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twg_000012589800 | for weeks and months at a time, and he lived as they lived. He was a very true-to-life author, depicting the often squalid scenes he encountered with great care and attention to detail. His young readers looked forward eagerly to his next books, and through the 1860s and 1870s there was a flow of books from his pen, so... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589801 | in a year, all very good reading. The rate of production diminished in the last ten or fifteen years of his life, but the quality never failed. He published over ninety books under his own name, and a few books for very young children under the pseudonym "Comus". For today's taste his books are perhaps a little too rel... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589802 | what we would nowadays call "pi". In part that was the way people wrote in those days, but more important was the fact that in his days at the Red River Settlement, in the wilds of Canada, he had been a little dissolute, and he did not want his young readers to be unmindful of how they ought to behave, | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589803 | as he felt he had been. Some of his books were quite short, little over pages. These books formed a series intended for the children of poorer parents, having less pocket-money. These books are particularly well-written and researched, because he wanted that readership to get the very best possible for their money. The... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589804 | in each series. Re-created as an e-Text by Nick Hodson, August . ________________________________________________________________________ THE GOLDEN DREAM, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE. CHAPTER ONE. ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST. THE CAUSE OF THE WHOLE AFFAIR. Ned Sinton gazed at the scene before him with indescribable amazement! H... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589805 | had never seen anything like this. Many a dream of the most extravagant nature had surrounded his pillow with creatures of curious form and scenes of magic beauty, but never before, either by actual observation or in nightly vision, had Ned Sinton beheld a scene so wonderful as that which now lay spread out before him.... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589806 | centre of a cavern of vast dimensions--so vast, and so full of intense light, that instead of looking on it as a huge cave, he felt disposed to regard it as a small world. The sides of this cavern were made of pure gold, and the roof--far above his head--was spangled all over with glittering points, like a starry sky. | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589807 | The ground, too, and, in short, everything within the cave, was made of the same precious metal. Thousands of stalactites hung from the roof like golden icicles. Millions of delicate threads of the same material also depended from the star-spangled vault, each thread having a golden ball at the end of it, which, strang... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589808 | a bright flame within to shine through, and shed a yellow lustre over surrounding objects. All the edges, and angles, and points of the irregularly-formed walls were of burnished gold, which reflected the rays of these pendant lamps with dazzling brilliancy, while the broad masses of the frosted walls shone with a subd... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589809 | in rich voluminous folds on the pavement, half concealing several archways which led into smaller caverns, similar to the large one. Altogether it was a scene of luxurious richness and splendour that is utterly indescribable. But the thing that amazed Ned Sinton most was, that the company of well-dressed ladies and gen... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589810 | ate golden ices, or listened to the exquisite strains of music that floated on the atmosphere, were all as yellow as guineas! Ned could by no means understand this. In order to convince himself that there was no deception in the matter, he shook hands with several of the people nearest to him, and found that they were ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589811 | hard as iron; although, to all appearance, they were soft and pliable, and could evidently move about with perfect freedom. Ned was very much puzzled indeed. One would have thought he must have believed himself to be dreaming. Not a bit of it. He knew perfectly well that he was wide-awake. In fact, a doubt upon that po... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589812 | his mind for a moment. At length he resolved to ask the meaning of it all, and, observing a stout old gentleman, with a bland smile on his yellow countenance, in the act of taking a pinch of golden snuff from a gold snuff-box, he advanced and accosted him. "Pray, sir," began Ned, modestly, "may I take the liberty of | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589813 | asking you what is the meaning of all this?" "All what, sir?" inquired the old gentleman, in a deep metallic voice. "This golden cave, with its wonderful lamps, and especially these golden people; and--excuse me, sir, for remarking on the circumstance--you seem to be _made of gold_ yourself. I have often heard the term... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589814 | I really never expected to see a man who was literally `worth his weight in gold.'" The old gentleman laughed sarcastically at this sally, and took an enormous pinch of gold-dust. As he did not seem inclined to be communicative, however, Ned said again, "What is the meaning of it all? can you explain what has done it?"... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589815 | at his interrogator, this gentleman of precious metal placed his head a little on one side, and tapped the lid of his snuff-box, but said nothing. Then he suddenly exclaimed, at the full pitch of his voice, "California, my boy! That's what's done it, Edward! _California for ever_! Ned, hurrah!" As the deep tones of his... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589816 | star-spangled vault, the company took up the shout, and with "California for ever!" made the cavern ring again. In the excess of their glee the gentlemen took off their hats, and the ladies their wreaths and turbans, and threw them in the air. As many of them failed to catch these portions of costume in their descent, ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589817 | by their fall on the golden pavement was very striking indeed. "Come here, my lad," said the old gentleman, seizing Ned Sinton by the arm, and laughing heartily as he dragged him towards an immense mirror of burnished gold; "look at yourself there." Ned looked, and started back with horror on observing that he himself ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589818 | There could be no mistake whatever about it. There he stood, staring at himself like a yellow statue. His shooting-jacket was richly chased with alternate stripes of burnished and frosted work; the buttons on his vest shone like stars; his pantaloons were striped like the coat; his hair was a mass of dishevelled filigr... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589819 | height of his horror, he clasped them together, rang like a brass-founder's anvil. For a few moments he stood before the mirror speechless. Then a feeling of intense indignation unaccountably took possession of him, and he turned fiercely on the old gentleman, exclaiming-- "_You_ have done this, sir! What do you mean b... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589820 | didn't do it. California has done it. Ha! ha! my boy, you're done for! Smitten with the yellow fever, Neddy? California for ever! See here--" As he spoke, the old gentleman threw out one leg and both arms, and began to twirl round, after the fashion of a peg-top, on one toe. At first he revolved slowly, but gradually i... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589821 | his speed, until no part of him could be distinctly observed. Ned Sinton stood aghast. Suddenly the old gentleman shot upwards like a rocket, but he did not quit the ground; he merely elongated his body until his head stuck against the roof of the cave. Then he ceased to revolve, and remained in the form of a golden st... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589822 | head surrounded by stars and his toe resting on the ground! While Ned stood rooted to the spot, turning the subject over in his mind, and trying to find out by what process of chemical or mechanical action so remarkable a transformation could have been accomplished, he became aware that his uncle, old Mr Shirley, was s... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589823 | of the cave regarding him with a look of mingled sarcasm and pity. He observed, too, that his uncle was not made of gold, like the people around him, but was habited in a yeomanry uniform. Mr Shirley had been a yeoman twenty years before his nephew was born. Since that time his proportions had steadily increased, and h... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589824 | now a man of very considerable rotundity--so much so, that his old uniform fitted him with excessive tightness; the coat would by no means button across his capacious chest, and, being much too short, shewed a very undignified amount of braces below it. "Uncle!" exclaimed Ned Sinton, rushing up to his relative, "what _... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589825 | Everybody seems to be mad. I think you must be mad yourself, to come here such a figure as that; and I'm quite sure _I_ shall go mad if you don't explain it to me. What _does_ it all mean?" "California," replied Mr Shirley, becoming more sarcastic in expression and less pitiful. "Why, that's what everybody cries," excl... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589826 | was now driven almost to desperation. "My dear uncle, do look like yourself and exercise some of your wonted sagacity. Just glance round at the cave and the company, all made of gold, and look at me--gold too, if not pinchbeck, but I'm not a good-enough judge of metals to tell which. What _has_ done it, uncle? _Do_ loo... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589827 | a better humour, and tell me how it has happened." "California," replied Mr Shirley. "Yes, yes; I know that. California seems to be everything here. But how has it come about? Why are _you_ here, and what has brought me here?" "California," repeated Mr Shirley. "Uncle, I'll go deranged if you don't answer me. What do y... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589828 | Mr Shirley. At the same moment a stout golden lady with a filigree turban shouted, "for ever!" at the top of a very shrill voice, and immediately the company took up the cry again, filling the cave with deafening sounds. Ned Sinton gave one look of despair at his relative--then turned and fled. "Put him out," shouted t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589829 | with the intruder!" Ned cast a single glance backward, and beheld the people pushing and buffeting his uncle in a most unceremonious manner. His helmet was knocked down over his eyes, and the coat--so much too small for him--was rendered an easy fit by being ripped up behind to the neck. Ned could not stand this. He wa... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589830 | limb and bold as a lion, although not naturally addicted to fighting, so he turned suddenly round and flew to the rescue. Plunging into the midst of the struggling mass of golden creatures, Ned hit out right and left like a young Hercules, and his blows rang upon their metal chests and noses like the sound of sledge-ha... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589831 | any other effect. Suddenly he experienced an acute sensation of pain, and--awoke to find himself hammering the bed-post with bleeding knuckles, and his uncle standing beside his bed chuckling immensely. "O uncle," cried Ned, sitting up in his bed, and regarding his knuckles with a perplexed expression of countenance, "... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589832 | "and all about California, I'll be bound." "Why, how did you guess that?" "It needs not a wizard to guess that, lad. I've observed that you have read nothing in the newspapers for the last three months but the news from the gold-diggings of California. Your mind has of late been constantly running on that subject, and ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589833 | that day-dreams are often reproduced at night. Besides, I heard you shouting the word in your sleep as I entered your room. Were you fighting with gold-diggers, eh! or Indians?" "Neither, uncle; but I was fighting with very strange beings, I assure you, and--" "Well, well," interrupted Mr Shirley, "never mind the dream... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589834 | some other time. I have important matters to talk over with you, my boy. Morton has written to me. Get up and come down as quickly as you can, and we'll discuss the matter over our breakfast." As the door closed after the retreating form of his uncle, Edward Sinton leaped out of bed and into his trousers. During his | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589835 | toilet he wondered what matters of importance Mr Shirley could intend to discuss with him, and felt half inclined to fear, from the grave expression of his uncle's face when he spoke of it, that something of a disagreeable nature awaited him. But these thoughts were intermingled with reminiscences of the past night. Hi... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589836 | of his strange encounter, and, do what he would, he could not banish from his mind the curious incidents of that remarkable golden dream. CHAPTER TWO. OUR HERO. We have entered thus minutely into the details of our hero's dream, because it was the climax to a long series of day-dreams, in which he had indulged ever sin... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589837 | of gold in California. Edward Sinton was a youth of eighteen at the time of which we write, and an orphan. He was tall, strong, broad-shouldered, fair-haired, blue-eyed, Roman-nosed, and gentle as a lamb. This last statement may perhaps appear inconsistent with the fact that, during the whole course of his school-life,... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589838 | or three in the week. Ned never began a fight, and, indeed, did not like fighting. But some big boys _will_ domineer over little ones, and Ned would not be domineered over; consequently he had to be thrashed. He was possessed, even in boyhood, of an amount of physical courage that would have sufficed for any two ordina... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589839 | did not boast. He did not quarrel. He never struck the first blow, but, if twenty boys had attacked him, he would have tried to fight them all. He never tyrannised over small boys. It was not his nature to do so; but he was not perfect, any more than you are, dear reader. He sometimes punched small boys' heads | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589840 | when they worried him, though he never did so without repenting of it, and doing them a kindness afterwards in order to make up. He was very thoughtless, too, and very careless; nevertheless he was fond of books--specially of books of adventure--and studied these like a hero--as he was. Boys of his own size, or even a ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589841 | never fought with Ned Sinton. They knew better than that; but they adored him, in some cases envied him, and in all cases trusted and followed him. It was only _very_ big boys who fought with him, and all they got by it was a good deal of hard pummelling before they floored their little adversary, and a good deal | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589842 | of jeering from their comrades for fighting a small boy. From one cause or another, Ned's visage was generally scratched, often cut, frequently swelled, and almost always black and blue. But as Ned grew older, the occasions for fighting became less frequent; his naturally amiable disposition improved, (partly owing, no... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589843 | every sense of the term, a good old man,) and when he attained the age of fifteen and went to college, and was called "Sinton," instead of "Ned," his fighting days were over. No man in his senses would have ventured to attack that strapping youth with the soft blue eyes, the fair hair, the prominent nose, and the firm | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589844 | but smiling lips, or, if he had, he would have had to count on an hour's extremely hard work, whether the fortune of war went for or against him. When Ned had been three years at college, his uncle hinted that it was time to think of a profession, and suggested that as he was a first-rate mathematician, and had | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589845 | been fond of mechanics from his childhood, he should turn an engineer. Ned would probably have agreed to this cheerfully, had not a thirst for adventure been created by the stirring accounts which had begun to arrive at this time from the recently-discovered gold-fields of California. His enthusiastic spirit was stirre... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589846 | large fortune suddenly by the finding of a huge nugget--although that was a very pleasant idea--as by the hope of meeting with wild adventures in that imperfectly-known and distant land. And the effect of such dreams was to render the idea of sitting down to an engineer's desk, or in a mercantile counting-room, extreme... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589847 | that Edward Sinton felt indisposed to business, and disposed to indulge in golden visions. When he entered the breakfast-parlour, his mind was still full of his curious dream. "Come along, my lad," cried Mr Shirley, laying down the Bible, and removing his spectacles from a pair of eyes that usually twinkled with a sort... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589848 | there was now an expression of perplexity; "set to work and get the edge off your appetite, and then I'll read Moxton's letter." When Mr Shirley had finished breakfast, Ned was about half done, having just commenced his third slice of toast. So the old gentleman complimented his nephew on the strength of his appetite, ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589849 | a letter from his pocket, and leaned back in his chair. "Now, lad, open your ears and consider what I am about to read." "Go on, uncle, I'm all attention," said Ned, attacking slice number four. "This is Moxton's letter. It runs thus-- "`Dear Sir,--I beg to acknowledge receipt of yours of the 5th inst. I shall be happy... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589850 | take your nephew on trial, and, if I find him steady, shall enter into an engagement with him, I need not add that unremitting application to business is the only road to distinction in the profession he is desirous of adopting. Let him call at my office to-morrow between ten and twelve.--Yours very truly, Daniel Moxto... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589851 | Ned, drawing his chair towards the fire, into which he gazed contemplatively. Mr Shirley looked at his nephew over the top of his spectacles, and said-- "That's all." "It's very short," remarked Ned. "But to the point," rejoined his uncle. "Now, boy, I see that you don't relish the idea, and I must say that I would rat... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589852 | became an engineer than a lawyer; but then, lad, situations are difficult to get now-a-days, and, after all, you might do worse than become a lawyer. To be sure, I have no great love for the cloth, Ned; but the ladder reaches very high. The foot is crowded with a struggling mass of aspirants, many of whom are of very | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589853 | questionable character, but the top reaches to one of the highest positions in the empire. You might become the Lord High Chancellor at last, who knows! But seriously, I think you should accept this offer. Moxton is a grave, stern man, but a sterling fellow for all that, and in good practice. Now, what do you think!" "... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589854 | Ned, "I've never concealed my thoughts from you since the day you took me by the hand, eleven years ago, and brought me to live under your roof; and I'll not begin to dissemble now. The plain truth is, that I don't like it at all." "Stop, now," cried Mr Shirley, with a grieved expression of countenance; "don't be hasty | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589855 | in forming your opinion. Besides, my boy, you ought to be more ready to take my advice, even although it be not altogether palatable." "My dear uncle, you quite misunderstand me. I only tell you what I _think_ about the proposal. As to taking your advice, I fully intend to do that whether I like it or not; but I | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589856 | think, if you will listen to me for a few minutes, you will change your mind in regard to this matter. You know that I am very fond of travelling, and that I dislike the idea of taking up my abode on the top of a three-legged stool, either as a lawyer's or a merchant's clerk. Well, unless a man | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589857 | likes his profession, and goes at it with a will, he cannot hope to succeed, so that I have no prospect of getting on, I fear, in the line you wish me to adopt. Besides, there are plenty of poor fellows out of work, who love sitting still from nine a.m. to ten p.m., and whose bread I would be | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589858 | taking out of their mouths by devoting myself to the legal profession, and--" At this point Ned hesitated for a moment, and his uncle broke in with-- "Tell me, now, if every one thought about business as you do, how would the world get on, think you?" "Badly, I fear," replied the youth, with a smile; "but everybody doe... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589859 | of it as I do; and, tell me, uncle, if everybody thought of business as you would wish me to do, what would come of the soldiers and sailors who defend our empire, and extend our foreign trade, and achieve the grand geographical discoveries that have of late added so much lustre to the British name?" Ned flushed and be... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589860 | quite eloquent at this point. "Now, look at California," he continued; "there's a magnificent region, full of gold; not a mere myth, or an exaggeration, but a veritable fact, attested by the arrival of letters and gold-dust every month. Surely that land was made to be peopled; and the poor savages who dwell there need ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589861 | and delivered from their degraded condition; and the country must be worked, and its resources be developed; and who's to do it, if enterprising clergymen, and schoolmasters, and miners do not go to live there, and push their fortunes?" "And which of the three callings do you propose adopting?" inquired Mr Shirley, wit... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589862 | is, I have not thought much about that as yet. Of course, I never thought of the first. I do not forget your own remark, that the calling of a minister of the gospel of Christ is not, like other professions, to be adopted merely as a means of livelihood. Then, as to the second, I might perhaps manage that; | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589863 | but I don't think it would suit me." "Do you think, then, that you would make a good digger?" "Well, perhaps I would," replied Ned, modestly. Mr Shirley gravely regarded the powerful frame that reclined in the easy-chair before him, and was compelled to admit that the supposition was by no means outrageous. "Besides," ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589864 | my hand to many things in a new country. You know I have studied surveying, and I can sketch a little, and know something of architecture. I suppose that Latin and Greek would not be of much use, but the little I have picked up of medicine and surgery among the medical students would be useful. Then I could take | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589865 | notes, and sketch the scenery, and bring back a mass of material that might interest the public, and do good to the country." "Oh," said the old gentleman, shortly; "come back and turn author, in fact, and write a book that nobody would publish, or which, in the event of its being published, nobody would read!" "Come, ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589866 | uncle, don't laugh at me. I assure you it seems very reasonable to me to think that what others have done, and are doing every day, I am able to do." "Well, I won't laugh at you; but, to be serious, you are wise enough to know that an old man's experience is worth more than a youth's fancies. Much | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589867 | of what you have said is true, I admit, but I assure you that the bright prospects you have cut out for yourself are very delusive. They will never be realised, at least in the shape in which you have depicted them on your imagination. They will dissolve, my boy, on a nearer approach, and, as Shakespeare has it, `like | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589868 | the baseless fabric of a vision, leave not a wrack behind,' or, at least, not much more than a wrack." Ned reverted to the golden dream, and felt uneasy under his uncle's kind but earnest gaze. "Most men," continued Mr Shirley, "enjoy themselves at first, when they go to wild countries in search of adventure, but they ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589869 | loss of their best years afterwards. In my opinion men should never emigrate unless they purpose making the foreign land they go to their _home_. But I won't oppose you, if you are determined to go; I will do all I can to help you, and give you my blessing; but before you make up your mind, I would recommend | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589870 | you to call on Mr Moxton, and hear what prospects he holds out to you. Then take a week to think seriously over it; and if at the end of that time, you are as anxious to go as ever, I'll not stand in your way." "You are kind to me, uncle; more so than I deserve," said Ned earnestly. | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589871 | "I'll do as you desire, and you may depend upon it that the generous way in which you have left me to make my own choice will influence me against going abroad more than anything else." Ned sighed as he rose to quit the room, for he felt that his hopes at that moment were sinking. "And before you take | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589872 | a step in the matter, my boy," said old Mr Shirley, "go to your room and ask counsel of Him who alone has the power to direct your steps in this life." Ned replied briefly, "I will, uncle," and hastily left the room. Mr Shirley poked the fire, put on his spectacles, smoothed out the wrinkles on his bald forehead | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589873 | with his hand, took up the _Times_, and settled himself down in his easy-chair to read; but his nephew's prospects could not be banished from his mind. He went over the whole argument again, mentally, with copious additions, ere he became aware of the fact, that for three-quarters of an hour he had been, (apparently), ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589874 | CHAPTER THREE. HOPES AND FEARS--MR. SHIRLEY RECEIVES A VISIT AND A WILD PROPOSAL. When Edward Sinton left his chamber, an hour after the conversation related in the last chapter, his brow was unruffled and his step light. He had made up his mind that, come what might, he would not resist the wishes of his only near rel... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589875 | best friend. There was a day in the period of early boyhood that remained as fresh on the memory of young Sinton as if it had been yesterday--the day on which his mother died. The desolation of his early home on that day was like the rising of a dark thunder-cloud on a bright sky. His young heart was crushed, | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589876 | his mind stunned, and the first ray of light that broke upon him--the first gush of relief--was when his uncle arrived and took him on his knee, and, seated beside the bed where that cold, still form lay, wept upon the child's neck as if his heart would break. Mr Shirley buried the sister whom he had been too late | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589877 | to see alive. Then he and his little nephew left the quiet country village and went to dwell in the great city of London. From that time forward Mr Shirley was a father to Ned, who loved him more than any one else on earth, and through his influence he was early led to love and reverence his heavenly Father | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589878 | and his blessed Redeemer. The subject of going abroad was the first in regard to which Ned and his uncle had seriously disagreed, and the effect on the feelings of both was very strong. Ned's mind wandered as he put on his hat, and buttoned his great-coat up to the chin, and drew on his gloves slowly. He was not | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589879 | vain of his personal appearance; neither was he reckless of it. He always struck you as being a particularly well-dressed man, and he had naturally a dashing look about him. Poor fellow! he felt anything but dashing or reckless as he hurried through the crowded streets in the direction of the city that day. Moxton's do... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589880 | with a brass knocker and a brass plate, both of which ornaments, owing to verdigris, were anything but ornamental. The plate was almost useless, being nearly illegible, but the knocker was still fit for duty. The street was narrow--as Ned observed with a feeling of deep depression--and the house to which the green door... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589881 | little, as if it were ashamed of itself. On the knocker being applied, the green door was opened by a disagreeable-looking old woman, who answered to the question, "Is Mr Moxton in?" with a short "Yes," and, without farther remark, ushered our hero into a very dingy and particularly small office, which, owing to the in... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589882 | struggled through the dirty little windows, required to be lighted with gas. Ned felt, so to speak, like a thermometer which was falling rapidly. "Can I see Mr Moxton?" he inquired of a small dishevelled clerk, who sat on a tall stool behind a high desk, engaged in writing his name in every imaginable form on a sheet o... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589883 | paper. The dishevelled clerk pointed to a door which opened into an inner apartment, and resumed his occupation. Ned tapped at the door indicated. "Come in," cried a stern voice. Ned, (as a thermometer), fell considerably lower. On entering, he beheld a tall, gaunt man, with a sour cast of countenance, standing with hi... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589884 | with a cheerful expression of face. Thermometrically speaking, he fell to the freezing-point. "You are young Sinton, I suppose. You've come later than I expected." Ned apologised, and explained that he had had some difficulty in finding the house. "Umph! Your uncle tells me that you're a sharp fellow, and write a good ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589885 | office before?" "No, sir. Up till now I have been at college. My uncle is rather partial, I fear, and may have spoken too highly of me. I think, however, that my hand is not a bad one. At least it is legible." "At least!" said Mr Moxton, with a sarcastic expression that was meant for smile, perhaps for a | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589886 | grin. "Why, that's the _most_ you could say of it. No hand is good, sir, if it is not legible, and no hand can possibly be bad that _is_ legible. Have you studied law?" "No, sir, I have not." "Umph! you're too old to begin. Have you been used to sit at the desk?" "Yes; I have been accustomed to | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589887 | study the greater part of the day." "Well, you may come here on Monday, and I'll speak to you again, and see what you can do. I'm too busy just now. Good-morning." Ned turned to go, but paused on the threshold, and stood holding the door-handle. "Excuse me, sir," he said, hesitatingly, "may I ask what room I shall occu... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589888 | if--if--I come to work here?" Mr Moxton looked a little surprised at the question, but pointed to the outer office where the dishevelled clerk sat, and said, "There." Ned fell to twenty below the freezing-point. "And pray, sir," he continued, "may I ask what are office-hours?" "From nine a.m. till nine p.m., with an in... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589889 | sharply; "but we usually continue at work till eleven at night, sometimes later. Good-morning." Ned fell to zero, and found himself in the street, with an indistinct impression of having heard the dishevelled clerk chuckling vociferously as he passed through the office. It was a hard struggle, a very hard struggle, but... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589890 | had ever done for him, and the love he bore him, and manfully resolved to cast California behind his back for ever, and become a lawyer. Meanwhile Mr Shirley received a visit from a very peculiar personage. He was still seated in his arm-chair pondering his nephew's prospects when this personage entered the room, hat i... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589891 | round straw one--and cried heartily, "Good day, kinsman." "Ha! Captain Bunting, how are ye? Glad to see you, old fellow," exclaimed Mr Shirley, rising and seizing the sailor by the hand. "Sit down, sit down, and let's hear your news. Why, I believe it's six months since I saw you." "Longer, Shirley, longer than that," ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589892 | in the chair which Ned Sinton had vacated a short time before. "I hope your memory is not giving way. I have been half round the world, and it's a year and six months to-day since I sat here last." "Is it?" cried Mr Shirley, in surprise. "Now, that is very remarkable. But do you know, captain, I have often | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589893 | thought upon that subject, and wondered why it is that, as we get older, time seems to fly faster, and events which happened a month ago seem as if they only occurred yesterday. But let me hear all about it. Where have you been, and where are you going next?" "I've been," replied the captain, who was a big, broad | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589894 | man with a rough over-all coat, rough pilot-cloth trousers, rough red whiskers, a shaggy head of hair, and a rough-skinned face; the only part of him, in fact, which wasn't rough was his heart; that was soft and warm-- "I've been, as I remarked before, half round the world, and I'm goin' next to America. That's a short... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589895 | answer to your question. If you have time and patience, kinsman, I'll open the log-book of my memory and give you some details of my doings since we last met. But first tell me, how is my young friend, Ned?" "Oh, he's well--excellently well--besides being tall and strong. You would hardly know him, captain. He's full s... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589896 | believe, and the scamp has something like a white wreath of smoke over his upper lip already! I wish him to become an engineer or a lawyer, but the boy is in love with California just now, and dreams about nothing but wild adventures and gold-dust." The captain gave a grunt, and a peculiar smile crossed his rugged visa... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589897 | he gazed earnestly and contemplatively into the fire. Captain Bunting was a philosopher, and was deeply impressed with the belief that the smallest possible hint upon any subject whatever was sufficient to enable him to dive into the marrow of it, and prognosticate the probable issue of it, with much greater certainty ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589898 | however, the grunt above referred to was all he said. It is not necessary to trouble the reader with the lengthened discourse that the captain delivered to his kinsman. When he concluded, Mr Shirley pushed his spectacles up on his bald head, gazed at the fire, and said, "Odd, very odd; and interesting too--very interes... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012589899 | pulled his spectacles down on his nose, and looking over them at the captain, said, "And what part of America are you bound for now?" "California," answered the captain, slowly. Mr Shirley started, as if some prophetic vision had been called up by the word and the tone, in which it was uttered. "And that," continued th... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
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