1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:05,719 Speaker 1: Their Low's Christmas Story by John Kendrick Bangs, one being 2 00:00:05,799 --> 00:00:09,759 the statement of Henry Thurlow, author to George Carrier, editor 3 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:13,800 of The Idler, a weekly journal of human interest. I 4 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:17,199 have always maintained, my dear Carrier, that if man wishes 5 00:00:17,239 --> 00:00:20,559 to be considered sane and has any particular regard for 6 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:24,039 his reputation as a truth teller, he would better keep 7 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:27,879 silent as to the singular experiences that enter into his life. 8 00:00:28,359 --> 00:00:31,359 I have had many such experiences myself, but I have 9 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:34,920 rarely confided them in detail or otherwise to those about me, 10 00:00:35,359 --> 00:00:37,560 because I know that even the most trustful of my 11 00:00:37,679 --> 00:00:40,439 friends would regard them merely as the outcome of an 12 00:00:40,439 --> 00:00:45,560 imagination unrestrained by conscience, or of a gradually weakening mind 13 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:49,479 subject to hallucinations. I know them to be true. But 14 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:53,520 until mister Edison or some other modern wizard has invented 15 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:56,399 a searchlight strong enough to lay bare the secrets of 16 00:00:56,439 --> 00:00:59,719 the mind and conscience of man, I cannot prove to 17 00:00:59,759 --> 00:01:03,479 others that they are not pure fabrications, or at least 18 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:07,280 the conjurings of a diseased fancy. For instance, no man 19 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:09,519 would believe me if I were to state to him 20 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:13,200 the plain and indisputable fact that one night last month, 21 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:16,840 on my way up to bed, shortly after midnight, having 22 00:01:16,879 --> 00:01:21,079 been neither smoking nor drinking, I saw confronting me upon 23 00:01:21,159 --> 00:01:24,400 the stairs, with the moonlight streaming through the windows back 24 00:01:24,439 --> 00:01:27,640 of me, lighting up its face, a figure in which 25 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:31,400 I recognized my very self in every form and feature. 26 00:01:31,799 --> 00:01:34,400 I might describe the chill of terror that struck to 27 00:01:34,439 --> 00:01:37,280 the very marrow of my bones and well nigh forced 28 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:40,840 me to stagger backward down the stairs, as I noticed 29 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:44,959 in the face of this confronting figure every indication of 30 00:01:45,079 --> 00:01:48,319 all the bad qualities which I know myself to possess, 31 00:01:49,079 --> 00:01:52,719 of every evil instinct which by no easy effort I 32 00:01:52,719 --> 00:01:57,599 have repressed heretofore, and realized that that thing was, as 33 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:01,120 far as I knew, entirely independent of my true self, 34 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:04,120 in which I hope, at least the moral has made 35 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:08,120 an honest fight against the immoral. Always. I might describe 36 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:11,039 this chill, I say, as vividly as I felt it 37 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:13,159 at that moment, but it would be of no use 38 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:16,840 to do so, because, however realistic it might prove, is 39 00:02:16,879 --> 00:02:19,960 a bit of description, no man would believe that the 40 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:24,159 incident really happened, and yet it did happen as truly 41 00:02:24,199 --> 00:02:27,479 as I write, And it has happened a dozen times since, 42 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:30,560 and I am certain that it will happen many times again, 43 00:02:30,879 --> 00:02:33,039 though I would give all that I possess to be 44 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:37,000 assured that never again should that disquieting creation of mind 45 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:40,439 or matter, whichever it may be, cross my path. The 46 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:44,120 experience has made me afraid almost to be alone, and 47 00:02:44,199 --> 00:02:48,080 I have found myself unconsciously and uneasily glancing at my 48 00:02:48,159 --> 00:02:51,400 face and mirrors in the plate glass of show windows 49 00:02:51,439 --> 00:02:54,439 on the shopping streets of the city, fearful lest I 50 00:02:54,439 --> 00:02:57,240 should find some of those evil traits which I have 51 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:00,560 struggled to keep under, and have kept under so far, 52 00:03:00,879 --> 00:03:03,840 cropping out there where all the world, all my world, 53 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:07,080 can see and wonder at it. Having known me always 54 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:10,199 as a man of right doing and right feeling, many 55 00:03:10,199 --> 00:03:12,280 a time in the night, the thought has come to 56 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:15,560 me with prostrating force, what if that thing were to 57 00:03:15,599 --> 00:03:19,439 be seen and recognized by others myself, and yet not 58 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:24,560 my whole self, my unworthy self, unrestrained and yet recognizable 59 00:03:24,719 --> 00:03:28,400 as Henry Thurlow. I have also kept silent as to 60 00:03:28,439 --> 00:03:31,439 that strange condition of affairs which has tortured me in 61 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:34,439 my sleep for the past year and a half. No 62 00:03:34,479 --> 00:03:38,039 one but myself has until this writing known that for 63 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:41,599 that period of time I have had a continuous logical 64 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:45,960 dream life, A life so vivid and so dreadfully real 65 00:03:46,039 --> 00:03:49,039 to me that I have found myself at times wondering 66 00:03:49,319 --> 00:03:51,840 which of the two lives I was living and which 67 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:55,080 I was dreaming. A life in which that other, wicked 68 00:03:55,159 --> 00:03:58,599 self has dominated and forced me to a career of 69 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:02,560 shame and horror, A life which, being taken up every 70 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:05,520 time I sleep where it ceased with the awakening from 71 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,400 a previous sleep, has made me fear to close my 72 00:04:08,479 --> 00:04:13,120 eyes in forgetfulness. When others are near at hand lest sleeping, 73 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:16,240 I shall let fall some speech that striking on their 74 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:19,680 ears shall lead them to believe that in secret there 75 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:23,600 is some wicked mystery connected with my life. It would 76 00:04:23,639 --> 00:04:26,000 be of no use for me to tell these things. 77 00:04:26,319 --> 00:04:28,399 It would merely serve to make my family and my 78 00:04:28,519 --> 00:04:31,279 friends uneasy about me if they were told in their 79 00:04:31,279 --> 00:04:35,120 awful detail, and so I have kept silent about them 80 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:38,360 to you alone. And now, for the first time have 81 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:41,040 I hinted as to the troubles which have oppressed me 82 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,879 for many days, and to you they are confided only 83 00:04:44,959 --> 00:04:47,360 because the demand you have made that I explain to 84 00:04:47,399 --> 00:04:51,720 you the extraordinary complication in which the Christmas Story sent 85 00:04:51,839 --> 00:04:55,360 you last week has involved me. You know that I 86 00:04:55,399 --> 00:04:57,639 am a man of dignity, that I am not a 87 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:01,680 schoolboy and a lover of childish trick, and knowing that 88 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:04,759 your friendship at least should have restrained your tongue and 89 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:08,639 pen when through the former on Wednesday, you accused me 90 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:13,839 of perpetrating a trifling and to you excessively embarrassing practical joke, 91 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:17,439 a charge which at the moment I was too overcome 92 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:21,160 to refute, And through the latter on Thursday, you reiterated 93 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:24,600 the accusation, coupled with a demand for an explanation of 94 00:05:24,639 --> 00:05:29,399 my conduct satisfactory to yourself, or my immediate resignation from 95 00:05:29,399 --> 00:05:33,079 the staff of the Idler. To explain is difficult, for 96 00:05:33,199 --> 00:05:35,959 I am certain that you will find the explanation too 97 00:05:36,079 --> 00:05:41,160 improbable for credence, But explain I must the alternative that 98 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:44,120 of resigning from your staff affects not only my own 99 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:47,199 welfare but that of my children, who must be provided for. 100 00:05:47,519 --> 00:05:49,759 And if my post with you is taken from me, 101 00:05:50,079 --> 00:05:53,000 then are all resources gone. I have not the courage 102 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:56,040 to face dismissal, for I have not sufficient confidence in 103 00:05:56,079 --> 00:05:58,600 my powers to please elsewhere to make me easy in 104 00:05:58,639 --> 00:06:02,399 my mind, or if I could please elsewhere, the certainty 105 00:06:02,439 --> 00:06:05,240 of finding the immediate employment of my talents, which is 106 00:06:05,319 --> 00:06:09,319 necessary to me in view of the present overcrowded condition 107 00:06:09,399 --> 00:06:13,240 of the literary field. To explain, then my seeming jest 108 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:16,079 at your expense, hopeless as it appears to be, is 109 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:19,319 my task, and to do so as completely as I can. 110 00:06:19,759 --> 00:06:23,120 Let me go back to the very beginning. In August. 111 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:25,800 You informed me that you would expect me to provide 112 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:28,439 as I have heretofore been in the habit of doing 113 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:31,920 a story for the Christmas issue of The Idler, that 114 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:34,519 a certain position in the makeup was reserved for me, 115 00:06:34,959 --> 00:06:37,600 and that you had already taken steps to advertise the 116 00:06:37,639 --> 00:06:41,439 fact that the story would appear. I undertook the commission, and, 117 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:45,480 upon seven different occasions, set about putting the narrative into shape. 118 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:50,000 I found great difficulty, however, in doing so. For some 119 00:06:50,199 --> 00:06:53,480 reason or other, I could not concentrate my mind upon 120 00:06:53,519 --> 00:06:56,720 the work. No sooner would I start in on one 121 00:06:56,839 --> 00:07:00,279 story than a better one, in my estimation, would suggested 122 00:07:00,319 --> 00:07:03,519 itself to me, and all the labor expended on the 123 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:06,800 story already begun would be cast aside, and the news 124 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:10,600 story set in motion. Ideas were plenty enough, but to 125 00:07:10,639 --> 00:07:16,319 put them properly upon paper seemed beyond my powers. One story, however, 126 00:07:16,399 --> 00:07:19,199 I did finish, but after it had come back to 127 00:07:19,279 --> 00:07:21,959 me from my typewriter, I read it and was filled 128 00:07:21,959 --> 00:07:25,480 with consternation to discover that it was nothing more nor 129 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:29,279 less than a mass of jumpled sentences, conveying no idea 130 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:32,279 to the mind. A story which it seemed to me 131 00:07:32,439 --> 00:07:35,439 in the writing to be coherent, had returned to me 132 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:39,920 as a mere bit of incoherence, formless without ideas, a 133 00:07:39,959 --> 00:07:42,720 bit of raving. It was then that I went to 134 00:07:42,759 --> 00:07:44,920 you and told you, as you remember, that I was 135 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:47,759 worn out and needed a month of absolute rest, which 136 00:07:47,759 --> 00:07:51,120 you granted. I left my work wholly and went into 137 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:54,480 the wilderness, where I could be entirely free from everything 138 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:58,160 suggesting labor, and where no summons back to town could reach me. 139 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:02,800 I fished and hunh I slept, and although as I 140 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:06,040 have already said in my sleep, I found myself leading 141 00:08:06,079 --> 00:08:08,519 a life that was not only not to my taste, 142 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:12,439 but horrible to me in many particulars. I was able, 143 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:14,759 at the end of my vacation to come back to 144 00:08:14,759 --> 00:08:18,120 town greatly refreshed, and as far as my feelings went, 145 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:21,560 ready to undertake any amount of work. For two or 146 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:24,519 three days after my return, I was busy with other things. 147 00:08:25,319 --> 00:08:27,879 On the fourth day after my arrival, you came to 148 00:08:27,879 --> 00:08:30,800 me and said that the story must be finished, at 149 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:34,159 the very latest by October fifteenth, and I assured you 150 00:08:34,279 --> 00:08:36,720 that you should have it by that time. That night 151 00:08:36,799 --> 00:08:39,960 I said about it. I mapped it out incident by incident, 152 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:43,279 and before starting up to bed, had actually written some 153 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:47,000 twelve or fifteen hundred words of the opening chapter. It 154 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:50,000 was to be told in four chapters. When I had 155 00:08:50,039 --> 00:08:53,039 gone thus far, I experienced a slight return of one 156 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:56,799 of my nervous chills, and on consulting my watch, discovered 157 00:08:56,799 --> 00:08:59,639 that it was after midnight, which was a sufficient explanation 158 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:03,120 of my mind nervousness. I was merely tired. I arranged 159 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:05,759 my manuscripts on my table so that I might easily 160 00:09:05,799 --> 00:09:08,639 take up the work The following morning. I locked up 161 00:09:08,679 --> 00:09:11,480 the windows and doors, turned out the lights, and proceeded 162 00:09:11,559 --> 00:09:15,360 upstairs to my room. It was then that I first 163 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:19,200 came face to face with myself, that other self in 164 00:09:19,279 --> 00:09:22,919 which I recognized developed to the full every bit of 165 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:27,279 my capacity for an evil life. Conceive of the situation 166 00:09:27,399 --> 00:09:30,720 if you can imagine the horror of it, and then 167 00:09:30,799 --> 00:09:33,960 ask yourself if it was likely that when next morning came, 168 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:37,480 I could, by any possibility bring myself to my work 169 00:09:37,519 --> 00:09:41,080 table in fit condition to prepare for you anything at 170 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:45,480 all worthy of publication, And the idler I tried. I 171 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:48,279 implore you to believe that I did not hold lightly 172 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:52,080 the responsibilities of the commission you had entrusted to my hands. 173 00:09:52,960 --> 00:09:55,679 You must know that if any of your writers has 174 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:59,320 a full appreciation of the difficulties which are strewn along 175 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:02,759 the path of an editor, I, who have myself had 176 00:10:02,799 --> 00:10:06,600 an editorial experience, have it, and so would not, in 177 00:10:06,639 --> 00:10:09,960 the nature of things, do anything to add to your troubles. 178 00:10:10,799 --> 00:10:13,480 You cannot but believe that I have made an honest 179 00:10:13,519 --> 00:10:17,840 effort to fulfill my promise to you. But it was useless, 180 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:21,360 And for a week after that visitation was it useless 181 00:10:21,399 --> 00:10:23,639 for me to attempt the work. At the end of 182 00:10:23,679 --> 00:10:26,360 the week I felt better and again I started in 183 00:10:26,799 --> 00:10:32,559 and the story developed satisfactorily, until it came again that figure, 184 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:35,639 which was my own figure, that face, which was the 185 00:10:35,759 --> 00:10:39,559 evil counterpart of my own countenance, again rose up before me, 186 00:10:39,919 --> 00:10:44,080 and once more was I plunged into hopelessness. Thus matters 187 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:47,039 went on until the fourteenth of October, when I received 188 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:50,399 your peremptory message that the story must be forthcoming the 189 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:54,399 following day. Needless to tell you that it was not forthcoming. 190 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:56,919 But what I must tell you, since you do not 191 00:10:57,120 --> 00:10:59,639 know it, is that on the evening of the fifteenth 192 00:10:59,679 --> 00:11:03,080 day of October, a strange thing happened to me. And 193 00:11:03,159 --> 00:11:06,240 in the narration of that incident, which I almost despair 194 00:11:06,279 --> 00:11:09,879 of your believing, lies my explanation of the discovery of 195 00:11:09,919 --> 00:11:13,639 October sixteenth, which has placed my position with you in peril. 196 00:11:14,679 --> 00:11:18,120 At half past seven o'clock on the evening of October fifteenth, 197 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:21,200 I was sitting in my library trying to write. I 198 00:11:21,360 --> 00:11:24,320 was alone, my wife and children had gone away on 199 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:27,279 a visit to Massachusetts for a week. I had just 200 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:30,080 finished my cigar and had taken my pen in hand 201 00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:33,080 when my front door bell rang. Our maid, who is 202 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:36,879 usually prompt in answering summonses of this nature apparently did 203 00:11:36,879 --> 00:11:39,080 not hear the bell, for she did not respond to 204 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:42,360 its clanging. Again, the bell rang, and still did it 205 00:11:42,399 --> 00:11:45,840 remain unanswered, until finally, at the third ringing, I went 206 00:11:45,919 --> 00:11:49,480 to the door myself. On opening it, I saw standing 207 00:11:49,519 --> 00:11:52,759 before me a man of I should say fifty odd 208 00:11:52,799 --> 00:11:56,759 years of age, tall, slender, pale faced, and clad in 209 00:11:56,879 --> 00:12:00,759 somber black. He was entirely unknown to me. I had 210 00:12:00,759 --> 00:12:03,279 never seen him before, but he had about him such 211 00:12:03,279 --> 00:12:07,279 an air of pleasantness and wholesomeness that I instinctively felt 212 00:12:07,279 --> 00:12:09,919 glad to see him, without knowing why or whence he 213 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:14,200 had come. Does mister Thurlow live here? He asked? You 214 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:16,799 must excuse me for going into what may seem to 215 00:12:16,879 --> 00:12:21,240 you to be petty details. But by a perfectly circumstantial 216 00:12:21,279 --> 00:12:24,120 account of all that happened that evening alone, can I 217 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:26,559 hope to give a semblance of truth to my story, 218 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:30,159 And that it must be truthful? I realize as painfully 219 00:12:30,159 --> 00:12:34,639 as you do. I am mister Thurlow, I replied, Henry Thurlow, 220 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:38,679 the author, he said, with a surprised look upon his face. Yes, 221 00:12:39,159 --> 00:12:42,159 said I, and then, impelled by the strange appearance, of 222 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:45,320 surprise on the man's countenance, I added, don't I look 223 00:12:45,399 --> 00:12:48,519 like an author? He laughed and candidly admitted that I 224 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:51,080 was not the kind of looking man he had expected 225 00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:53,720 to find from reading my books. And then he entered 226 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:56,159 the house in response to my invitation that he do so. 227 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,759 I ushered him into my library, and, after asking him 228 00:12:59,759 --> 00:13:02,600 to be seated, inquired as to his business with me. 229 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:07,519 His answer was gratifying at least. He replied that he 230 00:13:07,559 --> 00:13:09,480 had been a reader of my writings for a number 231 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:12,000 of years, and that for some time past he had 232 00:13:12,039 --> 00:13:15,360 had a great desire, not to say curiosity, to meet 233 00:13:15,399 --> 00:13:17,720 me and tell me how much he had enjoyed certain 234 00:13:17,759 --> 00:13:21,559 of my stories. I'm a great devourer of books, mister Thurlow, 235 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:24,759 he said, and I have taken the keenest delight in 236 00:13:24,799 --> 00:13:28,440 reading your verses in humorous sketches. I may go further 237 00:13:28,519 --> 00:13:30,559 and say to you that you have helped me over 238 00:13:30,679 --> 00:13:32,960 many a hard place in my life by your work. 239 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:36,279 At times when I felt myself worn out with my business, 240 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:39,799 or face to face with some knotty problem in my career, 241 00:13:40,039 --> 00:13:42,320 I found much relief in picking up and reading your 242 00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:45,480 books at random. They've helped me to forget my weariness 243 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:48,679 or my knotty problems for the time being, and to day, 244 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:51,639 finding myself in this town, I resolved to call upon 245 00:13:51,679 --> 00:13:53,799 you this evening and thank you for all that you've 246 00:13:53,879 --> 00:13:57,559 done for me. Thereupon we became involved in a general 247 00:13:57,559 --> 00:14:00,480 discussion of literary men in their works, and I found 248 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:03,480 that my visitor certainly did have a pretty thorough knowledge 249 00:14:03,519 --> 00:14:05,840 of what has been produced by the writers of today. 250 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:09,039 I was quite won over to him by a simplicity, 251 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:12,559 as well as attracted to him by his kindly opinion 252 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:15,080 of my own efforts, and I did my best to 253 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,320 entertain him, showing him a few of my little literary 254 00:14:18,399 --> 00:14:22,759 treasures in the way of autograph letters, photographs, and presentation 255 00:14:22,879 --> 00:14:26,360 copies of well known books from the authors themselves. From 256 00:14:26,399 --> 00:14:29,440 this we drifted naturally and easily into a talk on 257 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:33,080 the methods of work adopted by literary men. He asked 258 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:35,879 me many questions as to my own methods, and when 259 00:14:35,879 --> 00:14:38,279 I had, in a measure outlined to him the manner 260 00:14:38,279 --> 00:14:40,960 of life which I had adopted, telling him of my 261 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:44,000 days at home, how little detail office work I had, 262 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:48,399 he seemed much interested with the picture. Indeed, I painted 263 00:14:48,399 --> 00:14:51,799 the picture of my daily routine in almost two perfect colors. 264 00:14:52,039 --> 00:14:54,639 For When I had finished, he observed quietly that I 265 00:14:54,679 --> 00:14:57,559 appeared to him to lead the ideal life, and added 266 00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:01,440 that he supposed I knew very little unhappiness. The remark 267 00:15:01,519 --> 00:15:05,279 recalled to me the dreadful reality that, through some perversity 268 00:15:05,279 --> 00:15:08,840 of faith, I was doomed to visitations of an uncanny order, 269 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:12,480 which were practically destroying my usefulness in my profession and 270 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:17,120 my sole financial resource. Well, I replied, as my mind 271 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:20,320 reverted to the unpleasant predicament in which I found myself, 272 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:24,039 I can't say that I know little unhappiness. As a 273 00:15:24,039 --> 00:15:25,759 matter of fact, I know a great deal of that 274 00:15:25,879 --> 00:15:29,559 undesirable thing. At the present moment, I am very much 275 00:15:29,559 --> 00:15:33,320 embarrassed through my absolute inability to fulfill a contract into 276 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:35,679 which I have entered, and which should have been filled 277 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:38,840 this morning. I was due to day with a Christmas story. 278 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:42,120 The presses are waiting for it, and I am utterly 279 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:45,879 unable to write it. He appeared deeply concerned at the confession. 280 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:49,159 I had hoped, indeed, that he might be sufficiently concerned 281 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:51,559 to take his departure, that I might make one more 282 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:55,360 effort to write the promised story. His solicitude, however, showed 283 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:58,840 itself in another way. Instead of leaving me, he ventured 284 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:01,720 the hope that he might aid me. What kind of 285 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:04,440 a story is it to be, he asked, Oh, the 286 00:16:04,559 --> 00:16:07,000 usual ghostly tale, I said, with a dash of the 287 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:09,440 Christmas flavor, thrown in here and there to make it 288 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:13,639 suitable to the season. Ah, he observed, and you find 289 00:16:13,679 --> 00:16:16,840 your vein worked out. It was a direct and perhaps 290 00:16:16,919 --> 00:16:19,759 impertinent question, but I thought it best to answer it, 291 00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:22,080 and to answer it as well without giving him any 292 00:16:22,159 --> 00:16:24,840 clue as to the real facts. I could not very 293 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:28,159 well take an entire stranger into my confidence and describe 294 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:31,320 to him the extraordinary encounters I was having with an 295 00:16:31,399 --> 00:16:35,000 uncanny other self. He would not have believed the truth. 296 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:39,639 Hence I told him an untruth and assented his proposition. Yes, 297 00:16:39,759 --> 00:16:42,480 I replied, the vein is worked out. I've written ghosts 298 00:16:42,519 --> 00:16:45,879 stories for years now, serious and comic, and I am 299 00:16:45,919 --> 00:16:48,320 today at the end of my tether, compelled to move 300 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:52,840 forward and yet held back. That accounts for it, he said, simply. 301 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:55,679 When I first saw you tonight at the door, I 302 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:58,320 could not believe that the author who had provided me 303 00:16:58,559 --> 00:17:01,519 with so much merriment could be so pale and worn 304 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:06,160 and seemingly mirthless. Pardon me, mister Thurlow, for my lack 305 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:08,359 of consideration when I told you that you did not 306 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:11,640 appear as I had expected to find you. I smiled 307 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:15,119 my forgiveness, and he continued. It may be, he said, 308 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:18,799 with a show of hesitation, it may be that I 309 00:17:18,839 --> 00:17:22,880 have come not altogether inopportunely. Perhaps I can help you. 310 00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:26,759 I smiled again. I should be most grateful if you could, 311 00:17:27,039 --> 00:17:29,920 I said, But you doubt my ability to do so. 312 00:17:30,119 --> 00:17:33,559 He put in, Oh, well, yes, of course you do, 313 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:37,839 and why shouldn't you. Nevertheless, I have noticed this at 314 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:40,279 times when I have been baffled in my work, A 315 00:17:40,319 --> 00:17:43,240 mere hint from another, from one who knew nothing of 316 00:17:43,279 --> 00:17:46,240 my work, has carried me onto a solution of my problem. 317 00:17:46,519 --> 00:17:49,200 I've read most of your writings, and I've thought over 318 00:17:49,279 --> 00:17:52,279 some of them many a time, and I have even 319 00:17:52,319 --> 00:17:55,720 had ideas for stories which, in my own conceit I 320 00:17:55,759 --> 00:17:59,240 have imagined were good enough for you. And I have 321 00:17:59,359 --> 00:18:02,160 wished that I possessed your facility with the pen, that 322 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:04,839 I might make of them myself what I thought you 323 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:07,559 would make of them had they been ideas of your own. 324 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:11,160 The gentleman's pallid face reddened as he said this, and 325 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:14,119 while I was hopeless as to anything of value resulting 326 00:18:14,119 --> 00:18:17,359 from his ideas, I could not resist the temptation to 327 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:19,759 hear what he had to say. Further, his manner was 328 00:18:19,799 --> 00:18:23,359 so deliciously simple, and his desire to aid me so manifest. 329 00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:26,799 He rattled on with suggestions for a half hour. Some 330 00:18:26,839 --> 00:18:30,279 of them were good, but none were new. Some were 331 00:18:30,279 --> 00:18:33,319 irresistibly funny, and did me good because they made me laugh, 332 00:18:33,519 --> 00:18:36,680 and I hadn't left naturally for a period so long 333 00:18:36,759 --> 00:18:38,960 that it made me shudder to think of it, fearing 334 00:18:39,039 --> 00:18:42,200 lest I should forget how to be mirthful. Finally, I 335 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:45,200 grew tired of his persistence, and with a very ill 336 00:18:45,279 --> 00:18:48,799 concealed impatience, told him plainly that I could do nothing 337 00:18:48,799 --> 00:18:52,400 with his suggestions, thanking him, however, for the spirit of 338 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:56,000 kindliness which had prompted him to offer them. He appeared 339 00:18:56,039 --> 00:18:59,480 somewhat hurt, but immediately desisted, and when nine o'clock came, 340 00:18:59,519 --> 00:19:02,559 he rose up to go. As he walked to the door, 341 00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:05,720 he seemed to be undergoing some mental struggle, to which, 342 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:09,599 with a sudden resolve, he finally succumbed, for after having 343 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:12,119 picked up his hat and stick and donned his overcoat, 344 00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:15,880 he turned to me and said, mister Thurlow, I don't 345 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:18,319 want to offend you. On the contrary, it is my 346 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:21,319 dearest wish to assist you. You have helped me, as 347 00:19:21,319 --> 00:19:23,880 I have told you. Why may I not help you? 348 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:27,680 I assure you, sir, I began when he interrupted me. 349 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:31,240 One moment, please, he said, putting his hand into the 350 00:19:31,279 --> 00:19:34,119 inside pocket of his black coat and extracting from it 351 00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:37,759 an envelope addressed to me. Let me finish. It is 352 00:19:37,799 --> 00:19:39,920 the whim of one who has an affection for you. 353 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:43,319 For ten years, I have secretly been at work myself 354 00:19:43,359 --> 00:19:45,799 on a story. It is a short one, but it 355 00:19:45,839 --> 00:19:49,119 has seemed good to me. I had a double object 356 00:19:49,119 --> 00:19:52,279 in seeking you out tonight. I wanted not only to 357 00:19:52,359 --> 00:19:55,920 see you, but to read my story to you. No 358 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:58,319 one knows that I have written it. I had intended 359 00:19:58,359 --> 00:20:01,720 it as a surprise to my to my friends. I 360 00:20:01,799 --> 00:20:04,200 had hoped to have it published somewhere, and I'd come 361 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:07,039 here to seek your advice in the matter. It is 362 00:20:07,039 --> 00:20:10,200 a story which I have written, and rewritten, and rewritten 363 00:20:10,319 --> 00:20:12,920 time and time again. In my leisure moments during the 364 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:15,519 ten years past. As I have told you, it is 365 00:20:15,559 --> 00:20:18,160 not likely that I shall ever write another. I am 366 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:20,480 proud of having done it, but I should be prouder 367 00:20:20,559 --> 00:20:22,839 yet if it, if it could in some way help you. 368 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:25,680 I leave it with you, sir, to print or to destroy. 369 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:28,319 And if you print it, to see it in type 370 00:20:28,319 --> 00:20:30,799 will be enough for me to see your name signed 371 00:20:30,799 --> 00:20:32,680 to it will be a matter of pride to me. 372 00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:35,599 No one will be ever the wiser, For as I say, 373 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:38,000 no one knows I have written it, and I promise 374 00:20:38,079 --> 00:20:39,960 you that no one shall know of it. If you 375 00:20:40,079 --> 00:20:42,960 decide to do as I not only suggest, but ask 376 00:20:43,039 --> 00:20:46,160 you to do. No one would believe me after it 377 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:48,599 has appeared as yours. Even if I should forget my 378 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:51,559 promise and claim it as my own, take it it 379 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:54,519 is yours. You are entitled to it as a slight 380 00:20:54,599 --> 00:20:57,400 measure of repayment for the debt of gratitude I owe you. 381 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:00,720 He pressed the manuscript into my hand, and before I 382 00:21:00,759 --> 00:21:03,920 could reply, had opened the door and disappeared into the 383 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:07,119 darkness of the street. I rushed to the sidewalk and 384 00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:09,799 shouted out to him to return. But I might as 385 00:21:09,839 --> 00:21:12,319 well save my breath and spared the neighborhood, for there 386 00:21:12,359 --> 00:21:15,000 was no answer. Holding his story in my hand, I 387 00:21:15,079 --> 00:21:18,279 re entered the house and walked back into my library, where, 388 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:22,400 sitting and reflecting upon the curious interview, I realized for 389 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:25,400 the first time that I was in entire ignorance as 390 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:29,319 to my visitor's name and address. I opened the envelope, 391 00:21:29,359 --> 00:21:31,759 hoping to find them, but they were not there. The 392 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:37,160 envelope contained merely a finely written manuscript of thirty odd pages, unsigned, 393 00:21:38,079 --> 00:21:41,119 and then I read the story. When I began, it 394 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:43,279 was with a half smile upon my lips, and with 395 00:21:43,319 --> 00:21:46,079 a feeling that I was wasting my time. The smile 396 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:49,880 soon faded. However, after reading the first paragraph, there was 397 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:54,119 no question of wasted time. The story was a masterpiece. 398 00:21:55,079 --> 00:21:57,119 It is needless to say to you that I am 399 00:21:57,160 --> 00:22:00,440 not a man of enthusiasms. It is difficult to roused 400 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:03,519 that emotion in my breast, But upon this occasion I 401 00:22:03,599 --> 00:22:06,799 yielded to a force too great for me to resist. 402 00:22:07,319 --> 00:22:10,440 I've read the tales of Hoffmann and of Poe, the 403 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:14,440 wondrous romances of de la motte Fuch, the unfortunately little 404 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:18,240 known tales of the lamented Fitz James O'Brien. The weird 405 00:22:18,279 --> 00:22:21,200 tales of writers of all tongues have been thoroughly sifted 406 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:23,640 by me in the course of my reading. And I 407 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:26,160 say to you now that in the whole of my life, 408 00:22:26,759 --> 00:22:31,720 I never read one story, one paragraph, one line, that 409 00:22:31,759 --> 00:22:36,480 could approach in vivid delineation, in weirdness of conception, in 410 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:39,680 anything in the quality which goes to make up the 411 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:43,720 truly great story. That story which came into my hands, 412 00:22:43,759 --> 00:22:46,240 as I have told you, I read it once and 413 00:22:46,359 --> 00:22:50,759 was amazed. I read it a second time and was tempted. 414 00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:54,680 It was mine. The writer himself had authorized me to 415 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:57,759 treat it as if it were my own, had voluntarily 416 00:22:57,799 --> 00:23:00,839 sacrificed his own claim to its authorship that he might 417 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:05,400 relieve me of my very pressing embarrassment. And not only this, 418 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:08,400 he had almost intimated that in putting my name to 419 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:11,680 his work, I should be doing him a favor. Why 420 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:15,319 not do so? Then, I asked myself, and immediately my 421 00:23:15,359 --> 00:23:18,799 better self rejected the idea as impossible. How could I 422 00:23:18,839 --> 00:23:21,519 put out as my own another man's work and retain 423 00:23:21,559 --> 00:23:25,359 my self respect? I resolved on another and better course 424 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:27,960 to send you the story in lieu of my own, 425 00:23:28,119 --> 00:23:30,759 with a full statement of the circumstances under which it 426 00:23:30,799 --> 00:23:35,079 had come into my possession. When that demon rose up 427 00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:38,359 out of the floor at my side, this time more 428 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:41,880 evil of aspect than before, more commanding in its manner. 429 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:45,480 With a groan, I shrank back into the cushions of 430 00:23:45,519 --> 00:23:48,319 my chair, and, by passing my hands over my eyes, 431 00:23:48,359 --> 00:23:52,799 tried to obliterate forever the offending sight. But it was useless. 432 00:23:53,039 --> 00:23:56,519 The uncanny thing approached me, and, as truly as I write, 433 00:23:56,559 --> 00:23:58,720 sat upon the edge of my couch, where for the 434 00:23:58,759 --> 00:24:02,880 first time it addressed me fool it said, how can 435 00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:07,039 you hesitate? Here's your position. You have made a contract 436 00:24:07,079 --> 00:24:10,000 which must be filled. You are already behind and in 437 00:24:10,039 --> 00:24:14,039 a hopeless mental state. Even granting that between this and 438 00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:17,119 tomorrow morning you could put together the necessary number of 439 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:20,799 words to fill the space allotted to you, what kind 440 00:24:20,799 --> 00:24:22,839 of a thing do you think that story would make? 441 00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:26,319 It would be a mere raving, like that other precious 442 00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:30,440 effort of August. The public, if by some odd chance 443 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:33,400 it ever reached them, would think your mind was utterly gone. 444 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:37,680 Your reputation would go with that verdict. On the other hand, 445 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:40,240 if you do not have the story ready. By tomorrow, 446 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:43,400 your hold on the Idler will be destroyed. They have 447 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:46,759 their announcements printed, and your name and portrait appear among 448 00:24:46,799 --> 00:24:50,160 those of the prominent contributors. Do you suppose the editor 449 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:54,200 and publisher will look leniently upon your failure considering my 450 00:24:54,279 --> 00:24:57,440 past record? Yes, I replied, I have never yet broken 451 00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:01,119 a promise to them, which is preci the reason why 452 00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:04,039 they will be severe with you, You, who have been 453 00:25:04,079 --> 00:25:06,240 regarded as one of the few men who can do 454 00:25:06,319 --> 00:25:10,240 almost any kind of literary work. It will you, of 455 00:25:10,279 --> 00:25:12,720 whom it is said that your brains are on tap? 456 00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:16,279 Will they be lenient with you? Bah? Can't you see 457 00:25:16,279 --> 00:25:19,559 that the very fact of your invariable readiness heretofore, is 458 00:25:19,599 --> 00:25:24,599 going to make your present unreadiness a thing incomprehensible? Then 459 00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:27,480 what shall I do? I asked? If I can't, I can't. 460 00:25:27,599 --> 00:25:31,920 That is all you can. There's the story in your hands. 461 00:25:32,119 --> 00:25:34,240 Think what it will do for you. It is one 462 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:38,039 of the immortal stories. You've read it? Then, I asked, 463 00:25:38,559 --> 00:25:42,759 haven't you? Yes, but it is the same, it said, 464 00:25:42,799 --> 00:25:45,720 with a leer and a contemptuous shrug. You and I 465 00:25:45,799 --> 00:25:49,359 are inseparable, aren't you? Glad, it added, with a laugh 466 00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:52,559 that grated on every fiber of my being. I was 467 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:56,440 too overwhelmed to reply, and it resumed. It is one 468 00:25:56,480 --> 00:26:00,200 of the immortal stories we agree to that published over 469 00:26:00,319 --> 00:26:03,920 your name, your name will live. The stuff you write 470 00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:06,480 yourself will give you present glory. But when you've been 471 00:26:06,519 --> 00:26:09,960 dead ten years, people won't remember your name, even unless 472 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,160 I get control of you. And in that case there 473 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:15,440 is a very pretty, though hardly a literary record in 474 00:26:15,519 --> 00:26:18,720 store for you. Again, it laughed harshly, and I buried 475 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:21,160 my face in the pillows of my couch, hoping to 476 00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:26,440 find relief there from this dreadful vision. Curious, it said, 477 00:26:26,599 --> 00:26:29,359 what you call your decent self doesn't dare look me 478 00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:32,039 in the eye. What a mistake people make who say 479 00:26:32,119 --> 00:26:33,920 that the man who won't look you in the eye 480 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:37,680 is not to be trusted, as if mere brazenness were 481 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:41,319 a sign of honesty. Really, the theory of decency is 482 00:26:41,359 --> 00:26:44,240 the most amusing thing in the world. But come, your 483 00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:47,599 time is growing short. Take that story. The writer gave 484 00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:49,839 it to you, begged you to use it as your own. 485 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:53,319 It is yours. It will make your reputation and save 486 00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:56,759 you with your publishers how can you hesitate? I shall 487 00:26:56,799 --> 00:27:02,079 not use it, I cried desperately. I must consider your children. 488 00:27:02,359 --> 00:27:05,599 Suppose you lose your connection with these publishers of yours, 489 00:27:06,119 --> 00:27:09,720 but it would be a crime, not a bit of it. 490 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:13,119 Whom do you rob a man who voluntarily came to 491 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:15,960 you and gave you that of which you rob him. 492 00:27:16,759 --> 00:27:20,200 Think of it as it is, and act only act quickly. 493 00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:23,799 It is now midnight. The tempter rose up and walked 494 00:27:23,839 --> 00:27:26,279 to the other end of the room. Whence, while he 495 00:27:26,319 --> 00:27:28,599 pretended to be looking over a few of my books 496 00:27:28,599 --> 00:27:31,759 and pictures, I was aware he was eyeing me closely 497 00:27:32,359 --> 00:27:36,000 and gradually compelling me by sheer force of will to 498 00:27:36,079 --> 00:27:40,640 do a thing which I abhorred. And I struggled weakly 499 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:44,599 against the temptation. But gradually, little by little I yielded, 500 00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:48,960 and finally succumbed altogether. Springing to my feet, I rushed 501 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:51,400 to the table, seized my pen, and signed my name 502 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:54,559 to the story. There I said it is done. I 503 00:27:54,559 --> 00:27:57,759 have saved my position and made my reputation, and am 504 00:27:57,799 --> 00:28:01,440 now a thief as well as a fool, said the other, calmly, 505 00:28:02,039 --> 00:28:03,720 you don't mean to say you are going to send 506 00:28:03,759 --> 00:28:07,759 that manuscript in as it is. Good, Lord, I cried, 507 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:10,279 what under heaven have you been trying to make me 508 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:14,440 do for the last half hour? Act like a sane being, 509 00:28:14,799 --> 00:28:18,119 said the demon. If you send that manuscript to courier, 510 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:20,839 I'll know in a minute it isn't yours. He knows 511 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:25,079 you haven't in ammanuensis, and that handwriting isn't yours. Copy 512 00:28:25,119 --> 00:28:28,480 it true, I answered, I haven't much of a mind 513 00:28:28,519 --> 00:28:31,839 for details. Tonight, I will do as you say. I 514 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:34,799 did so, I got out my pad and pen and ink, 515 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:38,200 and for three hours diligently applied myself to the task 516 00:28:38,279 --> 00:28:41,240 of copying the story. When it was finished, I went 517 00:28:41,279 --> 00:28:44,880 over it carefully, made a few minor corrections, signed it, 518 00:28:45,279 --> 00:28:48,240 put it in an envelope, addressed it to you, stamped it, 519 00:28:48,359 --> 00:28:50,519 and went out to the mailbox on the corner, where 520 00:28:50,519 --> 00:28:53,160 I dropped it into the slot and returned home. When 521 00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:57,559 I had returned to my library, my visitor was still there. Well, 522 00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:00,000 it said, I wish you'd hurry and complete this effect. 523 00:29:00,359 --> 00:29:03,200 I am tired and wished to go. You can't go 524 00:29:03,359 --> 00:29:06,160 too soon to please me, said I, gathering up the 525 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:09,119 original manuscripts of the story and preparing to put them 526 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:13,039 away in my desk. Probably not, it sneered. I'll be 527 00:29:13,039 --> 00:29:15,480 glad to go too, But I can't go until that 528 00:29:15,519 --> 00:29:18,880 manuscript is destroyed. As long as it exists, there is 529 00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:22,240 evidence of your having appropriated the work of another. Why 530 00:29:22,279 --> 00:29:26,160 can't you see that? Burn it? I can't see my 531 00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:28,759 way clear in crime, I retorted, it is not in 532 00:29:28,799 --> 00:29:33,279 my line. Nevertheless, realizing the value of his advice, I 533 00:29:33,359 --> 00:29:36,119 thrust the pages one by one into the blazing log 534 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:39,160 fire and watched them as they flared and flamed and 535 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:42,920 grew to ashes. As the last page disappeared in the embers, 536 00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:46,759 the demon vanished. I was alone, and, throwing myself down 537 00:29:46,799 --> 00:29:49,640 for a moment's reflection upon my couch, was soon lost 538 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:53,240 in sleep. It was noon when I again opened my eyes, 539 00:29:53,279 --> 00:29:56,839 and ten minutes after I awakened, your telegraphic summons reached me. 540 00:29:57,960 --> 00:30:00,480 Come down at once, was what you said, and I went, 541 00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:03,960 and then came the terrible de Nuemont and yet a 542 00:30:04,079 --> 00:30:06,680 de Numont, which was pleasing to me since it relieved 543 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:10,319 my conscience. You handed me the envelope containing the story. 544 00:30:10,799 --> 00:30:14,640 Did you send that? Was your question? I did last night, 545 00:30:14,759 --> 00:30:17,880 or rather early this morning. I mailed at about three o'clock, 546 00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:21,519 I replied, I demand an explanation of your conduct, said 547 00:30:21,559 --> 00:30:24,920 you of what I asked. Look at your so called 548 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:27,880 story and see if this is a practical joke, Thurlough. 549 00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:31,079 It's a damned poor one. I opened the envelope and 550 00:30:31,119 --> 00:30:33,200 took from it the sheets I had sent you, twenty 551 00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:36,039 four of them. They were every one of them as 552 00:30:36,079 --> 00:30:39,160 blank as when they left the paper mill. You know 553 00:30:39,279 --> 00:30:41,559 the rest. You know that I tried to speak, that 554 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:45,720 my utterance failed me, and that, finding myself unable at 555 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:48,680 the time to control my emotions, I turned and rushed 556 00:30:48,759 --> 00:30:53,039 madly from the office, leaving the mystery unexplained. You know 557 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:56,640 that you wrote demanding a satisfactory explanation of the situation 558 00:30:56,960 --> 00:31:01,200 or my resignation from your staff. This, this carrier, is 559 00:31:01,279 --> 00:31:05,160 my explanation. It is all I have. It is absolute truth. 560 00:31:05,519 --> 00:31:07,720 I beg you to believe it, for if you do not, 561 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:11,720 then is my condition a hopeless one. You will ask me, 562 00:31:11,799 --> 00:31:14,279 perhaps for a resume of the story which I thought 563 00:31:14,279 --> 00:31:17,359 I had sent you. It is my crowning misfortune that 564 00:31:17,559 --> 00:31:21,400 upon that point my mind is an absolute blank. I 565 00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:25,519 cannot remember it in form or in substance. I've racked 566 00:31:25,559 --> 00:31:29,720 my brains for some recollection of some small portion of 567 00:31:29,759 --> 00:31:33,400 it to help make my explanation more credible, but alas 568 00:31:33,519 --> 00:31:36,720 it will not come back to me. If I were dishonest, 569 00:31:36,759 --> 00:31:39,279 I might fake up a story to suit the purpose. 570 00:31:39,799 --> 00:31:43,559 But I am not dishonest. I came near to doing 571 00:31:43,599 --> 00:31:47,480 an unworthy act. I did do an unworthy thing, but 572 00:31:47,599 --> 00:31:50,839 by some mysterious provision of fate, my conscience is cleared 573 00:31:50,839 --> 00:31:55,720 of that. Be sympathetic, Carrier, or if you cannot be 574 00:31:55,920 --> 00:32:00,400 lenient with me this time, believe, believe, Believe Eve. I 575 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:03,680 implore you pray, let me hear from you at once, 576 00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:09,160 Signed Henry Thurlow. Two being a note from George Carrier, 577 00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:13,559 editor of The Idler, to Henry Thurlow, author. Your explanation 578 00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:16,759 has come to hand as an explanation. It isn't worth 579 00:32:16,799 --> 00:32:18,839 the paper it is written on, but we are all 580 00:32:18,839 --> 00:32:21,240 agreed here that it is probably the best bit of 581 00:32:21,279 --> 00:32:24,160 fiction you ever wrote. It is accepted for the Christmas 582 00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:28,519 issue enclosed Please find check for one hundred dollars. Dawson 583 00:32:28,599 --> 00:32:31,240 suggests that you take another month up in the Addiron Decks. 584 00:32:31,759 --> 00:32:33,920 You might put in your time writing up some account 585 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:36,079 of that dream life you are leading. While you are there, 586 00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:38,680 it seems to me there are possibilities in the idea 587 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:41,400 the concern will pay all expenses. What do you say? 588 00:32:42,279 --> 00:32:47,400 Signed yours ever, g c. End of Thurlow's Christmas Story 589 00:32:47,519 --> 00:32:49,079 by John Kendrick Bangs