Week 8

The Devil and Tom Walker

          "The Devil and Tom Walker" is a short story by Washington Irving that first appeared in his 1824 collection Tales of a Traveller, as part of the "Money-Diggers" section. The story is very similar to the German legend of Faust. Stephen Vincent Benét drew much of his inspiration for "The Devil and Daniel Webster " from this tale.

Summary

            The story starts with the legend of William Kidd the pirate. It is rumored that Kidd had buried a large treasure in a forest in colonial Massachusetts. Kidd made a deal with the devil to protect his money. The devil's conditions are unknown. Kidd died never able to reclaim his money, but the devil has protected it ever since.

            The story continues around 1727. Tom Walker, a greedy, selfish miser of a man, cherishes money along with his shrewish and equally greedy wife. They lived in a tarnished looking house, that had stood alone and had an air of starvation. This is until he takes a walk in the swamp at an old Indian fortress (a relic of King Philip's War of 1675/1678), and starts up a conversation with the Devil incarnate (referred to as "Old Scratch" and "The Black Man" in the story). Old Scratch appears as a lumberjack or a woodsman chopping trees, each with a prominent and wealthy colonialist's name branded on the trunk. One rotted and soon-to-fall tree has the name of a deacon who grew wealthy "trading" with the Indians. Another fallen trunk has that of a wealthy seaman rumored to be a pirate. Old Scratch strikes a deal with Tom Walker, offering the riches hidden in the swamp by Captain Kidd in exchange for a great price, which is often thought to be his soul. Tom agrees to think about it and returns home.

            Burdened with this secret, he tells his wife. While he has no scruples in selling himself to Old Scratch for the treasure, he does not wish to do so for his wife's sake. She meets Old Scratch herself but tells her husband Old Scratch requires an offering. When Tom is away, she takes all their valuables in and goes to make a deal with Old Scratch. When Tom searches for his wife and property, all he finds is her apron holding her heart and liver, tied to a tree.

           Tom Walker agrees to Old Scratch's deal, as he considered his abusive wife's death a good thing. Because he can only use the treasure in Old Scratch's service, Tom agrees to become a usurer (today commonly called a loan shark), although Tom has scruples about becoming a slave trader.

            During the governorship of Jonathan Belcher (1730-1741), speculation runs rampant, and Walker's business flourishes. Becoming a member of the local stock exchange, Tom buys a big house and a coach but furnishes neither even though he has the money (he is so miserly he even half starves his horses). Tom never tires of swindling people until he suddenly becomes fearful about the afterlife. He then becomes fiercely and loudly dedicated to God, always keeping two Bibles at hand—thinking that any sin on his neighbors "account" is a "credit" to his own. He even has his best riding horse saddled and buried upside down so that he might flee when Old Scratch comes to collect his due from Tom.

           One day a ruined stock jobber (speculator) who had borrowed money from him asks for clemency and annoys Tom who says, "The Devil take me if I have made but a farthing!" (the smallest currency of the time, 1/4 of a penny). There are three loud knocks at the door. Tom is drawn towards a black-cloaked figure and realizes, in horror, that he has left his Bibles at his desk.

          Old Scratch tosses Tom Walker on the back of a black horse which rides toward the old fortress and disappears in lightning. Tom is never seen again. All his assets become worthless—his coach horses become skeletons, the gold and silver Tom hoarded turn into wood chips and shavings, his mortgages and deeds become cinders, and his great house burns to the ground. Since that day, his ghost haunts the site of the old fortress. His only legacy is a New England saying, "The Devil and Tom Walker".

Week 7

The Lady in Black (By Eleanor H. Porter)

              The house was very still.  In the little room over the porch, the Lady in Black sat alone. 
Near her, a child's white dress lay across a chair.  On the floor at her feet lay a tiny pair of shoes. 
A doll hung over a chair and a toy soldier occupied the little stand by the bed. And everywhere was silence—the strange silence that comes only to a room where the clock has stopped ticking. The clock stood on the shelf near the end of the bed.  The Lady in Black looked at it.  She remembered the wave of anger that had come over her when she had reached out her hand and silenced the clock that night three months before. It had been silent ever since and it should remain silent, too.  Of what possible use were the hours it would tick away now?  As if anything mattered, with little Kathleen lying out there white and still under the black earth! The Lady in Black looked at them with serious eyes, and her mouth hardened at the corners. Bobby had someone to play with him, someone to love him and care for him, while out there on the hillside Kathleen was alone--all alone. With a little cry the Lady in Black sprang to her feet and hurried into her own room. Her hands shook as she pinned on her hat and covered herself with her black veil.  But her step was firm as she walked downstairs and out through the hall.

               The house was very still when the Lady in Black reached home.  She shivered at its silence.  She hurried up the stairs, almost with guilt.  In her own room she pulled at the dark veil that covered her face.  She was crying now, a choking little cry with broken words running through it.  She was still crying as she removed her black dress.

                Long minutes later, the Lady--in black no longer--moved slowly down the stairway.  Her eyes showed traces of tears, but her lips were bravely curved in a smile.  She wore a white dress and a single white rose in her hair.  Behind her, in the little room over the porch, a tiny clock ticked loudly on its shelf near the end of the bed.

There came a sound of running feet in the hall below, then:

"Muvver!--it's Muvver come back!" shouted a happy voice.

And with a little sobbing cry Bobby's mother opened her arms to her son.

"The Lady in Black" was written by Eleanor H. Porter.  It was adapted for Special English by Lawan Davis who was also the producer.  The storyteller was Faith Lapidus.

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Week 6

The Return of a Private by Hamlin Garland

               Our story today is called, "The Return of a Private. " It was written by Hamlin Garland. Here is Harry Monroe with our story. The soldiers cheered as the train crossed the border into the state of Wisconsin. It had been a long trip from the south back to their homes in the north. One of the men had a large red scar across his forehead. Another had an injured leg that made it painful for him to walk. The third had unnaturally large and bright eyes, because he had been sick with malaria. The three soldiers spread their blankets on the train seats and tried to sleep. It was a cold evening even though it was summertime. Private Smith, the soldier with the fever, shivered in the night air. His joy in coming home was mixed with fear and worry. He knew he was sick and weak. How could he take care of his family? Where would he find the strength to do the heavy work all farmers have to do? He had given three years of his life to his country. And now he had very little money and strength left for his family. Morning came slowly with a pale yellow light. The train was slowing down as it came into the town of La Crosse where the three soldiers would get off the train. The station was empty because it was Sunday. "I'll get home in time for dinner," Smith thought. "She usually has dinner about one o'clock on Sunday afternoon,” and he smiled. Smith and the other two soldiers jumped off the train together. "Well, boys," Smith began, "here's where we say good-bye. We've marched together for many miles. Now, I suppose, we are done." The three men found it hard to look at each other.                  Mary Gray was a widow with a large family of strong sons and pretty daughters. She was poor. But she never said 'no' to a hungry person who came to her farm and asked for food. She worked hard, laughed often and was always in a cheerful mood. The long table in the kitchen was piled with food. There were potatoes, fresh corn, apple pies, hot bread, sweet pickles, bread and butter and honey. They all ate until they could eat no more. Then the men and children left the table. The women stayed to drink their tea. When she got back to their farm, she saw the man standing by the fence. He was looking at the little house and the field of yellow wheat. The sun was almost touching the hills in the west. The cowbells rang softly as the animals moved toward the barn.
                His farm needed work. His children needed clothing. He was no longer young and strong. But he began to plan for next year. With the same courage he had faced the war, Private Smith faced his difficult future. You have just heard the story, "The Return of a Private." It was written by Hamlin Garland, and adapted for Special English by Dona de Sanctis. Your narrator was Harry Monroe.

Words in This Story

scar - n. a mark that is left on your skin after a wound heals

forehead - n. the part of the face above the eyes

malaria - n. a serious disease that causes chills and fever and that is passed from one person to another by the bite of mosquitoes

mood - n. the way someone feels : a person's emotional state

pickle - n. chiefly US: a cucumber that is preserved in salt water or vinegar barn - n. a building on a farm that is used for storing grain and hay and for housing farm animals or equipment

courage - n. the ability to do something that you know is difficult or dangerous

Week 5

The Luck of Roaring Camp

                 "The Luck of Roaring Camp" is a short story by American author Bret Harte. It was first published in the August 1868 issue of the Overland Monthly and helped push Harte to international prominence.

The story is about the birth of a baby boy in a 19th-century gold prospecting camp. The boy's mother, Cherokee Sal, dies in childbirth, so the men of Roaring Camp must raise it themselves. Believing the child to be a good luck charm, the miners christen the boy Thomas Luck. Afterwards, they decide to refine their behavior and refrain from gambling and fighting. At the end of the story, however, Luck and a villager, Kentuck, perish in a flash flood that strikes the camp.

                   Roaring Camp was a real place. It was a goldmining settlement on the Mokelumne River in Amador County, California. It was home to forty-niners seeking gold in and around the river; it is now a privately owned tourist attraction. The story's flood theme may have been inspired by California's Great Flood of 1862, which Harte witnessed.

Plot summary

                   The story takes place in a small struggling mining town located in the foothills of the California mountains at the time of the gold rush. The camp is suffering from a long string of bad luck. With only one woman in their midst, it seems as though the miners have no future. However, the tide turns when a small boy is born. "Thomas Luck" is the first newborn the camp has seen in ages; things are looking up. The miners become cheerful, foliage begins to grow, and there is talk of building a hotel to attract outsiders. Unfortunately, the hope is wiped out by the sudden death of Luck in a flood. Water brought gold to the gulches, giving miners their first glimmer of hope. And water takes away what seems their last glimmer—Luck. And the strong man, still holding the small child, drifted away on the shadowy river that flows forever to the unknown sea.

                   You have just heard "The Luck of Roaring Camp," a story by Bret Harte.  It was adapted for Special English by Dona De Sanctis.  Your storyteller was Harry Monroe.

Characters

Thomas Luck

Newborn child thought to be the savior of the camp

Kentuck

A rugged prospector who tries to save Thomas Luck's life in the flood

Cherokee Sal

Mother of Thomas Luck; only woman in camp

Stumpy

Guardian of Thomas Luck

Oakhurst

A gambler who gives Thomas Luck his name. (This may be the same character as the John Oakhurst of Harte's short story "The Outcasts of Poker Flat".)

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