Burned Bridges, Bertrand W. Sinclair [ready to read books .txt] 📗

Chapter 26 (A Mark To Shoot At) Pg 168

What,  After All,  Was Pure Charity,  A Puerile Sort Of Service. I Gave

That Up After You Went Away." She Snuggled One Hand Into His. "It Didn't

Seem Worth While--Nothing Seemed Worth While Until Dad Evolved This."

 

She Waved Her Hand Again Over The Valley. Thompson's Eyes Gleamed. It

Was Good To Look At,  Good To Think Of. It Was Good To Be There. He

Remembered,  With Uncanny,  Disturbing Clearness Of Vision,  Things He Had

Looked Down Upon From A Greater Height Over Bloody Stretches In France.

And He Shuddered A Little.

 

Sophie Felt The Small Tremor Run Through Him.

 

"What Is It?" She Whispered Anxiously.

 

"It Is Beautiful,  And I Can Appreciate Its Beauty All The More From

Seeing It With You. I'd Like To Take A Hand In This," He Said Quietly.

"I Was Just Comparing It With Other Things-2,  1832: "Very Much

To The Surprise Of Some,  And To The Satisfaction Of All Our Citizens,  We

Have A Long Proclamation Of President Jackson,  Which Was Published In

Washington On The 12th. Inst.,  And Is In All Our Papers This Day. It Is

A Document Addressed To The Nullifiers Of South Carolina,  Occasioned By

The Late Treasonable Proceedings Of Their Convention. The Whole Subject

Is Discussed In A Spirit Of Conciliation,  But With Firmness And

Decision,  And A Determination To Put Down The Wicked Attempt To Resist

The Laws. On The Constitutionality Of The Laws Which The Nullifiers

Object To,  And Their Right To Recede From The Union,  This Able State

Paper Is Full And Conclusive. The Language Of The President Is That Of A

Father Addressing His Wayward Children,  But Determined To Punish With

The Utmost Severity The First Open Act Of Insubordination. As A

Composition It Is Splendid,  And Will Take Its Place In The Archives Of

Our Country,  And Will Dwell In The Memories Of Our Citizens Alongside Of

The Farewell Address Of The 'Father Of His Country.' It Is Not Known

Which Of The Members Of The Cabinet Is Entitled To The Honour Of Being

The Author; It Is Attributed To Mr. Livingston,  The Secretary Of State,

And To Governor Cass,  The Secretary Of War. Nobody,  Of Course,  Supposes

It Was Written By Him Whose Name Is Subscribed To It. But Whoever Shall

Prove To Be The Author Has Raised To Himself An Imperishable Monument Of

Glory. The Sentiments,  At Least,  Are Approved By The President,  And He

Should Have The Credit Of It,  As He Would Have The Blame If It Were Bad;

And,  Possessing These Sentiments,  We Have Reason To Believe That He Has

Firmness Enough To Do His Duty.

 

"I Say,  Hurrah For Jackson,  And So I Am Willing To Say At All Times When

He Does His Duty. The Only Difference Between The Thorough-Going Jackson

Man And Me Is,  That I Will Not 'Hurrah' For Him Right Or Wrong. And I

Think That Jackson's Election May Save The Union."

 

If He Disliked Jackson On Account Of His Policies,  He Seemed To Dislike

Journalists Regardless Of Their Political Creeds. To His Eyes They Were

A Pestilential Crew. Here Is The First Glimpse Of Bryant,  The Great

William Cullen Bryant,  Who As A Mere Boy Had Penned The Beautiful

"Thanatopsis." It Is Of The Date Of April 20,  1831. "While I Was Shaving

This Morning At Eight O'clock,  I Witnessed From The Front Window An

Encounter In The Street Nearly Opposite,  Between William C. Bryant And

Chapter 26 (A Mark To Shoot At) Pg 169

William L. Stone,  The Former One Of The Editors Of The _Evening Post_,

And The Latter The Editor Of The _Commercial Advertiser_. The Former

Commenced The Attack By Striking Stone Over The Head With A Cow-Skin;

After A Few Blows The Men Closed,  And The Whip Was Wrested Away From

Bryant And Carried Off By Stone." Here And There Are Flung Expressions

Of Admiration For Bryant's Verse,  But The Tone Is Of One Speaking Of The

Cleverness Of A Trained Lizard. Thirteen Years Intervened Between The

First And The Last Bryant Entry. In February,  1844,  Nicholas Biddle,  The

Great Financier,  Died. Something That Bryant Wrote Roused Hone's Wrath.

Here Is His Comment Of February 28: "Bryant,  The Editor Of The _Evening

Post_,  In An Article Of His Day,  Virulent And Malignant As Are Usually

The Streams Which Flow From That Polluted Source,  Says That Mr. Biddle

'Died At His Country-Seat,  Where He Passed The Last Of His Days In

Elegant Retirement,  Which,  If Justice Had Taken Place,  Would Have Been

Spent In The Penitentiary.' This Is The First Instance I Have Known Of

The Vampire Of Party-Spirit Seizing The Lifeless Body Of Its Victim

Before Its Interment,  And Exhibiting Its Bloody Claws To The View Of

Mourning Relatives And Sympathizing Friends. How Such A Black-Hearted

Misanthrope As Bryant Should Possess An Imagination Teeming With

Beautiful Poetical Images Astonishes Me; One Would As Soon Expect To

Extract Drops Of Honey From The Fangs Of The Rattlesnake."

 

But This Was Kindly Tolerance Compared To His Attitude Towards The Elder

Bennett. The Latter Appeacock Feathers

 

The Eternal Conflict Between Wealth And Love. Jerry,  The Idealist Who Is

Poor,  Loves Mimi,  A Beautiful,  Spoiled Society Girl.

 

 

 

 

The Dim Lantern

 

The Romance Of Little Jane Barnes Who Is Loved By Two Men.

 

 

 

 

The Gay Cockade

 

Unusual Short Stories Where Miss Bailey Shows Her Keen Knowledge Of

Character And Environment,  And How Romance Comes To Different People.

 

 

 

 

The Trumpeter Swan

 

Randy Paine Comes Back From France To The Monotony Of Everyday Affairs.

But The Girl He Loves Shows Him The Beauty In The Common Place.

 

 

 

 

The Tin Soldier

 

A Man Who Wishes To Serve His Country,  But Is Bound By A Tie He Cannot

Chapter 26 (A Mark To Shoot At) Pg 170

In Honor Break--That's Derry. A Girl Who Loves Him,  Shares His

Humiliation And Helps Him To Win--That's Jean. Their Love Is The Story.

 

 

 

 

Mistress Anne

 

A Girl In Maryland Teaches School,  And Believes That Work Is Worthy

Service. Two Men Come To The Little Community; One Is Weak,  The Other

Strong,  And Both Need Anne.

 

 

 

 

Contrary Mary

 

An Old-Fashioned Love Story That Is Nevertheless Modern.

 

 

 

 

Glory Of Youth

 

A Novel That Deals With A Question,  Old And Yet Ever New--How Far Should

An Engagement Of Marriage Bind Two Persons Who Discover They No Longer

Love.

 

 

 

 

Grosset & Dunlap,  Publishers,  New York

 

Margaret Pedler's Novels

 

May Be Had Wherever Books Are Sold. Ask For Grosset & Dunlap's List.

 

 

 

 

To-Morrow's Tangle

 

The Game Of Love Is Fraught With Danger. To Win In The Finest Sense,  It

Must Be Played Fairly.

 

 

 

 

Red Ashes

 

A Gripping Story Of A Doctor Who Failed In A Crucial Operation--And Had

Only Himself To Blame. Could The Woman He Loved Forgive Him?

 

 

 

 

The Barbarian Lover

 

Chapter 26 (A Mark To Shoot At) Pg 171

A Love Story Based On The Creed That The Only Important Things Between

Birth And Death Are The Courage To Face Life And The Love To Sweeten It.

 

 

 

 

The Moon Out Of Reach

 

Nan Davenant's Problem Is One That Many A Girl Has Faced--Her Own

Happiness Or Her Father's Bond.

 

 

 

 

The House Of Dreams-Come-True

 

How A Man And A Woman Fulfilled A Gypsy's Strange Prophecy.

 

 

 

 

The Hermit Of Far End

 

How Love Made Its Way Into A Walled-In House And A Walled-In Heart.

 

 

 

 

The Lamp Of Fate

 

The Story Of A Woman Who Tried To Take All And Give Nothing.

 

 

 

 

The Splendid Folly

 

Do You Believe That Husbands And Wives Should Have No Secrets From Each

Other?

 

 

 

 

The Vision Of Desire

 

An Absorbing Romance Written With All That Sense Of Feminine Tenderness

That Has Given The Novels Of Margaret Pedler Their Universal Appeal.

 

 

 

 

Waves Of Destiny

 

Each Of These Stories Has The Sharp Impact Of An Emotional Crisis--The

Compressed Quality Of One Of Margaret Pedler's Widely Popular Novels.

 

 

 

Chapter 26 (A Mark To Shoot At) Pg 172

 

Grosset & Dunlap,  Publishers,  New York.

 

The Novels Of

 

Grace Livingston Hill

 

May Be Had Wherever Books Are Sold. Ask For Grosset & Dunlap's List.

 

 

 

 

A New Name

 

Ariel Custer

 

Best Man,  The

 

City Of Fire,  The

 

Cloudy Jewel

 

Dawn Of The Morning

 

Enchanted Barn,  The

 

Exit Betty

 

Finding Of Jasper Holt,  The

 

Girl From Montana,  The

 

Lo,  Michael!

 

Man Of The Desert,  The

 

Marcia Schuyler

 

Miranda

 

Mystery Of Mary,  The

 

Not Under The Law

 

Phoebe Deane

 

Re-Creations

 

Red Signal,  The

 

Search,  The

 

Story Of A Whim,  The

 

Tomorrow About This Time

 

Tryst,  The

 

Chapter 26 (A Mark To Shoot At) Pg 173

Voice In