The Bishop's Candlesticks by Norman Mckinnell (A simplified detailed summary for Class IX) Part One

The kitchen of the Bishop is simple but sufficiently furnished. There is a big mantelpiece (shelf) at the fireplace. There is a sofa lying there in the living room. There is also a table on which some writing material and a wooden image of Jesus Christ on the cross are lying. There is  also a dining table, chairs and some books, etc. There are two heavy candlesticks on the mantelpiece, which look strange in that simple surroundings.

The scene opens with the presence of Marie and Persome. Marie is stirring soup on the fire. Persome is laying the cloth.

There is a conversation between Persome and Marrie.

Persome asked Marie, the maidservant if the soup was ready. Marie replied that it was not ready. At this, Persome blames her that she had not tended the fire properly, that was why it was not ready on time. Marie answered her back saying that Persome had herself made the fire.

That made Persome angry and she warned her not to answer her back. It was rudeness if she did so.

Then Persome wondered as to where her brother, the Bishop could be. She comes to know from her maid that he had gone to attend her mother who was ill.

Persomes’ anger increased at this and she blamed her again that she must have informed her brother about the illness of her brother. That had made him go out of his bed in such a cold weather.

Marie changed the topic and told her mistress that the soup was boiling.

Persome instructed her to pour it in and advised her not to chatter. As she was pouring the soup in some container, Persome told her not to pour the soup in that manner. She started doing it herself and also asked the maid if she had put the silver salt cellars on the table.

Marrie gives her shocking news that those cellars were sold out in the market. It gave a rude shock to Persome. Marie informed Persome that the Bishop himself had instructed her to take those cellars to Mr. Gervais to sell them to him.

Persome again enquired of Marie as to what purpose, the Bishop required money. The maid told her that he needed it for MereGringoire.

Persome asked her if it was she who lived at top of the hill. Persome is not ready to believe that she was ill; rather she said that she was lazy and also avoided doing any work. She again wanted to know from Marie as to what she wanted to do with money that she would get from the bishop.

The maid servant told her that MereGringoire needed money to pay for the rent of her house. She also told her that the bailiff (an officer in the court) threatened her to be ousted from the house if she did not pay the rent on time.

Now Persome spoke about the Bishop’s financial crisis. She revealed that her brother’s estate was sold and his saving was spent and his furniture was also going. She felt sorry for the bad condition of her brother. According to her, it was all due to the bishop’s generosity.

In the meantime, the Bishop arrives in. He asks his sister as to why she was crying and felt so troubled and anxious.

Persome hid the reason of her worry.

Then the Bishop’s attention shifted to Marie. He told her not to worry about her mother as she was alright then and the doctor had seen her. He told her to run to her home to look after her mother. He also advised her not to disturb her sleep if she was sleeping at that time.

Marie thanked the Bishop.

But as she was going out of the room, the Bishop stopped her to take his comforter so that she might feel cosy (warm) as it was cold outside.

Persome was not at all happy with her brother’s so much charity in distributing his own personal things to others.

The Bishop defended his act of charity by telling Persome that she had not moved out of the warmth of the room. If she had done so, she would have experienced the chill of the weather outside.

Marie hesitated to wear the comforter.

Persome dissuaded her brother by saying that she would not be affected by the cold weather as she was young.

But the Bishop not only gave his comforter to Marie, but also helped her wear that.

Marie went out of the Bishop’s house.

Persome lost her patience with the Bishop and showed it in her conversation. She gave soup to him and told her brother that MereGringoire was not so ill that you had to go out to attend on her in such a chilly weather. People pretended to be ill for just calling the Bishop beside them. The Bishop said that it was kind of people that they liked his company. He also praised the soup prepared by his sister.

Persome also told her that people usually duped him by telling lie.

Persome further said that the day would come when the house would be empty if he continued helping the people by selling his things.

The Bishop said that there were so many sufferings in the world, so his service to them was very little.

Persome became sentimental and complained to her brother that he never cared for her and caused pain to her by ignoring. The Bishop pacified her by feeling sorry.

Again their conversation came to the topic of the salt cellars. She complained that he was like a child whom the people duped easily. In her absence, he just sold the salt cellars, so she did not want to leave him alone.

They also agreed that the salt cellars were there in their house for a long time and they were proud of them.

The Bishop then justified why he had paid money to MereGringoire.

Persome in a satirical way told him that some day he would sell off the candlesticks to pay off some other person’s rent.

The Bishop, showing his humility, said that those candlesticks were not his. He also reminded her that those candlesticks were given to him by his mother when she was on her deathbed. She had advised him to keep them as her sweet memory. He promised to his sister to keep the candlesticks with him but in the same breath he said that it was a sin to have attachment for material things.

Then both of them departed for sleep after wishing goodnight to each other.

The Bishop came near the table and looked up at the candlesticks. The thought that those would also serve somebody’s rent someday entered his mind. Then he stirred(moved) the fire, trimmed the lamp, arranged some books and papers on the table and sat down. He was restless and shivering also. The clock outside struck twelve and he settled to read. After sometime a convict entered from behind and seized(overpowered) the Bishop, whom he threatened not to raise his voice to call anybody in the house.

Then he demanded food from the Bishop and also told him that he was hungry for three days. The bishop told him that he would have to call his sister for the keys to serve him food. But the convict did not allow him to call her. He asked the Bishop to tell him where the food was. Then the Bishop assured him that they were only two members in the house and they would not cause any trouble to him. The convict threatened to pierce his heart with a knife if he (the bishop) tried to cheat him.

The Bishop called his sister to come because a hungry traveller needed food to eat.

She grumbled something to show her displeasure to her brother. But he insisted on her coming in. She comes after some minutes, but looking at the knife, she was frightened and complained to the Bishop that the stranger was glaring at her like a wild animal.

The convict threatened to them to give him food immediately. The Bishop told his sister to give him the keys and go to her room. But the convict blocked her way and ordered her not to go anywhere.

The Bishop requested Persome to give him her company at the table as he desired it. She accepted that and sat at the table staring at both of them. The Bishop served the Convict with some cold pie, a bottle of wine and some bread. The convict ordered the Bishop to stand in front of him. The Bishop opened the drawer in the table and took a knife and fork out. The convict took the fork and threw it away saying that they did not use forks in the prison.

At the mention of the word, ‘prison’, Persome got scared.

The convict started eating the slice in a wild manner and also asked them why they left the window un-shuttered and the door open. Then he shut them.

He mutters while eating that for the first time in thirty years….(He meant to say that he had eaten like that). He also threw the bones on the floor. That made Persome uncomfortable and irritated also. Bishop picked up the bone and put it in the plate.

He asked the Bishop if he was not afraid of the thieves. He replied that he felt sorry for them. Then he laughed roughly and drank wine. After that he asked the Bishop who he was. He told him that he was a Bishop.

Then the Bishop told Persome that she might go to her room. She was not in a mood to leave her brother with a criminal. But the Bishop persuaded her to go on the excuse that they would talk freely in her absence.

A Nation's Strength by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

13-A Nation's Strength by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Class VIII

Stanza 1: “What makes a nation’s pillar high

And its foundations strong?

What makes it mighty to defy

The foes that round it throng”

In this poem, the poet makes several questions to clarify what he wants to say. In the very beginning he equates a country to a big building. Then he puts a question as to what are the things which make its pillars high and foundation very strong. What are the things that can challenge its enemies who have crowded around it?

Stanza 2

“It is not gold. Its kingdoms grand

Go down in battle shock;

Its shafts are laid on sinking sand,

Not on abiding rock.”

Paraphrase : In the second stanza, the poet himself answers. He says that it is not gold that makes a country great.  Here gold stands for material progress of a nation. A nation may have large treasures of gold, money, natural resources. It may be having very high per capita income. Material progress is not permanent. Wealth is also not permanent. It may come and it may go. The riches also make a person or a nation proud and rash.  So any battle can ruin the material progress of a person or a nation. We have so many examples in modern world in this context. Even the mighty and richer country may be destroyed. So the riches and material progress do not provide strong foundation to a nation. The building which stands on weak foundation may fall any time. The foundation made on the basis of wealth is like that made on sinking sand, not on durable rock. It may fall any time. It may be defeated by its enemies any time.

Stanza 3

Is it the sword? Ask the dust

Of empires passed away;

The blood has turned their stones to rust,

Their glory to decay.

Paraphrase: In this stanza, the poet again puts a question. Is it the sword that makes a nation strong? Here the sword stands for power. The people who are economically strong threaten others of dire consequences. They even fight and terrorize them to accept their supremacy. Similar is the case with the nations who are strong and powerful. They bully other nations to accept defeat. History is replete (full of) with examples of the fierce battles fought between such rulers. The poet suggests to us to ask the dust of the empires which are no more now about the result of such fierce battles. The bloodshed made the strong pillars of those empires weak as rust forces iron to decay.  The glory of the powerful empires never lasted for long.

Stanza 4.

And is it pride? Ah, that bright crown

Has seemed to nations sweet;

But God has struck its luster down

In ashes at his feet.

Paraphrase: After explaining that battles never made a nation strong, the poet proceeds to say that the pride of wearing glittering crowns also never made their nations powerful. Emperors and kings in the past had been very fond of wearing bright crowns on their heads. They also felt proud of being powerful and owning great empires. But their pride had to fall down. Their glory had to fade away with the passage of time. Kingdoms may have achieved glory by making victories over weak kingdoms. But that glory was not permanent.

Stanza 5.

Not gold but only men can make

A people great and strong;

Men who for truth and honour’s sake

Stand fast and suffer long. Brave men who work while others sleep,

Who dare while others fly…

They build a nation’s pillars deep

And lift them to the sky.

Paraphrase: In stanza five, the poet explains his points clearly in a straight forward manner. He says that it is not gold or wealth that makes a nation strong. Only the people who can stand by truth and honesty and who can suffer long for these great virtues can make their country great and strong.

These are the brave men who are always alert and active. These are the men who sacrifice their sleep for the safety and security of their country. These are the men who dare to challenge the enemies of their country and never run away from their duty. These are the men who make the pillars of their nation’s deep, strong and take them high in the sky. They provide strong foundation to the edifice of their nation. 

After Twenty Years by O Henry

After Twenty Years by O Henry: Class VIII

(About the author: William Sydney Porter known as O Henry was an American writer. His short stories are well known for their wit, characterization and suspenseful endings. Some of these are: The last Leaf,  The Gift of the Magi and The Cop and the Anthem.)

As the chapter opens, we find a policeman moving up the street of his beat (area of duty) in a very impressive manner. It was his natural style, not artificial one to make a show off because at that time people were very few. The time was hardly 10 p.m., but the chilly (very cold) gusty (blowing hard) winds prevented people from making rush in the streets.

The policeman’s duty was to ensure protection to the houses and shops there in the street, so he was checking the doors of the houses if they were properly closed or locked.

He also kept twirling (spinning) his staff (stick) in a very artistic way while doing his duty i.e. moving from one door to the other.

Also, he was keeping his alert eyes at the people’s movements on the main road. His strong figure with a slight swagger (to walk in a very showy and proud manner) made him a fine picture of a guardian of peace.

After that, the writer tells that the lights of a cigar store and of an all-night lunch counter were on, but the majority of the business stores were closed because of the chilly weather conditions at that time.

After sometime, the policeman again became visible and his eyes fell on a man who stood in the doorway of a hardware store with an unlighted cigar in his mouth. The policeman went to him and before he could make a question, the man assured the cop that he was not going to do any illegal activity there. He was just waiting for a friend who made a promise to meet him there after twenty years back. He also told the policeman that it might seem funny to him and he also spoke about a restaurant “Big Joe” Brady’s restaurant’ that used to be at that place where a store stood at that time.

The policeman told him that it was demolished (pulled down) five years ago. At that very time, the man in the doorway struck a match and lit his cigar. The light showed a pale square-jawed face with keen (curious/eager) eyes. There was a little white scar near his eyebrow. He wore a scarf that had an oddly set pin.

After this, the man in the doorway started telling about himself and his friend.

He said that both of them dined together twenty years ago at “Big Joe” Brady’s restaurant. He added that Jimmy Wells was his best friend and the finest person in the world. Both of them were raised (brought up) in New York. They were like brothers and he was of eighteen and Jimmy was twenty years at that time. The man in the doorway continued saying that the next morning, he was to start for the West to make his fortune. He added that his friend Jimmy did not want to leave New York, so he remained there. Before leaving, both of them agreed that they would meet there at 10 p.m. after twenty years on the same day without caring for any condition.

The policeman said that the whole story was very interesting to him, but the gap of twenty years was a very long time set for a meeting. He also asked the man in waiting if he had any communication with his friend during that period.

The man said that it continued for one year or two, but after that the connection between them snapped. He also told the police man that his friend Jimmy would surely fulfill his promise to meet him at that spot if he was alive because he was always truthful. He also said that he had come after covering the distance of thousands of miles and it would be of any value if he met his old friend Jimmy.

Then the man in wait pulled out a handsome watch having the lid set with small diamonds. He also said that only three minutes were left for the watch to strike ten.

The policeman asked him if he had done pretty well in the West.

The man didn’t give a straightforward reply to it. Rather he said that he could bet with him on Jimmy’s economical condition by saying that it would be half as compared to that of him because his friend was slow although a good fellow.

The police man moved his stick in the same way as he was doing in the beginning and took a step or two and said that he would be on his way then and he also hoped that his friend would come that night.

The other man said that he would give half an hour more to his friend to reach there.

The policeman bade him good bye and went away doing his duty of checking the doors in his beat.

After that, a cold drizzling started falling and the wind also started blowing steadily. It made the passengers move hurriedly to their destinations turning their coat collars up and putting their hands in pockets. The man who had come a thousand miles to fill an appointment with his friend of youth smoked cigar and waited there alone.

After twenty minutes, a tall man in long overcoat with collars turned up to his ears came hurriedly across from the opposite side of the street. He went straight to the waiting man.

“Is that you Bob?” he asked doubtfully.

“Is that you Jimmy wells?, cried the man in the door.

Then the new arrival grasped (caught tightly) the other’s hands in his own and said that he was sure that he would certainly find his friend. He added that twenty years was a long time. He also spoke that the old restaurant was not there and wished it would have been there so that both of them could dine again there after twenty years. He also inquired of him as to how the West treated with him.

The other man waiting in the door told him that the West gave him what he desired and also told the new arrival that he had changed a lot as he grew in height two to three inches more.

The new arrival told the man in wait (Bob) that he grew a little bit in height at the age of twenty. Bob also asked his as to how he was doing in New York.

The new arrival replied that he was doing moderately and he had a job in one of the city departments. Then he suggested to Bob to move to another place where they could talk more about long time.

The man from the West was showing his egotism (thinking you are better and important) enlarged by success while the other was submerged (not showing off) in his overcoat and listened with interest.

There was a drug store brilliant with electric lights at a corner. When they came in the light, each of them tried to gaze upon the other’s face. The man from the West stopped suddenly and pulled his arm from the other’s grip.

“You’re not Jimmy Wells!” he snapped (spoke suddenly in a sharp tone).

‘Twenty years is a long time, but not long enough to change a man’s nose from a Roman to a pug (small & upturned like that of a small dog of a type).

The tall man replied, “It sometimes changes a good man into a bad one.”

“You’ve been under arrest for ten minutes, “Silky’ Bob. Hicago thinks you may have dropped over and wires us she wants to have a chat with you. Going quietly, are you? That’s sensible. Now, before we go on to the station here’s a note. I was asked to hand you. You may read it here at the window. It’s from Patrolman Wells.’

The man from the West unfolded the piece of paper he got from the tall man. When he began to read, his hand was steady, but it trembled a little by the time he had finished. The note was rather short.

Bob: I was at the appointed place on time. When you struck the match to light your cigar I saw it was the face of the man wanted in Chicago. Somehow I couldn’t do it myself, so I went around and got a plain-clothes man to do the job.