Caveat

“ Cave was the one in our age whose single task it was to speak out, to say the words all men waited for yet dared not speak nor even attend without the overpowering authority of another who had, plausibly, assumed the guise of master. ”

“ We took an irresponsible, smiling pleasure in noting these advantages—particularly after lunch; and sometimes, where an old house was empty, we would go over it, and stare at beams and chimney-pieces and hear the haunted tale of its fortunes, with a faint half-memory in our breasts of that one-time bugbear we had known as "copy." But though more than once a flaccid instinct would move us to have out our pencils, we would only end by bunging our foolish mouths with them, as if they were cigarettes, and then vaguely wondering at them for that, being pencils, they would not draw. ”

“ It is therefore no matter for surprise that the central mystery of the savage's life should so long have remained a secret, and that we should be left to piece it together from scattered hints and fragments and from the recollections of it which linger in fairy tales. ”

“ For your sins you may atone.
LUIS. Father, I am in the cave:
Listen to my voice once more,
Men and wild beasts, skies and mountains,
Day and night, and sun and moon,
To you all I here protest,
Ay, a thousand times make known,
That I enter here to suffer
Torments for my sins untold;
For so great, so dread a penance
Is but little to atone
For such sins as mine, believing
That the cave salvation holds. ”

“ Cave, feeling that the suspicions of his family about the crystal were allayed, began to take it to and fro with him in order that, as occasion arose in the daytime or night, he might comfort himself with what was fast becoming the most real thing in his existence. ”

“ For they understood, by the report of some of the king’s learned counsel, that your case well considered, ye had great wrong: to the which I could make, as me thought, no sufficient answer, but said, “That I doubt not your so doing was upon some greater consideration than my wit could understand.” “Is this,” quoth he, “the opinion of wise men?” “Yea, forsooth, my lord,” quoth I, “and almost of all other men.” “Well, then,” quoth he, "I see that their wisdoms perceive not the ground of the matter that moved me so to do. ”

“ And then a few weeks after his first sight of the valley came the two customers, the stress and excitement of their offer, and the narrow escape of the crystal from sale, as I have already told.
Now, while the thing was Mr. Cave's secret, it remained a mere wonder, a thing to creep to covertly and peep at, as a child might peep upon a forbidden garden. But Mr. Wace has, for a young scientific investigator, a particularly lucid and consecutive habit of mind. ”

“ Cave, William, an English divine; author of works on the Fathers of the Church and on primitive Christianity, of high repute at one time (1637-1713) .
Cavendish, the surname of the Devonshire ducal family, traceable back to the 14th century.
Cavendish, George, the biographer of Wolsey; never left him while he lived, and never forgot him or the lesson of his life after he was dead; this appears from the vivid picture he gives of him, though written 30 years after his death (1500-1561) . ”

“ If you should be so unfortunate as to find yourself in a "cage,"—which, you remember, is made of hard gray twigs,—bite the soft claws of the creatures who poke you.
Do not eat the strange foods known as "crackers" or "candy" as they do not agree with any but men. ”

“ Ministers of Fate, what a triumph! Mine own nominee elected; the other deposed and disgraced. Savoy is ours: we will cross the Alps ere long. Rejoice with me, child! Thine enemy lies low—thou art avenged.”
“Yes, I am avenged,” she answered dully.
He looked at her shrewdly.
“Art thou not satisfied?”
“You will not hurt him else, Bonito?”
“Why should I? He stood in my way; he will stand no longer. That is enough for me.”
“But you will not hurt him?”
“Hurt him, hurt him? Thou art tenderer of him than of his doxy. Look how you smile on while I bleed her—no pity there. ”

“ How did this come to me in a moment—or, rather, what was that dream buzzing in my brain of 'proof' and 'copy' and all the tame stagnation of a long delirium of order? I had nothing in common with the latter. ”

“ But he moved forward, with a stately and commanding gesture, and stood with his back to the well-scoop and threatened us and spoke.
"Lo!" he shrieked, "your hour is upon you! Ye shall be mowed down like ripe corn, and the shadow of your name shall be swept from the earth! The glass of your iniquity is turned, and when its sand is run through, not a man of ye shall be!" ”

“ LVIII. THE “SPECTER HOUND.”
LIX. INTO THE DEPTHS.
LX. WHO KILLED MODRED?
THE MILL OF SILENCE.
Yesterday came a knock at the door—a faint, tentative knock as from childish knuckles—and I went to see who it was. A queer little figure stood outside in the twilight—a dainty compendium of skirt and cape and frothy white frills—and a small elfish face looked up into mine through shimmering of hair, like love in a mist.
“If you please,” she said, “Zyp’s dead and will you take care of poor Zyp’s child?” ”

“ Whether this for one moment diverted my attention I cannot say, but I heard the faint click of the case opening, I saw the little hand take up the larger clasp, and, resting it on the velvet of the case, slowly withdraw the miniature and the lock of golden hair. The case was closed again, and I knew that the fringed lids were rising, and the eyes, strange and dilated, hunted, met mine. I felt that the thing was advancing towards me, the light around it becoming dimmer; but the eyes were on me. ”

“ The witnesses which appeared against him were proved to be persons of characters which did not entitle them to much credit; a common strumpet, a woman by whom strumpets were entertained, and a man by whom they were supported; and the character of Savage was by several persons of distinction asserted to be that of a modest inoffensive man, not inclined to broils or to insolence, and who had, to that time, been only known for his misfortunes and his wit. ”

“ But prosperity which depends upon the caprice of others, is of short duration. Cave's superiority in literature exalted him to an invidious familiarity with boys who were far above him in rank and expectations; and, as in unequal associations it always happens, whatever unlucky prank was played was imputed to Cave. When any mischief, great or small, was done, though, perhaps, others boasted of the stratagem, when it was successful, yet, upon detection, or miscarriage the fault was sure to fall upon poor Cave. ”

“ This sacred cave, then, certain impious and godless persons had thought to remove entirely from the eyes of men, supposing in their folly that thus they should be able effectually to obscure the truth. ”

“ Imagination, ill-developed in the English race, seems to concentrate itself in the lower order of journalists.
She kissed me on both cheeks with unwonted tenderness. 'Lois,' she cried, with tears in her eyes, 'you're a brick!' It was not exactly poetical at such a moment, but from her it meant more than much gushing phraseology. ”

“ Men talked of the cave as a secret receptacle of guilt; and, as the rumor of ores and metals found its way into the confused medley of conjectures, counterfeiting, and everything else that was wicked and dangerous to the peace of society, suggested themselves to the busy fancies of the populace. ”

“ Art not content to burn in purgatory after thy death? must thou needs buy a foretaste on't here?”
“I never thought of that,” said Gerard gravely; “the good doctor spake not of burning, but of cautery; to be sure 'tis all one, but cautery sounds not so fearful as burning.”
“Imbecile! That is their art; to confound a plain man with dark words, till his hissing flesh lets him know their meaning. ”

“ The rogue fumbled his doffed hat.
“None of my own, master, but my brother’s. A waits in the street below, unwitting of my purpose.”
“What need? What purpose? State, state, and be done with it.”
“The purpose to have his wits cured, if so be I can entice him into your honour’s presence.”
“What, then, hath befallen his wits?”
“What not, great sir? A thinks every one he meets doth owe him money, and importunes the same for payment.” ”

“ But the question in my mind, the real 'why,’ is Cave and us. Why we of all the people in the world? Cavesword, between us and any school of philosophy, is not new. Others have said it more eloquently. In the past it was a reasonably popular heresy which the early popes stamped out....”
“Timing! The right man at the right time saying the right thing. Remember the piece you did on Mohammed....” ”

“ This general need—this hunger for the ideal and wonderful—led eventually to the differentiation of a caste, whose vocation it was to cultivate the mystery of life and its surroundings, and to give shape, name, and habitation to the emotions which that mystery aroused. Even the savage lived, not by bread alone, but in a mental world peopled with forms answering to his capacities and needs. ”

“ A fearful oath burst from the Chevalier, and with a bound lie sprung to his feet, and dashed his closed fists against his brow. “Away with your jugglery, have done with your miserable cheat, sir,—that can only terrify women and children. Speak out like a man: who are you, and what are you?” ”

“ Their words were few and most of their ideas were expressed by gestures. “Quack, quack,” they said when they meant wild duck. A deep growl signified the black bear, while a long line, made by drawing a finger through the dust or sand, gave everybody to understand the person spoke of a snake.
If you have seen a pantomime show, you will understand something of the manner of the gesture language of the Cave People. Even we “civilized” folks, long accustomed to verbal language, say many things to each other every day, by facial expression and by gesture. ”

“ For you, who have the name of being the wisest Count that ever reigned in Provence, and the shrewdest King that Arles has ever had, know perfectly well how people talk, and how eager people are to talk, and to place the very worst construction on everything: and you know, too, that husbands do not like such talk. ”

“ He was an enormous, tun-bellied person—a mere mound of expressionless flesh, whose size alone was an investment that paid a perpetual dividend of laughter. When, as with the rest of his company, his face was blackened, it looked like a specimen coal on a pedestal in a museum. ”

“ Rolled in the dust each writhing, withered head.
And frowning westward, as the day grew late,
Four bleeding heads stared from the city gate
'Neath this inscription, for the passer-by,
"There is no virtue but in God the High." ”

“ Had we both perish’d?”—-“Look!” the sage replied,
“Dost thou not mark a gleaming through the tide,
Of divers brilliances? ’tis the edifice
I told thee of, where lovely Scylla lies;
And where I have enshrined piously
All lovers, whom fell storms have doom’d to die
Throughout my bondage.” ”

“ I fancied I had already plumbed the shallows of that pretentious reserve, and was angry and half contemptuous that he had so soon revealed himself to me. There was certainly something attractive about the girl; but—well, he had not been the first to discover the fact, and, when all was said, his infatuation showed him a fool in my eyes. ”

“ Somehow the world reproduces itself everywhere, and though provisions were scant and short, and shot and shell were in plenty and to spare, in the crowded cantonments of Cabul, there were yet space and leisure for fun and flirtation—even scandal and gossip. ”

“ We demand our own—a ruby that goes by the name of the ‘Lake of Wine.’”
“I have no such ruby in my possession.”
“Tut, sir, tut; the prevarication is unworthy of you. Let us say, then, the skull that contains it.”
“The skull!”
“Mr. Tuke, Mr. Tuke, this will not serve your purpose. We have direct evidence of the truth, sir, and that from more than one source.” ”

“ I went and sat by his side and smoothed his pillow and took his hand in mine.
“Now the incubus is gone, dad, and you’ll get well. You must—I can’t do without you. The black shadow is passed from the mill, and the coming days are all full of sunshine.” ”

“ This English word presents us with a curious lesson. It is, in fact, only another form of ‘captive,’ though it has come to signify a wretch capable of perpetrating the darkest crimes. The Latin ‘captivus,’ a prisoner, is the source of the modern Italian ‘cattivo,’ which has the general sense of ‘bad;’ and the French ‘chétif,’ which signifies ‘mean,’ ‘pitiful,’ or ‘insignificant,’ is another form of the same word. All these varieties point to the same conclusion, viz. the moral degradation naturally produced in the human mind by captivity. ”

“ Sir Peter went on; "As you probably know, Mrs. Cavendish finished a novel just before she died. I have not yet read the manuscript of that novel, but it appears, from what my son and your--er--husband, who have read it, tell me, that the book is a roman à clef. A roman à clef, as I need hardly explain to you, dealing, as it does, with living people, sometimes results in a libel action. ”

“ It sounds to me exactly like the Latin word ‘cave,’ which your favourite Reggie must often have told you means ‘take care.’ We pronounce the word now-a-days ‘caue,’ which, in the clipt pronunciation of an excited rook, might easily have degenerated p. 167into ‘caw.’ If so, they are very lavish of their presentiments at the present moment.”
“And no wonder,” was Peggy’s reply, “for there’s trouble enough and to spare in the village to-day. And will be through all the country round for the matter of that. ”

“ The rigorous prohibition of coveting has always puzzled me—to covet is such a private feeling. And if you keep it to yourself, what harm does it do? You may spend your life wishing you had your neighbor's large red automobile; but he is none the poorer. ”