Chapter 9

A FEARFUL RESPONSIBILITY AND OTHER STORIES

BY WILLIAM D. HOWELLS CONTENTS.

A Fearful Responsibility At the Sign of the Savage Tonelli's Marriage

THE FLIGHT OF PONY BAKER A Boy’s Town Story

By W.D. HOWELLS

author of

“A BOY’S TOWN” “CHRISTMAS EVERY DAY” ETC.

ILLUSTRATED Contents CHAP. PAGE I Pony’s Mother, and why he had a Right to run off 3 II The Right that Pony had to run off, from the way his Father acted 15 III Jim Leonard’s Hair-breadth Escape 32 IV The Scrape that Jim Leonard got the Boys into 52 V About running away to the Indian Reservation on a Canal-boat, and how the Plan failed 77 VI How the Indians came to the Boy’s Town and Jim Leonard acted the Coward 89 VII How Frank Baker spent the Fourth at Pawpaw Bottom, and saw the Fourth of July Boy 105 VIII How Pony Baker came pretty near running off with a Circus 141 IX How Pony did not quite get off with the Circus 152 X The Adventures that Pony’s cousin, Frank Baker, had with a Pocketful of Money 165 XI How Jim Leonard planned for Pony Baker to run off on a Raft 192 XII How Jim Leonard backed out, and Pony had to give it up 208 Illustrations

“ALL THE FELLOWS CAME ROUND AND ASKED HIM WHAT HE WAS GOING TO DO NOW” Frontispiece

“BEING DRESSED SO WELL WAS ONE OF THE WORST THINGS THAT WAS DONE TO HIM BY HIS MOTHER”4

“‘I’LL LEARN THAT LIMB TO SLEEP IN A COW-BARN!’” 50

“REAL INDIANS, IN BLANKETS, WITH BOWS AND ARROWS” 90

“VERY SMILING-LOOKING” 124

“HE BEGAN BEING COLD AND STIFF WITH HER THE VERY NEXT MORNING” 144

“FRANK BAKER WAS ONE OF THOSE FELLOWS THAT EVERY MOTHER WOULD FEEL HER BOY WAS SAFE WITH” 166

“‘WHY, YOU AIN’T AFRAID, ARE YOU, PONY?’” 204

THE COAST OF BOHEMIA By

W. D. Howells Biographical Edition

1899

TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter

I. XXI. II. XXII. III. XXIII. IV. XXIV. V. XXV. VI. XXVI. VII. XXVII. VIII. XXVIII. IX. XXIX. X. XXX. XI. XXXI. XII. XXXII. XIII. XXXIII. XIV. XXXIV. XV. XXXV. XVI. XXXVI. XVII. XXXVII. XVIII. XXXVIII. XIX. XXXIX. XX.

CHRISTMAS EVERY DAY AND OTHER STORIES TOLD FOR CHILDREN By W. D. Howells CONTENTS CHRISTMAS EVERY DAY 3 TURKEYS TURNING THE TABLES 25 THE PONY ENGINE AND THE PACIFIC EXPRESS 51 THE PUMPKIN-GLORY 71 BUTTERFLYFLUTTERBY AND FLUTTERBYBUTTERFLY 111 ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE “Having Bonfires in the Back Yard of the Palace” Frontispiece “The Old Gobbler ‘First Premium’ said They were Going to Turn the Tables Now” 35 Two Little Pumpkin Seeds 75 Took the First Premium at the County Fair 83 “‘Here's that little fool pumpkin,’ said the farmer” 85 “Caught His Trousers on a Shingle-nail, and Stuck” 93 “‘My sakes! it's comin' to life!’” 103 Tail-piece 107 “‘Fix dusters! Make ready! Aim! Dust!’” 121 “The General-in-Chief used to go behind the Church and Cry” 125 “The Young Khan and Khant entered the Kingdom with a Magnificent Retinue” 131 “She was Going to Take the Case into Her own Hands” 135 “The Imam put His Head to the Floor” 139 “They began to scream, ‘Oh, the cow! the cow!’” 143

BOY LIFE STORIES AND READINGS SELECTED FROM THE WORKS OF WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS AND ARRANGED FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS BY PERCIVAL CHUBB DIRECTOR OF ENGLISH IN THE ETHICAL CULTURE SCHOOL, NEW YORK ILLUSTRATED CONTENTS PAGE Introduction ix I. Adventures in a Boy's Town HOW PONY BAKER CAME PRETTY NEAR RUNNING OFF WITH A CIRCUS 3 THE CIRCUS MAGICIAN 13 JIM LEONARD'S HAIR-BREADTH ESCAPE 23 II. Life in a Boy's Town THE TOWN 41 EARLIEST MEMORIES 45 HOME LIFE 47 THE RIVER 51 SWIMMING 55 SKATING 61 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 64 GIRLS 68 MOTHERS 69 A BROTHER 73 A FRIEND 79 III. Games and Pastimes MARBLES 89 RACES 91 A MEAN TRICK 93 TOPS 96 KITES 98 THE BUTLER GUARDS 103 PETS 108 INDIANS 124 GUNS 129 NUTTING 138 THE FIRE-ENGINES 145 IV. Glimpses of the Larger World THE TRAVELLING CIRCUS 151 PASSING SHOWS 163 THE THEATRE COMES TO TOWN 168 THE WORLD OPENED BY BOOKS 171 V. The Last of a Boy's Town 183 ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE KITE-TIME Frontispiece HE BEGAN BEING COLD AND STIFF WITH HER THE VERY NEXT MORNING 5 THE FIRST LOCK 43 THE BUTLER GUARDS 105 ALL AT ONCE THERE THE INDIANS WERE 127 NUTTING 141

A LIKELY STORY

Farce

BY W. D. HOWELLS

ILLUSTRATED CONTENTS Page MR. AND MRS. WILLIS CAMPBELL 7 MR. WELLING; MR. CAMPBELL 29 MRS. CAMPBELL; MR. WELLING; MR. CAMPBELL 34 JANE; MRS. CAMPBELL; WELLING; CAMPBELL 39 MRS. CAMPBELL; WELLING; CAMPBELL 41 JANE; MRS. CAMPBELL; WELLING; CAMPBELL 43 MRS. CAMPBELL; WELLING; CAMPBELL 44 MISS RICE, MISS GREENWAY, and the OTHERS 48 MISS GREENWAY; MR. WELLING 50 MISS RICE; then MR. and MRS. CAMPBELL, and the OTHERS 53 ILLUSTRATIONS "THE MOST EXCITING PART OF IT" Frontispiece MR. WELLING EXPLAINS Facing page 52

A BOY'S TOWN DESCRIBED FOR "HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE" BY W. D. HOWELLS CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. Earliest Experiences 1 II. Home and Kindred 10 III. The River 24 IV. The Canal and its Basin 36 V. The Hydraulic and its Reservoirs.—Old River 45 VI. Schools and Teachers 53 VII. Manners and Customs 67 VIII. Plays and Pastimes 80 IX. Circuses and Shows 93 X. Highdays and Holidays 110 XI. Musters and Elections 121 XII. Pets 133 XIII. Guns and Gunning 148 XIV. Foraging 161 XV. My Boy 171 XVI. Other Boys 183 XVII. Fantasies and Superstitions 197 XVIII. The Nature of Boys 205 XIX. The Town Itself 215 XX. Traits and Characters 228 XXI. Last Days 237 ILLUSTRATIONS. "ONE DAY HE CAME UP TO MY BOY WHERE HE SAT FISHING" Frontispiece. THE "FIRST LOCK" Facing p. 2 "THE PASSENGER IS A ONE-LEGGED MAN" " 8 "RUN, RUN! THE CONSTABLE WILL CATCH YOU!" " 18 "HE TOLD THEM THAT HE HAD GOT THEM NOW" " 44 "THAT HONOR WAS RESERVED FOR MEN OF THE KIND I HAVE MENTIONED" " 50 "A CITIZEN'S CHARACTER FOR CLEVERNESS OR MEANNESS WAS FIXED BY HIS WALKING ROUND OR OVER THE RINGS" " 82 KITE TIME " 92 "THE BOYS BEGAN TO CELEBRATE IT WITH GUNS AND PISTOLS" " 110 THE "BUTLER GUARDS" " 122 "ALL AT ONCE THERE THE INDIANS WERE" " 150 FORAGING " 168 "THE BEACON OF DEATH " " 180 "HE ALWAYS RAN BY THE PLACE AS FAST AS HE COULD" " 198 "THE ARTIST SEEMED SATISFIED HIMSELF" " 220 "MY BOY REMEMBERS COMING FROM CINCINNATI IN THE STAGE" " 224

IMAGINARY INTERVIEWS BY W.D. HOWELLS 1910 CONTENTS IMAGINARY INTERVIEWS The Restoration of the Easy Chair by Way of Introduction A Year of Spring and a Life of Youth Sclerosis of the Tastes The Practices and Precepts of Vaudeville Intimations of Italian Opera The Superiority of Our Inferiors Unimportance of Women in Republics Having Just Got Home New York To the Home-comer's Eye Cheapness of the Costliest City on Earth Ways and Means of Living in New York The Quality of Boston and the Quantity of New York The Whirl of Life in Our First Circles The Magazine Muse Comparative Luxuries of Travel Qualities Without Defects A Wasted Opportunity A Niece's Literary Advice To Her Uncle A Search for Celebrity Practical Immortality on Earth Around a Rainy-day Fire The Advantages of Quotational Criticism Reading for a Grandfather Some Moments With the Muse A Normal Hero and Heroine Out of Work OTHER ESSAYS Autumn in the Country and City Personal and Epistolary Addresses Dressing for Hotel Dinner The Counsel of Literary Age to Literary Youth The Unsatisfactoriness of Unfriendly Criticism The Fickleness of Age The Renewal of Inspiration The Summer Sojourn of Florindo and Lindora To Have the Honor of Meeting A Day at Bronx Park ILLUSTRATIONS

AT THE OPERA

FIFTH AVENUE AT THIRTY-FOURTH STREET

FIFTH AVENUE FROM THE TOP OF A MOTOR-BUS

CHARLES EMBANKMENT, BELOW HARVARD BRIDGE

THE MALL, CENTRAL PARK

BROADWAY AT NIGHT

ELECTION-NIGHT CROWDS

ZOÖLOGICAL GARDENS, BRONX PARK

THE DAUGHTER OF THE STORAGE WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS THE DAUGHTER OF THE STORAGE AND OTHER THINGS IN PROSE AND VERSE

W. D. HOWELLS

HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS NEW YORK AND LONDON CONTENTS PAGE I The Daughter of the Storage 3 II A Presentiment 45 III Captain Dunlevy's Last Trip 67 IV The Return to Favor 81 V Somebody's Mother 93 VI The Face at the Window 107 VII An Experience 117 VIII The Boarders 127 IX Breakfast Is My Best Meal 141 X The Mother-Bird 151 XI The Amigo 161 XII Black Cross Farm 173 XIII The Critical Bookstore 185 XIV A Feast of Reason 227 XV City and Country in the Fall 243 XVI Table Talk 253 XVII The Escapade of a Grandfather 269 XVIII Self-Sacrifice: A Farce-tragedy 285 XIX The Night before Christmas 319

THE QUALITY OF MERCY A NOVEL BY W. D. HOWELLS 1892 CONTENTS

PART FIRST.

I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. XIX. XX. XXI. XXII. XXIII. XXIV.

PART SECOND.

I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. XIX. XX. XXI.

PART THIRD.

I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI.

BY WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS. BY CHARLES DUDLEY WARNER. BY CONSTANCE F. WOOLSON. BY MARY E. WILKINS. BY LEW. WALLACE

A COUNTERFEIT PRESENTMENT

AND THE PARLOUR CAR

BY

WILLIAM D. HOWELLS CONTENTS PAGE I. An Extraordinary Resemblance, 7 II. Distinctions and Differences, 61 III. Dissolving Views, 99 IV. Not at All Like, 141

THE PARLOUR CAR, a Farce, 191

YEARS OF MY YOUTH

BY W. D. HOWELLS

WITH INTRODUCTION AND ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN EXPRESSLY FOR THIS BOOK BY CLIFTON JOHNSON

(In certain versions of this etext, in certain browsers, clicking on this symbol will bring up a larger version of the illustration.) Preface by the Illustrator Illustrations Chapters: I, II, III, IV.

Some typographical errors have been corrected; a list follows the text. (etext transcriber's note) ILLUSTRATIONS

The waterside at Martin's Ferry

Frontispiece

The Ohio River at Wheeling, West Virginia

Facing p. 10

Hamilton, Ohio, the "Boy's Town" of Mr. Howells's youth

" 16

The Miami Canal at Hamilton

" 22

The now abandoned canal at Dayton as it appears on the borders of the city

" 40

The Little Miami River at Eureka Mills, twelve miles east of Dayton

" 44

Overlooking the island which the Howells family cultivated

" 54

The vicinity where Mr. Howells lived his "Year in a Log Cabin"

" 60

One of the last log houses to survive in the vicinity of Jefferson

" 82

The four-story office erected by Mr. Howells's father

" 116

The Ohio State House at Columbus viewed from High Street

" 138

The State House yard on the State Street side

" 158

Old-time dwellings on one of the Columbus streets that Mr. Howells used to frequent

" 170

The Medical College at Columbus

" 184

The quaint doorway of the Medical College through which Mr. Howells passed daily while he roomed in the building

" 224

Looking into the State House grounds toward the broad flight of steps before the west front of the building

" 236

MRS. FARRELL

A NOVEL BY

WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS

With an Introduction by Mildred Howells