The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 10 (of 25)

Robert Louis Stevenson

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• Publié par: zoev
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 6
• Langue: English

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The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson Swanston Edition Vol. 10 (of 25), by Robert Louis Stevenson This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 10 (of 25) Author: Robert Louis Stevenson Other: Andrew Lang Release Date: April 7, 2010 [EBook #31916] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORKS OF R.L. STEVENSON, V10 OF 25 *** Produced by Marius Masi, Jonathan Ingram and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net THE WORKS OF ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON SWANSTON EDITION VOLUME X Of this SWANSTON EDITION in Twenty-five Volumes of the Works of ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON Two Thousand and Sixty Copies have been printed, of which only Two Thousand Copies are for sale. This is No. ............ (Click to enlarge) THE WORKS OF ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON VOLUME TEN LONDON: PUBLISHED BY CHATTO AND WINDUS: IN ASSOCIATION WITH CASSELL AND COMPANY LIMITED: WILLIAM HEINEMANN: AND LONGMANS GREEN AND COMPANY MDCCCCXI ALL RIGHTS RESERVED CONTENTS THE MISADVENTURES OF JOHN NICHOLSON CHAPTER P AGE I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. IN WHICH JOHN SOWS THE WIND IN WHICH JOHN REAPS THE WHIRLWIND IN WHICH JOHN ENJOYS THE HARVEST HOME THE SECOND SOWING THE PRODIGAL’S RETURN THE HOUSE AT MURRAYFIELD A TRAGI-COMEDY IN A CAB SINGULAR INSTANCE OF THE UTILITY OF PASS-KEYS IN WHICH MR. NICHOLSON CONCEDES THE PRINCIPLE OF AN ALLOWANCE 3 9 15 21 26 32 44 54 65 KIDNAPPED I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. XIX. XX. XXI. XXII. XXIII. XXIV. XXV. XXVI. XXVII. XXVIII. XXIX. XXX. I SET OFF UPON MY JOURNEY TO THE HOUSE OF SHAWS I COME TO MY JOURNEY’S END I MAKE ACQUAINTANCE OF MY UNCLE I RUN A GREAT DANGER IN THE HOUSE OF SHAWS I GO TO THE QUEEN’S FERRY WHAT BEFELL AT THE QUEEN’S FERRY I GO TO SEA IN THE BRIG COVENANT OF DYSART THE ROUND-HOUSE THE MAN WITH THE BELT OF GOLD THE SIEGE OF THE ROUND-HOUSE THE CAPTAIN KNUCKLES UNDER I HEAR OF THE “RED FOX” THE LOSS OF THE BRIG THE ISLET THE LAD WITH THE SILVER BUTTON: THROUGH THE ISLE OF MULL THE LAD WITH THE SILVER BUTTON: ACROSS MORVEN THE DEATH OF THE RED FOX I TALK WITH ALAN IN THE WOOD OF LETTERMORE THE HOUSE OF FEAR THE FLIGHT IN THE HEATHER: THE ROCKS THE FLIGHT IN THE HEATHER: THE HEUGH OF CORRYNAKIEGH THE FLIGHT IN THE HEATHER: THE MOOR CLUNY’S CAGE THE FLIGHT IN THE HEATHER: THE QUARREL IN BALQUHIDDER END OF THE FLIGHT: WE PASS THE FORTH I COME TO MR. RANKEILLOR I GO IN QUEST OF MY INHERITANCE I COME INTO MY KINGDOM GOOD-BYE 77 82 88 96 105 112 118 126 132 142 149 154 163 169 178 187 195 201 210 217 226 234 242 251 262 269 280 288 296 303 1 THE MISADVENTURES OF JOHN NICHOLSON 2 THE MISADVENTURES OF JOHN NICHOLSON 3 CHAPTER I IN WHICH JOHN SOWS THE WIND JOHN VAREY NICHOLSON was stupid; yet stupider men than he are now sprawling in Parliament, and lauding themselves as the authors of their own distinction. He was of a fat habit, even from boyhood, and inclined to a cheerful and cursory reading of the face of life; and possibly this attitude of mind was the original cause of his misfortunes. Beyond this hint philosophy is silent on his career, and superstition steps in with the more ready explanation that he was detested of the gods. His father—that iron gentleman—had long ago enthroned himself on the heights of the Disruption Principles. What these are (and in spite of their grim name they are quite innocent) no array of terms would render thinkable to the merely English intelligence; but to the Scot they often prove unctuously nourishing, and Mr. Nicholson found in them the milk of lions. About the period when the churches convene at Edinburgh in their annual assemblies, he was to be seen descending the Mound in the company of divers red-headed clergymen: these voluble, he only contributing oracular nods, brief negatives, and the austere spectacle of his stretched upper lip. The names of Candlish and Begg were frequent in these interviews, and occasionally the talk ran on the Residuary Establishment and the doings of one Lee. A stranger to the tight little theological kingdom of Scotland might have listened and gathered literally nothing. And Mr. Nicholson (who was not a dull man) knew this, and raged at it. He knew there was a vast world outside to whom Disruption Principles were as the chatter of tree-top apes; the paper brought him chill whiffs from it; he had met Englishmen who had asked lightly if he did not belong to the Church of Scotland, and then had failed to be much interested by his elucidation of that nice point; it was an evil, wild, rebellious world, lying sunk in dozenedness, for nothing short of a Scots word will paint this Scotsman’s feelings. And when he entered his own house in Randolph Crescent (south side), and shut the door behind him, his heart swelled with security. Here, at least, was a citadel unassailable by right-hand defections or left-hand extremes. Here was a family where prayers came at the same hour, where the Sabbath literature was unimpeachably selected, where the guest who should have leaned to any false opinion was instantly set down, and over which there reigned all the week, and grew denser on Sundays, a silence that was agreeable to his ear, and a gloom that he found comfortable. Mrs. Nicholson had died about thirty, and left him with three children: a daughter two years and a son about eight years younger than John; and John himself, the unfortunate protagonist of the present history. The daughter, Maria, was a good girl—dutiful, pious, dull, but so easily startled that to speak to her was quite a perilous enterprise. “I don’t think I care to talk about that, if you please,” she would say, and strike the boldest speechless by her unmistakable pain; this upon all topics—dress, pleasure, morality, politics, in which the formula was changed to “my papa thinks otherwise,” and even religion, unless it was approached with a particular whining tone of voice. Alexander, the younger brother, was sickly, clever, fond of books and drawing, and full of satirical remarks. In the midst of these, imagine that natural, clumsy, unintelligent and mirthful animal, John; mighty well-behaved in comparison with many