The Man Without a Country and Other Tales by Edward E. Hale

E >> Edward E. Hale >> The Man Without a Country and Other Tales

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17

I turned round; I found a goblet on the wash-stand; I took Lycidas's
heavy clothes-brush, and knocked off the neck of the bottle. Did you
ever do it, reader, with one of those pressed glass bottles they make
now? It smashed like a Prince Rupert's drop in my hand, crumbled into
seventy pieces,--a nasty smell of whiskey on the floor,--and I, holding
just the hard bottom of the thing with two large spikes running
worthless up into the air. But I seized the goblet, poured into it what
was left in the bottom, and carried it in to Morton as quietly as I
could. He bade me give Lycidas as much as he could swallow; then showed
me how to substitute my thumb for his, and compress the great artery.
When he was satisfied that he could trust me, he began his work again,
silently; just speaking what must be said to that brave Mary, who seemed
to have three hands because he needed them. When all was secure, he
glanced at the ghastly white face, with beads of perspiration on the
forehead and upper lip, laid his finger on the pulse, and said: "We will
have a little more whiskey. No, Mary, you are overdone already; let Fred
bring it." The truth was that poor Mary was almost as white as Lycidas.
She would not faint,--that was the only reason she did not,--and at the
moment I wondered that she did not fall. I believe George and I were
both expecting it, now the excitement was over. He called her Mary and
me Fred, because we were all together every day of our lives. Bridget,
you see, was still nowhere.

So I retired for my whiskey again,--to attack that other bottle. George
whispered quickly as I went, "Bring enough,--bring the bottle." Did he
want the bottle corked? Would that Kelt ever come up stairs? I passed
the bell-rope as I went into the dressing-room, and rang as hard as I
could ring. I took the other bottle, and bit steadily with my teeth at
the cork, only, of course, to wrench the end of it off. George called
me, and I stepped back. "No," said he, "bring your whiskey."

Mary had just rolled gently back on the floor. I went again in despair.
But I heard Bridget's step this time. First flight, first passage;
second flight, second passage. She ran in in triumph at length, with a
_screw-driver!_

"No!" I whispered,--"no. The crooked thing you draw corks with," and I
showed her the bottle again. "Find one somewhere and don't come back
without it." So she vanished for the second time.

"Frederic!" said Morton. I think he never called me so before. Should I
risk the clothes-brush again? I opened Lycidas's own drawers,--papers,
boxes, everything in order,--not a sign of a tool.

"Frederic!" "Yes," I said. But why did I say "Yes"? "Father of Mercy,
tell me what to do."

And my mazed eyes, dim with tears,--did you ever shed tears from
excitement?--fell on an old razor-strop of those days of shaving, made
by C. WHITTAKER, SHEFFIELD. The "Sheffield" stood in black letters out
from the rest like a vision. They make cork screws in Sheffield too. If
this Whittaker had only made a corkscrew! And what is a "Sheffield
wimble?"

Hand in my pocket,--brown paper parcel.

"Where are you, Frederic?" "Yes," said I, for the last time. Twine off!
brown paper off. And I learned that the "Sheffield wimble" was one of
those things whose name you never heard before, which people sell you in
Thames Tunnel, where a hoof-cleaner, a gimlet, a screw-driver, and a
_corkscrew_ fold into one handle.

"Yes," said I, again. "Pop," said the cork "Bubble, bubble, bubble,"
said the whiskey. Bottle in one hand, full tumbler in the other, I
walked in. George poured half a tumblerful down Lycidas's throat that
time. Nor do I dare say how much he poured down afterwards. I found that
there was need of it, from what he said of the pulse, when it was all
over. I guess Mary had some, too.

This was the turning-point. He was exceedingly weak, and we sat by him
in turn through the night, giving, at short intervals, stimulants and
such food as he could swallow easily; for I remember Morton was very
particular not to raise his head more than we could help. But there was
no real danger after this.

As we turned away from the house on Christmas morning,--I to preach and
he to visit his patients,--he said to me, "Did you make that whiskey?"

"No," said I, "but poor Dod Dalton had to furnish the corkscrew."

And I went down to the chapel to preach. The sermon had been lying ready
at home on my desk,--and Polly had brought it round to me,--for there
had been no time for me to go from Lycidas's home to D Street and to
return. There was the text, all as it was the day before:--

"They helped every one his neighbor, and every one said to his
brother, Be of good courage. So the carpenter encouraged the
goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote
the anvil."

And there were the pat illustrations, as I had finished them yesterday;
of the comfort Mary Magdalen gave Joanna, the court lady; and the
comfort the court lady gave Mary Magdalen, after the mediator of a new
covenant had mediated between them; how Simon the Cyrenian, and Joseph
of Arimathea, and the beggar Bartimeus comforted each other, gave each
other strength, common force, _com-fort_, when the One Life flowed in
all their veins; how on board the ship the Tent-Maker proved to be
Captain, and the Centurion learned his duty from his Prisoner, and how
they "_All_ came safe to shore," because the New Life was there. But as
I preached, I caught Frye's eye. Frye is always critical; and I said to
myself, "Frye would not take his illustrations from eighteen hundred
years ago." And I saw dear old Dod Dalton trying to keep awake, and
Campbell hard asleep after trying, and Jane Masury looking round to see
if her mother did not come in; and Ezra Sheppard, looking, not so much
at me, as at the window beside me, as if his thoughts were the other
side of the world. And I said to them all, "O, if I could tell you, my
friends, what every twelve hours of my life tells me,--of the way in
which woman helps woman, and man helps man, when only the ice is
broken,--how we are all rich so soon as we find out that we are all
brothers, and how we are all in want, unless we can call at any moment
for a brother's hand,--then I could make you understand something, in
the lives you lead every day, of what the New Covenant, the New
Commonwealth, the New Kingdom is to be."

But I did not dare tell Dod Dalton what Campbell had been doing for
Todd, nor did I dare tell Campbell by what unconscious arts old Dod had
been helping Lycidas. Perhaps the sermon would have been better had I
done so.

But, when we had our tree in the evening at home, I did tell
all this story to Polly and the bairns, and I gave Alice her
measuring-tape,--precious with a spot of Lycidas's blood,--and Bertha
her Sheffield wimble. "Papa," said old Clara, who is the next child,
"all the people gave presents, did not they, as they did in the picture
in your study?"

"Yes," said I, "though they did not all know they were giving them."

"Why do they not give such presents every day?" said Clara.

"O child," I said, "it is only for thirty-six hours of the three hundred
and sixty-five days, that all people remember that they are all brothers
and sisters, and those are the hours that we call, therefore, Christmas
eve and Christmas day."

"And when they always remember it," said Bertha, "it will be Christmas
all the time! What fun!"

"What fun, to be sure; but Clara, what is in the picture?"

"Why, an old woman has brought eggs to the baby in the manger, and an
old man has brought a sheep. I suppose they all brought what they had."

"I suppose those who came from Sharon brought roses," said Bertha. And
Alice, who is eleven, and goes to the Lincoln School, and therefore
knows everything, said, "Yes, and the Damascus people brought Damascus
wimbles."

"This is certain," said Polly, "that nobody tried to give a straw, but
the straw, if he really gave it, carried a blessing."

_EDWARD E. HALE'S WRITINGS._

THE GOOD TIME COMING; or, Our New Crusade.

Square 18mo. Paper, 50 cents; cloth, $1.00

"It has all the characteristics of its brilliant author,--unflagging
entertainment, helpfulness, suggestive, practical hints, and a
contagious vitality that sets one's blood tingling. Whoever has read
'Ten Times One is Ten' will know just what we mean. We predict that the
new volume, as being a more charming story, will have quite as great a
parish of readers. The gist of the book is to show how possible it is
for the best spirits of a community, through wise organization, to form
themselves into a lever by means of which the whole tone of the social
status may be elevated, and the good and highest happiness of the
helpless many be attained through the self-denying exertions of the
powerful few."--_Southern Churchman._

THE INGHAM PAPERS, 16mo. $1.25.

"But it is not alone for their wit and ingenuity we prize Mr. Hale's
stories, but for the serious thought, the moral, or practical suggestion
underlying all of them. They are not written simply to amuse, but have a
graver purpose. Of the stories in the present volume, the best to our
thinking is 'The Rag Man and Rag Woman.'"--_Boston Transcript._

HOW TO DO IT 16mo. $1.00

"Good sense, very practical suggestions, telling illustrations (in
words), lively fancy, and delightful humor combine to make Mr. Hale's
hints exceedingly taking and stimulating, and we do not see how either
sex can fail, after reading his pages, to know How to Talk, How to
Write, How to Read, How to go into Society, and How to Travel. These,
with Life at School, Life in Vacation, Life Alone, Habits in Church,
Life with Children, Life with your Elders, Habits of Reading, and
Getting Ready, are the several topics of the more than as many chapters,
and make the volume one which should find its way to the hands of every
boy and girl. To this end we would like to see it in every
Sabbath-school library in the land."--_Congregationalist._

CRUSOE IN NEW YORK, and other Stories, 16mo. $1.00

"If one desires something unique, full of wit, a veiled sarcasm that is
rich in the extreme, it will all be found in this charming little book.
The air of perfect sincerity with which they are told, the diction,
reminding one of 'The Vicar of Wakefield,' and the ludicrous
improbability of the tales, give them a power rarely met with in 'short
stories.' There is many a lesson to be learned from the quiet little
volume."

HIS LEVEL BEST. 16mo. $1.25.

"We like Mr. Hale's style. He is fresh, frank, pungent, straightforward,
and pointed. The first story is the one that gives the book its title,
and it is related in a dignified manner, showing peculiar genius and
humorous talent. The contents are, 'His Level Best,' 'The Brick Moon,'
'Water Talk,' 'Mouse and Lion,' 'The Modern Sinbad,' 'A Tale of a
Salamander,'"--_Philadelphia Exchange._

GONE TO TEXAS; or, The Wonderful Adventures of a Pullman, 16mo. $1.00.

"There are few books of travel which combine in a romance of true love
so many touches of the real life of many people, in glimpses of happy
homes, in pictures of scenery and sunset, as the beautiful panorama
unrolled before us from the windows of this Pullman car. The book is
crisp and bright, and has a pleasant flavor; and whatever is lovely in
the spirit of its author, or of good report in his name, one may look
here and find promise of both fulfilled."--_Exchange._

WHAT CAREER? or, The Choice of a Vocation and the Use of Time. 16mo.
$1.25.

"'What Career?' is a book which will do anybody good to read; especially
is it a profitable book for young men to 'read, mark, and inwardly
digest.' Mr. Hale seems to know what young men need, and here he gives
them the result of his large experience and careful observation. A list
of the subjects treated in this little volume will sufficiently indicate
its scope: (1) The Leaders Lead; (2) The Specialties; (3) Noblesse
Oblige; (4) The Mind's Maximum; (5) A Theological Seminary; (6)
Character; (7) Responsibilities of Young Men; (8) Study Outside School;
(9) The Training of Men; (10) Exercise."--_Watchman._

UPS AND DOWNS. An Every-Day Novel, 16mo. $1.50.

"This book is certainly very enjoyable. It delineates American life so
graphically that we feel as if Mr. Hale must have seen every rood of
ground he describes, and must have known personally every character he
so cleverly depicts. In his hearty fellowship with young people lies his
great power. The story is permeated with a spirit of glad-heartedness
and elasticity which in this hurried, anxious, money-making age it is
most refreshing to meet with in any one out of his teens; and the
author's sympathy with, and respect for, the little romances of his
young friends is most fraternal."--_New Church Magazine_.

* * * * *

_Sold everywhere. Mailed, post-paid, on receipt of price, by the
Publishers_,

ROBERTS BROTHERS, BOSTON.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote A: After Chapman.]

[Footnote B: After Cowper and Pope. Long after!]

[Footnote C: Iliad, vi.]

[Footnote D: Iliad, vi--POPE.]

[Footnote E: Iliad, xii., after Sotheby.]

[Footnote F: I do not know that this explanation is at all clear. Let
me, as the mathematicians say, give an instance which will illustrate
the importance of this profession. It is now a few months since I
received the following note from a distinguished member of the
Cabinet:--

"WASHINGTON, January ----, 1842.

"DEAR SIR:--We are in a little trouble about a little thing. There
are now in this city no less than three gentlemen bearing
credentials to government as Charges from the Republic of Oronoco.
They are, of course, accredited from three several home
governments. The President signified, when the first arrived, that
he would receive the Charge from that government, on the 2d
proximo, but none of us know who the right Charge is. The
newspapers tell nothing satisfactory about it. I suppose you know:
can you write me word be fore the 2d?

"The gentlemen are: Dr. Estremadura, accredited from the
'Constitutional Government,'--his credentials are dated the 2d of
November; Don Paulo Vibeira, of the 'Friends of the People,' 5th
of November; M. Antonio de Vesga, 'Constitution of 1823,' October
27th. They attach great importance to our decision, each having
scrip to sell. In haste, truly yours."

To this letter I returned the following reply:--

"SIR:--Our latest dates from Oronoco are to the 13th ultimo. The
'Constitution of '23' was then in full power. If, however, the
policy of our government be to recognize the gentlemen whose
principals shall be in office on the 2d proximo, it is a very
different affair.

"You may not be acquainted with the formulas for ascertaining the
duration of any given modern revolution. I now use the following,
which I find almost exactly correct.

"Multiply the age of the President by the number of statute miles
from the equator, divide by the number of pages in the given
Constitution; the result will be the length of the outbreak, in
days. This formula includes, as you will see, an allowance for the
heat of the climate, the zeal of the leader, and the verbosity of
the theorists. The Constitution of 1823 was reproclaimed on the
25th of October last If you will give the above formula into the
hands of any of your clerks, the calculation from it will show
that that government will go out of power on the 1st of February,
at 25 minutes after 1, P.M. Your choice, on the 2d, must be
therefore between Vibeira and Estremadura; here you will have no
difficulty. Bobadil (Vibeira's principal) was on the 13th ultimo
confined under sentence of death, at such a distance from the
capital that he cannot possibly escape and get into power before
the 2d of February. The 'Friends of the People,' in Oronoco, have
always moved slowly; they never got up an insurrection in less
than nineteen days' canvassing; that was in 1839. Generally they
are even longer. Of course, Estremadura will be your man.

"Believe me, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

"GEORGE HACKMATACK"

The Cabinet had the good sense to act on my advice. My information
proved nearly correct, the only error being one of seven minutes in the
downfall of the 1823 Constitution. This arose from my making no
allowance for difference of longitude between Piaut, where their
government was established, and Opee, where it was crushed. The
difference of time between those places is six minutes and fifty-three
seconds, as the reader may see on a globe.

Estremadura was, of course, presented to the President, and sold his
scrip.]

[Footnote G: Newspaper men of 1868 will be amused to think that half
past one was late in 1836. At that time the "Great Western Mail" was due
in Boston at 6 P.M., and there was no later news except "local," or an
occasional horse express.]

[Footnote H: The reader will observe the Arcadian habits of 1836, when
the German was yet unknown.]

[Footnote I: Anno Christi, 60.]

[Footnote J: Tacit. Annal., xiv. 9]

[Footnote K: Anno Christi, 60. See Neander, P. & T., B. iii. ch. x]

[Footnote L: This correspondence, as preserved in the collections of
fragments, has too much the aspect of a school-boy exercise to claim
much credit, though high authorities support it as genuine. But the
probability that there was such a correspondence, though now lost, is
very strong.]

[Footnote M: The Fire Alarm is the invention of Dr. William F. Channing:

"A wizard of such dreaded fame,
That when in Salamanca's cave,
Him listed his magic wand to wave,
The bells would ring in Notre Dame"]

[Footnote N: I am proud to say that such suggestions have had so much
weight, that in 1868 the alarm strikes the number of the box which first
telegraphs danger, six-four, six-four, &c., six being the district
number, and four the box number in that district.]

[Footnote O: Tetrao lagopus.]

[Footnote P: Which means, "In the thirteenth century," my dear little
bell and coral reader. You have rightly guessed that the question means
"What is the history of the Reformation in Hungary?"]

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17