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But, for a day or two, Eva was so unwell as to be...
Posted on Feb. 4, 2010 at 11:27 AM - Link
But, for a day or two, Eva was so unwell as to be confined to the house; and the doctor was calledClare had taken no notice of the child?s gradually decaying health and strength, because she was completely absorbed in studying out two or three new forms of disease to which she believed she herself was a victimIt was the first principle of Marie?s belief that nobody ever was or could be so great a sufferer as herself; and, therefore, she always repelled quite indignantly any suggestion that any one around her could be sickShe was always sure, in such a case, that it was nothing but laziness, or want of energy; and that, if they had had the suffering she had, they would soon know the difference
Miss Ophelia had several times tried to awaken her maternal fears about Eva; but to no avail
?I don?t see as anything ails the child,? she would say; ?she runs about, and plays
?But she has a cough
?Cough! you don?t need to tell me about a coughI?ve always been subject to a cough, all my daysWhen I was of Eva?s age, they thought I was in a consumptionNight after night, Mammy used to sit up with meO! Eva?s cough is not anything
?But she gets weak, and is short-breathed
?Law! I?ve had that, years and years; it?s only a nervous affection
?But she sweats so, nights!?
?Well, I have, these ten yearsVery often, night after night, my clothes will be wringing wetThere won?t be a dry thread in my night-clothes and the sheets will be so that Mammy has to hang them up to dry! Eva doesn?t sweat anything like that!?
Miss Ophelia shut her mouth for a seasonBut, now that Eva was fairly and visibly prostrated, and a doctor called, Marie, all on a sudden, took a new turn
?She knew it,? she said; ?she always felt it, that she was destined to be the most miserable of mothersHere she was, with her wretched health, and her only darling child going down to the grave before her eyes;??and Marie routed up Mammy nights, and rumpussed and scolded, with more energy than ever, all day, on the strength of this new misery
?My dear Marie, don?t talk so!? said StYou ought not to give up the case so, at once
?You have not a mother?s feelings, StClare! You never could understand me!?you don?t now
?But don?t talk so, as if it were a gone case!?
?I can?t take it as indifferently as you can, StIf you don?t feel when your only child is in this alarming state, I doIt?s a blow too much for me, with all I was bearing before
?It?s true,? said StClare, ?that Eva is very delicate, that I always knew; and that she has grown so rapidly as to exhaust her strength; and that her situation is criticalBut just now she is only prostrated by the heat of the weather, and by the excitement of her cousin?s visit, and the exertions she madeThe physician says there is room for hope
?Well, of course, if you can look on the bright side, pray do; it?s a mercy if people haven?t sensitive feelings, in this worldI am sure I wish I didn?t feel as I do; it only makes me completely wretched! I wish I could be as easy as the rest of you!?
And the ?rest of them? had good reason to breathe the same prayer, for Marie paraded her new misery as the reason and apology for all sorts of inflictions on every one about herEvery word that was spoken by anybody, everything that was done or was not done everywhere, was only a new proof that she was surrounded by hard-hearted, insensible beings, who were unmindful of her peculiar sorrowsPoor Eva heard some of these speeches; and nearly cried her little eyes out, in pity for her mamma, and in sorrow that she should make her so much distress
In a week or two, there was a great improvement of symptoms,?one of those deceitful lulls, by which her inexorable disease so often beguiles the anxious heart, even on the verge of the graveEva?s step was again in the garden,?in the balconies; she played and laughed again,?and her father, in a transport, declared that they should soon have her as hearty as anybodyMiss Ophelia and the physician alone felt no encouragement from this illusive truceThere was one other heart, too, that felt the same certainty, and that was the little heart of EvaWhat is it that sometimes speaks in the soul so calmly, so clearly, that its earthly time is short? Is it the secret instinct of decaying nature, or the soul?s impulsive throb, as immortality draws on? Be it what it may, it rested in the heart of Eva, a calm, sweet, prophetic certainty that Heaven was near; calm as the light of sunset, sweet as the bright stillness of autumn, there her little heart reposed, only troubled by sorrow for those who loved her so shop dearly
Seward's diary that they had been at Lucy's...
Posted on Feb. 3, 2010 at 11:25 AM - Link
Seward's diary that they had been at Lucy's death, her real death, and that I need not fear to betray any secret before the timeSo I told them, as well as I could, that I had read all the papers and diaries, and that my husband and I, having typewritten them, had just finished putting them in orderI gave them each a copy to read in the libraryWhen Lord Godalming got his and turned it over, it does make a pretty good pile, he said, "Did you write all this, MrsHarker?"
I nodded, and he went on
"I don't quite see the drift of it, but you people are all so good and kind, and have been working so earnestly and so energetically, that all I can do is to accept your ideas blindfold and try to help youI have had one lesson already in accepting facts that should make a man humble to the last hour of his lifeBesides, I know you loved my Lucy?"
Here he turned away and covered his face with his handsI could hear the tears in his voiceMorris, with instinctive delicacy, just laid a hand for a moment on his shoulder, and then walked quietly out of the roomI suppose there is something in a woman's nature that makes a man free to break down before her and express his feelings on the tender or emotional side without feeling it derogatory to his manhoodFor when Lord Godalming found himself alone with me he sat down on the sofa and gave way utterly and openlyI sat down beside him and took his handI hope he didn't think it forward of me, and that if he ever thinks of it afterwards he never will have such a thoughtHe is too true a gentlemanI said to him, for I could see that his heart was breaking, "I loved dear Lucy, and I know what she was to you, and what you were to herShe and I were like sisters, and now she is gone, will you not let me be like a sister to you in your trouble? I know what sorrows you have had, though I cannot measure the depth of themIf sympathy and pity can help in your affliction, won't you let me be of some little service, for Lucy's sake?"
In an instant the poor dear fellow was overwhelmed with griefIt seemed to me that all that he had of late been suffering in silence found a vent at onceHe grew quite hysterical, and raising his open hands, beat his palms together in a perfect agony of griefHe stood up and then sat down again, and the tears rained down his cheeksI felt an infinite pity for him, and opened my arms unthinkinglyWith a sob he laid his head on my shoulder and cried like a wearied child, whilst he shook with emotion
We women have something of the mother in us that makes us rise above smaller matters when the mother spirit is invokedI felt this big sorrowing man's head resting on me, as though it were that of a baby that some day may lie on my bosom, and I stroked his hair as though he were my own childI never thought at the time how strange it all was
After a little bit his sobs ceased, and he raised himself with an apology, though he made no disguise of his emotionHe told me that for days and nights past, weary days and sleepless nights, he had been unable to speak with any one, as a man must speak in his time of sorrowThere was no woman whose sympathy could be given to him, or with whom, owing to the terrible circumstance with which his sorrow was surrounded, he could speak freely
"I know now how I suffered," he said, as he dried his eyes, "but I do not know even yet, and none other can ever know, how much your sweet sympathy has been to me todayI shall know better in time, and believe me that, though I am not ungrateful now, my gratitude will grow with my understandingYou will let me be like a brother, will you not, for all our lives, for dear Lucy's sake?"
"For dear Lucy's sake," I said as we clasped hands"Ay, and for your own sake," he added, "for if a man's esteem and gratitude are ever worth the winning, you have won mine todayIf ever the future should bring to you a time when you need a man's help, believe me, you will not call in vainGod grant that no such time may ever come to you to break the sunshine of your life, but if it should ever come, promise me that you will let me know
He was so earnest, and his sorrow was so fresh, that I felt it would comfort him, so I said, "I promise
As I came along the corridor I saw MrMorris looking out of a windowHe turned as he heard my footsteps"How is Art?" he shop said
At last, all were gone but Tom and Mammy
?Here,...
Posted on Feb. 2, 2010 at 11:28 AM - Link
At last, all were gone but Tom and Mammy
?Here, Uncle Tom,? said Eva, ?is a beautiful one for youO, I am so happy, Uncle Tom, to think I shall see you in heaven,?for I?m sure I shall; and Mammy,?dear, good, kind Mammy!? she said, fondly throwing her arms round her old nurse,??I know you?ll be there, too
?O, Miss Eva, don?t see how I can live without ye, no how!? said the faithful creature??Pears like it?s just taking everything off the place to oncet!? and Mammy gave way to a passion of grief
Miss Ophelia pushed her and Tom gently from the apartment, and thought they were all gone; but, as she turned, Topsy was standing there
?Where did you start up from?? she said, suddenly
?I was here,? said Topsy, wiping the tears from her eyes?O, Miss Eva, I?ve been a bad girl; but won?t you give me one, too??
?Yes, poor Topsy! to be sure, I willThere?every time you look at that, think that I love you, and wanted you to be a good girl!?
?O, Miss Eva, I is tryin!? said Topsy, earnestly; ?but, Lor, it?s so hard to be good! ?Pears like I an?t used to it, no ways!?
?Jesus knows it, Topsy; he is sorry for you; he will help you
Topsy, with her eyes hid in her apron, was silently passed from the apartment by Miss Ophelia; but, as she went, she hid the precious curl in her bosom
All being gone, Miss Ophelia shut the doorThat worthy lady had wiped away many tears of her own, during the scene; but concern for the consequence of such an excitement to her young charge was uppermost in her mindClare had been sitting, during the whole time, with his hand shading his eyes, in the same attitude
When they were all gone, he sat so still
?Papa!? said Eva, gently, laying her hand on his
He gave a sudden start and shiver; but made no answer
?Dear papa!? said EvaClare, rising, ?I cannot have it so! The Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me!? and StClare pronounced these words with a bitter emphasis, indeed
?Augustine! has not God a right to do what he will with his own?? said Miss Ophelia
?Perhaps so; but that doesn?t make it any easier to bear,? said he, with a dry, hard, tearless manner, as he turned away
?Papa, you break my heart!? said Eva, rising and throwing herself into his arms; ?you must not feel so!? and the child sobbed and wept with a violence which alarmed them all, and turned her father?s thoughts at once to another channel
?There, Eva,?there, dearest! Hush! hush! I was wrong; I was wickedI will feel any way, do any way,?only don?t distress yourself; don?t sob soI will be resigned; I was wicked to speak as I did
Eva soon lay like a wearied dove in her father?s arms; and he, bending over her, soothed her by every tender word he could think of
Marie rose and threw herself out of the apartment into her own, when she fell into violent hysterics
?You didn?t give me a curl, Eva,? said her father, smiling sadly
?They are all yours, papa,? said she, smiling??yours and mamma?s; and you must give dear aunty as many as she wantsI only gave them to our poor people myself, because you know, papa, they might be forgotten when I am gone, and because I hoped it might help them rememberYou are a Christian, are you not, papa?? said Eva, doubtfully
?Why do you ask me??
?I don?t knowYou are so good, I don?t see how you can help it
?What is being a Christian, Eva??
?Loving Christ most of all,? said Eva
?Do you, Eva??
?Certainly I do
?You never saw him,? said St
?That makes no difference,? said Eva?I believe him, and in a few days I shall see him;? and the young face grew fervent, radiant with joyIt was a feeling which he had seen before in his mother; but no chord within vibrated to shop it
After a few minutes' silence, he got up, shook...
Posted on Feb. 1, 2010 at 11:38 AM - Link
After a few minutes' silence, he got up, shook hands with me, and blessed me, and said goodbye, and hobbled offIt all touched me, and upset me very much
I was glad when the coastguard came along, with his spyglass under his armHe stopped to talk with me, as he always does, but all the time kept looking at a strange ship
"I can't make her out," he said"She's a Russian, by the look of herBut she's knocking about in the queerest wayShe doesn't know her mind a bitShe seems to see the storm coming, but can't decide whether to run up north in the open, or to put in hereLook there again! She is steered mighty strangely, for she doesn't mind the hand on the wheel, changes about with every puff of windWe'll hear more of her before this time tomorrow
CHAPTER 7
CUTTING FROM "THE DAILYGRAPH", 8 AUGUST
(PASTED IN MINA MURRAY'S JOURNAL)
From a correspondent
One of the greatest and suddenest storms on record has just been experienced here, with results both strange and uniqueThe weather had been somewhat sultry, but not to any degree uncommon in the month of AugustSaturday evening was as fine as was ever known, and the great body of holiday-makers laid out yesterday for visits to Mulgrave Woods, Robin Hood's Bay, Rig Mill, Runswick, Staithes, and the various trips in the neighborhood of WhitbyThe steamers Emma and Scarborough made trips up and down the coast, and there was an unusual amount of 'tripping' both to and from WhitbyThe day was unusually fine till the afternoon, when some of the gossips who frequent the East Cliff churchyard, and from the commanding eminence watch the wide sweep of sea visible to the north and east, called attention to a sudden show of 'mares tails' high in the sky to the northwestThe wind was then blowing from the south-west in the mild degree which in barometrical language is ranked 'No'
The coastguard on duty at once made report, and one old fisherman, who for more than half a century has kept watch on weather signs from the East Cliff, foretold in an emphatic manner the coming of a sudden stormThe approach of sunset was so very beautiful, so grand in its masses of splendidly coloured clouds, that there was quite an assemblage on the walk along the cliff in the old churchyard to enjoy the beautyBefore the sun dipped below the black mass of Kettleness, standing boldly athwart the western sky, its downward way was marked by myriad clouds of every sunset colour, flame, purple, pink, green, violet, and all the tints of gold, with here and there masses not large, but of seemingly absolute blackness, in all sorts of shapes, as well outlined as colossal silhouettesThe experience was not lost on the painters, and doubtless some of the sketches of the 'Prelude to the Great Storm' will grace the R
More than one captain made up his mind then and there that his 'cobble' or his 'mule', as they term the different classes of boats, would remain in the harbour till the storm had passedThe wind fell away entirely during the evening, and at midnight there was a dead calm, a sultry heat, and that prevailing intensity which, on the approach of thunder, affects persons of a sensitive nature
There were but few lights in sight at sea, for even the coasting steamers, which usually hug the shore so closely, kept well to seaward, and but few fishing boats were in sightThe only sail noticeable was a foreign schooner with all sails set, which was seemingly going westwardsThe foolhardiness or ignorance of her officers was a prolific theme for comment whilst she remained in sight, and efforts were made to signal her to reduce sail in the face of her dangerBefore the night shut down she was seen with sails idly flapping as she gently rolled on the undulating swell of the sea
"As idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean
Shortly before ten o'clock the stillness of the air grew quite oppressive, and the silence was so marked that the bleating of a sheep inland or the barking of a dog in the town was distinctly heard, and the band on the pier, with its lively French air, was like a dischord in the great harmony of nature's silenceA little after midnight came a strange sound from over the sea, and high overhead the air began to carry a strange, faint, hollow booming
Then without warning the tempest brokeWith a rapidity which, at the time, seemed incredible, and even afterwards is impossible to realize, the whole aspect of nature at once became convulsedThe waves rose in growing fury, each over-topping its fellow, till in a very few minutes the lately glassy sea was like a roaring and devouring monsterWhite-crested waves beat madly on the level sands and rushed up the shelving cliffsOthers broke over the piers, and with their spume swept the lanthorns of the lighthouses which rise from the end of either pier of Whitby Harbour
The wind roared like thunder, and blew with such force that it was with difficulty that even strong men kept their feet, or clung with grim clasp to the iron stanchionsIt was found necessary to clear the entire pier from the mass of onlookers, or else the fatalities of the night would have increased manifoldTo add to the difficulties and dangers of the time, masses of sea-fog came drifting inlandWhite, wet clouds, which swept by in ghostly fashion, so dank and damp and cold that it needed but little effort of imagination to think that the spirits of those lost at sea were touching their living brethren with the clammy hands of death, and many a one shuddered as the wreaths of sea-mist swept shop by
He began to write another novel to be called...
Posted on Jan. 31, 2010 at 8:06 PM - Link
He began to write another novel to be called "Heart of the Artichoke" (Pai-ho hsin), after Baudelaire's phrase "Le coeur d'artichaut He had written some 3,000 to 4,000 words, but unfortunately the manuscript was lost in the mail when the Ch'iens moved from Shanghai to PekingHe has not worked on the novel since then
In Peking Ch'ien first worked as a researcher in the Foreign Literature Institute of the Academy of Sciences; then he transferred to the Chinese Literature Institute of the same academySince the foundation of the Institute of Literature in the Academy of Social Sciences in 1952, he has been one of its two senior fellows, the other being Yu Ping-Po, well-known for his studies on the Dream of the Red Chamber (Hung-lou meng)Ch'ien's wife Yang Chiang is a researcher in the institute
Ch'ien seems to have abandoned the writing of his earlier vitriolic works and restricted himself to literary scholarshipHis most significant post-1949 work has been Annotated Selection of Sung Poetry (Sung-shib hsiian-chu), which was published in 1958Later he headed a team of scholars responsible for the writing of the T'ang and Sung sections of a history of Chinese literatureIn 1974 it was widely rumored that he had diedHsia to write a memorial essay, "In Memory of MrCh'ien Chung-shu" (Chui-nien Ch'ien Chung-shu hsien-sheng) ~6 Ch'ien, how ever, is alive and well and has been "resurrected" after the fall of the Gang of FourHis recent activities include visits to Rome in the fall of 1978 and to the United States in the spring of 1979 as a member of Chinese academic delegationsWhile he was in Italy, he talked with three scholars who were translating or had translated Fortress Besieged into French, Czech, and RussianYang Chiang was a member of a Chinese delegation in Paris while her husband was in AmericaHer most recent publication was a Chinese translation of Don Quixote in 1978, and it is now in its second printing
In 1979 Ch'ien published a book containing four studies, one on Chinese painting and Chinese poetry dating back to the 1930s and the other three essays written since 1949 (including one on Lin Shu, which was partially translated by George Kao and published in Renditions)Also in 1979 a new edition of Annotated Selection of Sung Poetry with thirty additional notes was published
Ch'ien's most important publication in 1979, however, is a mammoth work of over one million words entitled Kuan-chui pien, in four volumesEach section focuses on one major classical Chinese work: I ching, Shib ching, Chuang-tzu, Lieh-tzu, Shib-chi, Tso-chuan, and the complete pre T'ang proseAltogether ten studies, both philological and comparative (Western), comprising the four divisions of ching, shib, tzu, and chi, are written in a style more elegant and archaic than that of On the Art of PoetryCh'ien wanted to show the world that there is at least one person in China who can write in this style and has not broken with the old tradition; he also hoped to inspire younger Chinese everywhere to study the Chinese pastKuan-chui pien, Ch'ien believes, will be his masterworkthesis, On the Art of Poetry, and Annotated Selection of Sung Poetry are all works of solid scholarshipThe first represents meticulous research; the second contains many references to Western poetics from Plato to the Abb~ Bremond and an honest evaluation of Chinese poets and their shortcomings; and the preface to the third is a masterpiece of literary analysis Apart from these works, Ch'ien is primarily a satirist in his essays and short storiesFor example, the first essay in Marginalia of Life is "Satan Pays an Evening Visit to MrCh'ien Chung-shu" (Mo-kuei yeh fang Ch'ien Chung-shu hsien-sheng), a satire on man through the super natural, the targets being hypocrisy and ignoranceIn "On Laughter and Humor" (Shuo hsiao), he attacks those lacking humor; he mocks and scorns false champions of moraFortress Besiegedlity in "Those Who Moralize" (T'an chiao-hsun); he chides the hypocrites in "Men of Letters" (Lun wen-jen) and literary charlatans in "Illiteracy" (Shih wen-mang)In a similar vein, his vitriolic fire is also apparent in his short stories, most notably in "Inspiration" (Ling kan), a satiric and harsh attack on the writing profession itself and a lampoon on a number of well-known literary figuresLampooning as much as he does in Men, Beasts, and Ghosts, he is also a fine writer of psychological insightHis story "Cat" (Mao) is a good example of marital strife which mars the happiness of a certain Li familyEven finer than "Cat" is "Souvenir" (Chi nien), often considered the best story in Men, Beasts, and GhostsA study of the seduction of a lonely married woman by an air force pilot during the Sino-Japanese War, it emphasizes the heroine's feelings of guilt, fascination, revulsion, and relief toward her extramarital affairAlso well done is the story's ironic endingAfter the pilot dies in action, the woman's husband, not knowing of his wife's infidelity and impregnation by the pilot, suggests that they commemorate the dead pilot by naming the baby after him, if it is a boy
Fortress Besieged, however, remains the best of Ch'ien's pre-1949 worksStructured in nine chapters, it is a comedy of manners with much picaresque humor, as well as a scholar's novel, a satire, a commentary on courtship and marriage, and a study of one contemporary man
The nine chapters can be divided into four sections, or what Roland Barthes calls "functional sequences": 9 Section I (chapters 1?4); Section II (chapter 5); Section III (chapters 6?8); and Section IV (chapter 9)Section I begins with the story of Fang Hung-chien, who is returning to China from Europe in 1937; continues with his brief visit to his hometown, Wushi, and his experience in Shanghai; and concludes with his accepting a teaching appointment at the newly established San Lii University in the shop interior
Hello, my account friends
Posted on Jan. 31, 2010 at 8:06 PM - Link
Welcome to my first blog
"French Defense Minister Assures Support to Afghanistan
French Defense Minister Herve Morin called on Afghan President Hamid Karzai here Thursday and assured France's support to the militancy-plagued Afghanistan.
"In the meeting, the French defence minister assured the firm support to Afghanistan, noting that the French government would continue offering training and supporting to the Afghan National Army and the police," said a statement issued by the Afghan Presidential Palace.
The statement added that Karzai thanked France for its support, saying more foreign contribution would improve the living condition of the people as well as the capability of the national troops.
More than 3,000 French troops have been stationed in Afghanistan within the framework of the NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force to help stabilize peace in the war-ravaged country.
The statement failed to disclose the arrival and departure dates of the French defence chief.
Foreign officials often pay unannounced visit to Afghanistan and wrap up their tour in the same manner due to security reasons.
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