Short Stories of Saki (H. H. Munro)
Short Stories of Saki (H. H. Munro) |
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Bystander & Morning PostUnpublished in any known book durning the lifetime of Munro but published only in The Bystander and The Morning Post. THE ALMANAC -- a Clovis story"Has it ever struck you," said Vera Durmot to Clovis, "that one might make a comfortable income by compiling a local almanack, on prophetic lines, like those that the general public buy by the half million?"
THE PONDMona had always regarded herself as cast for the tragic rôle; her name, her large dark eyes, and the style of hairdressing that best suited her, all contributed to support that outlook on life. She habitually wore the air of one who has seen trouble, or, at any rate, expects to do so very shortly; and she was accustomed to speak of the Angel of Death almost as other people would speak of their chauffeur waiting around the corner to fetch them at the appointed moment.
THE HOLY WARRevil Yealmton sat in the swaying dining-car of a Nord Express train that raced westward through the Prussian plain in the dusk of an early summer day. After nearly two years of profitable business pilgrimage in the border regions of Asiatic Russia he was returning to wife and home in the English West Country. It was a house that, as a matter of fact, he had never inhabited, and yet he was looking forward to reaching it as eagerly as though it had been the hallowed dwelling place of his childhood.
A HOUSEING PROBLEMThe Solution of an Insoluble Dilemma "I'm in a frightful position," exclaimed Mrs. Duff-Chubleigh, sinking into an armchair and closing her eyes as though to shut out some distressing vision. "Really? What has happened?" asked Mrs. Pallitson, preparing herself to hear some kitchen tragedy.
A SACRIFICE TO NECESSITYAlicia Pevenly sat on a garden seat in the rose-walk at Chopehanger, enjoying the valedictory mildness of a warm October morning, and experiencing the atmosphere of mental complacency that descends on a woman who has breakfasted well, is picturesquely dressed, and has reached forty-two in pleasant insidious stages. The loss of her husband some ten years ago had woven a thread of tender regret into her life-pattern, but for the most part she looked on the world and its ways with placid acquiescent amiability.
A SHOT IN THE DARKPhilip Sletherby settled himself down in an almost empty railway carriage, with the pleasant consciousness of being embarked on an agreeable and profitable pilgrimage. He was bound for Brill Manor, the country residence of his newly achieved acquaintance, Mrs. Saltpen-Jago. Honoria Saltpen-Jago was a person of some social importance in London, of considerable importance and influence in the county of Chalkshire.
The East WingA 're-discovered' short story, previously cited as a play and therefore less well known. A house party with its typical social mix of bumbling Major Boventry, the precious Lucien Wattleskeat, the wordy Canon Clore and a breathless hostess, Mrs Gramplain, is beset by a fire in the middle of the night in the east wing of the house. Begged by their hostess to save "my poor darling Eva – Eva of the golden hair", Lucien demurs on the grounds that he has never even met her. It is only on discovering that Eva is not a flesh and blood daughter, but Mrs Gramplain's painting of the daughter that she wished that she had had and which she has faithfully updated with the passing years, that Lucien declares a willingness to forfeit his life to rescue her, since "death in this case is more beautiful", a sentiment endorsed by the Major. As the two men disappear into the blaze, Mrs Gramplain recollects that she "sent Eva to Exeter to be cleaned." Thus the two men have lost their lives for nothing.
Clovis On The Alleged Romance Of Business"It is the fashion nowadays," said Clovis, "to talk about the romance of Business. There isn't such a thing. The romance has all been the other way, with the idle apprentice, the truant, the run-away, the individual who couldn't be bothered with figures and book-keeping and left business to look after itself.
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Map started on Nov. 5, 2009
