Short Stories of Saki (H. H. Munro)
Short Stories of Saki (H. H. Munro) |
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When William CamePublished: 1914 In 1914, Monro felt that appeasement was the wrong way to deal with Germany; he wanted to sound a warning that if the British did not prepare for war, the consequence would be subjugation. This novel is the consequence, propaganda swiftly overtaken by events; he wanted to portray a Britain which had lost a war and been annexed by Germany to shock public opinion towards war preparation. Because of the purpose for which it is written, When William Came is the least amusing of Saki's fiction; it would certainly be forgotten today were it not for his other stories. It is in parts interesting, but perhaps it would be better if it had been forgotten. When William Came - Chapter 01: THE SINGING-BIRD AND THE BAROMETERCicely Yeovil sat in a low swing chair, alternately looking at herself in
a mirror and at the other occupant of the room in the flesh. Both
prospects gave her undisguised satisfaction.
When William Came - Chapter 02: THE HOMECOMINGMurrey Yeovil got out of the boat-train at Victoria Station, and stood
waiting, in an attitude something between listlessness and impatience,
while a porter dragged his light travelling kit out of the railway
carriage and went in search of his heavier baggage with a hand-truck.
When William Came - Chapter 03: "THE METSKIE TSAR""I was in the early stages of my fever when I got the first inkling of
what was going on," said Yeovil to the doctor, as they sat over their
coffee in a recess of the big smoking-room; "just able to potter about a
bit in the daytime, fighting against depression and inertia, feverish as
evening came on, and delirious in the night.
When William Came - Chapter 04: "ES IST VERBOTEN"Yeovil wakened next morning to the pleasant sensation of being in a
household where elaborate machinery for the smooth achievement of one's
daily life was noiselessly and unceasingly at work. Fever and the long
weariness of convalescence in indifferently comfortable surroundings had
given luxury a new value in his eyes.
When William Came - Chapter 05: L'ART D'ETRE COUSINEJoan Mardle had reached forty in the leisurely untroubled fashion of a
woman who intends to be comely and attractive at fifty. She cultivated a
jovial, almost joyous manner, with a top-dressing of hearty good will and
good nature which disarmed strangers and recent acquaintances; on getting
to know her better they hastily re-armed themselves.
When William Came - Chapter 06: HERR VON KWARLHerr Von Kwarl sat at his favourite table in the Brandenburg Cafe, the
new building that made such an imposing show (and did such thriving
business) at the lower end of what most of its patrons called the
Regentstrasse.
When William Came - Chapter 07: THE LURECicely had successfully insisted on having her own way concerning the
projected supper-party; Yeovil had said nothing further in opposition to
it, whatever his feelings on the subject might be.
When William Came - Chapter 08: THE FIRST-NIGHTHuge posters outside the Caravansery Theatre of Varieties announced the
first performance of the uniquely interesting Suggestion Dances,
interpreted by the Hon. Gorla Mustelford.
When William Came - Chapter 09: AN EVENINGTo the uninitiated or unappreciative the dancing of Gorla Mustelford did
not seem widely different from much that had been exhibited aforetime by
exponents of the posturing school.
When William Came - Chapter 10: SOME REFLECTIONS AND ACicely awoke, on the morning after the "memorable evening," with the
satisfactory feeling of victory achieved, tempered by a troubled sense of
having achieved it in the face of a reasonably grounded opposition.
When William Came - Chapter 11: THE TEA SHOPYeovil wandered down Piccadilly that afternoon in a spirit of
restlessness and expectancy. The long-awaited Aufklarung dealing with
the new law of military service had not yet appeared; at any moment he
might meet the hoarse-throated newsboys running along with their papers,
announcing the special edition which would give the terms of the edict to
the public.
When William Came - Chapter 12: THE TRAVELLING COMPANIONSThe train bearing Yeovil on his visit to Torywood slid and rattled
westward through the hazy dreamland of an English summer landscape. Seen
from the train windows the stark bare ugliness of the metalled line was
forgotten, and the eye rested only on the green solitude that unfolded
itself as the miles went slipping by.
When William Came - Chapter 13: TORYWOODYeovil got out of the train at a small, clean, wayside station, and
rapidly formed the conclusion that neatness, abundant leisure, and a
devotion to the cultivation of wallflowers and wyandottes were the
prevailing influences of the station-master's life.
When William Came - Chapter 14: "A PERFECTLY GLORIOUS AFTERNOON"It was one of the last days of July, cooled and freshened by a touch of
rain and dropping back again to a languorous warmth. London looked at
its summer best, rain-washed and sun-lit, with the maximum of coming and
going in its more fashionable streets.
When William Came - Chapter 15: THE INTELLIGENT ANTICIPATOR OF WANTSTwo of Yeovil's London clubs, the two that he had been accustomed to
frequent, had closed their doors after the catastrophe. One of them had
perished from off the face of the earth, its fittings had been sold and
its papers lay stored in some solicitor's office, a tit-bit of material
for the pen of some future historian.
When William Came - Chapter 16: SUNRISEMrs. Kerrick sat at a little teak-wood table in the verandah of a low-
pitched teak-built house that stood on the steep slope of a brown
hillside. Her youngest child, with the grave natural dignity of nine-
year old girlhood, maintained a correct but observant silence, looking
carefully yet unobtrusively after the wants of the one guest, and
checking from time to time the incursions of ubiquitous ants that were
obstinately disposed to treat the table-cloth as a foraging ground.
When William Came - Chapter 17: THE EVENT OF THE SEASONIn the first swelter room of the new Osmanli Baths in Cork Street four or
five recumbent individuals, in a state of moist nudity and
self-respecting inertia, were smoking cigarettes or making occasional
pretence of reading damp newspapers.
When William Came - Chapter 18: THE DEAD WHO DO NOT UNDERSTANDThe pale light of a November afternoon faded rapidly into the dusk of a
November evening. Far over the countryside housewives put up their
cottage shutters, lit their lamps, and made the customary remark that the
days were drawing in.
When William Came - Chapter 19: THE LITTLE FOXES"Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines"
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Map started on Nov. 5, 2009
