Best seller

This is the presentation of paragraphs 41 - 71 of the lesson 'Best Seller' by O. Henry. It also includes a few cross links and fun stuffs.

1. By O. Henry

2. Summary

3. • John A Pescud worked for Cambria Steel Works and was a travelling plate-glass seller for the company. • He was a different kind of man. Now, the narrator met him the second time on a train bound to Pittsburg. • The latter was going to Cocktown , on the way to Pittsburg. Having found him reading the best seller novel, ‘The Rose Lady and Trevelyan,’ the narrator and John began to talk about the impossibilities of such novels in the modern world because the novel was about an American rich man marrying a princess from Europe. • Both the narrator and John agreed upon this. • When the narrator asked John if he had got married, John told him how he met his wife Jessie in a similar situation as that of the novel’s storyline. Last year, John was in a train. Among the passengers, his eyes met a beautiful young woman. John wanted to talk to her.

4. When she alighted from the train at a station, John followed her. He kept business aside and madly chased for the woman, changing trains whenever she did. Finally the train stops at a station in Virginia and the woman gets down there. An old man comes to receive the woman. John follows the woman. Upon reaching the woman’s house, John stood dazed, shocked! The house she went into looked like a palace, a little old one. It was unbelievable. Was he following a princess after all? Who is she? Who was that old man? John decided to know all that about her. He lodged at Hotel Bay View House from where he could see the woman’s ‘palace.’ He learnt that she was the daughter of Colonel Allyn , the most known family in Virginia.

5. 41. ‘ Well, that tickled me 1 . ‘No Kidding’, says I. ‘I’m not looking for smoke 2 , even if I do come from Pittsburg.’ 42. ‘ You are quite a distance from home,’ says she. 43. ‘ I’d have gone a thousand miles farther,’ says I. 1 Tickled me – Made him laugh. 2 Smoke – [here] nothing.

6. 44. ‘ Not if you hadn’t woken up when the train started in Shelbyville,’ says she; and then she turned almost as red as one of the roses on the bushes in the yard. I remembered I had dropped off to sleep on a bench in the Shelbyville station, waiting to see which train she took, and only just managed to wake up in time.’

7. 45. ‘ And then I told her why I had come, as respectful and earnest 1 as I could. And I told her everything about myself, and what I was making, and how that all I asked was just to get acquainted 2 with her and to try to get her to like me.’ 1 Earnest - Showing sincere and intense conviction. Example: An earnest student. 2 Acquainted - Brought into social contact; made familiar Example: People acquainted through mutual friends.

8. 46. ‘ She smiles a little and blushes some, but her eyes never get mixed up. They look straight at whatever she’s talking to.’ 47. ‘ I never had anyone talk to me like this before, Mr. Pescud,’ says she. ‘What did you say your name is – John?’

9. 48. ‘ John A.,’ says I. 49. ‘ And you came mighty near missing the train at Powhatan Junction, too,’ says she with a laugh that sounded as good as a mileage-book to me.’ 50. ‘ How did you know? ’ I asked.

10. 51 . ‘ Men are very clumsy,’ said she . ‘ I know you were on every train. I thought you were going to speak to me, and I’m glad you didn’t.’ 52 . ‘ Then we had more talk; and at last a kind of proud, serious look came to her face, and she turned and pointed a finger at the big house.’

11. 53. ‘ The Allyns,’ says she, ‘have lived in Elmcroft for a hundred years. We are a proud family. Look at that mansion 1 . It has fifty rooms. See the pillars and porches 2 and balconies. The ceilings in the reception-rooms and the ball-room are twenty-eight feet high. My father is lineal descendant of belted earls 3 .’ 1 Mansion – A large, impressive house. E.g. The King has a big mansion . 2 Porch – A covered shelter projecting in front of the entrance of a building. E.g. We sat out on the porch to cool off. 3 Belted earls – Until the 17 th century, an earl was invested by the king with a sword he wore at his waist. Hence, he was called a ‘ belted earl ’.

12. 54 . ‘Of course,' she goes on , 'my father wouldn't allow a drummer to set his foot in Elmcroft . If he knew that I was talking to one over the fence, he would lock me in my room.’ 55 . ‘Would you let me come there?' says I . 'Would you talk to me if I was to call? For,' I goes on , 'if you said I might come and see you?’

13. 56 . 'I must not talk to you,' she says , 'because we have not been introduced. It is not exactly proper. So I will say good-bye, Mr.--' 57 . 'Say the name,' says I . 'You haven't forgotten it.' 58 . 'Pescud,' says she, a little mad. 59 . 'The rest of the name!' I demands, cool as could be. 60 . 'John,' says she.

14. 61. 'John-what?' I says. 62. 'John A.,' says she, with her head high. 'Are you through, now?‘ 63. 'I'm coming to see the belted earl tomorrow,' I says. 64. ‘ He'll feed you to his fox-hounds 1 ,' says she, laughing. 1 Fox – hounds - a dog of a smooth-haired breed with drooping ears, often trained to hunt foxes in packs over long distances.

15. 65. ‘ If he does, it'll improve their running,’ says I. 'I'm something of a hunter myself.’ 66. ‘ I must be going in now,' says she. 'I oughtn't to have spoken to you at all. I hope you'll have a pleasant trip back to Minneapolis - or Pittsburgh, was it? Good-bye!'

16. 67. 'Good-night,' says I, 'and it wasn't Minneapolis. What's your name, first, please?‘ 68. ‘She hesitated. Then she pulled a leaf off a bush, and said: 69. 'My name is Jessie,' says she. 70. 'Good - night, Miss Allyn ,' says I.

17. 71. ‘ The next morning at eleven, sharp, I rang the door-bell of that World's Fair main building. After about three-quarters of an hour an old man about eighty showed up and asked what I wanted. I gave him my business card, and said I wanted to see the colonel 1 . He showed me in.’ 1 Colonel - a rank of officer in the army and in the US air force.

18. Cross Curricular Links

19. Cambria Iron Company is a former company in Pennsylvania . The company was founded in 1852 and made many important contributions to the iron and steel industry . William Kelly (inventor) implemented many of his iron and steel technology advances at this location. The Cambria Iron Works was reorganized in 1898 and renamed the Cambria Steel Company . In 1916 , the Midvale Steel and Ordnance Company bought the Cambria Steel Company , and sold it to the Bethlehem Steel Company in 1923 . Cambria Steel Works

20. Plate - Glass Flat glass , sheet glass or plate glass is a type of glass, initially produced in plane form, commonly used for windows, glass doors, transparent walls , and windshields . For modern architectural and automotive applications , the flat glass is sometimes bent after production of the plane sheet . Flat glass stands in contrast to container glass (used for bottles, jars, cups ) and glass fiber (used for optical communication ).

21. Pittsburgh

22. Shelbyville

23. Minneapolis

24. Fox Hounds A foxhound is a type of large hunting hound bred for strong hunting instincts, great energy , and, like all scent hounds, a keen sense of smell . In fox hunting , packs of foxhounds track quarry, followed by the hunters on horseback , sometimes for several miles at a stretch. Foxhounds also sometimes guard sheep and houses .

25. Jumbled Words: L B E S E Y L H I V L T C A A Q E N I U D P N I O E A L N I M S T L E E D B S E L A R O X F D U S H N O A W A P O T N H C I T N O U J N I A L E N L A E S T N C N D E D N’ O H T U T G I N O C S B L A E H E C R O S P

26. Jumbled Words’ Answers: Shelbyville Acquainted Minneapolis Belted Earls Fox Hound Powhatan Junction Lineal Descendant Oughtn’t Balconies Porches

27. Word Search Acquainted Balconies Ceiling Descendant Elmcroft Jessie Mansion Minneapolis Porches Shelbyville