Chapter 19

Chapter 193,889 wordsPublic domain

Dorothea Canfield, the author of "A Thread Without a Knot," is one of the most brilliant and forceful writers in America to-day. She was born in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1879. The daughter of a teacher and writer, her education was intensive and varied. As a child she learned to speak several languages. She received her B.A. from Ohio State University and a Ph. D. from Columbia University. She has studied and traveled extensively in Europe as well as in America.

Both as a person and as a writer, Dorothea Canfield has been extraordinarily well liked. As an author she is characterized by originality, clearness, and the vital quality of human sympathy. She always writes with a purpose, both in her works of fiction and in her educational writings. The writer's own ideals and common sense are revealed in her work and her stories are thoroughly interesting. Under the name, Dorothy Canfield, she has written some notable fiction. _The Bent Twig_ is a graphic American novel in which are portrayed the influences of environment upon a most interesting character. _Understood Betsy_ is a girl's story of warm sympathy and strong common sense. _The Real Motive_ is a volume of short stories from which the story, "A Thread Without a Knot," is taken. The stories in the volume range in their settings from Paris to a middle western university town. As the title suggests, they are studies in human motives.

Under her married name, Dorothea Canfield Fisher, she has written some valuable educational works, as _The Montessori Mother_ and _Mothers and Children_. During the World War, Mrs. Fisher spent her time in France working for the relief of those made blind by the war. _Home Fires in France_ and _The Day of Glory_ are truthful records of Mrs. Fisher's impressions of life in that tragic, mutilated land.

A Thread without a Knot

114, 1. Doctor's dissertation. Before a student can obtain the highest degree a university gives, the doctor's degree, he must write a dissertation, that is, a formal and elaborate essay on some original research work he has done. The degree Mr. Harrison was working for was that of Doctor of Philosophy, or Ph. D.

2. Archives. A place where public records and historical documents are kept.

116, 1. Munich. A city in Germany where one of the largest and oldest German universities is located.

2. Treaty of Utrecht. A treaty of peace in 1713 which concluded the war of the Spanish succession, a war fought by most of the other countries of Europe against the armies of France and Spain.

117, 1. Bibliothèque 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 Condé, 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. Châtelaine. 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. Tête-à-tête. A private conversation between two people.

169, 1. Padre. Priest.

172, 1. Rencontre. A meeting.

2. Patio. Courtyard.

3. Cabriolé. An open carriage.

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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.

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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 carrée. A party of four.

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

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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.

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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-Élysées, 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 Hôtel 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.

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SELMA LAGERLÖF (Page 276)

Selma Lagerlöf, 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 Lagerlöf, 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 _Gösta 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 Lagerlöf'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 Lagerlöf 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.