wreath whom you esteem most fair.

Dryden.
6. Port, mien; air; personal appearence. "Rather dignity of presence than beauty of aspect." Bacon.
 A graceful presence bespeaks acceptance.

 Collier.
Presence chamber, or Presence room, the room in which a great personage receives company. Addison. " Chambers of presence." Bacon. -- Presence of mind, that state of the mind in which all its faculties are alert, prompt, and acting harmoniously in obedience to the will, enabling one to reach, as it were spontaneously or by intuition, just conclusions in sudden emergencies.

 Pre'sen*sa"tion (?), n. Previous sensation, notion, or idea. [Obs.]
 Dr. H. More.
 Pre*sen"sion (?), n. [L. praesensio, fr. praesentire to perceive beforehand. See Presentient.] Previous perception. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.
 Pres"ent (?), a. [F. présent, L. praesens,-entis, that is before one, in sight or at hand, p. p. of praeesse to be before; prae before + esse to be. See Essence.]

1. Being at hand, within reach or call, within certain contemplated limits; -- opposed to absent.

 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.

John xiv. 25.
2. Now existing, or in process; begun but not ended; now in view, or under consideration; being at this time; not past or future; as, the present session of Congress; the present state of affairs; the present instance.

 I'll bring thee to the present business Shak.
3. Not delayed; immediate; instant; coincident. "A present recompense." "A present pardon." Shak.
 An ambassador... desires a present audience.

Massinger.
4. Ready; quick in emergency; as a present wit. [R.]

5. Favorably attentive; propitious. [Archaic] To find a god so present to my prayer.

Dryden.
Present tense (Gram.), the tense or form of a verb which expresses action or being in the present time; as, I am writing, I write, or I do write.

 Pres"ent, n. [Cf. F. présent. See Present, a.]
 1. Present time; the time being; time in progress now, or at the moment contemplated; as, at this present.

 Past and present, wound in one.

Tennyson.
2. pl. (Law) Present letters or instrument, as a deed of conveyance, a lease, letter of attorney, or other writing; as in the phrase, " Know all men by these presents," that is, by the writing itself, " per has literas praesentes; " -- in this sense, rarely used in the singular.

3. (Gram.) A present tense, or the form of the verb denoting the present tense.

At present, at the present time; now. -- For the present, for the tine being; temporarily. -- In present, at once, without delay. [Obs.] "With them, in present, half his kingdom; the rest to follow at his death." Milton.
 Pre*sent" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Presented; p. pr.
 & vb. n. Presenting.] [F. présenter, L. praesentare, fr. praesens, a. See Present, a.] 1. To bring or introduce into the presence of some one, especially of a superior; to introduce formally; to offer for acquaintance; as, to present an envoy to the king; (with the reciprocal pronoun) to come into the presence of a superior.

 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the lord.

Job i. 6 2. To exhibit or offer to view or notice; to lay before one's perception or cognizance; to set forth; to present a fine appearance.

 Lectorides's memory is ever... presenting him with the thoughts of other persons.

I. Watts.
3. To pass over, esp. in a ceremonious manner; to give in charge or possession; to deliver; to make over.

 So ladies in romance assist their knight, Present the spear, and arm him for the fight.

Pope.
4. To make a gift of; to bestow; to give, generally in a formal or ceremonious manner; to grant; to confer.

 My last, least offering, I present thee now.

Cowper.
5. Hence: To endow; to bestow a gift upon; to favor, as with a donation; also, to court by gifts.

 Octavia presented the poet for him admirable elegy on her son Marcellus.

Dryden.
6. To present; to personate. [Obs.] Shak.
7. In specific uses; (a) To nominate to an ecclesiastical benefice; to offer to the bishop or ordinary as a candidate for institution.

 The patron of a church may present his clerk to a parsonage or vicarage; that is, may offer him to the bishop of the diocese to be instituted.

Blackstone.
(b) To nominate for support at a public school or other institution . Lamb. (c) To lay before a public body, or an official, for consideration, as before a legislature, a court of judicature, a corporation, etc.; as, to present a memorial, petition, remonstrance, or indictment. (d) To lay before a court as an object of inquiry; to give notice officially of, as a crime of offence; to find or represent judicially; as, a grand jury present certain offenses or nuisances, or whatever they think to be public injuries. (e) To bring an indictment against. [U.S] (f) To aim, point, or direct, as a weapon; as, to present a pistol or the point of a sword to the breast of another.

Pesent arms (Mil.), the command in response to which the gun is carried perpendicularly in front of the center of the body, and held there with the left hand grasping it at the lower band, and the right hand grasping the small of the stock, in token of respect, as in saluting a superior officer; also, the position taken at such a command.

 Pre*sent", v. i. (Med.) To appear at the mouth of the uterus so as to be perceptible to the finger in vaginal examination; -- said of a part of an infant during labor.

 Pres"ent (?), n. [F. présent.] Anything presented or given; a gift; a donative; as, a Christmas present.

Syn. -- Gift; donation; donative; benefaction. See Gift.

 Pre*sent" (?), n. (Mil.) The position of a soldier in presenting arms; as, to stand at present.

 Pre*sent"a*ble (?), a. [Cf. F. présentable.] 1.
 Capable or admitting of being presented; suitable to be exhibited, represented, or offered; fit to be brought forward or set forth; hence, fitted to be introduced to another, or to go into society; as, ideas that are presentable in simple language; she is not presentable in such a gown.

2. Admitting of the presentation of a clergiman; as, a church presentable.
 [R.] Ayliffe.
 Pres'en*ta"ne*ous (?), a. [L. praesentaneus. See Present, a.]
 Ready; quick; immediate in effect; as, presentaneous poison. [Obs.]
 Harvey.
 Pres'en*ta"tion (?), n. [L. praesentatio a showing, representation: cf. F. présentation.] 1. The act of presenting, or the state of being presented


THERE IS AN IMPROVED ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF THIS TITLE WITH LINKED TOC AND LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS WHICH MAY VIEWED AT EBOOK [# 17460 ] LORNA DOONE, A ROMANCE OF EXMOOR by R. D. Blackmore Preface This work is called a 'romance,' because the incidents, characters, time, and scenery, are alike romantic. And in shaping this old tale, the Writer neither dares, nor desires, to claim for it the dignity or cumber it with the difficulty of an historic novel.

 And yet he thinks that the outlines are filled in more carefully, and the situations (however simple) more warmly coloured and quickened, than a reader would expect to find in what is called a 'legend.'

 And he knows that any son of Exmoor, chancing on this volume, cannot fail to bring to mind the nurse-tales of his childhood—the savage deeds of the outlaw Doones in the depth of Bagworthy Forest, the beauty of the hapless maid brought up in the midst of them, the plain John Ridd's Herculean power, and (memory's too congenial food) the exploits of Tom Faggus.

 March, 1869.

CONTENTS Preface CHAPTER I CHAPTER II CHAPTER III CHAPTER IV CHAPTER V CHAPTER VI CHAPTER VII CHAPTER VIII CHAPTER IX CHAPTER X CHAPTER XI CHAPTER XII CHAPTER XIII CHAPTER XIV CHAPTER XV CHAPTER XVI CHAPTER XVII CHAPTER XVIII CHAPTER XIX CHAPTER XX CHAPTER XXI CHAPTER XXII CHAPTER XXIII CHAPTER XXIV CHAPTER XXV CHAPTER XXVI CHAPTER XXVII CHAPTER XXVIII CHAPTER XXIX CHAPTER XXX CHAPTER XXXI CHAPTER XXXII CHAPTER XXXIII CHAPTER XXXIV CHAPTER XXXV CHAPTER XXXVI CHAPTER XXXVII CHAPTER XXXVIII CHAPTER XXXIX CHAPTER XL CHAPTER XLI CHAPTER XLII CHAPTER XLIII CHAPTER XLIV CHAPTER XLV CHAPTER XLVI CHAPTER XLVII CHAPTER XLVIII CHAPTER XLIX CHAPTER L CHAPTER LI CHAPTER LII CHAPTER LIII CHAPTER LIV CHAPTER LV CHAPTER LVI CHAPTER LVII CHAPTER LVIII CHAPTER LIX CHAPTER LX CHAPTER LXI CHAPTER LXII CHAPTER LXIII CHAPTER LXIV CHAPTER LXV CHAPTER LXVI CHAPTER LXVII CHAPTER LXVIII CHAPTER LXIX CHAPTER LXX CHAPTER LXXI CHAPTER LXXII CHAPTER LXXIII CHAPTER LXXIV CHAPTER LXXV CHAPTER I ELEMENTS OF EDUCATION If anybody cares to read a simple tale told simply, I, John Ridd, of the parish of Oare, in the county of Somerset, yeoman and churchwarden, have seen and had a share in some doings of this neighborhood, which I will try to set down in order, God sparing my life and memory. And they who light upon this book should bear in mind not only that I write for the clearing of our parish from ill fame and calumny, but also a thing which will, I trow, appear too often in it, to wit—that I am nothing more than a plain unlettered man, not read in foreign languages, as a gentleman might be, nor gifted with long words (even in mine own tongue), save what I may have won from the Bible or Master William Shakespeare, whom, in the face of common opinion, I do value highly. In short, I am an ignoramus, but pretty well for a yeoman.

 My father being of good substance, at least as we reckon in Exmoor, and seized in his own right, from many generations, of one, and that the best and largest, of the three farms into which our parish is divided (or rather the cultured part thereof), he John Ridd, the elder, churchwarden, and overseer, being a great admirer of learning, and well able to write his name, sent me his only son to be schooled at Tiverton, in the county of Devon. For the chief boast of that ancient town (next to its woollen staple) is a worthy grammar-school, the largest in the west of England, founded and handsomely endowed in the year 1604 by Master Peter Blundell, of that same place, clothier.

 Here, by the time I was twelve years old, I had risen into the upper school, and could make bold with Eutropius and Caesar—by aid of an English version—and as much as six lines of Ovid. Some even said that I might, before manhood, rise almost to the third form, being of a perservering nature; albeit, by full consent of all (except my mother), thick-headed. But that would have been, as I now perceive, an ambition beyond a farmer's son; for there is but one form above it, and that made of masterful scholars, entitled rightly'monitors'. So it came to pass, by the grace of God, that I was called away from learning, whilst sitting at the desk of the junior first in the upper school, and beginning the Greek verb [Greek word].

 My eldest grandson makes bold to say that I never could have learned [Greek word], ten pages further on, being all he himself could manage, with plenty of stripes to help him. I know that he hath more head than I—though never will he have such body; and am thankful to have stopped betimes, with a meek and wholesome head-piece.

 But if you doubt of my having been there, because now I know so little, go and see my name, 'John Ridd,' graven on that very form. Forsooth, from the time I was strong enough to open a knife and to spell my name, I began to grave it in the oak, first of the block whereon I sate, and then of the desk in front of it, according as I was promoted from one to other of them: and there my grandson reads it now, at this present time of writing, and hath fought a boy for scoffing at it—'John Ridd his name'—and done again in 'winkeys,' a mischievous but cheerful device, in which we took great pleasure.

 This is the manner of a 'winkey,' which I here set down, lest child of mine, or grandchild, dare to make one on my premises; if he does, I shall know the mark at once, and score it well upon him. The scholar obtains, by prayer or price, a handful of saltpetre, and then with the knife wherewith he should rather be trying to mend his pens, what does he do but scoop a hole where the desk is some three inches thick. This hole should be left with the middle exalted, and the circumfere dug more deeply. Then let him fill it with saltpetre, all save a little space in the midst, where the boss of the wood is. Upon that boss (and it will be the better if a splinter of timber rise upward) he sticks the end of his candle of tallow, or 'rat's tail,' as we called it, kindled and burning smoothly. Anon, as he reads by that light his lesson, lifting his eyes now and then it may be, the fire of candle lays hold of the petre with a spluttering noise and a leaping. Then should the pupil seize his pen, and, regardless of the nib, stir bravely, and he will see a glow as of burning mountains, and a rich smoke, and sparks going merrily; nor will it cease, if he stir wisely, and there be a good store of petre, until the wood is devoured


p. pr. & vb.
 n. Hemming.] 1. To form a hem or border to; to fold and sew down the edge of. Wordsworth.
2. To border; to edge All the skirt about Was hemmed with golden fringe.

Spenser.
To hem about, around, or in, to inclose and confine; to surround; to environ. "With valiant squadrons round about to hem."
 Fairfax. "Hemmed in to be a spoil to tyranny." Daniel.
 -- To hem out, to shut out. "You can not hem me out of London." J. Webster.
 Hem"a- (?). Same as Hæma-.

 Hem"a*chate (?), n. [L. haemachates; Gr. a"i^ma blood + &?; agate.] (Min.) A species of agate, sprinkled with spots of red jasper.

 Hem"a*chrome (?), n. Same as Hæmachrome.

 Hem"a*cite (?), n. [Gr. a"i^ma blood.] A composition made from blood, mixed with mineral or vegetable substances, used for making buttons, door knobs, etc.

 { Hem'a*drom"e*ter (?), Hem'a*dro*mom"e*ter (?), } n. [Hema- + Gr. &?; course + - meter.] (Physiol.) An instrument for measuring the velocity with which the blood moves in the arteries.

 { Hem'a*drom'e*try (?), Hem'a*dro*mom"e*try (?), } n. (Physiol.)
 The act of measuring the velocity with which the blood circulates in the arteries; hæmotachometry.

 He'ma*dy*nam"ics (?), n. [Hema- + dynamics.] (Physiol.)
 The principles of dynamics in their application to the blood; that part of science which treats of the motion of the blood.

 He'ma*dy"na*mom"e*ter (?), n. [Hema- + dynamometr.]
 (Physiol.) An instrument by which the pressure of the blood in the arteries, or veins, is measured by the height to which it will raise a column of mercury; -- called also a hæmomanometer.

 He"mal (?), a. [Gr. a"i^ma blood.] Relating to the blood or blood vessels; pertaining to, situated in the region of, or on the side with, the heart and great blood vessels; -- opposed to neural.

 As applied to vertebrates, hemal is the same as ventral, the heart and great blood vessels being on the ventral, and the central nervous system on the dorsal, side of the vertebral column.

Hemal arch (Anat.), the ventral arch in a segment of the spinal skeleton, formed by vertebral processes or ribs.

 Hem'a*phæ"in (?), n. Same as Hæmaphæin.

 ||Hem'a*poph"y*sis (?), n.; pl. Hemapophyses. [NL.
 See Hæma-, and Apophysis.] (Anat.) The second element in each half of a hemal arch, corresponding to the sternal part of a rib. Owen.
 -- Hem'a*po*phys"i*al (#), a.
 { Hem'a*stat"ic (?), Hem'a*stat"ic*al (?), } a. & n. Same as Hemostatic.

 Hem'a*stat"ics (?), n. (Physiol.) Laws relating to the equilibrium of the blood in the blood vessels.

 Hem'a*ta*chom"e*ter (?), n. Same as Hæmatachometer.

 Hem'a*te"in (?), n. [Gr. &?;, &?;, blood.] (Chem.) A reddish brown or violet crystalline substance, C16H12O6, got from hematoxylin by partial oxidation, and regarded as analogous to the phthaleins.

 ||Hem'a*tem"e*sis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. a"i^ma, a"i'matos, blood + &?; a vomiting, fr. &?; to vomit.] (Med.) A vomiting of blood.

 Hem"a*therm (?), n. [Gr. a"i^ma blood + &?; warm.] (Zoöl.)
 A warmblooded animal. [R.]

 Hem'a*ther"mal (?), a. (Zoöl.) Warm-blooded; hematothermal. [R] He*mat"ic (?), a. Same as Hæmatic.

 He*mat"ic, n. (Med.) A medicine designed to improve the condition of the blood.

 Hem"a*tin (?), n. [Gr. a"i^ma, a"i'matos, blood.] 1.
 Hematoxylin.

2. (Physiol. Chem.) A bluish black, amorphous substance containing iron and obtained from blood. It exists the red blood corpuscles united with globulin, and the form of hemoglobin or oxyhemoglobin gives to the blood its red color.

 Hem'a*ti*nom"e*ter (?), n. [Hematin + -meter.] (Physiol.
 Chem.) A form of hemoglobinometer.

 Hem'a*tin'o*met"ric (?), a. (Physiol.) Relating to the measurement of the amount of hematin or hemoglobin contained in blood, or other fluids.

 He*mat"i*non (?), n. [Gr. a"i^ma, a"i'matos, blood.] A red consisting of silica, borax, and soda, fused with oxide of copper and iron, and used in enamels, mosaics, etc.

 Hem"a*tite (?), n. [L. haematites, Gr. &?; bloodlike, fr. a"i^ma, a"i'matos, blood.] (Min.) An important ore of iron, the sesquioxide, so called because of the red color of the powder. It occurs in splendent rhombohedral crystals, and in massive and earthy forms; -- the last called red ocher. Called also specular iron, oligist iron, rhombohedral iron ore, and bloodstone. See Brown hematite, under Brown.

 Hem'a*tit"ic (?), a. Of or pertaining to hematite, or resembling it.

 Hem"a*to (?). See Hæma-.

 He*mat"o*cele (?), n. [Hemato- + Gr. &?; tumor: cf. F.
 hématocèle.] (Med.) A tumor filled with blood.

 ||Hem'a*toc"ry*a (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. a"i^ma, a"i'matos, blood + kry'os cold.] (Zoöl.) The cold-blooded vertebrates, that is, all but the mammals and birds; -- the antithesis to Hematotherma.

 Hem'a*to*crys"tal*lin (?), n. [Hemato + crystalline.]
 (Physiol.) See Hemoglobin.

 Hem"a*toid (?), a. [Hemato- + -oid.] (Physiol.)
 Resembling blood.

 Hem'a*toid"in (?), n. (Physiol. Chem.) A crystalline or amorphous pigment, free from iron, formed from hematin in old blood stains, and in old hemorrhages in the body. It resembles bilirubin. When present in the corpora lutea it is called hæmolutein.

 Hem'a*tol"o*gy (?), n. [Hemato- + -logy.] The science which treats of the blood.

 ||Hem'a*to"ma (?), n. [NL. See Hema-, and -oma.] (Med.) A circumscribed swelling produced by an effusion of blood beneath


artistic, unusual and quaintly charming qualities stand out midst a circle of austere New Englanders. The stage version is making a phenomenal dramatic record.
NEW CHRONICLES OF REBECCA, By Kate Douglas Wiggin. Illustrated by F. C. Yohn.
Additional episodes in the girlhood of this delightful heroine that carry Rebecca through various stages to her eighteenth birthday.
REBECCA MARY, By Annie Hamilton Donnell. Illustrated by Elizabeth Shippen Green.
This author possesses the rare gift of portraying all the grotesque little joys and sorrows and scruples of this very small girl with a pathos that is peculiarly genuine and appealing.
EMMY LOU: Her Book and Heart, By George Madden Martin, illustrated by Charles Louis Hinton.
Emmy Lou is irresistibly lovable, because she is so absolutely real.
She is just a bewitchingly innocent, hugable little maid. The book is wonderfully human.
BOOKS BY VICTOR APPLETON THE TOM SWIFT SERIES TOM SWIFT AND HIS MOTOR-CYCLE Or Fun and Adventures on the Road TOM SWIFT AND HIS MOTOR-BOAT Or The Rivals of Lake Carlopa TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIRSHIP Or the Stirring Cruise of the Red cloud TOM SWIFT AND HIS SUBMARINE BOAT Or Under the Ocean for Sunken Treasure TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC RUNABOUT Or the Speediest Car on the Road TOM SWIFT AND HIS WIRELESS MESSAGE Or the castaways of Earthquake Island TOM SWIFT AMONG THE DIAMOND MAKERS Or the Secret of Phantom Mountain TOM SWIFT IN THE CAVES OF ICE Or the Wreck of the Airship TOM SWIFT AND HIS SKY RACER Or The Quickest Flight on Record TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC RIFLE Or Daring Adventures in Elephant Land TOM SWIFT IN THE CITY OF GOLD Or Marvelous Adventures Underground TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIR GLIDER Or Seeking the Platinum Treasure TOM SWIFT IN CAPTIVITY Or A Daring Escape by Airship TOM SWIFT AND HIS WIZARD CAMERA Or Thrilling Adventures While Taking Moving Pictures TOM SWIFT AND HIS GREAT SEARCHLIGHT Or On the Border for Uncle Sam


hid themselves among The thickest trees. Milton.
2. Conjoined, or associated with, or making part of the number of; in the number or class of.

 Blessed art thou among women. Luke i. 28.
3. Expressing a relation of dispersion, distribution, etc.; also, a relation of reciprocal action.

 What news among the merchants? Shak.
 Human sacrifices were practiced among them. Hume.
 Divide that gold amongst you. Marlowe.
 Whether they quarreled among themselves, or with their neighbors.
Addison.
Syn. -- Amidst; between. See Amidst, Between.

 ||A*mon'til*la"do (&?;), n. [Sp.] A dry kind of cherry, of a light color. Simmonds.
 Am"o*ret (&?;), n. [OF. amorette, F. amourette, dim. of amour.] 1. An amorous girl or woman; a wanton. [Obs.] J. Warton.
2. A love knot, love token, or love song. (pl.) Love glances or love tricks. [Obs.]

3. A petty love affair or amour. [Obs.]

 Am"o*rette" (&?;), n. An amoret. [Obs.] Rom. of R. Am"o*rist (&?;), n. [L. armor love. See Amorous.] A lover; a gallant. [R.] Milton.
 It was the custom for an amorist to impress the name of his mistress in the dust, or upon the damp earth, with letters fixed upon his shoe. Southey.
 A-morn"ings (&?;), adv. [See Amorwe. The -s is a genitival ending. See -wards.] In the morning; every morning. [Obs.]

 And have such pleasant walks into the woods A-mornings.
J. Fletcher.
 ||Am'o*ro"sa (&?;), n. [It. amoroso, fem. amorosa.]
 A wanton woman; a courtesan. Sir T. Herbert.
 Am'o*ros"i*ty (&?;), n. The quality of being amorous; lovingness. [R.] Galt.
 ||Am'o*ro"so (&?;), n. [It. amoroso, LL. amorosus.]
 A lover; a man enamored.

 ||Am'o*ro"so, adv. [It.] (Mus.) In a soft, tender, amatory style.

 Am"o*rous (&?;), a. [OF. amoros, F. amoreux, LL.
 amorosus, fr. L. amor love, fr. amare to love.] 1.
 Inclined to love; having a propensity to love, or to sexual enjoyment; loving; fond; affectionate; as, an amorous disposition.

2. Affected with love; in love; enamored; -- usually with of; formerly with on.

 Thy roses amorous of the moon. Keats.
 High nature amorous of the good. Tennyson.
 Sure my brother is amorous on Hero. Shak.
3. Of or relating to, or produced by, love. "Amorous delight." Milton. "Amorous airs." Waller.
Syn. -- Loving; fond; tender; passionate; affectionate; devoted; ardent.

 Am"o*rous*ly, adv. In an amorous manner; fondly.

 Am"o*rous*ness, n. The quality of being amorous, or inclined to sexual love; lovingness.

 A*mor"pha (&?;), n.; pl. Amorphas (&?;). [Gr.
 &?; shapeless.] (Bot.) A genus of leguminous shrubs, having long clusters of purple flowers; false or bastard indigo. Longfellow.
 A*mor"phism (&?;), n. [See Amorphous.] A state of being amorphous; esp. a state of being without crystallization even in the minutest particles, as in glass, opal, etc. There are stony substances which, when fused, may cool as glass or as stone; the glass state is spoken of as a state of amorphism.

 A*mor"phous (&?;), a. [Gr. &?;; 'a priv. + &?; form.]
 1. Having no determinate form; of irregular; shapeless. Kirwan.
2. Without crystallization in the ultimate texture of a solid substance; uncrystallized.

3. Of no particular kind or character; anomalous.

 Scientific treatises... are not seldom rude and amorphous in style. Hare.
 -- A*mor"phous*ly, adv. -- A*mor"phous*ness, n.
 ||A*mor'pho*zo"a (&?;), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; shapeless; 'a priv. + &?; form + &?; animal.] (Zoöl.) Animals without a mouth or regular internal organs, as the sponges.

 A*mor'pho*zo"ic (&?;), a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the Amorphozoa.

 A*mor"phy (&?;), n. [Gr. &?;: cf. F. amorphie. See Amorphous.] Shapelessness. [Obs.] Swift.
 A*mort" (&?;), a. [Pref. a- + F. mort death, dead; all amort is for alamort.] As if dead; lifeless; spiritless; dejected; depressed. Shak.
 A*mor"tise (&?;), v., A*mor'ti*sa"tion (&?;), n., A*mor"tis*a*ble (&?;), a., A*mor"tise*ment (&?;), n. Same as Amortize, Amortization, etc.

 A*mor"tiz*a*ble (&?;), a. [Cf. F. amortissable.] Capable of being cleared off, as a debt.

 A*mor'ti*za"tion (&?;), n. [LL. amortisatio, admortizatio.
 See Amortize, and cf. Admortization.] 1. (Law) The act or right of alienating lands to a corporation, which was considered formerly as transferring them to dead hands, or in mortmain.

2. The extinction of a debt, usually by means of a sinking fund; also, the money thus paid. Simmonds.
 A*mor"tize (&?;), v. t. [OE. amortisen, LL. amortisare, admortizare, F. amortir to sell in mortmain, to extinguish; L. ad + mors death. See Mortmain]. 1. To make as if dead; to destroy. [Obs.] Chaucer.
2. (Law) To alienate in mortmain, that is, to convey to a corporation. See Mortmain.

3. To clear off or extinguish, as a debt, usually by means of a sinking fund.

 A*mor"tize*ment (&?;), n. [F. amortissement.] Same as Amortization.

 A*mor"we (&?;), adv. [Pref. a- on + OE. morwe.
 See Morrow.] 1. In the morning. [Obs.] Chaucer.
2. On the following morning. [Obs.] Chaucer.
 A*mo"tion (&?;), n. [L. amotio. See Amove.] 1.
 Removal; ousting; especially, the removal of a corporate officer from his office.

2. Deprivation of possession.

 ||A*mo"tus (&?;), a. [L., withdrawn (from it&?;place).] (Zoöl.)
 Elevated, -- as a toe, when raised so high that the tip does not touch the ground.

 A*mount" (&?;), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Amounted; p.


n. Predicting.] [L. praedictus, p. p. of praedicere to predict; prae before + dicere to say, tell. See Diction, and cf. Preach.] To tell or declare beforehand; to foretell; to prophesy; to presage; as, to predict misfortune; to predict the return of a comet.

Syn. -- To foretell; prophesy; prognosticate; presage; forebode; foreshow; bode.

 Pre*dict", n. A prediction. [Obs.] Shak.
 Pre*dict"a*ble (?), a. That may be predicted.

 Pre*dic"tion (?), n. [L. praedictio: cf. F. prédiction.]
 The act of foretelling; also, that which is foretold; prophecy.

 The predictions of cold and long winters.

Bacon.
Syn. -- Prophecy; prognostication; foreboding; augury; divination; soothsaying; vaticination.

 Pre*dic"tion*al (?), a. Prophetic; prognostic. [R.]

 Pre*dict"ive (?), a. [L. praedictivus.] Foretelling; prophetic; foreboding. - - Pre*dict"ive*ly, adv.
 Pre*dict"or (?), n. One who predicts; a foreteller.

 Pre*dict"o*ry (?), a. Predictive. [R.] Fuller.
 Pre'di*gest" (?), v. t. (Med.) To subject (food) to predigestion or artificial digestion.

 Pre'di*ges"tion (?), n. 1. Digestion too soon performed; hasty digestion. [Obs.] Bacon.
2. (Med.) Artificial digestion of food for use in illness or impaired digestion.

 Pre'di*lect" (?), v. t. To elect or choose beforehand. [R.] Walter Harte.
 Pre'di*lec"tion (?), n. [Pref. pre- + L. dilectus, p. p. diligere to prefer: cf. F. prédilection. See Diligent.] A previous liking; a prepossession of mind in favor of something; predisposition to choose or like; partiality. Burke.
 Pre'dis*cov"er (?), v. t. To discover beforehand.

 Pre'dis*cov"er*y (?), n. A previous discovery.

 Pre'dis*po"nen*cy (?), n. The state of being predisposed; predisposition. [R.]

 Pre'dis*po"nent (?), a. Disposing beforehand; predisposing. -- n. That which predisposes.

Predisponent causes. (Med.) See Predisposing causes, under Predispose. Dunglison.
 Pre'dis*pose" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Predisposed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Predisposing.] [Pref. pre- + dispose: cf. F. prédisposer.] 1. To dispose or incline beforehand; to give a predisposition or bias to; as, to predispose the mind to friendship.

2. To make fit or susceptible beforehand; to give a tendency to; as, debility predisposes the body to disease.

Predisposing causes (Med.), causes which render the body liable to disease; predisponent causes.

 Pre*dis'po*si"tion (?), n.[Pref. pre- + disposition: cf. F. prédisposition.] 1. The act of predisposing, or the state of being predisposed; previous inclination, tendency, or propensity; predilection; -- applied to the mind; as, a predisposition to anger.

2. Previous fitness or adaptation to any change, impression, or purpose; susceptibility; -- applied to material things; as, the predisposition of the body to disease.

 Pre*dom"i*nance (?), n. [Cf. F. prédominance.] 1.
 The quality or state of being predominant; superiority; ascendency; prevalence; predomination.

 The predominance of conscience over interest.

South.
2. (Astrol.) The superior influence of a planet. Shak.
 Pre*dom"i*nan*cy (?), n. Predominance. Bacon.
 Pre*dom"i*nant (?), a. [Cf. F. prédominant. See Predominante.] Having the ascendency over others; superior in strength, influence, or authority; prevailing; as, a predominant color; predominant excellence.

 Those help... were predominant in the king's mind.

Bacon.
 Foul subordination is predominant.

Shak.
Syn. -- Prevalent; superior; prevailing; ascendant; ruling; reigning; controlling; overruling.

 Pre*dom"i*nant*ly, adv. In a predominant manner.

 Pre*dom"i*nate (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Predominated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Predominating.] [Pref. pre- + dominate: cf. F. prédominer.] To be superior in number, strength, influence, or authority; to have controlling power or influence; to prevail; to rule; to have the mastery; as, love predominated in her heart.

 [Certain] rays may predominate over the rest.

Sir. I. Newton.
 Pre*dom"i*nate, v. t. To rule over; to overpower. [R.]

 Pre*dom'i*na"tion (?), n. [Cf. F. prédomination.] The act or state of predominating; ascendency; predominance. W. Browne.
 Pre*doom" (?), v. t. To foredoom.

 Pre*dor"sal (?), a. (Anat.) Situated in front of the back; immediately in front, or on the ventral side the dorsal part of the vertebral column.

 Pre"dy (?), a. [Cf. F. prêt ready.] Cleared and ready for engagement, as a ship. Smart.
 Preed"y (?), adv. With ease. [Prov. Eng.]

 Preef (?), n. Proof. [Obs.] Chaucer.
 Pre'ë*lect" (?), v. t. To elect beforehand.

 Pre'ë*lec"tion (?), n. Election beforehand.

 Pre*ëm"i*nence (?), n. [F. prééminence, L. praeeminentia. See Preëminent.] The quality or state of being preëminent; superiority in prominence or in excellence; distinction above others in quality, rank, etc.; rarely, in a bad sense, superiority or notoriety in evil; as, preëminence in honor.

 The preëminence of Christianity to any other religious scheme.

Addison.
 Painful preëminence! yourself to view Above life's weakness, and its comforts too.

Pope.
 Beneath the forehead's walled preëminence.

Lowell.
 Pre*ëm"i*nent (?), a. [L. praeminens, -entis, p. pr. praeminere to be prominent, to surpass: cf. F. prééminent.
 See Pre-, and Eminent.] Eminent above others; prominent among those who are eminent; superior in excellence; surpassing, or taking precedence of, others; rarely, surpassing others in evil, or in bad qualities; as, preëminent in guilt.

 In goodness and in power preëminent.

Milton.
 Pre*ëm"i*nent*ly, adv. In a preëminent degree.

 Pre'ëm*ploy (?), v. t. To employ beforehand. "Preëmployed by him." Shak.
 Pre*ëmpt" (?; 215), v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p


Formerly written comptrol and controul.] 1. To check by a counter register or duplicate account; to prove by counter statements; to confute. [Obs.]

 This report was controlled to be false. Fuller.
2. To exercise restraining or governing influence over; to check; to counteract; to restrain; to regulate; to govern; to overpower.

 Give me a staff of honor for mine age, But not a scepter to control the world. Shak.
 I feel my virtue struggling in my soul: But stronger passion does its power control. Dryden.
Syn. -- To restrain; rule; govern; manage; guide; regulate; hinder; direct; check; curb; counteract; subdue.

 Con*trol'la*bil"i*ty (?), n. Capability of being controlled; controllableness.

 Con*trol"la*ble (?), a. Capable of being controlled, checked, or restrained; amenable to command.

 Passion is the drunkeness of the mind, and, therefore,... not always controllable by reason. South.
 Con*trol"la*ble*ness, n. Capability of being controlled.

 Con*trol"ler (?), n. [From control, v. t.: cf. F. contrôleur.]
 1. One who, or that which, controls or restraines; one who has power or authority to regulate or control; one who governs.

 The great controller of our fate Deigned to be man, and lived in low estate. Dryden.
2. An officer appointed to keep a counter register of accounts, or to examine, rectify, or verify accounts. [More commonly written controller.]

3. (Naut.) An iron block, usually bolted to a ship's deck, for controlling the running out of a chain cable. The links of the cable tend to drop into hollows in the block, and thus hold fast until disengaged.

 Con*trol"ler*ship, n. The office of a controller.

 Con*trol"ment (?), n. 1. The power or act of controlling; the state of being restrained; control; restraint; regulation; superintendence.

 You may do it without controlment. Shak.
2. Opposition; resistance; hostility. [Obs.]

 Here have we war for war, and blood for blood, Controlment for controlment. Shak.
 Con'tro*ver"sal (?), a. 1. Turning or looking opposite ways.
 [Obs.]

 The temple of Janus, with his two controversal faces. Milton.
2. Controversial. [Obs.] Boyle.
 Con'tro*ver"sa*ry (?), a. Controversial. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.
 Con"tro*verse (?), n. [Cf. F. controverse.] Controversy.
 [Obs.] Spenser.
 Con"tro*verse, v. t. [L. controversari, fr. controversus turned against, disputed.] To dispute; to controvert. [Obs.] "Controversed causes." Hooker.
 Con"tro*ver'ser (?), n. A disputant. [Obs.]

 Con'tro*ver"sial (?), a. [Cf. LL. controversialis.] Relating to, or consisting of, controversy; disputatious; polemical; as, controversial divinity.

 Whole libraries of controversial books. Macaulay.
 Con'tro*ver"sial*ist, n. One who carries on a controversy; a disputant.

 He [Johnson] was both intellectually and morally of the stuff of which controversialists are made. Macaulay.
 Con'tro*ver"sial*ly, adv. In a controversial manner.

 Con'tro*ver"sion (?), n. Act of controverting; controversy. [Obs.]
 Hooker.
 Con"tro*ver'sor (?), n. A controverser. [Obs.]

 Con"tro*ver'sy (?), n.; pl. Controversies (#). [L. controversia, fr. controversus turned against, disputed; contro- = contra + versus, p. p. of vertere to turn. See Verse.] 1.
 Contention; dispute; debate; discussion; agitation of contrary opinions.

 This left no room for controversy about the title. Locke.
 A dispute is commonly oral, and a controversy in writing. Johnson.
2. Quarrel; strife; cause of variance; difference.

 The Lord hath a controversy with the nations. Jer. xxv.
 31.
3. A suit in law or equity; a question of right. [Obs.]

 When any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment. 2 Sam. xv. 2.
Syn. -- Dispute; debate; disputation; disagreement; altercation; contention; wrangle; strife; quarrel.

 Con"tro*vert (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Controverted; p. pr. & vb. n. Controverting.] [See Controversy.] To make matter of controversy; to dispute or oppose by reasoning; to contend against in words or writings; to contest; to debate.

 Some controverted points had decided according to the sense of the best jurists. Macaulay.
 Con"tro*ver'ter (?), n. One who controverts; a controversial writer; a controversialist.

 Some controverters in divinity are like swaggerers in a tavern.
B. Jonson.
 Con'tro*ver"ti*ble (?), a. Capable of being controverted; disputable; admitting of question. -- Con'tro*ver"ti*bly, adv.
 Con"tro*ver'tist (?), n. One skilled in or given to controversy; a controversialist.

 How unfriendly is the controvertist to the discernment of the critic! Campbell.
 { Con*tu"ber*nal (?), Con'tu*ber"ni*al (?) }, a. [L. contubernalis a tent companion, fr. contubernium tent companionship.] Living or messing together; familiar; in companionship.

 Humble folk ben Christes friends: they ben contubernial with the Lord, thy King. Chaucer.
 Con'tu*ma"cious (?), a. [L. contumax, -acis. See Contumacy.] 1. Exhibiting contumacy; contemning authority; obstinate; perverse; stubborn; disobedient.

 There is another very, efficacious method for subding the most obstinate, contumacious sinner. Hammond.
2. (Law) Willfully disobedient to the summous or prders of a court. Blackstone.
Syn. -- Stubborn; obstinate; obdurate; disobedient; perverse; unyielding; headstrong.

 -- Con'tu*ma"cious*ly, adv. -- Con'tu*ma"cious*ness, n. Con"tu*ma*cy (?), n.; pl. Contumacies (#). [L. contumacia, fr. contumax, -acis, insolent; prob. akin to contemnere to despise: cf. F. contumace. Cf. Contemn.] 1. Stubborn perverseness; pertinacious resistance to authority.

 The bishop commanded him... to be thrust into the stocks for his manifest and manifold contumacy. Strype.
2. (Law) A willful contempt of, and disobedience to, any lawful summons, or to the rules and orders of court, as a refusal to appear in court when legally summoned.

Syn. -- Stubbornness; perverseness; obstinacy.

 Con'tu*me"li*ous (?or?; 106), a. [L. contumeliosus.] 1.
 Exhibiting contumely; rudely contemptuous; insolent; disdainful.

 Scoffs, and scorns, and contumelious taunts. Shak.
 Curving a contumelious lip. Tennyson.
2. Shameful; disgrace


, bogrerie, heresy. See Bugger.] Unnatural sexual intercourse; sodomy.

 Bug"gi*ness (&?;), n. [From Buggy, a.] The state of being infested with bugs.

 Bug"gy (&?;), a. [From Bug.] Infested or abounding with bugs.

 Bug"gy, n.; pl. Buggies. 1. A light one horse twowheeled vehicle. [Eng.]

 Villebeck prevailed upon Flora to drive with him to the race in a buggy.
Beaconsfield.
2. A light, four-wheeled vehicle, usually with one seat, and with or without a calash top. [U.S.]

Buggy cultivator, a cultivator with a seat for the driver. -- Buggy plow, a plow, or set of plows, having a seat for the driver; -- called also sulky plow.

 Bu"gle (&?;), n. [OE. bugle buffalo, buffalo's horn, OF.
 bugle, fr. L. buculus a young bullock, steer, dim. of bos ox. See Cow the animal.] A sort of wild ox; a buffalo. E. Phillips.
 Bu"gle, n. [See Bugle a wild ox.] 1. A horn used by hunters.

2. (Mus.) A copper instrument of the horn quality of tone, shorter and more conical that the trumpet, sometimes keyed; formerly much used in military bands, very rarely in the orchestra; now superseded by the cornet; -- called also the Kent bugle.

 Bu"gle, n. [LL. bugulus a woman's ornament: cf. G. bügel a bent piece of metal or wood, fr. the same root as G. biegen to bend, E. bow to bend.] An elongated glass bead, of various colors, though commonly black.

 Bu"gle, a. [From Bugle a bead.] Jet black. "Bugle eyeballs."
 Shak.
 Bu"gle, n. [F. bugle; cf. It. bugola, L. bugillo.]
 (Bot.) A plant of the genus Ajuga of the Mint family, a native of the Old World.

Yellow bugle, the Ajuga chamæpitys.

 Bu"gled (&?;), a. Ornamented with bugles.

 Bu"gle horn' (&?;). 1. A bugle.

 One blast upon his bugle horn Were worth a thousand men.
Sir W. Scott.
2. A drinking vessel made of horn. [Obs.]

 And drinketh of his bugle horn the wine. Chaucer.
 Bu"gler (&?;), n. One who plays on a bugle.

 Bu"gle*weed' (&?;), n. (Bot.) A plant of the Mint family and genus Lycopus; esp. L. Virginicus, which has mild narcotic and astringent properties, and is sometimes used as a remedy for hemorrhage.

 Bu"gloss (&?;), n.; pl. Buglosses (&?;). [F. buglosse, L. buglossa, buglossus, fr. Gr. &?; oxtongue &?; ox + &?; tongue.] (Bot.) A plant of the genus Anchusa, and especially the A. officinalis, sometimes called alkanet; oxtongue.

Small wild bugloss, the Asperugo procumbens and the Lycopsis arvensis. -- Viper's bugloss, a species of Echium.

 Bug"wort' (&?;), n. (Bot.) Bugbane.

 { Buhl (&?;), Buhl"work } (&?;), n. [From A. Ch. Boule, a French carver in wood.] Decorative woodwork in which tortoise shell, yellow metal, white metal, etc., are inlaid, forming scrolls, cartouches, etc. [Written also boule, boulework.]

 Buhl"buhl (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) See Bulbul.

 Buhr"stone' (&?;), n. [OE. bur a whetstone for scythes.]
 (Min.) A cellular, flinty rock, used for mill stones. [Written also burrstone.]

 Build (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Built (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Building. The regular imp. & p. p. Builded is antiquated.] [OE. bulden, bilden, AS. byldan to build, fr. bold house; cf. Icel. bl farm, abode, Dan. bol small farm, OSw. bol, böle, house, dwelling, fr. root of Icel. b&?;a to dwell; akin to E. be, bower, boor.
 √97.] 1. To erect or construct, as an edifice or fabric of any kind; to form by uniting materials into a regular structure; to fabricate; to make; to raise.

 Nor aught availed him now To have built in heaven high towers. Milton.
2. To raise or place on a foundation; to form, establish, or produce by using appropriate means.

 Who builds his hopes in air of your good looks. Shak.
3. To increase and strengthen; to increase the power and stability of; to settle, or establish, and preserve; -- frequently with up; as, to build up one's constitution.

 I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up. Acts xx. 32.
Syn. -- To erect; construct; raise; found; frame.

 Build (&?;), v. i. 1. To exercise the art, or practice the business, of building.

2. To rest or depend, as on a foundation; to ground one's self or one's hopes or opinions upon something deemed reliable; to rely; as, to build on the opinions or advice of others.

 Build, n. Form or mode of construction; general figure; make; as, the build of a ship.

 Build"er (&?;), n. One who builds; one whose occupation is to build, as a carpenter, a shipwright, or a mason.

 In the practice of civil architecture, the builder comes between the architect who designs the work and the artisans who execute it.
Eng. Cyc.
 Build"ing, n. 1. The act of constructing, erecting, or establishing.

 Hence it is that the building of our Sion rises no faster.
Bp. Hall.
2. The art of constructing edifices, or the practice of civil architecture.

 The execution of works of architecture necessarily includes building; but building is frequently employed when the result is not architectural. Hosking.
3. That which is built; a fabric or edifice constructed, as a house, a church, etc.

 Thy sumptuous buildings and thy wife's attire Have cost a mass of public treasury. Shak.
 Built (&?;), n. Shape; build; form of structure; as, the built of a ship. [Obs.] Dryden.
 Built, a. Formed; shaped; constructed; made; -- often used in composition and preceded by the word denoting the form; as, frigate-built, clipper-built, etc.

 Like the generality of Genoese countrywomen, strongly built.
Landor.
 Buke" mus"lin (&?;). See Book muslin.

 ||Buk"shish (&?;), n. See Backsheesh.

 ||Bu"lau (&?;), n. [Native name.] (Zoöl.) An East Indian insectivorous mammal (Gymnura Rafflesii), somewhat like a rat in appearance, but allied to the hedgehog.

 Bulb (blb), n. [L. bulbus, Gr. bolbo's: cf. F. bulbe.]


LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN A PLAY ABOUT A GOOD WOMAN BY OSCAR WILDE METHUEN & CO. LTD.
36 ESSEX STREET W.C.
LONDON Sixteenth Edition First Published 1893 First Issued by Methuen & Co. Ltd. (Limited Editions on Hand-made Paper and Japanese Vellum) February 1908 Third Edition (F'cap 8vo, 5s. net) September 1909 Fourth Edition (5s. net) June 1910 Fifth Edition (F'cap 8vo, 1s. net) November 3rd 1911 Sixth Edition (1s. net) November 1911 Eighth Edition (1s. net) 1912, Ninth and Tenth Editions (1s. net) 1913, Eleventh Edition (1s. net) 1914, Twelfth Edition (1s. net) 1915, Thirteenth Edition (1s. net) 1916, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Edition (1s.
net) 1917 Sixteenth Edition (5s. net) 1917 The literary and dramatic rights of "Lady Windermere's Fan" belong to Sir George Alexander, by arrangement with whom this play is included in this edition. The acting version (Samuel French) does not contain the complete text.

TO THE DEAR MEMORY OF ROBERT EARL OF LYTTON IN AFFECTION AND ADMIRATION THE PERSONS OF THE PLAY Lord Windermere Lord Darlington Lord Augustus Lorton Mr. Dumby Mr. Cecil Graham Mr. Hopper Parker, Butler Lady Windermere The Duchess of Berwick Lady Agatha Carlisle Lady Plymdale Lady Stutfield Lady Jedburgh Mrs. Cowper-Cowper Mrs. Erlynne Rosalie, Maid THE SCENES OF THE PLAY Act I. Morning-room in Lord Windermere's house.
Act II.
Drawing-room in Lord Windermere's house.
Act III.
Lord Darlington's rooms.
Act IV.
Same as Act I. Time: The Present.
Place: London.
The action of the play takes place within twenty-four hours, beginning on a Tuesday afternoon at five o'clock, and ending the next day at 1.30 p.m.
LONDON: ST. JAMES'S THEATRE Lessee and Manager: Mr.
George Alexander February 22nd, 1892.
Lord Windermere Mr. George Alexander.
Lord Darlington Mr. Nutcombe Gould.
Lord Augustus Lorton Mr. H. H. Vincent.
Mr. Cecil Graham Mr. Ben Webster.
Mr. Dumby Mr. Vane-Tempest.
Mr. Hopper Mr. Alfred Holles.
Parker (Butler) Mr. V. Sansbury.
Lady Windermere Miss Lily Hanbury.
The Duchess of Berwick Miss Fanny Coleman.
Lady Agatha Carlisle Miss Laura Graves.
Lady Plymdale Miss Granville.
Lady Jedburgh Miss B. Page.
Lady Stutfield Miss Madge Girdlestone.
Mrs. Cowper-Cowper Miss A. de Winton.
Mrs. Erlynne Miss Marion Terry.
Rosalie (Maid) Miss Winifred Dolan.
FIRST ACT SCENE Morning-room of Lord Windermere's house in Carlton House Terrace. Doors C. and R. Bureau with books and papers R. Sofa with small tea-table L. Window opening on to terrace L. Table R.
[Lady Windermere is at table R., arranging roses in a blue bowl.]
[Enter Parker.]
Parker. Is your ladyship at home this afternoon?
Lady Windermere.
Yes—who has called?
Parker. Lord Darlington, my lady.
Lady Windermere.
[Hesitates for a moment.] Show him up—and I'm at home to any one who calls.
Parker. Yes, my lady.
[Exit C.]
Lady Windermere. It's best for me to see him before to-night. I'm glad he's come.
[Enter Parker C.]
Parker. Lord Darlington, [Enter Lord Darlington C.]
[Exit Parker.]
Lord Darlington. How do you do, Lady Windermere?
Lady Windermere. How do you do, Lord Darlington? No, I can't shake hands with you. My hands are all wet with these roses.
Aren't they lovely? They came up from Selby this morning.
Lord Darlington. They are quite perfect. [Sees a fan lying on the table.] And what a wonderful fan! May I look at it?
Lady Windermere. Do.
Pretty, isn't it! It's got my name on it, and everything. I have only just seen it myself.
It's my husband's birthday present to me. You know to-day is my birthday?
Lord Darlington. No? Is it really?
Lady Windermere. Yes, I'm of age to-day. Quite an important day in my life, isn't it? That is why I am giving this party to-night. Do sit down. [Still arranging flowers.]
Lord Darlington. [Sitting down.] I wish I had known it was your birthday, Lady Windermere. I would have covered the whole street in front of your house with flowers for you to walk on. They are made for you.
[A short pause.]
Lady Windermere. Lord Darlington, you annoyed me last night at the Foreign Office. I am afraid you are going to annoy me again.
Lord Darlington. I, Lady Windermere?
[Enter Parker and Footman C., with tray and tea things.]
Lady Windermere. Put it there, Parker. That will do. [Wipes her hands with her pocket-handkerchief, goes to tea-table, and sits down.] Won't you come over, Lord Darlington?
[Exit Parker C.]
Lord Darlington. [Takes chair and goes across L.C.] I am quite miserable, Lady Windermere. You must tell me what I did. [Sits down at table L.]
Lady Windermere. Well, you kept paying me elaborate compliments the whole evening.
Lord Darlington.
[Smiling.] Ah, nowadays we are all of us so hard up, that the only pleasant things to pay are compliments. They're the only things we can pay.
Lady Windermere. [Shaking her head.] No, I am talking very seriously. You mustn't laugh, I am quite serious. I don't like compliments, and I don't see why a man should think he is pleasing a woman enormously when he says to her a whole heap of things that he doesn't mean.
Lord Darlington. Ah, but I did mean them. [Takes tea which she offers him.]
Lady Windermere.
[Gravely.] I hope not. I should be sorry to have to quarrel with you, Lord Darlington. I like you very much, you know that. But I shouldn't like you at all if I thought you were what most other men are. Believe me, you are better than most other men, and I sometimes think you pretend to be worse.
Lord Darlington. We all have our little vanities, Lady Windermere.
Lady Windermere. Why do you make that your special one? [Still seated at table L.]
Lord Darlington. [Still seated L.C.] Oh, nowadays so many conceited people go about Society pretending to be good, that I think it shows rather a sweet and modest disposition to pretend to be bad.
Besides, there is this to be said. If you pretend to be good,


explanatorius.] Serving to explain; containing explanation; as explanatory notes. Swift.
 { Ex*plat" (?), Ex*plate" (?), } v. t. [Pref. ex- + plat or plait.] To explain; to unfold. [Obs.]

 Like Solon's self explatest the knotty laws.

B. Jonson.
 Ex*ple"tion (?), n. [L. expletio a satisfying. See Expletive.] Accomplishment; fulfillment. [Obs.] Killingbeck.
 Ex"ple*tive (?), a. [L. expletivus, from expletus, p. p. of explere to fill up; ex out+plere to fill, akin to plenus full: cf. F. explétif. See Full.] Filling up; hence, added merely for the purpose of filling up; superfluous. "Expletive imagery." Hallam.
Expletive phrases to plump his speech.

Barrow.
 Ex"ple*tive, n. A word, letter, or syllable not necessary to the sense, but inserted to fill a vacancy; an oath.

 While explectives their feeble aid to join, And ten low words oft creep in one dull line.

Pope.
 Ex"ple*tive*ly, adv. In the manner of an expletive.

 Ex"ple*to*ry (?), a. Serving to fill up; expletive; superfluous; as, an expletory word. Bp. Burnet.
 Ex"pli*ca*ble (?), a. [L. explicabilis: cf. F. explicable.]
 Capable of being explicated; that may be explained or accounted for; admitting explanation.

 It is not explicable upon any grounds.

Burke.
 Ex"pli*ca*ble*ness, n. Quality of being explicable.

 Ex"pli*cate (?), a. [L. explicatus, p. p. of explicare.]
 Evolved; unfolded. Jer. Taylor.
 Ex"pli*cate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Explicated(?); p. pr. & vb. n. Explicating(?).] 1. To unfold; to expand; to lay open. [Obs.] "They explicate the leaves." Blackmore.
2. To unfold the meaning or sense of; to explain; to clear of difficulties or obscurity; to interpret.

 The last verse of his last satire is not yet sufficiently explicated.

Dryden.
 Ex'pli*ca"tion (?), n. [L. explicatio: cf. F. explication.]
 1. The act of opening, unfolding, or explaining; explanation; exposition; interpretation.

 The explication of our Savior's parables.

Atterbury.
2. The sense given by an expositor. Bp. Burnet.
 Ex"pli*ca*tive (?), a. [Cf. F. explicatif.] Serving to unfold or explain; tending to lay open to the understanding; explanatory.
 Sir W. Hamilton.
 Ex"pli*ca'tor (?), n. [L.] One who unfolds or explains; an expounder; an explainer.

 Ex"pli*ca'to*ry (?), a. Explicative. Barrow.
 ||Ex"pli*cit (?). [LL., an abbreviation of explicitus (est liber) the book (which anciently was a roll of parchment) is unfolded (and, of course, "finished"). See Explicit, a.] A word formerly used (as finis is now) at the conclusion of a book to indicate the end.

 Ex*plic"it (?), a. [L. explicitus; p. p. of explicare to unfold: cf. F. explicite. See Explicate, Exploit.] 1.
 Not implied merely, or conveyed by implication; distinctly stated; plain in language; open to the understanding; clear; not obscure or ambiguous; express; unequivocal; as, an explicit declaration.

 The language of the charter was too explicit to admit of a doubt.

Bancroft.
2. Having no disguised meaning or reservation; unreserved; outspoken; -- applied to persons; as, he was earnest and explicit in his statement.

Explicit function. (Math.) See under Function.

Syn. -- Express; clear; plain; open; unreserved; unambiguous. -- Explicit, Express. Explicit denotes a setting forth in the plainest language, so that the meaning can not be misunderstood; as, an explicit promise. Express is stronger than explicit: it adds force to clearness. An express promise or engagement is not only unambiguous, but stands out in bold relief, with the most binding hold on the conscience. An explicit statement; a clear and explicit notion; explicit direction; no words can be more explicit.
 An explicit command; an express prohibition. "An express declaration goes forcibly and directly to the point. An explicit declaration leaves nothing ambiguous." C. J. Smith.
 Ex*plic"it*ly (?), adv. In an explicit manner; clearly; plainly; without disguise or reservation of meaning; not by inference or implication; as, he explicitly avows his intention.

 Ex*plic"it*ness, n. The quality of being explicit; clearness; directness. Jer. Taylor.
 Ex*plode" (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Exploded; p. pr.
 & vb. n. Exploding.] [L. explodere, explosum, to drive out, drive out a player by clapping; ex out+plaudere, plodere, to clap, strike, applaud: cf. OF. exploder. See Plausible.] 1. To become suddenly expanded into a great volume of gas or vapor; to burst violently into flame; as, gunpowder explodes.

2. To burst with force and a loud report; to detonate, as a shell filled with powder or the like material, or as a boiler from too great pressure of steam.

3. To burst forth with sudden violence and noise; as, at this, his wrath exploded.

 Ex*plode", v. t. 1. To drive from the stage by noisy expressions of disapprobation; to hoot off; to drive away or reject noisily; as, to explode a play. [Obs.]

 Him old and young Exploded, and seized with violent hands.

Milton.
2. To bring into disrepute, and reject; to drive from notice and acceptance; as, to explode a scheme, fashion, or doctrine.

 Old exploded contrivances of mercantile fraud.

Burke.
 To explode and exterminate dark atheism.

Bently.
3. To cause to explode or burst noisily; to detonate; as, to explode powder by touching it with fire.

4. To drive out with violence and noise, as by powder.

 But late the kindled powder did explode The massy ball and the brass tube unload.

Blackmore.
 Ex*plod"ent (?), n. 1. An instrument or agent causing explosion; an exploder; also, an explosive.

2. See Explosive, n., 2.

 Ex*plod"er (?), n. 1. One who or that which explodes.

2. One who rejects an opinion or scheme with open contempt. South.
 Ex*ploit" (?), n. [OE. esploit success, OF. esploit, espleit,revenue, product, vigor, force, exploit, F. exploit exploit, fr. L. explicitum, prop. p. p. neut. of explicare to unfold, display, exhibit; ex + plicare to fold. See Ply, and cf. Explicit, Explicate.] 1. A deed or act; especially, a heroic act; a deed of renown; an adventurous or noble achievement; as, the exploits of Alexander the Great.

 Ripe for exploits and mighty enterprises.

Shak.
2. Combat; war. [Obs.]

 He made haste to exploit


, will, fr. vovere, votum, to vow: cf. F. vote. See Vow.]

1. An ardent wish or desire; a vow; a prayer. [Obs.] Massinger.
2. A wish, choice, or opinion, of a person or a body of persons, expressed in some received and authorized way; the expression of a wish, desire, will, preference, or choice, in regard to any measure proposed, in which the person voting has an interest in common with others, either in electing a person to office, or in passing laws, rules, regulations, etc.; suffrage.

3. That by means of which will or preference is expressed in elections, or in deciding propositions; voice; a ballot; a ticket; as, a written vote.

 The freeman casting with unpurchased hand The vote that shakes the turrets of the land.

Holmes.
4. Expression of judgment or will by a majority; legal decision by some expression of the minds of a number; as, the vote was unanimous; a vote of confidence.

5. Votes, collectively; as, the Tory vote; the labor vote.

Casting vote, Cumulative vote, etc. See under Casting, Cumulative, etc.

 Vote (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Voted; p. pr. & vb.
 n. Voting.] [Cf. F. voter.] To express or signify the mind, will, or preference, either viva voce, or by ballot, or by other authorized means, as in electing persons to office, in passing laws, regulations, etc., or in deciding on any proposition in which one has an interest with others.

 The vote for a duelist is to assist in the prostration of justice, and, indirectly, to encourage the crime.

L. Beecher.
 To vote on large principles, to vote honestly, requires a great amount of information.

F. W. Robertson.
 Vote, v. t. 1. To choose by suffrage; to elec&?;; as, to vote a candidate into office.

2. To enact, establish, grant, determine, etc., by a formal vote; as, the legislature voted the resolution.

 Parliament voted them one hundred thousand pounds.

Swift.
3. To declare by general opinion or common consent, as if by a vote; as, he was voted a bore. [Colloq.]

4. To condemn; to devote; to doom. [Obs.] Glanvill.
 Vot"er (?), n. One who votes; one who has a legal right to vote, or give his suffrage; an elector; a suffragist; as, an independent voter.

 Vot"ing, a. & n. from Vote, v. Voting paper, a form of ballot containing the names of more candidates than there are offices to be filled, the voter making a mark against the preferred names. [Eng.]

 Vot"ist, n. One who makes a vow. [Obs.] Chapman.
 Vo"tive (?), a. [L. votivus, fr. votum a vow: cf. F. votif. See Vow.] Given by vow, or in fulfillment of a vow; consecrated by a vow; devoted; as, votive offerings; a votive tablet. "Votive incense." Keble.
 We reached a votive stone, that bears the name Of Aloys Reding.

Wordsworth.
 Embellishments of flowers and votive garlands.

Motley.
Votive medal, a medal struck in grateful commemoration of some auspicious event. — Votive offering, an offering in fulfillment of a religious vow, as of one's person or property.

 — Vo"tive*ly, adv. — Vo"tive*ness, n. Vo"tress (?), n. A votaress. Dryden.
 Vouch (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Vouched (?); p. pr.
 & vb. n. Vouching.] [OE. vouchen, OF. vochier to call, fr. L. vocare to call, fr. vox, vocis, voice.
 See Voice, and cf. Avouch.]

1. To call; to summon. [Obs.]

 [They] vouch (as I might say) to their aid the authority of the writers.

Sir T. Elyot.
2. To call upon to witness; to obtest.

Vouch the silent stars and conscious moon.

Dryden.
3. To warrant; to maintain by affirmations; to attest; to affirm; to avouch.

 They made him ashamed to vouch the truth of the relation, and afterwards to credit it.

Atterbury.
4. To back; to support; to confirm; to establish.

 Me damp horror chilled At such bold words vouched with a deed so bold.

Milton.
5. (Law) To call into court to warrant and defend, or to make good a warranty of title.

 He vouches the tenant in tail, who vouches over the common vouchee.

Blackstone.
Syn. — To obtest; declare; affirm; attest; warrant; confirm; asseverate; aver; protest; assure.

 Vouch, v. i. 1. To bear witness; to give testimony or full attestation.

 He will not believe her until the elector of Hanover shall vouch for the truth of what she has... affirmed.

Swift.
2. To assert; to aver; to declare. Shak.
 Vouch, n. Warrant; attestation. [Obs.]

 The vouch of very malice itself.

Shak.
 Vouch*ee" (?), n. (Law) The person who is vouched, or called into court to support or make good his warranty of title in the process of common recovery. Blackstone.
 Vouch"er (?), n. 1. One who vouches, or gives witness or full attestation, to anything.

 Will his vouchers vouch him no more?

Shak.
 The great writers of that age stand up together as vouchers for one another's reputation.

Spectator.
2. A book, paper, or document which serves to vouch the truth of accounts, or to confirm and establish facts of any kind; also, any acquittance or receipt showing the payment of a debt; as, the merchant's books are his vouchers for the correctness of his accounts; notes, bonds, receipts, and other writings, are used as vouchers in proving facts.

3. (Law) (a) The act of calling in a person to make good his warranty of title in the old form of action for the recovery of lands. (b) The tenant in a writ of right; one who calls in another to establish his warranty of title. In common recoveries, there may be a single voucher or double vouchers. Blackstone.
 Vouch"ment (?), n. A solemn assertion. [R.]

 Vouch"or (?), n. (Law) Same as Voucher, 3 (b).

 Vouch*safe" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Vouchsafed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Vouchsafing.] [Vouch + safe, that is, to vouch or answer for safety.]

1. To condescend to grant; to concede; to bestow.

 If ye vouchsafe that it be so.

Chaucer.
 Shall I vouchsafe your worship a word or two?

Shak.
 It is not said by the apostle that God vouchsafed to the heathens the means of salvation.

South.
2. To receive or accept in condescension. [Obs.] Shak.
 Vouch*safe", v. i. To condescend; to deign; to yield; to descend or stoop. Chaucer.
Vouchsafe, O Lord, to


as a canal boat.

2. A steamer used for towing other vessels; a tug.

 Tow"el (?), n. [OE. towaille, towail, F. touaille, LL. toacula, of Teutonic origin; cf. OHG. dwahila, swahilla, G. zwehle, fr. OHG. dwahan to wash; akin to D. dwaal a towel, AS. þweán to wash, OS. thwahan, Icel.
 þv, Sw. två, Dan. toe, Goth. þwahan.
 Cf. Doily.] A cloth used for wiping, especially one used for drying anything wet, as the person after a bath.

Towel gourd (Bot.), the fruit of the cucurbitaceous plant Luffa Ægyptiaca; also, the plant itself. The fruit is very fibrous, and, when separated from its rind and seeds, is used as a sponge or towel.
 Called also Egyptian bath sponge, and dishcloth.

 Tow"el, v. t. To beat with a stick. [Prov. Eng.]

 Tow"el*ing, n. Cloth for towels, especially such as is woven in long pieces to be cut at will, as distinguished from that woven in towel lengths with borders, etc. [Written also towelling.]

 Tow"er (?), n. [OE. tour,tor,tur, F. tour, L. turris; akin to Gr. &?;; cf. W. twr a tower, Ir. tor a castle, Gael. torr a tower, castle. Cf. Tor, Turret.] 1.
(Arch.) (a) A mass of building standing alone and insulated, usually higher than its diameter, but when of great size not always of that proportion. (b) A projection from a line of wall, as a fortification, for purposes of defense, as a flanker, either or the same height as the curtain wall or higher. (c) A structure appended to a larger edifice for a special purpose, as for a belfry, and then usually high in proportion to its width and to the height of the rest of the edifice; as, a church tower.

2. A citadel; a fortress; hence, a defense.

 Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.

Ps. lxi. 3.
3. A headdress of a high or towerlike form, fashionable about the end of the seventeenth century and until 1715; also, any high headdress.

 Lay trains of amorous intrigues In towers, and curls, and periwigs.

Hudibras.
4. High flight; elevation. [Obs.] Johnson.
Gay Lussac's tower (Chem.), a large tower or chamber used in the sulphuric acid process, to absorb (by means of concentrated acid) the spent nitrous fumes that they may be returned to the Glover's tower to be reemployed. See Sulphuric acid, under Sulphuric, and Glover's tower, below. — Glover's tower (Chem.), a large tower or chamber used in the manufacture of sulphuric acid, to condense the crude acid and to deliver concentrated acid charged with nitrous fumes.
 These fumes, as a catalytic, effect the conversion of sulphurous to sulphuric acid. See Sulphuric acid, under Sulphuric, and Gay Lussac's tower, above. — Round tower. See under Round, a.
 — Shot tower. See under Shot. — Tower bastion (Fort.), a bastion of masonry, often with chambers beneath, built at an angle of the interior polygon of some works. — Tower mustard (Bot.), the cruciferous plant Arabis perfoliata. — Tower of London, a collection of buildings in the eastern part of London, formerly containing a state prison, and now used as an arsenal and repository of various objects of public interest.

 Tow"er (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. towered (?); p. pr.
 & vb. n. towering.] To rise and overtop other objects; to be lofty or very high; hence, to soar.

 On the other side an high rock towered still.

Spenser.
 My lord protector's hawks do tower so well.

Shak.
 Tow"er, v. t. To soar into. [Obs.] Milton.
 Tow"ered (?), a. Adorned or defended by towers.

Towered cities please us then.

Milton.
 Tow"er*ing (?), a. 1. Very high; elevated; rising aloft; as, a towering height. Pope.
2. Hence, extreme; violent; surpassing.

 A man agitated by a towering passion.

Sir W. Scott.
 Tow"er*y (?), a. Having towers; adorned or defended by towers. [R.]
 "Towery cities." Pope.
 Tow"-head' (?), n. 1. An urchin who has soft, whitish hair.
 [Colloq.]

2. (Zoöl.) The hooded merganser. [ Local, U. S. ]

 To*whee" (?), n. (Zoöl.) The chewink.

 To*wil"ly (?), n. (Zoöl.) The sanderling; — so called from its cry. [Prov. Eng.]

 Tow"line' (?), n. [AS. tohline. See Tow, v. t., and Line. ] (Naut.) A line used to tow vessels; a towrope.

 Town (?), n. [OE. toun, tun, AS. tun inclosure, fence, village, town; akin to D. tuin a garden, G. zaun a hadge, fence, OHG. zun, Icel. tun an inclosure, homestead, house, Ir. & Gael. dun a fortress, W. din. Cf. Down, adv.
 & prep., Dune, tine to inclose.] 1. Formerly: (a) An inclosure which surrounded the mere homestead or dwelling of the lord of the manor. [Obs.] (b) The whole of the land which constituted the domain. [Obs.] (c) A collection of houses inclosed by fences or walls. [Obs.] Palsgrave.
2. Any number or collection of houses to which belongs a regular market, and which is not a city or the see of a bishop. [Eng.] Johnson.
3. Any collection of houses larger than a village, and not incorporated as a city; also, loosely, any large, closely populated place, whether incorporated or not, in distinction from the country, or from rural communities.

 God made the country, and man made the town.

Cowper.
4. The body of inhabitants resident in a town; as, the town voted to send two representatives to the legislature; the town voted to lay a tax for repairing the highways.

5. A township; the whole territory within certain limits, less than those of a country. [U. S.]

6. The court end of London;— commonly with the.

7. The metropolis or its inhabitants; as, in winter the gentleman lives in town; in summer, in the country.

 Always hankering after the diversions of the town.

Addison.
 Stunned with his giddy larum half the town.

Pope.
 The same form of expressions is used in regard to other populous towns.

8. A farm or farmstead; also, a court or farmyard. [Prov. Eng.
 & Scot.]

Town is often used adjectively or in combination with other words; as, town clerk, or town-clerk; towncrier, or town crier; townhall, town-hall, or town hall; townhouse, town house, or townhouse.

Syn. — Village; hamlet. See Village.

Town clerk, an office who keeps the records of a town, and enters its official proceedings. See Clerk. — Town cress (Bot.), the garden cress, or peppergrass. Dr.


A LITTLE JOURNEY IN THE WORLD By Charles Dudley Warner CONTENTS INTRODUCTORY SKETCH A LITTLE JOURNEY IN THE WORLD I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX XXI XXII INTRODUCTORY SKETCH The title naturally suggested for this story was "A Dead Soul," but it was discarded because of the similarity to that of the famous novel by Nikolai Gogol—"Dead Souls"—though the motive has nothing in common with that used by the Russian novelist. Gogol exposed an extensive fraud practiced by the sale, in connection with lands, of the names of "serfs" (called souls) not living, or "dead souls." This story is an attempt to trace the demoralization in a woman's soul of certain well-known influences in our existing social life. In no other way could certain phases of our society be made to appear so distinctly as when reflected in the once pure mirror of a woman's soul.

 The character of Margaret is the portrait of no one woman. But it was suggested by the career of two women (among others less marked) who had begun life with the highest ideals, which had been gradually eaten away and destroyed by "prosperous" marriages and association with unscrupulous methods of acquiring money.

 The deterioration was gradual. The women were in all outward conduct unchanged, the conventionalities of life were maintained, the graces were not lost, the observances of the duties of charities and of religion were even emphasized, but worldliness had eaten the heart out of them, and they were "dead souls." The tragedy of the withered life was a thousand-fold enhanced by the external show of prosperous respectability.

 The story was first published (in 1888) in Harper's Monthly. During its progress—and it was printed as soon as each installment was ready (a very poor plan)—I was in receipt of the usual letters of sympathy, or protest, and advice. One sympathetic missive urged the removal of Margaret to a neighboring city, where she could be saved by being brought under special Christian influences. The transfer, even in a serial, was impossible, and she by her own choice lived the life she had entered upon.

 And yet, if the reader will pardon the confidence, pity intervened to shorten it. I do not know how it is with other writers, but the persons that come about me in a little drama are as real as those I meet in every-day life, and in this case I found it utterly impossible to go on to what might have been the bitter, logical development of Margaret's career.
 Perhaps it was as well. Perhaps the writer should have no despotic power over his creations, however slight they are. He may profitably recall the dictum of a recent essayist that "there is no limit to the mercy of God." CHARLES DUDLEY WARNER.

 Hartford, August 11, 1899.

 A LITTLE JOURNEY IN THE WORLD I We were talking about the want of diversity in American life, the lack of salient characters. It was not at a club. It was a spontaneous talk of people who happened to be together, and who had fallen into an uncompelled habit of happening to be together. There might have been a club for the study of the Want of Diversity in American Life. The members would have been obliged to set apart a stated time for it, to attend as a duty, and to be in a mood to discuss this topic at a set hour in the future. They would have mortgaged another precious portion of the little time left us for individual life. It is a suggestive thought that at a given hour all over the United States innumerable clubs might be considering the Want of Diversity in American Life. Only in this way, according to our present methods, could one expect to accomplish anything in regard to this foreign-felt want. It seems illogical that we could produce diversity by all doing the same thing at the same time, but we know the value of congregate effort. It seems to superficial observers that all Americans are born busy. It is not so. They are born with a fear of not being busy; and if they are intelligent and in circumstances of leisure, they have such a sense of their responsibility that they hasten to allot all their time into portions, and leave no hour unprovided for. This is conscientiousness in women, and not restlessness. There is a day for music, a day for painting, a day for the display of tea-gowns, a day for Dante, a day for the Greek drama, a day for the Dumb Animals' Aid Society, a day for the Society for the Propagation of Indians, and so on. When the year is over, the amount that has been accomplished by this incessant activity can hardly be estimated. Individually it may not be much. But consider where Chaucer would be but for the work of the Chaucer clubs, and what an effect upon the universal progress of things is produced by the associate concentration upon the poet of so many minds.

 A cynic says that clubs and circles are for the accumulation of superficial information and unloading it on others, without much individual absorption in anybody. This, like all cynicism, contains only a half-truth, and simply means that the general diffusion of half-digested information does not raise the general level of intelligence, which can only be raised to any purpose by thorough self-culture, by assimilation, digestion, meditation. The busy bee is a favorite simile with us, and we are apt to overlook the fact that the least important part of his example is buzzing around. If the hive simply got together and buzzed, or even brought unrefined treacle from some cyclopaedia, let us say, of treacle, there would be no honey added to the general store.

 It occurred to some one in this talk at last to deny that there was this tiresome monotony in American life. And this put a new face on the discussion. Why should there be, with every race under the heavens represented here, and each one struggling to assert itself, and no homogeneity as yet established even between the people of the oldest States? The theory is that democracy levels, and that the anxious pursuit of a common object, money, tends to uniformity, and that facility of communication spreads all over the land the same fashion in dress; and repeats everywhere the same style of house, and that the public schools give all the children in the United States the same superficial smartness.
 And there is a more serious notion, that in a society without classes there is a sort of tyranny of public opinion which crushes out the play of individual peculiarities, without which human intercourse is uninteresting. It is true that a democracy is intolerant of variations from the general level, and that a new society allows less latitude in eccentricities to its members than an old society.

 But with all these allowances, it is also admitted that the difficulty the American novelist has is in hitting upon what is universally accepted as characteristic of American life, so various are the types in regions widely separated from each other, such different points of view are had even in conventionalities, and conscience operates so variously on moral problems in one community and another. It is as impossible for one section to impose upon another its rules of taste and propriety in conduct—and taste is often as strong to determine conduct as principle—as it is to make its literature


to can vegetables as to can fruits. Some authorities say it is easier. At any rate, it is more useful.
In the cold-pack method of canning, sterilization does away with the danger of spoilage by fermentation or "working." Sterilization consists in raising the temperature of the filled jar or can to a germ-killing point and holding it there until bacterial life is destroyed.
The word "container" is used to designate either the tin can or the glass jar.
Single-period cold-pack canning, as distinguished from old-fashioned preserving, offers a saving in time, labor, and expense, and satisfactory results. As the foodstuffs are placed in the containers before sterilization, they are cold and may be handled quickly and easily. Then the sterilization period is frequently short. This is time-saving. Finally, no rich preservatives, such as thick syrups or heavily spiced solutions, are required. Fruits may be put up in thin syrups. Vegetables require only salt for flavoring and water to fill the container.
Another advantage of this method is that it is practicable to put up food in small quantities. It pays to put up even a single container.
Thus, when there is a small surplus of some garden crop, or something left over from the order from the grocer's, one can take the short time necessary to place this food in a container and store it for future use. This is true household efficiency—the kind which, if practiced on a national scale, will conserve our war food supply and will, after the war, cut heavily into the high cost of living.
There are five principal methods of canning: (1) the cold-pack, single-period method; (2) the intermittent, or fractional sterilization method; (3) the cold-water method; (4) the open kettle or hot-pack method; and (5) the vacuum-seal method. Of these the one worked out on scientific lines by leading experts and used by many commercial canners is so much the best method for home canning, because of its simplicity and effectiveness, that it is recommended by the National Emergency Food Commission and the details are explained in their manual.
The cold-water method can be used effectively in putting up rhubarb, green gooseberries, and a few other sour berry fruits. The process is simple. The fruit is first prepared and washed and then blanched, and finally packed practically raw in containers, which are next filled with cold water and then sealed. Some sour fruits packed in this way will keep indefinitely.
A serviceable outfit may be made of materials found in any household. All that is necessary is a vessel to hold the jars or cans—such as a wash boiler or a large tin pail. This should have a tight-fitting cover. Provide a false bottom of wood or a wire rack to allow for free circulation of water under the containers.
While suburban gardeners with large surplus of vegetables find it desirable to use tin cans, being more easily handled for commercial purposes, most of us find glass jars the more satisfactory and economical containers for canned vegetables and fruits. This is especially true when there is a shortage of tin cans. All types of jars that seal perfectly may be used. Use may be made of those to which one is accustomed or which may be already on hand. The rubbers must be sound but the glass jars may be used indefinitely. Glass jars are adapted for use in any of the cold-pack canning outfits. Be sure that no jar is defective.
For use in the storing of products which are already sterilized, such as jellies, jams, and preserves, and the bottling of fruit juices, housewives may practice effective thrift by saving all jars in which they receive dried beef, bacon, peanut butter, and other products and bottles that have contained olives, catsup, and kindred goods.
Blanching is important with most vegetables and many fruits. It consists of plunging them into boiling water for a short time.
Spinach and other greens should be blanched in steam. To do this, place them in an ordinary steamer or suspend them in a tightly closed vessel above an inch or two of boiling water.
Blanching should be followed by the cold dip, plunging into cold water after removal from the hot water. Cold dipping hardens the pulp and preserves the original color, enhancing the appearance.
Blanching cleanses the articles and removes excess acids and strong flavors and odors. It also causes shrinkage, so that a larger quantity may be packed in a container. After blanching and cold dipping, surface moisture should be removed by placing the vegetables or fruits between two towels or by exposure to the sun.
All this is so simple and the directions so easily followed that the average 12-year-old may successfully can vegetables or fruits. The steps and the precautions are: 1. Select sound vegetables and fruits. (If possible can them the same day they are picked.) Wash, clean, and prepare them.
2. Have ready, on the stove, a can or pail of boiling water.
3. Place the vegetables or fruits in cheesecloth, or in some other porous receptacle—a wire basket is excellent—for dipping and blanching them in the boiling water.
4. Put them whole into the boiling water. The Commission gives a time-table for blanching. After the water begins to boil, begin to count the blanching time; this varies from one to twenty minutes, according to the vegetable or fruit.
5. When the blanching is complete, remove the vegetables or fruits from the boiling water and plunge them a number of times into cold water, to harden the pulp and check the flow of coloring matter. Do not leave them in cold water.
6. The containers must be thoroughly clean. It is not necessary to sterilize them in steam or boiling water before filling them, as in the cold-pack process both the insides of containers and the contents are sterilized. The jars should be heated before being filled, in order to avoid breakage.
7. Pack the product into the containers, leaving about a quarter of an inch of space at the top.
8. With vegetables add one level teaspoonful of salt to each quart container and fill with boiling water. With fruits use syrups.
9. With glass jars always use a good rubber. Test the rubber by stretching or turning inside out. Fit on the rubber and put the lid in place. If the container has a screw top do not screw up as hard as possible, but use only the thumb and little finger in tightening it. This makes it possible for the steam to escape and prevents breakage. If a glass top jar is used, snap the top bail only, leaving the lower bail loose during sterilization. Tin cans should be completely sealed.
10. Place the filled and capped containers on the rack in the sterilizer. If the homemade or commercial hot-water bath outfit is used, enough water should be in the boiler to come at least one inch above the tops of the containers, and the water, in boiling out, should never be allowed to drop to the level of these tops. Begin to count processing time when the water begins to boil.
At the end of the sterilizing period remove the containers from the sterilizer. Fasten covers on tightly at once, turn the containers upside down to test for leakage, leave in this position until cold, and then store in a cool, dry place. Be sure that no draft is allowed to blow on glass jars, as it may cause breakage.
11. If jars are to be stored where there is strong light, wrap them in paper, preferably brown, as light will fade the color of products canned in glass jars, and sometimes deteriorate the food value.
That's the whole trick.
CHAPTER XXVII RETAIL COOPERATION COOPERATION in buying supplies at wholesale, in standardizing and shipping crops, in keeping grain in elevators, and fruit and some meats and poultry in cold storage has reached a high development among the farmers largely in the Northwest, much ahead of us "city folks."
There are more than five thousand active Farmers' Cooperation Associations in the United States. Minnesota alone has over six hundred cooperative creameries, some of which have a laundry annex.
The associations have six hundred and sixty thousand members and do a business of nearly a thousand dollars a year for each member.
These are the people that we call "hayseeds"; if we could plant some more such "seeds," it would be a good job. But in cooperative retail domestic supply we are far


; introduced; foisted in; changed by the insertion of new or spurious matter.

2. (Math.) (a) Provided with necessary interpolations; as, an interpolated table. (b) Introduced or determined by interpolation; as, interpolated quantities or numbers.

 In*ter'po*la"tion (?), n. [L. interpolatio an alteration made here and there: cf. F. interpolation.] 1. The act of introducing or inserting anything, especially that which is spurious or foreign.

2. That which is introduced or inserted, especially something foreign or spurious.

 Bentley wrote a letter.... upon the scriptural glosses in our present copies of Hesychius, which he considered interpolations from a later hand.

De Quincey.
3. (Math.) The method or operation of finding from a few given terms of a series, as of numbers or observations, other intermediate terms in conformity with the law of the series.

 In*ter"po*la'tor (?), n. [L., a corrupter: of. F. interpolateur.]
 One who interpolates; esp., one who inserts foreign or spurious matter in genuine writings.

 In'ter*pone" (?), v. t. [L. interponere; inter between + ponere to place. See Position.] To interpose; to insert or place between. [R.] Cudworth.
 In'ter*po"nent (?), n. One who, or that which, interposes; an interloper, an opponent. [R.] Heywood.
 In'ter*pos"al (?), n. [From Interpose.] The act of interposing; interposition; intervention.

 In'ter*pose" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Interposed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Interposing.] [F. interposer. See Inter-, and Pose, v. t.]

1. To place between; as, to interpose a screen between the eye and the light.

 Mountains interposed Make enemies of nations.

Cowper.
2. To thrust; to intrude; to put between, either for aid or for troubling.

 What watchful cares do interpose themselves Betwixt your eyes and night?

Shak.
 The common Father of mankind seasonably interposed his hand, and rescues miserable man.

Woodward.
3. To introduce or inject between the parts of a conversation or argument. Milton.
 In'ter*pose", v. i. 1. To be or come between.

 Long hid by interposing hill or wood.

Cowper.
2. To step in between parties at variance; to mediate; as, the prince interposed and made peace. Pope.
3. To utter a sentiment by way of interruption. Boyle.
Syn. -- To intervene; intercede; mediate; interfere; intermeddle.
 -- To Interpose, Intermeddle, Interfere. A man may often interpose with propriety in the concerns of others; he can never intermeddle without being impertinent or officious; nor can be interfere without being liable to the same charge, unless he has rights which are interfered with. "In our practical use, interference is something offensive. It is the pushing in of himself between two parties on the part of a third who was not asked, and is not thanked for his pains, and who, as the feeling of the word implies, had no business there; while interposition is employed to express the friendly, peacemaking mediation of one whom the act well became, and who, even if he was not specially invited thereunto, is still thanked for what he has done." Trench.
 In"ter*pose (?), n. Interposition. [Obs.]

 In'ter*pos"er (?), n. One who, or that which, interposes or intervenes; an obstacle or interruption; a mediator or agent between parties. Shak.
 In'ter*pos"it (?), n. [From L. interpositus, p. p. of interponere.
 See Interposition.] An intermediate depot or station between one commercial city or country and another. Mitford.
 In'ter*po*si"tion (?; 277), n. [L. interpositio a putting between, insertion, fr. interponere, interpositum: cf. F. interposition.
 See Interpone, Position.]

1. The act of interposing, or the state of being interposed; a being, placing, or coming between; mediation.

2. The thing interposed.

 In'ter*po"sure (?), n. Interposition. [Obs.]

 In*ter"pret (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Interpreted; p. pr. & vb. n. Interpreting.] [F. interprêter, L. interpretari, p. p. interpretatus, fr. interpres interpeter, agent, negotiator; inter between + (prob.) the root of pretium price. See Price.]

1. To explain or tell the meaning of; to expound; to translate orally into intelligible or familiar language or terms; to decipher; to define; -- applied esp. to language, but also to dreams, signs, conduct, mysteries, etc.; as, to interpret the Hebrew language to an Englishman; to interpret an Indian speech.

 Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Matt. i. 23.
 And Pharaoh told them his dreams; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.

Gen. xli. 8.
2. To apprehend and represent by means of art; to show by illustrative representation; as, an actor interprets the character of Hamlet; a musician interprets a sonata; an artist interprets a landscape.

Syn. -- To translate; explain; solve; render; expound; elucidate; decipher; unfold; unravel.

 In*ter"pret, v. i. To act as an interpreter. Shak.
 In*ter"pret*a*ble (?), a. [L. interpretabilis: cf. F. interprêtable.]
 Admitting of interpretation; capable of being interpreted or explained.

 In*ter"pre*ta*ment (?), n. [L. interpretamentum.]
 Interpretation. [Obs.] Milton.
 In*ter'pre*ta"tion (n*tr'pr*t"shn), n. [L. interpretatio: cf. F. interprétation.]

1. The act of interpreting; explanation of what is obscure; translation; version; construction; as, the interpretation of a foreign language, of a dream, or of an enigma.

 Look how we can, or sad or merrily, Interpretation will misquote our looks.

Shak.
2. The sense given by an interpreter; exposition or explanation given; meaning; as, commentators give various interpretations of the same passage of Scripture.

3. The power or explaining. [R.] Bacon.
4. (Fine Arts) An artist's way of expressing his thought or embodying his conception of nature.

5. (Math.) The act or process of applying general principles or formulæ to the explanation of the results obtained in special cases.

Syn. -- Explanation; solution; translation; version; sense; exposition; rendering; definition.

 In*ter"pre*ta*tive (?), a. [Cf. F. interprétatif.]

1. Designed or fitted to interpret; explanatory. "Interpretative lexicography." Johnson.
2. According to interpretation; constructive.

 An interpretative siding with heresies.

Hammond.
 In*ter"pre*ta*tive*ly, adv. By interpretation. Ray.
 In*ter"pret*er (?), n. [Cf. OF. entrepreteur, L. interpretator.]
 One who or that which interprets, explains,


know exactly what a wholesale painter is, unless it's one who paints houses." "I shouldn't like that," said the little boy.

 "Then, Jimmy, you'd better be a retail painter." "I guess I will," said Jimmy, seriously.


an to summon, fr. ban ban. See Ban an edict, and Finish, v. t.] 1. To condemn to exile, or compel to leave one's country, by authority of the ruling power. "We banish you our territories." Shak.
2. To drive out, as from a home or familiar place; -- used with from and out of.

 How the ancient Celtic tongue came to be banished from the Low Countries in Scotland. Blair.
3. To drive away; to compel to depart; to dispel. "Banish all offense." Shak.
Syn. -- To Banish, Exile, Expel. The idea of a coercive removal from a place is common to these terms. A man is banished when he is forced by the government of a country (be he a foreigner or a native) to leave its borders. A man is exiled when he is driven into banishment from his native country and home. Thus to exile is to banish, but to banish is not always to exile.
 To expel is to eject or banish summarily or authoritatively, and usually under circumstances of disgrace; as, to expel from a college; expelled from decent society.

 Ban"ish*er (&?;), n. One who banishes.

 Ban"ish*ment (&?;), n. [Cf. F. bannissement.] The act of banishing, or the state of being banished.

 He secured himself by the banishment of his enemies. Johnson.
 Round the wide world in banishment we roam. Dryden.
Syn. -- Expatriation; ostracism; expulsion; proscription; exile; outlawry.

 Ban"is*ter (&?;), n. [A corruption of baluster.] A baluster; (pl.) the balustrade of a staircase.

 He struggled to ascend the pulpit stairs, holding hard on the banisters.
 Sir W. Scott.
 Ban"jo (&?;), n. [Formerly also banjore and banjer; corrupted from bandore, through negro slave pronunciation.] A stringed musical instrument having a head and neck like the guitar, and its body like a tambourine. It has five strings, and is played with the fingers and hands.

 Bank (bk), n. [OE. banke; akin to E. bench, and prob.
 of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. bakki. See Bench.] 1. A mound, pile, or ridge of earth, raised above the surrounding level; hence, anything shaped like a mound or ridge of earth; as, a bank of clouds; a bank of snow.

 They cast up a bank against the city. 2 Sam. xx. 15.
2. A steep acclivity, as the slope of a hill, or the side of a ravine.

3. The margin of a watercourse; the rising ground bordering a lake, river, or sea, or forming the edge of a cutting, or other hollow.

 Tiber trembled underneath her banks. Shak.
4. An elevation, or rising ground, under the sea; a shoal, shelf, or shallow; as, the banks of Newfoundland.

5. (Mining) (a) The face of the coal at which miners are working. (b) A deposit of ore or coal, worked by excavations above water level. (c) The ground at the top of a shaft; as, ores are brought to bank.

Bank beaver (Zoöl.), the otter. [Local, U.S.] -- Bank swallow, a small American and European swallow (Clivicola riparia) that nests in a hole which it excavates in a bank.

 Bank, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Banked(bkt); p. pr. & vb. n. Banking.] 1. To raise a mound or dike about; to inclose, defend, or fortify with a bank; to embank. "Banked well with earth." Holland.
2. To heap or pile up; as, to bank sand.

3. To pass by the banks of. [Obs.] Shak.
To bank a fire, To bank up a fire, to cover the coals or embers with ashes or cinders, thus keeping the fire low but alive.

 Bank, n. [Prob. fr. F. banc. Of German origin, and akin to E. bench. See Bench.] 1. A bench, as for rowers in a galley; also, a tier of oars.

 Placed on their banks, the lusty Trojan sweep Neptune's smooth face, and cleave the yielding deep. Waller.
2. (Law) (a) The bench or seat upon which the judges sit. (b) The regular term of a court of law, or the full court sitting to hear arguments upon questions of law, as distinguished from a sitting at Nisi Prius, or a court held for jury trials. See Banc.
 Burrill.
3. (Printing) A sort of table used by printers.

4. (Music) A bench, or row of keys belonging to a keyboard, as in an organ. Knight.
 Bank, n. [F. banque, It. banca, orig. bench, table, counter, of German origin, and akin to E. bench; cf. G. bank bench, OHG. banch. See Bench, and cf. Banco, Beach.] 1. An establishment for the custody, loan, exchange, or issue, of money, and for facilitating the transmission of funds by drafts or bills of exchange; an institution incorporated for performing one or more of such functions, or the stockholders (or their representatives, the directors), acting in their corporate capacity.

2. The building or office used for banking purposes.

3. A fund from deposits or contributions, to be used in transacting business; a joint stock or capital. [Obs.]

 Let it be no bank or common stock, but every man be master of his own money. Bacon.
4. (Gaming) The sum of money or the checks which the dealer or banker has as a fund, from which to draw his stakes and pay his losses.

5. In certain games, as dominos, a fund of pieces from which the players are allowed to draw.

Bank credit, a credit by which a person who has given the required security to a bank has liberty to draw to a certain extent agreed upon. -- Bank of deposit, a bank which receives money for safe keeping. -- Bank of issue, a bank which issues its own notes payable to bearer.

 Bank, v. t. To deposit in a bank. Johnson.
 Bank, v. i. 1. To keep a bank; to carry on the business of a banker.

 2. To deposit money in a bank; to have an account with a banker.

 Bank"a*ble (bk"*b'l), a. Receivable at a bank.

 Bank" bill' (&?;). 1. In America (and formerly in England), a promissory note of a bank payable to the bearer on demand, and used as currency; a bank note.

2. In England, a note, or a bill of exchange, of a bank, payable to order, and usually at some future specified time. Such bills are negotiable, but form, in the strict sense of the term, no part of the currency.

 Bank" book' (&?;). A book kept by a depositor, in which an officer of a bank enters the debits and credits of the depositor's account with the bank.

 Bank"er (&?;), n. [See the nouns Bank and the verbs derived from them.] 1. One who conducts the business of banking; one who, individually, or as a member of a company, keeps an establishment for the deposit or loan of money, or for traffic in money, bills of exchange, etc.

2. A money changer. [Obs.]

3. The dealer, or one who keeps the bank in a gambling house.

4. A vessel employed in the cod fishery on the banks of