Selected Short Stories

Bernadou clung to his home with a dogged devotion. He would not go from it to fight unless compelled, but for it he would have fought like a lion. His love for his country was only an indefinite shadowy existence that was not clear to him; he could not save a land that he had never seen, a capital that was only to him as an empty name; nor could he comprehend the danger that his nation ran; nor could he desire to go forth and spend his lifeblood in defence of things unknown to him. He was only a peasant, and he could not read nor greatly understand. But affection for his birthplace was a passion with him,—mute indeed, but deep-seated as an oak. Contents 1. A LEAF IN THE STORM 2. CATS 3. AN ADVENTURE 4. FOR THOSE WHO LOVE MUSIC 5. OUT OF DOORS 6. THE TABOO 7. SCHOOL DAYS AT THE CONVENT 8. IN BRITTANY 9. THE ADIRONDACKS 10. AN ASCENT OF KILAUEA 11. THE FETISH 12. SALMON FISHING IN IRELAND 13. ACROSS RUNNING WATER 14. THE PINE-TREE SHILLINGS ------