had been, and if we&#8217;d gone down
+	it would have grown much darker, of course.
+	The rumbling stopped after a little while, and
+	then it seemed to grow lighter instead of darker;
+	and Sam, who was looking up at the stern windows
+	over our heads, he sung out, &#8216;Sky!&#8217; And,
+	sure enough, we could see the blue sky, as clear
+	as daylight, through those windows! And then
+	the ship she turned herself on the slant, pretty
+	much as she had been when her forward compartment
+	first took in water, and we found ourselves
+	standing on the cabin floor <ins id="ins2" class="correction" title="intead">instead</ins> of the bulkhead.
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page162" title="162">&nbsp;</a>I was near one of the open state-rooms, and as I
+	looked in there was the sunlight coming through
+	the wet glass in the window, and more cheerful
+	than anything I ever saw before in this world.
+	William Anderson he just made one jump, and,
+	unscrewing one of the state-room windows, he
+	jerked it open. We had thought the air inside
+	was good enough to last some time longer; but
+	when that window was open and the fresh air
+	came rushing in, it was a different sort of thing,
+	I can tell you. William put his head out and
+	looked up and down and all around. &#8216;She&#8217;s
+	nearly all out of water,&#8217; he shouted, &#8216;and we can
+	open the cabin door!&#8217; Then we all three rushed
+	at those stairs, which were nearly right side up
+	now, and we had the cabin doors open in no
+	time. When we looked out we saw that the
+	ship was truly floating pretty much as she had
+	been when the captain and crew left her, though
+	we all agreed that her deck didn&#8217;t slant as much
+	forward as it did then. &#8216;Do you know what&#8217;s
+	happened?&#8217; sung out William Anderson, after
+	he&#8217;d stood still for a minute to look around and
+	think. &#8216;That bobbing up and down that the
+	vessel got last night shook up and settled down
+	the pig-iron inside of her, and the iron plates in
+	the bow, that were smashed and loosened by the
+	collision, have given way under the weight, and
+	the whole cargo of pig-iron has burst through
+	and gone to the bottom. Then, of course, up we
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page163" title="163">&nbsp;</a>came. Didn&#8217;t I tell you something would happen
+	to make us all right?&#8217;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Well, I won&#8217;t make this story any longer
+	than I can help. The next day after that we
+	were taken off by a sugar-ship bound north, and
+	we were carried safe back to Ulford, where we
+	found our captain and the crew, who had been
+	picked up by a ship after they&#8217;d been three or
+	four days in their boats. This ship had sailed our
+	way to find us, which, of course, she couldn&#8217;t do,
+	as at that time we were under water and out of
+	sight.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;And now, sir,&#8221; said the brother-in-law of J.
+	George Watts to the Shipwreck Clerk, &#8220;to which
+	of your classes does this wreck of mine belong?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Gents,&#8221; said the Shipwreck Clerk, rising from
+	his seat, &#8220;it&#8217;s four o&#8217;clock, and at that hour this
+	office closes.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<!-- <a class="pagenum" id="page164" title="164">&nbsp;</a>[Blank Page] -->
+
+</div>
+
+<div id="pipes" class="story">
+	<!-- <a class="pagenum" id="page165" title="165">&nbsp;</a>OLD PIPES AND THE DRYAD
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page166" title="166">&nbsp;</a>[Blank Page] -->
+
+	<h2 class="story_title"><a class="pagenum" id="page167" title="167">&nbsp;</a>OLD PIPES AND THE DRYAD</h2>
+
+	<p class="return_toc"><a href="#contents" title="Return to Contents">ToC</a></p>
+
+	<p class="first_paragraph"><span class="first_word">A mountain</span> brook ran through a
+	little village. Over the brook there
+	was a narrow bridge, and from the
+	bridge a foot-path led out from the
+	village and up the hillside to the cottage of Old
+	Pipes and his mother. For many, many years
+	Old Pipes had been employed by the villagers to
+	pipe the cattle down from the hills. Every afternoon,
+	an hour before sunset, he would sit on a
+	rock in front of his cottage and play on his pipes.
+	Then all the flocks and herds that were grazing
+	on the mountains would hear him, wherever they
+	might happen to be, and would come down to the
+	village&#8212;the cows by the easiest paths, the sheep
+	by those not quite so easy, and the goats by the
+	steep and rocky ways that were hardest of all.</p>
+
+	<p>But now, for a year or more, Old Pipes had not
+	piped the cattle home. It is true that every afternoon
+	he sat upon the rock and played upon his
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page168" title="168">&nbsp;</a>familiar instrument; but the cattle did not hear
+	him. He had grown old and his breath was
+	feeble. The echoes of his cheerful notes, which
+	used to come from the rocky hill on the other
+	side of the valley, were heard no more; and
+	twenty yards from Old Pipes one could scarcely
+	tell what tune he was playing. He had become
+	somewhat deaf, and did not know that the sound
+	of his pipes was so thin and weak, and that the
+	cattle did not hear him. The cows, the sheep,
+	and the goats came down every afternoon as before,
+	but this was because two boys and a girl
+	were sent up after them. The villagers did not
+	wish the good old man to know that his piping
+	was no longer of any use, so they paid him his
+	little salary every month, and said nothing about
+	the two boys and the girl.</p>
+
+	<p>Old Pipes&#8217;s mother was, of course, a great deal
+	older than he was, and was as deaf as a gate&#8212;posts,
+	latch, hinges, and all&#8212;and she never knew
+	that the sound of her son&#8217;s pipe did not spread
+	over all the mountain-side and echo back strong
+	and clear from the opposite hills. She was very
+	fond of Old Pipes, and proud of his piping; and
+	as he was so much younger than she was, she
+	never thought of him as being very old. She
+	cooked for him, and made his bed, and mended
+	his clothes; and they lived very comfortably on
+	his little salary.</p>
+
+	<p>One afternoon, at the end of the month, when
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page169" title="169">&nbsp;</a>Old Pipes had finished his piping, he took his
+	stout staff and went down the hill to the village
+	to receive the money for his month&#8217;s work. The
+	path seemed a great deal steeper and more difficult
+	than it used to be; and Old Pipes thought
+	that it must have been washed by the rains and
+	greatly damaged. He remembered it as a path
+	that was quite easy to traverse either up or down.
+	But Old Pipes had been a very active man, and
+	as his mother was so much older than he was, he
+	never thought of himself as aged and infirm.</p>
+
+	<p>When the Chief Villager had paid him, and he
+	had talked a little with some of his friends, Old
+	Pipes started to go home. But when he had
+	crossed the bridge over the brook and gone a
+	short distance up the hillside, he became very
+	tired and sat down upon a stone. He had not
+	been sitting there half a minute when along came
+	two boys and a girl.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Children,&#8221; said Old Pipes, &#8220;I&#8217;m very tired
+	to-night, and I don&#8217;t believe I can climb up this
+	steep path to my home. I think I shall have to
+	ask you to help me.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;We will do that,&#8221; said the boys and the girl,
+	quite cheerfully; and one boy took him by the
+	right hand and the other by the left, while the
+	girl pushed him in the back. In this way he
+	went up the hill quite easily, and soon reached
+	his cottage door. Old Pipes gave each of the
+	three children a copper coin, and then they sat
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page170" title="170">&nbsp;</a>down for a few minutes&#8217; rest before starting back
+	to the village.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m sorry that I tired you so much,&#8221; said Old
+	Pipes.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh, that would not have tired us,&#8221; said one
+	of the boys, &#8220;if we had not been so far to-day
+	after the cows, the sheep, and the goats. They
+	rambled high up on the mountain, and we never
+	before had such a time in finding them.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Had to go after the cows, the sheep, and the
+	goats!&#8221; exclaimed Old Pipes. &#8220;What do you
+	mean by that?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The girl, who stood behind the old man, shook
+	her head, put her hand on her mouth, and made
+	all sorts of signs to the boy to stop talking on this
+	subject; but he did not notice her and promptly
+	answered Old Pipes.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Why, you see, good sir,&#8221; said he, &#8220;that as
+	the cattle can&#8217;t hear your pipes now, somebody
+	has to go after them every evening to drive them
+	down from the mountain, and the Chief Villager
+	has hired us three to do it. Generally it is not
+	very hard work, but to-night the cattle had wandered
+	far.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;How long have you been doing this?&#8221; asked
+	the old man.</p>
+
+	<p>The girl shook her head and clapped her hand
+	on her mouth more vigorously than before, but
+	the boy went on.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I think it is about a year now,&#8221; he said, &#8220;since
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page171" title="171">&nbsp;</a>the people first felt sure that the cattle could not
+	hear your pipes; and from that time we&#8217;ve been
+	driving them down. But we are rested now and
+	will go home. Good-night, sir.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The three children then went down the hill,
+	the girl scolding the boy all the way home. Old
+	Pipes stood silent a few moments and then he
+	went into his cottage.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Mother,&#8221; he shouted, &#8220;did you hear what
+	those children said?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Children!&#8221; exclaimed the old woman; &#8220;I
+	did not hear them. I did not know there were
+	any children here.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Then Old Pipes told his mother&#8212;shouting
+	very loudly to make her hear&#8212;how the two
+	boys and the girl had helped him up the hill,
+	and what he had heard about his piping and the
+	cattle.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;They can&#8217;t hear you?&#8221; cried his mother.
+	&#8220;Why, what&#8217;s the matter with the cattle?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Ah me!&#8221; said Old Pipes, &#8220;I don&#8217;t believe
+	there&#8217;s anything the matter with the cattle. It
+	must be with me and my pipes that there is
+	something the matter. But one thing is certain:
+	if I do not earn the wages the Chief Villager
+	pays me, I shall not take them. I shall go
+	straight down to the village and give back the
+	money I received to-day.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Nonsense!&#8221; cried his mother. &#8220;I&#8217;m sure
+	you&#8217;ve piped as well as you could, and no more
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page172" title="172">&nbsp;</a>can be expected. And what are we to do without
+	the money?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; said Old Pipes; &#8220;but I&#8217;m
+	going down to the village to pay it back.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The sun had now set; but the moon was shining
+	very brightly on the hillside, and Old Pipes
+	could see his way very well. He did not take
+	the same path by which he had gone before, but
+	followed another, which led among the trees upon
+	the hillside, and, though longer, was not so steep.</p>
+
+	<p>When he had gone about half-way the old man
+	sat down to rest, leaning his back against a great
+	oak-tree. As he did so he heard a sound like
+	knocking inside the tree, and then a voice distinctly
+	said:</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Let me out! let me out!&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Old Pipes instantly forgot that he was tired,
+	and sprang to his feet. &#8220;This must be a Dryad-tree!&#8221;
+	he exclaimed. &#8220;If it is, I&#8217;ll let her out.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Old Pipes had never, to his knowledge, seen a
+	Dryad-tree, but he knew there were such trees on
+	the hillsides and the mountains, and that Dryads
+	lived in them. He knew, too, that in the summer-time,
+	on those days when the moon rose before
+	the sun went down, a Dryad could come out
+	of her tree if any one could find the key which
+	locked her in, and turn it. Old Pipes closely
+	examined the trunk of the tree, which stood in
+	the full moonlight. &#8220;If I see that key,&#8221; he said,
+	&#8220;I shall surely turn it.&#8221; Before long he perceived
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page173" title="173">&nbsp;</a>a piece of bark standing out from the tree,
+	which appeared to him very much like the handle
+	of a key. He took hold of it, and found he could
+	turn it quite around. As he did so a large part
+	of the side of the tree was pushed open, and a
+	beautiful Dryad stepped quickly out.</p>
+
+	<p>For a moment she stood motionless, gazing on
+	the scene before her&#8212;the tranquil valley, the
+	hills, the forest, and the mountain-side, all lying
+	in the soft clear light of the moon. &#8220;Oh, lovely!
+	lovely!&#8221; she exclaimed. &#8220;How long it is since
+	I have seen anything like this!&#8221; And then, turning
+	to Old Pipes, she said, &#8220;How good of you to
+	let me out! I am so happy and so thankful that
+	I must kiss you, you dear old man!&#8221; And she
+	threw her arms around the neck of Old Pipes and
+	kissed him on both cheeks. &#8220;You don&#8217;t know,&#8221;
+	she then went on to say, &#8220;how doleful it is to be
+	shut up so long in a tree. I don&#8217;t mind it in the
+	winter, for then I am glad to be sheltered; but in
+	summer it is a rueful thing not to be able to see
+	all the beauties of the world. And it&#8217;s ever so
+	long since I&#8217;ve been let out. People so seldom
+	come this way; and when they do come at the
+	right time they either don&#8217;t hear me, or they are
+	frightened and run away. But you, you dear old
+	man, you were not frightened, and you looked
+	and looked for the key, and you let me out, and
+	now I shall not have to go back till winter has
+	come and the air grows cold. Oh, it is glorious!
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page174" title="174">&nbsp;</a>What can I do for you to show you how grateful
+	I am?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I am very glad,&#8221; said Old Pipes, &#8220;that I let
+	you out, since I see that it makes you so happy;
+	but I must admit that I tried to find the key because
+	I had a great desire to see a Dryad. But
+	if you wish to do something for me, you can,
+	if you happen to be going down toward the
+	village.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;To the village!&#8221; exclaimed the Dryad. &#8220;I
+	will go anywhere for you, my kind old benefactor.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Well, then,&#8221; said Old Pipes, &#8220;I wish you
+	would take this little bag of money to the Chief
+	Villager and tell him that Old Pipes cannot receive
+	pay for the services which he does not perform.
+	It is now more than a year that I have not
+	been able to make the cattle hear me when I piped
+	to call them home. I did not know this until to-night;
+	but now that I know it I cannot keep the
+	money, and so I send it back.&#8221; And, handing
+	the little bag to the Dryad, he bade her good-night
+	and turned toward his cottage.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Good-night,&#8221; said the Dryad. &#8220;And I
+	thank you over and over and over again, you
+	good old man!&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Old Pipes walked toward his home, very glad
+	to be saved the fatigue of going all the way down
+	to the village and back again. &#8220;To be sure,&#8221;
+	he said to himself, &#8220;this path does not seem at
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page175" title="175">&nbsp;</a>all steep, and I can walk along it very easily; but
+	it would have tired me dreadfully to come up all
+	the way from the village, especially as I could not
+	have expected those children to help me again.&#8221;
+	When he reached home his mother was surprised
+	to see him returning so soon.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;What!&#8221; she exclaimed, &#8220;have you already
+	come back? What did the Chief Villager say?
+	Did he take the money?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Old Pipes was just about to tell her that he had
+	sent the money to the village by a Dryad when he
+	suddenly reflected that his mother would be sure
+	to disapprove such a proceeding, and so he merely
+	said he had sent it by a person whom he had met.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;And how do you know that the person will
+	ever take it to the Chief Villager?&#8221; cried his
+	mother. &#8220;You will lose it, and the villagers
+	will never get it. Oh, Pipes! Pipes! when will
+	you be old enough to have ordinary common
+	sense?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Old Pipes considered that as he was already
+	seventy years of age he could scarcely expect to
+	grow any wiser, but he made no remark on this
+	subject; and, saying that he doubted not that the
+	money would go safely to its destination, he sat
+	down to his supper. His mother scolded him
+	roundly, but he did not mind it; and after supper
+	he went out and sat on a rustic chair in front of
+	the cottage to look at the moon-lit village, and to
+	wonder whether or not the Chief Villager really
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page176" title="176">&nbsp;</a>received the money. While he was doing these
+	two things he went fast asleep.</p>
+
+	<p>When Old Pipes left the Dryad, she did not go
+	down to the village with the little bag of money.
+	She held it in her hand and thought about what
+	she had heard. &#8220;This is a good and honest old
+	man,&#8221; she said, &#8220;and it is a shame that he should
+	lose this money. He looked as if he needed it,
+	and I don&#8217;t believe the people in the village will
+	take it from one who has served them so long.
+	Often, when in my tree, have I heard the sweet
+	notes of his pipes. I am going to take the money
+	back to him.&#8221; She did not start immediately, because
+	there were so many beautiful things to look
+	at; but after a while she went up to the cottage,
+	and, finding Old Pipes asleep in his chair, she
+	slipped the little bag into his coat pocket and
+	silently sped away.</p>
+
+	<p>The next day Old Pipes told his mother that
+	he would go up the mountain and cut some wood.
+	He had a right to get wood from the mountain,
+	but for a long time he had been content to pick
+	up the dead branches which lay about his cottage.
+	To-day, however, he felt so strong and vigorous
+	that he thought he would go and cut some fuel
+	that would be better than this. He worked all
+	the morning, and when he came back he did not
+	feel at all tired, and he had a very good appetite
+	for his dinner.</p>
+
+	<p>Now, Old Pipes knew a good deal about
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page177" title="177">&nbsp;</a>Dryads, but there was one thing which, although
+	he had heard, he had forgotten. This was that
+	a kiss from a Dryad made a person ten years
+	younger. The people of the village knew this,
+	and they were very careful not to let any child of
+	ten years or younger go into the woods where the
+	Dryads were supposed to be; for if they should
+	chance to be kissed by one of these tree-nymphs,
+	they would be set back so far that they would
+	cease to exist. A story was told in the village
+	that a very bad boy of eleven once ran away into
+	the woods and had an adventure of this kind; and
+	when his mother found him he was a little baby
+	of one year old. Taking advantage of her opportunity,
+	she brought him up more carefully than
+	she had done before; and he grew to be a very
+	good boy indeed.</p>
+
+	<p>Now, Old Pipes had been kissed twice by the
+	Dryad, once on each cheek, and he therefore felt
+	as vigorous and active as when he was a hale man
+	of fifty. His mother noticed how much work he
+	was doing, and told him that he need not try in
+	that way to make up for the loss of his piping
+	wages; for he would only tire himself out and get
+	sick. But her son answered that he had not felt
+	so well for years, and that he was quite able to
+	work. In the course of the afternoon, Old Pipes,
+	for the first time that day, put his hand in his
+	coat pocket, and there, to his amazement, he
+	found the little bag of money. &#8220;Well, well!&#8221;
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page178" title="178">&nbsp;</a>he exclaimed, &#8220;I am stupid indeed! I really
+	thought that I had seen a Dryad; but when I sat
+	down by that big oak-tree I must have gone to
+	sleep and dreamed it all; and then I came home
+	thinking I had given the money to a Dryad, when
+	it was in my pocket all the time. But the Chief
+	Villager shall have the money. I shall not take
+	it to him to-day; but to-morrow I wish to go to
+	the village to see some of my old friends, and then
+	I shall give up the money.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Toward the close of the afternoon, Old Pipes,
+	as had been his custom for so many years, took
+	his pipes from the shelf on which they lay, and
+	went out to the rock in front of the cottage.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;What are you going to do?&#8221; cried his mother.
+	&#8220;If you will not consent to be paid, why do you
+	pipe?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I am going to pipe for my own pleasure,&#8221;
+	said her son. &#8220;I am used to it, and I do not
+	wish to give it up. It does not matter now
+	whether the cattle hear me or not, and I am sure
+	that my piping will injure no one.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>When the good man began to play upon his
+	favorite instrument he was astonished at the
+	sound that came from it. The beautiful notes
+	of the pipes sounded clear and strong down into
+	the valley, and spread over the hills and up the
+	sides of the mountain beyond, while, after a little
+	interval, an echo came back from the rocky hill on
+	the other side of the valley.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page179" title="179">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;Ha! ha!&#8221; he cried, &#8220;what has happened to
+	my pipes? They must have been stopped up of
+	late, but now they are as clear and good as ever.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Again the merry notes went sounding far and
+	wide. The cattle on the mountain heard them,
+	and those that were old enough remembered how
+	these notes had called them from their pastures
+	every evening, and so they started down the
+	mountain-side, the others following.</p>
+
+	<p>The merry notes were heard in the village
+	below, and the people were much astonished
+	thereby. &#8220;Why, who can be blowing the pipes
+	of Old Pipes?&#8221; they said. But, as they were all
+	very busy, no one went up to see. One thing,
+	however, was plain enough: the cattle were
+	coming down the mountain. And so the two
+	boys and the girl did not have to go after them,
+	and had an hour for play, for which they were
+	very glad.</p>
+
+	<p>The next morning Old Pipes started down to
+	the village with his money, and on the way he
+	met the Dryad. &#8220;Oh, ho!&#8221; he cried, &#8220;is that
+	you? Why, I thought my letting you out of the
+	tree was nothing but a dream.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;A dream!&#8221; cried the Dryad; &#8220;if you only
+	knew how happy you have made me you would
+	not think it merely a dream. And has it not
+	benefited you? Do you not feel happier? Yesterday
+	I heard you playing beautifully on your
+	pipes.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page180" title="180">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;Yes, yes,&#8221; cried he. &#8220;I did not understand
+	it before, but I see it all now. I have really grown
+	younger. I thank you, I thank you, good Dryad,
+	from the bottom of my heart. It was the finding
+	of the money in my pocket that made me think it
+	was a dream.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh, I put it in when you were asleep,&#8221; she
+	said, laughing, &#8220;because I thought you ought to
+	keep it. Good-by, kind, honest man. May you
+	live long and be as happy as I am now.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Old Pipes was greatly delighted when he understood
+	that he was really a younger man; but that
+	made no difference about the money, and he kept
+	on his way to the village. As soon as he reached
+	it he was eagerly questioned as to who had been
+	playing his pipes the evening before; and when
+	the people heard that it was himself, they were
+	very much surprised. Thereupon Old Pipes told
+	what had happened to him, and then there was
+	greater wonder, with hearty congratulations and
+	hand-shakes; for Old Pipes was liked by every
+	one. The Chief Villager refused to take his
+	money, and, although Old Pipes said that he had
+	not earned it, every one present insisted that, as
+	he would now play on his pipes as before, he
+	should lose nothing because, for a time, he was
+	unable to perform his duty.</p>
+
+	<p>So Old Pipes was obliged to keep his money,
+	and after an hour or two spent in conversation
+	with his friends, he returned to his cottage.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page181" title="181">&nbsp;</a>There was one individual, however, who was
+	not at all pleased with what had happened to Old
+	Pipes. This was an Echo-dwarf, who lived on
+	the hills on the other side of the valley, and
+	whose duty it was to echo back the notes of the
+	pipes whenever they could be heard. There were
+	a great many other Echo-dwarfs on these hills,
+	some of whom echoed back the songs of maidens,
+	some the shouts of children, and others the music
+	that was often heard in the village. But there was
+	only one who could send back the strong notes of
+	the pipes of Old Pipes, and this had been his sole
+	duty for many years. But when the old man grew
+	feeble, and the notes of his pipes could not be
+	heard on the opposite hills, this Echo-dwarf had
+	nothing to do, and he spent his time in delightful
+	idleness; and he slept so much and grew so fat
+	that it made his companions laugh to see him walk.</p>
+
+	<p>On the afternoon on which, after so long an
+	interval, the sound of the pipes was heard on the
+	echo-hills, this dwarf was fast asleep behind a
+	rock. As soon as the first notes reached them,
+	some of his companions ran to wake him. Rolling
+	to his feet, he echoed back the merry tune of
+	Old Pipes. Naturally he was very much annoyed
+	and indignant at being thus obliged to
+	give up his life of comfortable leisure, and he
+	hoped very much that this pipe-playing would not
+	occur again. The next afternoon he was awake
+	and listening, and, sure enough, at the usual
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page182" title="182">&nbsp;</a>hour, along came the notes of the pipes as clear
+	and strong as they ever had been; and he was
+	obliged to work as long as Old Pipes played.
+	The Echo-dwarf was very angry. He had supposed,
+	of course, that the pipe-playing had ceased
+	forever, and he felt that he had a right to be indignant
+	at being thus deceived. He was so much
+	disturbed that he made up his mind to go and try
+	to find out whether this was to be a temporary
+	matter or not. He had plenty of time, as the
+	pipes were played but once a day, and he set off
+	early in the morning for the hill on which Old
+	Pipes lived. It was hard work for the fat little
+	fellow, and when he had crossed the valley and
+	had gone some distance into the woods on the
+	hillside, he stopped to rest, and in a few minutes
+	the Dryad came tripping along.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Ho, ho!&#8221; exclaimed the dwarf; &#8220;what are
+	you doing here? and how did you get out of your
+	tree?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Doing!&#8221; cried the Dryad, &#8220;I am being
+	happy; that&#8217;s what I am doing. And I was let
+	out of my tree by a good old man who plays the
+	pipes to call the cattle down from the mountain.
+	And it makes me happier to think that I have
+	been of service to him. I gave him two kisses of
+	gratitude, and now he is young enough to play
+	his pipes as well as ever.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The Echo-dwarf stepped forward, his face pale
+	with passion. &#8220;Am I to believe,&#8221; he said, &#8220;that
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page183" title="183">&nbsp;</a>you are the cause of this great evil that has come
+	upon me? and that you are the wicked creature
+	who has again started this old man upon his
+	career of pipe-playing? What have I ever done
+	to you that you should have condemned me for
+	years and years to echo back the notes of those
+	wretched pipes?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>At this the Dryad laughed loudly.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;What a funny little fellow you are!&#8221; she said.
+	&#8220;Any one would think you had been condemned
+	to toil from morning till night; while what you
+	really have to do is merely to imitate for half an
+	hour every day the merry notes of Old Pipes&#8217;s
+	piping. Fie upon you, Echo-dwarf! You are
+	lazy and selfish; and that is what is the matter
+	with you. Instead of grumbling at being obliged
+	to do a little wholesome work&#8212;which is less, I
+	am sure, than that of any other Echo-dwarf upon
+	the rocky hillside&#8212;you should rejoice at the
+	good fortune of the old man who has regained so
+	much of his strength and vigor. Go home and
+	learn to be just and generous; and then, perhaps,
+	you may be happy. Good-by.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Insolent creature!&#8221; shouted the dwarf, as he
+	shook his fat little fist at her. &#8220;I&#8217;ll make you
+	suffer for this. You shall find out what it is to
+	heap injury and insult upon one like me, and to
+	snatch from him the repose that he has earned
+	by long years of toil.&#8221; And, shaking his head
+	savagely, he hurried back to the rocky hillside.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page184" title="184">&nbsp;</a>Every afternoon the merry notes of the pipes of
+	Old Pipes sounded down into the valley and over
+	the hills and up the mountain-side; and every
+	afternoon when he had echoed them back, the
+	little dwarf grew more and more angry with the
+	Dryad. Each day, from early morning till it was
+	time for him to go back to his duties upon the
+	rocky hillside, he searched the woods for her.
+	He intended, if he met her, to pretend to be very
+	sorry for what he had said, and he thought he
+	might be able to play a trick upon her which
+	would avenge him well. One day, while thus
+	wandering among the trees, he met Old Pipes.
+	The Echo-dwarf did not generally care to see
+	or speak to ordinary people; but now he was so
+	anxious to find the object of his search that he
+	stopped and asked Old Pipes if he had seen the
+	Dryad. The piper had not noticed the little
+	fellow, and he looked down on him with some
+	surprise.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; he said, &#8220;I have not seen her, and I
+	have been looking everywhere for her.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;You!&#8221; cried the dwarf; &#8220;what do you wish
+	with her?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Old Pipes then sat down on a stone, so that
+	he should be nearer the ear of his small companion,
+	and he told what the Dryad had done for
+	him.</p>
+
+	<p>When the Echo-dwarf heard that this was the
+	man whose pipes he was obliged to echo back
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page185" title="185">&nbsp;</a>every day, he would have slain him on the spot
+	had he been able; but, as he was not able, he
+	merely ground his teeth and listened to the rest
+	of the story.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I am looking for the Dryad now,&#8221; Old Pipes
+	continued, &#8220;on account of my aged mother.
+	When I was old myself, I did not notice how
+	very old my mother was; but now it shocks me
+	to see how feeble and decrepit her years have
+	caused her to become; and I am looking for the
+	Dryad to ask her to make my mother younger, as
+	she made me.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The eyes of the Echo-dwarf glistened. Here
+	was a man who might help him in his plans.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Your idea is a good one,&#8221; he said to Old
+	Pipes, &#8220;and it does you honor. But you should
+	know that a Dryad can make no person younger
+	but one who lets her out of her tree. However,
+	you can manage the affair very easily. All you
+	need do is to find the Dryad, tell her what you
+	want, and request her to step into her tree and be
+	shut up for a short time. Then you will go and
+	bring your mother to the tree; she will open it,
+	and everything will be as you wish. Is not this
+	a good plan?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Excellent!&#8221; cried Old Pipes; &#8220;and I will
+	go instantly and search more diligently for the
+	Dryad.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Take me with you,&#8221; said the Echo-dwarf.
+	&#8220;You can easily carry me on your strong shoulders;
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page186" title="186">&nbsp;</a>and I shall be glad to help you in any way
+	that I can.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Now, then,&#8221; said the little fellow to himself,
+	as Old Pipes carried him rapidly along, &#8220;if he
+	persuades the Dryad to get into a tree&#8212;and she
+	is quite foolish enough to do it&#8212;and then goes
+	away to bring his mother, I shall take a stone or
+	a club and I will break off the key of that tree,
+	so that nobody can ever turn it again. Then
+	Mistress Dryad will see what she has brought
+	upon herself by her behavior to me.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Before long they came to the great oak-tree in
+	which the Dryad had lived, and, at a distance,
+	they saw that beautiful creature herself coming
+	toward them.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;How excellently well everything happens!&#8221;
+	said the dwarf. &#8220;Put me down, and I will go.
+	Your business with the Dryad is more important
+	than mine; and you need not say anything about
+	my having suggested your plan to you. I am
+	willing that you should have all the credit of it
+	yourself.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Old Pipes put the Echo-dwarf upon the ground,
+	but the little rogue did not go away. He concealed
+	himself between some low, mossy rocks,
+	and he was so much of their color that you would
+	not have noticed him if you had been looking
+	straight at him.</p>
+
+	<p>When the Dryad came up, Old Pipes lost no
+	time in telling her about his mother, and what
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page187" title="187">&nbsp;</a>he wished her to do. At first the Dryad answered
+	nothing, but stood looking very sadly at Old
+	Pipes.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Do you really wish me to go into my tree
+	again?&#8221; she said. &#8220;I should dreadfully dislike
+	to do it, for I don&#8217;t know what might happen.
+	It is not at all necessary, for I could make your
+	mother younger at any time if she would give me
+	the opportunity. I had already thought of making
+	you still happier in this way, and several
+	times I have waited about your cottage, hoping
+	to meet your aged mother; but she never comes
+	outside, and you know a Dryad cannot enter a
+	house. I cannot imagine what put this idea
+	into your head. Did you think of it yourself?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;No, I cannot say that I did,&#8221; answered Old
+	Pipes. &#8220;A little dwarf whom I met in the woods
+	proposed it to me.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh!&#8221; cried the Dryad, &#8220;now I see through
+	it all. It is the scheme of that vile Echo-dwarf&#8212;your
+	enemy and mine. Where is he? I should
+	like to see him.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I think he has gone away,&#8221; said Old Pipes.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;No, he has not,&#8221; said the Dryad, whose
+	quick eyes perceived the Echo-dwarf among the
+	rocks. &#8220;There he is. Seize him and drag him
+	out, I beg of you.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Old Pipes perceived the dwarf as soon as he
+	was pointed out to him, and, running to the
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page188" title="188">&nbsp;</a>rocks, he caught the little fellow by the arm and
+	pulled him out.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Now, then,&#8221; cried the Dryad, who had
+	opened the door of the great oak, &#8220;just stick
+	him in there and we will shut him <ins id="ins3" class="correction" title="no">up</ins>. Then I
+	shall be safe from his mischief for the rest of the
+	time I am free.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Old Pipes thrust the Echo-dwarf into the tree;
+	the Dryad pushed the door shut; there was a
+	clicking sound of bark and wood, and no one
+	would have noticed that the big oak had ever had
+	an opening in it.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;There!&#8221; said the Dryad; &#8220;now we need not
+	be afraid of him. And I assure you, my good
+	piper, that I shall be very glad to make your
+	mother younger as soon as I can. Will you not
+	ask her to come out and meet me?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Of course I will,&#8221; cried Old Pipes; &#8220;and I
+	will do it without delay.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>And then, the Dryad by his side, he hurried to
+	his cottage. But when he mentioned the matter
+	to his mother, the old woman became very angry
+	indeed. She did not believe in Dryads; and, if
+	they really did exist, she knew they must be
+	witches and sorceresses, and she would have
+	nothing to do with them. If her son had ever
+	allowed himself to be kissed by one of them, he
+	ought to be ashamed of himself. As to its doing
+	him the least bit of good, she did not believe a
+	word of it. He felt better than he used to feel,
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page189" title="189">&nbsp;</a>but that was very common; she had sometimes
+	felt that way herself. And she forbade him ever
+	to mention a Dryad to her again.</p>
+
+	<p>That afternoon Old Pipes, feeling very sad that
+	his plan in regard to his mother had failed, sat
+	down upon the rock and played upon his pipes.
+	The pleasant sounds went down the valley and up
+	the hills and mountain, but, to the great surprise
+	of some persons who happened to notice the fact,
+	the notes were not echoed back from the rocky
+	hillside, but from the woods on the side of the
+	valley on which Old Pipes lived. The next day
+	many of the villagers stopped in their work to
+	listen to the echo of the pipes coming from the
+	woods. The sound was not as clear and strong
+	as it used to be when it was sent back from the
+	rocky hillside, but it certainly came from among
+	the trees. Such a thing as an echo changing its
+	place in this way had never been heard of before,
+	and nobody was able to explain how it could have
+	happened. Old Pipes, however, knew very well
+	that the sound came from the Echo-dwarf shut up
+	in the great oak-tree. The sides of the tree were
+	thin, and the sound of the pipes could be heard
+	through them, and the dwarf was obliged by the
+	laws of his being to echo back those notes whenever
+	they came to him. But Old Pipes thought
+	he might get the Dryad in trouble if he let any
+	one know that the Echo-dwarf was shut up in
+	the tree, and so he wisely said nothing about it.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page190" title="190">&nbsp;</a>One day the two boys and the girl who had
+	helped Old Pipes up the hill were playing in the
+	woods. Stopping near the great oak-tree, they
+	heard a sound of knocking within it, and then a
+	voice plainly said:</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Let me out! let me out!&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>For a moment the children stood still in astonishment,
+	and then one of the boys exclaimed:</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh, it is a Dryad, like the one Old Pipes
+	found! Let&#8217;s let her out!&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;What are you thinking of?&#8221; cried the girl.
+	&#8220;I am the oldest of all, and I am only thirteen.
+	Do you wish to be turned into crawling babies?
+	Run! run! run!&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>And the two boys and the girl dashed down
+	into the valley as fast as their legs could carry
+	them. There was no desire in their youthful
+	hearts to be made younger than they were. And
+	for fear that their parents might think it well that
+	they should commence their careers anew, they
+	never said a word about finding the Dryad-tree.</p>
+
+	<p>As the summer days went on Old Pipes&#8217;s
+	mother grew feebler and feebler. One day when
+	her son was away&#8212;for he now frequently went
+	into the woods to hunt or fish, or down into the
+	valley to work&#8212;she arose from her knitting to
+	prepare the simple dinner. But she felt so weak
+	and tired that she was not able to do the work to
+	which she had been so long accustomed. &#8220;Alas!
+	alas!&#8221; she said, &#8220;the time has come when I am
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page191" title="191">&nbsp;</a>too old to work. My son will have to hire some
+	one to come here and cook his meals, make his
+	bed, and mend his clothes. Alas! alas! I had
+	hoped that as long as I lived I should be able to
+	do these things. But it is not so. I have grown
+	utterly worthless, and some one else must prepare
+	the dinner for my son. I wonder where he
+	is.&#8221; And tottering to the door, she went outside
+	to look for him. She did not feel able to stand,
+	and reaching the rustic chair, she sank into it,
+	quite exhausted, and soon fell asleep.</p>
+
+	<p>The Dryad, who had often come to the cottage
+	to see if she could find an opportunity of carrying
+	out Old Pipes&#8217;s affectionate design, now happened
+	by; and seeing that the much-desired occasion
+	had come, she stepped up quietly behind the old
+	woman and gently kissed her on each cheek, and
+	then as quietly disappeared.</p>
+
+	<p>In a few minutes the mother of Old Pipes
+	awoke, and looking up at the sun, she exclaimed,
+	&#8220;Why, it is almost dinner-time! My son will
+	be here directly, and I am not ready for him.&#8221;
+	And rising to her feet, she hurried into the house,
+	made the fire, set the meat and vegetables to cook,
+	laid the cloth, and by the time her son arrived the
+	meal was on the table.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;How a little sleep does refresh one!&#8221; she
+	said to herself, as she was bustling about. She
+	was a woman of very vigorous constitution, and
+	at seventy had been a great deal stronger and
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page192" title="192">&nbsp;</a>more active than her son was at that age. The
+	moment Old Pipes saw his mother, he knew that
+	the Dryad had been there; but, while he felt as
+	happy as a king, he was too wise to say anything
+	about her.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;It is astonishing how well I feel to-day,&#8221; said
+	his mother; &#8220;and either my hearing has improved
+	or you speak much more plainly than you have
+	done of late.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The summer days went on and passed away,
+	the leaves were falling from the trees, and the air
+	was becoming cold.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Nature has ceased to be lovely,&#8221; said the
+	Dryad, &#8220;and the night winds chill me. It is
+	time for me to go back into my comfortable
+	quarters in the great oak. But first I must pay
+	another visit to the cottage of Old Pipes.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>She found the piper and his mother sitting side
+	by side on the rock in front of the door. The
+	cattle were not to go to the mountain any more
+	that season, and he was piping them down for
+	the last time. Loud and merrily sounded the
+	pipes of Old Pipes, and down the mountain-side
+	came the cattle, the cows by the easiest paths,
+	the sheep by those not quite so easy, and the
+	goats by the most difficult ones among the rocks;
+	while from the great oak-tree were heard the
+	echoes of the cheerful music.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;How happy they look, sitting there together!&#8221;
+	said the Dryad; &#8220;and I don&#8217;t believe it will do
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page193" title="193">&nbsp;</a>them a bit of harm to be still younger.&#8221; And
+	moving quietly up behind them, she first kissed
+	Old Pipes on his cheek and then his mother.</p>
+
+	<p>Old Pipes, who had stopped playing, knew
+	what it was, but he did not move, and said nothing.
+	His mother, thinking that her son had
+	kissed her, turned to him with a smile and kissed
+	him in return. And then she arose and went into
+	the cottage, a vigorous woman of sixty, followed
+	by her son, erect and happy, and twenty years
+	younger than herself.</p>
+
+	<p>The Dryad sped away to the woods, shrugging
+	her shoulders as she felt the cool evening
+	wind.</p>
+
+	<p>When she reached the great oak, she turned
+	the key and opened the door. &#8220;Come out,&#8221;
+	she said to the Echo-dwarf, who sat blinking
+	within. &#8220;Winter is coming on, and I want the
+	comfortable shelter of my tree for myself. The
+	cattle have come down from the mountain for the
+	last time this year, the pipes will no longer
+	sound, and you can go to your rocks and have a
+	holiday until next spring.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Upon hearing these words the dwarf skipped
+	quickly out, and the Dryad entered the tree and
+	pulled the door shut after her. &#8220;Now, then,&#8221;
+	she said to herself, &#8220;he can break off the key if
+	he likes. It does not matter to me. Another
+	will grow out next spring. And although the
+	good piper made me no promise, I know that
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page194" title="194">&nbsp;</a>when the warm days arrive next year he will
+	come and let me out again.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The Echo-dwarf did not stop to break the key
+	of the tree. He was too happy to be released to
+	think of anything else, and he hastened as fast as
+	he could to his home on the rocky hillside.</p>
+
+	<hr class="thoughtbreak" />
+
+	<p class="post_thoughtbreak">The Dryad was not mistaken when she trusted
+	in the piper. When the warm days came again
+	he went to the oak-tree to let her out. But, to
+	his sorrow and surprise, he found the great tree
+	lying upon the ground. A winter storm had
+	blown it down, and it lay with its trunk shattered
+	and split. And what became of the Dryad no
+	one ever knew.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div id="ghost" class="story">
+	<!-- <a class="pagenum" id="page195" title="195">&nbsp;</a>THE TRANSFERRED GHOST
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page196" title="196">&nbsp;</a>[Blank Page] -->
+
+	<h2 class="story_title"><a class="pagenum disguise" id="page197" title="197">&nbsp;</a>THE TRANSFERRED GHOST</h2>
+
+	<p class="return_toc"><a href="#contents" title="Return to Contents">ToC</a></p>
+
+	<p class="first_paragraph"><span class="first_word">The</span> country residence of Mr. John
+	Hinckman was a delightful place to
+	me, for many reasons. It was the
+	abode of a genial, though somewhat
+	impulsive, hospitality. It had broad, smooth-shaven
+	lawns and towering oaks and elms; there
+	were bosky shades at several points, and not far
+	from the house there was a little rill spanned by
+	a rustic bridge with the bark on; there were
+	fruits and flowers, pleasant people, chess, billiards,
+	rides, walks, and fishing. These were
+	great attractions; but none of them, nor all of
+	them together, would have been sufficient to
+	hold me to the place very long. I had been
+	invited for the trout season, but should probably
+	have finished my visit early in the summer had it
+	not been that upon fair days, when the grass was
+	dry, and the sun was not too hot, and there was
+	but little wind, there strolled beneath the lofty
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page198" title="198">&nbsp;</a>elms, or passed lightly through the bosky shades,
+	the form of my Madeline.</p>
+
+	<p>This lady was not, in very truth, my Madeline.
+	She had never given herself to me, nor had I, in
+	any way, acquired possession of her. But as I
+	considered her possession the only sufficient reason
+	for the continuance of my existence, I called
+	her, in my reveries, mine. It may have been
+	that I would not have been obliged to confine the
+	use of this possessive pronoun to my reveries
+	had I confessed the state of my feelings to the
+	lady.</p>
+
+	<p>But this was an unusually difficult thing to do.
+	Not only did I dread, as almost all lovers dread,
+	taking the step which would in an instant put an
+	end to that delightful season which may be termed
+	the ante-interrogatory period of love, and which
+	might at the same time terminate all intercourse
+	or connection with the object of my passion, but
+	I was also dreadfully afraid of John Hinckman.
+	This gentleman was a good friend of mine, but
+	it would have required a bolder man than I was
+	at that time to ask him for the gift of his niece,
+	who was the head of his household, and, according
+	to his own frequent statement, the main prop
+	of his declining years. Had Madeline acquiesced
+	in my general views on the subject, I might have
+	felt encouraged to open the matter to Mr. Hinckman;
+	but, as I said before, I had never asked her
+	whether or not she would be mine. I thought of
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page199" title="199">&nbsp;</a>these things at all hours of the day and night,
+	particularly the latter.</p>
+
+	<p>I was lying awake one night, in the great bed
+	in my spacious chamber, when, by the dim light
+	of the new moon, which partially filled the room,
+	I saw John Hinckman standing by a large chair
+	near the door. I was very much surprised at this,
+	for two reasons. In the first place, my host had
+	never before come into my room; and, in the
+	second place, he had gone from home that morning,
+	and had not expected to return for several
+	days. It was for this reason that I had been
+	able that evening to sit much later than usual
+	with Madeline on the moon-lit porch. The figure
+	was certainly that of John Hinckman in his ordinary
+	dress, but there was a vagueness and indistinctness
+	about it which presently assured me
+	that it was a ghost. Had the good old man been
+	murdered? and had his spirit come to tell me of
+	the deed, and to confide to me the protection of
+	his dear&#8212;? My heart fluttered at what I was
+	about to think, but at this instant the figure
+	spoke.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Do you know,&#8221; he said, with a countenance
+	that indicated anxiety, &#8220;if Mr. Hinckman will
+	return to-night?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I thought it well to maintain a calm exterior,
+	and I answered:</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;We do not expect him.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I am glad of that,&#8221; said he, sinking into the
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page200" title="200">&nbsp;</a>chair by which he stood. &#8220;During the two years
+	and a half that I have inhabited this house, that
+	man has never before been away for a single
+	night. You can&#8217;t imagine the relief it gives me.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>And as he spoke he stretched out his legs and
+	leaned back in the chair. His form became less
+	vague, and the colors of his garments more distinct
+	and evident, while an expression of gratified
+	relief succeeded to the anxiety of his countenance.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Two years and a half!&#8221; I exclaimed. &#8220;I
+	don&#8217;t understand you.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;It is fully that length of time,&#8221; said the
+	ghost, &#8220;since I first came here. Mine is not an
+	ordinary case. But before I say anything more
+	about it, let me ask you again if you are sure Mr.
+	Hinckman will not return to-night?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I am as sure of it as I can be of anything,&#8221;
+	I answered. &#8220;He left to-day for Bristol, two
+	hundred miles away.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Then I will go on,&#8221; said the ghost, &#8220;for I
+	am glad to have the opportunity of talking to
+	some one who will listen to me; but if John
+	Hinckman should come in and catch me here I
+	should be frightened out of my wits.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;This is all very strange,&#8221; I said, greatly
+	puzzled by what I had heard. &#8220;Are you the
+	ghost of Mr. Hinckman?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>This was a bold question, but my mind was so
+	full of other emotions that there seemed to be no
+	room for that of fear.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page201" title="201">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;Yes, I am his ghost,&#8221; my companion replied,
+	&#8220;and yet I have no right to be. And this is what
+	makes me so uneasy, and so much afraid of him.
+	It is a strange story, and, I truly believe, without
+	precedent. Two years and a half ago John Hinckman
+	was dangerously ill in this very room. At
+	one time he was so far gone that he was really
+	believed to be dead. It was in consequence of
+	too precipitate a report in regard to this matter
+	that I was, at that time, appointed to be his
+	ghost. Imagine my surprise and horror, sir,
+	when, after I had accepted the position and assumed
+	its responsibilities, that old man revived,
+	became convalescent, and eventually regained his
+	usual health. My situation was now one of extreme
+	delicacy and embarrassment. I had no
+	power to return to my original unembodiment,
+	and I had no right to be the ghost of a man who
+	was not dead. I was advised by my friends to
+	quietly maintain my position, and was assured
+	that, as John Hinckman was an elderly man, it
+	could not be long before I could rightfully assume
+	the position for which I had been selected.
+	But I tell you, sir,&#8221; he continued, with animation,
+	&#8220;the old fellow seems as vigorous as ever, and I
+	have no idea how much longer this annoying state
+	of things will continue. I spend my time trying
+	to get out of that old man&#8217;s way. I must not
+	leave this house, and he seems to follow me
+	everywhere. I tell you, sir, he haunts me.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page202" title="202">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;That is truly a queer state of things,&#8221; I remarked.
+	&#8220;But why are you afraid of him? He
+	couldn&#8217;t hurt you.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Of course he couldn&#8217;t,&#8221; said the ghost. &#8220;But
+	his very presence is a shock and terror to me.
+	Imagine, sir, how you would feel if my case were
+	yours.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I could not imagine such a thing at all. I
+	simply shuddered.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;And if one must be a wrongful ghost at all,&#8221;
+	the apparition continued, &#8220;it would be much
+	pleasanter to be the ghost of some man other
+	than John Hinckman. There is in him an irascibility
+	of temper, accompanied by a facility of
+	invective, which is seldom met with. And what
+	would happen if he were to see me, and find out,
+	as I am sure he would, how long and why I had
+	inhabited his house, I can scarcely conceive. I
+	have seen him in his bursts of passion; and, although
+	he did not hurt the people he stormed at
+	any more than he would hurt me, they seemed to
+	shrink before him.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>All this I knew to be very true. Had it not
+	been for this peculiarity of Mr. Hinckman I
+	might have been more willing to talk to him about
+	his niece.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I feel sorry for you,&#8221; I said, for I really began
+	to have a sympathetic feeling toward this unfortunate
+	apparition. &#8220;Your case is indeed a hard
+	one. It reminds me of those persons who have
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page203" title="203">&nbsp;</a>had doubles, and I suppose a man would often be
+	very angry indeed when he found that there was
+	another being who was personating himself.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh, the cases are not similar at all,&#8221; said
+	the ghost. &#8220;A double or doppelgänger lives on
+	the earth with a man, and, being exactly like
+	him, he makes all sorts of trouble, of course. It
+	is very different with me. I am not here to live
+	with Mr. Hinckman. I am here to take his
+	place. Now, it would make John Hinckman
+	very angry if he knew that. Don&#8217;t you know it
+	would?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I assented promptly.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Now that he is away I can be easy for a little
+	while,&#8221; continued the ghost; &#8220;and I am so glad
+	to have an opportunity of talking to you. I have
+	frequently come into your room and watched you
+	while you slept, but did not dare to speak to you
+	for fear that if you talked with me Mr. Hinckman
+	would hear you and come into the room to know
+	why you were talking to yourself.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;But would he not hear you?&#8221; I asked.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh no!&#8221; said the other; &#8220;there are times
+	when any one may see me, but no one hears me
+	except the person to whom I address myself.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;But why did you wish to speak to me?&#8221; I
+	asked.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Because,&#8221; replied the ghost, &#8220;I like occasionally
+	to talk to people, and especially to some
+	one like yourself, whose mind is so troubled and
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page204" title="204">&nbsp;</a>perturbed that you are not likely to be frightened
+	by a visit from one of us. But I particularly
+	wanted to ask you to do me a favor. There is
+	every probability, so far as I can see, that John
+	Hinckman will live a long time, and my situation
+	is becoming insupportable. My great object at
+	present is to get myself transferred, and I think
+	that you may, perhaps, be of use to me.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Transferred!&#8221; I exclaimed. &#8220;What do you
+	mean by that?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;What I mean,&#8221; said the other, &#8220;is this: now
+	that I have started on my career I have got to be
+	the ghost of somebody, and I want to be the
+	ghost of a man who is really dead.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I should think that would be easy enough,&#8221; I
+	said. &#8220;Opportunities must continually occur.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Not at all! not at all!&#8221; said my companion,
+	quickly. &#8220;You have no idea what a rush and
+	pressure there is for situations of this kind.
+	Whenever a vacancy occurs, if I may express
+	myself in that way, there are crowds of applications
+	for the ghostship.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I had no idea that such a state of things
+	existed,&#8221; I said, becoming quite interested in the
+	matter. &#8220;There ought to be some regular system,
+	or order of precedence, by which you could
+	all take your turns like customers in a barber&#8217;s
+	shop.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh dear, that would never do at all!&#8221; said
+	the other. &#8220;Some of us would have to wait forever.
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page205" title="205">&nbsp;</a>There is always a great rush whenever a
+	good ghostship offers itself&#8212;while, as you know,
+	there are some positions that no one would care
+	for. And it was in consequence of my being in
+	too great a hurry on an occasion of the kind that
+	I got myself into my present disagreeable predicament,
+	and I have thought that it might be possible
+	that you would help me out of it. You might
+	know of a case where an opportunity for a ghostship
+	was not generally expected, but which might
+	present itself at any moment. If you would give
+	me a short notice I know I could arrange for a
+	transfer.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;What do you mean?&#8221; I exclaimed. &#8220;Do
+	you want me to commit suicide? or to undertake
+	a murder for your benefit?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh no, no, no!&#8221; said the other, with a vapory
+	smile. &#8220;I mean nothing of that kind. To be
+	sure, there are lovers who are watched with considerable
+	interest, such persons having been
+	known, in moments of depression, to offer very
+	desirable ghostships; but I did not think of anything
+	of that kind in connection with you. You
+	were the only person I cared to speak to, and I
+	hoped that you might give me some information
+	that would be of use; and, in return, I shall be
+	very glad to help you in your love-affair.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;You seem to know that I have such an
+	affair,&#8221; I said.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh yes!&#8221; replied the other, with a little
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page206" title="206">&nbsp;</a>yawn. &#8220;I could not be here so much as I have
+	been without knowing all about that.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>There was something horrible in the idea of
+	Madeline and myself having been watched by a
+	ghost, even, perhaps, when we wandered together
+	in the most delightful and bosky places.
+	But then this was quite an exceptional ghost, and
+	I could not have the objections to him which
+	would ordinarily arise in regard to beings of his
+	class.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I must go now,&#8221; said the ghost, rising, &#8220;but
+	I will see you somewhere to-morrow night. And
+	remember&#8212;you help me and I&#8217;ll help you.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I had doubts the next morning as to the propriety
+	of telling Madeline anything about this interview,
+	and soon convinced myself that I must
+	keep silent on the subject. If she knew there
+	was a ghost about the house she would probably
+	leave the place instantly. I did not mention the
+	matter, and so regulated my demeanor that I am
+	quite sure Madeline never suspected what had
+	taken place. For some time I had wished that
+	Mr. Hinckman would absent himself, for a day
+	at least, from the premises. In such case I
+	thought I might more easily nerve myself up to
+	the point of speaking to Madeline on the subject
+	of our future collateral existence; and, now that
+	the opportunity for such speech had really occurred,
+	I did not feel ready to avail myself of it.
+	What would become of me if she refused me?</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page207" title="207">&nbsp;</a>I had an idea, however, that the lady thought
+	that, if I were going to speak at all, this was the
+	time. She must have known that certain sentiments
+	were afloat within me, and she was not unreasonable
+	in her wish to see the matter settled
+	one way or the other. But I did not feel like
+	taking a bold step in the dark. If she wished
+	me to ask her to give herself to me she ought to
+	offer me some reason to suppose that she would
+	make the gift. If I saw no probability of such
+	generosity I would prefer that things should
+	remain as they were.</p>
+
+	<hr class="thoughtbreak" />
+
+	<p class="post_thoughtbreak">That evening I was sitting with Madeline in
+	the moon-lit porch. It was nearly ten o&#8217;clock,
+	and ever since supper-time I had been working
+	myself up to the point of making an avowal of
+	my sentiments. I had not positively determined
+	to do this, but wished gradually to reach the
+	proper point, when, if the prospect looked bright,
+	I might speak. My companion appeared to understand
+	the situation&#8212;at least I imagined that the
+	nearer I came to a proposal the more she seemed
+	to expect it. It was certainly a very critical and
+	important epoch in my life. If I spoke I should
+	make myself happy or miserable forever; and if
+	I did not speak I had every reason to believe that
+	the lady would not give me another chance to
+	do so.</p>
+
+	<p>Sitting thus with Madeline, talking a little, and
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page208" title="208">&nbsp;</a>thinking very hard over these momentous matters,
+	I looked up and saw the ghost not a dozen feet
+	away from us. He was sitting on the railing of
+	the porch, one leg thrown up before him, the
+	other dangling down as he leaned against a post.
+	He was behind Madeline, but almost in front of
+	me, as I sat facing the lady. It was fortunate
+	that Madeline was looking out over the landscape,
+	for I must have appeared very much startled.
+	The ghost had told me that he would see me
+	sometime this night, but I did not think he would
+	make his appearance when I was in the company
+	of Madeline. If she should see the spirit of her
+	uncle I could not answer for the consequences.
+	I made no exclamation, but the ghost evidently
+	saw that I was troubled.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t be afraid,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I shall not let
+	her see me; and she cannot hear me speak unless
+	I address myself to her, which I do not intend
+	to do.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I suppose I looked grateful.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;So you need not trouble yourself about that,&#8221;
+	the ghost continued; &#8220;but it seems to me that
+	you are not getting along very well with your
+	affair. If I were you I should speak out without
+	waiting any longer. You will never have a
+	better chance. You are not likely to be interrupted;
+	and, so far as I can judge, the lady
+	seems disposed to listen to you favorably; that
+	is, if she ever intends to do so. There is no
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page209" title="209">&nbsp;</a>knowing when John Hinckman will go away
+	again; certainly not this summer. If I were in
+	your place I should never dare to make love to
+	Hinckman&#8217;s niece if he were anywhere about the
+	place. If he should catch any one offering himself
+	to Miss Madeline he would then be a terrible
+	man to encounter.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I agreed perfectly to all this.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I cannot bear to think of him!&#8221; I ejaculated
+	aloud.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Think of whom?&#8221; asked Madeline, turning
+	quickly toward me.</p>
+
+	<p>Here was an awkward situation. The long
+	speech of the ghost, to which Madeline paid no
+	attention, but which I heard with perfect distinctness,
+	had made me forget myself.</p>
+
+	<p>It was necessary to explain quickly. Of course
+	it would not do to admit that it was of her dear
+	uncle that I was speaking; and so I mentioned
+	hastily the first name I thought of.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Mr. Vilars,&#8221; I said.</p>
+
+	<p>This statement was entirely correct; for I
+	never could bear to think of Mr. Vilars, who was
+	a gentleman who had at various times paid much
+	attention to Madeline.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;It is wrong for you to speak in that way of
+	Mr. Vilars,&#8221; she said. &#8220;He is a remarkably
+	well-educated and sensible young man, and has
+	very pleasant manners. He expects to be elected
+	to the legislature this fall, and I should not be
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page210" title="210">&nbsp;</a>surprised if he made his mark. He will do well
+	in a legislative body, for whenever Mr. Vilars has
+	anything to say he knows just how and when to
+	say it.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>This was spoken very quietly and without any
+	show of resentment, which was all very natural;
+	for if Madeline thought at all favorably of me she
+	could not feel displeased that I should have disagreeable
+	emotions in regard to a possible rival.
+	The concluding words contained a hint which I
+	was not slow to understand. I felt very sure
+	that if Mr. Vilars were in my present position he
+	would speak quickly enough.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I know it is wrong to have such ideas about
+	a person,&#8221; I said, &#8220;but I cannot help it.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The lady did not chide me, and after this she
+	seemed even in a softer mood. As for me, I felt
+	considerably annoyed, for I had not wished to
+	admit that any thought of Mr. Vilars had ever
+	occupied my mind.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;You should not speak aloud that way,&#8221; said
+	the ghost, &#8220;or you may get yourself into trouble.
+	I want to see everything go well with you, because
+	then you may be disposed to help me,
+	especially if I should chance to be of any assistance
+	to you, which I hope I shall be.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I longed to tell him that there was no way in
+	which he could help me so much as by taking his
+	instant departure. To make love to a young lady
+	with a ghost sitting on the railing near by, and
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page211" title="211">&nbsp;</a>that ghost the apparition of a much-dreaded uncle,
+	the very idea of whom in such a position and at
+	such a time made me tremble, was a difficult, if
+	not an impossible, thing to do; but I forbore to
+	speak, although I may have looked, my mind.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I suppose,&#8221; continued the ghost, &#8220;that you
+	have not heard anything that might be of advantage
+	to me. Of course I am very anxious to hear;
+	but if you have anything to tell me I can wait
+	until you are alone. I will come to you to-night
+	in your room, or I will stay here until the lady
+	goes away.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;You need not wait here,&#8221; I said; &#8220;I have
+	nothing at all to say to you.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Madeline sprang to her feet, her face flushed
+	and her eyes ablaze.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Wait here!&#8221; she cried. &#8220;What do you suppose
+	I am waiting for? Nothing to say to me
+	indeed!&#8212;I should think so! What should you
+	have to say to me?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Madeline,&#8221; I exclaimed, stepping toward her,
+	&#8220;let me explain.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>But she had gone.</p>
+
+	<p>Here was the end of the world for me! I
+	turned fiercely to the ghost.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Wretched existence!&#8221; I cried. &#8220;You have
+	ruined everything. You have blackened my whole
+	life. Had it not been for you&#8212;&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>But here my voice faltered. I could say no
+	more.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page212" title="212">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;You wrong me,&#8221; said the ghost. &#8220;I have
+	not injured you. I have tried only to encourage
+	and assist you, and it is your own folly that has
+	done this mischief. But do not despair. Such
+	mistakes as these can be explained. Keep up a
+	brave heart. Good-by.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>And he vanished from the railing like a bursting
+	soap-bubble.</p>
+
+	<p>I went gloomily to bed, but I saw no apparitions
+	that night except those of despair and
+	misery which my wretched thoughts called up.
+	The words I had uttered had sounded to Madeline
+	like the basest insult. Of course there was
+	only one interpretation she could put upon them.</p>
+
+	<p>As to explaining my ejaculations, that was impossible.
+	I thought the matter over and over
+	again as I lay awake that night, and I determined
+	that I would never tell Madeline the facts of the
+	case. It would be better for me to suffer all my
+	life than for her to know that the ghost of her
+	uncle haunted the house. Mr. Hinckman was
+	away, and if she knew of his ghost she could not
+	be made to believe that he was not dead. She
+	might not survive the shock! No, my heart
+	could bleed, but I would never tell her.</p>
+
+	<p>The next day was fine, neither too cool nor too
+	warm; the breezes were gentle, and Nature
+	smiled. But there were no walks or rides with
+	Madeline. She seemed to be much engaged
+	during the day, and I saw but little of her.
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page213" title="213">&nbsp;</a>When we met at meals she was polite, but very
+	quiet and reserved. She had evidently determined
+	on a course of conduct, and had resolved to assume
+	that, although I had been very rude to her, she
+	did not understand the import of my words. It
+	would be quite proper, of course, for her not to
+	know what I meant by my expressions of the
+	night before.</p>
+
+	<p>I was downcast and wretched and said but little,
+	and the only bright streak across the black horizon
+	of my woe was the fact that she did not appear to
+	be happy, although she affected an air of unconcern.
+	The moon-lit porch was deserted that
+	evening, but wandering about the house, I found
+	Madeline in the library alone. She was reading,
+	but I went in and sat down near her. I felt that,
+	although I could not do so fully, I must in a
+	measure explain my conduct of the night before.
+	She listened quietly to a somewhat labored
+	apology I made for the words I had used.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I have not the slightest idea what you
+	meant,&#8221; she said, &#8220;but you were very rude.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I earnestly disclaimed any intention of rudeness,
+	and assured her, with a warmth of speech
+	that must have made some impression upon her,
+	that rudeness to her would be an action impossible
+	to me. I said a great deal upon the subject,
+	and implored her to believe that if it were not for
+	a certain obstacle I could speak to her so plainly
+	that she would understand everything.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page214" title="214">&nbsp;</a>She was silent for a time, and then she said,
+	rather more kindly, I thought, than she had
+	spoken before:</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Is that obstacle in any way connected with
+	my uncle?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; I answered, after a little hesitation,
+	&#8220;it is, in a measure, connected with him.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>She made no answer to this, and sat looking at
+	her book, but not reading. From the expression
+	of her face I thought she was somewhat softened
+	toward me. She knew her uncle as well as I
+	did, and she may have been thinking that, if
+	he were the obstacle that prevented my speaking
+	(and there were many ways in which he might be
+	that obstacle), my position would be such a hard
+	one that it would excuse some wildness of speech
+	and eccentricity of manner. I saw, too, that the
+	warmth of my partial explanations had had some
+	effect on her, and I began to believe that it might
+	be a good thing for me to speak my mind without
+	delay. No matter how she should receive
+	my proposition, my relations with her could not
+	be worse than they had been the previous night
+	and day, and there was something in her face
+	which encouraged me to hope that she might
+	forget my foolish exclamations of the evening
+	before if I began to tell her my tale of love.</p>
+
+	<p>I drew my chair a little nearer to her, and as
+	I did so the ghost burst into the room from the
+	doorway behind her. I say burst, although no
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page215" title="215">&nbsp;</a>door flew open and he made no noise. He was
+	wildly excited, and waved his arms above his
+	head. The moment I saw him my heart fell
+	within me. With the entrance of that impertinent
+	apparition every hope fled from me. I
+	could not speak while he was in the room.</p>
+
+	<p>I must have turned pale; and I gazed steadfastly
+	at the ghost, almost without seeing Madeline,
+	who sat between us.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Do you know,&#8221; he cried, &#8220;that John Hinckman
+	is coming up the hill? He will be here in
+	fifteen minutes; and if you are doing anything in
+	the way of love-making you had better hurry it
+	up. But this is not what I came to tell you. I
+	have glorious news! At last I am transferred!
+	Not forty minutes ago a Russian nobleman was
+	murdered by the Nihilists. Nobody ever thought
+	of him in connection with an immediate ghostship.
+	My friends instantly applied for the situation for
+	me, and obtained my transfer. I am off before
+	that horrid Hinckman comes up the hill. The
+	moment I reach my new position I shall put
+	off this hated semblance. Good-by. You can&#8217;t
+	imagine how glad I am to be, at last, the real
+	ghost of somebody.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh!&#8221; I cried, rising to my feet, and stretching
+	out my arms in utter wretchedness, &#8220;I would
+	to Heaven you were mine!&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I <em>am</em> yours,&#8221; said Madeline, raising to me
+	her tearful eyes.</p>
+
+	<!-- <a class="pagenum" id="page216" title="216">&nbsp;</a>[Blank Page] -->
+</div>
+
+<div id="existences" class="story">
+	<!-- <a class="pagenum" id="page217" title="217">&nbsp;</a>"THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELATIVE
+	EXISTENCES"
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page218" title="218">&nbsp;</a>[Blank Page] -->
+
+	<h2 class="story_title"><a class="pagenum disguise" id="page219" title="219">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELATIVE EXISTENCES&#8221;</h2>
+
+	<p class="return_toc"><a href="#contents" title="Return to Contents">ToC</a></p>
+
+	<p class="first_paragraph"><span class="first_word">In</span> a certain summer, not long gone, my
+	friend Bentley and I found ourselves
+	in a little hamlet which overlooked a
+	placid valley, through which a river
+	gently moved, winding its way through green
+	stretches until it turned the end of a line of low
+	hills and was lost to view. Beyond this river,
+	far away, but visible from the door of the cottage
+	where we dwelt, there lay a city. Through the
+	mists which floated over the valley we could see
+	the outlines of steeples and tall roofs; and buildings
+	of a character which indicated thrift and
+	business stretched themselves down to the opposite
+	edge of the river. The more distant parts
+	of the city, evidently a small one, lost themselves
+	in the hazy summer atmosphere.</p>
+
+	<p>Bentley was young, fair-haired, and a poet; I
+	was a philosopher, or trying to be one. We
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page220" title="220">&nbsp;</a>were good friends, and had come down into this
+	peaceful region to work together. Although we
+	had fled from the bustle and distractions of the
+	town, the appearance in this rural region of a city,
+	which, so far as we could observe, exerted no influence
+	on the quiet character of the valley in
+	which it lay, aroused our interest. No craft
+	plied up and down the river; there were no
+	bridges from shore to shore; there were none of
+	those scattered and half-squalid habitations which
+	generally are found on the outskirts of a city;
+	there came to us no distant sound of bells; and
+	not the smallest wreath of smoke rose from any
+	of the buildings.</p>
+
+	<p>In answer to our inquiries our landlord told
+	us that the city over the river had been built by
+	one man, who was a visionary, and who had a
+	great deal more money than common sense.
+	&#8220;It is not as big a town as you would think,
+	sirs,&#8221; he said, &#8220;because the general mistiness of
+	things in this valley makes them look larger than
+	they are. Those hills, for instance, when you get
+	to them are not as high as they look to be from
+	here. But the town is big enough, and a good
+	deal too big; for it ruined its builder and owner,
+	who when he came to die had not money enough
+	left to put up a decent tombstone at the head of
+	his grave. He had a queer idea that he would
+	like to have his town all finished before anybody
+	lived in it, and so he kept on working and spending
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page221" title="221">&nbsp;</a>money year after year and year after year
+	until the city was done and he had not a cent left.
+	During all the time that the place was building
+	hundreds of people came to him to buy houses,
+	or to hire them, but he would not listen to anything
+	of the kind. No one must live in his town
+	until it was all done. Even his workmen were
+	obliged to go away at night to lodge. It is a
+	town, sirs, I am told, in which nobody has slept
+	for even a night. There are streets there, and
+	places of business, and churches, and public
+	halls, and everything that a town full of inhabitants
+	could need; but it is all empty and
+	deserted, and has been so as far back as I can
+	remember, and I came to this region when I
+	was a little boy.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;And is there no one to guard the place?&#8221; we
+	asked; &#8220;no one to protect it from wandering
+	vagrants who might choose to take possession of
+	the buildings?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;There are not many vagrants in this part of
+	the country,&#8221; he said, &#8220;and if there were they
+	would not go over to that city. It is haunted.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;By what?&#8221; we asked.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Well, sirs, I scarcely can tell you; queer beings
+	that are not flesh and blood, and that is all I
+	know about it. A good many people living hereabouts
+	have visited that place once in their lives,
+	but I know of no one who has gone there a
+	second time.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page222" title="222">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;And travellers,&#8221; I said, &#8220;are they not excited
+	by curiosity to explore that strange uninhabited
+	city?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh yes,&#8221; our host replied; &#8220;almost all
+	visitors to the valley go over to that queer city&#8212;generally
+	in small parties, for it is not a place
+	in which one wishes to walk about alone. Sometimes
+	they see things and sometimes they don&#8217;t.
+	But I never knew any man or woman to show a
+	fancy for living there, although it is a very good
+	town.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>This was said at supper-time, and, as it was
+	the period of full moon, Bentley and I decided
+	that we would visit the haunted city that evening.
+	Our host endeavored to dissuade us, saying that
+	no one ever went over there at night; but as we
+	were not to be deterred he told us where we
+	would find his small boat tied to a stake on the
+	river-bank. We soon crossed the river, and
+	landed at a broad but low stone pier, at the land
+	end of which a line of tall grasses waved in the
+	gentle night wind as if they were sentinels warning
+	us from entering the silent city. We pushed
+	through these, and walked up a street fairly
+	wide, and so well paved that we noticed none of
+	the weeds and other growths which generally denote
+	desertion or little use. By the bright light
+	of the moon we could see that the architecture
+	was simple, and of a character highly gratifying
+	to the eye. All the buildings were of stone, and
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page223" title="223">&nbsp;</a>of good size. We were greatly excited and interested,
+	and proposed to continue our walks
+	until the moon should set, and to return on the
+	following morning&#8212;&#8220;to live here, perhaps,&#8221;
+	said Bentley. &#8220;What could be so romantic and
+	yet so real? What could conduce better to the
+	marriage of verse and philosophy?&#8221; But as he
+	said this we saw around the corner of a cross-street
+	some forms as of people hurrying away.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;The spectres,&#8221; said my companion, laying his
+	hand on my arm.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Vagrants, more likely,&#8221; I answered, &#8220;who
+	have taken advantage of the superstition of the
+	region to appropriate this comfort and beauty to
+	themselves.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;If that be so,&#8221; said Bentley, &#8220;we must have
+	a care for our lives.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>We proceeded cautiously, and soon saw other
+	forms fleeing before us and disappearing, as we
+	supposed, around corners and into houses. And
+	now suddenly finding ourselves upon the edge of
+	a wide, open public square, we saw in the dim
+	light&#8212;for a tall steeple obscured the moon&#8212;the
+	forms of vehicles, horses, and men moving here
+	and there. But before, in our astonishment, we
+	could say a word one to the other, the moon
+	moved past the steeple, and in its bright light we
+	could see none of the signs of life and traffic
+	which had just astonished us.</p>
+
+	<p>Timidly, with hearts beating fast, but with not
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page224" title="224">&nbsp;</a>one thought of turning back, nor any fear of
+	vagrants&#8212;for we were now sure that what we
+	had seen was not flesh and blood, and therefore
+	harmless&#8212;we crossed the open space and entered
+	a street down which the moon shone clearly.
+	Here and there we saw dim figures, which
+	quickly disappeared; but, approaching a low
+	stone balcony in front of one of the houses, we
+	were surprised to see, sitting thereon and leaning
+	over a book which lay open upon the top of the
+	carved parapet, the figure of a woman who did
+	not appear to notice us.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;That is a real person,&#8221; whispered Bentley,
+	&#8220;and she does not see us.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; I replied; &#8220;it is like the others. Let
+	us go near it.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>We drew near to the balcony and stood before
+	it. At this the figure raised its head and looked
+	at us. It was beautiful, it was young; but its
+	substance seemed to be of an ethereal quality
+	which we had never seen or known of. With
+	its full, soft eyes fixed upon us, it spoke.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Why are you here?&#8221; it asked. &#8220;I have said
+	to myself that the next time I saw any of you I
+	would ask you why you come to trouble us.
+	Cannot you live content in your own realms and
+	spheres, knowing, as you must know, how timid
+	we are, and how you frighten us and make us unhappy?
+	In all this city there is, I believe, not
+	one of us except myself who does not flee and
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page225" title="225">&nbsp;</a>hide from you whenever you cruelly come here.
+	Even I would do that, had not I declared to myself
+	that I would see you and speak to you,
+	and endeavor to prevail upon you to leave us in
+	peace.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The clear, frank tones of the speaker gave
+	me courage. &#8220;We are two men,&#8221; I answered,
+	&#8220;strangers in this region, and living for the
+	time in the beautiful country on the other side of
+	the river. Having heard of this quiet city, we
+	have come to see it for ourselves. We had supposed
+	it to be uninhabited, but now that we find
+	that this is not the case, we would assure you
+	from our hearts that we do not wish to disturb or
+	annoy any one who lives here. We simply came
+	as honest travellers to view the city.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The figure now seated herself again, and as her
+	countenance was nearer to us, we could see that it
+	was filled with pensive thought. For a moment
+	she looked at us without speaking. &#8220;Men!&#8221; she
+	said. &#8220;And so I have been right. For a long
+	time I have believed that the beings who sometimes
+	come here, filling us with dread and awe,
+	are men.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;And you,&#8221; I exclaimed&#8212;&#8220;who are you,
+	and who are these forms that we have seen,
+	these strange inhabitants of this city?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>She gently smiled as she answered, &#8220;We are
+	the ghosts of the future. We are the people who
+	are to live in this city generations hence. But all
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page226" title="226">&nbsp;</a>of us do not know that, principally because we do
+	not think about it and study about it enough to
+	know it. And it is generally believed that the
+	men and women who sometimes come here are
+	ghosts who haunt the place.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;And that is why you are terrified and flee
+	from us?&#8221; I exclaimed. &#8220;You think we are
+	ghosts from another world?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; she replied; &#8220;that is what is thought,
+	and what I used to think.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;And you,&#8221; I asked, &#8220;are spirits of human
+	beings yet to be?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; she answered; &#8220;but not for a long
+	time. Generations of men&#8212;I know not how
+	many&#8212;must pass away before we are men and
+	women.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Heavens!&#8221; exclaimed Bentley, clasping his
+	hands and raising his eyes to the sky, &#8220;I shall
+	be a spirit before you are a woman.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Perhaps,&#8221; she said again, with a sweet smile
+	upon her face, &#8220;you may live to be very, very
+	old.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>But Bentley shook his head. This did not
+	console him. For some minutes I stood in contemplation,
+	gazing upon the stone pavement beneath
+	my feet. &#8220;And this,&#8221; I ejaculated, &#8220;is a
+	city inhabited by the ghosts of the future, who
+	believe men and women to be phantoms and
+	spectres?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>She bowed her head.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page227" title="227">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;But how is it,&#8221; I asked, &#8220;that you discovered
+	that you are spirits and we mortal men?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;There are so few of us who think of such
+	things,&#8221; she answered, &#8220;so few who study,
+	ponder, and reflect. I am fond of study, and I
+	love philosophy; and from the reading of many
+	books I have learned much. From the book
+	which I have here I have learned most; and
+	from its teachings I have gradually come to the
+	belief, which you tell me is the true one, that we
+	are spirits and you men.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;And what book is that?&#8221; I asked.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;It is &#8216;The Philosophy of Relative Existences,&#8217;
+	by Rupert Vance.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Ye gods!&#8221; I exclaimed, springing upon the
+	balcony, &#8220;that is my book, and I am Rupert
+	Vance.&#8221; I stepped toward the volume to seize
+	it, but she raised her hand.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;You cannot touch it,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It is the
+	ghost of a book. And did you write it?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Write it? No,&#8221; I said; &#8220;I am writing it.
+	It is not yet finished.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;But here it is,&#8221; she said, turning over the
+	last pages. &#8220;As a spirit book it is finished. It
+	is very successful; it is held in high estimation
+	by intelligent thinkers; it is a standard
+	work.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I stood trembling with emotion. &#8220;High estimation!&#8221;
+	I said. &#8220;A standard work!&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh yes,&#8221; she replied, with animation; &#8220;and
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page228" title="228">&nbsp;</a>it well deserves its great success, especially in its
+	conclusion. I have read it twice.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;But let me see these concluding pages,&#8221; I
+	exclaimed. &#8220;Let me look upon what I am to
+	write.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>She smiled, and shook her head, and closed
+	the book. &#8220;I would like to do that,&#8221; she said,
+	&#8220;but if you are really a man you must not know
+	what you are going to do.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Oh, tell me, tell me,&#8221; cried Bentley from
+	below, &#8220;do you know a book called &#8216;Stellar
+	Studies,&#8217; by Arthur Bentley? It is a book of
+	poems.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The figure gazed at him. &#8220;No,&#8221; it said,
+	presently, &#8220;I never heard of it.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I stood trembling. Had the youthful figure
+	before me been flesh and blood, had the book
+	been a real one, I would have torn it from her.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;O wise and lovely being!&#8221; I exclaimed, falling
+	on my knees before her, &#8220;be also benign and
+	generous. Let me but see the last page of my
+	book. If I have been of benefit to your world;
+	more than all, if I have been of benefit to you, let
+	me see, I implore you&#8212;let me see how it is that
+	I have done it.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>She rose with the book in her hand. &#8220;You
+	have only to wait until you have done it,&#8221; she
+	said, &#8220;and then you will know all that you could
+	see here.&#8221; I started to my feet and stood alone
+	upon the balcony.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page229" title="229">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;I am sorry,&#8221; said Bentley, as we walked toward
+	the pier where we had left our boat, &#8220;that
+	we talked only to that ghost girl, and that the
+	other spirits were all afraid of us. Persons
+	whose souls are choked up with philosophy are
+	not apt to care much for poetry; and even if my
+	book is to be widely known, it is easy to see that
+	she may not have heard of it.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I walked triumphant. The moon, almost touching
+	the horizon, beamed like red gold. &#8220;My dear
+	friend,&#8221; said I, &#8220;I have always told you that you
+	should put more philosophy into your poetry.
+	That would make it live.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;And I have always told you,&#8221; said he, &#8220;that
+	you should not put so much poetry into your
+	philosophy. It misleads people.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;It didn&#8217;t mislead that ghost girl,&#8221; said I.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;How do you know?&#8221; said Bentley. &#8220;Perhaps
+	she is wrong, and the other inhabitants of
+	the city are right, and we may be the ghosts after
+	all. Such things, you know, are only relative.
+	Anyway,&#8221; he continued, after a little pause, &#8220;I
+	wish I knew that those ghosts were now reading
+	the poem which I am going to begin to-morrow.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<!-- <a class="pagenum" id="page230" title="230">&nbsp;</a>[Blank Page] -->
+
+</div>
+
+<div id="calico" class="story">
+
+	<!-- <a class="pagenum" id="page231" title="231">&nbsp;</a>
+	A PIECE OF RED CALICO
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page232" title="232">&nbsp;</a>[Blank Page] -->
+
+	<h2 class="story_title"><a class="pagenum disguise" id="page233" title="233">&nbsp;</a>A PIECE OF RED CALICO</h2>
+
+	<p class="return_toc"><a href="#contents" title="Return to Contents">ToC</a></p>
+
+	<p class="first_paragraph"><span class="first_word">I was</span> going into town one morning
+	from my suburban residence, when my
+	wife handed me a little piece of red
+	calico, and asked me if I would have
+	time, during the day, to buy her two yards and a
+	half of calico like that. I assured her that it
+	would be no trouble at all; and putting the sample
+	in my pocket, I took the train for the city.</p>
+
+	<p>At lunch-time I stopped in at a large dry-goods
+	store to attend to my wife&#8217;s commission. I saw
+	a well-dressed man walking the floor between the
+	counters, where long lines of girls were waiting
+	on much longer lines of customers, and asked him
+	where I could see some red calico.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;This way, sir.&#8221; And he led me up the store.
+	&#8220;Miss Stone,&#8221; said he to a young lady, &#8220;show
+	this gentleman some red calico.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;What shade do you want?&#8221; asked Miss
+	Stone.</p>
+
+	<p>I showed her the little piece of calico that my
+	wife had given me. She looked at it and handed
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page234" title="234">&nbsp;</a>it back to me. Then she took down a great roll
+	of red calico and spread it out on the counter.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Why, that isn&#8217;t the shade!&#8221; said I.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;No, not exactly,&#8221; said she; &#8220;but it is prettier
+	than your sample.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;That may be,&#8221; said I; &#8220;but, you see, I want
+	to match this piece. There is something already
+	made of this kind of calico which needs to be enlarged
+	or mended or something. I want some
+	calico of the same shade.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>The girl made no answer, but took down another
+	roll.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s the shade,&#8221; said she.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; I replied, &#8220;but it&#8217;s striped.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Stripes are more worn than anything else in
+	calicoes,&#8221; said she.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Yes, but this isn&#8217;t to be worn. It&#8217;s for furniture,
+	I think. At any rate, I want perfectly plain
+	stuff, to match something already in use.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Well, I don&#8217;t think you can find it perfectly
+	plain unless you get Turkey red.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;What is Turkey red?&#8221; I asked.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Turkey red is perfectly plain in calicoes,&#8221; she
+	answered.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Well, let me see some.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;We haven&#8217;t any Turkey-red calico left,&#8221; she
+	said, &#8220;but we have some very nice plain calicoes
+	in other colors.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t want any other color. I want stuff
+	to match this.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page235" title="235">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;It&#8217;s hard to match cheap calico like that,&#8221; she
+	said. And so I left her.</p>
+
+	<p>I next went into a store a few doors farther
+	up the street. When I entered I approached the
+	&#8220;floor-walker,&#8221; and handing him my sample,
+	said:</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Have you any calico like this?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Yes, sir,&#8221; said he. &#8220;Third counter to the
+	right.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I went to the third counter to the right, and
+	showed my sample to the salesman in attendance
+	there. He looked at it on both sides. Then he
+	said:</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;We haven&#8217;t any of this.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I was told you had,&#8221; said I.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;We had it, but we&#8217;re out of it now. You&#8217;ll
+	get that goods at an upholsterer&#8217;s.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I went across the street to an upholsterer&#8217;s.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Have you any stuff like this?&#8221; I asked.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; said the salesman, &#8220;we haven&#8217;t. Is it
+	for furniture?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; I replied.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Then Turkey red is what you want.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Is Turkey red just like this?&#8221; I asked.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; said he; &#8220;but it&#8217;s much better.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;That makes no difference to me,&#8221; I replied.
+	&#8220;I want something just like this.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;But they don&#8217;t use that for furniture,&#8221; he
+	said.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I should think people could use anything
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page236" title="236">&nbsp;</a>they wanted for furniture,&#8221; I remarked, somewhat
+	sharply.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;They can, but they don&#8217;t,&#8221; he said, quite
+	calmly. &#8220;They don&#8217;t use red like that. They
+	use Turkey red.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I said no more, but left. The next place I
+	visited was a very large dry-goods store. Of the
+	first salesman I saw I inquired if they kept red
+	calico like my sample.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ll find that on the second story,&#8221; said
+	he.</p>
+
+	<p>I went upstairs. There I asked a man:</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Where will I find red calico?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;In the far room to the left. Over there.&#8221;
+	And he pointed to a distant corner.</p>
+
+	<p>I walked through the crowds of purchasers and
+	salespeople, and around the counters and tables
+	filled with goods, to the far room to the left.
+	When I got there I asked for red calico.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;The second counter down this side,&#8221; said the
+	man.</p>
+
+	<p>I went there and produced my sample. &#8220;Calicoes
+	downstairs,&#8221; said the man.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;They told me they were up here,&#8221; I said.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Not these plain goods. You&#8217;ll find &#8217;em
+	downstairs at the back of the store, over on that
+	side.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I went downstairs to the back of the store.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Where will I find red calico like this?&#8221; I
+	asked.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page237" title="237">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;Next counter but one,&#8221; said the man addressed,
+	walking with me in the direction pointed
+	out.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Dunn, show red calicoes.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Mr. Dunn took my sample and looked at it.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;We haven&#8217;t this shade in that quality of
+	goods,&#8221; he said.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Well, have you it in any quality of goods?&#8221;
+	I asked.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Yes; we&#8217;ve got it finer.&#8221; And he took down
+	a piece of calico, and unrolled a yard or two of it
+	on the counter.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s not this shade,&#8221; I said.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; said he. &#8220;The goods is finer and the
+	color&#8217;s better.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I want it to match this,&#8221; I said.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I thought you weren&#8217;t particular about the
+	match,&#8221; said the salesman. &#8220;You said you
+	didn&#8217;t care for the quality of the goods, and you
+	know you can&#8217;t match goods without you take
+	into consideration quality and color both. If you
+	want that quality of goods in red, you ought to
+	get Turkey red.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I did not think it necessary to answer this
+	remark, but said:</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Then you&#8217;ve got nothing to match this?&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;No, sir. But perhaps they may have it in the
+	upholstery department, in the sixth story.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>So I got in the elevator and went up to the top
+	of the house.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page238" title="238">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;Have you any red stuff like this?&#8221; I said to
+	a young man.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Red stuff? Upholstery department&#8212;other
+	end of this floor.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I went to the other end of the floor.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I want some red calico,&#8221; I said to a man.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Furniture goods?&#8221; he asked.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said I.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Fourth counter to the left.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I went to the fourth counter to the left, and
+	showed my sample to a salesman. He looked at
+	it, and said:</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ll get this down on the first floor&#8212;calico
+	department.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>I turned on my heel, descended in the elevator,
+	and went out on the street. I was thoroughly
+	sick of red calico. But I determined to make
+	one more trial. My wife had bought her red
+	calico not long before, and there must be some
+	to be had somewhere. I ought to have asked her
+	where she obtained it, but I thought a simple little
+	thing like that could be bought anywhere.</p>
+
+	<p>I went into another large dry-goods store. As
+	I entered the door a sudden tremor seized me. I
+	could not bear to take out that piece of red calico.
+	If I had had any other kind of a rag about me&#8212;a
+	pen-wiper or anything of the sort&#8212;I think I
+	would have asked them if they could match that.</p>
+
+	<p>But I stepped up to a young woman and presented
+	my sample, with the usual question.</p>
+
+	<p><a class="pagenum" id="page239" title="239">&nbsp;</a>&#8220;Back room, counter on the left,&#8221; she said.</p>
+
+	<p>I went there.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Have you any red calico like this?&#8221; I asked
+	of the saleswoman behind the counter.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;No, sir,&#8221; she said, &#8220;but we have it in Turkey
+	red.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>Turkey red again! I surrendered.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;All right,&#8221; I said, &#8220;give me Turkey red.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;How much, sir?&#8221; she asked.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know&#8212;say five yards.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>She looked at me rather strangely, but measured
+	off five yards of Turkey-red calico. Then
+	she rapped on the counter and called out &#8220;Cash!&#8221;
+	A little girl, with yellow hair in two long plaits,
+	came slowly up. The lady wrote the number of
+	yards, the name of the goods, her own number,
+	the price, the amount of the bank-note I handed
+	her, and some other matters, probably the color
+	of my eyes and the direction and velocity of the
+	wind, on a slip of paper. She then copied all
+	this into a little book which she kept by her.
+	Then she handed the slip of paper, the money,
+	and the Turkey red to the yellow-haired girl.
+	This young person copied the slip into a little
+	book she carried, and then she went away with
+	the calico, the paper slip, and the money.</p>
+
+	<p>After a very long time&#8212;during which the little
+	girl probably took the goods, the money, and the
+	slip to some central desk, where the note was received,
+	its amount and number entered in a book,
+	<a class="pagenum" id="page240" title="240">&nbsp;</a>change given to the girl, a copy of the slip made
+	and entered, girl&#8217;s entry examined and approved,
+	goods wrapped up, girl registered, plaits counted
+	and entered on a slip of paper and copied by the
+	girl in her book, girl taken to a hydrant and
+	washed, number of towel entered on a paper slip
+	and copied by the girl in her book, value of my
+	note and amount of change branded somewhere
+	on the child, and said process noted on a slip of
+	paper and copied in her book&#8212;the girl came to
+	me, bringing my change and the package of
+	Turkey-red calico.</p>
+
+	<p>I had time for but very little work at the office
+	that afternoon, and when I reached home I handed
+	the package of calico to my wife. She unrolled
+	it and exclaimed:</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Why, this don&#8217;t match the piece I gave you!&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Match it!&#8221; I cried. &#8220;Oh no! it don&#8217;t
+	match it. You didn&#8217;t want that matched. You
+	were mistaken. What you wanted was Turkey
+	red&#8212;third counter to the left. I mean, Turkey
+	red is what they use.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>My wife looked at me in amazement, and then
+	I detailed to her my troubles.</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; said she, &#8220;this Turkey red is a great
+	deal prettier than what I had, and you&#8217;ve got so
+	much of it that I needn&#8217;t use the other at all. I
+	wish I had thought of Turkey red before.&#8221;</p>
+
+	<p>&#8220;I wish from the bottom of my heart you
+	had,&#8221; said I.</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<div id="ads" class="section">
+<h2 class="section_title"><a class="pagenum disguise" id="pagenull2" title="null2">&nbsp;</a>CAMEO EDITION.</h2>
+
+	<ul>
+		<li>REVERIES OF A BACHELOR; or, a Book of the Heart. By Donald G. Mitchell. With an Etching by Percy Moran<ins id="ins4" class="correction" title="period inserted">.</ins></li>
+		<li>DREAM LIFE. A Fable of the Seasons. With an Etching by Percy Moran.</li>
+		<li>OLD CREOLE DAYS. By George W Cable. With an Etching by Percy Moran.</li>
+		<li>IN OLE VIRGINIA. By Thomas Nelson Page. With an Etching by W. L. Sheppard.</li>
+		<li>BITTER-SWEET. A Poem. By J. G. Holland. With an Etching by Otto Bacher.</li>
+		<li>KATHRINA. A Poem. By J. G. Holland. With an Etching by Otto Bacher.</li>
+		<li>LETTERS TO DEAD AUTHORS. By Andrew Lang. With an Etched Portrait by S. J. Ferris.</li>
+		<li>&#8220;VIRGINIBUS PUERISQUE.&#8221; By Robert Louis Stevenson With an Etched Portrait by S. J. Ferris.</li>
+		<li>A CHOSEN FEW. Short Stories. By Frank R. Stockton. With an Etched Portrait by W. H. W. Bicknell.</li>
+		<li>A LITTLE BOOK OF PROFITABLE TALES. By Eugene Field. With an Etched Portrait by W. H. W. Bicknell.</li>
+		<li>THE REFLECTIONS OF A MARRIED MAN. By Robert Grant. With an Etching by W. H. Hyde.</li>
+		<li>THE OPINIONS OF A PHILOSOPHER. By Robert Grant. With an Etching by W. H. Hyde.</li>
+	</ul>
+
+
+
+	<p>Each, one volume, 16mo.</p>
+
+	<p>Half Calf, g. t., $2.75; half levant, $3.50; cloth, $1.25</p>
+</div>
+
+<div id="notes">
+
+	<h2>Transcriber&#8217;s Notes</h2>
+
+	<ul>
+		<li>Four typographic errors have been corrected:
+			<ul>
+				<li>and then she&#8217;ll have to have new ones, and <a href="#ins1" title="Go to correction">lots</a> [was: lot&#8217;s]</li>
+				<li>standing on the cabin floor <a href="#ins2" title="Go to correction">instead</a> [was: intead] of the bulkhead.</li>
+				<li>him in there and we will shut him <a href="#ins3" title="Go to correction">up</a> [was: no]. Then I</li>
+				<li>Donald G. Mitchell. With an Etching by Percy <a href="#ins4" title="Go to correction">Moran.</a> [final period inserted]</li>
+			</ul>
+		</li>
+		<li>Two structural changes have been made:
+			<ul>
+				<li>The booklist &#8220;Cameo Edition&#8221; was moved from before the frontispiece to the end of the book.</li>
+				<li>The original had the story names alone on a page before the story, as well as on the page where the story started. These duplicate titles have been removed.</li>
+			</ul>
+		</li>
+	</ul>
+</div>
+<div id="the_end">
+	&nbsp;
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Chosen Few, by Frank R. Stockton
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+</body>
+</html>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Chosen Few, 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: A Chosen Few
+       Short Stories
+
+Author: Frank R. Stockton
+
+Release Date: May 21, 2008 [EBook #25549]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CHOSEN FEW ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Audrey Longhurst, Barbara Tozier and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+                            A CHOSEN FEW
+
+                           SHORT STORIES
+
+                                 BY
+
+                         FRANK R. STOCKTON
+
+            WITH AN ETCHED PORTRAIT BY W. H. W. BICKNELL
+
+                              NEW YORK
+                      CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
+                                1895
+
+
+
+
+                        Copyright, 1895, by
+                      CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
+
+                        THE DE VINNE PRESS.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+The stories contained in this little volume were chosen, by virtue
+of a sort of literary civil-service examination, in order that they
+might be grouped together as a representative class of the author's
+best-known work in this line.
+
+Several of these stories have points of peculiar interest to the
+author. For instance, "Negative Gravity" was composed in Switzerland
+when the author was temporarily confined to the house in full view
+of unreachable Alps.
+
+"His Wife's Deceased Sister" was suggested by an editorial
+disposition to compare all the author's work with one previous
+production, and to discard everything which did not accord exactly
+with the particular story which had been selected as a standard of
+merit.
+
+"The Lady, or the Tiger?" was printed in the hope that the author
+might receive the cheerful cooperation of some of his readers in a
+satisfactory solution of the problem contained in the little story;
+but although he has had much valuable assistance in this direction
+he has also been the recipient of a great deal of scolding.
+
+After reading several stories by Clark Russell, the author's mind
+was led to consider the possibility of inventing some sort of
+shipwreck which had never yet been made the subject of a story. His
+efforts in this line resulted in "The Remarkable Wreck of the
+'Thomas Hyke.'"
+
+"A Piece of Red Calico" is a description, with exaggerated points,
+of an actual experience.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+  A TALE OF NEGATIVE GRAVITY
+    From "The Christmas Wreck"
+
+  ASAPH
+    From "The Watchmaker's Wife"
+
+  "HIS WIFE'S DECEASED SISTER"
+    From "The Lady, or the Tiger?"
+
+  THE LADY, OR THE TIGER?
+
+  THE REMARKABLE WRECK OF THE "THOMAS HYKE"
+    From "The Christmas Wreck"
+
+  OLD PIPES AND THE DRYAD
+    From "The Bee-man of Orn"
+
+  THE TRANSFERRED GHOST
+    From "The Lady, or the Tiger?"
+
+  "THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELATIVE EXISTENCES"
+    From "The Watchmaker's Wife"
+
+  A PIECE OF RED CALICO
+    From "The Lady, or the Tiger?"
+
+
+
+
+A TALE OF NEGATIVE GRAVITY
+
+
+My wife and I were staying at a small town in northern Italy; and on
+a certain pleasant afternoon in spring we had taken a walk of six or
+seven miles to see the sun set behind some low mountains to the west
+of the town. Most of our walk had been along a hard, smooth highway,
+and then we turned into a series of narrower roads, sometimes
+bordered by walls, and sometimes by light fences of reed or cane.
+Nearing the mountain, to a low spur of which we intended to ascend,
+we easily scaled a wall about four feet high, and found ourselves
+upon pasture-land, which led, sometimes by gradual ascents, and
+sometimes by bits of rough climbing, to the spot we wished to reach.
+We were afraid we were a little late, and therefore hurried on,
+running up the grassy hills, and bounding briskly over the rough and
+rocky places. I carried a knapsack strapped firmly to my shoulders,
+and under my wife's arm was a large, soft basket of a kind much used
+by tourists. Her arm was passed through the handles and around the
+bottom of the basket, which she pressed closely to her side. This
+was the way she always carried it. The basket contained two bottles
+of wine, one sweet for my wife, and another a little acid for
+myself. Sweet wines give me a headache.
+
+When we reached the grassy bluff, well known thereabouts to lovers
+of sunset views, I stepped immediately to the edge to gaze upon the
+scene, but my wife sat down to take a sip of wine, for she was very
+thirsty; and then, leaving her basket, she came to my side. The
+scene was indeed one of great beauty. Beneath us stretched a wide
+valley of many shades of green, with a little river running through
+it, and red-tiled houses here and there. Beyond rose a range of
+mountains, pink, pale green, and purple where their tips caught the
+reflection of the setting sun, and of a rich gray-green in shadows.
+Beyond all was the blue Italian sky, illumined by an especially fine
+sunset.
+
+My wife and I are Americans, and at the time of this story were
+middle-aged people and very fond of seeing in each other's company
+whatever there was of interest or beauty around us. We had a son
+about twenty-two years old, of whom we were also very fond; but he
+was not with us, being at that time a student in Germany. Although
+we had good health, we were not very robust people, and, under
+ordinary circumstances, not much given to long country tramps. I was
+of medium size, without much muscular development, while my wife was
+quite stout, and growing stouter.
+
+The reader may, perhaps, be somewhat surprised that a middle-aged
+couple, not very strong, or very good walkers, the lady loaded with
+a basket containing two bottles of wine and a metal drinking-cup,
+and the gentleman carrying a heavy knapsack, filled with all sorts
+of odds and ends, strapped to his shoulders, should set off on a
+seven-mile walk, jump over a wall, run up a hillside, and yet feel
+in very good trim to enjoy a sunset view. This peculiar state of
+things I will proceed to explain.
+
+I had been a professional man, but some years before had retired
+upon a very comfortable income. I had always been very fond of
+scientific pursuits, and now made these the occupation and pleasure
+of much of my leisure time. Our home was in a small town; and in a
+corner of my grounds I built a laboratory, where I carried on my
+work and my experiments. I had long been anxious to discover the
+means not only of producing, but of retaining and controlling, a
+natural force, really the same as centrifugal force, but which I
+called negative gravity. This name I adopted because it indicated
+better than any other the action of the force in question, as I
+produced it. Positive gravity attracts everything toward the centre
+of the earth. Negative gravity, therefore, would be that power which
+repels everything from the centre of the earth, just as the negative
+pole of a magnet repels the needle, while the positive pole attracts
+it. My object was, in fact, to store centrifugal force and to render
+it constant, controllable, and available for use. The advantages of
+such a discovery could scarcely be described. In a word, it would
+lighten the burdens of the world.
+
+I will not touch upon the labors and disappointments of several
+years. It is enough to say that at last I discovered a method of
+producing, storing, and controlling negative gravity.
+
+The mechanism of my invention was rather complicated, but the method
+of operating it was very simple. A strong metallic case, about eight
+inches long, and half as wide, contained the machinery for producing
+the force; and this was put into action by means of the pressure of
+a screw worked from the outside. As soon as this pressure was
+produced, negative gravity began to be evolved and stored, and the
+greater the pressure the greater the force. As the screw was moved
+outward, and the pressure diminished, the force decreased, and when
+the screw was withdrawn to its fullest extent, the action of
+negative gravity entirely ceased. Thus this force could be produced
+or dissipated at will to such degrees as might be desired, and its
+action, so long as the requisite pressure was maintained, was
+constant.
+
+When this little apparatus worked to my satisfaction I called my
+wife into my laboratory and explained to her my invention and its
+value. She had known that I had been at work with an important
+object, but I had never told her what it was. I had said that if I
+succeeded I would tell her all, but if I failed she need not be
+troubled with the matter at all. Being a very sensible woman, this
+satisfied her perfectly. Now I explained everything to her--the
+construction of the machine, and the wonderful uses to which this
+invention could be applied. I told her that it could diminish, or
+entirely dissipate, the weight of objects of any kind. A heavily
+loaded wagon, with two of these instruments fastened to its sides,
+and each screwed to a proper force, would be so lifted and supported
+that it would press upon the ground as lightly as an empty cart, and
+a small horse could draw it with ease. A bale of cotton, with one of
+these machines attached, could be handled and carried by a boy. A
+car, with a number of these machines, could be made to rise in the
+air like a balloon. Everything, in fact, that was heavy could be
+made light; and as a great part of labor, all over the world, is
+caused by the attraction of gravitation, so this repellent force,
+wherever applied, would make weight less and work easier. I told her
+of many, many ways in which the invention might be used, and would
+have told her of many more if she had not suddenly burst into tears.
+
+"The world has gained something wonderful," she exclaimed, between
+her sobs, "but I have lost a husband!"
+
+"What do you mean by that?" I asked, in surprise.
+
+"I haven't minded it so far," she said, "because it gave you
+something to do, and it pleased you, and it never interfered with
+our home pleasures and our home life. But now that is all over. You
+will never be your own master again. It will succeed, I am sure, and
+you may make a great deal of money, but we don't need money. What we
+need is the happiness which we have always had until now. Now there
+will be companies, and patents, and lawsuits, and experiments, and
+people calling you a humbug, and other people saying they discovered
+it long ago, and all sorts of persons coming to see you, and you'll
+be obliged to go to all sorts of places, and you will be an altered
+man, and we shall never be happy again. Millions of money will not
+repay us for the happiness we have lost."
+
+These words of my wife struck me with much force. Before I had
+called her my mind had begun to be filled and perplexed with ideas
+of what I ought to do now that the great invention was perfected.
+Until now the matter had not troubled me at all. Sometimes I had
+gone backward and sometimes forward, but, on the whole, I had always
+felt encouraged. I had taken great pleasure in the work, but I had
+never allowed myself to be too much absorbed by it. But now
+everything was different. I began to feel that it was due to myself
+and to my fellow-beings that I should properly put this invention
+before the world. And how should I set about it? What steps should I
+take? I must make no mistakes. When the matter should become known
+hundreds of scientific people might set themselves to work; how
+could I tell but that they might discover other methods of producing
+the same effect? I must guard myself against a great many things. I
+must get patents in all parts of the world. Already, as I have said,
+my mind began to be troubled and perplexed with these things. A
+turmoil of this sort did not suit my age or disposition. I could not
+but agree with my wife that the joys of a quiet and contented life
+were now about to be broken into.
+
+"My dear," said I, "I believe, with you, that the thing will do us
+more harm than good. If it were not for depriving the world of the
+invention I would throw the whole thing to the winds. And yet," I
+added, regretfully, "I had expected a great deal of personal
+gratification from the use of this invention."
+
+"Now listen," said my wife, eagerly; "don't you think it would be
+best to do this: use the thing as much as you please for your own
+amusement and satisfaction, but let the world wait? It has waited a
+long time, and let it wait a little longer. When we are dead let
+Herbert have the invention. He will then be old enough to judge for
+himself whether it will be better to take advantage of it for his
+own profit, or simply to give it to the public for nothing. It would
+be cheating him if we were to do the latter, but it would also be
+doing him a great wrong if we were, at his age, to load him with
+such a heavy responsibility. Besides, if he took it up, you could
+not help going into it, too."
+
+I took my wife's advice. I wrote a careful and complete account of
+the invention, and, sealing it up, I gave it to my lawyers to be
+handed to my son after my death. If he died first, I would make
+other arrangements. Then I determined to get all the good and fun
+out of the thing that was possible without telling any one anything
+about it. Even Herbert, who was away from home, was not to be told
+of the invention.
+
+The first thing I did was to buy a strong leathern knapsack, and
+inside of this I fastened my little machine, with a screw so
+arranged that it could be worked from the outside. Strapping this
+firmly to my shoulders, my wife gently turned the screw at the back
+until the upward tendency of the knapsack began to lift and sustain
+me. When I felt myself so gently supported and upheld that I seemed
+to weigh about thirty or forty pounds, I would set out for a walk.
+The knapsack did not raise me from the ground, but it gave me a very
+buoyant step. It was no labor at all to walk; it was a delight, an
+ecstasy. With the strength of a man and the weight of a child, I
+gayly strode along. The first day I walked half a dozen miles at a
+very brisk pace, and came back without feeling in the least degree
+tired. These walks now became one of the greatest joys of my life.
+When nobody was looking, I would bound over a fence, sometimes just
+touching it with one hand, and sometimes not touching it at all. I
+delighted in rough places. I sprang over streams. I jumped and I
+ran. I felt like Mercury himself.
+
+I now set about making another machine, so that my wife could
+accompany me in my walks; but when it was finished she positively
+refused to use it. "I can't wear a knapsack," she said, "and there
+is no other good way of fastening it to me. Besides, everybody about
+here knows I am no walker, and it would only set them talking."
+
+I occasionally made use of this second machine, but I will give only
+one instance of its application. Some repairs were needed to the
+foundation-walls of my barn, and a two-horse wagon, loaded with
+building-stone, had been brought into my yard and left there. In the
+evening, when the men had gone away, I took my two machines and
+fastened them, with strong chains, one on each side of the loaded
+wagon. Then, gradually turning the screws, the wagon was so lifted
+that its weight became very greatly diminished. We had an old donkey
+which used to belong to Herbert, and which was now occasionally used
+with a small cart to bring packages from the station. I went into
+the barn and put the harness on the little fellow, and, bringing him
+out to the wagon, I attached him to it. In this position he looked
+very funny with a long pole sticking out in front of him and the
+great wagon behind him. When all was ready I touched him up; and, to
+my great delight, he moved off with the two-horse load of stone as
+easily as if he were drawing his own cart. I led him out into the
+public road, along which he proceeded without difficulty. He was an
+opinionated little beast, and sometimes stopped, not liking the
+peculiar manner in which he was harnessed; but a touch of the switch
+made him move on, and I soon turned him and brought the wagon back
+into the yard. This determined the success of my invention in one of
+its most important uses, and with a satisfied heart I put the donkey
+into the stable and went into the house.
+
+Our trip to Europe was made a few months after this, and was mainly
+on our son Herbert's account. He, poor fellow, was in great trouble,
+and so, therefore, were we. He had become engaged, with our full
+consent, to a young lady in our town, the daughter of a gentleman
+whom we esteemed very highly. Herbert was young to be engaged to be
+married, but as we felt that he would never find a girl to make him
+so good a wife, we were entirely satisfied, especially as it was
+agreed on all hands that the marriage was not to take place for some
+time. It seemed to us that, in marrying Janet Gilbert, Herbert would
+secure for himself, in the very beginning of his career, the most
+important element of a happy life. But suddenly, without any reason
+that seemed to us justifiable, Mr. Gilbert, the only surviving
+parent of Janet, broke off the match; and he and his daughter soon
+after left the town for a trip to the West.
+
+This blow nearly broke poor Herbert's heart. He gave up his
+professional studies and came home to us, and for a time we thought
+he would be seriously ill. Then we took him to Europe, and after a
+Continental tour of a month or two we left him, at his own request,
+in Goettingen, where he thought it would do him good to go to work
+again. Then we went down to the little town in Italy where my story
+first finds us. My wife had suffered much in mind and body on her
+son's account, and for this reason I was anxious that she should
+take outdoor exercise, and enjoy as much as possible the bracing air
+of the country. I had brought with me both my little machines. One
+was still in my knapsack, and the other I had fastened to the inside
+of an enormous family trunk. As one is obliged to pay for nearly
+every pound of his baggage on the Continent, this saved me a great
+deal of money. Everything heavy was packed into this great
+trunk--books, papers, the bronze, iron, and marble relics we had
+picked up, and all the articles that usually weigh down a tourist's
+baggage. I screwed up the negative-gravity apparatus until the trunk
+could be handled with great ease by an ordinary porter. I could have
+made it weigh nothing at all, but this, of course, I did not wish to
+do. The lightness of my baggage, however, had occasioned some
+comment, and I had overheard remarks which were not altogether
+complimentary about people travelling around with empty trunks; but
+this only amused me.
+
+Desirous that my wife should have the advantage of negative gravity
+while taking our walks, I had removed the machine from the trunk and
+fastened it inside of the basket, which she could carry under her
+arm. This assisted her wonderfully. When one arm was tired she put
+the basket under the other, and thus, with one hand on my arm, she
+could easily keep up with the free and buoyant steps my knapsack
+enabled me to take. She did not object to long tramps here, because
+nobody knew that she was not a walker, and she always carried some
+wine or other refreshment in the basket, not only because it was
+pleasant to have it with us, but because it seemed ridiculous to go
+about carrying an empty basket.
+
+There were English-speaking people stopping at the hotel where we
+were, but they seemed more fond of driving than walking, and none of
+them offered to accompany us on our rambles, for which we were very
+glad. There was one man there, however, who was a great walker. He
+was an Englishman, a member of an Alpine Club, and generally went
+about dressed in a knickerbocker suit, with gray woollen stockings
+covering an enormous pair of calves. One evening this gentleman was
+talking to me and some others about the ascent of the Matterhorn,
+and I took occasion to deliver in pretty strong language my opinion
+upon such exploits. I declared them to be useless, foolhardy, and,
+if the climber had any one who loved him, wicked.
+
+"Even if the weather should permit a view," I said, "what is that
+compared to the terrible risk to life? Under certain circumstances,"
+I added (thinking of a kind of waistcoat I had some idea of making,
+which, set about with little negative-gravity machines, all
+connected with a conveniently handled screw, would enable the wearer
+at times to dispense with his weight altogether), "such ascents
+might be divested of danger, and be quite admissible; but ordinarily
+they should be frowned upon by the intelligent public."
+
+The Alpine Club man looked at me, especially regarding my somewhat
+slight figure and thinnish legs.
+
+"It's all very well for you to talk that way," he said, "because it
+is easy to see that you are not up to that sort of thing."
+
+"In conversations of this kind," I replied, "I never make personal
+allusions; but since you have chosen to do so, I feel inclined to
+invite you to walk with me to-morrow to the top of the mountain to
+the north of this town."
+
+"I'll do it," he said, "at any time you choose to name." And as I
+left the room soon afterward I heard him laugh.
+
+The next afternoon, about two o'clock, the Alpine Club man and
+myself set out for the mountain.
+
+"What have you got in your knapsack?" he said.
+
+"A hammer to use if I come across geological specimens, a
+field-glass, a flask of wine, and some other things."
+
+"I wouldn't carry any weight, if I were you," he said.
+
+"Oh, I don't mind it," I answered, and off we started.
+
+The mountain to which we were bound was about two miles from the
+town. Its nearest side was steep, and in places almost precipitous,
+but it sloped away more gradually toward the north, and up that side
+a road led by devious windings to a village near the summit. It was
+not a very high mountain, but it would do for an afternoon's climb.
+
+"I suppose you want to go up by the road," said my companion.
+
+"Oh no," I answered, "we won't go so far around as that. There is a
+path up this side, along which I have seen men driving their goats.
+I prefer to take that."
+
+"All right, if you say so," he answered, with a smile; "but you'll
+find it pretty tough."
+
+After a time he remarked:
+
+"I wouldn't walk so fast, if I were you."
+
+"Oh, I like to step along briskly," I said. And briskly on we went.
+
+My wife had screwed up the machine in the knapsack more than usual,
+and walking seemed scarcely any effort at all. I carried a long
+alpenstock, and when we reached the mountain and began the ascent, I
+found that with the help of this and my knapsack I could go uphill
+at a wonderful rate. My companion had taken the lead, so as to show
+me how to climb. Making a _detour_ over some rocks, I quickly passed
+him and went ahead. After that it was impossible for him to keep up
+with me. I ran up steep places, I cut off the windings of the path
+by lightly clambering over rocks, and even when I followed the
+beaten track my step was as rapid as if I had been walking on level
+ground.
+
+"Look here!" shouted the Alpine Club man from below, "you'll kill
+yourself if you go at that rate! That's no way to climb mountains."
+
+"It's my way!" I cried. And on I skipped.
+
+Twenty minutes after I arrived at the summit my companion joined me,
+puffing, and wiping his red face with his handkerchief.
+
+"Confound it!" he cried, "I never came up a mountain so fast in my
+life."
+
+"You need not have hurried," I said, coolly.
+
+"I was afraid something would happen to you," he growled, "and I
+wanted to stop you. I never saw a person climb in such an utterly
+absurd way."
+
+"I don't see why you should call it absurd," I said, smiling with an
+air of superiority. "I arrived here in a perfectly comfortable
+condition, neither heated nor wearied."
+
+He made no answer, but walked off to a little distance, fanning
+himself with his hat and growling words which I did not catch. After
+a time I proposed to descend.
+
+"You must be careful as you go down," he said. "It is much more
+dangerous to go down steep places than to climb up."
+
+"I am always prudent," I answered, and started in advance. I found
+the descent of the mountain much more pleasant than the ascent. It
+was positively exhilarating. I jumped from rocks and bluffs eight
+and ten feet in height, and touched the ground as gently as if I had
+stepped down but two feet. I ran down steep paths, and, with the aid
+of my alpenstock, stopped myself in an instant. I was careful to
+avoid dangerous places, but the runs and jumps I made were such as
+no man had ever made before upon that mountain-side. Once only I
+heard my companion's voice.
+
+"You'll break your ---- neck!" he yelled.
+
+"Never fear!" I called back, and soon left him far above.
+
+When I reached the bottom I would have waited for him, but my
+activity had warmed me up, and as a cool evening breeze was
+beginning to blow I thought it better not to stop and take cold.
+Half an hour after my arrival at the hotel I came down to the court,
+cool, fresh, and dressed for dinner, and just in time to meet the
+Alpine man as he entered, hot, dusty, and growling.
+
+"Excuse me for not waiting for you," I said; but without stopping to
+hear my reason, he muttered something about waiting in a place where
+no one would care to stay, and passed into the house.
+
+There was no doubt that what I had done gratified my pique and
+tickled my vanity.
+
+"I think now," I said, when I related the matter to my wife, "that
+he will scarcely say that I am not up to that sort of thing."
+
+"I am not sure," she answered, "that it was exactly fair. He did not
+know how you were assisted."
+
+"It was fair enough," I said. "He is enabled to climb well by the
+inherited vigor of his constitution and by his training. He did not
+tell me what methods of exercise he used to get those great muscles
+upon his legs. I am enabled to climb by the exercise of my
+intellect. My method is my business and his method is his business.
+It is all perfectly fair."
+
+Still she persisted:
+
+"He _thought_ that you climbed with your legs, and not with your
+head."
+
+And now, after this long digression, necessary to explain how a
+middle-aged couple of slight pedestrian ability, and loaded with a
+heavy knapsack and basket, should have started out on a rough walk
+and climb, fourteen miles in all, we will return to ourselves,
+standing on the little bluff and gazing out upon the sunset view.
+When the sky began to fade a little we turned from it and prepared
+to go back to the town.
+
+"Where is the basket?" I said.
+
+"I left it right here," answered my wife. "I unscrewed the machine
+and it lay perfectly flat."
+
+"Did you afterward take out the bottles?" I asked, seeing them lying
+on the grass.
+
+"Yes, I believe I did. I had to take out yours in order to get at
+mine."
+
+"Then," said I, after looking all about the grassy patch on which we
+stood, "I am afraid you did not entirely unscrew the instrument, and
+that when the weight of the bottles was removed the basket gently
+rose into the air."
+
+"It may be so," she said, lugubriously. "The basket was behind me as
+I drank my wine."
+
+"I believe that is just what has happened," I said. "Look up there!
+I vow that is our basket!"
+
+I pulled out my field-glass and directed it at a little speck high
+above our heads. It was the basket floating high in the air. I gave
+the glass to my wife to look, but she did not want to use it.
+
+"What shall I do?" she cried. "I can't walk home without that
+basket. It's perfectly dreadful!" And she looked as if she was going
+to cry.
+
+"Do not distress yourself," I said, although I was a good deal
+disturbed myself. "We shall get home very well. You shall put your
+hand on my shoulder, while I put my arm around you. Then you can
+screw up my machine a good deal higher, and it will support us both.
+In this way I am sure that we shall get on very well."
+
+We carried out this plan, and managed to walk on with moderate
+comfort. To be sure, with the knapsack pulling me upward, and the
+weight of my wife pulling me down, the straps hurt me somewhat,
+which they had not done before. We did not spring lightly over the
+wall into the road, but, still clinging to each other, we clambered
+awkwardly over it. The road for the most part declined gently toward
+the town, and with moderate ease we made our way along it. But we
+walked much more slowly than we had done before, and it was quite
+dark when we reached our hotel. If it had not been for the light
+inside the court it would have been difficult for us to find it. A
+travelling-carriage was standing before the entrance, and against
+the light. It was necessary to pass around it, and my wife went
+first. I attempted to follow her, but, strange to say, there was
+nothing under my feet. I stepped vigorously, but only wagged my legs
+in the air. To my horror I found that I was rising in the air! I
+soon saw, by the light below me, that I was some fifteen feet from
+the ground. The carriage drove away, and in the darkness I was not
+noticed. Of course I knew what had happened. The instrument in my
+knapsack had been screwed up to such an intensity, in order to
+support both myself and my wife, that when her weight was removed
+the force of the negative gravity was sufficient to raise me from
+the ground. But I was glad to find that when I had risen to the
+height I have mentioned I did not go up any higher, but hung in the
+air, about on a level with the second tier of windows of the hotel.
+
+I now began to try to reach the screw in my knapsack in order to
+reduce the force of the negative gravity; but, do what I would, I
+could not get my hand to it. The machine in the knapsack had been
+placed so as to support me in a well-balanced and comfortable way;
+and in doing this it had been impossible to set the screw so that I
+could reach it. But in a temporary arrangement of the kind this had
+not been considered necessary, as my wife always turned the screw
+for me until sufficient lifting power had been attained. I had
+intended, as I have said before, to construct a negative-gravity
+waistcoat, in which the screw should be in front, and entirely under
+the wearer's control; but this was a thing of the future.
+
+When I found that I could not turn the screw I began to be much
+alarmed. Here I was, dangling in the air, without any means of
+reaching the ground. I could not expect my wife to return to look
+for me, as she would naturally suppose I had stopped to speak to
+some one. I thought of loosening myself from the knapsack, but this
+would not do, for I should fall heavily, and either kill myself or
+break some of my bones. I did not dare to call for assistance, for
+if any of the simple-minded inhabitants of the town had discovered
+me floating in the air they would have taken me for a demon, and
+would probably have shot at me. A moderate breeze was blowing, and
+it wafted me gently down the street. If it had blown me against a
+tree I would have seized it, and have endeavored, so to speak, to
+climb down it; but there were no trees. There was a dim street-lamp
+here and there, but reflectors above them threw their light upon the
+pavement, and none up to me. On many accounts I was glad that the
+night was so dark, for, much as I desired to get down, I wanted no
+one to see me in my strange position, which, to any one but myself
+and wife, would be utterly unaccountable. If I could rise as high as
+the roofs I might get on one of them, and, tearing off an armful of
+tiles, so load myself that I would be heavy enough to descend. But I
+did not rise to the eaves of any of the houses. If there had been a
+telegraph-pole, or anything of the kind that I could have clung to,
+I would have taken off the knapsack, and would have endeavored to
+scramble down as well as I could. But there was nothing I could
+cling to. Even the water-spouts, if I could have reached the face of
+the houses, were embedded in the walls. At an open window, near
+which I was slowly blown, I saw two little boys going to bed by the
+light of a dim candle. I was dreadfully afraid that they would see
+me and raise an alarm. I actually came so near to the window that I
+threw out one foot and pushed against the wall with such force that
+I went nearly across the street. I thought I caught sight of a
+frightened look on the face of one of the boys; but of this I am not
+sure, and I heard no cries. I still floated, dangling, down the
+street. What was to be done? Should I call out? In that case, if I
+were not shot or stoned, my strange predicament, and the secret of
+my invention, would be exposed to the world. If I did not do this, I
+must either let myself drop and be killed or mangled, or hang there
+and die. When, during the course of the night, the air became more
+rarefied, I might rise higher and higher, perhaps to an altitude of
+one or two hundred feet. It would then be impossible for the people
+to reach me and get me down, even if they were convinced that I was
+not a demon. I should then expire, and when the birds of the air had
+eaten all of me that they could devour, I should forever hang above
+the unlucky town, a dangling skeleton with a knapsack on its back.
+
+Such thoughts were not reassuring, and I determined that if I could
+find no means of getting down without assistance, I would call out
+and run all risks; but so long as I could endure the tension of the
+straps I would hold out, and hope for a tree or a pole. Perhaps it
+might rain, and my wet clothes would then become so heavy that I
+would descend as low as the top of a lamp-post.
+
+As this thought was passing through my mind I saw a spark of light
+upon the street approaching me. I rightly imagined that it came from
+a tobacco-pipe, and presently I heard a voice. It was that of the
+Alpine Club man. Of all people in the world I did not want him to
+discover me, and I hung as motionless as possible. The man was
+speaking to another person who was walking with him.
+
+"He is crazy beyond a doubt," said the Alpine man. "Nobody but a
+maniac could have gone up and down that mountain as he did! He
+hasn't any muscles, and one need only look at him to know that he
+couldn't do any climbing in a natural way. It is only the excitement
+of insanity that gives him strength."
+
+The two now stopped almost under me, and the speaker continued:
+
+"Such things are very common with maniacs. At times they acquire an
+unnatural strength which is perfectly wonderful. I have seen a
+little fellow struggle and fight so that four strong men could not
+hold him."
+
+Then the other person spoke.
+
+"I am afraid what you say is too true," he remarked. "Indeed, I have
+known it for some time."
+
+At these words my breath almost stopped. It was the voice of Mr.
+Gilbert, my townsman, and the father of Janet. It must have been he
+who had arrived in the travelling-carriage. He was acquainted with
+the Alpine Club man, and they were talking of me. Proper or
+improper, I listened with all my ears.
+
+"It is a very sad case," Mr. Gilbert continued. "My daughter was
+engaged to marry his son, but I broke off the match. I could not
+have her marry the son of a lunatic, and there could be no doubt of
+his condition. He has been seen--a man of his age, and the head of a
+family--to load himself up with a heavy knapsack, which there was no
+earthly necessity for him to carry, and go skipping along the road
+for miles, vaulting over fences and jumping over rocks and ditches
+like a young calf or a colt. I myself saw a most heartrending
+instance of how a kindly man's nature can be changed by the
+derangement of his intellect. I was at some distance from his house,
+but I plainly saw him harness a little donkey which he owns to a
+large two-horse wagon loaded with stone, and beat and lash the poor
+little beast until it drew the heavy load some distance along the
+public road. I would have remonstrated with him on this horrible
+cruelty, but he had the wagon back in his yard before I could reach
+him."
+
+"Oh, there can be no doubt of his insanity," said the Alpine Club
+man, "and he oughtn't to be allowed to travel about in this way.
+Some day he will pitch his wife over a precipice just for the fun of
+seeing her shoot through the air."
+
+"I am sorry he is here," said Mr. Gilbert, "for it would be very
+painful to meet him. My daughter and I will retire very soon, and go
+away as early to-morrow morning as possible, so as to avoid seeing
+him."
+
+And then they walked back to the hotel.
+
+For a few moments I hung, utterly forgetful of my condition, and
+absorbed in the consideration of these revelations. One idea now
+filled my mind. Everything must be explained to Mr. Gilbert, even if
+it should be necessary to have him called to me, and for me to speak
+to him from the upper air.
+
+Just then I saw something white approaching me along the road. My
+eyes had become accustomed to the darkness, and I perceived that it
+was an upturned face. I recognized the hurried gait, the form; it
+was my wife. As she came near me, I called her name, and in the same
+breath entreated her not to scream. It must have been an effort for
+her to restrain herself, but she did it.
+
+"You must help me to get down," I said, "without anybody seeing us."
+
+"What shall I do?" she whispered.
+
+"Try to catch hold of this string."
+
+Taking a piece of twine from my pocket, I lowered one end to her.
+But it was too short; she could not reach it. I then tied my
+handkerchief to it, but still it was not long enough.
+
+"I can get more string, or handkerchiefs," she whispered, hurriedly.
+
+"No," I said; "you could not get them up to me. But, leaning against
+the hotel wall, on this side, in the corner, just inside of the
+garden gate, are some fishing-poles. I have seen them there every
+day. You can easily find them in the dark. Go, please, and bring me
+one of those."
+
+The hotel was not far away, and in a few minutes my wife returned
+with a fishing-pole. She stood on tiptoe, and reached it high in
+air; but all she could do was to strike my feet and legs with it. My
+most frantic exertions did not enable me to get my hands low enough
+to touch it.
+
+"Wait a minute," she said; and the rod was withdrawn.
+
+I knew what she was doing. There was a hook and line attached to the
+pole, and with womanly dexterity she was fastening the hook to the
+extreme end of the rod. Soon she reached up, and gently struck at my
+legs. After a few attempts the hook caught in my trousers, a little
+below my right knee. Then there was a slight pull, a long scratch
+down my leg, and the hook was stopped by the top of my boot. Then
+came a steady downward pull, and I felt myself descending. Gently
+and firmly the rod was drawn down; carefully the lower end was kept
+free from the ground; and in a few moments my ankle was seized with
+a vigorous grasp. Then some one seemed to climb up me, my feet
+touched the ground, an arm was thrown around my neck, the hand of
+another arm was busy at the back of my knapsack, and I soon stood
+firmly in the road, entirely divested of negative gravity.
+
+"Oh that I should have forgotten," sobbed my wife, "and that I
+should have dropped your arms and let you go up into the air! At
+first I thought that you had stopped below, and it was only a little
+while ago that the truth flashed upon me. Then I rushed out and
+began looking up for you. I knew that you had wax matches in your
+pocket, and hoped that you would keep on striking them, so that you
+would be seen."
+
+"But I did not wish to be seen," I said, as we hurried to the hotel;
+"and I can never be sufficiently thankful that it was you who found
+me and brought me down. Do you know that it is Mr. Gilbert and his
+daughter who have just arrived? I must see him instantly. I will
+explain it all to you when I come upstairs."
+
+I took off my knapsack and gave it to my wife, who carried it to our
+room, while I went to look for Mr. Gilbert. Fortunately I found him
+just as he was about to go up to his chamber. He took my offered
+hand, but looked at me sadly and gravely.
+
+"Mr. Gilbert," I said, "I must speak to you in private. Let us step
+into this room. There is no one here."
+
+"My friend," said Mr. Gilbert, "it will be much better to avoid
+discussing this subject. It is very painful to both of us, and no
+good can come from talking of it."
+
+"You cannot now comprehend what it is I want to say to you," I
+replied. "Come in here, and in a few minutes you will be very glad
+that you listened to me."
+
+My manner was so earnest and impressive that Mr. Gilbert was
+constrained to follow me, and we went into a small room called the
+smoking-room, but in which people seldom smoked, and closed the
+door. I immediately began my statement. I told my old friend that I
+had discovered, by means that I need not explain at present, that he
+had considered me crazy, and that now the most important object of
+my life was to set myself right in his eyes. I thereupon gave him
+the whole history of my invention, and explained the reason of the
+actions that had appeared to him those of a lunatic. I said nothing
+about the little incident of that evening. That was a mere accident,
+and I did not care now to speak of it.
+
+Mr. Gilbert listened to me very attentively.
+
+"Your wife is here?" he asked, when I had finished.
+
+"Yes," I said; "and she will corroborate my story in every item, and
+no one could ever suspect her of being crazy. I will go and bring
+her to you."
+
+In a few minutes my wife was in the room, had shaken hands with Mr.
+Gilbert, and had been told of my suspected madness. She turned pale,
+but smiled.
+
+"He did act like a crazy man," she said, "but I never supposed that
+anybody would think him one." And tears came into her eyes.
+
+"And now, my dear," said I, "perhaps you will tell Mr. Gilbert how I
+did all this."
+
+And then she told him the story that I had told.
+
+Mr. Gilbert looked from the one to the other of us with a troubled
+air.
+
+"Of course I do not doubt either of you, or rather I do not doubt
+that you believe what you say. All would be right if I could bring
+myself to credit that such a force as that you speak of can possibly
+exist."
+
+"That is a matter," said I, "which I can easily prove to you by
+actual demonstration. If you can wait a short time, until my wife
+and I have had something to eat--for I am nearly famished, and I am
+sure she must be--I will set your mind at rest upon that point."
+
+"I will wait here," said Mr. Gilbert, "and smoke a cigar. Don't
+hurry yourselves. I shall be glad to have some time to think about
+what you have told me."
+
+When we had finished the dinner, which had been set aside for us, I
+went upstairs and got my knapsack, and we both joined Mr. Gilbert in
+the smoking-room. I showed him the little machine, and explained,
+very briefly, the principle of its construction. I did not give any
+practical demonstration of its action, because there were people
+walking about the corridor who might at any moment come into the
+room; but, looking out of the window, I saw that the night was much
+clearer. The wind had dissipated the clouds, and the stars were
+shining brightly.
+
+"If you will come up the street with me," said I to Mr. Gilbert, "I
+will show you how this thing works."
+
+"That is just what I want to see," he answered.
+
+"I will go with you," said my wife, throwing a shawl over her head.
+And we started up the street.
+
+When we were outside the little town I found the starlight was quite
+sufficient for my purpose. The white roadway, the low walls, and
+objects about us, could easily be distinguished.
+
+"Now," said I to Mr. Gilbert, "I want to put this knapsack on you,
+and let you see how it feels, and how it will help you to walk." To
+this he assented with some eagerness, and I strapped it firmly on
+him. "I will now turn this screw," said I, "until you shall become
+lighter and lighter."
+
+"Be very careful not to turn it too much," said my wife, earnestly.
+
+"Oh, you may depend on me for that," said I, turning the screw very
+gradually.
+
+Mr. Gilbert was a stout man, and I was obliged to give the screw a
+good many turns.
+
+"There seems to be considerable hoist in it," he said, directly. And
+then I put my arms around him, and found that I could raise him from
+the ground.
+
+"Are you lifting me?" he exclaimed, in surprise.
+
+"Yes; I did it with ease," I answered.
+
+"Upon--my--word!" ejaculated Mr. Gilbert.
+
+I then gave the screw a half-turn more, and told him to walk and
+run. He started off, at first slowly, then he made long strides,
+then he began to run, and then to skip and jump. It had been many
+years since Mr. Gilbert had skipped and jumped. No one was in sight,
+and he was free to gambol as much as he pleased. "Could you give it
+another turn?" said he, bounding up to me. "I want to try that
+wall." I put on a little more negative gravity, and he vaulted over
+a five-foot wall with great ease. In an instant he had leaped back
+into the road, and in two bounds was at my side. "I came down as
+light as a cat," he said. "There was never anything like it." And
+away he went up the road, taking steps at least eight feet long,
+leaving my wife and me laughing heartily at the preternatural
+agility of our stout friend. In a few minutes he was with us again.
+"Take it off," he said. "If I wear it any longer I shall want one
+myself, and then I shall be taken for a crazy man, and perhaps
+clapped into an asylum."
+
+"Now," said I, as I turned back the screw before unstrapping the
+knapsack, "do you understand how I took long walks, and leaped and
+jumped; how I ran uphill and downhill, and how the little donkey
+drew the loaded wagon?"
+
+"I understand it all," cried he. "I take back all I ever said or
+thought about you, my friend."
+
+"And Herbert may marry Janet?" cried my wife.
+
+"_May_ marry her!" cried Mr. Gilbert. "Indeed, he _shall_ marry her,
+if I have anything to say about it! My poor girl has been drooping
+ever since I told her it could not be."
+
+My wife rushed at him, but whether she embraced him or only shook
+his hands I cannot say; for I had the knapsack in one hand and was
+rubbing my eyes with the other.
+
+"But, my dear fellow," said Mr. Gilbert, directly, "if you still
+consider it to your interest to keep your invention a secret, I wish
+you had never made it. No one having a machine like that can help
+using it, and it is often quite as bad to be considered a maniac as
+to be one."
+
+"My friend," I cried, with some excitement, "I have made up my mind
+on this subject. The little machine in this knapsack, which is the
+only one I now possess, has been a great pleasure to me. But I now
+know it has also been of the greatest injury indirectly to me and
+mine, not to mention some direct inconvenience and danger, which I
+will speak of another time. The secret lies with us three, and we
+will keep it. But the invention itself is too full of temptation and
+danger for any of us."
+
+As I said this I held the knapsack with one hand while I quickly
+turned the screw with the other. In a few moments it was high above
+my head, while I with difficulty held it down by the straps. "Look!"
+I cried. And then I released my hold, and the knapsack shot into the
+air and disappeared into the upper gloom.
+
+I was about to make a remark, but had no chance, for my wife threw
+herself upon my bosom, sobbing with joy.
+
+"Oh, I am so glad--so glad!" she said. "And you will never make
+another?"
+
+"Never another!" I answered.
+
+"And now let us hurry in and see Janet," said my wife.
+
+"You don't know how heavy and clumsy I feel," said Mr. Gilbert,
+striving to keep up with us as we walked back. "If I had worn that
+thing much longer, I should never have been willing to take it off!"
+
+Janet had retired, but my wife went up to her room.
+
+"I think she has felt it as much as our boy," she said, when she
+rejoined me. "But I tell you, my dear, I left a very happy girl in
+that little bedchamber over the garden."
+
+And there were three very happy elderly people talking together
+until quite late that evening. "I shall write to Herbert to-night,"
+I said, when we separated, "and tell him to meet us all in Geneva.
+It will do the young man no harm if we interrupt his studies just
+now."
+
+"You must let me add a postscript to the letter," said Mr. Gilbert,
+"and I am sure it will require no knapsack with a screw in the back
+to bring him quickly to us."
+
+And it did not.
+
+There is a wonderful pleasure in tripping over the earth like a
+winged Mercury, and in feeling one's self relieved of much of that
+attraction of gravitation which drags us down to earth and gradually
+makes the movement of our bodies but weariness and labor. But this
+pleasure is not to be compared, I think, to that given by the
+buoyancy and lightness of two young and loving hearts, reunited
+after a separation which they had supposed would last forever.
+
+What became of the basket and the knapsack, or whether they ever met
+in upper air, I do not know. If they but float away and stay away
+from ken of mortal man, I shall be satisfied.
+
+And whether or not the world will ever know more of the power of
+negative gravity depends entirely upon the disposition of my son
+Herbert, when--after a good many years, I hope--he shall open the
+packet my lawyers have in keeping.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[NOTE.--It would be quite useless for any one to interview my wife
+on this subject, for she has entirely forgotten how my machine was
+made. And as for Mr. Gilbert, he never knew.]
+
+
+
+
+ASAPH
+
+
+About a hundred feet back from the main street of a village in New
+Jersey there stood a very good white house. Half-way between it and
+the sidewalk was a large chestnut-tree, which had been the pride of
+Mr. Himes, who built the house, and was now the pride of Mrs. Himes,
+his widow, who lived there.
+
+Under the tree was a bench, and on the bench were two elderly men,
+both smoking pipes, and each one of them leaning forward with his
+elbows on his knees. One of these, Thomas Rooper by name, was a
+small man with gray side-whiskers, a rather thin face, and very good
+clothes. His pipe was a meerschaum, handsomely colored, with a long
+amber tip. He had bought that pipe while on a visit to Philadelphia
+during the great Centennial Exposition; and if any one noticed it
+and happened to remark what a fine pipe it was, that person would be
+likely to receive a detailed account of the circumstances of its
+purchase, with an appendix relating to the Main Building, the Art
+Building, the Agricultural Building, and many other salient points
+of the great Exposition which commemorated the centennial of our
+national independence.
+
+The other man, Asaph Scantle, was of a different type. He was a
+little older than his companion, but if his hair were gray, it did
+not show very much, as his rather long locks were of a sandy hue and
+his full face was clean shaven, at least on Wednesdays and Sundays.
+He was tall, round-shouldered, and his clothes were not good,
+possessing very evident claims to a position on the retired list.
+His pipe consisted of a common clay bowl with a long reed stem.
+
+For some minutes the two men continued to puff together as if they
+were playing a duet upon tobacco-pipes, and then Asaph, removing his
+reed from his lips, remarked, "What you ought to do, Thomas, is to
+marry money."
+
+"There's sense in that," replied the other; "but you wasn't the
+first to think of it."
+
+Asaph, who knew very well that Mr. Rooper never allowed any one to
+suppose that he received suggestions from without, took no notice of
+the last remark, but went on: "Lookin' at the matter in a friendly
+way, it seems to me it stands to reason that when the shingles on a
+man's house is so rotten that the rain comes through into every room
+on the top floor, and when the plaster on the ceilin' is tumblin'
+down more or less all the time, and the window-sashes is all loose,
+and things generally in a condition that he can't let that house
+without spendin' at least a year's rent on it to git it into decent
+order, and when a man's got to the time of life--"
+
+"There's nothin' the matter with the time of life," said Thomas;
+"that's all right."
+
+"What I was goin' to say was," continued Asaph, "that when a man
+gits to the time of life when he knows what it is to be comfortable
+in his mind as well as his body--and that time comes to sensible
+people as soon as they git fairly growed up--he don't want to give
+up his good room in the tavern and all the privileges of the house,
+and go to live on his own property and have the plaster come down on
+his own head and the rain come down on the coverlet of his own bed."
+
+"No, he don't," said Thomas; "and what is more, he isn't goin' to do
+it. But what I git from the rent of that house is what I have to
+live on; there's no gittin' around that pint."
+
+"Well, then," said Asaph, "if you don't marry money, what are you
+goin' to do? You can't go back to your old business."
+
+"I never had but one business," said Thomas. "I lived with my folks
+until I was a good deal more than growed up; and when the war broke
+out I went as sutler to the rigiment from this place; and all the
+money I made I put into my property in the village here. That's what
+I've lived on ever since. There's no more war, so there's no more
+sutlers, except away out West where I wouldn't go; and there are no
+more folks, for they are all dead; and if what Mrs. McJimsey says is
+true, there'll be no more tenants in my house after the 1st of next
+November. For when the McJimseys go on account of want of general
+repairs, it is not to be expected that anybody else will come there.
+There's nobody in this place that can stand as much as the McJimseys
+can."
+
+"Consequently," said Asaph, deliberately filling his pipe, "it
+stands to reason that there ain't nothin' for you to do but marry
+money."
+
+Thomas Rooper took his pipe from his mouth and sat up straight.
+Gazing steadfastly at his companion, he remarked, "If you think that
+is such a good thing to do, why don't you do it yourself? There
+can't be anybody much harder up than you are."
+
+"The law's agin' my doin' it," said Asaph. "A man can't marry his
+sister."
+
+"Are you thinkin' of Marietta Himes?" asked Mr. Rooper.
+
+"That's the one I'm thinkin' of," said Asaph. "If you can think of
+anybody better, I'd like you to mention her."
+
+Mr. Rooper did not immediately speak. He presently asked, "What do
+you call money?"
+
+"Well," said Asaph, with a little hesitation, "considerin' the
+circumstances, I should say that in a case like this about fifteen
+hundred a year, a first-rate house with not a loose shingle on it
+nor a crack anywhere, a good garden and an orchard, two cows, a
+piece of meadow-land on the other side of the creek, and all the
+clothes a woman need have, is money."
+
+Thomas shrugged his shoulders. "Clothes!" he said. "If she marries
+she'll go out of black, and then she'll have to have new ones, and
+lots of 'em. That would make a big hole in her money, Asaph."
+
+The other smiled. "I always knowed you was a far-seein' feller,
+Thomas; but it stands to reason that Marietta's got a lot of clothes
+that was on hand before she went into mournin', and she's not the
+kind of woman to waste 'em. She'll be twistin' 'em about and makin'
+'em over to suit the fashions, and it won't be like her to be buyin'
+new colored goods when she's got plenty of 'em already."
+
+There was now another pause in the conversation, and then Mr. Rooper
+remarked, "Mrs. Himes must be gettin' on pretty well in years."
+
+"She's not a young woman," said Asaph; "but if she was much younger
+she wouldn't have you, and if she was much older you wouldn't have
+her. So it strikes me she's just about the right pint."
+
+"How old was John Himes when he died?" asked Thomas.
+
+"I don't exactly know that; but he was a lot older than Marietta."
+
+Thomas shook his head. "It strikes me," said he, "that John Himes
+had a hearty constitution and hadn't ought to died as soon as he
+did. He fell away a good deal in the last years of his life."
+
+"And considerin' that he died of consumption, he had a right to fall
+away," said Asaph. "If what you are drivin' at, Thomas, is that
+Marietta isn't a good housekeeper and hasn't the right sort of
+notions of feedin', look at me. I've lived with Marietta just about
+a year, and in that time I have gained forty-two pounds. Now, of
+course, I ain't unreasonable, and don't mean to say that you would
+gain forty-two pounds in a year, 'cause you ain't got the frame and
+bone to put it on; but it wouldn't surprise me a bit if you was to
+gain twenty, or even twenty-five, pounds in eighteen months, anyway;
+and more than that you ought not to ask, Thomas, considerin' your
+height and general build."
+
+"Isn't Marietta Himes a good deal of a freethinker?" asked Thomas.
+
+"A what?" cried Asaph. "You mean an infidel?"
+
+"No," said Thomas, "I don't charge nobody with nothin' more than
+there's reason for; but they do say that she goes sometimes to one
+church and sometimes to another, and that if there was a Catholic
+church in this village she would go to that. And who's goin' to say
+where a woman will turn up when she don't know her own mind better
+than that?"
+
+Asaph colored a little. "The place where Marietta will turn up,"
+said he, warmly, "is on a front seat in the kingdom of heaven; and
+if the people that talk about her will mend their ways, they'll see
+that I am right. You need not trouble yourself about that, Thomas.
+Marietta Himes is pious to the heel."
+
+Mr. Rooper now shifted himself a little on the bench and crossed one
+leg over the other. "Now look here, Asaph," he said, with a little
+more animation than he had yet shown, "supposin' all you say is
+true, have you got any reason to think that Mrs. Himes ain't
+satisfied with things as they are?"
+
+"Yes, I have," said Asaph. "And I don't mind tellin' you that the
+thing she's least satisfied with is me. She wants a man in the
+house; that is nateral. She wouldn't be Marietta Himes if she
+didn't. When I come to live with her I thought the whole business
+was settled; but it isn't. I don't suit her. I don't say she's
+lookin' for another man, but if another man was to come along, and
+if he was the right kind of a man, it's my opinion she's ready for
+him. I wouldn't say this to everybody, but I say it to you, Thomas
+Rooper, 'cause I know what kind of a man you are."
+
+Mr. Rooper did not return the compliment. "I don't wonder your
+sister ain't satisfied with you," he said, "for you go ahead of all
+the lazy men I ever saw yet. They was sayin' down at the tavern
+yesterday--only yesterday--that you could do less work in more time
+than anybody they ever saw before."
+
+"There's two ways of workin'," said Asaph. "Some people work with
+their hands and some with their heads."
+
+Thomas grimly smiled. "It strikes me," said he, "that the most
+head-work you do is with your jaws."
+
+Asaph was not the man to take offence readily, especially when he
+considered it against his interest to do so, and he showed no
+resentment at this remark. "'Tain't so much my not makin' myself
+more generally useful," he said, "that Marietta objects to; though,
+of course, it could not be expected that a man that hasn't got any
+interest in property would keep workin' at it like a man that has
+got an interest in it, such as Marietta's husband would have; but
+it's my general appearance that she don't like. She's told me more
+than once she didn't so much mind my bein' lazy as lookin' lazy."
+
+"I don't wonder she thinks that way," said Thomas. "But look here,
+Asaph, do you suppose that if Marietta Himes was to marry a man, he
+would really come into her property?"
+
+"There ain't nobody that knows my sister better than I know her, and
+I can say, without any fear of bein' contradicted, that when she
+gives herself to a man the good-will and fixtures will be included."
+
+Thomas Rooper now leaned forward with his elbows on his knees
+without smoking, and Asaph Scantle leaned forward with his elbows on
+his knees without smoking. And thus they remained, saying nothing to
+each other, for the space of some ten minutes.
+
+Asaph was a man who truly used his head a great deal more than he
+used his hands. He had always been a shiftless fellow, but he was no
+fool, and this his sister found out soon after she asked him to come
+and make his home with her. She had not done this because she wanted
+a man in the house, for she had lived two or three years without
+that convenience and had not felt the need of it. But she heard that
+Asaph was in very uncomfortable circumstances, and she had sent for
+him solely for his own good. The arrangement proved to be a very
+good one for her brother, but not a good one for her. She had always
+known that Asaph's head was his main dependence, but she was just
+beginning to discover that he liked to use his head so that other
+people's hands should work for him.
+
+"There ain't nobody comin' to see your sister, is there?" asked
+Thomas, suddenly.
+
+"Not a livin' soul," said Asaph, "except women, married folk, and
+children. But it has always surprised me that nobody did come; but
+just at this minute the field's clear and the gate's open."
+
+"Well," said Mr. Rooper, "I'll think about it."
+
+"That's right," said Asaph, rubbing his knees with his hands.
+"That's right. But now tell me, Thomas Rooper, supposin' you get
+Marietta, what are you goin' to do for me?"
+
+"For you?" exclaimed the other. "What have you got to do with it?"
+
+"A good deal," said Asaph. "If you get Marietta with her fifteen
+hundred a year--and it wouldn't surprise me if it was eighteen
+hundred--and her house and her garden and her cattle and her field
+and her furniture, with not a leg loose nor a scratch, you will get
+her because I proposed her to you, and because I backed you up
+afterward. And now, then, I want to know what you are goin' to do
+for me?"
+
+"What do you want?" asked Thomas.
+
+"The first thing I want," said Asaph, "is a suit of clothes. These
+clothes is disgraceful."
+
+"You are right there," said Mr. Rooper. "I wonder your sister lets
+you come around in front of the house. But what do you mean by
+clothes--winter clothes or summer clothes?"
+
+"Winter," said Asaph, without hesitation. "I don't count summer
+clothes. And when I say a suit of clothes, I mean shoes and hat and
+underclothes."
+
+Mr. Rooper gave a sniff. "I wonder you don't say overcoat," he
+remarked.
+
+"I do say overcoat," replied Asaph. "A suit of winter clothes is a
+suit of clothes that you can go out into the weather in without
+missin' nothin'."
+
+Mr. Rooper smiled sarcastically. "Is there anything else you want?"
+he asked.
+
+"Yes," said Asaph, decidedly; "there is. I want a umbrella."
+
+"Cotton or silk?"
+
+Asaph hesitated. He had never had a silk umbrella in his hand in his
+life. He was afraid to strike too high, and he answered, "I want a
+good stout gingham."
+
+Mr. Rooper nodded his head. "Very good," he said. "And is that all?"
+
+"No," said Asaph, "it ain't all. There is one more thing I want, and
+that is a dictionary."
+
+The other man rose to his feet. "Upon my word," he exclaimed, "I
+never before saw a man that would sell his sister for a dictionary!
+And what you want with a dictionary is past my conceivin'."
+
+"Well, it ain't past mine," said Asaph. "For more than ten years I
+have wanted a dictionary. If I had a dictionary I could make use of
+my head in a way that I can't now. There is books in this house, but
+amongst 'em there is no dictionary. If there had been one I'd been a
+different man by this time from what I am now, and like as not
+Marietta wouldn't have wanted any other man in the house but me."
+
+Mr. Rooper stood looking upon the ground; and Asaph, who had also
+arisen, waited for him to speak. "You are a graspin' man, Asaph,"
+said Thomas. "But there is another thing I'd like to know: if I give
+you them clothes, you don't want them before she's married?"
+
+"Yes, I do," said Asaph. "If I come to the weddin', I can't wear
+these things. I have got to have them first."
+
+Mr. Rooper gave his head a little twist. "There's many a slip 'twixt
+the cup and the lip," said he.
+
+"Yes," said Asaph; "and there's different cups and different lips.
+But what's more, if I was to be best man--which would be nateral,
+considerin' I'm your friend and her brother--you wouldn't want me
+standin' up in this rig. And that's puttin' it in your own point of
+view, Thomas."
+
+"It strikes me," said the other, "that I could get a best man that
+would furnish his own clothes; but we will see about that. There's
+another thing, Asaph," he said, abruptly; "what are Mrs. Himes's
+views concernin' pipes?"
+
+This question startled and frightened Asaph. He knew that his sister
+could not abide the smell of tobacco and that Mr. Rooper was an
+inveterate smoker.
+
+"That depends," said he, "on the kind of tobacco. I don't mind
+sayin' that Marietta isn't partial to the kind of tobacco I smoke.
+But I ain't a moneyed man and I can't afford to buy nothin' but
+cheap stuff. But when it comes to a meerschaum pipe and the very
+finest Virginia or North Carolina smoking-tobacco, such as a moneyed
+man would be likely to use--"
+
+At this moment there came from the house the sound of a woman's
+voice, not loud, but clear and distinct, and it said "Asaph."
+
+This word sent through Mr. Rooper a gentle thrill such as he did not
+remember ever having felt before. There seemed to be in it a
+suggestion, a sort of prophecy, of what appeared to him as an
+undefined and chaotic bliss. He was not a fanciful man, but he could
+not help imagining himself standing alone under that chestnut-tree
+and that voice calling "Thomas."
+
+Upon Asaph the effect was different. The interruption was an
+agreeable one in one way, because it cut short his attempted
+explanation of the tobacco question; but in another way he knew that
+it meant the swinging of an axe, and that was not pleasant.
+
+Mr. Rooper walked back to the tavern in a cogitative state of mind.
+"That Asaph Scantle," he said to himself, "has got a head-piece,
+there's no denying it. If it had not been for him I do not believe I
+should have thought of his sister; at least not until the McJimseys
+had left my house, and then it might have been too late."
+
+Marietta Himes was a woman with a gentle voice and an appearance and
+demeanor indicative of a general softness of disposition; but
+beneath this mild exterior there was a great deal of firmness of
+purpose. Asaph had not seen very much of his sister since she had
+grown up and married; and when he came to live with her he thought
+that he was going to have things pretty much his own way. But it was
+not long before he entirely changed his mind.
+
+Mrs. Himes was of moderate height, pleasant countenance, and a
+figure inclined to plumpness. Her dark hair, in which there was not
+a line of gray, was brushed down smoothly on each side of her face,
+and her dress, while plain, was extremely neat. In fact, everything
+in the house and on the place was extremely neat, except Asaph.
+
+She was in the bright little dining-room which looked out on the
+flower-garden, preparing the table for supper, placing every plate,
+dish, glass, and cup with as much care and exactness as if a civil
+engineer had drawn a plan on the table-cloth with places marked for
+the position of each article.
+
+As she finished her work by placing a chair on each side of the
+table, a quiet smile, the result of a train of thought in which she
+had been indulging for the past half-hour, stole over her face. She
+passed through the kitchen, with a glance at the stove to see if the
+tea-kettle had begun to boil; and going out of the back door, she
+walked over to the shed where her brother was splitting
+kindling-wood.
+
+"Asaph," said Mrs. Himes, "if I were to give you a good suit of
+clothes, would you promise me that you would never smoke when
+wearing them?"
+
+Her brother looked at her in amazement. "Clothes!" he repeated.
+
+"Mr. Himes was about your size," said his sister, "and he left a
+good many clothes, which are most of them very good and carefully
+packed away, so that I am sure there is not a moth-hole in any one
+of them. I have several times thought, Asaph, that I might give you
+some of his clothes; but it did seem to me a desecration to have the
+clothes of such a man, who was so particular and nice, filled and
+saturated with horrible tobacco-smoke, which he detested. But now
+you are getting to be so awful shabby, I do not see how I can stand
+it any longer. But one thing I will not do--I will not have Mr.
+Himes's clothes smelling of tobacco as yours do; and not only your
+own tobacco, but Mr. Rooper's."
+
+"I think," said Asaph, "that you are not exactly right just there.
+What you smell about me is my smoke. Thomas Rooper never uses
+anything but the finest-scented and delicatest brands. I think that
+if you come to get used to his tobacco-smoke you would like it. But
+as to my takin' off my clothes and puttin' on a different suit every
+time I want to light my pipe, that's pretty hard lines, it seems to
+me."
+
+"It would be a good deal easier to give up the pipe," said his
+sister.
+
+"I will do that," said Asaph, "when you give up tea. But you know as
+well as I do that there's no use of either of us a-tryin' to change
+our comfortable habits at our time of life."
+
+"I kept on hoping," said Mrs. Himes, "that you would feel yourself
+that you were not fit to be seen by decent people, and that you
+would go to work and earn at least enough money to buy yourself some
+clothes. But as you don't seem inclined to do that, I thought I
+would make you this offer. But you must understand that I will not
+have you smoke in Mr. Himes's clothes."
+
+Asaph stood thinking, the head of his axe resting upon the ground, a
+position which suited him. He was in a little perplexity. Marietta's
+proposition seemed to interfere somewhat with the one he had made to
+Thomas Rooper. Here was a state of affairs which required most
+careful consideration. "I've been arrangin' about some clothes," he
+said, presently; "for I know very well I need 'em; but I don't know
+just yet how it will turn out."
+
+"I hope, Asaph," said Marietta, quickly, "that you are not thinking
+of going into debt for clothing, and I know that you haven't been
+working to earn money. What arrangements have you been making?"
+
+"That's my private affair," said Asaph, "but there's no debt in it.
+It is all fair and square--cash down, so to speak; though, of
+course, it's not cash, but work. But, as I said before, that isn't
+settled."
+
+"I am afraid, Asaph," said his sister, "that if you have to do the
+work first you will never get the clothes, and so you might as well
+come back to my offer."
+
+Asaph came back to it and thought about it very earnestly. If by any
+chance he could get two suits of clothes, he would then feel that he
+had a head worth having. "What would you say," he said, presently,
+"if when I wanted to smoke I was to put on a long duster--I guess
+Mr. Himes had dusters--and a nightcap and rubbers? I'd agree to hang
+the duster and the cap in the shed here and never smoke without
+putting 'em on." There was a deep purpose in this proposition, for,
+enveloped in the long duster, he might sit with Thomas Rooper under
+the chestnut-tree and smoke and talk and plan as long as he pleased,
+and his companion would not know that he did not need a new suit of
+clothes.
+
+"Nonsense," said Mrs. Himes; "you must make up your mind to act
+perfectly fairly, Asaph, or else say you will not accept my offer.
+But if you don't accept it, I can't see how you can keep on living
+with me."
+
+"What do you mean by clothes, Marietta?" he asked.
+
+"Well, I mean a complete suit, of course," said she.
+
+"Winter or summer?"
+
+"I hadn't thought of that," Mrs. Himes replied; "but that can be as
+you choose."
+
+"Overcoat?" asked Asaph.
+
+"Yes," said she, "and cane and umbrella, if you like, and
+pocket-handkerchiefs, too. I will fit you out completely, and shall
+be glad to have you looking like a decent man."
+
+At the mention of the umbrella another line of perplexity showed
+itself upon Asaph's brow. The idea came to him that if she would add
+a dictionary he would strike a bargain. Thomas Rooper was certainly
+a very undecided and uncertain sort of man. But then there came up
+the thought of his pipe, and he was all at sea again. Giving up
+smoking was almost the same as giving up eating. "Marietta," said
+he, "I will think about this."
+
+"Very well," she answered; "but it's my opinion, Asaph, that you
+ought not to take more than one minute to think about it. However, I
+will give you until to-morrow morning, and then if you decide that
+you don't care to look like a respectable citizen, I must have some
+further talk with you about our future arrangements."
+
+"Make it to-morrow night," said Asaph. And his sister consented.
+
+The next day Asaph was unusually brisk and active; and very soon
+after breakfast he walked over to the village tavern to see Mr.
+Rooper.
+
+"Hello!" exclaimed that individual, surprised at his visitor's early
+appearance at the business centre of the village. "What's started
+you out? Have you come after them clothes?"
+
+A happy thought struck Asaph. He had made this visit with the
+intention of feeling his way toward some decision on the important
+subject of his sister's proposition, and here a way seemed to be
+opened to him. "Thomas," said he, taking his friend aside, "I am in
+an awful fix. Marietta can't stand my clothes any longer. If she
+can't stand them she can't stand me, and when it comes to that, you
+can see for yourself that I can't help you."
+
+A shade settled upon Mr. Rooper's face. During the past evening he
+had been thinking and puffing, and puffing and thinking, until
+everybody else in the tavern had gone to bed; and he had finally
+made up his mind that, if he could do it, he would marry Marietta
+Himes. He had never been very intimate with her or her husband, but
+he had been to meals in the house, and he remembered the fragrant
+coffee and the light, puffy, well-baked rolls made by Marietta's own
+hands; and he thought of the many differences between living in that
+very good house with that gentle, pleasant-voiced lady and his
+present life in the village tavern.
+
+And so, having determined that without delay he would, with the
+advice and assistance of Asaph, begin his courtship, it was natural
+that he should feel a shock of discouragement when he heard Asaph's
+announcement that his sister could not endure him in the house any
+longer. To attack that house and its owner without the friendly
+offices upon which he depended was an undertaking for which he was
+not at all prepared.
+
+"I don't wonder at her," he said, sharply--"not a bit. But this puts
+a mighty different face on the thing what we talked about
+yesterday."
+
+"It needn't," said Asaph, quietly. "The clothes you was goin' to
+give me wouldn't cost a cent more to-day than they would in a couple
+of months, say; and when I've got 'em on Marietta will be glad to
+have me around. Everything can go on just as we bargained for."
+
+Thomas shook his head. "That would be a mighty resky piece of
+business," he said. "You would be all right, but that's not sayin'
+that I would; for it strikes me that your sister is about as much a
+bird in the bush as any flyin' critter."
+
+Asaph smiled. "If the bush was in the middle of a field," said he,
+"and there was only one boy after the bird, it would be a pretty tough
+job. But if the bush is in the corner of two high walls, and there's
+two boys, and one of 'em's got a fishnet what he can throw clean
+over the bush, why, then the chances is a good deal better. But
+droppin' figgers, Thomas, and speakin' plain and straightforward, as
+I always do--"
+
+"About things you want to git," interrupted Thomas.
+
+"--about everything," resumed Asaph. "I'll just tell you this: if I
+don't git decent clothes now to-day, or perhaps to-morrow, I have
+got to travel out of Marietta's house. I can do it and she knows it.
+I can go back to Drummondville and git my board for keepin' books in
+the store, and nobody there cares what sort of clothes I wear. But
+when that happens, your chance of gittin' Marietta goes up higher
+than a kite."
+
+To the mind of Mr. Rooper this was most conclusive reasoning; but he
+would not admit it and he did not like it. "Why don't your sister
+give you clothes?" he said. "Old Himes must have left some."
+
+A thin chill like a needleful of frozen thread ran down Asaph's
+back. "Mr. Himes's clothes!" he exclaimed. "What in the world are
+you talkin' about, Thomas Rooper? 'Tain't likely he had many, 'cept
+what he was buried in; and what's left, if there is any, Marietta
+would no more think of givin' away than she would of hangin' up his
+funeral wreath for the canary-bird to perch on. There's a room up in
+the garret where she keeps his special things--for she's awful
+particular--and if there is any of his clothes up there I expect
+she's got 'em framed."
+
+"If she thinks as much of him as that," muttered Mr. Rooper.
+
+"Now don't git any sech ideas as them into your head, Thomas," said
+Asaph, quickly. "Marietta ain't a woman to rake up the past, and you
+never need be afraid of her rakin' up Mr. Himes. All of the premises
+will be hern and yourn except that room in the garret, and it ain't
+likely she'll ever ask you to go in there."
+
+"The Lord knows I don't want to!" ejaculated Mr. Rooper.
+
+The two men walked slowly to the end of a line of well-used, or,
+rather, badly used, wooden arm-chairs which stood upon the tavern
+piazza, and seated themselves. Mr. Rooper's mind was in a highly
+perturbed condition. If he accepted Asaph's present proposition he
+would have to make a considerable outlay with a very shadowy
+prospect of return.
+
+"If you haven't got the ready money for the clothes," said Asaph,
+after having given his companion some minutes for silent
+consideration, "there ain't a man in this village what they would
+trust sooner at the store for clothes," and then after a pause he
+added, "or books, which, of course, they can order from town."
+
+At this Mr. Rooper simply shrugged his shoulders. The question of
+ready money or credit did not trouble him.
+
+At this moment a man in a low phaeton, drawn by a stout gray horse,
+passed the tavern.
+
+"Who's that?" asked Asaph, who knew everybody in the village.
+
+"That's Doctor Wicker," said Thomas. "He lives over at Timberley. He
+'tended John Himes in his last sickness."
+
+"He don't practise here, does he?" said Asaph. "I never see him."
+
+"No; but he was called in to consult." And then the speaker dropped
+again into cogitation.
+
+After a few minutes Asaph rose. He knew that Thomas Rooper had a
+slow-working mind, and thought it would be well to leave him to
+himself for a while. "I'll go home," said he, "and 'tend to my
+chores, and by the time you feel like comin' up and takin' a smoke
+with me under the chestnut-tree, I reckon you will have made up your
+mind, and we'll settle this thing. Fer if I have got to go back to
+Drummondville, I s'pose I'll have to pack up this afternoon."
+
+"If you'd say pack off instead of pack up," remarked the other,
+"you'd come nearer the facts, considerin' the amount of your
+personal property. But I'll be up there in an hour or two."
+
+When Asaph came within sight of his sister's house he was amazed to
+see a phaeton and a gray horse standing in front of the gate. From
+this it was easy to infer that the doctor was in the house. What on
+earth could have happened? Was anything the matter with Marietta?
+And if so, why did she send for a physician who lived at a distance,
+instead of Doctor McIlvaine, the village doctor? In a very anxious
+state of mind Asaph reached the gate, and irresolutely went into the
+yard. His impulse was to go to the house and see what had happened;
+but he hesitated. He felt that Marietta might object to having a
+comparative stranger know that such an exceedingly shabby fellow was
+her brother. And, besides, his sister could not have been overtaken
+by any sudden illness. She had always appeared perfectly well, and
+there would have been no time during his brief absence from the
+house to send over to Timberley for a doctor.
+
+So he sat down under the chestnut-tree to consider this strange
+condition of affairs. "Whatever it is," he said to himself, "it's
+nothin' suddint, and it's bound to be chronic, and that'll skeer
+Thomas. I wish I hadn't asked him to come up here. The best thing
+for me to do will be to pretend that I have been sent to git
+somethin' at the store, and go straight back and keep him from
+comin' up."
+
+But Asaph was a good deal quicker to think than to move, and he
+still sat with brows wrinkled and mind beset by doubts. For a moment
+he thought that it might be well to accept Marietta's proposition
+and let Thomas go; but then he remembered the conditions, and he
+shut his mental eyes at the prospect.
+
+At that moment the gate opened and in walked Thomas Rooper. He had
+made up his mind and had come to say so; but the sight of the
+phaeton and gray horse caused him to postpone his intended
+announcement. "What's Doctor Wicker doin' here?" he asked, abruptly.
+
+"Dunno," said Asaph, as carelessly as he could speak. "I don't
+meddle with household matters of that kind. I expect it's somethin'
+the matter with that gal Betsey, that Marietta hires to help her.
+She's always wrong some way or other so that she can't do her own
+proper work, which I know, havin' to do a good deal of it myself. I
+expect it's rickets, like as not. Gals do have that sort of thing,
+don't they?"
+
+"Never had anything to do with sick gals," said Thomas, "or sick
+people of any sort, and don't want to. But it must be somethin'
+pretty deep-seated for your sister to send all the way to Timberley
+for a doctor."
+
+Asaph knew very well that Mrs. Himes was too economical a person to
+think of doing such a thing as that, and he knew also that Betsey
+was as good a specimen of rustic health as could be found in the
+county. And therefore his companion's statement that he wanted to
+have nothing to do with sick people had for him a saddening import.
+
+"I settled that business of yourn," said Mr. Rooper, "pretty soon
+after you left me. I thought I might as well come straight around
+and tell you about it. I'll make you a fair and square offer. I'll
+give you them clothes, though it strikes me that winter goods will
+be pretty heavy for this time of year; but it will be on this
+condition: if I don't get Marietta, you have got to give 'em back."
+
+Asaph smiled.
+
+"I know what you are grinnin' at," said Thomas; "but you needn't
+think that you are goin' to have the wearin' of them clothes for two
+or three months and then give 'em back. I don't go in for any long
+courtships. What I do in that line will be short and sharp."
+
+"How short?" asked Asaph.
+
+"Well, this is Thursday," replied the other, "and I calculate to ask
+her on Monday."
+
+Asaph looked at his companion in amazement. "By George!" he
+exclaimed, "that won't work. Why, it took Marietta more'n five days
+to make up her mind whether she would have the chicken-house painted
+green or red, and you can't expect her to be quicker than that in
+takin' a new husband. She'd say No just as certain as she would now
+if you was to go in and ask her right before the doctor and Betsey.
+And I'll just tell you plain that it wouldn't pay me to do all the
+hustlin' around and talkin' and argyin' and recommendin' that I'd
+have to do just for the pleasure of wearin' a suit of warm clothes
+for four July days. I tell you what it is, it won't do to spring
+that sort of thing on a woman, especially when she's what you might
+call a trained widder. You got to give 'em time to think over the
+matter and to look up your references. There's no use talkin' about
+it; you must give 'em time, especially when the offer comes from a
+person that nobody but me has ever thought of as a marryin' man."
+
+"Humph!" said Thomas. "That's all you know about it."
+
+"Facts is facts, and you can't git around 'em. There isn't a woman
+in this village what wouldn't take at least two weeks to git it into
+her head that you was really courtin' her. She would be just as
+likely to think that you was tryin' to git a tenant in place of the
+McJimseys. But a month of your courtin' and a month of my workin'
+would just about make the matter all right with Marietta, and then
+you could sail in and settle it."
+
+"Very good," said Mr. Rooper, rising suddenly. "I will court your
+sister for one month; and if, on the 17th day of August, she takes
+me, you can go up to the store and git them clothes; but you can't
+do it one minute afore. Good-mornin'."
+
+Asaph, left alone, heaved a sigh. He did not despair; but truly,
+fate was heaping a great many obstacles in his path. He thought it
+was a very hard thing for a man to get his rights in this world.
+
+Mrs. Himes sat on one end of a black hair-covered sofa in the
+parlor, and Doctor Wicker sat on a black hair-covered chair opposite
+to her and not far away. The blinds of the window opening upon the
+garden were drawn up; but those on the front window, which commanded
+a view of the chestnut-tree, were down. Doctor Wicker had just made
+a proposal of marriage to Mrs. Himes, and at that moment they were
+both sitting in silence.
+
+The doctor, a bluff, hearty-looking man of about forty-five, had
+been very favorably impressed by Mrs. Himes when he first made her
+acquaintance, during her husband's sickness, and since that time he
+had seen her occasionally and had thought about her a great deal.
+Latterly letters had passed between them, and now he had come to
+make his declaration in person.
+
+It was true, as her brother had said, that Marietta was not quick in
+making up her mind. But in this case she was able to act more
+promptly than usual, because she had in a great measure settled this
+matter before the arrival of the doctor. She knew he was going to
+propose, and she was very much inclined to accept him. This it was
+which had made her smile when she was setting the table the
+afternoon before, and this it was which had prompted her to make her
+proposition to her brother in regard to his better personal
+appearance.
+
+But now she was in a condition of nervous trepidation, and made no
+answer. The doctor thought this was natural enough under the
+circumstances, but he had no idea of the cause of it. The cause of
+it was sitting under the chestnut-tree, the bright sunlight,
+streaming through a break in the branches above, illuminating and
+emphasizing and exaggerating his extreme shabbiness. The doctor had
+never seen Asaph, and it would have been a great shock to Marietta's
+self-respect to have him see her brother in his present aspect.
+
+Through a crack in the blind of the front window she had seen Asaph
+come in and sit down, and she had seen Mr. Rooper arrive and had
+noticed his departure. And now, with an anxiety which made her chin
+tremble, she sat and hoped that Asaph would get up and go away. For
+she knew that if she should say to the doctor what she was perfectly
+willing to say then and there, he would very soon depart, being a
+man of practical mind and pressing business; and that, going to the
+front door with him, she would be obliged to introduce him to a
+prospective brother-in-law whose appearance, she truly believed,
+would make him sick. For the doctor was a man, she well knew, who
+was quite as nice and particular about dress and personal appearance
+as the late Mr. Himes had been.
+
+Doctor Wicker, aware that the lady's perturbation was increasing
+instead of diminishing, thought it wise not to press the matter at
+this moment. He felt that he had been, perhaps, a little over-prompt
+in making his proposition. "Madam," said he, rising, "I will not ask
+you to give me an answer now. I will go away and let you think about
+it, and will come again to-morrow."
+
+Through the crack in the window-blind Marietta saw that Asaph was
+still under the tree. What could she do to delay the doctor? She did
+not offer to take leave of him, but stood looking upon the floor. It
+seemed a shame to make so good a man go all the way back to
+Timberley and come again next day, just because that ragged, dirty
+Asaph was sitting under the chestnut-tree.
+
+The doctor moved toward the door, and as she followed him she
+glanced once more through the crack in the window-blind, and, to her
+intense delight, she saw Asaph jump up from the bench and run around
+to the side of the house. He had heard the doctor's footsteps in the
+hallway and had not wished to meet him. The unsatisfactory condition
+of his outward appearance had been so strongly impressed upon him of
+late that he had become a little sensitive in regard to it when
+strangers were concerned. But if he had only known that his
+exceedingly unattractive garments had prevented his sister from
+making a compact which would have totally ruined his plans in regard
+to her matrimonial disposition and his own advantage, he would have
+felt for those old clothes the respect and gratitude with which a
+Roman soldier regarded the shield and sword which had won him a
+battle.
+
+Down the middle of the garden, at the back of the house, there ran a
+path, and along this path Asaph walked meditatively, with his hands
+in his trousers pockets. It was a discouraging place for him to
+walk, for the beds on each side of him were full of weeds, which he
+had intended to pull out as soon as he should find time for the
+work, but which had now grown so tall and strong that they could not
+be rooted up without injuring the plants, which were the legitimate
+occupants of the garden.
+
+Asaph did not know it, but at this moment there was not one person
+in the whole world who thought kindly of him. His sister was so
+mortified by him that she was in tears in the house. His crony,
+Thomas, had gone away almost angry with him, and even Betsey, whom
+he had falsely accused of rickets, and who had often shown a pity
+for him simply because he looked so forlorn, had steeled her heart
+against him that morning when she found he had gone away without
+providing her with any fuel for the kitchen fire.
+
+But he had not made a dozen turns up and down the path before he
+became aware of the feeling of Marietta. She looked out of the back
+door and then walked rapidly toward him. "Asaph," said she, "I hope
+you are considering what I said to you yesterday, for I mean to
+stick to my word. If you don't choose to accept my offer, I want you
+to go back to Drummondville early to-morrow morning. And I don't
+feel in the least as if I were turning you out of the house, for I
+have given you a chance to stay here, and have only asked you to act
+like a decent Christian. I will not have you here disgracing my
+home. When Doctor Wicker came to-day, and I looked out and saw you
+with that miserable little coat with the sleeves half-way up to the
+elbows and great holes in it which you will not let anybody patch
+because you are too proud to wear patches, and those wretched faded
+trousers, out at the knees, and which have been turned up and hemmed
+at the bottom so often that they are six inches above your shoes,
+and your whole scarecrow appearance, I was so ashamed of you that I
+could not keep the tears out of my eyes. To tell a respectable
+gentleman like Doctor Wicker that you were my brother was more than
+I could bear; and I was glad when I saw you get up and sneak out of
+the way. I hate to talk to you in this way, Asaph, but you have
+brought it on yourself."
+
+Her brother looked at her a moment. "Do you want me to go away
+before breakfast?" he said.
+
+"No," answered Marietta, "but immediately afterward." And in her
+mind she resolved that breakfast should be very early the next
+morning.
+
+If Asaph had any idea of yielding, he did not intend to show it
+until the last moment, and so he changed the subject. "What's the
+matter with Betsey?" said he. "If she's out of health you'd better
+get rid of her."
+
+"There's nothing the matter with Betsey," answered his sister.
+"Doctor Wicker came to see me."
+
+"Came to see you!" exclaimed her brother. "What in the world did he
+do that for? You never told me that you were ailin'. Is it that
+sprain in your ankle?"
+
+"Nonsense," said Marietta. "I had almost recovered from that sprain
+when you came here. There's nothing the matter with my ankle; the
+trouble is probably with my heart."
+
+The moment she said this she regretted it, for Asaph had so good a
+head, and could catch meanings so quickly.
+
+"I'm sorry to hear that, Marietta," said Asaph. "That's a good deal
+more serious."
+
+"Yes," said she. And she turned and went back to the house.
+
+Asaph continued to walk up and down the path. He had not done a
+stroke of work that morning, but he did not think of that. His
+sister's communication saddened him. He liked Marietta, and it
+grieved him to hear that she had anything the matter with her heart.
+He knew that that often happened to people who looked perfectly
+well, and there was no reason why he should have suspected any
+disorder in her. Of course, in this case, there was good reason for
+her sending for the very best doctor to be had. It was all plain
+enough to him now.
+
+But as he walked and walked and walked, and looked at the garden,
+and looked at the little orchard, and looked at the house and the
+top of the big chestnut-tree, which showed itself above the roof, a
+thought came into his mind which had never been there before--he was
+Marietta's heir. It was a dreadful thing to think of his sister's
+possible early departure from this world; but, after all, life is
+life, reality is reality, and business is business. He was
+Marietta's only legal heir.
+
+Of course he had known this before, but it had never seemed to be of
+any importance. He was a good deal older than she was, and he had
+always looked upon her as a marrying woman. When he made his
+proposition to Mr. Rooper the thought of his own heirship never came
+into his mind. In fact, if any one had offered him ten dollars for
+said heirship, he would have asked fifteen, and would have afterward
+agreed to split the difference and take twelve and a half.
+
+But now everything had changed. If Marietta had anything the matter
+with her heart there was no knowing when all that he saw might be
+his own. No sooner had he walked and thought long enough for his
+mind to fully appreciate the altered aspects of his future than he
+determined to instantly thrust out Mr. Rooper from all connection
+with that future. He would go and tell him so at once.
+
+To the dismay of Betsey, who had been watching him, expecting that
+he would soon stop walking about and go and saw some wood with which
+to cook the dinner, he went out of the front gate and strode rapidly
+into the village. He had some trouble in finding Mr. Rooper, who had
+gone off to take a walk and arrange a conversation with which to
+begin his courtship of Mrs. Himes; but he overtook him under a tree
+by the side of the creek. "Thomas," said he, "I have changed my mind
+about that business between us. You have been very hard on me, and
+I'm not goin' to stand it. I can get the clothes and things I need
+without makin' myself your slave and workin' myself to death, and,
+perhaps, settin' my sister agin me for life by tryin' to make her
+believe that black's white, that you are the kind of husband she
+ought to have, and that you hate pipes and never touch spirits. It
+would be a mean thing for me to do, and I won't do it. I did think
+you were a generous-minded man, with the right sort of feeling for
+them as wanted to be your friends; but I have found out that I was
+mistook, and I'm not goin' to sacrifice my sister to any such
+person. Now that's my state of mind plain and square."
+
+Thomas Rooper shrunk two inches in height. "Asaph Scantle," he said,
+in a voice which seemed also to have shrunk, "I don't understand
+you. I wasn't hard on you. I only wanted to make a fair bargain. If
+I'd got her, I'd paid up cash on delivery. You couldn't expect a man
+to do more than that. But I tell you, Asaph, that I am mighty
+serious about this. The more I have thought about your sister the
+more I want her. And when I tell you that I've been a-thinkin' about
+her pretty much all night, you may know that I want her a good deal.
+And I was intendin' to go to-morrow and begin to court her."
+
+"Well, you needn't," said Asaph. "It won't do no good. If you don't
+have me to back you up you might as well try to twist that tree as
+to move her. You can't do it."
+
+"But you don't mean to go agin me, do you, Asaph?" asked Thomas,
+ruefully.
+
+"'Tain't necessary," replied the other. "You will go agin yourself."
+
+For a few moments Mr. Rooper remained silent. He was greatly
+discouraged and dismayed by what had been said to him, but he could
+not yet give up what had become the great object of his life.
+"Asaph," said he, presently, "it cuts me to the in'ards to think
+that you have gone back on me; but I tell you what I'll do: if you
+will promise not to say anything agin me to Mrs. Himes, and not to
+set yourself in any way between me and her, I'll go along with you
+to the store now, and you can git that suit of clothes and the
+umbrella, and I'll tell 'em to order the dictionary and hand it over
+to you as soon as it comes. I'd like you to help me, but if you will
+only promise to stand out of the way and not hinder, I'll do the
+fair thing by you and pay in advance."
+
+"Humph!" said Asaph. "I do believe you think you are the only man
+that wants Marietta."
+
+A pang passed through the heart of Mr. Rooper. He had been thinking
+a great deal of Mrs. Himes and everything connected with her, and he
+had even thought of that visit of Doctor Wicker's. That gentleman
+was a widower and a well-to-do and well-appearing man; and it would
+have been a long way for him to come just for some trifling rickets
+in a servant-girl. Being really in love, his imagination was in a
+very capering mood, and he began to fear that the doctor had come to
+court Mrs. Himes. "Asaph," he said, quickly, "that's a good offer I
+make you. If you take it, in less than an hour you can walk home
+looking like a gentleman."
+
+Asaph had taken his reed pipe from his coat pocket and was filling
+it. As he pushed the coarse tobacco into the bowl, he considered.
+"Thomas," said he, "that ain't enough. Things have changed, and it
+wouldn't pay me. But I won't be hard on you. I'm a good friend of
+yourn, and I'll tell you what I'll do. If you will give me now all
+the things we spoke of between us--and I forgot to mention a cane
+and pocket-handkerchiefs--and give me, besides, that meerschaum pipe
+of yourn, I'll promise not to hinder you, but let you go ahead and
+git Marietta if you kin. I must say it's a good deal for me to do,
+knowin' how much you'll git and how little you'll give, and knowin',
+too, the other chances she's got if she wanted 'em; but I'll do it
+for the sake of friendship."
+
+"My meerschaum pipe!" groaned Mr. Rooper. "My Centennial Exhibition
+pipe!" His tones were so plaintive that for a moment Asaph felt a
+little touch of remorse. But then he reflected that if Thomas really
+did get Marietta the pipe would be of no use to him, for she would
+not allow him to smoke it. And, besides, realities were realities
+and business was business. "That pipe may be very dear to you," he
+said, "Thomas, but I want you to remember that Marietta's very dear
+to me."
+
+This touched Mr. Rooper, whose heart was sensitive as it had never
+been before. "Come along, Asaph," he said. "You shall have
+everything, meerschaum pipe included. If anybody but me is goin' to
+smoke that pipe, I'd like it to be my brother-in-law." Thus, with
+amber-tipped guile, Mr. Rooper hoped to win over his friend to not
+only not hinder, but to help him.
+
+As the two men walked away, Asaph thought that he was not acting an
+unfraternal part toward Marietta, for it would not be necessary for
+him to say or do anything to induce her to refuse so unsuitable a
+suitor as Thomas Rooper.
+
+About fifteen minutes before dinner--which had been cooked with bits
+of wood which Betsey had picked up here and there--was ready, Asaph
+walked into the front yard of his sister's house attired in a
+complete suit of new clothes, thick and substantial in texture,
+pepper-and-salt in color, and as long in the legs and arms as the
+most fastidious could desire. He had on a new shirt and a clean
+collar, with a handsome black silk cravat tied in a great bow; and a
+new felt hat was on his head. On his left arm he carried an
+overcoat, carefully folded, with the lining outside, and in his
+right hand an umbrella and a cane. In his pockets were half a dozen
+new handkerchiefs and the case containing Mr. Rooper's Centennial
+meerschaum.
+
+Marietta, who was in the hallway when he opened the front door,
+scarcely knew him as he approached.
+
+"Asaph!" she exclaimed. "What has happened to you? Why, you actually
+look like a gentleman!"
+
+Asaph grinned. "Do you want me to go to Drummondville right after
+breakfast to-morrow?" he asked.
+
+"My dear brother," said Marietta, "don't crush me by talking about
+that. But if you could have seen yourself as I saw you, and could
+have felt as I felt, you would not wonder at me. You must forget all
+that. I should be proud now to introduce you as my brother to any
+doctor or king or president. But tell me how you got those beautiful
+clothes."
+
+Asaph was sometimes beset by an absurd regard for truth, which much
+annoyed him. He could not say that he had worked for the clothes,
+and he did not wish his sister to think that he had run in debt for
+them. "They're paid for, every thread of 'em," he said. "I got 'em
+in trade. These things is mine, and I don't owe no man a cent for
+'em; and it seems to me that dinner must be ready."
+
+"And proud I am," said Marietta, who never before had shown such
+enthusiastic affection for her brother, "to sit down to the table
+with such a nice-looking fellow as you are."
+
+The next morning Mr. Rooper came into Mrs. Himes's yard, and there
+beheld Asaph, in all the glory of his new clothes, sitting under the
+chestnut-tree smoking the Centennial meerschaum pipe. Mr. Rooper
+himself was dressed in his very best clothes, but he carried with
+him no pipe.
+
+"Sit down," said Asaph, "and have a smoke."
+
+"No," replied the other; "I am goin' in the house. I have come to
+see your sister."
+
+"Goin' to begin already?" said Asaph.
+
+"Yes," said the other; "I told you I was goin' to begin to-day."
+
+"Very good," said his friend, crossing his pepper-and-salt legs;
+"and you will finish the 17th of August. That's a good, reasonable
+time."
+
+But Mr. Rooper had no intention of courting Mrs. Himes for a month.
+He intended to propose to her that very morning. He had been turning
+over the matter in his mind, and for several reasons had come to
+this conclusion. In the first place, he did not believe that he
+could trust Asaph, even for a single day, not to oppose him.
+Furthermore, his mind was in such a turmoil from the combined effect
+of the constantly present thought that Asaph was wearing his
+clothes, his hat, and his shoes, and smoking his beloved pipe, and
+of the perplexities and agitations consequent upon his sentiments
+toward Mrs. Himes, that he did not believe he could bear the mental
+strain during another night.
+
+Five minutes later Marietta Himes was sitting on the horsehair sofa
+in the parlor, with Mr. Rooper on the horsehair chair opposite to
+her, and not very far away, and he was delivering the address which
+he had prepared.
+
+"Madam," said he, "I am a man that takes things in this world as
+they comes, and is content to wait until the time comes for them to
+come. I was well acquainted with John Himes. I knowed him in life,
+and I helped lay him out. As long as there was reason to suppose
+that the late Mr. Himes--I mean that the grass over the grave of Mr.
+Himes had remained unwithered, I am not the man to take one step in
+the direction of his shoes, nor even to consider the size of 'em in
+connection with the measure of my own feet. But time will pass on in
+nater as well as in real life; and while I know very well, Mrs.
+Himes, that certain feelin's toward them that was is like the leaves
+of the oak-tree and can't be blowed off even by the fiercest
+tempests of affliction, still them leaves will wither in the fall
+and turn brown and curl up at the edges, though they don't depart,
+but stick on tight as wax all winter until in the springtime they is
+pushed off gently without knowin' it by the green leaves which come
+out in real life as well as nater."
+
+When he had finished this opening Mr. Rooper breathed a little sigh
+of relief. He had not forgotten any of it, and it pleased him.
+
+Marietta sat and looked at him. She had a good sense of humor, and,
+while she was naturally surprised at what had been said to her, she
+was greatly amused by it, and really wished to hear what else Thomas
+Rooper had to say to her.
+
+"Now, madam," he continued, "I am not the man to thrash a tree with
+a pole to knock the leaves off before their time. But when the young
+leaves is pushin' and the old leaves is droppin' (not to make any
+allusion, of course, to any shrivellin' of proper respect), then I
+come forward, madam, not to take the place of anybody else, but jest
+as the nateral consequence of the seasons, which everybody ought to
+expect; even such as you, madam, which I may liken to a
+hemlock-spruce which keeps straight on in the same general line of
+appearance without no reference to the fall of the year, nor winter
+nor summer. And so, Mrs. Himes, I come here to-day to offer to lead
+you agin to the altar. I have never been there myself, and there
+ain't no woman in the world that I'd go with but you. I'm a
+straightforward person, and when I've got a thing to say I say it,
+and now I have said it. And so I set here awaitin' your answer."
+
+At this moment the shutters of the front window, which had been
+closed, were opened, and Asaph put in his head. "Look here, Thomas
+Rooper," he said, "these shoes is pegged. I didn't bargain for no
+pegged shoes; I wanted 'em sewed; everything was to be first-class."
+
+Mr. Rooper, who had been leaning forward in his chair, his hands
+upon his knees, and his face glistening with his expressed feelings
+as brightly as the old-fashioned but shining silk hat which stood on
+the floor by his side, turned his head, grew red to the ears, and
+then sprang to his feet. "Asaph Scantle," he cried, with extended
+fist, "you have broke your word; you hindered."
+
+"No, I didn't," said Asaph, sulkily; "but pegged shoes is too much
+for any man to stand." And he withdrew from the window, closing the
+shutters again.
+
+"What does this mean?" asked Mrs. Himes, who had also risen.
+
+"It means," said Thomas, speaking with difficulty, his indignation
+was so great, "that your brother is a person of tricks and meanders
+beyond the reach of common human calculation. I don't like to say
+this of a man who is more or less likely to be my brother-in-law,
+but I can't help sayin' it, so entirely upset am I at his goin' back
+on me at such a minute."
+
+"Going back on you?" asked Mrs. Himes. "What do you mean? What has
+he promised?"
+
+Thomas hesitated. He did not wish to interrupt his courtship by the
+discussion of any new question, especially this question. "If we
+could settle what we have been talkin' about, Mrs. Himes," he said,
+"and if you would give me my answer, then I could git my mind down
+to commoner things. But swingin' on a hook as I am, I don't know
+whether my head or my heels is uppermost, or what's revolvin' around
+me."
+
+"Oh, I can give you your answer quickly enough," she said. "It is
+impossible for me to marry you, so that's all settled."
+
+"Impossible is a big word," said Mr. Rooper. "Has anybody else got
+afore me?"
+
+"I am not bound to answer that question," said Marietta, slightly
+coloring; "but I cannot accept you, Mr. Rooper."
+
+"Then there's somebody else, of course," said Thomas, gazing darkly
+upon the floor. "And what's more, Asaph knew it; that's just as
+clear as daylight. That's what made him come to me yesterday and go
+back on his first bargain."
+
+"Now then," said Mrs. Himes, speaking very decidedly, "I want to
+know what you mean by this talk about bargains."
+
+Mr. Rooper knit his brows. "This is mighty different talk," he said,
+"from the kind I expected when I come here. But you have answered my
+question, now I'll answer yours. Asaph Scantle, no longer ago than
+day before yesterday, after hearin' that things wasn't goin' very
+well with me, recommended me to marry you, and agreed that he would
+do his level best, by day and by night, to help me git you, if I
+would give him a suit of clothes, an umbrella, and a dictionary."
+
+At this Mrs. Himes gave a little gasp and sat down.
+
+"Now, I hadn't no thoughts of tradin' for a wife," continued Thomas,
+"especially in woollen goods and books; but when I considered and
+turned the matter over in my mind, and thought what a woman you was,
+and what a life there was afore me if I got you, I agreed to do it.
+Then he wanted pay aforehand, and that I wouldn't agree to, not
+because I thought you wasn't wuth it, but because I couldn't trust
+him if anybody offered him more before I got you. But that ain't the
+wust of it; yesterday he come down to see me and went back on his
+bargain, and that after I had spent the whole night thinkin' of you
+and what I was goin' to say. And he put on such high-cockalorum airs
+that I, bein' as soft as mush around the heart, jest wilted and
+agreed to give him everything he bargained for if he would promise
+not to hinder. But he wasn't satisfied with that and wouldn't come
+to no terms until I'd give him my Centennial pipe, what's been like
+a child to me this many a year. And when he saw how disgruntled I
+was at sich a loss, he said that my pipe might be very dear to me,
+but his sister was jest as dear to him. And then, on top of the
+whole thing, he pokes his head through the shutters and hinders jest
+at the most ticklish moment."
+
+"A dictionary and a pipe!" ejaculated poor Marietta, her eyes fixed
+upon the floor.
+
+"But I'm goin' to make him give 'em all back," exclaimed Thomas.
+"They was the price of not hinderin', and he hindered."
+
+"He shall give them back," said Marietta, rising, "but you must
+understand, Mr. Rooper, that in no way did Asaph interfere with your
+marrying me. That was a matter with which he did have and could have
+nothing to do. And now I wish you could get away without speaking to
+him. I do not want any quarrelling or high words here, and I will
+see him and arrange the matter better than you can do it."
+
+"Oh, I can git away without speakin' to him," said Mr. Rooper, with
+reddened face. And so saying, he strode out of the house, through
+the front yard, and out of the gate, without turning his head toward
+Asaph, still sitting under the tree.
+
+"Oh, ho!" said the latter to himself; "she's bounced him short and
+sharp; and it serves him right, too, after playin' that trick on me.
+Pegged shoes, indeed!"
+
+At this moment the word "Asaph" came from the house in tones
+shriller and sharper and higher than any in which he had ever heard
+it pronounced before. He sprang to his feet and went to the house.
+His sister took him into the parlor and shut the door. Her eyes were
+red and her face was pale. "Asaph," said she, "Mr. Rooper has told
+me the whole of your infamous conduct. Now I know what you meant
+when you said that you were making arrangements to get clothes. You
+were going to sell me for them. And when you found out that I was
+likely to marry Doctor Wicker, you put up your price and wanted a
+dictionary and a pipe."
+
+"No, Marietta," said Asaph, "the dictionary belonged to the first
+bargain. If you knew how I need a dictionary--"
+
+"Be still!" she cried. "I do not want you to say a word. You have
+acted most shamefully toward me, and I want you to go away this very
+day. And before you go you must give back to Mr. Rooper everything
+that you got from him. I will fit you out with some of Mr. Himes's
+clothes and make no conditions at all, only that you shall go away.
+Come upstairs with me, and I will get the clothes."
+
+The room in the garret was opened, and various garments which had
+belonged to the late Mr. Himes were brought out.
+
+"This is pretty hard on me, Marietta," said Asaph, as he held up a
+coat, "to give up new all-wool goods for things what has been worn
+and is part cotton, if I am a judge."
+
+Marietta said very little. She gave him what clothes he needed, and
+insisted on his putting them on, making a package of the things he
+had received from Mr. Rooper, and returning them to that gentleman.
+Asaph at first grumbled, but he finally obeyed with a willingness
+which might have excited the suspicions of Marietta had she not been
+so angry.
+
+With an enormous package wrapped in brown paper in one hand, and a
+cane, an umbrella, and a very small hand-bag in the other, Asaph
+approached the tavern. Mr. Rooper was sitting on the piazza alone.
+He was smoking a very common-looking clay pipe and gazing intently
+into the air in front of him. When his old crony came and stood
+before the piazza he did not turn his head nor his eyes.
+
+"Thomas Rooper," said Asaph, "you have got me into a very bad
+scrape. I have been turned out of doors on account of what you said
+about me. And where I am goin' I don't know, for I can't walk to
+Drummondville. And what's more, I kept my word and you didn't. I
+didn't hinder you; for how could I suppose that you was goin' to pop
+the question the very minute you got inside the door? And that
+dictionary you promised I've not got."
+
+Thomas Rooper answered not a word, but looked steadily in front of
+him. "And there's another thing," said Asaph. "What are you goin' to
+allow me for that suit of clothes what I've been wearin', what I
+took off in your room and left there?"
+
+At this Mr. Rooper sprang to his feet with such violence that the
+fire danced out of the bowl of his pipe. "What is the fare to
+Drummondville?" he cried.
+
+Asaph reflected a moment. "Three dollars and fifty cents, includin'
+supper."
+
+"I'll give you that for them clothes," said the other, and counted
+out the money.
+
+Asaph took it and sighed. "You've been hard on me, Thomas," said he,
+"but I bear you no grudge. Good-by."
+
+As he walked slowly toward the station Mr. Scantle stopped at the
+store. "Has that dictionary come that was ordered for me?" he said;
+and when told that it could not be expected for several days he did
+not despair, for it was possible that Thomas Rooper might be so
+angry that he would forget to countermand the order; in that case he
+might yet hope to obtain the coveted book.
+
+The package containing the Rooper winter suit was heavy, and Asaph
+walked slowly. He did not want to go to Drummondville, for he hated
+bookkeeping, and his year of leisure and good living had spoiled him
+for work and poor fare. In this moody state he was very glad to stop
+and have a little chat with Mrs. McJimsey, who was sitting at her
+front window.
+
+This good lady was the principal dressmaker of the village; and by
+hard work and attention to business she made a very comfortable
+living. She was a widow, small of stature, thin of feature, very
+neatly dressed and pleasant to look at. Asaph entered the little
+front yard, put his package on the door-step, and stood under the
+window to talk to her. Dressed in the clothes of the late Mr. Himes,
+her visitor presented such a respectable appearance that Mrs.
+McJimsey was not in the least ashamed to have people see him
+standing there, which she would have been a few days ago. Indeed,
+she felt complimented that he should want to stop. The conversation
+soon turned upon her removal from her present abode.
+
+"I'm awfully sorry to have to go," she said; "for my time is up just
+in the middle of my busy season, and that's goin' to throw me back
+dreadfully. He hasn't done right by me, that Mr. Rooper, in lettin'
+things go to rack and ruin in this way, and me payin' his rent so
+regular."
+
+"That's true," said Asaph. "Thomas Rooper is a hard man--a hard man,
+Mrs. McJimsey. I can see how he would be overbearin' with a lone
+woman like you, neither your son nor your daughter bein' of age yet
+to take your part."
+
+"Yes, Mr. Scantle, it's very hard."
+
+Asaph stood for a moment looking at a little bed of zinnias by the
+side of the door-step. "What you want, Mrs. McJimsey," said he, "is
+a man in the house."
+
+In an instant Mrs. McJimsey flushed pink. It was such a strange
+thing for a gentleman to say to her.
+
+Asaph saw the flush. He had not expected that result from his
+remark, but he was quick to take advantage of it. "Mrs. McJimsey,"
+said he, "you are a widow, and you are imposed upon, and you need
+somebody to take care of you. If you will put that job into my hands
+I will do it. I am a man what works with his head, and if you will
+let me I'll work for you. To put it square, I ask you to marry me.
+My sister's goin' to be married, and I'm on the pint of goin' away;
+for I could not abear to stay in her house when strangers come into
+it. But if you say the word, I'll stay here and be yours for ever
+and ever more."
+
+Mrs. McJimsey said not a word, but her head drooped and wild
+thoughts ran through her brain. Thoughts not wild, but well trained
+and broken, ran through Asaph's brain. The idea of going to
+Drummondville and spending for the journey thither a dollar and
+seventy-five cents of the money he had received from Mr. Rooper now
+became absolutely repulsive to him.
+
+"Mrs. McJimsey," said he, "I will say more. Not only do I ask you to
+marry me, but I ask you to do it now. The evenin' sun is settin',
+the evenin' birds is singin', and it seems to me, Mrs. McJimsey,
+that all nater pints to this softenin' hour as a marryin' moment.
+You say your son won't be home from his work until supper-time, and
+your daughter has gone out for a walk. Come with me to Mr. Parker's,
+the Methodist minister, and let us join hands at the altar there.
+The gardener and his wife is always ready to stand up as witnesses.
+And when your son and your daughter comes home to supper, they can
+find their mother here afore 'em married and settled."
+
+"But, Mr. Scantle," exclaimed Mrs. McJimsey, "it's so suddint. What
+will the neighbors say?"
+
+"As for bein' suddint, Mrs. McJimsey, I've knowed you for nearly a
+year, and now, bein' on the way to leave what's been my happy home,
+I couldn't keep the truth from you no longer. And as for the
+neighbors, they needn't know that we hain't been engaged for
+months."
+
+"It's so queer, so very queer," said the little dressmaker. And her
+face flushed again, and there were tears, not at all sorrowful ones,
+in her eyes; and her somewhat needle-pricked left hand accidentally
+laid itself upon the window-sill in easy reach of any one outside.
+
+The next morning Mr. Rooper, being of a practical way of thinking,
+turned his thoughts from love and resentment to the subject of his
+income. And he soon became convinced that it would be better to keep
+the McJimseys in his house, if it could be done without too great an
+outlay for repairs. So he walked over to his property. When he
+reached the house he was almost stupefied to see Asaph in a chair in
+the front yard, dressed in the new suit of clothes which he, Thomas
+Rooper, had paid for, and smoking the Centennial pipe.
+
+"Good-morning, Mr. Rooper," said Asaph, in a loud and cheery voice.
+"I suppose you've come to talk to Mrs. McJimsey about the work
+you've got to do here to make this house fit to live in. But there
+ain't no Mrs. McJimsey. She's Mrs. Scantle now, and I'm your tenant.
+You can talk to me."
+
+Doctor Wicker came to see Mrs. Himes in the afternoon of the day he
+had promised to come, and early in the autumn they were married.
+Since Asaph Scantle had married and settled he had not seen his
+sister nor spoken to her; but he determined that on so joyful an
+occasion as this he would show no resentment. So he attended the
+wedding in the village church dressed in the suit of clothes which
+had belonged to the late Mr. Himes.
+
+
+
+
+"HIS WIFE'S DECEASED SISTER"
+
+
+It is now five years since an event occurred which so colored my
+life, or rather so changed some of its original colors, that I have
+thought it well to write an account of it, deeming that its lessons
+may be of advantage to persons whose situations in life are similar
+to my own.
+
+When I was quite a young man I adopted literature as a profession;
+and having passed through the necessary preparatory grades, I found
+myself, after a good many years of hard and often unremunerative
+work, in possession of what might be called a fair literary
+practice. My articles, grave, gay, practical, or fanciful, had come
+to be considered with a favor by the editors of the various
+periodicals for which I wrote, on which I found in time I could rely
+with a very comfortable certainty. My productions created no
+enthusiasm in the reading public; they gave me no great reputation
+or very valuable pecuniary return; but they were always accepted,
+and my receipts from them, at the time to which I have referred,
+were as regular and reliable as a salary, and quite sufficient to
+give me more than a comfortable support.
+
+It was at this time I married. I had been engaged for more than a
+year, but had not been willing to assume the support of a wife until
+I felt that my pecuniary position was so assured that I could do so
+with full satisfaction to my own conscience. There was now no doubt
+in regard to this position, either in my mind or in that of my wife.
+I worked with great steadiness and regularity; I knew exactly where
+to place the productions of my pen, and could calculate, with a fair
+degree of accuracy, the sums I should receive for them. We were by
+no means rich; but we had enough, and were thoroughly satisfied and
+content.
+
+Those of my readers who are married will have no difficulty in
+remembering the peculiar ecstasy of the first weeks of their wedded
+life. It is then that the flowers of this world bloom brightest;
+that its sun is the most genial; that its clouds are the scarcest;
+that its fruit is the most delicious; that the air is the most
+balmy; that its cigars are of the highest flavor; that the warmth
+and radiance of early matrimonial felicity so rarefies the
+intellectual atmosphere that the soul mounts higher, and enjoys a
+wider prospect, than ever before.
+
+These experiences were mine. The plain claret of my mind was changed
+to sparkling champagne, and at the very height of its effervescence
+I wrote a story. The happy thought that then struck me for a tale
+was of a very peculiar character; and it interested me so much that
+I went to work at it with great delight and enthusiasm, and finished
+it in a comparatively short time. The title of the story was "His
+Wife's Deceased Sister"; and when I read it to Hypatia she was
+delighted with it, and at times was so affected by its pathos that
+her uncontrollable emotion caused a sympathetic dimness in my eyes,
+which prevented my seeing the words I had written. When the reading
+was ended, and my wife had dried her eyes, she turned to me and
+said, "This story will make your fortune. There has been nothing so
+pathetic since Lamartine's 'History of a Servant-girl.'"
+
+As soon as possible the next day I sent my story to the editor of
+the periodical for which I wrote most frequently, and in which my
+best productions generally appeared. In a few days I had a letter
+from the editor, in which he praised my story as he had never before
+praised anything from my pen. It had interested and charmed, he
+said, not only himself, but all his associates in the office. Even
+old Gibson, who never cared to read anything until it was in proof,
+and who never praised anything which had not a joke in it, was
+induced by the example of the others to read this manuscript, and
+shed, as he asserted, the first tears that had come from his eyes
+since his final paternal castigation some forty years before. The
+story would appear, the editor assured me, as soon as he could
+possibly find room for it.
+
+If anything could make our skies more genial, our flowers brighter,
+and the flavor of our fruit and cigars more delicious, it was a
+letter like this. And when, in a very short time, the story was
+published, we found that the reading public was inclined to receive
+it with as much sympathetic interest and favor as had been shown to
+it by the editors. My personal friends soon began to express
+enthusiastic opinions upon it. It was highly praised in many of the
+leading newspapers; and, altogether, it was a great literary
+success. I am not inclined to be vain of my writings, and, in
+general, my wife tells me, think too little of them; but I did feel
+a good deal of pride and satisfaction in the success of "His Wife's
+Deceased Sister." If it did not make my fortune, as my wife asserted
+that it would, it certainly would help me very much in my literary
+career.
+
+In less than a month from the writing of this story, something very
+unusual and unexpected happened to me. A manuscript was returned by
+the editor of the periodical in which "His Wife's Deceased Sister"
+had appeared. "It is a good story," he wrote, "but not equal to what
+you have just done. You have made a great hit; and it would not do
+to interfere with the reputation you have gained by publishing
+anything inferior to 'His Wife's Deceased Sister,' which has had
+such a deserved success."
+
+I was so unaccustomed to having my work thrown back on my hands that
+I think I must have turned a little pale when I read the letter. I
+said nothing of the matter to my wife, for it would be foolish to
+drop such grains of sand as this into the smoothly oiled machinery
+of our domestic felicity; but I immediately sent the story to
+another editor. I am not able to express the astonishment I felt
+when, in the course of a week, it was sent back to me. The tone of
+the note accompanying it indicated a somewhat injured feeling on the
+part of the editor. "I am reluctant," he said, "to decline a
+manuscript from you; but you know very well that if you sent me
+anything like 'His Wife's Deceased Sister' it would be most promptly
+accepted."
+
+I now felt obliged to speak of the affair to my wife, who was quite
+as much surprised, though, perhaps, not quite as much shocked, as I
+had been.
+
+"Let us read the story again," she said, "and see what is the matter
+with it." When we had finished its perusal, Hypatia remarked, "It is
+quite as good as many of the stories you have had printed, and I
+think it very interesting; although, of course, it is not equal to
+'His Wife's Deceased Sister.'"
+
+"Of course not," said I; "that was an inspiration that I cannot
+expect every day. But there must be something wrong about this last
+story which we do not perceive. Perhaps my recent success may have
+made me a little careless in writing it."
+
+"I don't believe that," said Hypatia.
+
+"At any rate," I continued, "I will lay it aside, and will go to
+work on a new one."
+
+In due course of time I had another manuscript finished, and I sent
+it to my favorite periodical. It was retained some weeks, and then
+came back to me. "It will never do," the editor wrote, quite warmly,
+"for you to go backward. The demand for the number containing 'His
+Wife's Deceased Sister' still continues, and we do not intend to let
+you disappoint that great body of readers who would be so eager to
+see another number containing one of your stories."
+
+I sent this manuscript to four other periodicals, and from each of
+them was it returned with remarks to the effect that, although it
+was not a bad story in itself, it was not what they would expect
+from the author of "His Wife's Deceased Sister."
+
+The editor of a Western magazine wrote to me for a story to be
+published in a special number which he would issue for the holidays.
+I wrote him one of the character and length he asked for, and sent
+it to him. By return mail it came back to me. "I had hoped," the
+editor wrote, "when I asked for a story from your pen, to receive
+something like 'His Wife's Deceased Sister,' and I must own that I
+am very much disappointed."
+
+I was so filled with anger when I read this note that I openly
+objurgated "His Wife's Deceased Sister." "You must excuse me," I
+said to my astonished wife, "for expressing myself thus in your
+presence; but that confounded story will be the ruin of me yet.
+Until it is forgotten nobody will ever take anything I write."
+
+"And you cannot expect it ever to be forgotten," said Hypatia, with
+tears in her eyes.
+
+It is needless for me to detail my literary efforts in the course of
+the next few months. The ideas of the editors with whom my principal
+business had been done, in regard to my literary ability, had been
+so raised by my unfortunate story of "His Wife's Deceased Sister"
+that I found it was of no use to send them anything of lesser merit.
+And as to the other journals which I tried, they evidently
+considered it an insult for me to send them matter inferior to that
+by which my reputation had lately risen. The fact was that my
+successful story had ruined me. My income was at end, and want
+actually stared me in the face; and I must admit that I did not like
+the expression of its countenance. It was of no use for me to try to
+write another story like "His Wife's Deceased Sister." I could not
+get married every time I began a new manuscript, and it was the
+exaltation of mind caused by my wedded felicity which produced that
+story.
+
+"It's perfectly dreadful!" said my wife. "If I had had a sister, and
+she had died, I would have thought it was my fault."
+
+"It could not be your fault," I answered, "and I do not think it was
+mine. I had no intention of deceiving anybody into the belief that I
+could do that sort of thing every time, and it ought not to be
+expected of me. Suppose Raphael's patrons had tried to keep him
+screwed up to the pitch of the Sistine Madonna, and had refused to
+buy anything which was not as good as that. In that case I think he
+would have occupied a much earlier and narrower grave than that on
+which Mr. Morris Moore hangs his funeral decorations."
+
+"But, my dear," said Hypatia, who was posted on such subjects, "the
+Sistine Madonna was one of his latest paintings."
+
+"Very true," said I; "but if he had married, as I did, he would have
+painted it earlier."
+
+I was walking homeward one afternoon about this time, when I met
+Barbel--a man I had known well in my early literary career. He was
+now about fifty years of age, but looked older. His hair and beard
+were quite gray; and his clothes, which were of the same general
+hue, gave me the idea that they, like his hair, had originally been
+black. Age is very hard on a man's external appointments. Barbel had
+an air of having been to let for a long time, and quite out of
+repair. But there was a kindly gleam in his eye, and he welcomed me
+cordially.
+
+"Why, what is the matter, old fellow?" said he. "I never saw you
+look so woebegone."
+
+I had no reason to conceal anything from Barbel. In my younger days
+he had been of great use to me, and he had a right to know the state
+of my affairs. I laid the whole case plainly before him.
+
+"Look here," he said, when I had finished, "come with me to my room:
+I have something I would like to say to you there."
+
+I followed Barbel to his room. It was at the top of a very dirty and
+well-worn house which stood in a narrow and lumpy street, into which
+few vehicles ever penetrated, except the ash and garbage carts, and
+the rickety wagons of the venders of stale vegetables.
+
+"This is not exactly a fashionable promenade," said Barbel, as we
+approached the house; "but in some respects it reminds me of the
+streets in Italian towns, where the palaces lean over toward each
+other in such a friendly way."
+
+Barbel's room was, to my mind, rather more doleful than the street.
+It was dark, it was dusty, and cobwebs hung from every corner. The
+few chairs upon the floor and the books upon a greasy table seemed
+to be afflicted with some dorsal epidemic, for their backs were
+either gone or broken. A little bedstead in the corner was covered
+with a spread made of New York _Heralds_, with their edges pasted
+together.
+
+"There is nothing better," said Barbel, noticing my glance toward
+this novel counterpane, "for a bed-covering than newspapers: they
+keep you as warm as a blanket, and are much lighter. I used to use
+_Tribunes_, but they rattled too much."
+
+The only part of the room which was well lighted was at one end near
+the solitary window. Here, upon a table with a spliced leg, stood a
+little grindstone.
+
+"At the other end of the room," said Barbel, "is my cook-stove,
+which you can't see unless I light the candle in the bottle which
+stands by it; but if you don't care particularly to examine it, I
+won't go to the expense of lighting up. You might pick up a good
+many odd pieces of bric-a-brac around here, if you chose to strike a
+match and investigate; but I would not advise you to do so. It would
+pay better to throw the things out of the window than to carry them
+downstairs. The particular piece of indoor decoration to which I
+wish to call your attention is this." And he led me to a little
+wooden frame which hung against the wall near the window. Behind a
+dusty piece of glass it held what appeared to be a leaf from a small
+magazine or journal. "There," said he, "you see a page from the
+_Grasshopper_, a humorous paper which flourished in this city some
+half-dozen years ago. I used to write regularly for that paper, as
+you may remember."
+
+"Oh yes, indeed!" I exclaimed. "And I shall never forget your
+'Conundrum of the Anvil' which appeared in it. How often have I
+laughed at that most wonderful conceit, and how often have I put it
+to my friends!"
+
+Barbel gazed at me silently for a moment, and then he pointed to the
+frame. "That printed page," he said, solemnly, "contains the
+'Conundrum of the Anvil.' I hang it there so that I can see it while
+I work. That conundrum ruined me. It was the last thing I wrote for
+the _Grasshopper_. How I ever came to imagine it I cannot tell. It
+is one of those things which occur to a man but once in a lifetime.
+After the wild shout of delight with which the public greeted that
+conundrum, my subsequent efforts met with hoots of derision. The
+_Grasshopper_ turned its hind legs upon me. I sank from bad to
+worse--much worse--until at last I found myself reduced to my
+present occupation, which is that of grinding points to pins. By
+this I procure my bread, coffee, and tobacco, and sometimes potatoes
+and meat. One day while I was hard at work an organ-grinder came
+into the street below. He played the serenade from "Trovatore"; and
+the familiar notes brought back visions of old days and old
+delights, when the successful writer wore good clothes and sat at
+operas, when he looked into sweet eyes and talked of Italian airs,
+when his future appeared all a succession of bright scenery and
+joyous acts, without any provision for a drop-curtain. And as my ear
+listened, and my mind wandered in this happy retrospect, my every
+faculty seemed exalted, and, without any thought upon the matter, I
+ground points upon my pins so fine, so regular and smooth, that they
+would have pierced with ease the leather of a boot, or slipped
+among, without abrasion, the finest threads of rare old lace. When
+the organ stopped, and I fell back into my real world of cobwebs and
+mustiness, I gazed upon the pins I had just ground, and, without a
+moment's hesitation, I threw them into the street, and reported the
+lot as spoiled. This cost me a little money, but it saved me my
+livelihood."
+
+After a few moments of silence, Barbel resumed:
+
+"I have no more to say to you, my young friend. All I want you to do
+is to look upon that framed conundrum, then upon this grindstone,
+and then to go home and reflect. As for me, I have a gross of pins
+to grind before the sun goes down."
+
+I cannot say that my depression of mind was at all relieved by what
+I had seen and heard. I had lost sight of Barbel for some years, and
+I had supposed him still floating on the sun-sparkling stream of
+prosperity where I had last seen him. It was a great shock to me to
+find him in such a condition of poverty and squalor, and to see a
+man who had originated the "Conundrum of the Anvil" reduced to the
+soul-depressing occupation of grinding pin-points. As I walked and
+thought, the dreadful picture of a totally eclipsed future arose
+before my mind. The moral of Barbel sank deep into my heart.
+
+When I reached home I told my wife the story of my friend Barbel.
+She listened with a sad and eager interest.
+
+"I am afraid," she said, "if our fortunes do not quickly mend, that
+we shall have to buy two little grindstones. You know I could help
+you at that sort of thing."
+
+For a long time we sat together and talked, and devised many plans
+for the future. I did not think it necessary yet for me to look out
+for a pin-contract; but I must find some way of making money, or we
+should starve to death. Of course the first thing that suggested
+itself was the possibility of finding some other business; but,
+apart from the difficulty of immediately obtaining remunerative work
+in occupations to which I had not been trained, I felt a great and
+natural reluctance to give up a profession for which I had carefully
+prepared myself, and which I had adopted as my life-work. It would
+be very hard for me to lay down my pen forever, and to close the top
+of my inkstand upon all the bright and happy fancies which I had
+seen mirrored in its tranquil pool. We talked and pondered the rest
+of that day and a good deal of the night, but we came to no
+conclusion as to what it would be best for us to do.
+
+The next day I determined to go and call upon the editor of the
+journal for which, in happier days, before the blight of "His Wife's
+Deceased Sister" rested upon me, I used most frequently to write,
+and, having frankly explained my condition to him, to ask his
+advice. The editor was a good man, and had always been my friend. He
+listened with great attention to what I told him, and evidently
+sympathized with me in my trouble.
+
+"As we have written to you," he said, "the only reason why we did
+not accept the manuscripts you sent us was that they would have
+disappointed the high hopes that the public had formed in regard to
+you. We have had letter after letter asking when we were going to
+publish another story like 'His Wife's Deceased Sister.' We felt,
+and we still feel, that it would be wrong to allow you to destroy
+the fair fabric which yourself has raised. But," he added, with a
+kind smile, "I see very plainly that your well-deserved reputation
+will be of little advantage to you if you should starve at the
+moment that its genial beams are, so to speak, lighting you up."
+
+"Its beams are not genial," I answered. "They have scorched and
+withered me."
+
+"How would you like," said the editor, after a short reflection, "to
+allow us to publish the stories you have recently written under some
+other name than your own? That would satisfy us and the public,
+would put money in your pocket, and would not interfere with your
+reputation."
+
+Joyfully I seized that noble fellow by the hand, and instantly
+accepted his proposition. "Of course," said I, "a reputation is a
+very good thing; but no reputation can take the place of food,
+clothes, and a house to live in; and I gladly agree to sink my
+over-illumined name into oblivion, and to appear before the public
+as a new and unknown writer."
+
+"I hope that need not be for long," he said, "for I feel sure that
+you will yet write stories as good as 'His Wife's Deceased Sister.'"
+
+All the manuscripts I had on hand I now sent to my good friend the
+editor, and in due and proper order they appeared in his journal
+under the name of John Darmstadt, which I had selected as a
+substitute for my own, permanently disabled. I made a similar
+arrangement with other editors, and John Darmstadt received the
+credit of everything that proceeded from my pen. Our circumstances
+now became very comfortable, and occasionally we even allowed
+ourselves to indulge in little dreams of prosperity.
+
+Time passed on very pleasantly; one year, another, and then a little
+son was born to us. It is often difficult, I believe, for thoughtful
+persons to decide whether the beginning of their conjugal career, or
+the earliest weeks in the life of their first-born, be the happiest
+and proudest period of their existence. For myself I can only say
+that the same exaltation of mind, the same rarefication of idea and
+invention, which succeeded upon my wedding-day came upon me now. As
+then, my ecstatic emotions crystallized themselves into a motive for
+a story, and without delay I set myself to work upon it. My boy was
+about six weeks old when the manuscript was finished; and one
+evening, as we sat before a comfortable fire in our sitting-room,
+with the curtains drawn, and the soft lamp lighted, and the baby
+sleeping soundly in the adjoining chamber, I read the story to my
+wife.
+
+When I had finished, my wife arose and threw herself into my arms.
+"I was never so proud of you," she said, her glad eyes sparkling,
+"as I am at this moment. That is a wonderful story! It is--indeed I
+am sure it is--just as good as 'His Wife's Deceased Sister.'"
+
+As she spoke these words a sudden and chilling sensation crept over
+us both. All her warmth and fervor, and the proud and happy glow
+engendered within me by this praise and appreciation from one I
+loved, vanished in an instant. We stepped apart, and gazed upon each
+other with pallid faces. In the same moment the terrible truth had
+flashed upon us both.
+
+This story _was_ as good as "His Wife's Deceased Sister"!
+
+We stood silent. The exceptional lot of Barbel's superpointed pins
+seemed to pierce our very souls. A dreadful vision rose before me of
+an impending fall and crash, in which our domestic happiness should
+vanish, and our prospects for our boy be wrecked, just as we had
+begun to build them up.
+
+My wife approached me and took my hand in hers, which was as cold as
+ice. "Be strong and firm," she said. "A great danger threatens us,
+but you must brace yourself against it. Be strong and firm."
+
+I pressed her hand, and we said no more that night.
+
+The next day I took the manuscript I had just written, and carefully
+infolded it in stout wrapping-paper. Then I went to a neighboring
+grocery-store and bought a small, strong tin box, originally
+intended for biscuit, with a cover that fitted tightly. In this I
+placed my manuscript; and then I took the box to a tinsmith and had
+the top fastened on with hard solder. When I went home I ascended
+into the garret, and brought down to my study a ship's cash-box,
+which had once belonged to one of my family who was a sea-captain.
+This box was very heavy, and firmly bound with iron, and was secured
+by two massive locks. Calling my wife, I told her of the contents of
+the tin case, which I then placed in the box, and, having shut down
+the heavy lid, I doubly locked it.
+
+"This key," said I, putting it in my pocket, "I shall throw into the
+river when I go out this afternoon."
+
+My wife watched me eagerly, with a pallid and firm, set countenance,
+but upon which I could see the faint glimmer of returning happiness.
+
+"Wouldn't it be well," she said, "to secure it still further by
+sealing-wax and pieces of tape?"
+
+"No," said I. "I do not believe that any one will attempt to tamper
+with our prosperity. And now, my dear," I continued, in an
+impressive voice, "no one but you, and, in the course of time, our
+son, shall know that this manuscript exists. When I am dead, those
+who survive me may, if they see fit, cause this box to be split open
+and the story published. The reputation it may give my name cannot
+harm me then."
+
+
+
+
+THE LADY, OR THE TIGER?
+
+
+In the very olden time there lived a semi-barbaric king, whose
+ideas, though somewhat polished and sharpened by the progressiveness
+of distant Latin neighbors, were still large, florid, and
+untrammelled, as became the half of him which was barbaric. He was a
+man of exuberant fancy, and, withal, of an authority so irresistible
+that, at his will, he turned his varied fancies into facts. He was
+greatly given to self-communing; and when he and himself agreed upon
+anything, the thing was done. When every member of his domestic and
+political systems moved smoothly in its appointed course, his nature
+was bland and genial; but whenever there was a little hitch, and
+some of his orbs got out of their orbits, he was blander and more
+genial still, for nothing pleased him so much as to make the crooked
+straight, and crush down uneven places.
+
+Among the borrowed notions by which his barbarism had become
+semified was that of the public arena, in which, by exhibitions of
+manly and beastly valor, the minds of his subjects were refined and
+cultured.
+
+But even here the exuberant and barbaric fancy asserted itself. The
+arena of the king was built not to give the people an opportunity of
+hearing the rhapsodies of dying gladiators, nor to enable them to
+view the inevitable conclusion of a conflict between religious
+opinions and hungry jaws, but for purposes far better adapted to
+widen and develop the mental energies of the people. This vast
+amphitheatre, with its encircling galleries, its mysterious vaults,
+and its unseen passages, was an agent of poetic justice, in which
+crime was punished, or virtue rewarded, by the decrees of an
+impartial and incorruptible chance.
+
+When a subject was accused of a crime of sufficient importance to
+interest the king, public notice was given that on an appointed day
+the fate of the accused person would be decided in the king's
+arena--a structure which well deserved its name; for, although its
+form and plan were borrowed from afar, its purpose emanated solely
+from the brain of this man, who, every barleycorn a king, knew no
+tradition to which he owed more allegiance than pleased his fancy,
+and who ingrafted on every adopted form of human thought and action
+the rich growth of his barbaric idealism.
+
+When all the people had assembled in the galleries, and the king,
+surrounded by his court, sat high up on his throne of royal state on
+one side of the arena, he gave a signal, a door beneath him opened,
+and the accused subject stepped out into the amphitheatre. Directly
+opposite him, on the other side of the enclosed space, were two
+doors, exactly alike and side by side. It was the duty and the
+privilege of the person on trial to walk directly to these doors and
+open one of them. He could open either door he pleased: he was
+subject to no guidance or influence but that of the afore-mentioned
+impartial and incorruptible chance. If he opened the one, there came
+out of it a hungry tiger, the fiercest and most cruel that could be
+procured, which immediately sprang upon him and tore him to pieces,
+as a punishment for his guilt. The moment that the case of the
+criminal was thus decided, doleful iron bells were clanged, great
+wails went up from the hired mourners posted on the outer rim of the
+arena, and the vast audience, with bowed heads and downcast hearts,
+wended slowly their homeward way, mourning greatly that one so young
+and fair, or so old and respected, should have merited so dire a
+fate.
+
+But if the accused person opened the other door, there came forth
+from it a lady, the most suitable to his years and station that his
+Majesty could select among his fair subjects; and to this lady he
+was immediately married, as a reward of his innocence. It mattered
+not that he might already possess a wife and family, or that his
+affections might be engaged upon an object of his own selection: the
+king allowed no such subordinate arrangements to interfere with his
+great scheme of retribution and reward. The exercises, as in the
+other instance, took place immediately, and in the arena. Another
+door opened beneath the king, and a priest, followed by a band of
+choristers, and dancing maidens blowing joyous airs on golden horns
+and treading an epithalamic measure, advanced to where the pair
+stood side by side; and the wedding was promptly and cheerily
+solemnized. Then the gay brass bells rang forth their merry peals,
+the people shouted glad hurrahs, and the innocent man, preceded by
+children strewing flowers on his path, led his bride to his home.
+
+This was the king's semibarbaric method of administering justice.
+Its perfect fairness is obvious. The criminal could not know out of
+which door would come the lady: he opened either he pleased, without
+having the slightest idea whether, in the next instant, he was to be
+devoured or married. On some occasions the tiger came out of one
+door, and on some out of the other. The decisions of this tribunal
+were not only fair, they were positively determinate: the accused
+person was instantly punished if he found himself guilty; and if
+innocent, he was rewarded on the spot, whether he liked it or not.
+There was no escape from the judgments of the king's arena.
+
+The institution was a very popular one. When the people gathered
+together on one of the great trial-days, they never knew whether
+they were to witness a bloody slaughter or a hilarious wedding. This
+element of uncertainty lent an interest to the occasion which it
+could not otherwise have attained. Thus the masses were entertained
+and pleased, and the thinking part of the community could bring no
+charge of unfairness against this plan; for did not the accused
+person have the whole matter in his own hands?
+
+This semibarbaric king had a daughter as blooming as his most florid
+fancies, and with a soul as fervent and imperious as his own. As is
+usual in such cases, she was the apple of his eye, and was loved by
+him above all humanity. Among his courtiers was a young man of that
+fineness of blood and lowness of station common to the conventional
+heroes of romance who love royal maidens. This royal maiden was well
+satisfied with her lover, for he was handsome and brave to a degree
+unsurpassed in all this kingdom; and she loved him with an ardor
+that had enough of barbarism in it to make it exceedingly warm and
+strong. This love-affair moved on happily for many months, until one
+day the king happened to discover its existence. He did not hesitate
+nor waver in regard to his duty in the premises. The youth was
+immediately cast into prison, and a day was appointed for his trial
+in the king's arena. This, of course, was an especially important
+occasion; and his Majesty, as well as all the people, was greatly
+interested in the workings and development of this trial. Never
+before had such a case occurred; never before had a subject dared to
+love the daughter of a king. In after-years such things became
+commonplace enough; but then they were, in no slight degree, novel
+and startling.
+
+The tiger-cages of the kingdom were searched for the most savage and
+relentless beasts, from which the fiercest monster might be selected
+for the arena; and the ranks of maiden youth and beauty throughout
+the land were carefully surveyed by competent judges, in order that
+the young man might have a fitting bride in case fate did not
+determine for him a different destiny. Of course everybody knew that
+the deed with which the accused was charged had been done. He had
+loved the princess, and neither he, she, nor any one else thought of
+denying the fact; but the king would not think of allowing any fact
+of this kind to interfere with the workings of the tribunal, in
+which he took such great delight and satisfaction. No matter how the
+affair turned out, the youth would be disposed of; and the king
+would take an aesthetic pleasure in watching the course of events,
+which would determine whether or not the young man had done wrong in
+allowing himself to love the princess.
+
+The appointed day arrived. From far and near the people gathered,
+and thronged the great galleries of the arena; and crowds, unable to
+gain admittance, massed themselves against its outside walls. The
+king and his court were in their places, opposite the twin
+doors--those fateful portals, so terrible in their similarity.
+
+All was ready. The signal was given. A door beneath the royal party
+opened, and the lover of the princess walked into the arena. Tall,
+beautiful, fair, his appearance was greeted with a low hum of
+admiration and anxiety. Half the audience had not known so grand a
+youth had lived among them. No wonder the princess loved him! What a
+terrible thing for him to be there!
+
+As the youth advanced into the arena, he turned, as the custom was,
+to bow to the king: but he did not think at all of that royal
+personage; his eyes were fixed upon the princess, who sat to the
+right of her father. Had it not been for the moiety of barbarism in
+her nature it is probable that lady would not have been there; but
+her intense and fervid soul would not allow her to be absent on an
+occasion in which she was so terribly interested. From the moment
+that the decree had gone forth that her lover should decide his fate
+in the king's arena, she had thought of nothing, night or day, but
+this great event and the various subjects connected with it.
+Possessed of more power, influence, and force of character than any
+one who had ever before been interested in such a case, she had done
+what no other person had done--she had possessed herself of the
+secret of the doors. She knew in which of the two rooms that lay
+behind those doors stood the cage of the tiger, with its open front,
+and in which waited the lady. Through these thick doors, heavily
+curtained with skins on the inside, it was impossible that any noise
+or suggestion should come from within to the person who should
+approach to raise the latch of one of them; but gold, and the power
+of a woman's will, had brought the secret to the princess.
+
+And not only did she know in which room stood the lady ready to
+emerge, all blushing and radiant, should her door be opened, but she
+knew who the lady was. It was one of the fairest and loveliest of
+the damsels of the court who had been selected as the reward of the
+accused youth, should he be proved innocent of the crime of aspiring
+to one so far above him; and the princess hated her. Often had she
+seen, or imagined that she had seen, this fair creature throwing
+glances of admiration upon the person of her lover, and sometimes
+she thought these glances were perceived and even returned. Now and
+then she had seen them talking together; it was but for a moment or
+two, but much can be said in a brief space; it may have been on most
+unimportant topics, but how could she know that? The girl was
+lovely, but she had dared to raise her eyes to the loved one of the
+princess; and, with all the intensity of the savage blood
+transmitted to her through long lines of wholly barbaric ancestors,
+she hated the woman who blushed and trembled behind that silent
+door.
+
+When her lover turned and looked at her, and his eye met hers as she
+sat there paler and whiter than any one in the vast ocean of anxious
+faces about her, he saw, by that power of quick perception which is
+given to those whose souls are one, that she knew behind which door
+crouched the tiger, and behind which stood the lady. He had expected
+her to know it. He understood her nature, and his soul was assured
+that she would never rest until she had made plain to herself this
+thing, hidden to all other lookers-on, even to the king. The only
+hope for the youth in which there was any element of certainty was
+based upon the success of the princess in discovering this mystery;
+and the moment he looked upon her, he saw she had succeeded, as in
+his soul he knew she would succeed.
+
+Then it was that his quick and anxious glance asked the question,
+"Which?" It was as plain to her as if he shouted it from where he
+stood. There was not an instant to be lost. The question was asked
+in a flash; it must be answered in another.
+
+Her right arm lay on the cushioned parapet before her. She raised
+her hand, and made a slight, quick movement toward the right. No one
+but her lover saw her. Every eye but his was fixed on the man in the
+arena.
+
+He turned, and with a firm and rapid step he walked across the empty
+space. Every heart stopped beating, every breath was held, every eye
+was fixed immovably upon that man. Without the slightest hesitation,
+he went to the door on the right, and opened it.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Now, the point of the story is this: Did the tiger come out of that
+door, or did the lady?
+
+The more we reflect upon this question the harder it is to answer.
+It involves a study of the human heart which leads us through
+devious mazes of passion, out of which it is difficult to find our
+way. Think of it, fair reader, not as if the decision of the
+question depended upon yourself, but upon that hot-blooded,
+semibarbaric princess, her soul at a white heat beneath the combined
+fires of despair and jealousy. She had lost him, but who should have
+him?
+
+How often, in her waking hours and in her dreams, had she started in
+wild horror and covered her face with her hands as she thought of
+her lover opening the door on the other side of which waited the
+cruel fangs of the tiger!
+
+But how much oftener had she seen him at the other door! How in her
+grievous reveries had she gnashed her teeth and torn her hair when
+she saw his start of rapturous delight as he opened the door of the
+lady! How her soul had burned in agony when she had seen him rush to
+meet that woman, with her flushing cheek and sparkling eye of
+triumph; when she had seen him lead her forth, his whole frame
+kindled with the joy of recovered life; when she had heard the glad
+shouts from the multitude, and the wild ringing of the happy bells;
+when she had seen the priest, with his joyous followers, advance to
+the couple, and make them man and wife before her very eyes; and
+when she had seen them walk away together upon their path of
+flowers, followed by the tremendous shouts of the hilarious
+multitude, in which her one despairing shriek was lost and drowned!
+
+Would it not be better for him to die at once, and go to wait for
+her in the blessed regions of semibarbaric futurity?
+
+And yet, that awful tiger, those shrieks, that blood!
+
+Her decision had been indicated in an instant, but it had been made
+after days and nights of anguished deliberation. She had known she
+would be asked, she had decided what she would answer, and, without
+the slightest hesitation, she had moved her hand to the right.
+
+The question of her decision is one not to be lightly considered,
+and it is not for me to presume to set myself up as the one person
+able to answer it. And so I leave it with all of you: Which came out
+of the opened door--the lady, or the tiger?
+
+
+
+
+THE REMARKABLE WRECK OF THE "THOMAS HYKE"
+
+
+It was half-past one by the clock in the office of the Registrar of
+Woes. The room was empty, for it was Wednesday, and the Registrar
+always went home early on Wednesday afternoons. He had made that
+arrangement when he accepted the office. He was willing to serve his
+fellow-citizens in any suitable position to which he might be
+called, but he had private interests which could not be neglected.
+He belonged to his country, but there was a house in the country
+which belonged to him; and there were a great many things
+appertaining to that house which needed attention, especially in
+pleasant summer weather. It is true he was often absent on
+afternoons which did not fall on the Wednesday, but the fact of his
+having appointed a particular time for the furtherance of his
+outside interests so emphasized their importance that his associates
+in the office had no difficulty in understanding that affairs of
+such moment could not always be attended to in a single afternoon of
+the week.
+
+But although the large room devoted to the especial use of the
+Registrar was unoccupied, there were other rooms connected with it
+which were not in that condition. With the suite of offices to the
+left we have nothing to do, but will confine our attention to a
+moderate-sized room to the right of the Registrar's office, and
+connected by a door, now closed, with that large and handsomely
+furnished chamber. This was the office of the Clerk of Shipwrecks,
+and it was at present occupied by five persons. One of these was the
+clerk himself, a man of goodly appearance, somewhere between
+twenty-five and forty-five years of age, and of a demeanor such as
+might be supposed to belong to one who had occupied a high position
+in state affairs, but who, by the cabals of his enemies, had been
+forced to resign the great operations of statesmanship which he had
+been directing, and who now stood, with a quite resigned air,
+pointing out to the populace the futile and disastrous efforts of
+the incompetent one who was endeavoring to fill his place. The Clerk
+of Shipwrecks had never fallen from such a position, having never
+occupied one, but he had acquired the demeanor referred to without
+going through the preliminary exercises.
+
+Another occupant was a very young man, the personal clerk of the
+Registrar of Woes, who always closed all the doors of the office of
+that functionary on Wednesday afternoons, and at other times when
+outside interests demanded his principal's absence, after which he
+betook himself to the room of his friend the Shipwreck Clerk.
+
+Then there was a middle-aged man named Mathers, also a friend of the
+clerk, and who was one of the eight who had made application for a
+subposition in this department, which was now filled by a man who
+was expected to resign when a friend of his, a gentleman of
+influence in an interior county, should succeed in procuring the
+nomination as congressional Representative of his district of an
+influential politician, whose election was considered assured in
+case certain expected action on the part of the administration
+should bring his party into power. The person now occupying the
+subposition hoped then to get something better, and Mathers,
+consequently, was very willing, while waiting for the place, to
+visit the offices of the department and acquaint himself with its
+duties.
+
+A fourth person was J. George Watts, a juryman by profession, who
+had brought with him his brother-in-law, a stranger in the city.
+
+The Shipwreck Clerk had taken off his good coat, which he had worn
+to luncheon, and had replaced it by a lighter garment of linen, much
+bespattered with ink; and he now produced a cigar-box, containing
+six cigars.
+
+"Gents," said he, "here is the fag end of a box of cigars. It's not
+like having the pick of a box, but they are all I have left."
+
+Mr. Mathers, J. George Watts, and the brother-in-law each took a
+cigar with that careless yet deferential manner which always
+distinguishes the treatee from the treator; and then the box was
+protruded in an offhand way toward Harry Covare, the personal clerk
+of the Registrar; but this young man declined, saying that he
+preferred cigarettes, a package of which he drew from his pocket. He
+had very often seen that cigar-box with a Havana brand, which he
+himself had brought from the other room after the Registrar had
+emptied it, passed around with six cigars, no more nor less, and he
+was wise enough to know that the Shipwreck Clerk did not expect to
+supply him with smoking-material. If that gentleman had offered to
+the friends who generally dropped in on him on Wednesday afternoon
+the paper bag of cigars sold at five cents each when bought singly,
+but half a dozen for a quarter of a dollar, they would have been
+quite as thankfully received; but it better pleased his deprecative
+soul to put them in an empty cigar-box, and thus throw around them
+the halo of the presumption that ninety-four of their imported
+companions had been smoked.
+
+The Shipwreck Clerk, having lighted a cigar for himself, sat down in
+his revolving chair, turned his back to his desk, and threw himself
+into an easy cross-legged attitude, which showed that he was
+perfectly at home in that office. Harry Covare mounted a high stool,
+while the visitors seated themselves in three wooden arm-chairs. But
+few words had been said, and each man had scarcely tossed his first
+tobacco-ashes on the floor, when some one wearing heavy boots was
+heard opening an outside door and entering the Registrar's room.
+Harry Covare jumped down from his stool, laid his half-smoked
+cigarette thereon, and bounced into the next room, closing the door
+after him. In about a minute he returned, and the Shipwreck Clerk
+looked at him inquiringly.
+
+"An old cock in a pea-jacket," said Mr. Covare, taking up his
+cigarette and mounting his stool. "I told him the Registrar would be
+here in the morning. He said he had something to report about a
+shipwreck, and I told him the Registrar would be here in the
+morning. Had to tell him that three times, and then he went."
+
+"School don't keep Wednesday afternoons," said Mr. J. George Watts,
+with a knowing smile.
+
+"No, sir," said the Shipwreck Clerk, emphatically, changing the
+crossing of his legs. "A man can't keep grinding on day in and out
+without breaking down. Outsiders may say what they please about it,
+but it can't be done. We've got to let up sometimes. People who do
+the work need the rest just as much as those who do the looking on."
+
+"And more too, I should say," observed Mr. Mathers.
+
+"Our little let-up on Wednesday afternoons," modestly observed Harry
+Covare, "is like death--it is sure to come; while the let-ups we get
+other days are more like the diseases which prevail in certain
+areas--you can't be sure whether you're going to get them or not."
+
+The Shipwreck Clerk smiled benignantly at this remark, and the rest
+laughed. Mr. Mathers had heard it before, but he would not impair
+the pleasantness of his relations with a future colleague by hinting
+that he remembered it.
+
+"He gets such ideas from his beastly statistics," said the Shipwreck
+Clerk.
+
+"Which come pretty heavy on him sometimes, I expect," observed Mr.
+Mathers.
+
+"They needn't," said the Shipwreck Clerk, "if things were managed
+here as they ought to be. If John J. Laylor"--meaning thereby the
+Registrar--"was the right kind of a man you'd see things very
+different here from what they are now. There'd be a larger force."
+
+"That's so," said Mr. Mathers.
+
+"And not only that, but there'd be better buildings and more
+accommodations. Were any of you ever up to Anster? Well, take a run
+up there some day, and see what sort of buildings the department has
+there. William Q. Green is a very different man from John J. Laylor.
+You don't see him sitting in his chair and picking his teeth the
+whole winter, while the Representative from his district never says
+a word about his department from one end of a session of Congress to
+the other. Now if I had charge of things here, I'd make such changes
+that you wouldn't know the place. I'd throw two rooms off here, and
+a corridor and entrance-door at that end of the building. I'd close
+up this door"--pointing toward the Registrar's room--"and if John J.
+Laylor wanted to come in here he might go round to the end door like
+other people."
+
+The thought struck Harry Covare that in that case there would be no
+John J. Laylor, but he would not interrupt.
+
+"And what is more," continued the Shipwreck Clerk, "I'd close up
+this whole department at twelve o'clock on Saturdays. The way things
+are managed now, a man has no time to attend to his own private
+business. Suppose I think of buying a piece of land, and want to go
+out and look at it, or suppose any one of you gentlemen were here
+and thought of buying a piece of land and wanted to go out and look
+at it, what are you going to do about it? You don't want to go on
+Sunday, and when are you going to go?"
+
+Not one of the other gentlemen had ever thought of buying a piece of
+land, nor had they any reason to suppose that they ever would
+purchase an inch of soil unless they bought it in a flower-pot; but
+they all agreed that the way things were managed now there was no
+time for a man to attend to his own business.
+
+"But you can't expect John J. Laylor to do anything," said the
+Shipwreck Clerk.
+
+However, there was one thing which that gentleman always expected
+John J. Laylor to do. When the clerk was surrounded by a number of
+persons in hours of business, and when he had succeeded in
+impressing them with the importance of his functions and the
+necessity of paying deferential attention to himself if they wished
+their business attended to, John J. Laylor would be sure to walk
+into the office and address the Shipwreck Clerk in such a manner as
+to let the people present know that he was a clerk and nothing else,
+and that he, the Registrar, was the head of that department. These
+humiliations the Shipwreck Clerk never forgot.
+
+There was a little pause here, and then Mr. Mathers remarked:
+
+"I should think you'd be awfully bored with the long stories of
+shipwrecks that the people come and tell you."
+
+He hoped to change the conversation, because, although he wished to
+remain on good terms with the subordinate officers, it was not
+desirable that he should be led to say much against John J. Laylor.
+
+"No, sir," said the Shipwreck Clerk, "I am not bored. I did not come
+here to be bored, and as long as I have charge of this office I
+don't intend to be. The long-winded old salts who come here to
+report their wrecks never spin out their prosy yarns to me. The
+first thing I do is to let them know just what I want of them; and
+not an inch beyond that does a man of them go, at least while I am
+managing the business. There are times when John J. Laylor comes in,
+and puts in his oar, and wants to hear the whole story; which is
+pure stuff and nonsense, for John J. Laylor doesn't know anything
+more about a shipwreck than he does about--"
+
+"The endemies in the Lake George area," suggested Harry Covare.
+
+"Yes; or any other part of his business," said the Shipwreck Clerk;
+"and when he takes it into his head to interfere, all business stops
+till some second mate of a coal-schooner has told his whole story
+from his sighting land on the morning of one day to his getting
+ashore on it on the afternoon of the next. Now I don't put up with
+any such nonsense. There's no man living that can tell me anything
+about shipwrecks. I've never been to sea myself, but that's not
+necessary; and if I had gone, it's not likely I'd been wrecked. But
+I've read about every kind of shipwreck that ever happened. When I
+first came here I took care to post myself upon these matters,
+because I knew it would save trouble. I have read 'Robinson Crusoe,'
+'The Wreck of the "Grosvenor,"' 'The Sinking of the "Royal George,"'
+and wrecks by water-spouts, tidal waves, and every other thing which
+would knock a ship into a cocked hat, and I've classified every sort
+of wreck under its proper head; and when I've found out to what
+class a wreck belongs, I know all about it. Now, when a man comes
+here to report a wreck, the first thing he has to do is just to shut
+down on his story, and to stand up square and answer a few questions
+that I put to him. In two minutes I know just what kind of shipwreck
+he's had; and then, when he gives me the name of his vessel, and one
+or two other points, he may go. I know all about that wreck, and I
+make a much better report of the business than he could have done if
+he'd stood here talking three days and three nights. The amount of
+money that's been saved to our taxpayers by the way I've
+systematized the business of this office is not to be calculated in
+figures."
+
+The brother-in-law of J. George Watts knocked the ashes from the
+remnant of his cigar, looked contemplatively at the coal for a
+moment, and then remarked:
+
+"I think you said there's no kind of shipwreck you don't know
+about?"
+
+"That's what I said," replied the Shipwreck Clerk.
+
+"I think," said the other, "I could tell you of a shipwreck, in
+which I was concerned, that wouldn't go into any of your classes."
+
+The Shipwreck Clerk threw away the end of his cigar, put both his
+hands into his trousers pockets, stretched out his legs, and looked
+steadfastly at the man who had made this unwarrantable remark. Then
+a pitying smile stole over his countenance, and he said: "Well, sir,
+I'd like to hear your account of it; and before you get a quarter
+through I can stop you just where you are, and go ahead and tell the
+rest of the story myself."
+
+"That's so," said Harry Covare. "You'll see him do it just as sure
+pop as a spread rail bounces the engine."
+
+"Well, then," said the brother-in-law of J. George Watts, "I'll tell
+it." And he began:
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"It was just two years ago the 1st of this month that I sailed for
+South America in the 'Thomas Hyke.'"
+
+At this point the Shipwreck Clerk turned and opened a large book at
+the letter T.
+
+"That wreck wasn't reported here," said the other, "and you won't
+find it in your book."
+
+"At Anster, perhaps?" said the Shipwreck Clerk, closing the volume
+and turning round again.
+
+"Can't say about that," replied the other. "I've never been to
+Anster, and haven't looked over their books."
+
+"Well, you needn't want to," said the clerk. "They've got good
+accommodations at Anster, and the Registrar has some ideas of the
+duties of his post, but they have no such system of wreck reports as
+we have here."
+
+"Very like," said the brother-in-law. And he went on with his story.
+"The 'Thomas Hyke' was a small iron steamer of six hundred tons, and
+she sailed from Ulford for Valparaiso with a cargo principally of
+pig-iron."
+
+"Pig-iron for Valparaiso?" remarked the Shipwreck Clerk. And then he
+knitted his brows thoughtfully, and said, "Go on."
+
+"She was a new vessel," continued the narrator, "and built with
+water-tight compartments; rather uncommon for a vessel of her class,
+but so she was. I am not a sailor, and don't know anything about
+ships. I went as passenger, and there was another one named William
+Anderson, and his son Sam, a boy about fifteen years old. We were
+all going to Valparaiso on business. I don't remember just how many
+days we were out, nor do I know just where we were, but it was
+somewhere off the coast of South America, when, one dark night--with
+a fog besides, for aught I know, for I was asleep--we ran into a
+steamer coming north. How we managed to do this, with room enough on
+both sides for all the ships in the world to pass, I don't know; but
+so it was. When I got on deck the other vessel had gone on, and we
+never saw anything more of her. Whether she sunk or got home is
+something I can't tell. But we pretty soon found that the 'Thomas
+Hyke' had some of the plates in her bow badly smashed, and she took
+in water like a thirsty dog. The captain had the forward water-tight
+bulkhead shut tight, and the pumps set to work, but it was no use.
+That forward compartment just filled up with water, and the 'Thomas
+Hyke' settled down with her bow clean under. Her deck was slanting
+forward like the side of a hill, and the propeller was lifted up so
+that it wouldn't have worked even if the engine had been kept going.
+The captain had the masts cut away, thinking this might bring her up
+some, but it didn't help much. There was a pretty heavy sea on, and
+the waves came rolling up the slant of the deck like the surf on the
+sea-shore. The captain gave orders to have all the hatches battened
+down so that water couldn't get in, and the only way by which
+anybody could go below was by the cabin door, which was far aft.
+This work of stopping up all openings in the deck was a dangerous
+business, for the decks sloped right down into the water, and if
+anybody had slipped, away he'd have gone into the ocean, with
+nothing to stop him; but the men made a line fast to themselves, and
+worked away with a good will, and soon got the deck and the house
+over the engine as tight as a bottle. The smoke-stack, which was
+well forward, had been broken down by a spar when the masts had been
+cut, and as the waves washed into the hole that it left, the captain
+had this plugged up with old sails, well fastened down. It was a
+dreadful thing to see the ship a-lying with her bows clean under
+water and her stern sticking up. If it hadn't been for her
+water-tight compartments that were left uninjured, she would have
+gone down to the bottom as slick as a whistle. On the afternoon of
+the day after the collision the wind fell, and the sea soon became
+pretty smooth. The captain was quite sure that there would be no
+trouble about keeping afloat until some ship came along and took us
+off. Our flag was flying, upside down, from a pole in the stern; and
+if anybody saw a ship making such a guy of herself as the 'Thomas
+Hyke' was then doing, they'd be sure to come to see what was the
+matter with her, even if she had no flag of distress flying. We
+tried to make ourselves as comfortable as we could, but this wasn't
+easy with everything on such a dreadful slant. But that night we
+heard a rumbling and grinding noise down in the hold, and the slant
+seemed to get worse. Pretty soon the captain roused all hands and
+told us that the cargo of pig-iron was shifting and sliding down to
+the bow, and that it wouldn't be long before it would break through
+all the bulkheads, and then we'd fill and go to the bottom like a
+shot. He said we must all take to the boats and get away as quick as
+we could. It was an easy matter launching the boats. They didn't
+lower them outside from the davits, but they just let 'em down on
+deck and slid 'em along forward into the water, and then held 'em
+there with a rope till everything was ready to start. They launched
+three boats, put plenty of provisions and water in 'em, and then
+everybody began to get aboard. But William Anderson and me and his
+son Sam couldn't make up our minds to get into those boats and row
+out on the dark, wide ocean. They were the biggest boats we had, but
+still they were little things enough. The ship seemed to us to be a
+good deal safer, and more likely to be seen when day broke, than
+those three boats, which might be blown off, if the wind rose,
+nobody knew where. It seemed to us that the cargo had done all the
+shifting it intended to, for the noise below had stopped; and,
+altogether, we agreed that we'd rather stick to the ship than go off
+in those boats. The captain he tried to make us go, but we wouldn't
+do it; and he told us if we chose to stay behind and be drowned it
+was our affair and he couldn't help it; and then he said there was a
+small boat aft, and we'd better launch her, and have her ready in
+case things should get worse and we should make up our minds to
+leave the vessel. He and the rest then rowed off so as not to be
+caught in the vortex if the steamer went down, and we three stayed
+aboard. We launched the small boat in the way we'd seen the others
+launched, being careful to have ropes tied to us while we were doing
+it; and we put things aboard that we thought we should want. Then we
+went into the cabin and waited for morning. It was a queer kind of a
+cabin, with a floor inclined like the roof of a house; but we sat
+down in the corners, and were glad to be there. The swinging lamp
+was burning, and it was a good deal more cheerful in there than it
+was outside. But, about daybreak, the grinding and rumbling down
+below began again, and the bow of the 'Thomas Hyke' kept going down
+more and more; and it wasn't long before the forward bulkhead of the
+cabin, which was what you might call its front wall when everything
+was all right, was under our feet, as level as a floor, and the lamp
+was lying close against the ceiling that it was hanging from. You
+may be sure that we thought it was time to get out of that. There
+were benches with arms to them fastened to the floor, and by these
+we climbed up to the foot of the cabin stairs, which, being turned
+bottom upward, we went down in order to get out. When we reached the
+cabin door we saw part of the deck below us, standing up like the
+side of a house that is built in the water, as they say the houses
+in Venice are. We had made our boat fast to the cabin door by a long
+line, and now we saw her floating quietly on the water, which was
+very smooth and about twenty feet below us. We drew her up as close
+under us as we could, and then we let the boy Sam down by a rope,
+and after some kicking and swinging he got into her; and then he
+took the oars and kept her right under us while we scrambled down by
+the ropes which we had used in getting her ready. As soon as we were
+in the boat we cut her rope and pulled away as hard as we could; and
+when we got to what we thought was a safe distance we stopped to
+look at the 'Thomas Hyke.' You never saw such a ship in all your
+born days. Two thirds of the hull was sunk in the water, and she was
+standing straight up and down with the stern in the air, her rudder
+up as high as the topsail ought to be, and the screw propeller
+looking like the wheel on the top of one of these windmills that
+they have in the country for pumping up water. Her cargo had shifted
+so far forward that it had turned her right upon end, but she
+couldn't sink, owing to the air in the compartments that the water
+hadn't got into; and on the top of the whole thing was the distress
+flag flying from the pole which stuck out over the stern. It was
+broad daylight, but not a thing did we see of the other boats. We'd
+supposed that they wouldn't row very far, but would lay off at a
+safe distance until daylight; but they must have been scared and
+rowed farther than they intended. Well, sir, we stayed in that boat
+all day and watched the 'Thomas Hyke'; but she just kept as she was
+and didn't seem to sink an inch. There was no use of rowing away,
+for we had no place to row to; and besides, we thought that passing
+ships would be much more likely to see that stern sticking high in
+the air than our little boat. We had enough to eat, and at night two
+of us slept while the other watched, dividing off the time and
+taking turns to this. In the morning there was the 'Thomas Hyke'
+standing stern up just as before. There was a long swell on the
+ocean now, and she'd rise and lean over a little on each wave, but
+she'd come up again just as straight as before. That night passed as
+the last one had, and in the morning we found we'd drifted a good
+deal farther from the 'Thomas Hyke'; but she was floating just as
+she had been, like a big buoy that's moored over a sandbar. We
+couldn't see a sign of the boats, and we about gave them up. We had
+our breakfast, which was a pretty poor meal, being nothing but
+hardtack and what was left of a piece of boiled beef. After we'd sat
+for a while doing nothing, but feeling mighty uncomfortable, William
+Anderson said, 'Look here, do you know that I think we would be
+three fools to keep on shivering all night, and living on hardtack
+in the daytime, when there's plenty on that vessel for us to eat and
+to keep us warm. If she's floated that way for two days and two
+nights, there's no knowing how much longer she'll float, and we
+might as well go on board and get the things we want as not.' 'All
+right,' said I, for I was tired doing nothing; and Sam was as
+willing as anybody. So we rowed up to the steamer, and stopped close
+to the deck, which, as I said before, was standing straight up out
+of the water like the wall of a house. The cabin door, which was the
+only opening into her, was about twenty feet above us, and the ropes
+which we had tied to the rails of the stairs inside were still
+hanging down. Sam was an active youngster, and he managed to climb
+up one of these ropes; but when he got to the door he drew it up and
+tied knots in it about a foot apart, and then he let it down to us,
+for neither William Anderson nor me could go up a rope hand over
+hand without knots or something to hold on to. As it was, we had a
+lot of bother getting up, but we did it at last; and then we walked
+up the stairs, treading on the front part of each step instead of
+the top of it, as we would have done if the stairs had been in their
+proper position. When we got to the floor of the cabin, which was
+now perpendicular like a wall, we had to clamber down by means of
+the furniture, which was screwed fast, until we reached the
+bulkhead, which was now the floor of the cabin. Close to this
+bulkhead was a small room which was the steward's pantry, and here
+we found lots of things to eat, but all jumbled up in a way that
+made us laugh. The boxes of biscuits and the tin cans and a lot of
+bottles in wicker covers were piled up on one end of the room, and
+everything in the lockers and drawers was jumbled together. William
+Anderson and me set to work to get out what we thought we'd want,
+and we told Sam to climb up into some of the state-rooms--of which
+there were four on each side of the cabin--and get some blankets to
+keep us warm, as well as a few sheets, which we thought we could rig
+up for an awning to the boat; for the days were just as hot as the
+nights were cool. When we'd collected what we wanted, William
+Anderson and me climbed into our own rooms, thinking we'd each pack
+a valise with what we most wanted to save of our clothes and things;
+and while we were doing this Sam called out to us that it was
+raining. He was sitting at the cabin door looking out. I first
+thought to tell him to shut the door so's to keep the rain from
+coming in; but when I thought how things really were, I laughed at
+the idea. There was a sort of little house built over the entrance
+to the cabin, and in one end of it was the door; and in the way the
+ship now was the open doorway was underneath the little house, and
+of course no rain could come in. Pretty soon we heard the rain
+pouring down, beating on the stern of the vessel like hail. We got
+to the stairs and looked out. The rain was falling in perfect
+sheets, in a way you never see except round about the tropics. 'It's
+a good thing we're inside,' said William Anderson, 'for if we'd been
+out in this rain we'd been drowned in the boat.' I agreed with him,
+and we made up our minds to stay where we were until the rain was
+over. Well, it rained about four hours; and when it stopped, and we
+looked out, we saw our little boat nearly full of water, and sunk so
+deep that if one of us had stepped on her she'd have gone down,
+sure. 'Here's a pretty kittle of fish,' said William Anderson;
+'there's nothing for us to do now but to stay where we are.' I
+believe in his heart he was glad of that, for if ever a man was
+tired of a little boat, William Anderson was tired of that one we'd
+been in for two days and two nights. At any rate, there was no use
+talking about it, and we set to work to make ourselves comfortable.
+We got some mattresses and pillows out of the state-rooms, and when
+it began to get dark we lighted the lamp--which we had filled with
+sweet-oil from a flask in the pantry, not finding any other
+kind--and we hung it from the railing of the stairs. We had a good
+night's rest, and the only thing that disturbed me was William
+Anderson lifting up his head every time he turned over and saying
+how much better this was than that blasted little boat. The next
+morning we had a good breakfast, even making some tea with a
+spirit-lamp we found, using brandy instead of alcohol. William
+Anderson and I wanted to get into the captain's room--which was near
+the stern and pretty high up--so as to see if there was anything
+there that we ought to get ready to save when a vessel should come
+along and pick us up; but we were not good at climbing, like Sam,
+and we didn't see how we could get up there. Sam said he was sure he
+had once seen a ladder in the compartment just forward of the
+bulkhead, and as William was very anxious to get up to the captain's
+room, we let the boy go and look for it. There was a sliding door in
+the bulkhead under our feet, and we opened this far enough to let
+Sam get through; and he scrambled down like a monkey into the next
+compartment, which was light enough, although the lower half of it,
+which was next to the engine-room, was under the water-line. Sam
+actually found a ladder with hooks at one end of it, and while he
+was handing it up to us--which was very hard to do, for he had to
+climb up on all sorts of things--he let it topple over, and the end
+with the iron hooks fell against the round glass of one of the
+port-holes. The glass was very thick and strong, but the ladder came
+down very heavy and shivered it. As bad luck would have it, this
+window was below the water-line, and the water came rushing in in a
+big spout. We chucked blankets down to Sam for him to stop up the
+hole, but 'twas of no use; for it was hard for him to get at the
+window, and when he did the water came in with such force that he
+couldn't get a blanket into the hole. We were afraid he'd be drowned
+down there, and told him to come out as quick as he could. He put up
+the ladder again, and hooked it on to the door in the bulkhead, and
+we held it while he climbed up. Looking down through the doorway, we
+saw, by the way the water was pouring in at the opening, that it
+wouldn't be long before that compartment was filled up; so we shoved
+the door to and made it all tight, and then said William Anderson,
+'The ship'll sink deeper and deeper as that fills up, and the water
+may get up to the cabin door, and we must go and make that as tight
+as we can.' Sam had pulled the ladder up after him, and this we
+found of great use in getting to the foot of the cabin stairs. We
+shut the cabin door, and locked and bolted it; and as it fitted
+pretty tight, we didn't think it would let in much water if the ship
+sunk that far. But over the top of the cabin stairs were a couple of
+folding doors, which shut down horizontally when the ship was in its
+proper position, and which were only used in very bad, cold weather.
+These we pulled to and fastened tight, thus having a double
+protection against the water. Well, we didn't get this done any too
+soon, for the water did come up to the cabin door, and a little
+trickled in from the outside door and through the cracks in the
+inner one. But we went to work and stopped these up with strips from
+the sheets, which we crammed well in with our pocket-knives. Then we
+sat down on the steps and waited to see what would happen next. The
+doors of all the state-rooms were open, and we could see through the
+thick plate-glass windows in them, which were all shut tight, that
+the ship was sinking more and more as the water came in. Sam climbed
+up into one of the after state-rooms, and said the outside water was
+nearly up to the stern; and pretty soon we looked up to the two
+portholes in the stern, and saw that they were covered with water;
+and as more and more water could be seen there, and as the light
+came through less easily, we knew that we were sinking under the
+surface of the ocean. 'It's a mighty good thing,' said William
+Anderson, 'that no water can get in here.' William had a hopeful
+kind of mind, and always looked on the bright side of things; but I
+must say that I was dreadfully scared when I looked through those
+stern windows and saw water instead of sky. It began to get duskier
+and duskier as we sank lower and lower; but still we could see
+pretty well, for it's astonishing how much light comes down through
+water. After a little while we noticed that the light remained about
+the same; and then William Anderson he sings out, 'Hooray, we've
+stopped sinking!' 'What difference does that make?' says I. 'We must
+be thirty or forty feet under water, and more yet, for aught I
+know.' 'Yes, that may be,' said he; 'but it is clear that all the
+water has got into that compartment that can get in, and we have
+sunk just as far down as we are going.' 'But that don't help
+matters,' said I; 'thirty or forty feet under water is just as bad
+as a thousand as to drowning a man.' 'Drowning!' said William; 'how
+are you going to be drowned? No water can get in here.' 'Nor no air,
+either,' said I; 'and people are drowned for want of air, as I take
+it.' 'It would be a queer sort of thing,' said William, 'to be
+drowned in the ocean and yet stay as dry as a chip. But it's no use
+being worried about air. We've got air enough here to last us for
+ever so long. This stern compartment is the biggest in the ship, and
+it's got lots of air in it. Just think of that hold! It must be
+nearly full of air. The stern compartment of the hold has got
+nothing in it but sewing-machines. I saw 'em loading her. The
+pig-iron was mostly amidships, or at least forward of this
+compartment. Now, there's no kind of a cargo that'll accommodate as
+much air as sewing-machines. They're packed in wooden frames, not
+boxes, and don't fill up half the room they take. There's air all
+through and around 'em. It's a very comforting thing to think the
+hold isn't filled up solid with bales of cotton or wheat in bulk.'
+It might be comforting, but I couldn't get much good out of it. And
+now Sam, who'd been scrambling all over the cabin to see how things
+were going on, sung out that the water was leaking in a little again
+at the cabin door and around some of the iron frames of the windows.
+'It's a lucky thing,' said William Anderson, 'that we didn't sink
+any deeper, or the pressure of the water would have burst in those
+heavy glasses. And what we've got to do now is to stop up all the
+cracks. The more we work the livelier we'll feel.' We tore off more
+strips of sheets and went all round, stopping up cracks wherever we
+found them. 'It's fortunate,' said William Anderson, 'that Sam found
+that ladder, for we would have had hard work getting to the windows
+of the stern state-rooms without it; but by resting it on the bottom
+step of the stairs, which now happens to be the top one, we can get
+to any part of the cabin.' I couldn't help thinking that if Sam
+hadn't found the ladder it would have been a good deal better for
+us; but I didn't want to damp William's spirits, and I said nothing.
+
+"And now I beg your pardon, sir," said the narrator, addressing the
+Shipwreck Clerk, "but I forgot that you said you'd finish this story
+yourself. Perhaps you'd like to take it up just here?"
+
+The Shipwreck Clerk seemed surprised, and had apparently forgotten
+his previous offer. "Oh no," said he, "tell your own story. This is
+not a matter of business."
+
+"Very well, then," said the brother-in-law of J. George Watts, "I'll
+go on. We made everything as tight as we could, and then we got our
+supper, having forgotten all about dinner, and being very hungry. We
+didn't make any tea and we didn't light the lamp, for we knew that
+would use up air; but we made a better meal than three people sunk
+out of sight in the ocean had a right to expect. 'What troubles me
+most,' said William Anderson, as he turned in, 'is the fact that if
+we are forty feet under water our flagpole must be covered up. Now,
+if the flag was sticking out, upside down, a ship sailing by would
+see it and would know there was something wrong.' 'If that's all
+that troubles you,' said I, 'I guess you'll sleep easy. And if a
+ship was to see the flag, I wonder how they'd know we were down
+here, and how they'd get us out if they did!' 'Oh, they'd manage
+it,' said William Anderson; 'trust those sea-captains for that.' And
+then he went to sleep. The next morning the air began to get mighty
+disagreeable in the part of the cabin where we were, and then
+William Anderson he says, 'What we've got to do is to climb up into
+the stern state-rooms, where the air is purer. We can come down here
+to get our meals, and then go up again to breathe comfortable.' 'And
+what are we going to do when the air up there gets foul?' says I to
+William, who seemed to be making arrangements for spending the
+summer in our present quarters. 'Oh, that'll be all right,' said he.
+'It don't do to be extravagant with air any more than with anything
+else. When we've used up all there is in this cabin, we can bore
+holes through the floor into the hold and let in air from there. If
+we're economical, there'll be enough to last for dear knows how
+long.' We passed the night each in a state-room, sleeping on the end
+wall instead of the berth, and it wasn't till the afternoon of the
+next day that the air of the cabin got so bad we thought we'd have
+some fresh; so we went down on the bulkhead, and with an auger that
+we found in the pantry we bored three holes, about a yard apart, in
+the cabin floor, which was now one of the walls of the room, just as
+the bulkhead was the floor, and the stern end, where the two round
+windows were, was the ceiling or roof. We each took a hole, and I
+tell you it was pleasant to breathe the air which came in from the
+hold. 'Isn't this jolly?' said William Anderson. 'And we ought to be
+mighty glad that that hold wasn't loaded with codfish or soap. But
+there's nothing that smells better than new sewing-machines that
+haven't ever been used, and this air is pleasant enough for
+anybody.' By William's advice we made three plugs, by which we
+stopped up the holes when we thought we'd had air enough for the
+present. 'And now,' says he, 'we needn't climb up into those awkward
+state-rooms any more. We can just stay down here and be comfortable,
+and let in air when we want it.' 'And how long do you suppose that
+air in the hold is going to last?' said I. 'Oh, ever so long,' said
+he, 'using it so economically as we do; and when it stops coming out
+lively through these little holes, as I suppose it will after a
+while, we can saw a big hole in this flooring and go into the hold
+and do our breathing, if we want to.' That evening we did saw a hole
+about a foot square, so as to have plenty of air while we were
+asleep; but we didn't go into the hold, it being pretty well filled
+up with machines; though the next day Sam and I sometimes stuck our
+heads in for a good sniff of air, though William Anderson was
+opposed to this, being of the opinion that we ought to put ourselves
+on short rations of breathing so as to make the supply of air hold
+out as long as possible. 'But what's the good,' said I to William,
+'of trying to make the air hold out if we've got to be suffocated in
+this place after all?' 'What's the good?' says he. 'Haven't you
+enough biscuits and canned meats and plenty of other things to eat,
+and a barrel of water in that room opposite the pantry, not to speak
+of wine and brandy if you want to cheer yourself up a bit, and
+haven't we good mattresses to sleep on, and why shouldn't we try to
+live and be comfortable as long as we can?' 'What I want,' said I,
+'is to get out of this box. The idea of being shut up in here down
+under the water is more than I can stand. I'd rather take my chances
+going up to the surface and swimming about till I found a piece of
+the wreck, or something to float on.' 'You needn't think of anything
+of that sort,' said William, 'for if we were to open a door or a
+window to get out, the water'd rush in and drive us back and fill up
+this place in no time; and then the whole concern would go to the
+bottom. And what would you do if you did get to the top of the
+water? It's not likely you'd find anything there to get on, and if
+you did you wouldn't live very long floating about with nothing to
+eat. No, sir,' says he, 'what we've got to do is to be content with
+the comforts we have around us, and something will turn up to get us
+out of this; you see if it don't.' There was no use talking against
+William Anderson, and I didn't say any more about getting out. As
+for Sam, he spent his time at the windows of the state-rooms
+a-looking out. We could see a good way into the water--farther than
+you would think--and we sometimes saw fishes, especially porpoises,
+swimming about, most likely trying to find out what a ship was doing
+hanging bows down under the water. What troubled Sam was that a
+swordfish might come along and jab his sword through one of the
+windows. In that case it would be all up, or rather down, with us.
+Every now and then he'd sing out, 'Here comes one!' And then, just
+as I'd give a jump, he'd say, 'No, it isn't; it's a porpoise.' I
+thought from the first, and I think now, that it would have been a
+great deal better for us if that boy hadn't been along. That night
+there was a good deal of motion to the ship, and she swung about and
+rose up and down more than she had done since we'd been left in her.
+'There must be a big sea running on top,' said William Anderson,
+'and if we were up there we'd be tossed about dreadful. Now the
+motion down here is just as easy as a cradle; and, what's more, we
+can't be sunk very deep, for if we were there wouldn't be any motion
+at all.' About noon the next day we felt a sudden tremble and shake
+run through the whole ship, and far down under us we heard a
+rumbling and grinding that nearly scared me out of my wits. I first
+thought we'd struck bottom; but William he said that couldn't be,
+for it was just as light in the cabin as it had been, and if we'd
+gone down it would have grown much darker, of course. The rumbling
+stopped after a little while, and then it seemed to grow lighter
+instead of darker; and Sam, who was looking up at the stern windows
+over our heads, he sung out, 'Sky!' And, sure enough, we could see
+the blue sky, as clear as daylight, through those windows! And then
+the ship she turned herself on the slant, pretty much as she had
+been when her forward compartment first took in water, and we found
+ourselves standing on the cabin floor instead of the bulkhead. I was
+near one of the open state-rooms, and as I looked in there was the
+sunlight coming through the wet glass in the window, and more
+cheerful than anything I ever saw before in this world. William
+Anderson he just made one jump, and, unscrewing one of the
+state-room windows, he jerked it open. We had thought the air inside
+was good enough to last some time longer; but when that window was
+open and the fresh air came rushing in, it was a different sort of
+thing, I can tell you. William put his head out and looked up and
+down and all around. 'She's nearly all out of water,' he shouted,
+'and we can open the cabin door!' Then we all three rushed at those
+stairs, which were nearly right side up now, and we had the cabin
+doors open in no time. When we looked out we saw that the ship was
+truly floating pretty much as she had been when the captain and crew
+left her, though we all agreed that her deck didn't slant as much
+forward as it did then. 'Do you know what's happened?' sung out
+William Anderson, after he'd stood still for a minute to look around
+and think. 'That bobbing up and down that the vessel got last night
+shook up and settled down the pig-iron inside of her, and the iron
+plates in the bow, that were smashed and loosened by the collision,
+have given way under the weight, and the whole cargo of pig-iron has
+burst through and gone to the bottom. Then, of course, up we came.
+Didn't I tell you something would happen to make us all right?'
+
+"Well, I won't make this story any longer than I can help. The next
+day after that we were taken off by a sugar-ship bound north, and we
+were carried safe back to Ulford, where we found our captain and the
+crew, who had been picked up by a ship after they'd been three or
+four days in their boats. This ship had sailed our way to find us,
+which, of course, she couldn't do, as at that time we were under
+water and out of sight.
+
+"And now, sir," said the brother-in-law of J. George Watts to the
+Shipwreck Clerk, "to which of your classes does this wreck of mine
+belong?"
+
+"Gents," said the Shipwreck Clerk, rising from his seat, "it's four
+o'clock, and at that hour this office closes."
+
+
+
+
+OLD PIPES AND THE DRYAD
+
+
+A mountain brook ran through a little village. Over the brook there
+was a narrow bridge, and from the bridge a foot-path led out from
+the village and up the hillside to the cottage of Old Pipes and his
+mother. For many, many years Old Pipes had been employed by the
+villagers to pipe the cattle down from the hills. Every afternoon,
+an hour before sunset, he would sit on a rock in front of his
+cottage and play on his pipes. Then all the flocks and herds that
+were grazing on the mountains would hear him, wherever they might
+happen to be, and would come down to the village--the cows by the
+easiest paths, the sheep by those not quite so easy, and the goats
+by the steep and rocky ways that were hardest of all.
+
+But now, for a year or more, Old Pipes had not piped the cattle
+home. It is true that every afternoon he sat upon the rock and
+played upon his familiar instrument; but the cattle did not hear
+him. He had grown old and his breath was feeble. The echoes of his
+cheerful notes, which used to come from the rocky hill on the other
+side of the valley, were heard no more; and twenty yards from Old
+Pipes one could scarcely tell what tune he was playing. He had
+become somewhat deaf, and did not know that the sound of his pipes
+was so thin and weak, and that the cattle did not hear him. The
+cows, the sheep, and the goats came down every afternoon as before,
+but this was because two boys and a girl were sent up after them.
+The villagers did not wish the good old man to know that his piping
+was no longer of any use, so they paid him his little salary every
+month, and said nothing about the two boys and the girl.
+
+Old Pipes's mother was, of course, a great deal older than he was,
+and was as deaf as a gate--posts, latch, hinges, and all--and she
+never knew that the sound of her son's pipe did not spread over all
+the mountain-side and echo back strong and clear from the opposite
+hills. She was very fond of Old Pipes, and proud of his piping; and
+as he was so much younger than she was, she never thought of him as
+being very old. She cooked for him, and made his bed, and mended his
+clothes; and they lived very comfortably on his little salary.
+
+One afternoon, at the end of the month, when Old Pipes had finished
+his piping, he took his stout staff and went down the hill to the
+village to receive the money for his month's work. The path seemed a
+great deal steeper and more difficult than it used to be; and Old
+Pipes thought that it must have been washed by the rains and greatly
+damaged. He remembered it as a path that was quite easy to traverse
+either up or down. But Old Pipes had been a very active man, and as
+his mother was so much older than he was, he never thought of
+himself as aged and infirm.
+
+When the Chief Villager had paid him, and he had talked a little
+with some of his friends, Old Pipes started to go home. But when he
+had crossed the bridge over the brook and gone a short distance up
+the hillside, he became very tired and sat down upon a stone. He had
+not been sitting there half a minute when along came two boys and a
+girl.
+
+"Children," said Old Pipes, "I'm very tired to-night, and I don't
+believe I can climb up this steep path to my home. I think I shall
+have to ask you to help me."
+
+"We will do that," said the boys and the girl, quite cheerfully; and
+one boy took him by the right hand and the other by the left, while
+the girl pushed him in the back. In this way he went up the hill
+quite easily, and soon reached his cottage door. Old Pipes gave each
+of the three children a copper coin, and then they sat down for a
+few minutes' rest before starting back to the village.
+
+"I'm sorry that I tired you so much," said Old Pipes.
+
+"Oh, that would not have tired us," said one of the boys, "if we had
+not been so far to-day after the cows, the sheep, and the goats.
+They rambled high up on the mountain, and we never before had such a
+time in finding them."
+
+"Had to go after the cows, the sheep, and the goats!" exclaimed Old
+Pipes. "What do you mean by that?"
+
+The girl, who stood behind the old man, shook her head, put her hand
+on her mouth, and made all sorts of signs to the boy to stop talking
+on this subject; but he did not notice her and promptly answered Old
+Pipes.
+
+"Why, you see, good sir," said he, "that as the cattle can't hear
+your pipes now, somebody has to go after them every evening to drive
+them down from the mountain, and the Chief Villager has hired us
+three to do it. Generally it is not very hard work, but to-night the
+cattle had wandered far."
+
+"How long have you been doing this?" asked the old man.
+
+The girl shook her head and clapped her hand on her mouth more
+vigorously than before, but the boy went on.
+
+"I think it is about a year now," he said, "since the people first
+felt sure that the cattle could not hear your pipes; and from that
+time we've been driving them down. But we are rested now and will go
+home. Good-night, sir."
+
+The three children then went down the hill, the girl scolding the
+boy all the way home. Old Pipes stood silent a few moments and then
+he went into his cottage.
+
+"Mother," he shouted, "did you hear what those children said?"
+
+"Children!" exclaimed the old woman; "I did not hear them. I did not
+know there were any children here."
+
+Then Old Pipes told his mother--shouting very loudly to make her
+hear--how the two boys and the girl had helped him up the hill, and
+what he had heard about his piping and the cattle.
+
+"They can't hear you?" cried his mother. "Why, what's the matter
+with the cattle?"
+
+"Ah me!" said Old Pipes, "I don't believe there's anything the
+matter with the cattle. It must be with me and my pipes that there
+is something the matter. But one thing is certain: if I do not earn
+the wages the Chief Villager pays me, I shall not take them. I shall
+go straight down to the village and give back the money I received
+to-day."
+
+"Nonsense!" cried his mother. "I'm sure you've piped as well as you
+could, and no more can be expected. And what are we to do without
+the money?"
+
+"I don't know," said Old Pipes; "but I'm going down to the village
+to pay it back."
+
+The sun had now set; but the moon was shining very brightly on the
+hillside, and Old Pipes could see his way very well. He did not take
+the same path by which he had gone before, but followed another,
+which led among the trees upon the hillside, and, though longer, was
+not so steep.
+
+When he had gone about half-way the old man sat down to rest,
+leaning his back against a great oak-tree. As he did so he heard a
+sound like knocking inside the tree, and then a voice distinctly
+said:
+
+"Let me out! let me out!"
+
+Old Pipes instantly forgot that he was tired, and sprang to his
+feet. "This must be a Dryad-tree!" he exclaimed. "If it is, I'll let
+her out."
+
+Old Pipes had never, to his knowledge, seen a Dryad-tree, but he
+knew there were such trees on the hillsides and the mountains, and
+that Dryads lived in them. He knew, too, that in the summer-time, on
+those days when the moon rose before the sun went down, a Dryad
+could come out of her tree if any one could find the key which
+locked her in, and turn it. Old Pipes closely examined the trunk of
+the tree, which stood in the full moonlight. "If I see that key," he
+said, "I shall surely turn it." Before long he perceived a piece of
+bark standing out from the tree, which appeared to him very much
+like the handle of a key. He took hold of it, and found he could
+turn it quite around. As he did so a large part of the side of the
+tree was pushed open, and a beautiful Dryad stepped quickly out.
+
+For a moment she stood motionless, gazing on the scene before
+her--the tranquil valley, the hills, the forest, and the
+mountain-side, all lying in the soft clear light of the moon. "Oh,
+lovely! lovely!" she exclaimed. "How long it is since I have seen
+anything like this!" And then, turning to Old Pipes, she said, "How
+good of you to let me out! I am so happy and so thankful that I must
+kiss you, you dear old man!" And she threw her arms around the neck
+of Old Pipes and kissed him on both cheeks. "You don't know," she
+then went on to say, "how doleful it is to be shut up so long in a
+tree. I don't mind it in the winter, for then I am glad to be
+sheltered; but in summer it is a rueful thing not to be able to see
+all the beauties of the world. And it's ever so long since I've been
+let out. People so seldom come this way; and when they do come at
+the right time they either don't hear me, or they are frightened and
+run away. But you, you dear old man, you were not frightened, and
+you looked and looked for the key, and you let me out, and now I
+shall not have to go back till winter has come and the air grows
+cold. Oh, it is glorious! What can I do for you to show you how
+grateful I am?"
+
+"I am very glad," said Old Pipes, "that I let you out, since I see
+that it makes you so happy; but I must admit that I tried to find
+the key because I had a great desire to see a Dryad. But if you wish
+to do something for me, you can, if you happen to be going down
+toward the village."
+
+"To the village!" exclaimed the Dryad. "I will go anywhere for you,
+my kind old benefactor."
+
+"Well, then," said Old Pipes, "I wish you would take this little bag
+of money to the Chief Villager and tell him that Old Pipes cannot
+receive pay for the services which he does not perform. It is now
+more than a year that I have not been able to make the cattle hear
+me when I piped to call them home. I did not know this until
+to-night; but now that I know it I cannot keep the money, and so I
+send it back." And, handing the little bag to the Dryad, he bade her
+good-night and turned toward his cottage.
+
+"Good-night," said the Dryad. "And I thank you over and over and
+over again, you good old man!"
+
+Old Pipes walked toward his home, very glad to be saved the fatigue
+of going all the way down to the village and back again. "To be
+sure," he said to himself, "this path does not seem at all steep,
+and I can walk along it very easily; but it would have tired me
+dreadfully to come up all the way from the village, especially as I
+could not have expected those children to help me again." When he
+reached home his mother was surprised to see him returning so soon.
+
+"What!" she exclaimed, "have you already come back? What did the
+Chief Villager say? Did he take the money?"
+
+Old Pipes was just about to tell her that he had sent the money to
+the village by a Dryad when he suddenly reflected that his mother
+would be sure to disapprove such a proceeding, and so he merely said
+he had sent it by a person whom he had met.
+
+"And how do you know that the person will ever take it to the Chief
+Villager?" cried his mother. "You will lose it, and the villagers
+will never get it. Oh, Pipes! Pipes! when will you be old enough to
+have ordinary common sense?"
+
+Old Pipes considered that as he was already seventy years of age he
+could scarcely expect to grow any wiser, but he made no remark on
+this subject; and, saying that he doubted not that the money would
+go safely to its destination, he sat down to his supper. His mother
+scolded him roundly, but he did not mind it; and after supper he
+went out and sat on a rustic chair in front of the cottage to look
+at the moon-lit village, and to wonder whether or not the Chief
+Villager really received the money. While he was doing these two
+things he went fast asleep.
+
+When Old Pipes left the Dryad, she did not go down to the village
+with the little bag of money. She held it in her hand and thought
+about what she had heard. "This is a good and honest old man," she
+said, "and it is a shame that he should lose this money. He looked
+as if he needed it, and I don't believe the people in the village
+will take it from one who has served them so long. Often, when in my
+tree, have I heard the sweet notes of his pipes. I am going to take
+the money back to him." She did not start immediately, because there
+were so many beautiful things to look at; but after a while she went
+up to the cottage, and, finding Old Pipes asleep in his chair, she
+slipped the little bag into his coat pocket and silently sped away.
+
+The next day Old Pipes told his mother that he would go up the
+mountain and cut some wood. He had a right to get wood from the
+mountain, but for a long time he had been content to pick up the
+dead branches which lay about his cottage. To-day, however, he felt
+so strong and vigorous that he thought he would go and cut some fuel
+that would be better than this. He worked all the morning, and when
+he came back he did not feel at all tired, and he had a very good
+appetite for his dinner.
+
+Now, Old Pipes knew a good deal about Dryads, but there was one
+thing which, although he had heard, he had forgotten. This was that
+a kiss from a Dryad made a person ten years younger. The people of
+the village knew this, and they were very careful not to let any
+child of ten years or younger go into the woods where the Dryads
+were supposed to be; for if they should chance to be kissed by one
+of these tree-nymphs, they would be set back so far that they would
+cease to exist. A story was told in the village that a very bad boy
+of eleven once ran away into the woods and had an adventure of this
+kind; and when his mother found him he was a little baby of one year
+old. Taking advantage of her opportunity, she brought him up more
+carefully than she had done before; and he grew to be a very good
+boy indeed.
+
+Now, Old Pipes had been kissed twice by the Dryad, once on each
+cheek, and he therefore felt as vigorous and active as when he was a
+hale man of fifty. His mother noticed how much work he was doing,
+and told him that he need not try in that way to make up for the
+loss of his piping wages; for he would only tire himself out and get
+sick. But her son answered that he had not felt so well for years,
+and that he was quite able to work. In the course of the afternoon,
+Old Pipes, for the first time that day, put his hand in his coat
+pocket, and there, to his amazement, he found the little bag of
+money. "Well, well!" he exclaimed, "I am stupid indeed! I really
+thought that I had seen a Dryad; but when I sat down by that big
+oak-tree I must have gone to sleep and dreamed it all; and then I
+came home thinking I had given the money to a Dryad, when it was in
+my pocket all the time. But the Chief Villager shall have the money.
+I shall not take it to him to-day; but to-morrow I wish to go to the
+village to see some of my old friends, and then I shall give up the
+money."
+
+Toward the close of the afternoon, Old Pipes, as had been his custom
+for so many years, took his pipes from the shelf on which they lay,
+and went out to the rock in front of the cottage.
+
+"What are you going to do?" cried his mother. "If you will not
+consent to be paid, why do you pipe?"
+
+"I am going to pipe for my own pleasure," said her son. "I am used
+to it, and I do not wish to give it up. It does not matter now
+whether the cattle hear me or not, and I am sure that my piping will
+injure no one."
+
+When the good man began to play upon his favorite instrument he was
+astonished at the sound that came from it. The beautiful notes of
+the pipes sounded clear and strong down into the valley, and spread
+over the hills and up the sides of the mountain beyond, while, after
+a little interval, an echo came back from the rocky hill on the
+other side of the valley.
+
+"Ha! ha!" he cried, "what has happened to my pipes? They must have
+been stopped up of late, but now they are as clear and good as
+ever."
+
+Again the merry notes went sounding far and wide. The cattle on the
+mountain heard them, and those that were old enough remembered how
+these notes had called them from their pastures every evening, and
+so they started down the mountain-side, the others following.
+
+The merry notes were heard in the village below, and the people were
+much astonished thereby. "Why, who can be blowing the pipes of Old
+Pipes?" they said. But, as they were all very busy, no one went up
+to see. One thing, however, was plain enough: the cattle were coming
+down the mountain. And so the two boys and the girl did not have to
+go after them, and had an hour for play, for which they were very
+glad.
+
+The next morning Old Pipes started down to the village with his
+money, and on the way he met the Dryad. "Oh, ho!" he cried, "is that
+you? Why, I thought my letting you out of the tree was nothing but a
+dream."
+
+"A dream!" cried the Dryad; "if you only knew how happy you have
+made me you would not think it merely a dream. And has it not
+benefited you? Do you not feel happier? Yesterday I heard you
+playing beautifully on your pipes."
+
+"Yes, yes," cried he. "I did not understand it before, but I see it
+all now. I have really grown younger. I thank you, I thank you, good
+Dryad, from the bottom of my heart. It was the finding of the money
+in my pocket that made me think it was a dream."
+
+"Oh, I put it in when you were asleep," she said, laughing, "because
+I thought you ought to keep it. Good-by, kind, honest man. May you
+live long and be as happy as I am now."
+
+Old Pipes was greatly delighted when he understood that he was really
+a younger man; but that made no difference about the money, and he
+kept on his way to the village. As soon as he reached it he was
+eagerly questioned as to who had been playing his pipes the evening
+before; and when the people heard that it was himself, they were
+very much surprised. Thereupon Old Pipes told what had happened to
+him, and then there was greater wonder, with hearty congratulations
+and hand-shakes; for Old Pipes was liked by every one. The Chief
+Villager refused to take his money, and, although Old Pipes said
+that he had not earned it, every one present insisted that, as he
+would now play on his pipes as before, he should lose nothing
+because, for a time, he was unable to perform his duty.
+
+So Old Pipes was obliged to keep his money, and after an hour or two
+spent in conversation with his friends, he returned to his cottage.
+
+There was one individual, however, who was not at all pleased with
+what had happened to Old Pipes. This was an Echo-dwarf, who lived on
+the hills on the other side of the valley, and whose duty it was to
+echo back the notes of the pipes whenever they could be heard. There
+were a great many other Echo-dwarfs on these hills, some of whom
+echoed back the songs of maidens, some the shouts of children, and
+others the music that was often heard in the village. But there was
+only one who could send back the strong notes of the pipes of Old
+Pipes, and this had been his sole duty for many years. But when the
+old man grew feeble, and the notes of his pipes could not be heard
+on the opposite hills, this Echo-dwarf had nothing to do, and he
+spent his time in delightful idleness; and he slept so much and grew
+so fat that it made his companions laugh to see him walk.
+
+On the afternoon on which, after so long an interval, the sound of
+the pipes was heard on the echo-hills, this dwarf was fast asleep
+behind a rock. As soon as the first notes reached them, some of his
+companions ran to wake him. Rolling to his feet, he echoed back the
+merry tune of Old Pipes. Naturally he was very much annoyed and
+indignant at being thus obliged to give up his life of comfortable
+leisure, and he hoped very much that this pipe-playing would not
+occur again. The next afternoon he was awake and listening, and,
+sure enough, at the usual hour, along came the notes of the pipes as
+clear and strong as they ever had been; and he was obliged to work
+as long as Old Pipes played. The Echo-dwarf was very angry. He had
+supposed, of course, that the pipe-playing had ceased forever, and
+he felt that he had a right to be indignant at being thus deceived.
+He was so much disturbed that he made up his mind to go and try to
+find out whether this was to be a temporary matter or not. He had
+plenty of time, as the pipes were played but once a day, and he set
+off early in the morning for the hill on which Old Pipes lived. It
+was hard work for the fat little fellow, and when he had crossed the
+valley and had gone some distance into the woods on the hillside, he
+stopped to rest, and in a few minutes the Dryad came tripping along.
+
+"Ho, ho!" exclaimed the dwarf; "what are you doing here? and how did
+you get out of your tree?"
+
+"Doing!" cried the Dryad, "I am being happy; that's what I am doing.
+And I was let out of my tree by a good old man who plays the pipes
+to call the cattle down from the mountain. And it makes me happier
+to think that I have been of service to him. I gave him two kisses
+of gratitude, and now he is young enough to play his pipes as well
+as ever."
+
+The Echo-dwarf stepped forward, his face pale with passion. "Am I to
+believe," he said, "that you are the cause of this great evil that
+has come upon me? and that you are the wicked creature who has again
+started this old man upon his career of pipe-playing? What have I
+ever done to you that you should have condemned me for years and
+years to echo back the notes of those wretched pipes?"
+
+At this the Dryad laughed loudly.
+
+"What a funny little fellow you are!" she said. "Any one would think
+you had been condemned to toil from morning till night; while what
+you really have to do is merely to imitate for half an hour every
+day the merry notes of Old Pipes's piping. Fie upon you, Echo-dwarf!
+You are lazy and selfish; and that is what is the matter with you.
+Instead of grumbling at being obliged to do a little wholesome
+work--which is less, I am sure, than that of any other Echo-dwarf
+upon the rocky hillside--you should rejoice at the good fortune of
+the old man who has regained so much of his strength and vigor. Go
+home and learn to be just and generous; and then, perhaps, you may
+be happy. Good-by."
+
+"Insolent creature!" shouted the dwarf, as he shook his fat little
+fist at her. "I'll make you suffer for this. You shall find out what
+it is to heap injury and insult upon one like me, and to snatch from
+him the repose that he has earned by long years of toil." And,
+shaking his head savagely, he hurried back to the rocky hillside.
+
+Every afternoon the merry notes of the pipes of Old Pipes sounded
+down into the valley and over the hills and up the mountain-side;
+and every afternoon when he had echoed them back, the little dwarf
+grew more and more angry with the Dryad. Each day, from early
+morning till it was time for him to go back to his duties upon the
+rocky hillside, he searched the woods for her. He intended, if he
+met her, to pretend to be very sorry for what he had said, and he
+thought he might be able to play a trick upon her which would avenge
+him well. One day, while thus wandering among the trees, he met Old
+Pipes. The Echo-dwarf did not generally care to see or speak to
+ordinary people; but now he was so anxious to find the object of his
+search that he stopped and asked Old Pipes if he had seen the Dryad.
+The piper had not noticed the little fellow, and he looked down on
+him with some surprise.
+
+"No," he said, "I have not seen her, and I have been looking
+everywhere for her."
+
+"You!" cried the dwarf; "what do you wish with her?"
+
+Old Pipes then sat down on a stone, so that he should be nearer the
+ear of his small companion, and he told what the Dryad had done for
+him.
+
+When the Echo-dwarf heard that this was the man whose pipes he was
+obliged to echo back every day, he would have slain him on the spot
+had he been able; but, as he was not able, he merely ground his
+teeth and listened to the rest of the story.
+
+"I am looking for the Dryad now," Old Pipes continued, "on account
+of my aged mother. When I was old myself, I did not notice how very
+old my mother was; but now it shocks me to see how feeble and
+decrepit her years have caused her to become; and I am looking for
+the Dryad to ask her to make my mother younger, as she made me."
+
+The eyes of the Echo-dwarf glistened. Here was a man who might help
+him in his plans.
+
+"Your idea is a good one," he said to Old Pipes, "and it does you
+honor. But you should know that a Dryad can make no person younger
+but one who lets her out of her tree. However, you can manage the
+affair very easily. All you need do is to find the Dryad, tell her
+what you want, and request her to step into her tree and be shut up
+for a short time. Then you will go and bring your mother to the
+tree; she will open it, and everything will be as you wish. Is not
+this a good plan?"
+
+"Excellent!" cried Old Pipes; "and I will go instantly and search
+more diligently for the Dryad."
+
+"Take me with you," said the Echo-dwarf. "You can easily carry me on
+your strong shoulders; and I shall be glad to help you in any way
+that I can."
+
+"Now, then," said the little fellow to himself, as Old Pipes carried
+him rapidly along, "if he persuades the Dryad to get into a
+tree--and she is quite foolish enough to do it--and then goes away
+to bring his mother, I shall take a stone or a club and I will break
+off the key of that tree, so that nobody can ever turn it again.
+Then Mistress Dryad will see what she has brought upon herself by
+her behavior to me."
+
+Before long they came to the great oak-tree in which the Dryad had
+lived, and, at a distance, they saw that beautiful creature herself
+coming toward them.
+
+"How excellently well everything happens!" said the dwarf. "Put me
+down, and I will go. Your business with the Dryad is more important
+than mine; and you need not say anything about my having suggested
+your plan to you. I am willing that you should have all the credit
+of it yourself."
+
+Old Pipes put the Echo-dwarf upon the ground, but the little rogue
+did not go away. He concealed himself between some low, mossy rocks,
+and he was so much of their color that you would not have noticed
+him if you had been looking straight at him.
+
+When the Dryad came up, Old Pipes lost no time in telling her about
+his mother, and what he wished her to do. At first the Dryad
+answered nothing, but stood looking very sadly at Old Pipes.
+
+"Do you really wish me to go into my tree again?" she said. "I
+should dreadfully dislike to do it, for I don't know what might
+happen. It is not at all necessary, for I could make your mother
+younger at any time if she would give me the opportunity. I had
+already thought of making you still happier in this way, and several
+times I have waited about your cottage, hoping to meet your aged
+mother; but she never comes outside, and you know a Dryad cannot
+enter a house. I cannot imagine what put this idea into your head.
+Did you think of it yourself?"
+
+"No, I cannot say that I did," answered Old Pipes. "A little dwarf
+whom I met in the woods proposed it to me."
+
+"Oh!" cried the Dryad, "now I see through it all. It is the scheme
+of that vile Echo-dwarf--your enemy and mine. Where is he? I should
+like to see him."
+
+"I think he has gone away," said Old Pipes.
+
+"No, he has not," said the Dryad, whose quick eyes perceived the
+Echo-dwarf among the rocks. "There he is. Seize him and drag him
+out, I beg of you."
+
+Old Pipes perceived the dwarf as soon as he was pointed out to him,
+and, running to the rocks, he caught the little fellow by the arm
+and pulled him out.
+
+"Now, then," cried the Dryad, who had opened the door of the great
+oak, "just stick him in there and we will shut him up. Then I shall
+be safe from his mischief for the rest of the time I am free."
+
+Old Pipes thrust the Echo-dwarf into the tree; the Dryad pushed the
+door shut; there was a clicking sound of bark and wood, and no one
+would have noticed that the big oak had ever had an opening in it.
+
+"There!" said the Dryad; "now we need not be afraid of him. And I
+assure you, my good piper, that I shall be very glad to make your
+mother younger as soon as I can. Will you not ask her to come out
+and meet me?"
+
+"Of course I will," cried Old Pipes; "and I will do it without
+delay."
+
+And then, the Dryad by his side, he hurried to his cottage. But when
+he mentioned the matter to his mother, the old woman became very
+angry indeed. She did not believe in Dryads; and, if they really did
+exist, she knew they must be witches and sorceresses, and she would
+have nothing to do with them. If her son had ever allowed himself to
+be kissed by one of them, he ought to be ashamed of himself. As to
+its doing him the least bit of good, she did not believe a word of
+it. He felt better than he used to feel, but that was very common;
+she had sometimes felt that way herself. And she forbade him ever to
+mention a Dryad to her again.
+
+That afternoon Old Pipes, feeling very sad that his plan in regard
+to his mother had failed, sat down upon the rock and played upon his
+pipes. The pleasant sounds went down the valley and up the hills and
+mountain, but, to the great surprise of some persons who happened to
+notice the fact, the notes were not echoed back from the rocky
+hillside, but from the woods on the side of the valley on which Old
+Pipes lived. The next day many of the villagers stopped in their
+work to listen to the echo of the pipes coming from the woods. The
+sound was not as clear and strong as it used to be when it was sent
+back from the rocky hillside, but it certainly came from among the
+trees. Such a thing as an echo changing its place in this way had
+never been heard of before, and nobody was able to explain how it
+could have happened. Old Pipes, however, knew very well that the
+sound came from the Echo-dwarf shut up in the great oak-tree. The
+sides of the tree were thin, and the sound of the pipes could be
+heard through them, and the dwarf was obliged by the laws of his
+being to echo back those notes whenever they came to him. But Old
+Pipes thought he might get the Dryad in trouble if he let any one
+know that the Echo-dwarf was shut up in the tree, and so he wisely
+said nothing about it.
+
+One day the two boys and the girl who had helped Old Pipes up the
+hill were playing in the woods. Stopping near the great oak-tree,
+they heard a sound of knocking within it, and then a voice plainly
+said:
+
+"Let me out! let me out!"
+
+For a moment the children stood still in astonishment, and then one
+of the boys exclaimed:
+
+"Oh, it is a Dryad, like the one Old Pipes found! Let's let her
+out!"
+
+"What are you thinking of?" cried the girl. "I am the oldest of all,
+and I am only thirteen. Do you wish to be turned into crawling
+babies? Run! run! run!"
+
+And the two boys and the girl dashed down into the valley as fast as
+their legs could carry them. There was no desire in their youthful
+hearts to be made younger than they were. And for fear that their
+parents might think it well that they should commence their careers
+anew, they never said a word about finding the Dryad-tree.
+
+As the summer days went on Old Pipes's mother grew feebler and
+feebler. One day when her son was away--for he now frequently went
+into the woods to hunt or fish, or down into the valley to work--she
+arose from her knitting to prepare the simple dinner. But she felt
+so weak and tired that she was not able to do the work to which she
+had been so long accustomed. "Alas! alas!" she said, "the time has
+come when I am too old to work. My son will have to hire some one to
+come here and cook his meals, make his bed, and mend his clothes.
+Alas! alas! I had hoped that as long as I lived I should be able to
+do these things. But it is not so. I have grown utterly worthless,
+and some one else must prepare the dinner for my son. I wonder where
+he is." And tottering to the door, she went outside to look for him.
+She did not feel able to stand, and reaching the rustic chair, she
+sank into it, quite exhausted, and soon fell asleep.
+
+The Dryad, who had often come to the cottage to see if she could
+find an opportunity of carrying out Old Pipes's affectionate design,
+now happened by; and seeing that the much-desired occasion had come,
+she stepped up quietly behind the old woman and gently kissed her on
+each cheek, and then as quietly disappeared.
+
+In a few minutes the mother of Old Pipes awoke, and looking up at
+the sun, she exclaimed, "Why, it is almost dinner-time! My son will
+be here directly, and I am not ready for him." And rising to her
+feet, she hurried into the house, made the fire, set the meat and
+vegetables to cook, laid the cloth, and by the time her son arrived
+the meal was on the table.
+
+"How a little sleep does refresh one!" she said to herself, as she
+was bustling about. She was a woman of very vigorous constitution,
+and at seventy had been a great deal stronger and more active than
+her son was at that age. The moment Old Pipes saw his mother, he
+knew that the Dryad had been there; but, while he felt as happy as a
+king, he was too wise to say anything about her.
+
+"It is astonishing how well I feel to-day," said his mother; "and
+either my hearing has improved or you speak much more plainly than
+you have done of late."
+
+The summer days went on and passed away, the leaves were falling
+from the trees, and the air was becoming cold.
+
+"Nature has ceased to be lovely," said the Dryad, "and the night
+winds chill me. It is time for me to go back into my comfortable
+quarters in the great oak. But first I must pay another visit to the
+cottage of Old Pipes."
+
+She found the piper and his mother sitting side by side on the rock
+in front of the door. The cattle were not to go to the mountain any
+more that season, and he was piping them down for the last time.
+Loud and merrily sounded the pipes of Old Pipes, and down the
+mountain-side came the cattle, the cows by the easiest paths, the
+sheep by those not quite so easy, and the goats by the most
+difficult ones among the rocks; while from the great oak-tree were
+heard the echoes of the cheerful music.
+
+"How happy they look, sitting there together!" said the Dryad; "and
+I don't believe it will do them a bit of harm to be still younger."
+And moving quietly up behind them, she first kissed Old Pipes on his
+cheek and then his mother.
+
+Old Pipes, who had stopped playing, knew what it was, but he did not
+move, and said nothing. His mother, thinking that her son had kissed
+her, turned to him with a smile and kissed him in return. And then
+she arose and went into the cottage, a vigorous woman of sixty,
+followed by her son, erect and happy, and twenty years younger than
+herself.
+
+The Dryad sped away to the woods, shrugging her shoulders as she
+felt the cool evening wind.
+
+When she reached the great oak, she turned the key and opened the
+door. "Come out," she said to the Echo-dwarf, who sat blinking
+within. "Winter is coming on, and I want the comfortable shelter of
+my tree for myself. The cattle have come down from the mountain for
+the last time this year, the pipes will no longer sound, and you can
+go to your rocks and have a holiday until next spring."
+
+Upon hearing these words the dwarf skipped quickly out, and the
+Dryad entered the tree and pulled the door shut after her. "Now,
+then," she said to herself, "he can break off the key if he likes.
+It does not matter to me. Another will grow out next spring. And
+although the good piper made me no promise, I know that when the
+warm days arrive next year he will come and let me out again."
+
+The Echo-dwarf did not stop to break the key of the tree. He was too
+happy to be released to think of anything else, and he hastened as
+fast as he could to his home on the rocky hillside.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Dryad was not mistaken when she trusted in the piper. When the
+warm days came again he went to the oak-tree to let her out. But, to
+his sorrow and surprise, he found the great tree lying upon the
+ground. A winter storm had blown it down, and it lay with its trunk
+shattered and split. And what became of the Dryad no one ever knew.
+
+
+
+
+THE TRANSFERRED GHOST
+
+
+The country residence of Mr. John Hinckman was a delightful place to
+me, for many reasons. It was the abode of a genial, though somewhat
+impulsive, hospitality. It had broad, smooth-shaven lawns and
+towering oaks and elms; there were bosky shades at several points,
+and not far from the house there was a little rill spanned by a
+rustic bridge with the bark on; there were fruits and flowers,
+pleasant people, chess, billiards, rides, walks, and fishing. These
+were great attractions; but none of them, nor all of them together,
+would have been sufficient to hold me to the place very long. I had
+been invited for the trout season, but should probably have finished
+my visit early in the summer had it not been that upon fair days,
+when the grass was dry, and the sun was not too hot, and there was
+but little wind, there strolled beneath the lofty elms, or passed
+lightly through the bosky shades, the form of my Madeline.
+
+This lady was not, in very truth, my Madeline. She had never given
+herself to me, nor had I, in any way, acquired possession of her.
+But as I considered her possession the only sufficient reason for
+the continuance of my existence, I called her, in my reveries, mine.
+It may have been that I would not have been obliged to confine the
+use of this possessive pronoun to my reveries had I confessed the
+state of my feelings to the lady.
+
+But this was an unusually difficult thing to do. Not only did I
+dread, as almost all lovers dread, taking the step which would in an
+instant put an end to that delightful season which may be termed the
+ante-interrogatory period of love, and which might at the same time
+terminate all intercourse or connection with the object of my
+passion, but I was also dreadfully afraid of John Hinckman. This
+gentleman was a good friend of mine, but it would have required a
+bolder man than I was at that time to ask him for the gift of his
+niece, who was the head of his household, and, according to his own
+frequent statement, the main prop of his declining years. Had
+Madeline acquiesced in my general views on the subject, I might have
+felt encouraged to open the matter to Mr. Hinckman; but, as I said
+before, I had never asked her whether or not she would be mine. I
+thought of these things at all hours of the day and night,
+particularly the latter.
+
+I was lying awake one night, in the great bed in my spacious
+chamber, when, by the dim light of the new moon, which partially
+filled the room, I saw John Hinckman standing by a large chair near
+the door. I was very much surprised at this, for two reasons. In the
+first place, my host had never before come into my room; and, in the
+second place, he had gone from home that morning, and had not
+expected to return for several days. It was for this reason that I
+had been able that evening to sit much later than usual with
+Madeline on the moon-lit porch. The figure was certainly that of
+John Hinckman in his ordinary dress, but there was a vagueness and
+indistinctness about it which presently assured me that it was a
+ghost. Had the good old man been murdered? and had his spirit come
+to tell me of the deed, and to confide to me the protection of his
+dear--? My heart fluttered at what I was about to think, but at this
+instant the figure spoke.
+
+"Do you know," he said, with a countenance that indicated anxiety,
+"if Mr. Hinckman will return to-night?"
+
+I thought it well to maintain a calm exterior, and I answered:
+
+"We do not expect him."
+
+"I am glad of that," said he, sinking into the chair by which he
+stood. "During the two years and a half that I have inhabited this
+house, that man has never before been away for a single night. You
+can't imagine the relief it gives me."
+
+And as he spoke he stretched out his legs and leaned back in the
+chair. His form became less vague, and the colors of his garments
+more distinct and evident, while an expression of gratified relief
+succeeded to the anxiety of his countenance.
+
+"Two years and a half!" I exclaimed. "I don't understand you."
+
+"It is fully that length of time," said the ghost, "since I first
+came here. Mine is not an ordinary case. But before I say anything
+more about it, let me ask you again if you are sure Mr. Hinckman
+will not return to-night?"
+
+"I am as sure of it as I can be of anything," I answered. "He left
+to-day for Bristol, two hundred miles away."
+
+"Then I will go on," said the ghost, "for I am glad to have the
+opportunity of talking to some one who will listen to me; but if
+John Hinckman should come in and catch me here I should be
+frightened out of my wits."
+
+"This is all very strange," I said, greatly puzzled by what I had
+heard. "Are you the ghost of Mr. Hinckman?"
+
+This was a bold question, but my mind was so full of other emotions
+that there seemed to be no room for that of fear.
+
+"Yes, I am his ghost," my companion replied, "and yet I have no
+right to be. And this is what makes me so uneasy, and so much afraid
+of him. It is a strange story, and, I truly believe, without
+precedent. Two years and a half ago John Hinckman was dangerously
+ill in this very room. At one time he was so far gone that he was
+really believed to be dead. It was in consequence of too precipitate
+a report in regard to this matter that I was, at that time,
+appointed to be his ghost. Imagine my surprise and horror, sir,
+when, after I had accepted the position and assumed its
+responsibilities, that old man revived, became convalescent, and
+eventually regained his usual health. My situation was now one of
+extreme delicacy and embarrassment. I had no power to return to my
+original unembodiment, and I had no right to be the ghost of a man
+who was not dead. I was advised by my friends to quietly maintain my
+position, and was assured that, as John Hinckman was an elderly man,
+it could not be long before I could rightfully assume the position
+for which I had been selected. But I tell you, sir," he continued,
+with animation, "the old fellow seems as vigorous as ever, and I
+have no idea how much longer this annoying state of things will
+continue. I spend my time trying to get out of that old man's way. I
+must not leave this house, and he seems to follow me everywhere. I
+tell you, sir, he haunts me."
+
+"That is truly a queer state of things," I remarked. "But why are
+you afraid of him? He couldn't hurt you."
+
+"Of course he couldn't," said the ghost. "But his very presence is a
+shock and terror to me. Imagine, sir, how you would feel if my case
+were yours."
+
+I could not imagine such a thing at all. I simply shuddered.
+
+"And if one must be a wrongful ghost at all," the apparition
+continued, "it would be much pleasanter to be the ghost of some man
+other than John Hinckman. There is in him an irascibility of temper,
+accompanied by a facility of invective, which is seldom met with.
+And what would happen if he were to see me, and find out, as I am
+sure he would, how long and why I had inhabited his house, I can
+scarcely conceive. I have seen him in his bursts of passion; and,
+although he did not hurt the people he stormed at any more than he
+would hurt me, they seemed to shrink before him."
+
+All this I knew to be very true. Had it not been for this
+peculiarity of Mr. Hinckman I might have been more willing to talk
+to him about his niece.
+
+"I feel sorry for you," I said, for I really began to have a
+sympathetic feeling toward this unfortunate apparition. "Your case
+is indeed a hard one. It reminds me of those persons who have had
+doubles, and I suppose a man would often be very angry indeed when
+he found that there was another being who was personating himself."
+
+"Oh, the cases are not similar at all," said the ghost. "A double or
+doppelgaenger lives on the earth with a man, and, being exactly like
+him, he makes all sorts of trouble, of course. It is very different
+with me. I am not here to live with Mr. Hinckman. I am here to take
+his place. Now, it would make John Hinckman very angry if he knew
+that. Don't you know it would?"
+
+I assented promptly.
+
+"Now that he is away I can be easy for a little while," continued
+the ghost; "and I am so glad to have an opportunity of talking to
+you. I have frequently come into your room and watched you while you
+slept, but did not dare to speak to you for fear that if you talked
+with me Mr. Hinckman would hear you and come into the room to know
+why you were talking to yourself."
+
+"But would he not hear you?" I asked.
+
+"Oh no!" said the other; "there are times when any one may see me,
+but no one hears me except the person to whom I address myself."
+
+"But why did you wish to speak to me?" I asked.
+
+"Because," replied the ghost, "I like occasionally to talk to
+people, and especially to some one like yourself, whose mind is so
+troubled and perturbed that you are not likely to be frightened by a
+visit from one of us. But I particularly wanted to ask you to do me
+a favor. There is every probability, so far as I can see, that John
+Hinckman will live a long time, and my situation is becoming
+insupportable. My great object at present is to get myself
+transferred, and I think that you may, perhaps, be of use to me."
+
+"Transferred!" I exclaimed. "What do you mean by that?"
+
+"What I mean," said the other, "is this: now that I have started on
+my career I have got to be the ghost of somebody, and I want to be
+the ghost of a man who is really dead."
+
+"I should think that would be easy enough," I said. "Opportunities
+must continually occur."
+
+"Not at all! not at all!" said my companion, quickly. "You have no
+idea what a rush and pressure there is for situations of this kind.
+Whenever a vacancy occurs, if I may express myself in that way,
+there are crowds of applications for the ghostship."
+
+"I had no idea that such a state of things existed," I said,
+becoming quite interested in the matter. "There ought to be some
+regular system, or order of precedence, by which you could all take
+your turns like customers in a barber's shop."
+
+"Oh dear, that would never do at all!" said the other. "Some of us
+would have to wait forever. There is always a great rush whenever a
+good ghostship offers itself--while, as you know, there are some
+positions that no one would care for. And it was in consequence of
+my being in too great a hurry on an occasion of the kind that I got
+myself into my present disagreeable predicament, and I have thought
+that it might be possible that you would help me out of it. You
+might know of a case where an opportunity for a ghostship was not
+generally expected, but which might present itself at any moment. If
+you would give me a short notice I know I could arrange for a
+transfer."
+
+"What do you mean?" I exclaimed. "Do you want me to commit suicide?
+or to undertake a murder for your benefit?"
+
+"Oh no, no, no!" said the other, with a vapory smile. "I mean
+nothing of that kind. To be sure, there are lovers who are watched
+with considerable interest, such persons having been known, in
+moments of depression, to offer very desirable ghostships; but I did
+not think of anything of that kind in connection with you. You were
+the only person I cared to speak to, and I hoped that you might give
+me some information that would be of use; and, in return, I shall be
+very glad to help you in your love-affair."
+
+"You seem to know that I have such an affair," I said.
+
+"Oh yes!" replied the other, with a little yawn. "I could not be
+here so much as I have been without knowing all about that."
+
+There was something horrible in the idea of Madeline and myself
+having been watched by a ghost, even, perhaps, when we wandered
+together in the most delightful and bosky places. But then this was
+quite an exceptional ghost, and I could not have the objections to
+him which would ordinarily arise in regard to beings of his class.
+
+"I must go now," said the ghost, rising, "but I will see you
+somewhere to-morrow night. And remember--you help me and I'll help
+you."
+
+I had doubts the next morning as to the propriety of telling
+Madeline anything about this interview, and soon convinced myself
+that I must keep silent on the subject. If she knew there was a
+ghost about the house she would probably leave the place instantly.
+I did not mention the matter, and so regulated my demeanor that I am
+quite sure Madeline never suspected what had taken place. For some
+time I had wished that Mr. Hinckman would absent himself, for a day
+at least, from the premises. In such case I thought I might more
+easily nerve myself up to the point of speaking to Madeline on the
+subject of our future collateral existence; and, now that the
+opportunity for such speech had really occurred, I did not feel
+ready to avail myself of it. What would become of me if she refused
+me?
+
+I had an idea, however, that the lady thought that, if I were going
+to speak at all, this was the time. She must have known that certain
+sentiments were afloat within me, and she was not unreasonable in
+her wish to see the matter settled one way or the other. But I did
+not feel like taking a bold step in the dark. If she wished me to
+ask her to give herself to me she ought to offer me some reason to
+suppose that she would make the gift. If I saw no probability of
+such generosity I would prefer that things should remain as they
+were.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+That evening I was sitting with Madeline in the moon-lit porch. It
+was nearly ten o'clock, and ever since supper-time I had been
+working myself up to the point of making an avowal of my sentiments.
+I had not positively determined to do this, but wished gradually to
+reach the proper point, when, if the prospect looked bright, I might
+speak. My companion appeared to understand the situation--at least I
+imagined that the nearer I came to a proposal the more she seemed to
+expect it. It was certainly a very critical and important epoch in
+my life. If I spoke I should make myself happy or miserable forever;
+and if I did not speak I had every reason to believe that the lady
+would not give me another chance to do so.
+
+Sitting thus with Madeline, talking a little, and thinking very hard
+over these momentous matters, I looked up and saw the ghost not a
+dozen feet away from us. He was sitting on the railing of the porch,
+one leg thrown up before him, the other dangling down as he leaned
+against a post. He was behind Madeline, but almost in front of me,
+as I sat facing the lady. It was fortunate that Madeline was looking
+out over the landscape, for I must have appeared very much startled.
+The ghost had told me that he would see me sometime this night, but
+I did not think he would make his appearance when I was in the
+company of Madeline. If she should see the spirit of her uncle I
+could not answer for the consequences. I made no exclamation, but
+the ghost evidently saw that I was troubled.
+
+"Don't be afraid," he said. "I shall not let her see me; and she
+cannot hear me speak unless I address myself to her, which I do not
+intend to do."
+
+I suppose I looked grateful.
+
+"So you need not trouble yourself about that," the ghost continued;
+"but it seems to me that you are not getting along very well with
+your affair. If I were you I should speak out without waiting any
+longer. You will never have a better chance. You are not likely to
+be interrupted; and, so far as I can judge, the lady seems disposed
+to listen to you favorably; that is, if she ever intends to do so.
+There is no knowing when John Hinckman will go away again; certainly
+not this summer. If I were in your place I should never dare to make
+love to Hinckman's niece if he were anywhere about the place. If he
+should catch any one offering himself to Miss Madeline he would then
+be a terrible man to encounter."
+
+I agreed perfectly to all this.
+
+"I cannot bear to think of him!" I ejaculated aloud.
+
+"Think of whom?" asked Madeline, turning quickly toward me.
+
+Here was an awkward situation. The long speech of the ghost, to
+which Madeline paid no attention, but which I heard with perfect
+distinctness, had made me forget myself.
+
+It was necessary to explain quickly. Of course it would not do to
+admit that it was of her dear uncle that I was speaking; and so I
+mentioned hastily the first name I thought of.
+
+"Mr. Vilars," I said.
+
+This statement was entirely correct; for I never could bear to think
+of Mr. Vilars, who was a gentleman who had at various times paid
+much attention to Madeline.
+
+"It is wrong for you to speak in that way of Mr. Vilars," she said.
+"He is a remarkably well-educated and sensible young man, and has
+very pleasant manners. He expects to be elected to the legislature
+this fall, and I should not be surprised if he made his mark. He
+will do well in a legislative body, for whenever Mr. Vilars has
+anything to say he knows just how and when to say it."
+
+This was spoken very quietly and without any show of resentment,
+which was all very natural; for if Madeline thought at all favorably
+of me she could not feel displeased that I should have disagreeable
+emotions in regard to a possible rival. The concluding words
+contained a hint which I was not slow to understand. I felt very
+sure that if Mr. Vilars were in my present position he would speak
+quickly enough.
+
+"I know it is wrong to have such ideas about a person," I said, "but
+I cannot help it."
+
+The lady did not chide me, and after this she seemed even in a
+softer mood. As for me, I felt considerably annoyed, for I had not
+wished to admit that any thought of Mr. Vilars had ever occupied my
+mind.
+
+"You should not speak aloud that way," said the ghost, "or you may
+get yourself into trouble. I want to see everything go well with
+you, because then you may be disposed to help me, especially if I
+should chance to be of any assistance to you, which I hope I shall
+be."
+
+I longed to tell him that there was no way in which he could help me
+so much as by taking his instant departure. To make love to a young
+lady with a ghost sitting on the railing near by, and that ghost the
+apparition of a much-dreaded uncle, the very idea of whom in such a
+position and at such a time made me tremble, was a difficult, if not
+an impossible, thing to do; but I forbore to speak, although I may
+have looked, my mind.
+
+"I suppose," continued the ghost, "that you have not heard anything
+that might be of advantage to me. Of course I am very anxious to
+hear; but if you have anything to tell me I can wait until you are
+alone. I will come to you to-night in your room, or I will stay here
+until the lady goes away."
+
+"You need not wait here," I said; "I have nothing at all to say to
+you."
+
+Madeline sprang to her feet, her face flushed and her eyes ablaze.
+
+"Wait here!" she cried. "What do you suppose I am waiting for?
+Nothing to say to me indeed!--I should think so! What should you
+have to say to me?"
+
+"Madeline," I exclaimed, stepping toward her, "let me explain."
+
+But she had gone.
+
+Here was the end of the world for me! I turned fiercely to the
+ghost.
+
+"Wretched existence!" I cried. "You have ruined everything. You have
+blackened my whole life. Had it not been for you--"
+
+But here my voice faltered. I could say no more.
+
+"You wrong me," said the ghost. "I have not injured you. I have
+tried only to encourage and assist you, and it is your own folly
+that has done this mischief. But do not despair. Such mistakes as
+these can be explained. Keep up a brave heart. Good-by."
+
+And he vanished from the railing like a bursting soap-bubble.
+
+I went gloomily to bed, but I saw no apparitions that night except
+those of despair and misery which my wretched thoughts called up.
+The words I had uttered had sounded to Madeline like the basest
+insult. Of course there was only one interpretation she could put
+upon them.
+
+As to explaining my ejaculations, that was impossible. I thought the
+matter over and over again as I lay awake that night, and I
+determined that I would never tell Madeline the facts of the case.
+It would be better for me to suffer all my life than for her to know
+that the ghost of her uncle haunted the house. Mr. Hinckman was
+away, and if she knew of his ghost she could not be made to believe
+that he was not dead. She might not survive the shock! No, my heart
+could bleed, but I would never tell her.
+
+The next day was fine, neither too cool nor too warm; the breezes
+were gentle, and Nature smiled. But there were no walks or rides
+with Madeline. She seemed to be much engaged during the day, and I
+saw but little of her. When we met at meals she was polite, but very
+quiet and reserved. She had evidently determined on a course of
+conduct, and had resolved to assume that, although I had been very
+rude to her, she did not understand the import of my words. It would
+be quite proper, of course, for her not to know what I meant by my
+expressions of the night before.
+
+I was downcast and wretched and said but little, and the only bright
+streak across the black horizon of my woe was the fact that she did
+not appear to be happy, although she affected an air of unconcern.
+The moon-lit porch was deserted that evening, but wandering about
+the house, I found Madeline in the library alone. She was reading,
+but I went in and sat down near her. I felt that, although I could
+not do so fully, I must in a measure explain my conduct of the night
+before. She listened quietly to a somewhat labored apology I made
+for the words I had used.
+
+"I have not the slightest idea what you meant," she said, "but you
+were very rude."
+
+I earnestly disclaimed any intention of rudeness, and assured her,
+with a warmth of speech that must have made some impression upon
+her, that rudeness to her would be an action impossible to me. I
+said a great deal upon the subject, and implored her to believe that
+if it were not for a certain obstacle I could speak to her so
+plainly that she would understand everything.
+
+She was silent for a time, and then she said, rather more kindly, I
+thought, than she had spoken before:
+
+"Is that obstacle in any way connected with my uncle?"
+
+"Yes," I answered, after a little hesitation, "it is, in a measure,
+connected with him."
+
+She made no answer to this, and sat looking at her book, but not
+reading. From the expression of her face I thought she was somewhat
+softened toward me. She knew her uncle as well as I did, and she may
+have been thinking that, if he were the obstacle that prevented my
+speaking (and there were many ways in which he might be that
+obstacle), my position would be such a hard one that it would excuse
+some wildness of speech and eccentricity of manner. I saw, too, that
+the warmth of my partial explanations had had some effect on her,
+and I began to believe that it might be a good thing for me to speak
+my mind without delay. No matter how she should receive my
+proposition, my relations with her could not be worse than they had
+been the previous night and day, and there was something in her face
+which encouraged me to hope that she might forget my foolish
+exclamations of the evening before if I began to tell her my tale of
+love.
+
+I drew my chair a little nearer to her, and as I did so the ghost
+burst into the room from the doorway behind her. I say burst,
+although no door flew open and he made no noise. He was wildly
+excited, and waved his arms above his head. The moment I saw him my
+heart fell within me. With the entrance of that impertinent
+apparition every hope fled from me. I could not speak while he was
+in the room.
+
+I must have turned pale; and I gazed steadfastly at the ghost,
+almost without seeing Madeline, who sat between us.
+
+"Do you know," he cried, "that John Hinckman is coming up the hill?
+He will be here in fifteen minutes; and if you are doing anything in
+the way of love-making you had better hurry it up. But this is not
+what I came to tell you. I have glorious news! At last I am
+transferred! Not forty minutes ago a Russian nobleman was murdered
+by the Nihilists. Nobody ever thought of him in connection with an
+immediate ghostship. My friends instantly applied for the situation
+for me, and obtained my transfer. I am off before that horrid
+Hinckman comes up the hill. The moment I reach my new position I
+shall put off this hated semblance. Good-by. You can't imagine how
+glad I am to be, at last, the real ghost of somebody."
+
+"Oh!" I cried, rising to my feet, and stretching out my arms in
+utter wretchedness, "I would to Heaven you were mine!"
+
+"I _am_ yours," said Madeline, raising to me her tearful eyes.
+
+
+
+
+"THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELATIVE EXISTENCES"
+
+
+In a certain summer, not long gone, my friend Bentley and I found
+ourselves in a little hamlet which overlooked a placid valley,
+through which a river gently moved, winding its way through green
+stretches until it turned the end of a line of low hills and was
+lost to view. Beyond this river, far away, but visible from the door
+of the cottage where we dwelt, there lay a city. Through the mists
+which floated over the valley we could see the outlines of steeples
+and tall roofs; and buildings of a character which indicated thrift
+and business stretched themselves down to the opposite edge of the
+river. The more distant parts of the city, evidently a small one,
+lost themselves in the hazy summer atmosphere.
+
+Bentley was young, fair-haired, and a poet; I was a philosopher, or
+trying to be one. We were good friends, and had come down into this
+peaceful region to work together. Although we had fled from the
+bustle and distractions of the town, the appearance in this rural
+region of a city, which, so far as we could observe, exerted no
+influence on the quiet character of the valley in which it lay,
+aroused our interest. No craft plied up and down the river; there
+were no bridges from shore to shore; there were none of those
+scattered and half-squalid habitations which generally are found on
+the outskirts of a city; there came to us no distant sound of bells;
+and not the smallest wreath of smoke rose from any of the buildings.
+
+In answer to our inquiries our landlord told us that the city over
+the river had been built by one man, who was a visionary, and who
+had a great deal more money than common sense. "It is not as big a
+town as you would think, sirs," he said, "because the general
+mistiness of things in this valley makes them look larger than they
+are. Those hills, for instance, when you get to them are not as high
+as they look to be from here. But the town is big enough, and a good
+deal too big; for it ruined its builder and owner, who when he came
+to die had not money enough left to put up a decent tombstone at the
+head of his grave. He had a queer idea that he would like to have
+his town all finished before anybody lived in it, and so he kept on
+working and spending money year after year and year after year until
+the city was done and he had not a cent left. During all the time
+that the place was building hundreds of people came to him to buy
+houses, or to hire them, but he would not listen to anything of the
+kind. No one must live in his town until it was all done. Even his
+workmen were obliged to go away at night to lodge. It is a town,
+sirs, I am told, in which nobody has slept for even a night. There
+are streets there, and places of business, and churches, and public
+halls, and everything that a town full of inhabitants could need;
+but it is all empty and deserted, and has been so as far back as I
+can remember, and I came to this region when I was a little boy."
+
+"And is there no one to guard the place?" we asked; "no one to
+protect it from wandering vagrants who might choose to take
+possession of the buildings?"
+
+"There are not many vagrants in this part of the country," he said,
+"and if there were they would not go over to that city. It is
+haunted."
+
+"By what?" we asked.
+
+"Well, sirs, I scarcely can tell you; queer beings that are not
+flesh and blood, and that is all I know about it. A good many people
+living hereabouts have visited that place once in their lives, but I
+know of no one who has gone there a second time."
+
+"And travellers," I said, "are they not excited by curiosity to
+explore that strange uninhabited city?"
+
+"Oh yes," our host replied; "almost all visitors to the valley go
+over to that queer city--generally in small parties, for it is not a
+place in which one wishes to walk about alone. Sometimes they see
+things and sometimes they don't. But I never knew any man or woman
+to show a fancy for living there, although it is a very good town."
+
+This was said at supper-time, and, as it was the period of full
+moon, Bentley and I decided that we would visit the haunted city
+that evening. Our host endeavored to dissuade us, saying that no one
+ever went over there at night; but as we were not to be deterred he
+told us where we would find his small boat tied to a stake on the
+river-bank. We soon crossed the river, and landed at a broad but low
+stone pier, at the land end of which a line of tall grasses waved in
+the gentle night wind as if they were sentinels warning us from
+entering the silent city. We pushed through these, and walked up a
+street fairly wide, and so well paved that we noticed none of the
+weeds and other growths which generally denote desertion or little
+use. By the bright light of the moon we could see that the
+architecture was simple, and of a character highly gratifying to the
+eye. All the buildings were of stone, and of good size. We were
+greatly excited and interested, and proposed to continue our walks
+until the moon should set, and to return on the following
+morning--"to live here, perhaps," said Bentley. "What could be so
+romantic and yet so real? What could conduce better to the marriage
+of verse and philosophy?" But as he said this we saw around the
+corner of a cross-street some forms as of people hurrying away.
+
+"The spectres," said my companion, laying his hand on my arm.
+
+"Vagrants, more likely," I answered, "who have taken advantage of
+the superstition of the region to appropriate this comfort and
+beauty to themselves."
+
+"If that be so," said Bentley, "we must have a care for our lives."
+
+We proceeded cautiously, and soon saw other forms fleeing before us
+and disappearing, as we supposed, around corners and into houses.
+And now suddenly finding ourselves upon the edge of a wide, open
+public square, we saw in the dim light--for a tall steeple obscured
+the moon--the forms of vehicles, horses, and men moving here and
+there. But before, in our astonishment, we could say a word one to
+the other, the moon moved past the steeple, and in its bright light
+we could see none of the signs of life and traffic which had just
+astonished us.
+
+Timidly, with hearts beating fast, but with not one thought of
+turning back, nor any fear of vagrants--for we were now sure that
+what we had seen was not flesh and blood, and therefore harmless--we
+crossed the open space and entered a street down which the moon
+shone clearly. Here and there we saw dim figures, which quickly
+disappeared; but, approaching a low stone balcony in front of one of
+the houses, we were surprised to see, sitting thereon and leaning
+over a book which lay open upon the top of the carved parapet, the
+figure of a woman who did not appear to notice us.
+
+"That is a real person," whispered Bentley, "and she does not see
+us."
+
+"No," I replied; "it is like the others. Let us go near it."
+
+We drew near to the balcony and stood before it. At this the figure
+raised its head and looked at us. It was beautiful, it was young;
+but its substance seemed to be of an ethereal quality which we had
+never seen or known of. With its full, soft eyes fixed upon us, it
+spoke.
+
+"Why are you here?" it asked. "I have said to myself that the next
+time I saw any of you I would ask you why you come to trouble us.
+Cannot you live content in your own realms and spheres, knowing, as
+you must know, how timid we are, and how you frighten us and make us
+unhappy? In all this city there is, I believe, not one of us except
+myself who does not flee and hide from you whenever you cruelly come
+here. Even I would do that, had not I declared to myself that I
+would see you and speak to you, and endeavor to prevail upon you to
+leave us in peace."
+
+The clear, frank tones of the speaker gave me courage. "We are two
+men," I answered, "strangers in this region, and living for the time
+in the beautiful country on the other side of the river. Having
+heard of this quiet city, we have come to see it for ourselves. We
+had supposed it to be uninhabited, but now that we find that this is
+not the case, we would assure you from our hearts that we do not
+wish to disturb or annoy any one who lives here. We simply came as
+honest travellers to view the city."
+
+The figure now seated herself again, and as her countenance was
+nearer to us, we could see that it was filled with pensive thought.
+For a moment she looked at us without speaking. "Men!" she said.
+"And so I have been right. For a long time I have believed that the
+beings who sometimes come here, filling us with dread and awe, are
+men."
+
+"And you," I exclaimed--"who are you, and who are these forms that
+we have seen, these strange inhabitants of this city?"
+
+She gently smiled as she answered, "We are the ghosts of the future.
+We are the people who are to live in this city generations hence.
+But all of us do not know that, principally because we do not think
+about it and study about it enough to know it. And it is generally
+believed that the men and women who sometimes come here are ghosts
+who haunt the place."
+
+"And that is why you are terrified and flee from us?" I exclaimed.
+"You think we are ghosts from another world?"
+
+"Yes," she replied; "that is what is thought, and what I used to
+think."
+
+"And you," I asked, "are spirits of human beings yet to be?"
+
+"Yes," she answered; "but not for a long time. Generations of men--I
+know not how many--must pass away before we are men and women."
+
+"Heavens!" exclaimed Bentley, clasping his hands and raising his
+eyes to the sky, "I shall be a spirit before you are a woman."
+
+"Perhaps," she said again, with a sweet smile upon her face, "you
+may live to be very, very old."
+
+But Bentley shook his head. This did not console him. For some
+minutes I stood in contemplation, gazing upon the stone pavement
+beneath my feet. "And this," I ejaculated, "is a city inhabited by
+the ghosts of the future, who believe men and women to be phantoms
+and spectres?"
+
+She bowed her head.
+
+"But how is it," I asked, "that you discovered that you are spirits
+and we mortal men?"
+
+"There are so few of us who think of such things," she answered, "so
+few who study, ponder, and reflect. I am fond of study, and I love
+philosophy; and from the reading of many books I have learned much.
+From the book which I have here I have learned most; and from its
+teachings I have gradually come to the belief, which you tell me is
+the true one, that we are spirits and you men."
+
+"And what book is that?" I asked.
+
+"It is 'The Philosophy of Relative Existences,' by Rupert Vance."
+
+"Ye gods!" I exclaimed, springing upon the balcony, "that is my
+book, and I am Rupert Vance." I stepped toward the volume to seize
+it, but she raised her hand.
+
+"You cannot touch it," she said. "It is the ghost of a book. And did
+you write it?"
+
+"Write it? No," I said; "I am writing it. It is not yet finished."
+
+"But here it is," she said, turning over the last pages. "As a
+spirit book it is finished. It is very successful; it is held in
+high estimation by intelligent thinkers; it is a standard work."
+
+I stood trembling with emotion. "High estimation!" I said. "A
+standard work!"
+
+"Oh yes," she replied, with animation; "and it well deserves its
+great success, especially in its conclusion. I have read it twice."
+
+"But let me see these concluding pages," I exclaimed. "Let me look
+upon what I am to write."
+
+She smiled, and shook her head, and closed the book. "I would like
+to do that," she said, "but if you are really a man you must not
+know what you are going to do."
+
+"Oh, tell me, tell me," cried Bentley from below, "do you know a
+book called 'Stellar Studies,' by Arthur Bentley? It is a book of
+poems."
+
+The figure gazed at him. "No," it said, presently, "I never heard of
+it."
+
+I stood trembling. Had the youthful figure before me been flesh and
+blood, had the book been a real one, I would have torn it from her.
+
+"O wise and lovely being!" I exclaimed, falling on my knees before
+her, "be also benign and generous. Let me but see the last page of
+my book. If I have been of benefit to your world; more than all, if
+I have been of benefit to you, let me see, I implore you--let me see
+how it is that I have done it."
+
+She rose with the book in her hand. "You have only to wait until you
+have done it," she said, "and then you will know all that you could
+see here." I started to my feet and stood alone upon the balcony.
+
+"I am sorry," said Bentley, as we walked toward the pier where we
+had left our boat, "that we talked only to that ghost girl, and that
+the other spirits were all afraid of us. Persons whose souls are
+choked up with philosophy are not apt to care much for poetry; and
+even if my book is to be widely known, it is easy to see that she
+may not have heard of it."
+
+I walked triumphant. The moon, almost touching the horizon, beamed
+like red gold. "My dear friend," said I, "I have always told you
+that you should put more philosophy into your poetry. That would
+make it live."
+
+"And I have always told you," said he, "that you should not put so
+much poetry into your philosophy. It misleads people."
+
+"It didn't mislead that ghost girl," said I.
+
+"How do you know?" said Bentley. "Perhaps she is wrong, and the
+other inhabitants of the city are right, and we may be the ghosts
+after all. Such things, you know, are only relative. Anyway," he
+continued, after a little pause, "I wish I knew that those ghosts
+were now reading the poem which I am going to begin to-morrow."
+
+
+
+
+A PIECE OF RED CALICO
+
+
+I was going into town one morning from my suburban residence, when
+my wife handed me a little piece of red calico, and asked me if I
+would have time, during the day, to buy her two yards and a half of
+calico like that. I assured her that it would be no trouble at all;
+and putting the sample in my pocket, I took the train for the city.
+
+At lunch-time I stopped in at a large dry-goods store to attend to
+my wife's commission. I saw a well-dressed man walking the floor
+between the counters, where long lines of girls were waiting on much
+longer lines of customers, and asked him where I could see some red
+calico.
+
+"This way, sir." And he led me up the store. "Miss Stone," said he
+to a young lady, "show this gentleman some red calico."
+
+"What shade do you want?" asked Miss Stone.
+
+I showed her the little piece of calico that my wife had given me.
+She looked at it and handed it back to me. Then she took down a
+great roll of red calico and spread it out on the counter.
+
+"Why, that isn't the shade!" said I.
+
+"No, not exactly," said she; "but it is prettier than your sample."
+
+"That may be," said I; "but, you see, I want to match this piece.
+There is something already made of this kind of calico which needs
+to be enlarged or mended or something. I want some calico of the
+same shade."
+
+The girl made no answer, but took down another roll.
+
+"That's the shade," said she.
+
+"Yes," I replied, "but it's striped."
+
+"Stripes are more worn than anything else in calicoes," said she.
+
+"Yes, but this isn't to be worn. It's for furniture, I think. At any
+rate, I want perfectly plain stuff, to match something already in
+use."
+
+"Well, I don't think you can find it perfectly plain unless you get
+Turkey red."
+
+"What is Turkey red?" I asked.
+
+"Turkey red is perfectly plain in calicoes," she answered.
+
+"Well, let me see some."
+
+"We haven't any Turkey-red calico left," she said, "but we have some
+very nice plain calicoes in other colors."
+
+"I don't want any other color. I want stuff to match this."
+
+"It's hard to match cheap calico like that," she said. And so I left
+her.
+
+I next went into a store a few doors farther up the street. When I
+entered I approached the "floor-walker," and handing him my sample,
+said:
+
+"Have you any calico like this?"
+
+"Yes, sir," said he. "Third counter to the right."
+
+I went to the third counter to the right, and showed my sample to
+the salesman in attendance there. He looked at it on both sides.
+Then he said:
+
+"We haven't any of this."
+
+"I was told you had," said I.
+
+"We had it, but we're out of it now. You'll get that goods at an
+upholsterer's."
+
+I went across the street to an upholsterer's.
+
+"Have you any stuff like this?" I asked.
+
+"No," said the salesman, "we haven't. Is it for furniture?"
+
+"Yes," I replied.
+
+"Then Turkey red is what you want."
+
+"Is Turkey red just like this?" I asked.
+
+"No," said he; "but it's much better."
+
+"That makes no difference to me," I replied. "I want something just
+like this."
+
+"But they don't use that for furniture," he said.
+
+"I should think people could use anything they wanted for
+furniture," I remarked, somewhat sharply.
+
+"They can, but they don't," he said, quite calmly. "They don't use
+red like that. They use Turkey red."
+
+I said no more, but left. The next place I visited was a very large
+dry-goods store. Of the first salesman I saw I inquired if they kept
+red calico like my sample.
+
+"You'll find that on the second story," said he.
+
+I went upstairs. There I asked a man:
+
+"Where will I find red calico?"
+
+"In the far room to the left. Over there." And he pointed to a
+distant corner.
+
+I walked through the crowds of purchasers and salespeople, and
+around the counters and tables filled with goods, to the far room to
+the left. When I got there I asked for red calico.
+
+"The second counter down this side," said the man.
+
+I went there and produced my sample. "Calicoes downstairs," said the
+man.
+
+"They told me they were up here," I said.
+
+"Not these plain goods. You'll find 'em downstairs at the back of
+the store, over on that side."
+
+I went downstairs to the back of the store.
+
+"Where will I find red calico like this?" I asked.
+
+"Next counter but one," said the man addressed, walking with me in
+the direction pointed out.
+
+"Dunn, show red calicoes."
+
+Mr. Dunn took my sample and looked at it.
+
+"We haven't this shade in that quality of goods," he said.
+
+"Well, have you it in any quality of goods?" I asked.
+
+"Yes; we've got it finer." And he took down a piece of calico, and
+unrolled a yard or two of it on the counter.
+
+"That's not this shade," I said.
+
+"No," said he. "The goods is finer and the color's better."
+
+"I want it to match this," I said.
+
+"I thought you weren't particular about the match," said the
+salesman. "You said you didn't care for the quality of the goods,
+and you know you can't match goods without you take into
+consideration quality and color both. If you want that quality of
+goods in red, you ought to get Turkey red."
+
+I did not think it necessary to answer this remark, but said:
+
+"Then you've got nothing to match this?"
+
+"No, sir. But perhaps they may have it in the upholstery department,
+in the sixth story."
+
+So I got in the elevator and went up to the top of the house.
+
+"Have you any red stuff like this?" I said to a young man.
+
+"Red stuff? Upholstery department--other end of this floor."
+
+I went to the other end of the floor.
+
+"I want some red calico," I said to a man.
+
+"Furniture goods?" he asked.
+
+"Yes," said I.
+
+"Fourth counter to the left."
+
+I went to the fourth counter to the left, and showed my sample to a
+salesman. He looked at it, and said:
+
+"You'll get this down on the first floor--calico department."
+
+I turned on my heel, descended in the elevator, and went out on the
+street. I was thoroughly sick of red calico. But I determined to
+make one more trial. My wife had bought her red calico not long
+before, and there must be some to be had somewhere. I ought to have
+asked her where she obtained it, but I thought a simple little thing
+like that could be bought anywhere.
+
+I went into another large dry-goods store. As I entered the door a
+sudden tremor seized me. I could not bear to take out that piece of
+red calico. If I had had any other kind of a rag about me--a
+pen-wiper or anything of the sort--I think I would have asked them
+if they could match that.
+
+But I stepped up to a young woman and presented my sample, with the
+usual question.
+
+"Back room, counter on the left," she said.
+
+I went there.
+
+"Have you any red calico like this?" I asked of the saleswoman
+behind the counter.
+
+"No, sir," she said, "but we have it in Turkey red."
+
+Turkey red again! I surrendered.
+
+"All right," I said, "give me Turkey red."
+
+"How much, sir?" she asked.
+
+"I don't know--say five yards."
+
+She looked at me rather strangely, but measured off five yards of
+Turkey-red calico. Then she rapped on the counter and called out
+"Cash!" A little girl, with yellow hair in two long plaits, came
+slowly up. The lady wrote the number of yards, the name of the
+goods, her own number, the price, the amount of the bank-note I
+handed her, and some other matters, probably the color of my eyes
+and the direction and velocity of the wind, on a slip of paper. She
+then copied all this into a little book which she kept by her. Then
+she handed the slip of paper, the money, and the Turkey red to the
+yellow-haired girl. This young person copied the slip into a little
+book she carried, and then she went away with the calico, the paper
+slip, and the money.
+
+After a very long time--during which the little girl probably took
+the goods, the money, and the slip to some central desk, where the
+note was received, its amount and number entered in a book, change
+given to the girl, a copy of the slip made and entered, girl's entry
+examined and approved, goods wrapped up, girl registered, plaits
+counted and entered on a slip of paper and copied by the girl in her
+book, girl taken to a hydrant and washed, number of towel entered on
+a paper slip and copied by the girl in her book, value of my note
+and amount of change branded somewhere on the child, and said
+process noted on a slip of paper and copied in her book--the girl
+came to me, bringing my change and the package of Turkey-red calico.
+
+I had time for but very little work at the office that afternoon,
+and when I reached home I handed the package of calico to my wife.
+She unrolled it and exclaimed:
+
+"Why, this don't match the piece I gave you!"
+
+"Match it!" I cried. "Oh no! it don't match it. You didn't want that
+matched. You were mistaken. What you wanted was Turkey red--third
+counter to the left. I mean, Turkey red is what they use."
+
+My wife looked at me in amazement, and then I detailed to her my
+troubles.
+
+"Well," said she, "this Turkey red is a great deal prettier than
+what I had, and you've got so much of it that I needn't use the
+other at all. I wish I had thought of Turkey red before."
+
+"I wish from the bottom of my heart you had," said I.
+
+
+
+
+CAMEO EDITION.
+
+
+REVERIES OF A BACHELOR; or, a Book of the Heart. By Donald G.
+Mitchell. With an Etching by Percy Moran.
+
+DREAM LIFE. A Fable of the Seasons. With an Etching by Percy Moran.
+
+OLD CREOLE DAYS. By George W Cable. With an Etching by Percy Moran.
+
+IN OLE VIRGINIA. By Thomas Nelson Page. With an Etching by W. L.
+Sheppard.
+
+BITTER-SWEET. A Poem. By J. G. Holland. With an Etching by Otto
+Bacher.
+
+KATHRINA. A Poem. By J. G. Holland. With an Etching by Otto Bacher.
+
+LETTERS TO DEAD AUTHORS. By Andrew Lang. With an Etched Portrait by
+S. J. Ferris.
+
+"VIRGINIBUS PUERISQUE." By Robert Louis Stevenson With an Etched
+Portrait by S. J. Ferris.
+
+A CHOSEN FEW. Short Stories. By Frank R. Stockton. With an Etched
+Portrait by W. H. W. Bicknell.
+
+A LITTLE BOOK OF PROFITABLE TALES. By Eugene Field. With an Etched
+Portrait by W. H. W. Bicknell.
+
+THE REFLECTIONS OF A MARRIED MAN. By Robert Grant. With an Etching
+by W. H. Hyde.
+
+THE OPINIONS OF A PHILOSOPHER. By Robert Grant. With an Etching by
+W. H. Hyde.
+
+
+Each, one volume, 16mo.
+
+Half Calf, g. t., $2.75; half levant, $3.50; cloth, $1.25
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes
+
+Four typographic errors have been corrected:
+  Donald G. Mitchell. With an Etching by Percy Moran.[period inserted]
+  and then she'll have to have new ones, and lots[was: lot's]
+  standing on the cabin floor instead[was: intead] of the bulkhead.
+  him in there and we will shut him up[was: no]. Then I
+
+Three structural changes have been made:
+  The half-title text (A CHOSEN FEW) was removed.
+  The booklist "Cameo Edition" was moved from before the
+    frontispiece to the end of the book.
+  The original had the story names alone on a page before the
+    story, as well as on the page where the story started. These
+    duplicate titles have been removed.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Chosen Few, by Frank R. Stockton
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CHOSEN FEW ***
+
+***** This file should be named 25549.txt or 25549.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
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