Short Stories of Various Types

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117, 1. Bibliotheque Nationale. The national library at Paris.

125, 1. Versailles. A city about twelve miles from Paris, noted for the
beautiful chateau, or palace, and gardens of Louis XIV. The palace is
now used as a historical museum and art gallery. It was in the famous
Hall of Mirrors at Versailles that the treaty between Germany and the
Allies was signed at the end of the World War.

The formal gardens and the fountains are among the famous sights of
Paris. In the garden stands the Trianon, sometimes called the Grand
Trianon, a villa built by Louis XIV for one of his favorites. Near it
is the Petit Trianon, or little Trianon, the favorite resort of Marie
Antoinette, the unfortunate and beautiful queen of France who was
executed during the French Revolution. Here she and her
ladies-in-waiting used to play at being shepherdesses and milkmaids.

2. Tram line. A street railway or trolley line.

129, 1. Fontainebleau. A town of northern France, situated in the midst
of a beautiful forest which covers an area of nearly 66 miles. At
Fontainebleau is a famous chateau of the French kings. It is noted for
the beauty of its architecture and contains many wonderful paintings.

2. Pierrefonds. A small village in northern France where a very old and
famous chateau is located.

3. Vincennes. A town about five miles from Paris, noted for its chateau
which is now used as a great fortress.

4. Chantilly. A town in northern France noted for its lace-making, its
horse races, and two beautiful chateaux built by the Prince of Conde,
one of the French nobility. In the eighteenth century the most
brilliant writers and artists of France used to gather at Chantilly.

133, 1. Tophet. A valley, sometimes called Gehenna, near Jerusalem,
where human sacrifices were burned to the heathen god Moloch.

137, 1. Andy. Andrew Carnegie, a Scotch-American steel manufacturer and
philanthropist, who established libraries in many cities of the United
States.

138, 1. La Salle. A French explorer of the seventeenth century. He
discovered the Ohio River and was the first to explore the greater part
of the Mississippi River.

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FRANCIS BRET HARTE (Page 141)

Bret Harte, as he is familiarly known, was born in Albany, New York, in
1836. At fifteen he wandered to California, the state which has so
vividly colored his best known short stories. The first three years he
was there, for a living, he taught school, and, as a pastime, like
every one else in California at that time, he dug for gold.

He then entered the office of the _Golden Era_ as a compositor, but
soon began to write articles for the paper. These attracted favorable
notice and he was made assistant editor-in-chief.

His ready imagination was stirred by the teeming, adventuresome life
about him and he began to put his ideas into short stories with the
mellow background of the golden state of California. Poe and Hawthorne
had made the short story a distinct type. Now Bret Harte, less artistic
and careful in his style, followed their lead with short stories to
which he added the new idea of coloring brilliantly the setting of the
story with the atmosphere of a certain locality.

From 1868-1870 he edited the _Overland Monthly_ in which appeared his
best known short stories, "The Luck of Roaring Camp," "The Outcasts of
Poker Flat," and "Tennessee's Partner," each of which presented
stirring scenes of the early gold-seeking days of California. Their
charm lies in his emphasis on the manners and actions of a picturesque
community.

The material of his stories is romantic, melodramatic, often almost
shocking. He handled it, however, with humor, irony, or pathos. He was
a realist who pictured, marvelously, the life about him as he saw it.

In 1870 Mr. Harte was made professor of recent literature in the
University of California. After 1878 he held consular appointments; in
Germany 1878-1880, in Scotland 1880-1885. After 1885 he lived in
England until his death in 1902.

Chu Chu

145, 1. Castilian. Of pure Spanish origin.

2. Mexican plug. Slang for an inferior horse of Mexican breed.

147, 1. Vaquero. A cowherder.

2. Sombrero. A hat.

149, 1. Comstock lode. A rich vein of gold and silver discovered in
Nevada in 1859. The discovery of its riches led people to rush to
Nevada, and Virginia City grew up as if by magic.

2. Rosinante. The horse belonging to Don Quixote who was the romantic
and absurdly chivalric hero of a satirical Spanish novel entitled _The
History of the Valorous and Witty Knight Errant, Don Quixote of the
Mancha_ by Miguel Cervantes.

152, 1. Arabian Nights. _The Thousand and One Nights_, commonly called
_The Arabian Nights' Tales_, are ancient oriental fairy tales. One of
these is the story of the enchanted horse, a wooden horse with two
pegs. When one of the pegs was turned, the horse rose in the air; when
the other was turned, the horse descended wherever the rider wished.

154, 1. Dulcinea. Sweetheart. Dulcinea was also the name of Don
Quixote's lady.

156, 1. Hidalgo. A man of wealth and position.

157, 1. Chatelaine. The mistress of a castle.

158, 1. Petite. Small.

159, 1. Toreador. A bull-fighter.

162, 1. Hacienda. A large estate.

2. Alfalfa. A species of grass valuable as fodder for horses and
cattle.

165, 1. Rodeo. Cattle market.

167, 1. Tete-a-tete. A private conversation between two people.

169, 1. Padre. Priest.

172, 1. Rencontre. A meeting.

2. Patio. Courtyard.

3. Cabriole. An open carriage.

* * * * *

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE (Page 173)

Because he was one of the founders of the short story in America, and
because he is considered by many critics to be superior in style to all
other American writers of fiction, Nathaniel Hawthorne has been chosen
as the last of the group of American authors represented in this
collection. In reading the story "Feathertop," therefore, it is
interesting to compare the style of the author with that of the other
American writers who are represented here. The story may also be used
as a good test of the composition of the short story as given in the
Introduction.

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was born of a stern Puritan line in
Salem, Massachusetts, the grimmest of all the Puritan communities. He
was a graduate of Bowdoin College and lived much of his life at Concord
and Salem.

He was a happy child, by nature, but he was influenced by stern family
traditions and the loneliness of his early environment. After the death
of his silent, melancholy father, his mother brought up the children in
the utmost seclusion. The decaying old seaport of witch-haunted
memories in which he lived, also impressed profoundly the lively
imagination of the solitary boy. All these influences may be traced in
the stories of Hawthorne with their strong moral tone and their
delicate but often rather morbid fancies.

Hawthorne, because of his timidity and self-depreciation, did not begin
his real literary career until rather late. We owe it to his
sympathetic yet practical wife that he ever published his writings. She
recognized the value of the stories he had written and believed in his
genius. Since he loathed the duties of the custom house where he was
employed as an official, Mrs. Hawthorne urged him to give up this
occupation and devote himself to his true vocation, that of a writer,
in spite of its uncertainties as to success and financial returns.

Hawthorne's imagination early led him into the field of romance; that
is, he told tales full of strange and fanciful adventure, revealing the
ideal or spiritual side of human nature. According to some of our best
critics, Hawthorne is said to be our greatest romantic novelist.

Feathertop

176, 1. Louis le Grand or the Grand Monarque, was Louis XIV, king of
France from 1638-1715.

185, 1. Eldorado. An imaginary country, rich in gold and jewels, which
the early Spanish explorers believed to exist somewhere in the New
World.

191, 1. Norman blood. A sign of aristocracy. The Norman-French
conquered England in the eleventh century and became the aristocracy of
England.

* * * * *

SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE (Page 203)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the eldest son of the artist, Charles Doyle,
was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in May, 1859. He was educated in
England, Scotland, and Germany. In 1885 he received the degree of M.D.
from Edinburgh University. Immediately afterward he began to practice
as a physician, but although he attained no little success in this
profession, it is as a writer that all the world knows him.

He made his first real appearance as an author in 1887 when he
published _A Study in Scarlet_. It was in this novel that the wonderful
Sherlock Holmes was introduced to the public. Dr. Doyle soon attained
immense popularity by his narratives of _The Adventures of Sherlock
Holmes_, which were first published in the _Strand Magazine_. This
popular character returned at intervals in several other novels: _The
Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes_, _The Hound of the Baskervilles_, _The
Return of Sherlock Holmes_, and others.

These ingenious stories of the success of the imperturbable Sherlock
Holmes in detecting crime and disentangling mystery have become known
wherever the English language is spoken. It is a notable thing to be
able to create a character that is known even by people who have never
heard of the author, or who have never even read a book. Ask any little
street lad who Sherlock Holmes is, and see what he answers.

It is regrettable, however, that people know Sir Conan Doyle entirely
as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, when his best work has really been
done in other novels, such as _The Adventures of Brigadier Gerard_,
_Rodney Stone_, _The White Company_, and _Beyond the City_.

His late works include plays as well as numerous novels. It is
noteworthy that in all his writings women have played but little part.
His men characters, on the other hand, are many and varied, as well as
sharply defined. As an author Conan Doyle has a wonderful gift of
narrative, unusual imagination, fine constructive powers, and an
effective style.

The Red-Headed League

203, 1. Sherlock Holmes. See biographical sketch of Conan Doyle.

206, 1. Freemason. A member of a secret order.

207, 1. Omne ignotum pro magnifico. All the unknown is as something
wonderful.

221, 1. Sarasate. A famous Spanish violinist.

224, 1. Sleuth hound. Detective.

227, 1. The Sholto murder and the Agra treasure. This refers to another
Sherlock Holmes story, _The Sign of Four_, which you may enjoy reading.

230, 1. Napoleons. French gold coins worth 20 francs each.

231, 1. Partie carree. A party of four.

237, 1. L'homme c'est rien--l'oeuvre c'est tout. Man is nothing, his
work is everything.

* * * * *

SIR JAMES MATTHEW BARRIE (Page 238)

Sir James Matthew Barrie, one of the best loved of contemporary
novelists and dramatists, was born in 1860 in Kirriemuir, Scotland. His
formal education was completed at Edinburgh University. And although
his mature life has been spent largely in England, his stories reflect
the village and country life of his native and beloved Scotland.

J. M. Barrie, as he is usually called, is a person interesting but
difficult to know because of the reserve and shyness of his race. He
has a sweetness of nature and a joy in life born of sympathy and faith.
All these characteristics, together with his whimsical humor, are part
of his great charm. One cannot help loving the man as one reads about
him or reads his stories. The mental picture of him which one receives
is of a shy and meditative little man, inconspicuous of dress, getting
over the ground with strides almost as long as himself, and with a face
that one cannot meet without stopping to look after it.

Barrie's mother, Margaret Ogilvy, is really the heroine of practically
all of his stories and plays. From her, this man, shy of women, has
learned all he knows of her sex. This accounts in part for the goodness
and purity in his works. From his mother, too, he inherited his
whimsically gay vision of life. Thus, his plays and novels, so much
purer than those of many of his contemporaries, are never dull, for
they are lightened by his wit, his fanciful humor, and his love for
humanity.

The man's genial satire and kindly humanity may be distinguished in the
selection, "The Inconsiderate Waiter," which you will read in this
collection. The lovable Barrie, with his tenderness for child life, his
poetic fancy and whimsical invention, will be revealed to you more
truly when you have read his novels, _Sentimental Tommy_, _Tommy and
Grizel_, _The Little Minister_, _The Little White Bird_, and his play
_Peter Pan_.

The Inconsiderate Waiter

239, 1. Chartreuse. A highly esteemed liqueur, which derives its name
from the celebrated monastery of the Grand Chartreuse, in France, where
it is made.

240, 1. The Derby. The most important annual horse race of England,
founded in 1780 by the Earl of Derby and run at Epsom, in the spring.

* * * * *

ALPHONSE DAUDET (Page 266)

Alphonse Daudet (1840-1897) was a French humorist and satirist, who
wrote novels, plays, and short stories. He was born in Provence in
southeast France, a district of which he is typical in the warmth of
his imagination. He lived for a time at Lyons but later went to Paris,
where he came in contact with the literary artists of the capital.

Monsieur Daudet, like the moody, imaginative Hawthorne of America, was
guided and influenced in his literary career by his wife, whose
inspiring but practical mind guided his impulsive and impressionable
nature into its best outlet.

As a writer Daudet is remarkable for the grace of his style and the
keenness of his observations. Literary critics appreciate him, not only
for his polished style, but also for his originality and insight into
human nature.

The Siege of Berlin

266, 1. The Siege of Berlin. This is a story of the Franco-Prussian
War, the war between France and Germany in 1870. War was declared in
July and the opening battle was fought the first of August before the
French had had time to complete their preparations. This battle, at
Wissemburg, resulted in a heavy loss for the French troops.

The fighting during August of 1870 covered much the same ground
contested during the World War. It is especially interesting to note
that it was at Sedan that the French met their great defeat in
September, 1870, and that Sedan was captured by the French shortly
before the signing of the Armistice in November, 1918.

The battle of Sedan in 1870 meant the total defeat of the French army,
and the Germans immediately began a four months' siege of Paris. After
terrible suffering the city surrendered to the enemy in January, 1871.

The territory of Alsace-Lorraine lost by France to Germany in the war
of 1870 was returned after the World War.

2. Arc de Triomphe. Sometimes called the Arc de l'Etoile. The great
triumphal arch at the head of the Avenue des Champs-Elysees, begun by
Napoleon to celebrate his victories and completed by Louis Philippe.
After the Germans marched under it in triumph after the siege of Paris,
chains were stretched across the roadway and the order was given that
no one was to drive under the arch again until the lost provinces
should be restored to France. In the great celebration on July 14,
1919, the armies of the victorious French and their Allies marched up
the avenue under the Arc de Triomphe.

3. A cuirassier of the First Empire. A cuirassier is a cavalryman whose
body is protected by a cuirass, a piece of defensive armor, covering
the body from neck to girdle, and combining a breastplate and a back
piece. The First Empire was the Empire of France under Napoleon I,
1804-1814.

267, 1. Mac Mahon. The Marshal of France during the War of 1870.

269, 1. Mayence. The German town of Mainz, where one of the strongest
German fortresses is located.

273, 1. Invalides. The Hotel des Invalides is an establishment in Paris
where French veterans are maintained at the expense of the state. Part
of the building is a great military museum where trophies of war are
exhibited. Among them are German guns captured in the World War.
Napoleon is buried in the Dome des Invalides, a chapel in this
building.

274, 1. The Tuileries. The palace of the French kings in Paris.

275, 1. Uhlans. Prussian cavalrymen.

* * * * *

SELMA LAGERLOeF (Page 276)

Selma Lagerloef, who was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1858, is the
Swedish idol in literature. She has had a series of honors such as
rarely have fallen to the lot of a woman novelist, the climax of which
has been the winning of the Nobel prize.[C] This enrolls her in a small
group of authors of cosmopolitan interest--writers who belong to the
whole world. Yet she is a woman who aspires to no prominence. She is
modest, retiring, and unconscious of self.

[C] The Nobel prizes are prizes given for the encouragement of men and
women who work for the interests of humanity, and were established by
the will of Alfred B. Nobel (1833-1896), the inventor of dynamite, who
left his entire estate for this purpose. They are awarded yearly by the
Academy of Sweden, for what is regarded as the most important work
during the year in physics, chemistry, medicine or physiology,
idealistic literature, and service in the interests of peace. The
prizes, averaging $40,000 each, were first awarded in 1901.

No other Swedish writer of any period has so faithfully mirrored the
soul of the Swedish people as has Selma Lagerloef, nor has any other
writer been so worshipped by her people. In her native province her
work has sunk deep into the hearts of the people. The places and
characters she has described have become so intimately associated with
her stories and legends that the real names are constantly being
confused with the fictitious ones she has given them in her _Wonderful
Adventures of Nils_ and _Goesta Berling_. Everywhere in Sweden one finds
postal cards representing scenes from the _Wonderful Adventures of
Nils_. This is an enchanting fairy story that may be compared to the
fairy classics of Grimm and of Hans Andersen. In it fact and fancy are
delicately interwoven with the geography and natural history of Sweden.

Miss Lagerloef's popularity is not confined exclusively to Scandinavian
countries, however. In Germany, Russia, and Holland, she is more widely
read than almost any other foreign writer. In recent years, moreover,
she has conquered France, and since the bestowal of the Nobel prize,
she has become a world figure. It is since that event that she has
become known in America, though she is not yet read here so much as she
deserves.

She might well be called the founder of a new school of literature. She
turned away from the general tendency of the European literature of her
day, a tendency to morbid realism, or dealing with the ugliest facts of
life. Her method is to throw into obscurity human frailties and vices
and turn the light on what is biggest and strongest in people. This
idealistic tendency may be readily traced in the story of "The Silver
Mine," which is given in this text. It was for _Optimism in Literature_
that Selma Lagerloef was given the Nobel prize.

The Silver Mine

276, 1. Gustav the Third. King of Sweden, 1771-1792.

277, 1. The army was so filled with traitors. The country of Sweden at
this time was distracted by the intrigues of the rival political
parties of Hom and Gyllenborg, known as "Caps" and "Hats."

290, 1. Given me a deep mark on my forehead. This refers to the Bible
story of Cain's murder of his brother Abel. Genesis 4:3-15.

SUGGESTED READING LIST OF SHORT STORIES

Abbott, Eleanor Hallowell (Mrs. Coburn)
_Sick-a-bed Lady._ Title Story and "The Happy Day"

Aldrich, Thomas Bailey
_Marjorie Daw and Other People._ Title Story
_Two Bites at a Cherry._ "Goliath"

Allen, James Lane
_The Flute and the Violin._ Title Story

Andrews, Mary Raymond Shipman
_The Perfect Tribute_
_Joy in the Morning_

Barrie, Sir James Matthew
_Two of Them._ Title Story
_A Window in Thrums_

Balzac, Honore
_Chouans._ "A Passion in a Desert"

Bunner, Henry Cuyler
_Short Sixes._ Title Story and "Love Letters of Smith"

Butler, Ellis Parker
_Pigs is Pigs._ Title Story

Cable, George
_Old Creole Days_

Canfield, Dorothy (Mrs. Fisher)
_Hillsboro People_
_The Real Motive_

Coppee, Francois
_Tales by Coppee._ "The Substitute"

Cutting, Mary Stewart
_Little Stories of Married Life_
_Little Stories of Courtship_

Davis, Richard Harding
_The Man Who Could Not Lose._ "The Consul"
_Somewhere in France._ Title Story
_Gallagher and Other Stories._ Title Story
_Ranson's Folly._ "The Bar Sinister"

Deland, Margaret
_Old Chester Tales_
_Dr. Lavendar's People_

Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan
_Adventures of Sherlock Holmes_
_Adventures of Brigadier Gerard_

Ferber, Edna
_Emma McChesney & Co._
_Cheerful by Request_

Freeman, Mary E. Wilkins
_The Copy Cat_
_A New England Nun_
_The Wind in the Rose Bush_

Fox, John
_Christmas Eve on Lonesome._ Title Story

Gale, Zona
_Friendship Village_
_Friendship Village Love Stories_

Garland, Hamlin
_Main Traveled Roads_
_Other Main Traveled Roads_

Hale, Edward Everett
_The Man Without a Country_

Harris, Joel Chandler
_Tales of the Home Folks in Peace and War_

Harte, Francis Bret
_The Luck of Roaring Camp._ Title Story, "Tennessee's Partner," and
"The Outcasts of Poker Flat"

Hawthorne, Nathaniel
_Twice Told Tales._ "The Great Carbuncle" and "The Minister's
Black Veil"

"Henry, O."
_The Four Million_
_The Voice of the City._ "The Memento" and "While the Auto Waits"

"Hope, Anthony"
_Dolly Dialogues_
_Comedies of Courtship_

Jewett, Sara Orne
_Tales of New England_

Kelly, Myra
_Little Citizens_
_Wards of Liberty._ "A Soul above Buttons"
_Little Aliens_
_New Faces_

Kipling, Rudyard
_Life's Handicap._ "Betram and Bimi," "The Man Who Was," and
"Without Benefit of Clergy"
_Second Jungle Book._ "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi"
_The Phantom Rickshaw._ "The Man Who Would Be King"
_The Day's Work._ "The Brushwood Boy" and "William the Conqueror"

Lagerloef, Selma
_The Girl from the Marsh Croft_

Martin, Helen
_The Betrothal of Elypholate._ Title Story

Maupassant, Guy de
_The Odd Number._ "A Piece of String" and "The Necklace"

Mayo, Katherine
_The Standard Bearers_
_Justice to All_

O'Brien, Edward J. (Editor)
_Best Short Stories of 1917_
_Best Short Stories of 1918_

O'Brien, Fitz
_The Diamond Lens._ Title Story, "What Was It? A Mystery," and "The
Thing"

Page, Thomas Nelson
_In Old Virginia_

Poe, Edgar Allan
_Works._ "The Gold-Bug," "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Purloined
Letter," and "The Pit and the Pendulum"

Rinehart, Mary Roberts
_Bab, Sub-Deb_

Shute, Henry
_The Misadventures of Three Good Boys_

Stevenson, Robert Louis
_Merry Men._ "Markheim" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"
_New Arabian Nights._ "A Lodging for the Night" and "The Sire de
Maletroit's Door"

Stockton, Frank
_The Lady or the Tiger?_ Title Story

Tarkington, Booth
_Penrod_
_Penrod and Sam_
_Monsieur Beaucair_

"Twain, Mark"
_The Jumping Frog_

Van Dyke, Henry
_The Blue Flower._ Title Story and "The Other Wise Man"

White, Stewart Edward
_Blazed Trail Stories_

White, William Allen
_The Court of Boyville_

Wister Owen
_Philosophy Four._ Title Story

SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY

The Gift of the Magi

1. Does the introduction of "The Gift of the Magi" awaken your interest
at once?

2. Della and Jim are very poor. Why is neither their home nor Della in
her shabby clothes, ugly or sordid?

3. Do Jim and Della seem like real people you have known? What makes
them so happy in spite of their being poor?

4. Is there something about this simple story that is beautiful and
that would be true for people ages ago or years from now? How would you
put this idea in words?

5. Were you prepared for the surprise ending of the story? Read over
the story and see if O. Henry had really prepared from the very
beginning for such an ending and yet had kept the reader from knowing.

6. After reading the Introduction, would you say that "The Gift of the
Magi" is a true short story?

A Reward of Merit

1. Look over the story "A Reward of Merit" and gather up the real story
or plot and see how briefly you can relate it in your own words.

2. Does the fact that the story is told so largely through the
conversation of the boys make it more interesting to you?

3. Try writing a story of some escapade, adventure, or exciting event
in which the story is largely told, and the characters revealed, by
means of conversation between two boys or two girls.

4. Would you say that Mr. Tarkington, the writer of this story, has a
sense of humor? Give instances of humor in the story.

5. In what ways does the story show a knowledge of boy life?

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