Edited by Joseph Lewis French, this collection of 9 riddle stories includes "e;The Mysterious Card"e; and its sequel by Cleveland Moffett, "e;The Oblong Box"e; by Poe, "e;A Terribly Strange Bed"e; by Wilkie Collins, "e;The Lost Room"e; by Fitz-James O'Brien and others selected as masterful examples of the genre by the editor. He says in the forward:"e;A distinguished American writer of fiction said to me lately: 'Did you ever think of the vital American way we live? We are always going after mental gymnastics.' Now the mystery story is mental gymnastics. ... The stories of this collection cover a wide range and are the choice of reading in several literatures."e;THE MYSTERIOUS CARD (excerpt)RICHARD Burwell, of New York, will never cease toregret that the French language was not made a part of his education.This is why:On the second evening after Burwell arrived inParis, feeling lonely without his wife and daughter, who were stillvisiting a friend in London, his mind naturally turned to thetheatre. So, after consulting the daily amusement calendar, hedecided to visit theFolies Bergre, which he had heardof as one of the notable sights. During an intermission he went intothe beautiful garden, where gay crowds were strolling among theflowers, and lights, and fountains. He had just seated himself at alittle three-legged table, with a view to enjoying the novel scene,when his attention was attracted by a lovely woman, gownedstrikingly, though in perfect taste, who passed near him, leaning onthe arm of a gentleman. The only thing that he noticed about thisgentleman was that he wore eye-glasses.Now Burwell had never posed as a captivator of thefair sex, and could scarcely credit his eyes when the lady left theside of her escort and, turning back as if she had forgottensomething, passed close by him, and deftly placed a card on histable. The card bore some French words written in purple ink, but,not knowing that language, he was unable to make out their meaning.The lady paid no further heed to him, but, rejoining the gentlemanwith the eye-glasses, swept out of the place with the grace anddignity of a princess. Burwell remained staring at the card.Needless to say, he thought no more of theperformance or of the other attractions about him. Everything seemedflat and tawdry compared with the radiant vision that had appearedand disappeared so mysteriously. His one desire now was to discoverthe meaning of the words written on the card.Calling a ficre, he drove to the HtelContinental, where he was staying. Proceeding directly to the officeand taking the manager aside, Burwell asked if he would be kindenough to translate a few words of French into English. There were nomore than twenty words in all."e;Why, certainly,"e; said the manager, withFrench politeness, and cast his eyes over the card. As he read, hisface grew rigid with astonishment, and, looking at his questionersharply, he exclaimed: "e;Where did you get this, monsieur?"e;Burwell started to explain, but was interruptedby: "e;That will do, that will do. You must leave the hotel."e;...Joseph Lewis French (1858-1936) was a novelist, editor, poet and newspaper man.The New York Times noted in 1925 that he may be "e;the most industrious anthologist of his time."e;He is known for his popular themed collections, and published over twenty-five books between 1918 and his death in 1936.He founded two magazines, The New West (c. 1887) and The Wave (c. 1890).Afterwards he worked for newspapers "e;across the country"e; contributing poetry and articles.He struggled financially, and in 1927 the New York Graphic, a daily tabloid, published an autobiographical article they convinced him to write, entitled "e;I'm Starving- Yet I'm in Who's Who as the Author of 27 Famous Books."e;
| ISBN: | 9781387148387 |
| Publication date: | 15th August 2017 |
| Author: | Joseph Lewis French |
| Publisher: | Distributed By PublishDrive |
| Format: | Ebook (Epub) |