Stiles Lullaby

Stiles So Cold

Firefly It’s my life

Regina Mills Nobody’s Home

ZukovsAzula You’re Going Down

A Municipal Report

A Municipal Report written by O. Henry (William Sydney Porter) in 1909.
This story is written in first person.

And did you know that the man who wrote this story was accused of embezzlement from the bank he worked at to fund his writing career, and then fled the country but returned when he got news that his wife was terminally ill. Mr. Porter was then caught, tried and sent to prison where he stayed for over 3 years working as a clerk in the prison pharmacy. He wrote magazine articles while he was there, under the name O. Henry.

Anyway, the story is written in the point of view of a man (I don’t believe we ever learn his name) who was sent by a newspaper company to sign a contract with a woman they knew as Azalea Adair. Who had been sending them poems and essays to the paper, they sent nameless man to strike a deal with her for 2 cents a word before someone else discovered her and paid her much more. The story starts with the narrator arriving in Nashville, Tennessee and describes the place on several occasions as a quiet place. He then gets to his hotel, which is described as a beautiful place with marvelous architecture. After he arrives there and as gone up to his room and come back down he is accosted by a drunken menace know as Major Caswell who was unfourtanly well known to the staff of the hotel. Major Caswell buys the narrator a drink and then railed on about family tree’s against the narrators wishes but he went along as not to be rude, whenever the narrator finally made his escape the  clerk apologized and said that they wished to kick him out of the bar but they had no legal grounds to do so. And so, the next day as he heads out of the hotel he looks around for a taxi, there is only one around, which is run by an older black fellow (who you find out later is a descendent of kings) who is dressed in a peculiar jacket that used to be an army coat but was no longer in it’s former glory but it had been decorated with love, all the buttons were missing except one button. When the narrator tells him where he’s going the driver show an interest in why he’s going there showing a familiarity to the address. When they get to Mrs. Adair’s house the coachman tried to claim that her house was outside of town warranting a two dollar fare instead of the regular 50 cents. The narrator didn’t fall for that but he gave the man 2 dollars anyway after the coachman  begged him for it. Next, we find out Mrs. Adair is an sweet old woman with slight money problems because of reasons we find out later. Well, anyway after they talked for a bit, Mrs. Adair asked if he liked some tea she was out for the moment but she was going to send a little black girl to go buy some. When Mrs. Adair handed a dollar for the tea to the little girl the narrator recognized it as one of the dollars he handed to the coachman because it had been torn then put back together using a strip of blue tape. The little girl ran back into the house to use the back door, but she didn’t get out of the house before we heard yelling and a scream. Mrs. Adair rushed to go sort things out, she came back and apologized that tea might have to wait. The narrator said goodbye, but afterwards realized he never asked her whole name but decided to do that tomorrow, he also couldn’t stand slighting the old woman into 2 cents a word so he lied and said she was holding out at eight cents. When he got back to the hotel he was once again accosted by Major Caswell who paid for a round of drinks with our narrator with the same dollar bill he gave to the coachman, and that he saw Mrs. Adair give to the little girl. He goes back to Mrs. Adair’s house the next day using the same coach man. The narrator noticed Mrs. Adair looked paler and frailer than the previous day, she signed the contract for eight cents a word. After she signed the contract she got paler and started to slip out of her chair, he told the coach man to go get the doctor, he returned with one. The diagnosis was mal-nourishment, in his words the result of poverty, pride, and starvation. Mrs. Adair had many friends who would aid her but she wouldn’t accept anything except from the coachman who was once owned by her family. The doctor also revealed that Mrs. Adair’s last name was Caswell, wife to the drunk Major Caswell who uses every last penny she gets from anywhere to go get drunk. The next day when the narrator went for a stroll he spotted the cab driver, his coat was in even worse condition than it was before and the button was missing. About two hours he noticed a crowd growing, he curiously pushed to the front, he saw a doctor checking to see if Major Caswell was alive, he was not. It was found out that he was found in a dark alley and brought into the drug store by a few citizens. Major Caswell’s hands were clenched so tight that his fingers would not open, while the narrator stood there that fingers of the right hand relaxed and dropped something at the narrator’s feet he quietly covered it up with his foot. A little later he picked it up and pocketed it, he figured in his last moments he yanked something retained something of the killers. When the narrator got back to his hotel room he pulled out the missing button from the coachman’s coat and threw it into the  river. 

I personally think what the narrator did was a good thing to do. Maybe it was against the law, and it did help the Coachman get away with murder, but I would have done it, too. And then onto the subject of the Coachman, I can’t say I blame him either, murder is wrong, but why he did it was pure. He wanted to protect Mrs. Caswell, and in that time period and to a woman of that generation divorce wasn’t an option, so there really wasn’t another avenue they could take. This story also brings up the issue of alcoholism, and what it does to a marriage. Alcohol does nasty things to a person, it turns a human into Major Caswell for example, rude, uncaring, in debt, and in this case abusive. He may have never actually hit her, but he spent all her money on alcohol so she didn’t have any for food.

An Owre True Tale

A Legend of Maryland: “An Owre True Tale”, written by John Pendleton Kennedy in 1857.
This story is written in first person (I, we, etc)

This story starts out with a speech about the beauty of history, and putting together of the accounts of historical facts, or stories.

Then we start learning about the actual tale, which begins by talking about a cavern named Tablot’s Cave near , according to the story teller, that cave is no longer there, due to construction. Corporations suddenly realized the value of granite in the cliff, and so that cave was no more. Now, while we learn about Talbot, we also get to see how he put together the story.

The story tells us that this tale is a bunch of facts and stories that he collected over a period of time. Like the fact he had two English hawks with him, which were prized in the sport of falconry, along with the fact that he was related  with Lord Baltimore,  signifies that he was a man of standing, we also pick up that he must have had a good character since the stories say that he befriended the Indians that lived near the area, and he must have had help concealing himself when he was an outlaw. We also get the time period that this story by the little things we know, like his hawks, etc. It’s that kind of deduction that the tale of Talbot’s cave is made of.

I’m going to start off with how the tale was put together, were how he collected the facts, then I’ll go onto the tale.

The storyteller of this story took several tears to put it together, it was sort of a hobby you could say. He gave up on it a couple times, his interest was peaked after the first time giving up because of a book he discovered that mentioned a Colonel George Talbot who was committed for murder. This book also tells us that after he escaped he was retaken tried, then some time later pardoned, so the author of that book believes. This story didn’t exactly help with the story of the tale, but it got him started on the tale once again. And once again there was a lapse of time until one day he made a visit to the County of Saint Mary’s where he discovered an old brick ruin of what looked to be an substantial mansion the name of the family reminded and encouraged him to continue working on the Talbot story.

Within a short distance from where they were, there was a notable fort that connected to a mansion that Lord Baltimore would use every once in a while. The storyteller and his companions then set out to look at the mansion for any relics or such, and so they enlisted a guide. An old African American who looked about 80 but was said to be older, this man led them to  where the mansion used to stand, they found nothing that had to do with the cave. But the mansion did belong to Lord Baltimore. Next they made their way to a graveyard, that they had been informed by some of the household, preserved. The old man accompanied them there, on the way there he stopped by a cabin and grabbed a hoe, for reasons they didn’t know at the time. There wasn’t many tombstones, just a small cluster, they were about to leave before the old man directed there attention back to the tombstone he was about to uncover, that belonged to Master Rousby who was stabbed on a ship named The Quaker Ketch. Thanks to this we learn that Colonel Talbot, the Surveyor-General in 1684 killed Christopher Rousby on a war ship. Next we head to Annapolis to look for any historic sites that lend a clue. During that time the Legislature told the executive to search through government buildings with the goal of discovering old state papers and the such, but after consignment the papers fell into neglect. Until a man named David Ridgley the State Librarian went through all the buildings picking up the papers.

It was with this man that the storyteller found another little tidbit, he found  a decayed MS. Volume, they found it in a case, this volume turned out to be a journal of the council for several years including the very date of the death of the collector on the patuxent, which gives us a a narrative about an old tradition pertaining to the cave.

Charles Calvert, aka Lord Baltimore, was according to the information he collected was a good man and ruler. He was governor of Maryland, then he became Lord Proprietary, most of the population liked him. Lord Baltimore was a Roman Catholic, according to this story at the time The nation feared the Catholics, worried about plans for the Pope to overthrow England and such, anyway one day the King sent an order to the Proprietary o be dismissed from service, and hire Protestants in their stead. Lord Baltimore was also accused of evading taxes, or something of the sort. Although there was no evidence the King suggested retribution by a large sum of money

The storyteller only tells us this because it helps explain the relationship between Lord Baltimore and Christopher Rousby (the man who was stabbed). You see, Rousby was an enemy of the Proprietary (Lord Baltimore), their relationship was stressed. Lord Baltimore sent a few letters requesting that Rousby be relieved of his post, he was ignored.

So, instead of sending another letter he decided to go see the King himself, he never made it back. Before he left for England he made all necessary arrangements for the government, the chief authority he gave to his son Benedict Leonard Calvert who at the time was 13 or 14 years old. Lord Baltimore basically gave him control of everything while he was gone. But since Benedict was too young to carry out all the duties alone, he appointed nine Lieutenant Governors to help with his duties. One of these being George Talbot, the others names were Thomas Tailler, Colonel Vincent Low, Colonel Henry Darnsll, Colonel William Digges, Colonel William Stevens, Colonel William (there’s a lot of Williams here isn’t there) Burgess, Major Nicholas Sewall, and John Darnell. Once Lord Baltimore took care of these appointments he left to see the King and never came back.

We now move onto the subject of Talbot, it would seem he was a favorite of Lord Baltimore, he was born in Ireland from an prominent family, he had been on the council for a few years but his main thing was the military. Talbot had the Chief Command and the title and job Deputy Governor over the northern border of the Province. An area constantly exposed to the behavior of a fierce and warlike tribe called the Sasquesahannocks.

There was and strip pf land, that back then was called New Ireland, settled by mostly immigrants from the nation it is named after, this land fell under Talbot’s sphere of control. The settlers held their land under the Proprietary grants, each grants had conditions of course to serve in the local militia. Because of reason they built a fort there and Talbot was the Colonel. They had a very good routine figured out.

Talbot had a mansion that he spent a good amount of his time in with his very lovely and loyal wife and children.

We once again shift over to another bit of story, in 1684 the peaceful port of St. mary’s  visited by a small war ship of the kings, captained and crewed by a vulgar, rude, and all around hateful men. They harassed several of the citizens, and insulted the Calvert family. About a month later this ship was entering the Patuxent river, but gave no report that he was there.

During that time a rumor in town, that when Talbot heard of Captain Allen’s (the hateful captain) arrival, he went out to the ship to give the Captain a lesson on protocol, when he got there he found Allen conversing with Rousby, he gave them both a piece of his mind, the argument grew heated and when Talbot tried to leave he was unable to, it was then that things got really bad, and Talbot stabbed Rousby. Talbot was then detained by the Captain.

When two of Talbot’s friends her of this, they gave orders that Talbot would be arrested by the sheriff, then handed over to the council for judgment, two of the council members went over to the ship to do just this, and the Captain refused. Saying he was going to hand him over to the government of Virginia, which was a great insult to the government here, since the crime took place in their province.

Allen did just that, much to the anger of the Council, the Council then wrote to the Lord of Virginia to get their Talbot back, he refused. 

So one of Talbot’s friend named Phemlin Murry created a plan that involved Talbot’s wife, Talbot’s youngest kid, and a man named Roger Skreene,  they basically broke Talbot out of       prison. Talbot first went to his house, and he also had disguises for when he went out, and many of his friends would guard the road and such.

They stayed like this until he surrendered to the council for trial, Virginia having noticed Talbot’s recapture sent a letter demanding him back, Maryland leisurely refused. One day they did end up handing him over, then he was convicted and did his time till he was pardoned by James the Second.

Turns out Talbot never actually lived in the cave, but fled there for concealment every once in a while.

I like how in this story, the man had to determine facts from fiction, and how Talbot never lived in the cave but that’s what we were led to believe until the Storyteller started digging. I also appreciate how it took him several years, it always seemed faintly ridiculous how in the movies these historians found all this evidence and information in a few days.  

The Gilded Six Bits

The Gilded Six Bits written by Zora Neale Hurston and was first published in 1933.
This story is written in 3rd person (he she it).

This story is about a married African American couple, the husband along with most of the town works for the G and G fertilizer company . The story starts out with the wife Missie May taking a bath, slightly behind her daily schedule, so she hurries up her bath, she had barely gotten her shoes on when her husband, Joe, knocked on the door, they then commenced to their daily game mostly like tag. He would throw money through the doorway, then hide, she would find him then “wrestle” whatever goodies he brought home for her today. After their tussle, they then ate dinner, and Joe announced he was going to take Missie to the new ice cream parlor owned by a newcomer to town named Otis Slemmons. They then went on to have a conversation about the man, Joe wished he had his gut and a few other things, I think the man had some self image issues, though Missie told Joe she liked him just as he was. They had a wonderful time at the Ice cream parlor, Slemmons complemented Joe on Missie. On the way home Joe, for lack of a better word fangirled over Slemmons,  commenting on the way he talked, his stories about Chicago (where Slemmons was from), and the gold bits he wore on his clothing. Every Saturday he would parade Missie in the Ice cream parlor, he worked the night shift and Saturday was his only night off.  They were a very happy couple, they had a cycle, he would come home, do the mock battle, go to the ice cream parlor and then go to church on Sunday.

Until one night, around eleven a clock at night, G and G ran out of acid, so they sent everyone home. Joe was excited he could surprise his wife, on the way home, he thought about starting a family he wanted a boy. When Joe got home he saw a dim light shining through the bedroom window, he decided to go through the kitchen door. He was going to wash up before going in to Missie, on the way to the sink he accidentally knocked over a plate, he heard a loud gasp. Thinking he scared her, he quickly called out that it was just him. He heard a loud thump come from his room, Joe lit a match and hurried over thinking it was robbers or the like. Only to find Slemmons hurrying to get his pants on. Joe contemplated attacking the figure, but he froze, Missie was crying, and Slemmons was begging Joe not to kill him, offering all his money for his life. Joe unfroze, decked him then told him to get out. Slemmons hurried out but Joe’s intention was overrided by his fury he grabbed Simmons by his vest and punched him he skidded over to the door and Slemmons then got up and ran out the door. Missie May was sobbing, very strongly, not muttering a word. Joe stood there with a broken chain which turned out to be Slemmons’ watch charm in his hand that turned out be a four bit piece, hence why he never let anyone touch it. Joe just stood there staring at it, feeling a plethora of emotion, then he laughed, (why he laughed I have no idea) and then went to bed. Joe then asked Missie why she was crying, she answered because she loved him so much and she was sure he didn’t love her anymore. To that he answered she didn’t know that yet,  Apparently, Slemmons had offered her gold pieces, and he just kept advancing, Joe then told her to stop crying he got her a gold piece. The hours went by, Joe sitting on the bed frame, and Missie May dry sobbing, they stayed like that till the sun came up. Missie May didn’t plan on getting up, thinking there was no need for that, no reason to make breakfast, starch his clothes, clean the house, and she was embarrassed. But she got up when Joe asked her if she was going to make breakfast, you could cut the tension with a knife. But Joe never left her, and she couldn’t leave him, she loved him to much. But things were stressed, no more mock battles or candy kisses. Later that year, Missie May had a baby boy, and the spitting image of Joe according to Joe’s mother. And on a side note, Joe’s mother never approved of Joe marrying Missie May. Anyway the child was a motivator to them fixing there problems, Joe went and bought a large amount of candy kisses with the four bit piece. When he got back home, the game of tag began, and everything ended okay.

This Slemmons was full of hot air, his gold was fake, and he had to pay women to sleep with him  but he still seemed to think he was something special.

The little Convent Girl

The little Convent Girl, written by Grace King and first seen in 1893.

This story is about a twelve year old girl who had been placed in the convent by her father when she was an infant, only visiting her father on holidays. She never got to know her mother since her father took her away to Cincinnati when she was an baby and wouldn’t allow any contact. But now that her father died, she was going to go see her.

It was said in this story that she was an ideal convent girl, she didn’t talk unless spoken to, when she was told to sit down she would and wouldn’t get up until told to. She never forgot to pray. She wore black, and her hair was black, and her eyes were black as well.

Everybody loved her, the Captain would take her on deck to watch when they would get stuck on the bank or such, she was enthralled, she had been stuck in a convent all her life. Even the usually vulgar crew refrained from cussing when she was on deck. Though one of her favorite places to go was the pilot’s house. And the pilot loved having her there they would talk about the stars and the river. One day she actually stayed up past nine o’clock talking to the pilot.

The Captain and his crew were sad to see her go when the finally got to their destination.
Everyone was shocked to see her mother, I believe it was because she was black, I think, she never really described her. Anyways the next time the ship came into port in that city the Little Convent girl’s mother brought the girl to visit the Captain. The mother was worried about her saying all she did was pray and crochet and she thought visiting him would do her some good. It didn’t really, she walked off the edge of the ship and drowned shortly after the visit ended. I’m guessing her mother wasn’t what she was expecting since she killed herself,  they never found the body.

I find this story so incredibly sad, I can’t imagine living in such a strict environment as a convent, she never did anything without permission, never spoke unless spoken to, how incredibly lonely and constricting that must’ve been. And I’m guessing that she suppressed her emotion while growing up that she didn’t know what do with them when she experienced sadness and disappointment.