[Illustration: It did people good to buy of her.]
THE
UNKNOWN QUANTITY
A Book of Romance
And Some Half-Told Tales
_by_
HENRY VAN DYKE
_"Let X represent the unknown quantity."_
_Legendre's Algebra_
NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
1921
_Copyright, 1912, by Charles Scribner's Sons_
_Published October, 1912. Reprinted October, December, 1912; July, 1916; May, 1918; March, 1919; December, 1919; July, 1921._
_Leather Edition, September, 1913; May, 1916; February, 1917; June, 1920; May, 1921._
* * * * *
Dedicated
IN THANKFULNESS TO THE MEMORY OF
DEAR DAUGHTER DOROTHEA
RAY OF LIGHT SONG OF JOY HEART OF LOVE
1888-1912
* * * * *
DOROTHEA
_A deeper crimson in the rose, A deeper blue in sky and sea, And ever, as the summer goes, A deeper loss in losing thee!_
_A deeper music in the strain Of hermit-thrush from lonely tree; And deeper grows the sense of gain My life has found in having thee._
_A deeper love, a deeper rest, A deeper joy in all I see; And ever deeper in my breast A silver song that comes from thee._
_H. v. D._
MOUNT DESERT,
_August 1, 1912_.
PREFACE
There is a chain of little lakes--a necklace of lost jewels--lying in the forest that clothes the blue Laurentian Mountains in the Province of Quebec.
Each of these hidden lakes has its own character and therefore its own charm. One is bright and friendly, with wooded hills around it, and silver beaches, and red berries of the rowan-tree fringing the shores. Another is sombre and lonely, set in a circle of dark firs and larches, with sighing, trembling reeds along the bank. Another is only a round bowl of crystal water, the colour of an aquamarine, transparent and joyful as the sudden smile on the face of a child. Another is surrounded by fire-scarred mountains, and steep cliffs frown above it, and the shores are rough with fallen fragments of rock; it seems as if the setting of this jewel had been marred and broken in battle, but the gem itself shines tranquilly amid the ruin, and the lichens paint the rocks, and the new woods spring bright green upon the mountains. There are many more lakes, and all are different. The thread that binds them together is the little river flowing from one to another, now with a short, leaping passage, now with a longer, winding course.
Table of contents (by pages)
- 1: The Unknown Quantity by Henry Van Dyke
- 2: It is the sign of the unknown quantity
- 3: But certainly less interesting
- 4: Toinette was a woman of that rare race
- 5: Business flourished in the Bon Marche of Abbeville
- 6: You can imagine that Toinette was desolate
- 7: The plate was full of golden coins
- 8: A countersign of Will you go
- 9: Then Toinette sat down on the bed
- 10: And he is now the lighthouse keeper
- 11: Then Nataline went singing up to bed
- 12: What good is a ring to a dead man
- 13: So he hid the ring in his vest
- 14: And went to my father Marcel and kneeled beside him
- 15: And my mother Nataline smiled like one who is well content
- 16: My pretty one what a comfort to the old bonhomme
- 17: Je viens finir ici cette campagne
- 18: C'est le bon vin qui danse ici
- 19: That Angelique would bake it for us
- 20: It is a cradle so easy to rock
- 21: An avowal and a plea for pardon
- 22: So the knight looked well at the Tower
- 23: And being a very prosperous man
- 24: So the Brahman pursued his way
- 25: I have given my life to keep the jewel
- 26: He stooped and lifted the jewel
- 27: IThere was nothing between him and the orchestra
- 28: Satisfying melody which flowed from the violas and 'cellos
- 29: In a new relation to the visible image of the orchestra
- 30: These players in their measure and degree have known
- 31: Boyish in his moods and caprices
- 32: That magical humoreske by Dvorak
- 33: The twilight hour in the music room
- 34: Wandering from fragment to fragment of soft music
- 35: Shafer seems to think that he's the only man since Keats
- 36: The announcements of The Renowned Camembert Quintette
- 37: But I am not going to Bordeaux
- 38: The other on An Eruption of Vesuvius
- 39: Loveliest of all the Parisian suburbs
- 40: Carola moved about in the shadow
- 41: Couldn't you even ask me for the humoreske
- 42: And are not likely to arrive Somewhere or Anywhere
- 43: Most of these attendant sprites were gentle and docile
- 44: And the other sprites laughed behind their hands
- 45: At last the sprite whimpered and said Yes
- 46: Illustration The Unruly Sprite
- 47: Especially in domestic service
- 48: The Asthmatic was delighted with the subway
- 49: The morning roused them slowly
- 50: To the big houses with the white pillars
- 51: You are The Baron de Mortemer
- 52: Carmichael had always supposed that it was vacant
- 53: Lay the noblest looking woman that Carmichael had ever seen
- 54: Lay her head lower on the pillows
- 55: Insistent voice below calling Gaspard
- 56: Took out his tablet and his fountain pen
- 57: Carmichael called the other's attention to it
- 58: Ever sence ol' Jedge Gordon died
- 59: To be sure the prettiest in Glendour
- 60: Daniel had never met a Mede or a Persian
- 61: To keep them separate from the world
- 62: Lucy Slocum heard all about it from her grandmother
- 63: Piped up the voice of Ruth from the sled
- 64: Esther and Daniel exchanged glances of dismay
- 65: If not to the lust of the flesh
- 66: Blot his name from the book of remembrance
- 67: Every attempt to penetrate the ice of his anguish failed
- 68: Then her father's breast was shaken
- 69: Dick Barton growled as he turned in his saddle
- 70: Harcourt called boldly for the bill
- 71: It is an accusation of witchcraft
- 72: Said the Baron Harcourt cheerfully
- 73: He smacked his lips and lifted the flagon
- 74: Philanthropy is the secret of happiness
- 75: Yet Stronghold still throned upon the rock
- 76: He called himself John the Nothingarian
- 77: Your Stronghold is founded on cruelty
- 78: Which mountain the Count Rolando of Montefeltro had given
- 79: Who heard every creature cry aloud
- 80: But this was not the mind of Angelo
- 81: Go unto her with this box of electuary
- 82: Angelo fingered the instrument
- 83: But the sad shepherd walked far above the friendly valley
- 84: What have the vultures done for us
- 85: There the great cone was cut squarely off
- 86: Around which four shepherds were crouching
- 87: When did the blessed Jochanan die
- 88: I cast this stone on the grave of the Idumean
- 89: Thus Herod fed me with fair promises
- 90: He stroked his beard and his look fell on Tamar
- 91: So the sad shepherd thanked them for their entertainment
- 92: And the weary flock straggling after him
- 93: Ammiel saluted her and kneeled down to look at the child
- 94: Weightman wished to have something of the best
- 95: Of this John Weightman was not conscious
- 96: He says Lord Halverstone has the finest old house in Sussex
- 97: Weightman and her two daughters sailed for Europe
- 98: Why not take good care of your bread
- 99: You owe something to young Rollins
- 100: Algy Vanderhoof wants me to join him on his yacht with well
- 101: There was no argument in what Harold had said
- 102: Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth
- 103: Toward a passing group of people
- 104: And all went forward together along the road
- 105: And your mansions are ready for you
- 106: Doctor McLean and John Weightman
- 107: Answered the Keeper of the Gate
- 108: John Weightman could not endure it