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This International Student Edition is for use outside of the U.S.

A Writer’s
Resource
A Handbook for
Writing and Research
Seventh Edition

ELAINE MAIMON
KATHLEEN BLAKE YANCEY
 The Writer’s Map to the right gives you
A Writer’s Map TAB 1 Writing Today
a quick guide to A Writer’s Resource. start smart: addressing the

pages 1–30
For a full range of online resources writing situation
1 Writing across the Curriculum
that support each section of A Writer’s and beyond College
Resource, visit 2 Writing Situations
<connect.mheducation.com>. 3 Audience and Academic English

A resource for writing and learning

in college: Tabs 1–4 of A Writer’s Resource pro- TAB 2 Writing and Designing Texts
vide advice on using writing to learn in college, on
4 Reading and Writing:

pages 31–98
applying the principles of good writing and good The Critical Connection
design to college writing assignments, on using 5 Planning and Shaping
visuals effectively, and on fulfilling any assignment 6 Drafting Text and Visuals
you might encounter in college. Tab 4 connects 7 Revising and Editing
student reflective text
college writing to writing in the community and
8 Designing Academic Texts and Portfolios
at work.

A resource for conducting research:

Tabs 5–8 of A Writer’s Resource provide advice on TAB 3 Common Assignments
formulating a research question, finding sources 9 Informative Reports

pages 99–172
and visuals, managing information, and evaluat- student sample
ing the information you discover both in print 10 Interpretive Analyses and Writing about
and online. For help with documenting the Literature
information you find, you can turn to Tab 6 for student sample
MLA style, Tab 7 for APA style, or Tab 8 for the 11 Arguments
student sample
Chicago and CSE styles.
12 Other Kinds of Assignments
13 Oral Presentations
A resource for editing your writing: 14 Multimodal Writing
Tabs 9–11 of A Writer’s Resource provide a three-
part approach to editing, progressing from
improving style (Tab 9) to solving problems with
grammar, such as sentence fragments and comma TAB 4 Writing beyond College

pages 173–190
splices (Tab 10), to correcting errors in punctua- 15 Service Learning and
tion, mechanics, and spelling (Tab 11). The basic Community-Service Writing
16 Writing to Raise Awareness
grammar review in Tab 12 also includes useful tips and Share Concern
for multilingual writers. A section on Identifying 17 Writing to Get and Keep a Job
and Editing Common Problems presents exam-
ples of common errors in student writing and
references the corresponding sections of the
TAB 5 Researching
book. A Quick Reference for Multilingual Writers
pages 191–258

section provides additional help. 18 Understanding Research

19 Finding and Managing Print
and Online Sources
A comprehensive index: The index to A 20 Finding and Creating E ­ ffective Visuals,
Writer’s Resource gives you another way to find Audio Clips, and Videos
the information you need. 21 Evaluating Sources
22 Doing Research in the ­A rchive, Field,
and Lab
23 Plagiarism, Copyright,
and ­I ntellectual Property
24 Working with Sources and Avoiding
Plagiarism
25 Writing the Text
TAB 6 MLA Documentation TAB 10 Editing for Grammar
Style Conventions

pages 449–494
Pages 259–314
finding source information 51 Sentence Fragments
indentifying and documenting 52 Comma Splices and Run-­on Sentences
sources 53 Subject-­Verb Agreement
26 MLA Style: In-­Text Citations 54 Problems with Verbs
27 MLA Style: List of Works Cited 55 Problems with Pronouns
28 MLA Style: Explanatory Notes and 56 Problems with Adjectives and Adverbs
Acknowledgments
29 MLA Style: Format
30 Sample Research Project in MLA Style

TAB 11 Editing for Correctness

pages 495–546
57 Commas
TAB 7 APA Documentation Style 58 Semicolons
pages 315–362 59 Colons
finding source information 60 Apostrophes
identifying and documenting
sources 61 Quotation Marks
31 APA Style: In-­Text Citations 62 Other Punctuation Marks
32 APA Style: References 63 Capitalization
33 APA Style: Format 64 Abbreviations and Symbols
34 Sample Research Project in APA Style 65 Numbers
66 Italics (Underlining)
67 Hyphens
68 Spelling

TAB 8 Chicago and CSE

pages 363–398

Documentation Styles
35 Chicago Documentation Style: Elements
36 Sample from a Student Research Project TAB 12 Basic Grammar Review

pages 547–582
37 CSE Documentation Style 69 Parts of Speech
70 Parts of Sentences
71 Phrases and Dependent Clauses
72 Types of Sentences

TAB 9 Editing for Clarity

pages 399–448

identifying and editing

common problems
38 Wordy Sentences Index
39 Missing Words Index for Multilingual Writers
40 Mixed Constructions Quick Guide to Key Resources
41 Confusing Shifts Abbreviations and Symbols for Editing and
42 Faulty Parallelism Proofreading
43 Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers
44 Coordination and Subordination
45 Sentence Variety
46 Active Verbs
47 Appropriate Language
48 Exact Language
49 The Dictionary and the Thesaurus
50 Glossary of Usage
A Writer’s Resource
A Handbook for Writing
and Research
A Writer’s Resource
A Handbook for Writing
and Research
Seventh Edition

Elaine Maimon
American Council on Education

Kathleen Blake Yancey

Florida State University
A WRITER’S RESOURCE
Published by McGraw Hill LLC, 1325 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019. Copyright
©2024 by McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part
of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a
database or retrieval system, without the prior ­w ritten consent of McGraw Hill LLC, including, but
not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance
learning.
Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers
­outside the United States.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 LCR 28 27 26 25 24 23
ISBN 978-1-266-09877-2
MHID 1-266-09877-1
Cover Images: Cheryl E. Davis/Shutterstock; jps/Shutterstock; stanley45/Getty Images; Lisa Thornberg/
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All credits appearing on page or at the end of the book are considered to be an extension of the
copyright page.

The Internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication. The inclusion of a
website does not indicate an endorsement by the authors or McGraw Hill LLC, and McGraw Hill LLC
does not guarantee the accuracy of the information presented at these sites.

mheducation.com/highered
 Preface vii

About the Authors

Elaine Maimon is a Founding Distinguished Fellow of the

Elaine P. Maimon/McGraw Hill

Association for Writing Across the Curriculum. Early in
her career at Beaver College (now Arcadia University),
which has named a writing prize in her honor, she orga-
nized the faculty from the grassroots to participate in one of
the nation’s first writing-across-the-curriculum programs,
funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
A founding executive board member of the Council of
­Writing Program Administrators, she has directed national
institutes to disseminate WAC principles.
Her commitment to new ways of understanding writing and thinking brought
her to the position of Associate Dean of the College at Brown University and then
Dean of Experimental Programs at Queens College (CUNY). For 24 years, in the
top administrative positions at Arizona State University West, University of
Alaska Anchorage, and Governors State University, she presided over transfor-
mative change, inspired by WAC, reallocating resources to support full-time
faculty members in first-year composition; advocating for infusion rather than
proliferation of courses; and developing navigable pathways from community
college to university. Her book, Leading Academic Change: Vision, Strategy, Trans-
formation (Stylus, 2018) is a roadmap for reform in higher education. As an
advisor at the American Council on Education, she contributes to policy reform
on the national level. Taking her own advice from A Writer’s Resource, she is a
regular columnist for The Philadelphia Citizen.
Kathleen Blake Yancey, Kellogg W. Hunt Professor of Kathleen Blake Yancey/McGraw Hill
English and Distinguished Research Professor Emerita at
Florida State University, has served as President of the
National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE); Chair of
the Conference on College Composition and Communica­
tion (CCCC); President of the Council of Writing Program
Administrators (CWPA); and President of the South Atlan-
tic Modern Language Association (SAMLA). Cofounder
of the journal Assessing Writing, she is a past editor of
­College Composi­tion and Communication. Currently, she
leads an eight-site research project on students’ transfer of writing knowl­edge and
practice that includes faculty from both community colleges and four-year
schools; she participates in the Elon University-sponsored Writing Beyond the
University project; and she is a faculty mentor for campuses participating in the
2022–2023 AAC&U ePortfolio Institute. Author, editor, or coeditor of 16 schol-
arly books—including the 2014 Writing Across Contexts: Transfer, Composition, and
Sites of Writing; the 2016 A Rhetoric of Reflection; the 2017 Assembling Composition;
and the 2019 ePortfolio-as-Curriculum—she has also authored/coauthored over
100 article and book chapters. She is the recipient of several awards, among them
the CCCC Research Impact Award; the Purdue Distinguished Woman Scholar
Award; the best book award from the Council of Writing Program Administra-
tors; the FSU Graduate Teaching and Mentor Awards; the NCTE Squire Award;
and the CCCC Exemplar Award.
 A Resource
A Writer’s Resource helps writers identify the fundamental elements of any
writing situation—­from academic assignments to blog and social media
posts to writing on the job and for cocurriculars—­and teaches innovative,
transferable strategies that build confidence for composing across various
genres, media, and the academic curriculum. With its numerous examples
from a rich cross section of disciplines, A Writer’s Resource foregrounds the
transfer of practices learned in the writing course to demonstrate that every
major, every field of study, and every potential career path depends on
­written communication. Throughout the chapters, a comprehensive set of
features supports this approach:
● Enhanced coverage of transfer. Transfer strategies are highlighted
throughout, beginning with a section in Chapter 1 that answers the
question “Why study composition?” by describing the transferable skills
students will learn in the writing course. Special emphasis is also given
to contemporary writing situations, including drafting emails and stra-
tegically participating in social media.
● Emphasis on reflection during the writing process. Expanded ­discussion
of reflection prompts students to consider the critical connection
between thinking and writing. By understanding the role of reflection
in writing, students will appreciate how what they have learned in the
past prepares them for the future.
● New and revised student sample assignments. Two new sample papers on
contemporary topics demonstrate successful informative and persua-
COMMON ASSIGNMENTS Personal essays 12a 145
sive strategies in the context of a research project and a business report,
and two revised examples feature updated research and citations that
students can learn from and model.
● Updated box features. Throughout the seventh edition, the following prac-
tice boxes highlight the skills students gain in the composition course:
■ The Evolving Situation provides guidance on navigating a range of writing

situations, such as those introduced by new media and technologies.

■ Navigating through College and Beyond supports the transfer of writing

practices to situations across the disciplines and outside the classroom.

Kerri K. Morris

■ Know the Situation and Consider Your Situation provide opportunities for

practice in identifying and responding to different writing situations.

FIGURE 12.1 The giant periwinkle- blue umbrella.
■ Checklists on topics ranging from editing a paper to planning a web-
Remember that blue umbrella, because you tend to see the world
site help students
in black andapply
white, butwhat
the worldthey have
isn’t black learned
and white. It’s red andto their own writing.
yellow and green and gray. And periwinkle blue. Even if you can’t see
■ Tips for Multilingual
these many colors, Writers throughout Tab
trust that they are there. Let the black and white12
go. provide guidance on

grammar As and usage topics, specially designed for language learners.

part of her blog entry, Morris includes a visual element that illustrates how
she came to see the world in “periwinkle blue” (see Figure 12.1).

the EVOLVING SITUATION

Personal Writing and Social Media Websites
In addition to writing personal essays for class, you may use social
media sites like Facebook or Twitter for personal expression and
autobiographical writing. Since these sites are networked, it’s important
to remember that strangers, including prospective employers, may have
access to your profiles and comments.

3. Structuring your essay like a story

viii There are three common ways to narrate events and reflections:
● Chronological sequence: uses an order determined by clock time; what
happened first is presented first, followed by what happened second,
then third, and so on.
for Transferring Skills
to Any Writing Situation
● Opportunities for practice. Connect for A Writer’s Resource offers ample
opportunities for students to practice the skills they learn in class.
■ Power of Process supports critical reading, thinking, and writing devel-

opment through reading assignments that instructors can customize

to their course needs. Power of Process guides students to engage
with texts closely and critically, developing awareness of their process
decisions, and ultimately making those decisions consciously on their
own—a hallmark of strategic, self-regulating ­readers and writers.
Instructors can choose from a bank of carefully chosen readings.
Instructors may also upload their own readings.

■ Adaptive Learning Assignment in Connect provides a learning experi-

ence that adapts to the unique needs of each student through ongoing
formative assessments, feedback, and learning resources.
■ The Connect Question Bank includes nonadaptive assessments for
pre- and posttesting. Additional practice activities include test items
to ensure students grasp the concepts explored in every chapter.
■ With Writing Assignment, students benefit from just-in-time learning
resources as they draft responses to writing prompts. The built-in
grammar checker and originality detection alert students to issues
before they submit their work and offer resources that direct them on
how to correct errors within the context of their own writing, empow-
ering them to achieve their writing goals. Peer review functionality
allows students to review each other’s work and leave feedback.

ix
 A Resource
A Writer’s Resource teaches students to read, write, and think critically.
Numerous topical examples throughout the text engage student interest
and demonstrate how such skills apply to all phases of the writing process.
The following features of the new edition support this approach.
● Critical reading and writing instruction. Using the writing situation as
a framework, Chapter 4, Reading and Writing: The Critical Connection,
introduces techniques of critical reading and thinking, while connecting
students to resources for argument writing. This chapter shows students
how to read actively, summarize texts, and respond to others’ work as a
precursor to creating their own. Online, Power of Process provides strate-
gies that guide students in learning how to critically read a piece of writing
or consider a text as a possible source for incorporation into their own work.
● A diversity of authors, voices, and genres. In addition to the sample essays
throughout A Writer’s Resource, Power of Process provides 100 additional
readings for instructors to assign, with professional examples of writing
that inform, analyze, and argue in a variety of settings. In keeping with
McGraw Hill’s commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, half of
the readings in Power of Process are authored by Black, Indigenous, and
People of Color (BIPOC) authors.
● Expanded research coverage. The research chapters in Tab 5 provide
up-­to-­date guidelines for critically evaluating and drawing on digital
sources, including up-to-date instruction for identifying and eradicating
fake news sources from research papers and social media posts. With
readings uploaded to Power of Process, students can put into practice the
source evaluation strategies they’ve learned.
● Updated documentation chapters. Documentation chapters include
coverage that aligns with the latest updates to the 9th edition of the
MLA Handbook, the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association, and the 17th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style.
● Enhanced coverage of multilingual learner writing support. Entirely
updated for this ­edition, Tab 12, Basic Grammar Review, reflects the
most current approaches to guiding multilingual writers, providing
updated guidance on grammar and usage topics. Examples throughout
this coverage are specially designed for language learners, reflect students’
life experiences, and demonstrate inclusive language choices.

Connect for A Writer’s Resource

Connect for A Writer’s Resource helps instructors use class time to focus on the
highest course expectations, by offering their students meaningful, independent,
and personalized learning, and an easy, efficient way to track and document
student performance and engagement.

x
for Thinking Critically
about Writing
Instructors can choose from adaptable assignments, including a digital,
searchable, accessible ebook version of the handbook that you can personalize
using tools such as highlighting and annotating, and any practice or homework
assignments from your instructor. Also included in Connect are practice acti­
vities, Writing Assignment, Power of Process, and the Adaptive Learning Assignment
platform.

Feature Description Instructional Value

Power of ■ Guides students through the
Process critical reading and writing
processes step-­by-­step.
Adaptive ■ Provides each student with a
Learning personalized path to learning
Assignment concepts instructors assign in
the English Composition course.
■ Covers The Writing Process,
Critical Reading, The Research
Process, Reasoning and
Argument, Grammar and
Common Sentence Problems,
Punctuation and Mechanics,
Style and Word Choice,
Multilingual Writers, Documenting
Sources, and Writing Strong
Paragraphs.
■ Provides instructors with reports
that include data on student and
class performance.
A Writer’s ■ Provides comprehensive course
Resource content, exceeding what is
ebook offered in print.
■ Supports annotation and
bookmarking.
■ Students demonstrate understanding
and develop critical thinking skills
for reading, writing, and evaluating
sources by responding to short-­
answer and annotation questions.
Students are also prompted to
reflect on their own processes.
■ Instructors or students can choose
from a preloaded set of readings or
upload their own.
■ Students can use the guidelines to
consider a potential source critically.
■ Students independently study the
fundamental topics across
composition in an adaptive
environment.
■ Metacognitive component supports
knowledge transfer.
■ Students track their own
understanding and mastery and
discover where their gaps are.
■ The ebook allows instructors and
students to access their course
materials anytime and anywhere,
including four years of handbook
access.
■ Includes improvements to usability
and accessibility of marked-up
content, annotated essays, and other
writing samples. Annotations and
markup are now fully readable text
with added functionality to make the
experience better for all readers.

xi
 Feature Description
Writing ■ This online tool makes grading
Assignment writing assignments more
efficient, saving time for
instructors, allowing them to
assign and grade writing
assignments online.
■ Just-in-time student learning as
they draft responses to writing
prompts.
Simple LMS ■ Seamlessly integrates with every ■ Students have automatic single
Integration learning management system.
■ Connect assignment results sync to
Reports ■ Provides a quick view of student
and class performance and
engagement with a series of
visual data displays that answer
the following questions:
1. How are my students doing?
2. How is this student doing?
3. How is my section doing?
4. How is this assignment working?
5. How are my assignments
working?
■ Allow instructors to review the
performance of an individual
student or an entire section.
■ Allow instructors or course
administrators to review multiple
sections to gauge progress in
attaining course, department, or
institutional goals.
■ Allow students to review their
performance for specific
assignments or the course.
Tegrity ■ Allows instructors to capture
course material or lectures on
video.
■ Allows students to watch videos
recorded by their instructor and
learn course material at their
own pace.
xii
Instructional Value
■ Students import their Word
document(s), and instructors can
comment and annotate submissions,
or have students participate in
peer review and comment on each
others work.
■ Built-in grammar checker and
originality detection alert students to
issues before they submit their work.
■ Students are offered resources for
correcting errors within the context of
their own writing.
■ Frequently used comments are
automatically saved so instructors do
not have to type the same feedback
over and over.
sign-­on.
LMS’s gradebook.
■ Instructors can quickly check on and
analyze student and class
performance and engagement.
■ Instructors can identify struggling
students early and intervene to
ensure retention.
■ Instructors can identify challenging
topics and/or assignments and adjust
instruction accordingly.
■ Reports can be generated for an
accreditation process or a program
evaluation.
■ Students can track their performance
and identify areas of difficulty.
■ Instructors can track which students
have watched the videos they post.
■ Students can watch and review
lectures from their instructor.
■ Students can search each lecture for
specific bits of information.
New to the Seventh Edition
The seventh edition of A Writer’s Resource continues to focus on the most com-
mon writing assignments and situations students will encounter and uses the
writing situation as its framework for instruction. This new edition also includes
two new sample student papers (a research project and an informative report)
and two revised student papers that feature updated content, research, citations,
and annotations. Here is a quick look at just a few of the other changes you will
find within the chapters:

Tab 1, Learning Across the Curriculum

● New example of a professional informative report written on the topic
of pandemic-related changes in the workplace
● New Start Smart student sample, an excerpt from an argument essay on
the topic of climate change
● New section introducing students to the concept of reflection and
explaining how they can become reflective writers
● New visual examples illustrating the impact of social media on world
events and the effective use of line graphs to show trends over time
● Revised Evolving Situation box, with updated guidance on how to
­communicate effectively online

Tab 2, Writing and Designing Texts

● Three new figures demonstrating the process for previewing visuals,
using an example of a public service announcement
● New examples showing how to develop ideas using patterns of organiza-
tion and visuals, including illustration, comparison and contrast, and
cause and effect, as well as updated guidance on integrating visuals and
multimodal elements effectively
● Updated portfolio coverage discussing the role of reflection in creating an
ePortfolio as well as guidance on writing a successful reflective text
● Two new annotated student examples of ePortfolios demonstrating
outcomes

Tab 3, Common Assignments Across the Curriculum

● Annotated student sample informative report on Olympic doping,
written by a health and human performance major, updated to reflect
new perspectives and research on the issue
● Revised Checklist feature to guide students in using peer review to
strengthen an argument
● New annotated student sample argument essay, in MLA style, on the
topic of climate change

xiii
 ● New text example from a memoir by Supreme Court Justice Sonya
Sotomayor demonstrating how details help to tell a story
● New visual examples of well-designed pages from a professional
website

Tab 4 , Writing Beyond College

● Instruction on creating materials for an effective job search, focusing on
electronic media and social media, including ePortfolios, résumés, and
cover letters

Tab 5, Researching
● New introduction to understanding research, placing emphasis on the
importance of libraries and reference librarians, and encouraging
­students to use these resources, whether in person or online
● New discussion of the importance of verifying facts before citing them,
using both secondary and tertiary sources
● Updated coverage for research using online sources
● New discussion of search engine optimization (SEO), highlighting
the importance of targeting key search words during research and
­considering and including these words in a finished paper
● Updated guidance on identifying and using online databases to find
articles in journals and other periodicals
● New annotated visual examples of government, nonprofit, and corporate
websites walk students through the process of evaluating online sources
for credibility
● Updated discussion of taking notes on sources during research, focusing
on skills for identifying sources of misinformation
● New examples of integrating quotations and summarizing information
from sources
Tab 6, MLA Documentation Style
● Completely revised to align with the 9th edition MLA Handbook
● Updated examples of in-text citations and works cited entries
● In keeping with the 9th edition, specific citation examples are reorganized
by types of sources
● Updated student sample informative research paper, formatted in MLA
style, takes on the topic of fake news
Tab 7, APA Documentation Style
● Completely revised to align with the 7th edition Publication Manual of
the American Psychological Association
● Reorganization of specific citation examples by source type

xiv
 ● Updated examples of in-text citations and references entries
● Revised student sample research paper, formatted in APA style,
­discusses the use of performance-enhancing drugs by Olympic athletes

Tab 8, Chicago and CSE Documentation Styles

● Updated examples of in-­text citations
● Reorganization of specific citation examples by source type
● Revised excerpt from a research paper on the topic of fake news

Tabs 9–12, Grammar

● Grammar examples have been revised throughout Tabs 9–12 to
demonstrate inclusive language choices and better reflect students’
life experiences
● Basic grammar review in Tab 12 has been fully revised to reflect the
most current approaches to guiding multilingual writers

xv
xvi Preface

WPA Outcomes Statement for First-­Year Composition

Introduction
This Statement identifies outcomes for first-­year composition programs in
U.S. postsecondary education. It describes the writing knowledge, practices,
and attitudes that undergraduate students develop in first-­year composition,
which at most schools is a required general education course or sequence of
courses. This Statement therefore attempts to both represent and regularize
writing programs’ priorities for first-­year composition, which often takes the
form of one or more required general education courses. To this end it is not
merely a compilation or summary of what currently takes place. Rather, this
Statement articulates what composition teachers nationwide have learned
from practice, research, and theory.1 It intentionally defines only “outcomes,”
or types of results, and not “standards,” or precise levels of achievement. The
setting of standards to measure ­students’ achievement of these Outcomes
has deliberately been left to local writing programs and their institutions.
In this Statement “composing” refers broadly to complex writing processes
that are increasingly reliant on the use of digital technologies. Writers also
attend to elements of design, incorporating images and graphical ele-
ments into texts intended for screens as well as printed pages. ­Writers’ com-
posing activities have always been shaped by the technologies available
to them, and digital technologies are changing writers’ relationships to
their texts and audiences in evolving ways.
These outcomes are supported by a large body of research demonstrating
that the process of learning to write in any medium is complex: it is both
individual and social and demands continued practice and informed guid-
ance. Programmatic decisions about helping students demonstrate these
outcomes should be informed by an understanding of this research.
As students move beyond first-­year composition, their writing abilities do
not merely improve. Rather, their abilities will diversify along disciplinary,
professional, and civic lines as these writers move into new settings where
expected outcomes expand, multiply, and diverge. Therefore, this docu-
ment advises faculty in all disciplines about how to help students build on
what they learn in introductory writing courses.
Rhetorical Knowledge
Rhetorical knowledge is the ability to analyze contexts and audiences and
then to act on that analysis in comprehending and creating texts. ­Rhetorical
knowledge is the basis of composing. Writers develop rhetorical k
­ nowledge
by negotiating purpose, audience, context, and conventions as they com-
pose a variety of texts for different situations.

1
This Statement is aligned with the Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing, an
­ rticulation of the skills and habits of mind essential for success in college, and is intended to
a
help establish a continuum of valued practice from high school through to the college major.
 Preface xvii

By the end of first-­year composition, students should

● Learn and use key rhetorical concepts through analyzing and composing
a variety of texts
● Gain experience reading and composing in several genres to under-
stand how genre conventions shape and are shaped by readers’ and
writers’ practices and purposes
● Develop facility in responding to a variety of situations and contexts
­calling for purposeful shifts in voice, tone, level of formality, design,
medium, and/or structure
● Understand and use a variety of technologies to address a range of
audiences
● Match the capacities of different environments (e.g., print and electronic)
to varying rhetorical situations

Faculty in all programs and departments can build on this preparation by

helping students learn
● The expectations of readers in their fields
● The main features of genres in their fields
● The main purposes of composing in their fields

Critical Thinking, Reading, and Composing

Critical thinking is the ability to analyze, synthesize, interpret, and evaluate
ideas, information, situations, and texts. When writers think critically about
the materials they use—­whether print texts, photographs, data sets, videos,
or other materials—­ they separate assertion from evidence, evaluate
sources and evidence, recognize and evaluate underlying assumptions,
read across texts for connections and patterns, identify and evaluate
chains of reasoning, and compose appropriately qualified and developed
claims and generalizations. These practices are foundational for advanced
academic writing.

By the end of first-­year composition, students should

● Use composing and reading for inquiry, learning, critical thinking, and
communicating in various rhetorical contexts
● Read a diverse range of texts, attending especially to relationships
between assertion and evidence, to patterns of organization, to the
interplay between verbal and nonverbal elements, and to how these
features function for different audiences and situations
● Locate and evaluate (for credibility, sufficiency, accuracy, timeliness,
bias and so on) primary and secondary research materials, including
journal articles and essays, books, scholarly and professionally
­established and maintained databases or archives, and informal
­electronic networks and internet sources
● Use strategies—­such as interpretation, synthesis, response, critique,
and design/redesign—­to compose texts that integrate the writer’s ideas
with those from appropriate sources
xviii Preface

● Faculty in all programs and departments can build on this preparation

by helping students learn
● The kinds of critical thinking important in their disciplines
● The kinds of questions, problems, and evidence that define their
disciplines
● Strategies for reading a range of texts in their fields
Processes
Writers use multiple strategies, or composing processes, to conceptualize,
develop, and finalize projects. Composing processes are seldom linear: a
writer may research a topic before drafting, then conduct additional research
while revising or after consulting a colleague. Composing processes are also
flexible: successful writers can adapt their composing processes to different
contexts and occasions.
By the end of first-­year composition, students should
● Develop a writing project through multiple drafts
● Develop flexible strategies for reading, drafting, reviewing, collaborating,
revising, rewriting, rereading, and editing
● Use composing processes and tools as a means to discover and
reconsider ideas
● Experience the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes
● Learn to give and to act on productive feedback to works in progress
● Adapt composing processes for a variety of technologies and
modalities
● Reflect on the development of composing practices and how those
practices influence their work
Faculty in all programs and departments can build on this preparation by
helping students learn
● To employ the methods and technologies commonly used for research
and communication within their fields
● To develop projects using the characteristic processes of their fields
● To review work-­in-­progress for the purpose of developing ideas before
surface-­level editing
● To participate effectively in collaborative processes typical of their field

Knowledge of Conventions
Conventions are the formal rules and informal guidelines that define
genres, and in so doing, shape readers’ and writers’ perceptions of correct-
ness or appropriateness. Most obviously, conventions govern such things
as mechanics, usage, spelling, and citation practices. But they also influ-
ence content, style, organization, graphics, and document design.
Conventions arise from a history of use and facilitate reading by invoking
common expectations between writers and readers. These expectations
are not universal; they vary by genre (conventions for lab notebooks and
discussion-­board exchanges differ), by discipline (conventional moves in
literature reviews in Psychology differ from those in English), and by occa-
sion (meeting minutes and executive summaries use different registers). A
writer’s grasp of conventions in one context does not mean a firm grasp in
 Preface xix

another. Successful writers understand, analyze, and negotiate conven-

tions for purpose, audience, and genre, understanding that genres evolve
in response to changes in material conditions and composing technologies
and attending carefully to emergent conventions.
By the end of first-­year composition, students should
● Develop knowledge of linguistic structures, including grammar,
­punctuation, and spelling, through practice in composing and revising
● Understand why genre conventions for structure, paragraphing, tone,
and mechanics vary
● Gain experience negotiating variations in genre conventions
● Learn common formats and/or design features for different kinds
of texts
● Explore the concepts of intellectual property (such as fair use and
copyright) that motivate documentation conventions
● Practice applying citation conventions systematically in their own work
Faculty in all programs and departments can build on this preparation by
helping students learn
● The reasons behind conventions of usage, specialized vocabulary,
format, and citation systems in their fields or disciplines
● Strategies for controlling conventions in their fields or disciplines
● Factors that influence the ways work is designed, documented, and
disseminated in their fields
● Ways to make informed decisions about intellectual property issues
connected to common genres and modalities in their fields.

WPA Outcomes Statement for First-Year Composition (3.0), approved July 7, 2014.
Copyright ©2014 by the Council of Writing Program Administrators. Used with
permission.
xx Preface

Acknowledgments
A Writer’s Resource is built on the premise that it takes a campus to teach a writer.
It is also true that it takes a community to write a handbook. This text has been
a major collaborative effort. And over the years, that ever-­widening circle of
collaboration has included reviewers, editors, librarians, faculty colleagues, and
family members. We would like to give special thanks to Janice Peritz, one of the
original authors, who created a foundation for the many subsequent revisions.
Mort Maimon brought to this project his years of insight and experience as
a writer and as a secondary and post secondary English teacher. Gillian ­Maimon,
PhD elementary school teacher, University of Pennsylvania part-­time professor,
and writing workshop leader, is a constant motivation. She has miraculously
applied principles inherent in this text successfully to the first-­grade classroom.
Alan Maimon, author of Twilight in Hazard: An Appalachian Reckoning, exempli-
fies the power of writing to create a better world. Elaine also drew inspiration
from her grandchildren, Dasia and Madison Stewart; Annabelle Elaine Maimon;
Lisette Rose Maimon, Della Beatrice Maimon, and Marcus Alan Maimon, who
already show promise of becoming writers.
David Yancey, Genevieve Yancey, Sui Wong, Matthew Yancey, and Kelly
Yancey—­whose combined writing experience includes the fields of biology, psy-
chology, medicine, computer engineering, mathematics, industrial engineering,
information technology, graphic design, and user experience—­helped with exam-
ples as well as with accounts of their writing practices as they completed many
kinds of classroom assignments, applied to medical and graduate schools, wrote
for internships, and currently write on the job. And as the younger Yanceys delight
in learning language and ways of communicating, Calder Yancey-­Wong, Clara
Yancey, Amelie Yancey-­Wong, and Eleanor Yancey remind us of the importance of
communication of all kinds.
Many thanks to Penny Perdue, Program Director of the College of Education
at Governors State University, for her work on current and previous editions.
From Florida State University, we thank the Rhetoric and Composition
­program and the many good ideas that come from students and faculty alike.
­Specifically, we thank Liane Robertson—­now at University of South Florida in
Tampa—­and Kara Taczak—­now at the University of Denver—­who have brought
their experiences as excellent teachers of writing to many pages of this book.
We are grateful to Harvey Wiener and the late Richard Marius for their permis-
sion to draw on their explanations of grammatical points in A Writer’s Resource. We
also appreciate the work of Maria Zlateva of Boston University; Karen Batchelor of
City College of San Francisco; and Daria Ruzicka, who prepared the ESL materials;
we also thank Aimee Jones Palmer and Tanner Wouldgo for their reviews, recom-
mendations, and insights regarding multilingual writers. Thanks also go to librarians
Debora Person, University of Wyoming, and Ronelle K. H. Thompson, Augustana
College. Our colleague Don McQuade has inspired us, advised us, and encouraged us
throughout the years of this project. We thank Lisa Moore and Christopher Bennem
for orchestrating our work on early editions.
Within the McGraw Hill Education organization, many wonderful people have
been our true teammates on this seventh edition. We appreciate Katie Stevens’s
 Preface xxi

excellent work as vice president, Cara Labell’s as lead product developer, and Erin
Cosyn’s and Claire Pare’s as portfolio managers for English. We are grateful to them
for helping us to concentrate on what only the authors could do, while they took care
of so much else. Crucial support came from Dawn Groundwater, product develop-
ment manager. Thanks to Oakley Clark, who worked diligently on Connect for
A Writer’s Resource and the Instructor’s Manual. Susan Trentacosti, and Jodi Banowetz,
content project managers, monitored every detail of production, and designer Beth
Blech supervised every aspect of the striking text design and cover. Thanks to
Brianna Kirschbaum for her help in clearing text permissions for this edition.
This book has benefited enormously from three extraordinary product develop-
ers: David Chodoff, the remarkable Carla Samodulski, and the incredibly talented
Elizabeth Murphy. Elizabeth joined the team to shepherd us through the fifth
edition. Her work on the sixth and seventh has been nothing short of extraordi-
nary. Her deep understanding of the project and its authors has contributed
immeasurably to substantial improvements in each edition.
Finally, many, many thanks go to the reviewers who read chapters from the
new edition of one of our handbooks, generously offered their perceptions and
reactions to our plans, and had confidence in us as we shaped our texts to address
the needs of their students. We wish to thank the following instructors:

Content Consultants and Reviewers

Arizona Western College, Yuma East Central College
Jennifer M. Hewerdine Sue Henderson
Stephen Moore Leigh Kolb
Baton Rouge Community College Patsy Watts
Shelisa Theus Eastern Illinois University
Bridgewater State University Melissa Caldwell
Deborah Barshay Dalva Markelis

Butler County Community College Front Range Community

Michael Dittman College
John Gail Donna Craine
Jolene Stieb Glendale Community College
Travis Timmons Alisa Cooper
Central State University Hawaii Pacific University
Sarah Jones Robert Wilson
Cumberland County College Howard University
Joshua Austin David Green
Delaware Technical Community Husson University
College Maria Cahill
Rob Rector Idaho State University
Durham Technical Community College Harold Hellwig
Jonathan Cook Illinois Central College
Dyersburg State Community College Michael Boud
Linda Weeks James Dekcer
xxii Preface

Isothermal Community College Porterville College

Jeremy Burris Melissa Black
Ivy Tech Community College, Quinnipiac University
Columbus Glenda Pritchett
John Roberts St. Louis Community College,
Ivy Tech Community College, Florissant Valley
Central Indiana Lonetta Oliver
Judith LaFourest Santa Fe College
Brenda Spencer Akilah Brown
Jacksonville State University South Carolina State University
Don Bennett Yvonne D. Sims
Christy Burns
Deborah Prickett Southern Illinois University
Tara Hembrough
West Kentucky Community and
Technical College Southwestern Assemblies of
Kimberly Russell God University
Diane Lewis
Lane College
Unoma Azuah Southwestern Illinois College
Judi Quimby
Lees-­McRae College
Kathy H. Olson Tarrant County College, Southeast
Campus
Lincoln College Elizabeth Joseph
Judy Cortelloni
Texas Christian University
Lincoln Land Community College Brad Lucas
Jason Dockter
Tidewater Community College,
McNeese State University Virginia Beach Campus
Corliss Badeaux Doris Jellig
Rita D. Costello
Tulsa Community College,
Mercer University Metro Campus
Jonathan Glance Greg Stone
Michigan State University, East Jeanne Urie
Lansing Tulsa Community College
Nancy Dejoy Ken Clane
Northeastern University The University of Arkansas at
Olga Birioukova Pine Bluff
Northwest Arkansas Community Janice Brantley
College Union University
Audley Hall David Malone
Megan Looney
University of Alabama
Palm Beach State College, Lake Worth Karen Gardiner
Susan Aguila Jessica Kidd
John Ribar
University of Hartford
Palm Beach State College Susan M. Aliberti
Patrick Tierney
 Preface xxiii

The University of Missouri, The University of West Georgia

Kansas City Kevin Casper
Daniel Mahala University of Wisconsin-­Stout
University of Mobile Andrea Deacon
Katherine Abernathy Wayne County Community College
University of Montana District
Amy Ratto-­Parks Bakkah Rasheed-­Shabazz
The University of Tennessee Sharon Wallace
Daniel Pigg Western Technical College
The University of Tennessee at Martin Pamela Solberg
Allen Shull William Paterson University
The University of Toledo Mark Arnowitz
Anthony Edgington

Flamingo Images/Shutterstock
xxiv Preface
COMMON ASSIGNMENTS Student sample: Proposal 11d 137

Accessible
questions, “WhoEbook and Online
is responsible?” and “WhatResources
should be done?” In the human-
ities, as well as in other disciplines, arguments like Lauer’s are designed to bring
Atabout
McGraw
change.Hill Education,
Lauer documents our mission
the impact of is to accelerate
climate learning
change, evaluates its through intui-
tive, engaging,
negative efficient,
consequences, andand
theneffective experiences,
argues that governments,grounded in and
corporations, research. Assign-
individuals
ments must takeare
in Connect action.
WCAG compliant, and updates to the ebook of the seventh
edition of A Writer’s Resource go beyond WCAG compliance to create an
improved reading experience for all learners. These enhancements include
improved
Note: Forfunctionality
details on theforproper
viewing annotated
formatting readings
of a text in MLAand
style,editing marks. We
are see Chapter 29
committed to and the sample
creating researchaccessible
universally report thatproducts
begins onthat unlock the full
page •••.
potential of each learner, including individuals with disabilities.

SAMPLE STUDENT ARGUMENT

Chris Lauer
Professor Rodeghier
English 203
16 August 2021
It Is Time to Stop Arguing about the Validity of Climate
Change and Do Something About It
The science of global warming and climate change is detailed
and complicated, relying on data from around the world and across
time. Put simply, balance is the key. The sun heats the earth and Introduction
presents a
the earth emits greenhouse gases. But excess gases, including detailed
explanation
human-made ones such as methane, CO2, and nitrous oxide, create of climate
change,
conditions in which heat becomes trapped in the atmosphere “like establishing
the nature
the glass roof of a greenhouse” (Myers). With the critical balance of the prob-
lem and
disturbed, the earth warms. According to the recently released climate demon-
strating its
report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), serious-
ness.
it is “unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere,
ocean and land” and as a result, “widespread and rapid changes in
Thesis
the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred” statement.

(IPCC). In order to do what we can to reverse these devastating Provides

factual
changes, we must collectively acknowledge that climate change is support
indicating
real and that we contribute to it with our own human activity. the com-
plexities of
Climate change used to be called global warming because climate
change and
that is what is happening: “Earth is warming” (New Scientist). its effects.

mai0787x_tab03_ch09-14_099-172.indd 137 14/09/22 5:18 PM

 Preface xxv

How to Find the Help You Need in

A Writer’s Resource
A Writer’s Resource is a reference for all writers and researchers. When you are
writing in any situation, you are bound to come across questions about writing
and research. A Writer’s Resource provides you with answers to your questions.
Begin with Start Smart. If you are responding to an assignment, go to the Start Smart
feature at the beginning of Tab 1 to determine the type of writing the assignment
requires, along with the steps involved in constructing it and one or more examples.
A brief Start Smart box opens each subsequent tab, posing questions aligned with the
WPA outcomes; this feature will guide you to the sections of the text that answer these
questions. These features give you an easy means of accessing the many resources avail-
able to you within A Writer’s Resource, from help with finding a thesis to advice on doc-
umenting your sources.
Check the table of contents. If you know the topic you are looking for, try scanning the
complete contents on the last page and inside back cover, which includes the tab and
chapter titles as well as each section number and title in the book. If you are looking for
specific information within a general topic (how to correct an unclear pronoun reference,
for example), scanning the table of contents will help you find the section you need.
Look up your topic in the index. The comprehensive index at the end of A Writer’s
Resource (pp. I-1–I-43) includes all of the topics covered in the book. For example, if you
are not sure whether to use I or me in a sentence, you can look up “I vs. me” in the index.
Check the documentation resources. By looking at the examples of different types of
sources and the documentation models displayed at the opening of each documentation
tab, you can determine where to find the information you need to document a source. By
answering the questions posed in the charts provided (for MLA style at the beginning of
Tab 6 and for APA style at the beginning of Tab 7), you can usually find the model you are
looking for.
Look in the grammar tab-­opening pages for errors similar to the ones you typically make.
Tab 9 opens with a chart of the most common errors students make. Each error includes
an example and a reference to the section and page number where you can find a more
detailed explanation and examples. Flip through these pages to find a quick reference
guide for multilingual writers.
Look up a word in the Glossary of Usage. If you are not sure that you are using a partic-
ular word such as farther or further correctly, try looking it up in the Glossary of Usage,
available in the ebook in Connect.
Refer to Tab 12 if you are a multilingual writer. Chapters 69–72 provide tips on the use
of articles, helping verbs, and other problem areas for multilingual writers.
xxvi Preface

The running head and section

number give the topic covered on 548 69a BASIC GRAMMAR REVIEW Parts of Speech

the page as well as the number of

the chapter and section letter in tip FOR MULTILINGUAL WRITERS: Recognizing
language differences
which the topic is discussed. The standard structures of sentences in languages other than English
can be very different from those in English. In other languages, the
form of a verb can indicate its grammatical function more powerfully
Tips for Multilingual Writers than can its placement in the sentence. Also, in languages other than
English, adjectives may take on the function that articles (a, an, the)

boxes provide useful tips perform, or articles may be absent.

If English is your second, third, or fourth language, take notice of the dif-

and helpful information. ferences you see in the English language compared with other languages
you know. When you write in English, are you attempting to translate the
structures of other languages into English? If so, you may benefit from
improving your understanding of English sentence structure (see 72a).

CHAPTER 69
The main heading Parts of Speech
includes the English has eight primary parts of speech: verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives,
chapter number adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. All English words belong
to one or more of these categories. Particular words can belong to different
and section letter categories, depending on the role they play in a sentence. For example, the word
button can be a noun (the button on a coat) or a verb (button your jacket now).
(for example, 51d) 69a Verbs
as well as the title Verbs carry a lot of information. They report action (run, write), condition (bloom,

of the section. sit), or state of being (be, seem). Verbs also change form to indicate person,
number, tense, voice, and mood. To do all this, a main verb is often preceded by
one or more helping verbs or be verbs, thereby becoming a verb phrase.
m v
► The play begins at eight.
Examples, many of h v m v h v m v
► I may change seats after the play has begun.
them with hand
1. Main verbs
corrections, Main verbs change form (tense) to indicate when something has happened. If
a word does not indicate tense, it is not a main verb. All main verbs have five
illustrate typical forms, except for be, which has eight.

errors and how to BASE FORM talk, work, sing

PAST TENSE Yesterday I talked, worked, sang.
correct them.

418 42c EDITING FOR CLARITY Faulty Parallelism

Running head and
mai0787x_tab12_ch69-72_547-582.indd 548
section number 19/10/22 2:41 PM

IDENTIFY AND EDIT

Faulty Parallelism
//
The Identify and
To avoid faulty parallelism, ask yourself these questions:
Edit boxes help
? 1. Are the items in a series in parallel form?
you recognize and
glanced angrily at
• The senator stepped to the podium, an angry glance shooting
^
correct errors and
toward her challenger, and began to refute his charges.
problems with
grammar, style,
? 2. Are paired items in parallel form?
and punctuation.
had
• Her challenger, she claimed, had not only accused her
^
falsely of accepting illegal campaign contributions, but
had accepted illegal contributions himself.
his contributions were from illegal sources.
^

? 3. Are the items in outlines and lists in parallel form?

FAULTY She listed four reasons for voters to send her

PARALLELISM
back to Washington:
1. Ability to protect the state’s interests
2. Her seniority on important committees
3. Works with members of both parties to
get things done
4. Has a close working relationship with the
President
REVISED She listed four reasons for voters to send her
back to Washington:
1. Her ability to protect the state’s interests
2. Her seniority on important committees
3. Her ability to work with members of both
parties to get things done
4. Her close working relationship with the
President

mai0787x_tab09_Ch38-50_399-448.indd 418 07/10/22 5:55 PM

Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 “Well, I’m glad you’ve got here. We’ve been having a picnic up at
the house. Julie’s been having the hysterics and MacDonald—you
never knew MacDonald, did you?”
Applegate listened politely. He had a curious feeling that Julie and
her hysterics were already very far away and unimportant to him, but
he did not wish to be so brutal as to show this.
“When did MacDonald return and where has he been?” he asked,
gravely.
“He got here yesterday. He says he had a shock or something in
that accident—anyhow, he just couldn’t remember anything, and
when he come to he didn’t know who he was, nor anything about
himself, and all his papers and clothes had been burnt, so there was
nothing to show anybody who he was. He could work, and he was all
right most ways. Says he was that way till about six months ago,
when a Frisco doctor got hold of him and did something to his head
that put him right. He has papers from the doctor to show it’s true.
His case attracted lots of attention out there. Of course he wrote to
Julie when he came to himself, but his letters went to our old
address and she never got them. So then he started East to see
about it. He says he’s got into a good business and is going to do
well.”
There was a long silence. Presently Hopson began again,
awkwardly:
“I don’t know how you feel about it, but I think Julie’d ought to go
back to him.”
Applegate’s heart began to beat in curious, irregular throbs; he
could feel the pulsing of the arteries in his neck and there was a
singing in his ears.
“Of course Julie agrees with you?” he said, thickly.
“Well, no; she don’t. That’s what she wanted me to talk to you
about. She can’t see it but one way. She says he died, or if he didn’t
it was the same thing to her, and she married you. She says nobody
can have two husbands, and it’s you who are hers. I told her the law
didn’t look at it that way, and she says then she must get a divorce
from MacDonald and remarry you. MacDonald says if she brings suit
on the ground of desertion he will fight it. He says he can prove it
ain’t been no wilful desertion. But probably he could be brought
round if he saw she wouldn’t go back to him anyhow. MacDonald
wouldn’t be spiteful. But he was pretty fond of Julie.”
Applegate had stopped suddenly in the middle of Hopson’s
speech. Now he went forward rapidly, but he made no answer.
Hopson scrutinized his face a moment before he continued:
“Julie says you won’t be spiteful either. She says maybe she was a
little hasty in what she said just before she came up here. But you
know Julie’s way.”
“Yes,” said Applegate, “I know Julie’s way.”
Hopson drew a breath of relief. He had at least discharged himself
of his intercessory mission.
“I tell Julie she’d better put up with it and go with MacDonald. The
life would be more the sort of thing she likes. But her head’s set and
she won’t hear to anything Henriette or I say. You see, that’s what
Julie holds by, what she thinks is respectable. And it’s about all she
does hold by.” He hesitated, groping blindly about in his
consciousness for words to express his feeling that this passionate,
reckless nature was only anchored to the better things of life by her
fervent belief in the righteousness of the established social order.
“Julie thinks everything of being respectable,” he concluded,
lamely.
“Is it much farther to your house?” asked Applegate, dully.
“Right here,” answered Hopson, pulling his key from his pocket.
They entered a crude little parlor whose carpet was too gaudy, and
whose plush furniture was too obviously purchased at a bargain, but
its air was none the less heavy with tragedy. A single gas-jet
flickered in the centre of the room. On one side a great, broad-
shouldered fellow sat doggedly with his elbows on his knees and his
face buried in his hands. There was resistance in every line of his
figure. On the sofa opposite was Julie in her crimson dress. As she
lifted her face eagerly, Applegate noticed traces of tears upon it. Mrs.
Hopson, who had been moving about the room aimlessly, a pale and
ineffective figure between these two vivid personalities, came to a
standstill and looked at Applegate breathlessly. For a moment no
one spoke. Then Julie, baffled by the eyes she could not read,
sprang to her feet and stretched out her hands with a vehement
gesture.
“John Applegate, you’ll put me right! You will. I know you will. I
can’t go back to him! How can I?” Her hungry eyes scrutinized his
still, inexpressive face.
“John, you aren’t going to turn me off?” Her voice had a despairing
passion in it. “You won’t refuse to marry me if I get the divorce?
Good God! You can’t be such a devil. John! oh, John!”
Applegate sat down and looked at her apathetically. He was not
used to being called a devil. Somehow it seemed to him the term
was misapplied.
“Don’t take on so, Julie,” he said, quietly. The room seemed to
whirl around him, and he added, with a palpable effort:
“I’ll think it over and try to do what is best for both of us.”
At that MacDonald lifted his sullen face from his hands for the first
time and glanced across at the other man with blood-shot eyes.
Then he rose slowly, his great bulk seeming to fill the room, and
walking over to Applegate’s chair stood in front of it looking down at
him. His scrutiny was long. Once Applegate looked up and met his
eyes, but he was too tired to bear their fierce light and dropped his
own lids wearily.
MacDonald turned from him contemptuously and faced his wife,
who averted her head.
“Look at me, Julie!” he cried, appealingly. “I am better worth it than
he is. Good Lord! I don’t see what you see in him. He’s so tame! Let
him go about his business. He’s nobody. He don’t want you. Come
along with me and we’ll lead a life! You shall cut a dash out there. I
can make money hand over fist. It’s the place for you. Come on!”
 For a moment Julie’s eyes glittered. The words allured her, but her
old gods prevailed. She threw out her arms as if to ward off his
proposal.
“No, no,” she said, shrilly. “I cannot make it seem right. You were
dead to me, and I married him. One does not go back to the dead. If
I am your wife, what am I to him? It puts me in the wrong these two
years. I cannot have it so, I tell you. I cannot have it so!”
Applegate felt faint and sick. Rising, he groped for the door. “I
must have air,” he said to Hopson, confusedly. “I will come back in a
minute.”
Once outside, the cool November night refreshed him. He dropped
down upon the doorstep and threw back his head, drinking in long
breaths as he looked up at the mocking stars.
When he found at last the courage to ask himself what he was
going to do, the answer was not ready. The decision lay entirely in
his hands. He might still be free if he said the word; and as he
thought of this he trembled. He had always tried to be what his
neighbors called a straight man, and he wanted to be straight in this
also. But where, in such a hideous tangle, was the real morality to be
found? Surely not in acceding to Julie’s demands! What claim had
she upon the home whose simple traditions of peace and happiness
she had trampled rudely under foot? Was it not a poor, cheap
convention of righteousness which demanded he should take such a
woman back to embitter the rest of his days and warp his children’s
lives? He rebelled hotly at the thought. That it was Julie’s view of the
ethical requirement of her position made it all the more improbable
that it was really right. Surely his duty was to his children first, and as
for Julie, let her reap the reward of her own temperament. The Lord
God Himself could not say that this was unjust, for it is so that He
deals with the souls of men.
It seemed to him that he had decided, but as he rose and turned to
the door a new thought stabbed him so sharply that he dropped his
lifted hand with a groan.
 Where had been that sense of duty to his children, just now so
imperative, in the days when he had yielded to Julie’s charm against
his better judgment? Had duty ever prevailed against inclination with
him? Was it prevailing now?
High over all the turmoil and desperation of his thoughts shone out
a fresh perception that mocked him as the winter stars had mocked.
For that hour at least, the crucial one of his decision, he felt assured
that in the relation of man and woman to each other lies the supreme
ethical test of each, and in that relation there is no room for
selfishness. It might be, indeed, that he owed Julie nothing, but
might it not also be that the consideration he owed all womankind
could only be paid through this woman he had called his wife? This
was an ideal with which he had never had to reckon.
He turned and sat him down again to fight the fight with a chill
suspicion in his heart of what the end would be.
Being a plain man he had only plain words in which to phrase his
decision when at last he came to it.
“I chose her and I’ll bear the consequences of my choice,” he said,
“but I’ll bear them by myself. His aunt will be glad to take Teddy, and
Dora is old enough to go away to school.” Then he opened the door.
Hopson and his wife had left the little parlor. Julie on the sofa had
fallen into the deep sleep of exhaustion. MacDonald still sat there,
with his head in his hands, and to him Applegate turned. At the
sound of his step the man lifted his massive head and shook it
impatiently.
“Well?” he demanded.
“The fact is, Mr. MacDonald, Julie and I don’t get along very well
together, but I don’t know as that is any reason why I should force
her to do anything that don’t seem right to her. She thinks it would be
more”—he hesitated for a word—“more nearly right to get a divorce
from you and remarry me. As I see it now, it’s for her to say what she
wants, and for you and me to do it.”
MacDonald looked at him piercingly.
 “You know you’d be glad of the chance to get rid of her!” he
exclaimed, excitedly. “In Heaven’s name, then, why don’t you make
her come to me? You know I suit her best. You know she’s my sort,
not yours. She’s as uncomfortable with you as you with her, and
she’d soon get over the feeling she has against me. Man! There’s no
use in it! Why can’t you give my own to me?”
“I can’t say I don’t agree with you,” said Applegate, and the words
seem to ooze painfully from his white lips, “but she thinks she’d
rather not, and—it’s for her to say.”
 A CONSUMING FIRE
He is a man who has failed in this life, and says he has no chance
of success in another; but out of the fragments of his failures he has
pieced together for himself a fabric of existence more satisfying than
most of us make of our successes. It is a kind of triumph to look as
he does, to have his manner, and to preserve his attitude toward
advancing years—those dreaded years which he faces with pale but
smiling lips.
If you would see my friend Hayden, commonly called by his friends
the connoisseur, figure to yourself a tall gentleman of sixty-five, very
erect still and graceful, gray-headed and gray-bearded, with fine gray
eyes that have the storm-tossed look of clouds on a windy March
day, and a bearing that somehow impresses you with an idea of the
gracious and pathetic dignity of his lonely age.
I myself am a quiet young man, with but one gift—I am a finished
and artistic listener. It is this talent of mine which wins for me a
degree of Hayden’s esteem and a place at his table when he has a
new story to tell. His connoisseurship extends to everything of
human interest, and his stories are often of the best.
The last time that I had the honor of dining with him, there was
present, besides the host and myself, only his close friend, that
vigorous and successful man, Dr. Richard Langworthy, the eminent
alienist and specialist in nervous diseases. The connoisseur
evidently had something to relate, but he refused to give it to us until
the pretty dinner was over. Hayden’s dinners are always pretty, and
he has ideals in the matter of china, glass, and napery which it would
require a woman to appreciate. It is one of his accomplishments that
he manages to live like a gentleman and entertain his friends on an
income which most people find quite inadequate for the purpose.
After dinner we took coffee and cigars in the library.
 On the table, full in the mellow light of the great lamp (Hayden has
a distaste for gas), was a bit of white plush on which two large opals
were lying. One was an intensely brilliant globe of broken gleaming
lights, in which the red flame burned strongest and most steadily; the
other was as large, but paler. You would have said that the prisoned
heart of fire within it had ceased to throb against the outer rim of ice.
Langworthy, who is wise in gems, bent over them with an
exclamation of delight.
“Fine stones,” he said; “where did you pick them up, Hayden?”
Hayden, standing with one hand on Langworthy’s shoulder, smiled
down on the opals with a singular expression. It was as if he looked
into beloved eyes for an answering smile.
“They came into my possession in a singular way, very singular. It
interested me immensely, and I want to tell you about it, and ask
your advice on something connected with it. I am afraid you people
will hardly care for the story as much as I do. It’s—it’s a little too
rococo and sublimated to please you, Langworthy. But here it is:
“When I was in the West last summer, I spent some time in a city
on the Pacific slope which has more pawnbrokers’ shops and that
sort of thing in full sight on the prominent streets than any other town
of the same size and respectability that I have ever seen. One day,
when I had been looking in the bazaars for something a little out of
the regular line in Chinese curios and didn’t find it, it occurred to me
that in such a cosmopolitan town there might possibly be some
interesting things in the pawn-shops, so I went into one to look. It
was a common, dingy place, kept by a common, dingy man with
shrewd eyes and a coarse mouth. Talking to him across the counter
was a man of another type. Distinction in good clothes, you know,
one is never sure of. It may be only that a man’s tailor is
distinguished. But distinction in indifferent garments is distinction
indeed, and there before me I saw it. A young, slight, carelessly
dressed man, his bearing was attractive and noteworthy beyond
anything I can express. His appearance was perhaps a little too
unusual, for the contrast between his soft, straw-colored hair and
wine-brown eyes was such a striking one that it attracted attention
from the real beauty of his face. The delicacy of a cameo is rough,”
added the connoisseur, parenthetically, “compared to the delicacy of
outline and feature in a face that thought, and perhaps suffering,
have worn away, but this is one of the distinctive attractions of the
old. You do not look for it in young faces such as this.
“On the desk between the two men lay a fine opal—this one,” said
Hayden, touching the more brilliant of the two stones. “The younger
man was talking eagerly, fingering the gem lightly as he spoke. I
inferred that he was offering to sell or pawn it.
“The proprietor, seeing that I waited, apparently cut the young man
short. He started, and caught up the stone. ‘I’ll give you—’ I heard
the other say, but the young man shook his head, and departed
abruptly. I found nothing that I wanted in the place, and soon passed
out.
“In front of a shop-window a little farther down the street stood the
other man, looking in listlessly with eyes that evidently saw nothing.
As I came by he turned and looked into my face. His eyes fixed me
as the Ancient Mariner’s did the Wedding Guest. It was an appealing
yet commanding look, and I—I felt constrained to stop. I couldn’t
help it, you know. Even at my age one is not beyond feeling the force
of an imperious attraction, and when you are past sixty you ought to
be thankful on your knees for any emotion that is imperative in its
nature. So I stopped beside him. I said: ‘It is a fine stone you were
showing that man. I have a great fondness for opals. May I ask if you
were offering it for sale?’
“He continued to look at me, inspecting me calmly, with a
fastidious expression. Upon my word, I felt singularly honored when,
at the end of a minute or two, he said: ‘I should like to show it to you.
If you will come to my room with me, you may see that, and another;’
and he turned and led the way, I following quite humbly and gladly,
though surprised at myself.
“The room, somewhat to my astonishment, proved to be a large
apartment—a front room high up in one of the best hotels. There
were a good many things lying about which obviously were not hotel
furnishings, and the walls, the bed, and even the floor were covered
with a litter of water-color sketches. Those that I could see were
admirable, being chiefly impressions of delicate and fleeting
atmospheric effects.
“I took the chair he offered. He stood, still looking at me,
apparently not in haste to show me the opals. I looked about the
room.
“‘You are an artist?’ I said.
“‘Oh, I used to be, when I was alive,’ he answered, drearily. ‘I am
nothing now.’ And then turning away he fetched a little leather case,
and placed the two opals on the table before me.
“‘This is the one I have always worn,’ he said, indicating the more
brilliant. ‘That chillier one I gave once to the woman whom I loved. It
was more vivid then. They are strange stones—strange stones.’
“He said nothing more, and I sat in perfect silence, only dreading
that he should not speak again. I am not making you understand
how he impressed me. In the delicate, hopeless patience of his face,
in the refined, uninsistent accents of his voice, there was somehow
struck a note of self-abnegation, of aloofness from the world,
pathetic in any one so young.
“I am old. There is little in life that I care for. My interests are
largely affected. Wine does not warm me now, and beauty seems no
longer beautiful; but I thank Heaven I am not beyond the reach of a
penetrating human personality. I have at least the ordinary instincts
for convention in social matters, but I assure you it seemed not in the
least strange to me that I should be sitting in the private apartment of
a man whom I had met only half an hour before, and then in a
pawnbroker’s shop, listening eagerly for his account of matters
wholly personal to himself. It struck me as the most natural and
charming thing in the world. It was just such chance passing
intercourse as I expect to hold with wandering spirits on the green
hills of paradise.
“It was some time before he spoke again.
“‘I saw her first,’ he said, looking at the paler opal, as if it was of
that he spoke, ‘on the street in Florence. It was a day in April, and
the air was liquid gold. She was looking at the Campanile, as if she
were akin to it. It was the friendly grace of one lily looking at another.
Later, I met her as one meets other people, and was presented to
her. And after that the days went fast. I think she was the sweetest
woman God ever made. I sometimes wonder how He came to think
of her. Whatever you may have missed in life,’ he said, lifting calm
eyes to mine, and smiling a little, ‘you whose aspect is so sweet,
decorous, and depressing, whose griefs, if you have griefs, are the
subtle sorrows of the old and unimpassioned’—I remember his
phrases literally. I thought them striking and descriptive,” confessed
Hayden—“‘I hope you have not missed that last touch of exaltation
which I knew then. It is the most exquisite thing in life. The Fates
must hate those from whose lips they keep that cup.’ He mused
awhile and added, ‘There is only one real want in life, and that is
comradeship—comradeship with the divine, and that we call religion;
with the human, and that we call love.’
“‘Your definitions are literature,’ I ventured to suggest, ‘but they are
not fact. Believe me, neither love nor religion is exactly what you call
it. And there are other things almost as good in life, as surely you
must know. There is art, and there is work which is work only, and
yet is good.’
“‘You speak from your own experience?’ he said, simply.
“It was a home thrust. I did not, and I knew I did not. I am sixty-five
years old, and I have never known just that complete satisfaction
which I believe arises from the perfect performance of distasteful
work. I said so. He smiled.
“‘I knew it when I set my eyes upon you, and I knew you would
listen to me and my vaporing. Your sympathy with me is what you
feel toward all forms of weakness, and in the last analysis it is self-
sympathy. You are beautiful, not strong,’ he added, with an air of
finality, ‘and I—I am like you. If I had been a strong man.... Christ!’
“I enjoyed this singular analysis of myself, but I wanted something
else.
“‘You were telling me of the opals,’ I suggested.
 “‘The opals, yes. Opals always made me happy, you know. While I
wore one, I felt a friend was near. My father found these in Hungary,
and sent them to me—two perfect jewels. He said they were the twin
halves of a single stone. I believe it to be true. Their mutual relation
is an odd one. One has paled as the other brightened. You see them
now. When they were both mine, they were of almost equal
brilliancy. This,’ touching the paler, ‘is the one I gave to her. You see
the difference in them now. Hers began to pale before she had worn
it a month. I do not try to explain it, not even on the ground of the old
superstition. It was not her fault that they made her send it back to
me. But the fact remains; her opal is fading slowly; mine is burning to
a deeper red. Some day hers will be frozen quite, while mine—mine
—’ his voice wavered and fell on silence, as the flame of a candle
fighting against the wind flickers and goes out.
“I waited many minutes for him to speak again, but the silence was
unbroken. At last I rose. ‘Surely you did not mean to part with either
stone?’ I said.
“He looked up as if from a dream. ‘Part with them? Why should I
sell my soul? I would not part with them if I were starving. I had a
minute’s temptation, but that is past now.’ Then, with a change of
manner, ‘You are going?’ He rose with a gesture that I felt then and
still feel as a benediction. ‘Good-by. I wish for your own sake that
you had not been so like my poor self that I knew you for a friend.’
“We had exchanged cards, but I did not see or hear of him again.
Last week these stones came to me, sent by some one here in New
York of his own name—his executor. He is dead, and left me these.
“It is here that I want your counsel. These stones do not belong to
me, you know. It is true that we are like, as like as blue and violet.
But there is that woman somewhere—I don’t know where; and I
know no more of their story than he told me. I have not cared to be
curious regarding it or him. But they loved once, and these belong to
her. Do you suppose they would be a comfort or a curse to her? If—if
—” the connoisseur evidently found difficulty in stating his position.
“Of course I do not mean to say that I believe one of the stones
waned while the other grew more brilliant. I simply say nothing of it;
but I know that he believed it, and I, even I, feel a superstition about
it. I do not want the light in that stone to go out; or if it should, or
could, I do not want to see it. And, besides, if I were a woman, and
that man had loved me so, I should wish those opals.” Here Hayden
looked up and caught Langworthy’s amused, tolerant smile. He
stopped, and there was almost a flush upon his cheek.
“You think I am maudlin—doting—I see,” he said. “Langworthy, I
do hope the Lord will kindly let you die in the harness. You haven’t
any taste for these innocent, green pastures where we old fellows
must disport ourselves, if we disport at all. Now, I want to know if it
would be—er—indelicate to attempt to find out who she is, and to
restore the stones to her?”
Langworthy, who had preserved throughout his usual air of strict
scientific attention, jumped up and began to pace the room.
“His name?” he said.
Hayden gave it.
“I know the man,” said Langworthy, almost reluctantly. “Did any
one who ever saw him forget him? He was on the verge of
melancholia, but what a mind he had!”
“How did you know him, Langworthy?” asked Hayden, with
pathetic eagerness.
“As a patient. It’s a sad story. You won’t like it. You had better keep
your fancies without the addition of any of the facts.”
“Go on,” said Hayden, briefly.
“They live here, you know. He was the only son. He unconsciously
acquired the morphine habit from taking quantities of the stuff for
neuralgic symptoms during a severe protracted illness. After he got
better, and found what had happened to him, he came to me. I had
to tell him he would die if he didn’t break it off, and would probably
die if he did. ‘Oh, no matter,’ he said. ‘What disgusts me is the idea
that it has taken such hold of me.’ He did break it off directly and
absolutely. I never knew but one other man who did that thing. But
between the pain and the shock from the sudden cessation of the
drug, his mind was unbalanced for awhile. Of course the girl’s
parents broke off the engagement. I knew they were travelling with
him last summer. It was a trying case, and the way he accepted his
own weakness touched me. At his own request he carried no money
with him. It was a temptation when he wanted the drug, you see. It
must have been at some such moment, when he contemplated
giving up the struggle, that you met him in the pawn-shop.”
“I am glad I knew enough to respect him even there,” murmured
Hayden, in his beard.
“Oh, you may respect him, and love him if you like. He died a
moral hero, if a mental and physical wreck. That is as good a way as
any, or ought to be, to enter another life—if there is another life.”
“And the woman?” asked the connoisseur.
“Keep the opals, Hayden; they and he are more to you than to her.
She—in fact it is very soon—is to marry another man.”
“Who is—”
“A gilded cad. That’s all.”
Langworthy took out his watch and looked at it. I turned to the
table. What had happened to the dreaming stones? Did a light flash
across from one to the other, or did my eyes deceive me? I looked
down, not trusting what I saw. One opal lay as pale, as pure, as
lifeless, as a moon-stone is. The other glowed with a yet fierier
spark; instead of coming from within, the color seemed to play over
its surface in unrestricted flame.
“See here!” I said.
Langworthy looked, then turned his head away sharply. The
distaste of the scientific man for the inexplicable and irrational was
very strong within him.
But the old man bent forward, the lamp-light shining on his white
hair, and with a womanish gesture caught the gleaming opal to his
lips.
“A human soul!” he said. “A human soul!”
 AN UNEARNED REWARD
It is the very last corner of the world in which you would expect to
find a sermon. Overhead hang the Colorado skies, curtains of
deepest, dullest cobalt, against which the unthreatening white clouds
stand out with a certain solidity, a tangible look seen nowhere else
save in that clear air. All around are the great upland swells of the
mountains, rising endlessly, ridge beyond ridge, like the waves of the
sea. In a hollow beside the glittering track is the one sign of human
existence in sight—the sun-scorched, brown railway station. It is an
insignificant structure planted on a high platform. There is a red tool-
chest standing against the wall; a tin advertisement of somebody’s
yeast-cakes is nailed to the clap-boards; three buffalo hides, with
horns still on them, hang over a beam by the coal-shed, and across
the side of the platform, visible only to those approaching from the
west, is written, in great, black letters:
THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH.
This legend had no place there on the September afternoon, some
years ago, when Carroll Forbes stepped off the west-bound express
as it halted a minute at the desolate spot. Because it looked to him
like the loneliest place in all the world the notion seized him
suddenly, as the train drew up beside the high platform, to catch up
his valise and leave the car. He was looking for a lonely place, and
looking helplessly. He snatched at the idea that here might be what
he sought, as a drowning man at the proverbial straw.
When the train had gone on and left him there, already repenting
tremulously of what might prove his disastrous folly, a man, who was
possibly the station agent—if this were indeed a station—came
limping toward him with an inquiring look.
Forbes was a handsome man himself, and thoroughly aware of
the value of beauty as an endowment. He was conscious of a half-
envious pang as he faced the blonde giant halting across the
platform. This was, or had been, a singularly perfect specimen of the
physical man. Over six feet in height, muscular, finely proportioned,
fair-haired and fair-skinned, with a curling, blonde beard, and big,
expressionless blue eyes, he looked as one might who had been
made when the world was young, and there was more room for
mighty men than now.
The slight, olive-skinned young man who faced him was conscious
of the sudden feeling of physical disadvantage that comes upon one
in the presence of imposing natural objects, for the man was as
august in his way as the cliffs and canyons.
“I am a—an artist,” said Carroll Forbes. “Is there any place
hereabouts where I can get my meals and sometimes a bed, while I
am sketching in the mountains?”
The man stared at him.
“Would it have been better if I had said I was a surveyor?” asked
Forbes of his confused inner consciousness.
“We feed folks here sometimes—that is, my wife does. Mebbe you
could have a shake-down in the loft. Or there’s Connor’s ranch off
north a ways. But they don’t care about taking in folks up there.”
“Then, if you would ask your wife?” ventured Forbes, politely. “I
shall not trouble you long,” he added.
“Ellen!”
A woman appeared at the door, then moving slowly forward, stood
at her husband’s side, and the admiration Forbes had felt at the sight
of the man flamed into sudden enthusiasm as he watched the wife.
She was tall, with heavy, black hair, great eyes like unpolished jet,
one of the thick white, smooth, perfectly colorless skins, which
neither the sun nor the wind affect, and clear-cut, perfect features.
Standing so, side by side, the two were singularly well worth looking
at.
“What a regal pair!” was Forbes’s internal comment; and while
they conferred together he watched them idly, wondering what their
history was, for of course they had one. It is safe to affirm that every
human creature cast in the mould of the beautiful has, or is to have,
one.
“She says you c’n stay,” announced the man. “Just put those traps
of yours inside, will you?” and, turning, he limped off the length of the
platform at a call from somebody who had ridden up with jingling
spurs.
Forbes, left to his own devices, picked up his valise, then set it
down again and looked around him helplessly, wondering if there
was a night train by which he could get away from this heaven-
forsaken spot.
“If you want to see where you can sleep,” said a voice at his side,
“I will show you.” It was the woman. She bent as she spoke to pick
up some of his impedimenta, but he hastily forestalled her with a
murmur of deprecation.
She turned and looked at him, and as he met her eyes it occurred
to him that the indifference of her face was the indifference of the
desert—arid and hopeless. The look she gave him was searching
and impersonal; he saw no reason for it, nor for the slow, dark color
that spread over her face, and there was less than no excuse for the
way she set her lips and stretched a peremptory hand, saying, “Give
me those,” in tones that could not be disobeyed. To his own
astonishment he surrendered them, and followed her meekly up a
ladder-like flight of steps to the rough loft over the station. It was
unfinished, but partitioned into two rooms. She opened the door of
one of these apartments, silently set his luggage inside, and
vanished down the stairs.
Forbes sat down on the edge of a broken chair and looked about
him.
“Now, in heaven’s name,” he demanded of the barren walls, “what
have I let myself in for, and why did I do it?”
To this question there seemed no sufficient answer, and for awhile
he sat there fretting with the futile anxiety of a man who knows that
his fate pursues him, who hopes that this turning or that may help
him to evade it, yet always feels the benumbing certainty that the
path he has taken is the shortest road to that he would avoid. When
at last—recognizing that his meditations were unprofitable—he rose
and went down the stairs, it was supper-time.
The woman was uncommunicative, but he could feel that her eyes
were on him. The man—it occurred to Forbes that he had probably
been drinking—was talkative. After the meal was over they went
outside. Forbes, by way of supporting his pretence of being an artist,
took out a pocket sketch-book and made notes of the values of the
clouds and the outlines of the hills against the sky in a sort of artistic
short-hand. The man Wilson sat down on a bench and began to talk.
Between the exciting effects of the whiskey he had taken, the
soothing influence of the cigar Forbes proffered him, and a natural
talent for communicativeness, he presently went on to tell his own
story. Forbes listened attentively. It seemed a part of the melodrama
of the whole situation and was as unreal to him as the flaming
miracle of the western skies or his own presence here.
“So the upshot of it all was that we just skipped out. She ran away
with me.”
It was a curious story. As Forbes listened he became aware that it
was one with which he had occasionally met in the newspapers, but
never in real life before. It was, apparently, the story of a girl
belonging to a family of wealth and possibly of high social traditions
—naturally he did not know what importance to attach to Wilson’s
boast that his wife belonged “to the top of the heap”—who had
eloped with the man who drove her father’s carriage.
The reasons for this revolt against the natural order of her life was
obscure; there was, perhaps, too high a temper on her side and too
strict a restraint on the part of her guardians. There was necessarily
a total absence of knowledge of life; there was also the fact that the
coachman was undoubtedly a fine creature to look at; there might
have been a momentary yielding on the part of a naturally dramatic
temperament to the impulse for the spectacular in her life.
But whatever the reasons, the result was the same. She had
married this man and gone away with him, and they had drifted
westward. And when they had gone so far west that coachmen of his
stamp were no longer in demand, he took to railroading, and from
brakeman became engineer; and finally, being maimed in an
accident in which he had stood by his engine while the fireman
jumped—breaking his neck thereby—he had picked up enough
knowledge of telegraphy to qualify him for this post among the
mountains. He and his handsome wife lived here and shared the
everlasting solitude of the spot together, and occasionally fed stray
travellers like this one who had dropped down on them to-day.
“He drinks over-freely and he swears profusely,” mused Forbes,
scrutinizing him, “but he is too big to be cruel, and he still worships
her beauty as she, perhaps, once worshipped his; and he still feels
an uncouth pride in all that she gave up for his sake.”
It had never occurred to him before to wonder what the after-life of
a girl who eloped with her father’s servant might be like. He
speculated upon it now. By just what process does a woman so
utterly déclassée adjust herself to her altered position? Would she
make it a point to forget, or would every reminder of lives, such as
her own had been, be a turning of the knife in her wound? Would not
a saving recollection of the little refinements of life cling longer to a
weak nature than to a strong one under such circumstances?
This woman apparently gave tongue to no vain regrets, for her
husband was exulting in the “grit” with which she had taken the
fortunes of their life. “No whine about her,” was his way of expressing
his conviction that the courage of the thoroughbred was in her.
“No, sir; there’s no whine about her. Un she’s never been sorry,
un, s’help me, she sha’n’t never be,” concluded Wilson. There were
maudlin tears in his eyes.
“Few men can say that of their wives,” said Forbes’s smooth,
sympathetic voice. “You are indeed fortunate.”
While her husband was repeating the oft-told tale of their conjugal
happiness, Ellen Wilson had done her after-supper work, and,
slipping out of the door, climbed the short, rocky spur to the north of
the station. Beyond the summit, completely out of sight and hearing,
there was a little hollow that knew her well, but never had it seen her
as it saw her now, when, throwing herself down, her face to the
earth, she shed the most scalding tears of all her wretched years.
They were such little things this stranger had done—things so
slight, so involuntary, so unconscious that they did not deserve the
name of courtesies, but they were enough to open the flood-gates of
an embittered heart. There was a world where all the men were
deferential and all the women’s lives were wrapped about with the
fine, small courtesies of life—formal, but not meaningless. It had
been her world once and now was so no longer.
Good or bad, she knew little and cared less, this man had come
from that lost world of hers, as she was made aware by a thousand
small signs, whose very existence she had forgotten; and silently,
fiercely she claimed him as an equal.
“I—I too was—” Slow tears drowned the rest.
She could have told him how a déclassée grows used to it. She
knew how the mind can adjust itself to any phase of experience, and
had learned that what woman has undergone, woman can undergo
—yes, and be strong about it. She knew how, under the impulse of
necessity, the once impossible grows to be the accepted life, and the
food that could not be swallowed becomes the daily bread.
When the struggle for existence becomes a hand-to-hand fight,
traditions of one’s ancestry do not matter, except, possibly, that some
traditions bind you to strength and silence, while others leave you
free to scream. She knew what it was to forget the past and ignore
the future, and survey the present with the single-hearted purpose of
securing three meals a day, if possible; two, if it were not.
She had forgotten with what facility she might the faces and
scenes that once were dear to her. She had nothing to do with them
any longer, as she knew. She might, perhaps, have heard their
names without emotion. But, even in this day and generation and
among this democratic people, in the soul of a woman bred as she
had been the feeling for her caste is the last feeling that dies. And to
her anguish she found that in her it was not yet dead.
The color died from the sky, and the stars came swiftly out.