of the specter, lest she should be denied the only melancholy pleasure left her on earth—that of inhabiting the chamber over which the guardian shade of her lover kept its nightly vigils.

How long the good old lady would have observed this promise is uncertain, for she dearly loved to talk 10 of the marvelous, and there is a triumph in being the first to tell a frightful story; it is, however, still quoted in the neighborhood, as a memorable instance of female secrecy, that she kept it to herself for a whole week; when she was suddenly absolved from all further restraint, by intelligence brought to the breakfast table one morning that the young 20 lady was not to be found. Her room was empty-the bed had not been slept in the window was open, and the bird had flown!

The astonishment and concern with which the intelligence was received, can only be imagined by those who have witnessed the agitation which the mishaps of a great man cause among his friends. Even the poor 30 relations paused for a moment from the indefatigable labors labors of the trencher; when the aunt, who had at first been struck speechless, wrung her hands, and shrieked out, "The goblin! the goblin! she's carried away by the goblin"

In a few words she related the fearful scene of the garden, and concluded that the specter must have 40 carried off his bride. Two of the domestics corroborated the opinion, for they had heard the clattering of a horse's hoofs down the mountain about midnight, and had no doubt that it was the specter on his black charger, bearing her away to the tomb. All present were struck with the direful probability; for events of the kind are extremely common in

Germany, as many well authenticated 50 histories bear witness.

What a lamentable situation was that of the poor baron! What a heartrending dilemma for a fond father, and a member of the great family of Katzenellenbogen! His only daughter had either been rapt away to the grave, or he was to have some wooddemon for a son-in-law, and, perchance, a troop of goblin grand - 60 children. As usual, he was completely bewildered, and all the castle in an uproar. The men were ordered to take horse, and scour every road and path and glen of the Odenwald. The baron himself had just drawn on his jack-boots, girded on his sword, and was about to mount his steed to sally forth on the doubtful quest, when he was brought to a pause by a 70 new apparition. A lady was seen approaching the castle, mounted on a palfrey, attended by a cavalier on horseback. She galloped up to the gate, sprang from her horse, and falling at the baron's feet, embraced his knees. It was his lost daughter, and her companion-the Specter Bridegroom! The baron was astounded. He looked at his daughter, 80 then at the specter, and almost doubted the evidence of his senses. The latter, too, was wonderfully improved in his appearance since his visit to the world of spirits. His dress was splendid, and set off a noble figure of manly symmetry. He was no longer pale and melancholy. His fine countenance was flushed with the glow of youth, and joy rioted in his 90 large dark eye.

The mystery was soon cleared up. The cavalier (for, in truth, as you must have known all the while, he was no goblin) announced himself as Sir Herman Von Starkenfaust. He related his adventure with the young count. He told how he had hastened

to the castle to deliver the unwelcome tidings, but that the eloquence of the baron had interrupted him in every attempt to tell his tale. How the sight of the bride had completely captivated him, and that to pass a few hours near her, he had tacitly suffered the mistake to continue. How he had been sorely perplexed in 10 what way to make a decent retreat, until the baron's goblin stories had suggested his eccentric exit. How, fearing the feudal hostility of the family, he had repeated his visits by stealth-had haunted the garden beneath the young lady's window-had wooed had won-had borne away in triumph-and, in a word, had wedded the fair.

accord with his notions of strict veracity, in the joke the knight had passed upon him of his being a dead man; but several old friends present, who had served in the wars, assured him that every stratagem was excusable in love, and that the cavalier was entitled to especial privilege, having lately served as a trooper.

Matters, therefore, were happily ar- 40 ranged. The baron pardoned the young couple on the spot. The revels at the castle were resumed. The poor relations overwhelmed this new member of the family with loving kindness; he was so gallant, so generous—and so rich. The aunts, it is true, were somewhat scandalized that their system of strict seclusion and passive obedience should be so badly ex- 50 emplified, but attributed it all to their negligence in not having the windows grated. One of them was particularly mortified at having her marvelous story marred, and that the only specter she had ever seen should turn out a counterfeit; but the niece seemed perfectly happy at having found him substantial flesh and blood and so the story ends.

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EXPLANATORY NOTES

1. "The Specter Bridegroom" is a part of Irving's best known work, The Sketch Book, first published in 1819-1820. As the name indicates, The Sketch Book was made up of a series of short papers; they were written in England and published in seven parts, or numbers, between May, 1819, and September, 1820. Irv ing had already written his Knickerbocker's History of New York when he went to London on business for his brother, and devoted his leisure to visiting famous places, reading old legends, and writing. In the first number of The Sketch Book, published in America under the pen-name of Geoffrey Crayon, "Rip Van Winkle" was included. "The Specter Bridegroom" appeared in the fourth number, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" in the fifth, and

"Philip of Pokanoket" in the collected edition of the essays. Besides these American and foreign legends, he also wrote accounts of English life and customs, and famous descriptions of Westminster Abbey and Stratford-on-Avon. Irving was fond of the old romances and ballads. He wished to give to American scenes something of the charm of old tradition such as England, France, and Germany enjoyed. Thus the Sleepy Hollow story and the story of Rip Van Winkle are American counterparts of the sort of story we now read in the "Specter Bridegroom."

2. Irving's note on page 22 gives the source of the tale as "a little French anecdote." As a matter of fact, the story is based on a widely known superstition, found in many ballads and romances, about a dead lover who returns to claim his bride. This tragic theme Irving here

alters in a most effective manner. There is enough suggestion of the supernatural and the weird to interest the reader in this aspect of the old superstition, while the whole story is altered, by skillful handling, into a romance with a happy ending. You should give attention, then, to two points in your study of the plot: first, to tracing the old plot, the return of the ghostly lover; and, second, to study of the means by which Irving grafts his new plot upon this old foundation.

QUESTIONS AND TOPICS

1. Some qualities of Irving's style are well shown in this story. His humor, particularly in his description of persons, should be studied, and may be compared with character-description in other sketches you have read. For example, make a list of the words that show what the baron looked like. In the same way, list words and phrases that show what kind of man he was. What was your first thought about the identity of the stranger? Did you think, at any time, that it really was the ghost of the suitor? What sentence seemed to promise that the ghost would come back? In the account of the evening's festivities, note how the

melancholy of the stranger is made clear, progressively. What circumstances increase this feeling not only in the stranger but in the reader?

2. Study the mixture of weirdness and humor throughout the story. Draw up in parallel columns a set of phrases or catch-words that will make this balance plain to you.

3. Study the transitions from one part of the story to another. How many such sections are there? How does Irving pass from one to another? Draw up an outline of the plot so as to make these transitions clear, and tell the story briefly, following this outline.

4. Study the dénouement, or solution of the plot, carefully. Make a note of the steps in this solution. Does the element of surprise come in? At what point in the story did you first realize how it was to come out? Note any elements that helped to this conclusion, such as the stress on the obedient character of the heroine; the fact that she had never seen the man she was to marry; the opportunity the stranger had to woo her before revealing his identity. There are other similar elements scattered through the story. By studying them you will see how carefully a good short story is planned by the author.

I

An elephant is old on the day he is born, say the natives of Burma, and no white man is ever quite sure just what they mean. Perhaps they refer to his pink, old-gentleman's skin and his droll, fumbling, old-man ways and his squeaking, treble voice. And maybe they mean he is born with a wisdom such as usually belongs only to age. 10 And it is true that if any animal in the world has had a chance to acquire knowledge it is the elephant, for his breed are the oldest residents of this old world.

They are so old that they don't seem to belong to the twentieth century at all. Their long trunks, their huge shapes, all seem part of the re

Long and long ago, when the world was very young indeed, when the mountains were new, and before the descent of the great glaciers taught the meaning of cold, they were the rulers of the earth, but they have been conquered in the struggle for existence. Their great cousins, the mastodon and mastodon and the mammoth, are completely gone, and their own tribe 30 can now be numbered by thousands.

But because they have been so long upon the earth, because they have wealth of experience beyond all other creatures, they seem like venerable sages in a world of children. They are like the last veterans of an old

in German legend. Some talked of mountain sprites, of wood-demons, and of other supernatural beings, with which the good people of Germany have been so grievously harassed since time immemorial. One of the poor relations ventured to suggest that it might be some sportive evasion of the young cavalier, and that the 10 very gloominess of the caprice seemed to accord with so melancholy a personage. This, however, drew on him the indignation of the whole company, and especially of the baron, who looked upon him as little better than an infidel; so that he was fain to abjure his heresy as speedily as possible, and come into the faith of the true believers.

20

But whatever may have been the doubts entertained, they were completely put to an end by the arrival, next day, of regular missives, confirming the intelligence of the young count's murder, and his interment in Wurtzburg cathedral.

The dismay at the castle may well be imagined. The baron shut himself up in his chamber. The guests, 30 who had come to rejoice with him, could not think of abandoning him in his distress. They wandered about the courts, or collected in groups in the hall, shaking their heads and shrugging their shoulders, at the shoulders, at the troubles of so good a man; and sat longer than ever at table, and ate and drank more stoutly than ever, by way of keeping up their spirits. But 40 the situation of the widowed bride

was the most pitiable. To have lost a husband before she had even embraced him—and such a husband! If the very specter could be so gracious and noble, what must have been the living man. She filled the house with lamentations.

On the night of the second day of her widowhood, she had retired to

her chamber, accompanied by one of 50 her aunts, who insisted on sleeping with her. The aunt, who was one of the best tellers of ghost stories in all Germany, had just been recounting one of her longest, and had fallen asleep in the very midst of it. The chamber was remote, and overlooked a small garden. The niece lay pensively gazing at the beams of the rising moon, as they trembled on the 60 leaves of an aspen tree before the lattice. The castle clock had just tolled midnight, when a soft strain of music stole up from the garden. She rose hastily from her bed, and stepped lightly to the window. A tall figure stood among the shadows of the trees. As it raised its head, a beam of beam of moonlight fell upon the countenance. Heaven and earth! she 70 beheld the Specter Bridegroom! A loud shriek at that moment burst upon her ear, and her aunt, who had been awakened by the music, and had followed her silently to the window, fell into her arms. When she looked again, the specter had disappeared.

Of the two females, the aunt now required the most soothing, for she so was perfectly beside herself with terror. As to the young lady, there was something, even in the specter of her lover, that seemed endearing. There was still the semblance of manly beauty; and though the shadow of a man is but little calculated to satisfy the affections of a lovesick girl, yet, where the substance is not to be had, even that is consoling. 90 The aunt declared she would never sleep in that chamber again; niece, for once, was refractory, and declared as strongly that she would sleep in no other in the castle. The consequence was that she had to sleep in it alone; but she drew a promise from her aunt not to relate the story

the

of the specter, lest she should be denied the only melancholy pleasure left her on earth-that of inhabiting the chamber over which the guardian shade of her lover kept its nightly vigils.

How long the good old lady would have observed this promise is uncertain, for she dearly loved to talk 10 of the marvelous, and there is a triumph in being the first to tell a frightful story; it is, however, still quoted in the neighborhood, as a memorable instance of female secrecy, that she kept it to herself for a whole week; when she was suddenly absolved from all further restraint, by intelligence brought to the breakfast table one morning that the young 20 lady was not to be found. Her room

was empty-the bed had not been slept in the window was open, and the bird had flown!

The astonishment and concern with which the intelligence was received, can only be imagined by those who have witnessed the agitation which the mishaps of a great man cause among his friends. Even the poor 30 relations paused for a moment from the indefatigable labors of the trencher; when the aunt, who had at first been struck speechless, wrung her hands, and shrieked out, "The goblin! the goblin! she's carried away by the goblin"

In a few words she related the fearful scene of the garden, and concluded that the specter must have 40 carried off his bride. Two of the domestics corroborated the opinion, for they had heard the clattering of a horse's hoofs down the mountain about midnight, and had no doubt that it was the specter on his black charger, bearing her away to the tomb. All present were struck with the direful probability; for events of the kind are extremely common in

Germany, as many well authenticated 50 histories bear witness.

What a lamentable situation was that of the poor baron! What a heartrending dilemma for a fond father, and a member of the great family of Katzenellenbogen! His only daughter had either been rapt away to the grave, or he was to have some wooddemon for a son-in-law, and, perchance, a troop of goblin grand - 60 children. As usual, he was completely bewildered, and all the castle in an uproar. The men were ordered to take horse, and scour every road and path and glen of the Odenwald. The baron himself had just drawn on his jack-boots, girded on his sword, and was about to mount his steed to sally forth on the doubtful quest, when he was brought to a pause by a 70 new apparition. A lady was seen approaching the castle, mounted on a palfrey, attended by a cavalier on horseback. She galloped up to the gate, sprang from her horse, and falling at the baron's feet, embraced his knees. It was his lost daughter, and her companion-the Specter Bridegroom! The baron was astounded. He looked at his daughter, 80 then at the specter, and almost doubted the evidence of his senses. The latter, too, was wonderfully improved in his appearance since his visit to the world of spirits. His dress was splendid, and set off a noble figure of manly symmetry. He was no longer pale and melancholy. His fine countenance was flushed with the glow of youth, and joy rioted in his 90 large dark eye.

The mystery was soon cleared up. The cavalier (for, in truth, as you must have known all the while, he was no goblin) announced himself as Sir Herman Von Starkenfaust. He related his adventure with the young count. He told how he had hastened