We provide consumers with insurance that is win-win:\n(i) amazing if you need us: no small print and 24/72hrs fulfilment (vs 4-18days by competition) \n(ii) up to 80% money back, every year, if you and your friends don't claim\n\nWe do so by taking insurance back to its 17th century roots, when incentives were aligned across the value chain and customers got money back when there were no claims

SO-SURE

sosure

Being about ancient technology for one of the first personal computers. At the time this written I was married to this girl and attending Georgia Tech as an Electronics Engineering major. She worked for a data processing firm in Atlanta just across the interstate from Tech, Data Systems Corporation, and she insisted that I needed to meet one of her coworkers, a fellow named Chester P. Quinn. Her logic for this was that he was really smart and  knew a lot about computers. I have never understood the value a person might have just based on smarts. Finally I gave in and went to meet the guy after class one day. He had an office upstairs from the data center, and I trudged up there trying to be enthusiastic. At the time I had my wonderful book bag, my daily carry, and it had my usual content. So Chester asked me right off if I knew anything about microprocessors. So i responded, “Cat got an ass? Oh yeah brother.”  and pulled out some 8080 manuals and a magazine or two. Told him this area was mine. Showed him an article from Radio-Electronics magazine about the MITS Altair S-100 computer and said see this, it is the near future, and this is a kit these folks are peddling. It is happening now.
Then he interrupted me and asked if I smoked pot. Well yes, as a matter of fact… So he says push the door to, and pulled out a bag. Then he asks me if he buys one of these computers would I put it together for him? Chester was legally blind and wore the original Coke Bottle Bottoms glasses. To read the code on a screen he had to put his face on the screen. So sure, Hell yes, I build your computer. At the time of our meeting I had been playing with some UARTS, and I had this little perfboard with one on it and had it rigged to send and receive and I showed it to him as well. Cute with LEDs, kawai.  Long story short, we ended up doing a dog and pony show for the owner of the DP company, and we were in business.Now the thing is that this was in the introductory era of microprocessors, just as they became somewhat useful, and we had decided to build our own machine. Two MegaHertz 8080 Intel processor. Not fast enough to run a floppy disk in polled mode, so we decided to roll our own freak DMA by jamming an Interrupt instruction onto the buss every data byte. In these adventures CVhester supplied half the brainpower and all the software. I supplied the other half of the brainpower and ll the hardware. So this design is a slight mod of the card I designed for our machine, this design being appropriate for an S-100 buss machine.Another thing about our mnachine was we put the BIOS in an EPROM, and I gave Chester the first card I wired up, and he already had the BIOS in an EPROM! Cool, eh? So I asked him to make me a copy. He said no, here, and gave me a floppy disk. Tell him what was in track #xx and sctor #yy and he would give me an EPROM. Smart ass, I had to enter the data (program) and assemble it, but hey one thing I understood from the get go; microprocessors were code and hardware nuts to butts (US Navy slang, I was already a veteran) so it didn’t take long. You really need to grasp both parts of the machine.One thing my bride at the time was absolutely correct about, Chester was one smart fellow! Actually brilliant. And I think he may have been a saint. But that’s part of another story. So here without further ado is an article I wrote farago and longaway about our design. Chester wrote all the code. We had a legit thing going and built a few computers. IDES Intelligent Data Entry Systems. But that’s another story. ☺ The Interface Age issue the magazine article appeared in had an annual index which is the first two pages below. This next image was not part of the article, but it gives details of our IDES system’s controller. As always comments, criticisms, and suggestions are appreciated. God bless all! Being about ancient technology for one of the first personal computers. At the time this written I was married to this girl and attending Georgia Tech as an Electronics Engineering major. She worked for a data processing firm in Atlanta just across the interstate from Tech, Data Systems Corporation, and she insisted that I needed to meet one of her coworkers, a fellow named Chester P. Quinn. Her logic for this was that he was really smart and  knew a lot about computers. I have never understood the value a person might have just based on smarts. Finally I gave in and went to meet the guy after class one day. He had an office upstairs from the data center, and I trudged up there trying to be enthusiastic. At the time I had my wonderful book bag, my daily carry, and it had my usual content. So Chester asked me right off if I knew anything about microprocessors. So i responded, “Cat got an ass? Oh yeah brother.”  and pulled out some 8080 manuals and a magazine or two. Told him this area was mine. Showed him an article from Radio-Electronics magazine about the MITS Altair S-100 computer and said see this, it is the near future, and this is a kit these folks are peddling. It is happening now. Then he interrupted me and asked if I smoked pot. Well yes, as a matter of fact… So he says push the door to, and pulled out a bag. Then he asks me if he buys one of these computers would I put it together for him? Chester was legally blind and wore the original Coke Bottle Bottoms glasses. To read the code on a screen he had to put his face on the screen. So sure, Hell yes, I build your computer. At the time of our meeting I had been playing with some UARTS, and I had this little perfboard with one on it and had it rigged to send and receive and I showed it to him as well. Cute with LEDs, kawai.  Long story short, we ended up doing a dog and pony show for the owner of the DP company, and we were in business. Now the thing is that this was in the introductory era of microprocessors, just as they became somewhat useful, and we had decided to build our own machine. Two MegaHertz 8080 Intel processor. Not fast enough to run a floppy disk in polled mode, so we decided to roll our own freak DMA by jamming an Interrupt instruction onto the buss every data byte. In these adventures CVhester supplied half the brainpower and all the software. I supplied the other half of the brainpower and ll the hardware. So this design is a slight mod of the card I designed for our machine, this design being appropriate for an S-100 buss machine. Another thing about our mnachine was we put the BIOS in an EPROM, and I gave Chester the first card I wired up, and he already had the BIOS in an EPROM! Cool, eh? So I asked him to make me a copy. He said no, here, and gave me a floppy disk. Tell him what was in track #xx and sctor #yy and he would give me an EPROM. Smart ass, I had to enter the data (program) and assemble it, but hey one thing I understood from the get go; microprocessors were code and hardware nuts to butts (US Navy slang, I was already a veteran) so it didn’t take long. You really need to grasp both parts of the machine. One thing my bride at the time was absolutely correct about, Chester was one smart fellow! Actually brilliant. And I think he may have been a saint. But that’s part of another story. At the time this written I was married to this girl and attending Georgia Tech as an Electronics Engineering major. She worked for a data processing firm in Atlanta just across the interstate from Tech, Data Systems Corporation, and she insisted that I needed to meet one of her coworkers, a fellow named Chester P. Quinn . Her logic for this was that he was really smart and  knew a lot about computers. I have never understood the value a person might have just based on smarts. Finally I gave in and went to meet the guy after class one day. He had an office upstairs from the data center, and I trudged up there trying to be enthusiastic. At the time I had my wonderful book bag, my daily carry, and it had my usual content. So Chester asked me right off if I knew anything about microprocessors. So i responded, “Cat got an ass? Oh yeah brother.”  and pulled out some 8080 manuals and a magazine or two. Told him this area was mine. Showed him an article from Radio-Electronics magazine about the MITS Altair S-100 computer and said see this, it is the near future, and this is a kit these folks are peddling. It is happening now. Chester P. Quinn Then he interrupted me and asked if I smoked pot. Well yes, as a matter of fact… So he says push the door to, and pulled out a bag. Then he asks me if he buys one of these computers would I put it together for him? Chester was legally blind and wore the original Coke Bottle Bottoms glasses. To read the code on a screen he had to put his face on the screen. So sure, Hell yes, I build your computer. At the time of our meeting I had been playing with some UARTS, and I had this little perfboard with one on it and had it rigged to send and receive and I showed it to him as well. Cute with LEDs, kawai.  Long story short, we ended up doing a dog and pony show for the owner of the DP company, and we were in business. Now the thing is that this was in the introductory era of microprocessors, just as they became somewhat useful, and we had decided to build our own machine. Two MegaHertz 8080 Intel processor . Not fast enough to run a floppy disk in polled mode, so we decided to roll our own freak DMA by jamming an Interrupt instruction onto the buss every data byte. In these adventures CVhester supplied half the brainpower and all the software. I supplied the other half of the brainpower and ll the hardware. So this design is a slight mod of the card I designed for our machine, this design being appropriate for an S-100 buss machine. Two MegaHertz 8080 Intel processor Another thing about our mnachine was we put the BIOS in an EPROM, and I gave Chester the first card I wired up, and he already had the BIOS in an EPROM! Cool, eh? So I asked him to make me a copy. He said no, here, and gave me a floppy disk. Tell him what was in track #xx and sctor #yy and he would give me an EPROM. Smart ass, I had to enter the data (program) and assemble it, but hey one thing I understood from the get go; microprocessors were code and hardware nuts to butts (US Navy slang, I was already a veteran) so it didn’t take long. You really need to grasp both parts of the machine. One thing my bride at the time was absolutely correct about, Chester was one smart fellow! Actually brilliant. And I think he may have been a saint. But that’s part of another story. So here without further ado is an article I wrote farago and longaway about our design. Chester wrote all the code. We had a legit thing going and built a few computers. IDES Intelligent Data Entry Systems . But that’s another story. ☺ IDES Intelligent Data Entry Systems The Interface Age issue the magazine article appeared in had an annual index which is the first two pages below. Interface Age This next image was not part of the article, but it gives details of our IDES system’s controller. As always comments, criticisms, and suggestions are appreciated. God bless all!

An Interrupt Driven Floppy Disk
Controller for the S-100 Bus

একটি বিঘ্নিত চালিত ফ্লপি ডিস্ক
S-100 বাসের কন্ট্রোলার

Ein Interrupt-gesteuerter Diskettencontroller für den S-100-Bus

Un disquete controlado por interrupciones
Controlador para el Autobús S-100

Une disquette pilotée par interruption
Contrôleur pour le bus S-100

एस-100 बस के लिए एक इंटरप्ट ड्रिवेन फ्लॉपी डिस्क नियंत्रक

S-100 バス用の割り込み駆動型フロッピー ディスク コントローラ

인터럽트 구동 플로피 디스크
S-100 버스용 컨트롤러

Um disquete acionado por interrupção
Controlador para o barramento S-100

Дискета, управляемая прерываниями
Контроллер для автобуса С-100

Kesintiye Dayalı Bir Disket
S-100 Veriyolu Kontrol Cihazı

Đĩa mềm được điều khiển bằng ngắt
Bộ điều khiển cho xe buýt S-100

用于 S-100 总线的中断驱动软盘控制器

Heads, I kill him. Tails — well, Tails and he not only understands who wants him dead, he will learn how little he knows of real pain. I’ll teach him, though. When I’m done, there will be nothing about it beyond his experience and there will come a moment when he breaks and begs me to finish him, prays like a supplicant to me, his Almighty, singular judge of his redemption and sole voice of forgiveness. I’ll play deaf because I’m not paid to listen. Fuck. Heads again. Goddamn it. Another boring Friday night. Three minutes of focus, three seconds to jab the guy and plunge Father Paul’s secret recipe into his ass, and then what am I supposed to do for the rest of the night? What was all the training for if I can’t make use of it? “The toss allows God to decide,” the cunning old priest would say. “Rejoice in the blessing endowed on you to be God’s Will enabled.” I don’t get it. These bastards deserved to die in the worst ways possible, but God has never let a Tails spin into my palm. It’s like He’s fucking with me, like it’s a fucking joke to Him to wind me up and then relish the frustration and disappointment when that fucking coin smiles back at me. Whatever. I’m here, he’s here and between the crowd and the music, no one will hear him scream. Might as well be in space. Hoppin’ and boppin’ through the dancers, I could be invisible for all the attention I get. He, on the other hand, exudes so much charisma that even women with partners are half-turned to watch him from the corner of their eyes. Maybe becoming a serial kidnapper-rapist-murderer wasn’t entirely a matter of choice. Maybe he’s only using the gifts God gave him, just like I’m using mine, but I doubt I’m as happy with my lot as he is — or has been — with his. No complaints on my part, though. The money’s pretty good, I travel the world in First Class and though my green Vatican City passport may not have quite the get-out-of-jail-free status of the light blue United Nations one, I don’t attract national security bureaus like they do. The moments between songs allow me to close unnoticed, my syringe ready in its sheath under my left cuff. An instant after the pulsing bass returns, I stab and then pretend to trip, moving bent over to disguise my route. No need to confirm his death, so sure am I in the evil priest’s alchemical expertise, and then my Friday night boredom is redeemed via text message — double headers are rare enough events that I would exhaust my list with less than five fingers. My mission window is short and I must first change and dispose of these clothes, so I waste no time waiting for an Uber and flag the first taxi in the rank outside the club. I have never questioned a target and I don’t now, but I can’t honestly wrap my mind around what a pubescent girl could have done to deserve me. It’s late enough she’s probably in bed, asleep, but that makes no never mind to me. Five minutes after striding through the hotel’s front entrance, having greeted the doorman and smiled at the night-shift manager, I exit by a side door dressed in running gear, my syringe nestled in my sock. The taxi ride uptown is quick, and I climb out beside a park. I limber up until the cab is out of sight and then jog without urgency towards the target address. This late, all the neighbourhood businesses I pass are closed — coffee shops, upscale boutiques, salons, even a small insurance office. Slowing as I arrive ‘home,’ I pause and stretch on the pavement out front, using my movements to gather my tools. With tired purpose, I climb the front stairs. Two breaths and I’m shutting the front door behind me in practiced silence. My mission demands less illumination, so I turn the lights off as I come to them. Keeping to the shadows, I ignore the ground floor and head upstairs. A small part of me is grateful for the wall-to-wall as I step onto the landing, but a greater part smiles at the sound of pop music emerging from an alcove. Tossing my coin as instructed, giving God the final word, my breath catches. Tails. What the fuck? Tails again. And a third time. So. Two things occur to me. I cannot torture her here and I need a way to move her somewhere safe. An image brightens in my head — the sign in the window of the insurance agent listed it was closed all weekend. It will do in a pinch. I need a suitcase. Back down the stairs, ignoring the main floor once again, because suitcases are stored in the basement. I choose the largest and retrace my steps to the girl’s room. None of the lights have been turned back on, so there is no call for collateral victims. One final check. Tails. So be it. Opening the door enough to slowly reach in and quench the main light, I use her confusion to dart across to where she lies on her stomach lost in her iPad. A rap on her temple with a folded knuckle is enough to steal her awareness, and the suitcase is ample. On a whim, I toss in her iPad. Here, then, is the riskiest part. A man in running gear does not often haul a large suitcase through the night, but once more pretending purpose suffices to protect me. Trixie Thorn would otherwise have grown into a great beauty were it not for my orders, but I tie her to the table in the staff kitchen as securely as I always do. I push a piece of torn tea towel into her mouth and secure it with tape. The one thing I don’t do is cut away her pyjamas. Nudity is a great psychological weapon but I just can’t do it. Even armed with the remaining piece of towel doused with ammonia from under the sink, I hesitate to wake her. I cannot say why. So I study her. It’s pointless, but perhaps her iPad can tell me something. Lead image by on ZSun Fu Unsplash

Heads & Tails: A Tale of Chance, Faith and Morality - Part 1

মাথা ও পুচ্ছ: সম্ভাবনা, বিশ্বাস এবং নৈতিকতার গল্প - পার্ট 1

Kopf und Zahl: Eine Geschichte von Zufall, Glauben und Moral – Teil 1

Cara y Cruz: Una historia de azar, fe y moralidad - Parte 1

Pile et Face : Une histoire de hasard, de foi et de moralité - Partie 1

हेड्स एंड टेल्स: संयोग, विश्वास और नैतिकता की कहानी - भाग 1

表と裏：偶然、信仰、道徳の物語 - パート 1

앞면과 뒷면: 우연, 신앙, 도덕에 관한 이야기 - 1부

Cara e Coroa: Uma História de Acaso, Fé e Moralidade - Parte 1

Орел и решка: История о шансе, вере и морали. Часть 1

Yazı ve Yazı: Bir Şans, İnanç ve Ahlak Hikayesi - Bölüm 1

Đầu & Đuôi: Câu chuyện về cơ hội, niềm tin và đạo đức - Phần 1

正面与反面：机遇、信仰与道德的故事（上）

Navigating New RWA Horizons: Rick Schmitz on Bridging Blockchain and Traditional Finance

The first part of the series of articles is available . Part-01 delves into topics like Intelligence Quotient (IQ), Emotional Quotient (EQ), and Game Playing Advice for Beginners. here Part 02, which is , provides advice for Intermediate Players along with mathematical techniques like the Fibonacci Technique of Betting. over here This is Part 03, which introduces the notion of a Bet Auto Stopper. It explains a playing style named by me as ‘Quantum+ Algorithm’. Idea of Bet Auto Stopper Now, nobody likes to lose when they are on a winning streak. Once you have learned to use Fibonacci style of betting – you might be winning very often. You might slowly see that the cash you deposited would have increased to about 125%, 150%, or even more. You might have started to think about paying off that small loan, paying off an emi, or even better…. buying a two-wheeler. But that’s when your dreams may come down crashing. The reason, more often than not, is the reckless and unsafe usage of Fibonacci. This is where I can introduce the concept of a 'bet auto stopper.' As mentioned earlier, we are all bound by the realms of reality. Now, you have to determine a game set. A Game Set, as defined by me, is a series of bets placed using the Fibonacci playing style until the point of a win. In our above example, let's explore what happens during a prolonged losing streak using Fibonacci by placing bets on a 2 to 1 field. Suppose you originally start with a deposit of INR 20,000 in the online casino and then the money in your account goes up to 29,000 using intelligent bets placed using Fibonacci and a bit of luck. By now, you have entered that world where you are so sure of this ‘mathematical basis’ that you continue increasing the bet amount, in Fibonacci style. This is because the basis for these bets is so strong in your mind, that you are ready to take deadly risks. As shown in the table above, you are going to exhaust all the money in your account. Worse still, you may again and again refill your online casino account – and continue the series of failures, leading to a disaster. This is when I will say Skilled Gaming has moved to Impulsive and Compulsive Gambling. But it is not going to be your fault. Because of a strong mathematical basis, you will start believing that you will surely win all your money back and go to a positive hand. So, here is where the idea of a ‘Bet Auto Stopper’  in a Fibonacci Game Set, comes to your rescue. It is very tough to implement this in the real world, as this is where your EQ comes into the picture. You need to be mentally strong and emotionally intelligent, to stop the bets beyond the safe point. It might be ok for you to make that one last bet in your danger zone, but you should be mature enough to stop it beyond that point. The best or rather the worst part is - that once you stop using ‘bet auto stopper’, you will see that as if out of magic, the winning number is exactly matching your bet sequence. It is as if the game is mocking you. But that is where being emotionally intelligent comes into the picture, you have to ignore all of these and continue on to your next game set, possibly after a short break. You will observe that if you are playing regularly, on a few days, or at a few intervals of time – you enter into this very often. This is because your mind has now gotten used to winning and it is not accepting that you lost. Because the only reason for this loss is that you did not have enough money to continue your bets. So, that is where you have to learn to operate within the ‘realms of reality’. Slowly n’ Steadily, you will see that you can keep your winnings and win a small to moderate amount daily at online casinos. [ ] Before we continue, remember that works best for 2 to 1, 3x payouts or more. where you may double or more the bet amount in the subsequent game works best for an even payout or 1x win amount. Note Fibonacci Style Progressive Style Quantum+ Algorithm (My Creation) Now when times are bad just because you did not play to the idea of a bet auto stopper or you are just having a bad day, when you are continuously losing even with safe bets, I have devised a low bet, low profit variation called as Quantum+ Algorithm. I am the proud creator of this algorithm. Remember, you need to have an analysis of the current game and find out the statistics of the winning numbers before you start with the Quantum+ technique. This algorithm involves placing bets for a specific quantum of bets. Quantum+ will allow you to place safe bets within a given quantum of time/game set. You have to adapt this algorithm across games, using your intellect and trying to improvise. In the previous game set description in the previous, you would usually continue to bet until either you have won or reached a bet auto stopper or possibly, until you run out of cash. Now, Quantum+ would require you to bring down the bet amount to very safe limits and continuously bet in a given quantum (adaptation of the game set) and each bet is a slice in the quantum. Quantum+ Algorithm will work well on 5x, 10x, and 15x types of returns and may also allow you to autoplay. Now, you see this is just like a robot on auto play and you are not too bothered about game dynamics that happen during this quantum. You are more emotionally detached, believing in the algorithm – because of the time that you had spent on analysis at the beginning on what to bet and the quantum slices. In the above quantum set, you can see that by winning only 6/20 times, which is just 30% - the player has a total win of 1250. But this may not be the outcome always. It might read lost across the table. Hence, you have to combine a soft bet auto stopper observe, and either restart or adopt a different approach as per your discretion and analysis. Also published here.

Winning in Online Skilled Gaming… Err… Gambling! Behold the Bet Auto Stopper 

As we start the New Year 2024, here is a letter to future Crypto CEOs. The temptation to pre-mine coins may be great, but unless they really know what they are doing, they better put the currency out of their crypto project. Satoshi was the first and last of his name I know you have been pondering the mystery of Satoshi at his laptop, mining that entire Genesis block by himself. The cojones on that guy, right? Mr. Nakamoto also pre-mined about 1,100,000 coins, locked them up and there they are. You can look at them for free, they are still there. Mr. Craig Wright has also looked at them. You might be thinking you can also just premine like Satoshi and a few lucky CEOs that came after him like Vitalik (Ethereum) and Shibetoshi (Dogecoin),  but the world has dramatically changed since 2008, 2009, 2010, …, 2023. The problem is there came a herd of CEOs who premine and “airdrop” their premined (garbage) coins to their loyal fanbase. Their projects were soon tunnelling into the ground, with billions of dollars of other people’s money up in smoke. Examples include Do Kwon, Su Zhu and Kyle Davies, and Sam Bankman Fried who will be tried this year in March. The reality is, if you can just premine on your laptop just like Satoshi, you are not going to be trusted nor followed to victory, you will be arrested. Don’t piss off the SEC Regulator Before I tell you about your arrest warrant, I’ll tell you why you shouldn’t get on the SEC regulator’s nerves. The SEC regulator might now have the most hectic job in the financial industry. Gone are the days of a banker, living by the simple 3-6-3 rule; Put 3% interest on deposits, charge 6% on loans and be at the golf course by 3 p.m. Now Mr. Gary Gensler has a lot on his plate. Like trying to decide if altcoins are securities or commodities. Something that IMO will not be decided one way or another for decades to come. Security means it is like a stock. With a simplistic analogy, somebody can create a lot of it and therefore they should be subject to the laws that govern the creation and disbursement of stocks to the public. Because a company could create stocks, sell them to the public, then pull the rug with an “ ”. oops, our business model wasn’t perfect. Our bad, but shit happens Jail time. Commodity means it is like maize. With another simplistic analogy, somebody can farm a lot of maize and therefore they should be subject to the laws that govern the growth and disbursement of maize to the public. A company can sell their maize to the public and if they say “ ”, that is okay. Everybody knows maize is sometimes not very good. You should DYOR next time before buying. oops, our business model wasn’t perfect. Our bad, but shit happens Seriously, no jail time. I’ll put it this way. You are hustled a little if you deal in commodities, and you are hustled a great deal if you deal in securities. All this trouble for the SEC Chairman was started back in 2009 when the SEC realized BTC could not be stopped. Not even temporarily so that it, the SEC, can have a closer look. Since then, a lot of cryptocurrencies cannot be stopped and a lot of money is tied up in the hairy complexities of the cryptocurrency market. Even the anti-Bitcoin banker Jamie Dimon has engineered a cryptocurrency project. But Mr. Gensler shall not suffer fools. He has successfully slapped cryptocurrency CEOs with a litany of laws and regulations, one of them deeming altcoins securities. The thing with securities, it is illegal to pre-mine a ton in your basement and keep them secret from the SEC.  A breach of Rule 105(B) of the Securities Exchange Act, which requires that you disclose all your financials truthfully and without fail. So Mr. Crypto CEO, if you want to start a cryptocurrency project, do not premine unless you know what you are doing. If you ever premine keep the coins to yourself. Stop airdropping them all over Twitter or Mr Gensler might get word. Don’t print money, build community . In Web2.5, community, not currency or content, is King One way I see to get around the illegal but sinfully alluring idea of premining, is synchronized mining with the mining done by a multi-partite arrangement. I am speculating here. This would be like mining a Genesis block in bits and pieces through a multipartite protocol. Hence, The Genesis block won’t be something in one laptop/server like Satoshi did, to be shared with all. It will be something that exists in multiple pieces working in tandem. One part fails, everything fails. If it works, this encourages community building via what I could call proof-of-decentralization. For example, imagine mining coins for community use e.g. as a reward for voluntary public works cleaning, garbage collection, and novel recycling innovations. To verify it is in different devices within the same community, time stamps are coded-in that synchronize with GPS coordinates and people’s SIM cards. This discourages the hoarding of coins and further encourages the spreading of them far and wide. After all, if you are building a community you believe in, why not start with a foundation of equal opportunity for all? And nothing could be more equal opportunity than equal mining rewards for all. Finally, a supply cap should be put in (coded via proof-of-decentralization as well) because we really should be allergic to inflationary currencies. I still wonder why new altcoins must still be inflationary. Even Worldcoin. Mr. Sam Altman is an AI-building genius but with economics, I’m not so sure. All it takes is the equivalent of a stock split / turning a gold bar into gold dust, if the coins going around aren’t enough. It does take a certain attitude towards sharing with all, but if you do build a great thing, they will come. With all their different currencies. P.S. >> Proof-of-decentralization is cheaper in terms of energy consumption than proof-of-work. The former is a community-adhesive while the latter is a meritocratic way to guarantee fair market competition. Community building is not a competitive process, for it is unethical to compete against the wise elders, or even the younger people in that community that look up to you.

Dear Future Crypto CEO, Do Not Pre-mine

প্রিয় ভবিষ্যত ক্রিপ্টো সিইও, প্রি-মাইন করবেন না

Sehr geehrter zukünftiger CEO von Crypto, führen Sie kein Pre-Mining durch

Estimado futuro CEO de Crypto, no realice minas previas

Cher futur PDG de Crypto, ne pré-minez pas

प्रिय फ्यूचर क्रिप्टो सीईओ, पहले से खनन न करें

Future Crypto CEO の皆様、プレマイニングはしないでください

친애하는 Future Crypto CEO님, 미리 채굴하지 마세요

Caro futuro CEO da Crypto, não pré-minere

Уважаемый будущий генеральный директор Crypto, не занимайтесь премайном!

Sevgili Geleceğin Kripto CEO'su, Ön Madencilik Yapmayın

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PHINEAS FINN'S SUCCESS.

Endless interviews and negotiations. Answering basic and similar questions, and waiting for a callback that, hopefully, will become a satisfying end to the process. Sounds stressful, right? But some people almost seem to enjoy the process and, as a result, they job-hop to the point of having 11 workplaces in 10 years — I know someone like that. What is the reason behind this behavior, and what can companies do to counteract it? Why do people job-hop? Toxic management of professionals have experienced a toxic work environment. Among them, 44% blame leadership and management. 64% This toxicity can present in several ways: Lack of trust Micromanagement No respect for the work-life balance No room for mistakes Gaslighting and much more A search for a workplace that is not toxic and will support its team, no matter what, is one of the most popular reasons for job hopping. No career growth opportunities Businesses that do not offer this possibility are certain to face big professional churn. Businesses that provide a growth opportunity see more engagement than those that do not. This also means they see a higher level of retention and can prevent job hopping. 15% Lack of company loyalty Companies want their teams to be loyal to them. They want them to share their values, follow their mission, and stay with them no matter what. What businesses may not realize is that teams expect the same treatment. They want their place of work to be loyal to them, invest in their development, provide them with perks and advantages, and offer them the care they deserve. Lack of thereof can be a deciding answer to the “Should I stay or should I go?” question for about of workers. And that is not going to be a decision a business will like. 20% Which industries are the most vulnerable? IT, media and PR, non-profit organizations, education, and government are more prone to experiencing churn and are more likely to deal with job-hopping professionals. This is usually due to low pay (government and education) or the abundance of other roles in the industry (IT and media). Combined, the above-mentioned factors paint a depressing picture. Nevertheless, there are steps leaders can take to stop job-hopping and build a lasting and professional team. What can leaders and managers do about job-hopping? Through thirteen years as a CEO and a Managing Partner, I have developed five steps that have helped me deal with teammates. job-hopping Step 1: emotional connection matters In my opinion, this is a lesson every leader should learn. To build a personal and emotional connection with my teams, I like to make little notes on everyone I come in contact with. This way, when I have a chance to personally communicate with them, I can ask them about important things like their hobbies, goals and even pets. Seeing their faces light up when I mention something that matters to them makes my day every time. Plus, it helps me form strong bonds that prevent the SupportYourApp team members from job hopping. Step 2: out-of-workplace communication should be encouraged Not something a lot of professionals can afford — dedicating their personal time to communication with their colleagues. Nevertheless, setting up team-building events that take place in a cozy café or, even better, out in the open, is crucial. The bonds built during such events may last a lifetime. At , one of our favorite ways to spend time together is sport. Marathons, charity runs, yoga and meditation sessions, and so on. This is not only a good way for us to bond, but to take care of our well-being. SupportYourApp Step 3: there should be a possibility of professional development With only of professionals sure about their professional development at their current job, it is no wonder that we are facing job-hopping. After all, no opportunity for promotion or growth is people quit. 25% one of the most popular reasons There should always be room for people to grow. Teams should have a clear understanding of what steps they need to take to push their careers to new heights. Businesses should also provide their teams with several directions they can take their careers in. It will give a team member a reason to stay with their current company for a long time, and it will allow businesses to find new opportunities and directions. For example, 60% of SupportYourApp’s management team was promoted from the positions of customer support consultants. When our team was smaller, this number was as high as 95%. We are creating greenhouse conditions for internal professional growth so that everyone has a place to develop and fulfill their professional potential. Step 4: a team simply must be listened to Businesses often treat team satisfaction surveys as something that has to be sent out and then ignored. They think their teams treat it like an opportunity to complain about working hours or low pay. What we have found is that teams use satisfaction surveys to express gratitude and offer their advice to make their place of work better. They want to show they care, and this is a perfect way for them to do so. If a business wants to retain its team, every voice and every thought needs to be heard and considered. This is the only way to build a company where people will want to stay. Such surveys can help a business review insurance and vacation policies, implement new team activities like book and movie clubs, and even make necessary in-office adjustments. Why am I so sure about it? Because this is the practice SupportYourApp has been using for more than 13 years now. Step 5: it is important to be a leader, not a ‘pusher’ I will not tire of saying — the best way to manage people is to . Pushing one’s team to do something they may not want to do and refusing to respect their opinions is one of the signs of a toxic manager. It is almost sure to become a reason behind churn and job-hopping. lead by example Being a leader is all about inspiring people, motivating them, and creating an atmosphere where they will want to stay and thrive. The catch? There is no limit to how good a leader can be, so the process of becoming one is ever-ongoing. Which is one of the things I love about it.

Should I Stay or Should I Go: How to Deal With Job Hopping

North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . CHAPTER XXI. here CHAPTER XXI. THE DARK NIGHT. “On earth is known to none The smile that is not sister to a tear.” Elliott. Margaret and her father walked home. The night was fine, the streets clean, and with her pretty white silk, like Leezie Lindsay’s gown o’ green satin, in the ballad, “kilted up to her knee,” she was off with her father—ready to dance along with the excitement of the cool, fresh night air. “I rather think Thornton is not quite easy in his mind about this strike. He seemed very anxious to-night.” “I should wonder if he were not. But he spoke with his usual coolness to the others, when they suggested different things, just before we came away.” “So he did after dinner as well. It would take a good deal to stir him from his cool manner of speaking; but his face strikes me as anxious.” “I should be, if I were he. He must know of the growing anger and hardly smothered hatred of his workpeople, who all looked upon him as what the Bible calls a ‘hard man,’—not so much unjust as unfeeling; clear in judgment, standing upon his ‘rights’ as no human being ought to stand, considering what we and all our petty rights are in the sight of the Almighty. I am glad you think he looks anxious. When I remember Boucher’s half mad words and ways, I cannot bear to think how coolly Mr. Thornton spoke.” “In the first place, I am not so convinced as you are about that man Boucher’s utter distress; for the moment, he was badly off, I don’t doubt. But there is always a mysterious supply of money from these Unions; and, from what you said, it was evident the man was of a passionate, demonstrative nature, and gave strong expression to all he felt.” “Oh, papa!” “Well! I only want you to do justice to Mr. Thornton, who is, I suspect, of an exactly opposite nature—a man who is far too proud to show his feelings. Just the character I should have thought beforehand, you would have admired, Margaret.” “So I do—so I should; but I don’t feel quite so sure as you do of the existence of those feelings. He is a man of great strength of character—of unusual intellect, considering the few advantages he has had.” “Not so few. He has led a practical life from a very early age, has been called upon to exercise judgment and self-control. All that developes one part of the intellect. To be sure, he needs some of the knowledge of the past, which gives the truest basis for conjecture as to the future; but he knows this need—he perceives it, and that is something. You are quite prejudiced against Mr. Thornton, Margaret.” “He is the first specimen of a manufacturer—of a person engaged in trade—that I had ever the opportunity of studying, papa. He is my first olive: let me make a face while I swallow it. I know he is good of his kind, and by and by I shall like the kind. I rather think I am already beginning to do so. I was very much interested by what the gentlemen were talking about, although I did not understand half of it. I was quite sorry when Miss Thornton came to take me to the other end of the room, saying she was sure I should be uncomfortable at being the only lady among so many gentlemen. I had never thought about it, I was so busy listening; and the ladies were so dull, papa—oh, so dull! Yet I think it was clever too. It reminded me of our old game of having each so many nouns to introduce into a sentence.” “What do you mean, child?” asked Mr. Hale. “Why, they took nouns that were signs of things which gave evidence of wealth,—housekeepers, under-gardeners, extent of glass, valuable lace, diamonds, and all such things; and each one formed her speech so as to bring them all in, in the prettiest accidental manner possible.” “You will be as proud of your one servant when you get her, if all is true about her that Mrs. Thornton says.” “To be sure, I shall. I felt like a great hypocrite to-night, sitting there in my white silk gown, with my idle hands before me, when I remembered all the good, thorough, house-work they had done to-day. They took me for a fine lady, I’m sure.” “Even I was mistaken enough to think you looked like a lady, my dear,” said Mr. Hale, quietly smiling. But smiles were changed to white and trembling looks when they saw Dixon’s face, as she opened the door. “Oh, master!—Oh, Miss Margaret! Thank God you are come! Dr. Donaldson is here. The servant next door went for him, for the charwoman is gone home. She’s better now; but, oh sir! I thought she’d have died an hour ago.” Mr. Hale caught Margaret’s arm to steady himself from falling. He looked at her face, and saw an expression upon it of surprise and extremest sorrow, but not the agony of terror that contracted his own unprepared heart. She knew more than he did, and yet she listened with that hopeless expression of awed apprehension. “Oh! I should not have left her—wicked daughter that I am!” moaned forth Margaret, as she supported her trembling father’s hasty steps upstairs. Dr. Donaldson met them on the landing. “She is better now,” he whispered. “The opiate has taken effect. The spasms were very bad: no wonder they frightened your maid; but she’ll rally this time.” “This time! Let me go to her!” Half an hour ago Mr. Hale was a middle-aged man; now his sight was dim, his senses wavering, his walk tottering, as if he were seventy years of age. Dr. Donaldson took his arm, and led him into the bedroom. Margaret followed close. There lay her mother, with an unmistakeable look on her face. She might be better now; she was sleeping, but Death had signed her for his own, and it was clear that ere long he would return to take possession. Mr. Hale looked at her for some time without a word. Then he began to shake all over, and, turning away from Dr. Donaldson’s anxious care, he groped to find the door; he could not see it, although several candles, brought in the sudden affright, were burning and flaring there. He staggered into the drawing-room, and felt about for a chair. Dr. Donaldson wheeled one to him, and placed him in it. He felt his pulse. “Speak to him, Miss Hale. We must rouse him.” “Papa!” said Margaret, with a crying voice that was wild with pain. “Papa! Speak to me!” The speculation came again into his eyes, and he made a great effort. “Margaret, did you know of this? Oh, it was cruel of you!” “No, sir, it was not cruel!” replied Dr. Donaldson, with quick decision. “Miss Hale acted under my directions. There may have been a mistake, but it was not cruel. Your wife will be a different creature to-morrow, I trust. She has had spasms, as I anticipated, though I did not tell Miss Hale of my apprehensions. She has taken the opiate I brought with me; she will have a good long sleep; and to-morrow that look which has alarmed you so much will have passed away.” “But not the disease?” Dr. Donaldson glanced at Margaret. Her bent head, her face raised with no appeal for a temporary reprieve, showed that quick observer of human nature that she thought it better that the whole truth should be told. “Not the disease. We cannot touch the disease, with all our poor vaunted skill. We can only delay its progress—alleviate the pain it causes. Be a man, sir—a Christian. Have faith in the immortality of the soul, which no pain, no mortal disease, can assail or touch!” But all the reply he got was in the choked words, “You have never been married, Dr. Donaldson; you don’t know what it is,” and in the deep, manly sobs, which went through the stillness of the night like heavy pulses of agony. Margaret knelt by him, caressing him with tearful caresses. No one, not even Dr. Donaldson, knew how the time went by. Mr. Hale was the first to dare to speak of the necessities of the present moment. “What must we do?” asked he. “Tell us both. Margaret is my staff—my right hand.” Dr. Donaldson gave his clear, sensible directions. No fear for to-night—nay, even peace for to-morrow, and for many days yet. But no enduring hope of recovery. He advised Mr. Hale to go to bed, and leave only one to watch the slumber, which he hoped would be undisturbed. He promised to come again early in the morning. And, with a warm and kindly shake of the hand, he left them. They spoke but few words; they were too much exhausted by their terror to do more than decide upon the immediate course of action. Mr. Hale was resolved to sit up through the night, and all that Margaret could do was to prevail upon him to rest on the drawing-room sofa. Dixon stoutly and bluntly refused to go to bed; and, as for Margaret, it was simply impossible that she should leave her mother, let all the doctors in the world speak of “husbanding resources,” and “one watcher only being required.” So, Dixon sat, and stared, and winked, and drooped, and picked herself up again with a jerk, and finally gave up the battle, and fairly snored. Margaret had taken off her gown and tossed it aside with a sort of impatient disgust, and put on her dressing-gown. She felt as if she never could sleep again; as if her whole senses were acutely vital, and all endued with double keenness, for the purpose of watching. Every sight and sound—nay, even every thought, touched some nerve to the very quick. For more than two hours, she heard her father’s restless movements in the next room. He came perpetually to the door of her mother’s chamber, pausing there to listen, till she, not hearing his close unseen presence, went and opened it to tell him how all went on, in reply to the questions his baked lips could hardly form. At last he, too, fell asleep, and all the house was still. Margaret sat behind the curtain thinking. Far away in time, far away in space, seemed all the interests of past days. Not more than thirty-six hours ago, she cared for Bessy Higgins and her father, and her heart was wrung for Boucher; now, that was all like a dreaming memory of some former life;—everything that had passed out of doors seemed dissevered from her mother, and therefore unreal. Even Harley Street appeared more distinct; there she remembered, as if it were yesterday, how she had pleased herself with tracing out her mother’s features in her Aunt Shaw’s face,—and how letters had come, making her dwell on the thoughs of home with all the longing of love. Helstone, itself, was in the dim past. The dull gray days of the preceding winter and spring, so uneventless and monotonous, seemed more associated with what she cared for now above all price. She would fain have caught at the skirts of that departing time, and prayed it to return, and give her back what she had too little valued while it was yet in her possession. What a vain show Life seemed! How unsubstantial, and flickering, and flitting! It was as if from some aërial belfry, high up above the stir and jar of the earth, there was a bell continually tolling, “All are shadows!—all are passing!—all is past!” And when the morning dawned, cool and gray, like many a happier morning before—when Margaret looked one by one at the sleepers, it seemed as if the terrible night were unreal as a dream; it, too, was a shadow. It, too, was past. Mrs. Hale herself was not aware when she awoke, how ill she had been the night before. She was rather surprised at Dr. Donaldson’s early visit, and perplexed by the anxious faces of husband and child. She consented to remain in bed that day, saying she certainly was tired; but, the next, she insisted on getting up; and Dr. Donaldson gave his consent to her returning into the drawing-room. She was restless and uncomfortable in every position, and before night she became very feverish. Mr. Hale was utterly listless, and incapable of deciding on anything. “What can we do to spare mamma such another night?” asked Margaret on the third day. “It is to a certain degree, the reaction after the powerful opiates I have been obliged to use. It is more painful for you to see than for her to bear, I believe. But, I think, if we could get a water-bed it might be a good thing. Not but what she will be better to-morrow; pretty much like herself as she was before this attack. Still, I should like her to have a water-bed. Mrs. Thornton has one, I know. I’ll try and call there this afternoon. Stay,” said he, his eye catching on Margaret’s face, blanched with watching in a sick room, “I’m not sure whether I can go; I’ve a long round to take. It would do you no harm to have a brisk walk to Marlborough Street, and ask Mrs. Thornton if she can spare it.” “Certainly,” said Margaret. “I could go while mamma is asleep this afternoon. I’m sure Mrs. Thornton would lend it to us.” Dr. Donaldson’s experience told him rightly. Mrs. Hale seemed to shake off the consequences of her attack, and looked brighter and better this afternoon than Margaret had ever hoped to see her again. Her daughter left her after dinner, sitting in her easy chair, with her hand lying in her husband’s, who looked more worn and suffering than she by far. Still, he could smile now—rather slowly, rather faintly, it is true; but a day or two before, Margaret never thought to see him smile again. It was about two miles from their house in Crampton Crescent to Marlborough Street. It was too hot to walk very quickly. An August sun beat straight down into the street at three o’clock in the afternoon. Margaret went along, without noticing anything very different from usual in the first mile and a half of her journey; she was absorbed in her own thoughts, and had learnt by this time to thread her way through the irregular stream of human beings that flowed through Milton streets. But, by and by, she was struck with an unusual heaving among the mass of people in the crowded road on which she was entering. They did not appear to be moving on, so much as talking, and listening, and buzzing with excitement without much stirring from the spot where they might happen to be. Still, as they made way for her, and, wrapt up in the purpose of her errand, and the necessities that suggested it, she was less quick of observation than she might have been, if her mind had been at ease. She had got into Marlborough Street before the full conviction forced itself upon her, that there was a restless, oppressive sense of irritation abroad among the people; a thunderous atmosphere, morally as well as physically, around her. From every narrow lane opening out on Marlborough Street came up a low distant roar, as of myriads of fierce indignant voices. The inhabitants of each poor squalid dwelling were gathered round the doors and windows, if indeed they were not actually standing in the middle of the narrow ways—all with looks intent towards one point. Marlborough Street itself was the focus of all those human eyes, that betrayed intensest interest of various kinds; some fierce with anger, some lowering with relentless threats! some dilated with fear, or imploring entreaty; and as Margaret reached the small side-entrance by the folding doors, in the great dead wall of Marlborough mill-yard, and waited the porter’s answer to the bell, she looked round and heard the first long far-off roll of the tempest;—saw the first slow-surging wave of the dark crowd come, with its threatening crest, tumble over, and retreat, at the far end of the street, which a moment ago seemed so full of repressed noise, but which now was ominously still; all these circumstances forced themselves on Margaret’s notice, but did not sink down into her pre-occupied heart. She did not know what they meant—what was their deep significance; while she did know, did feel the keen sharp pressure of the knife that was soon to stab her through and through by leaving her motherless. She was trying to realise that, in order that, when it came, she might be ready to comfort her father. The porter opened the door cautiously, not nearly wide enough to admit her. “It’s you, is it, ma’am?” said he, drawing a long breath, and widening the entrance, but still not opening it fully. Margaret went in. He hastily bolted it behind her. “Th’ folk are all coming up here, I reckon?” asked he. “I don’t know. Something unusual seemed going on; but this street is quite empty, I think.” She went across the yard and put up the steps to the house door. There was no near sound,—no steam engine at work with beat and pant,—no click of machinery, no mingling and clashing of many sharp voices; but far away, the ominous gathering roar, deep-clamouring. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (2003). North and South. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/4276/pg4276-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

THE DARK NIGHT.

Christian Science by Mark Twain, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . SEVEN HUNDRED PER CENT. here SEVEN HUNDRED PER CENT. A Scientist out West has visited a bookseller—with intent to find fault with me—and has brought away the information that the price at which Mrs. Eddy sells Science and Health is not an unusually high one for the size and make of the book. That is true. But in the book-trade—that profit-devourer unknown to Mrs. Eddy's book—a three-dollar book that is made for thirty-five or forty cents in large editions is put at three dollars because the publisher has to pay author, middleman, and advertising, and if the price were much below three the profit accruing would not pay him fairly for his time and labor. At the same time, if he could get ten dollars for the book he would take it, and his morals would not fall under criticism. But if he were an inspired person commissioned by the Deity to receive and print and spread broadcast among sorrowing and suffering and poor men a precious message of healing and cheer and salvation, he would have to do as Bible Societies do—sell the book at a pinched margin above cost to such as could pay, and give it free to all that couldn't; and his name would be praised. But if he sold it at seven hundred per cent. profit and put the money in his pocket, his name would be mocked and derided. Just as Mrs. Eddy's is. And most justifiably, as it seems to me. The complete Bible contains one million words. The New Testament by itself contains two hundred and forty thousand words. My '84 edition of Science and Health contains one hundred and twenty thousand words—just half as many as the New Testament. Science and Health has since been so inflated by later inspirations that the 1902 edition contains one hundred and eighty thousand words—not counting the thirty thousand at the back, devoted by Mrs. Eddy to advertising the book's healing abilities—and the inspiring continues right along. If you have a book whose market is so sure and so great that you can give a printer an everlasting order for thirty or forty or fifty thousand copies a year he will furnish them at a cheap rate, because whenever there is a slack time in his press-room and bindery he can fill the idle intervals on your book and be making something instead of losing. That is the kind of contract that can be let on Science and Health every year. I am obliged to doubt that the three-dollar Science and Health costs Mrs. Eddy above fifteen cents, or that the six dollar copy costs her above eighty cents. I feel quite sure that the average profit to her on these books, above cost of manufacture, is all of seven hundred per cent. Every proper Christian Scientist has to buy and own (and canvass for) Science and Health (one hundred and eighty thousand words), and he must also own a Bible (one million words). He can buy the one for from three to six dollars, and the other for fifteen cents. Or, if three dollars is all the money he has, he can get his Bible for nothing. When the Supreme Being disseminates a saving Message through uninspired agents—the New Testament, for instance—it can be done for five cents a copy, but when He sends one containing only two-thirds as many words through the shop of a Divine Personage, it costs sixty times as much. I think that in matters of such importance it is bad economy to employ a wild-cat agency. Here are some figures which are perfectly authentic, and which seem to justify my opinion. “These [Bible] societies, inspired only by a sense of religious duty, are issuing the Bible at a price so small that they have made it the cheapest book printed. For example, the American Bible Society offers an edition of the whole Bible as low as fifteen cents and the New Testament at five cents, and the British Society at sixpence and one penny, respectively. These low prices, made possible by their policy of selling the books at cost or below cost,” etc.—New York Sun, February 25, 1903. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Mark Twain (2004). Christian Science. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/3187/pg3187-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

SEVEN HUNDRED PER CENT.

Phineas Redux by Anthony Trollope, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . POLITICAL VENOM. here POLITICAL VENOM. On the Monday Mr. Turnbull opened the ball by declaring his reasons for going into the same lobby with Mr. Daubeny. This he did at great length. To him all the mighty pomp and all the little squabbles of office were, he said, as nothing. He would never allow himself to regard the person of the Prime Minister. The measure before the House ever had been and ever should be all in all to him. If the public weal were more regarded in that House, and the quarrels of men less considered, he thought that the service of the country would be better done. He was answered by Mr. Monk, who was sitting near him, and who intended to support Mr. Gresham. Mr. Monk was rather happy in pulling his old friend, Mr. Turnbull, to pieces, expressing his opinion that a difference in men meant a difference in measures. The characters of men whose principles were known were guarantees for the measures they would advocate. To him,—Mr. Monk,—it was matter of very great moment who was Prime Minister of England. He was always selfish enough to wish for a Minister with whom he himself could agree on the main questions of the day. As he certainly could not say that he had political confidence in the present Ministry, he should certainly vote against them on this occasion. In the course of the evening Phineas found a letter addressed to himself from Mr. Bonteen. It was as follows:— House of Commons, April 5th, 18—. Dear Mr. Finn, I never accused you of dishonesty. You must have misheard or misunderstood me if you thought so. I did say that you had scuttled the ship;—and as you most undoubtedly did scuttle it,—you and Mr. Monk between you,—I cannot retract my words. I do not want to go to any one for testimony as to your merits on the occasion. I accused you of having done nothing dishonourable or disgraceful. I think I said that there was danger in the practice of scuttling. I think so still, though I know that many fancy that those who scuttle do a fine thing. I don't deny that it's fine, and therefore you can have no cause of complaint against me. Yours truly, J. Bonteen. He had brought a copy of his own letter in his pocket to the House, and he showed the correspondence to Mr. Monk. "I would not have noticed it, had I been you," said he. "You can have no idea of the offensive nature of the remark when it was made." "It's as offensive to me as to you, but I should not think of moving in such a matter. When a man annoys you, keep out of his way. It is generally the best thing you can do." "If a man were to call you a liar?" "But men don't call each other liars. Bonteen understands the world much too well to commit himself by using any word which common opinion would force him to retract. He says we scuttled the ship. Well;—we did. Of all the political acts of my life it is the one of which I am most proud. The manner in which you helped me has entitled you to my affectionate esteem. But we did scuttle the ship. Before you can quarrel with Bonteen you must be able to show that a metaphorical scuttling of a ship must necessarily be a disgraceful act. You see how he at once retreats behind the fact that it need not be so." "You wouldn't answer his letter." "I think not. You can do yourself no good by a correspondence in which you cannot get a hold of him. And if you did get a hold of him you would injure yourself much more than him. Just drop it." This added much to our friend's misery, and made him feel that the weight of it was almost more than he could bear. His enemy had got the better of him at every turn. He had now rushed into a correspondence as to which he would have to own by his silence that he had been confuted. And yet he was sure that Mr. Bonteen had at the club insulted him most unjustifiably, and that if the actual truth were known, no man, certainly not Mr. Monk, would hesitate to say that reparation was due to him. And yet what could he do? He thought that he would consult Lord Cantrip, and endeavour to get from his late Chief some advice more palatable than that which had been tendered to him by Mr. Monk. In the meantime animosities in the House were waxing very furious; and, as it happened, the debate took a turn that was peculiarly injurious to Phineas Finn in his present state of mind. The rumour as to the future promotion of Mr. Bonteen, which had been conveyed by Laurence Fitzgibbon to Phineas at the Universe, had, as was natural, spread far and wide, and had reached the ears of those who still sat on the Ministerial benches. Now it is quite understood among politicians in this country that no man should presume that he will have imposed upon him the task of forming a Ministry until he has been called upon by the Crown to undertake that great duty. Let the Gresham or the Daubeny of the day be ever so sure that the reins of the State chariot must come into his hands, he should not visibly prepare himself for the seat on the box till he has actually been summoned to place himself there. At this moment it was alleged that Mr. Gresham had departed from the reticence and modesty usual in such a position as his, by taking steps towards the formation of a Cabinet, while it was as yet quite possible that he might never be called upon to form any Cabinet. Late on this Monday night, when the House was quite full, one of Mr. Daubeny's leading lieutenants, a Secretary of State, Sir Orlando Drought by name,—a gentleman who if he had any heart in the matter must have hated this Church Bill from the very bottom of his heart, and who on that account was the more bitter against opponents who had not ceased to throw in his teeth his own political tergiversation,—fell foul of Mr. Gresham as to this rumoured appointment to the Chancellorship of the Exchequer. The reader will easily imagine the things that were said. Sir Orlando had heard, and had been much surprised at hearing, that a certain honourable member of that House, who had long been known to them as a tenant of the Ministerial bench, had already been appointed to a high office. He, Sir Orlando, had not been aware that the office had been vacant, or that if vacant it would have been at the disposal of the right honourable gentleman; but he believed that there was no doubt that the place in question, with a seat in the Cabinet, had been tendered to, and accepted by, the honourable member to whom he alluded. Such was the rabid haste with which the right honourable gentleman opposite, and his colleagues, were attempting, he would not say to climb, but to rush into office, by opposing a great measure of Reform, the wisdom of which, as was notorious to all the world, they themselves did not dare to deny. Much more of the same kind was said, during which Mr. Gresham pulled about his hat, shuffled his feet, showed his annoyance to all the House, and at last jumped upon his legs. "If," said Sir Orlando Drought,—"if the right honourable gentleman wishes to deny the accuracy of any statements that I have made, I will give way to him for the moment, that he may do so." "I deny utterly, not only the accuracy, but every detail of the statement made by the right honourable gentleman opposite," said Mr. Gresham, still standing and holding his hat in his hand as he completed his denial. "Does the right honourable gentleman mean to assure me that he has not selected his future Chancellor of the Exchequer?" "The right honourable gentleman is too acute not to be aware that we on this side of the House may have made such selection, and that yet every detail of the statement which he has been rash enough to make to the House may be—unfounded. The word, sir, is weak; but I would fain avoid the use of any words which, justifiable though they might be, would offend the feelings of the House. I will explain to the House exactly what has been done." Then there was a great hubbub—cries of "Order," "Gresham," "Spoke," "Hear, hear," and the like,—during which Sir Orlando Drought and Mr. Gresham both stood on their legs. So powerful was Mr. Gresham's voice that, through it all, every word that he said was audible to the reporters. His opponent hardly attempted to speak, but stood relying upon his right. Mr. Gresham said he understood that it was the desire of the House that he should explain the circumstances in reference to the charge that had been made against him, and it would certainly be for the convenience of the House that this should be done at the moment. The Speaker of course ruled that Sir Orlando was in possession of the floor, but suggested that it might be convenient that he should yield to the right honourable gentleman on the other side for a few minutes. Mr. Gresham, as a matter of course, succeeded. Rights and rules, which are bonds of iron to a little man, are packthread to a giant. No one in all that assembly knew the House better than did Mr. Gresham, was better able to take it by storm, or more obdurate in perseverance. He did make his speech, though clearly he had no right to do so. The House, he said, was aware, that by the most unfortunate demise of the late Duke of Omnium, a gentleman had been removed from this House to another place, whose absence from their counsels would long be felt as a very grievous loss. Then he pronounced a eulogy on Plantagenet Palliser, so graceful and well arranged, that even the bitterness of the existing opposition was unable to demur to it. The House was well aware of the nature of the labours which now for some years past had occupied the mind of the noble duke; and the paramount importance which the country attached to their conclusion. The noble duke no doubt was not absolutely debarred from a continuance of his work by the change which had fallen upon him; but it was essential that some gentleman, belonging to the same party with the noble duke, versed in office, and having a seat in that House, should endeavour to devote himself to the great measure which had occupied so much of the attention of the late Chancellor of the Exchequer. No doubt it must be fitting that the gentleman so selected should be at the Exchequer, in the event of their party coming into office. The honourable gentleman to whom allusion had been made had acted throughout with the present noble duke in arranging the details of the measure in question; and the probability of his being able to fill the shoes left vacant by the accession to the peerage of the noble duke had, indeed, been discussed;—but the discussion had been made in reference to the measure, and only incidentally in regard to the office. He, Mr. Gresham, held that he had done nothing that was indiscreet,—nothing that his duty did not demand. If right honourable gentlemen opposite were of a different opinion, he thought that that difference came from the fact that they were less intimately acquainted than he unfortunately had been with the burdens and responsibilities of legislation. There was very little in the dispute which seemed to be worthy of the place in which it occurred, or of the vigour with which it was conducted; but it served to show the temper of the parties, and to express the bitterness of the political feelings of the day. It was said at the time, that never within the memory of living politicians had so violent an animosity displayed itself in the House as had been witnessed on this night. While Mr. Gresham was giving his explanation, Mr. Daubeny had arisen, and with a mock solemnity that was peculiar to him on occasions such as these, had appealed to the Speaker whether the right honourable gentleman opposite should not be called upon to resume his seat. Mr. Gresham had put him down with a wave of his hand. An affected stateliness cannot support itself but for a moment; and Mr. Daubeny had been forced to sit down when the Speaker did not at once support his appeal. But he did not forget that wave of the hand, nor did he forgive it. He was a man who in public life rarely forgot, and never forgave. They used to say of him that "at home" he was kindly and forbearing, simple and unostentatious. It may be so. Who does not remember that horrible Turk, Jacob Asdrubal, the Old Bailey barrister, the terror of witnesses, the bane of judges,—who was gall and wormwood to all opponents. It was said of him that "at home" his docile amiability was the marvel of his friends, and delight of his wife and daughters. "At home," perhaps, Mr. Daubeny might have been waved at, and have forgiven it; but men who saw the scene in the House of Commons knew that he would never forgive Mr. Gresham. As for Mr. Gresham himself, he triumphed at the moment, and exulted in his triumph. Phineas Finn heard it all, and was disgusted to find that his enemy thus became the hero of the hour. It was, indeed, the opinion generally of the Liberal party that Mr. Gresham had not said much to flatter his new Chancellor of the Exchequer. In praise of Plantagenet Palliser he had been very loud, and he had no doubt said that which implied the capability of Mr. Bonteen, who, as it happened, was sitting next to him at the time; but he had implied also that the mantle which was to be transferred from Mr. Palliser to Mr. Bonteen would be carried by its new wearer with grace very inferior to that which had marked all the steps of his predecessor. Ratler, and Erle, and Fitzgibbon, and others had laughed in their sleeves at the expression, understood by them, of Mr. Gresham's doubt as to the qualifications of his new assistant, and Sir Orlando Drought, in continuing his speech, remarked that the warmth of the right honourable gentleman had been so completely expended in abusing his enemies that he had had none left for the defence of his friend. But to Phineas it seemed that this Bonteen, who had so grievously injured him, and whom he so thoroughly despised, was carrying off all the glories of the fight. A certain amount of consolation was, however, afforded to him. Between one and two o'clock he was told by Mr. Ratler that he might enjoy the privilege of adjourning the debate,—by which would accrue to him the right of commencing on the morrow,—and this he did at a few minutes before three. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Anthony Trollope (2006). Phineas Redux. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/18640/pg18640-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

POLITICAL VENOM.

Parliament Meets

Passion versus Prudence

Phineas Redux by Anthony Trollope, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . GERARD MAULE. here GERARD MAULE. "Why didn't you tell me?" said Phineas that night after Lady Baldock was gone to bed. The two men had taken off their dress coats, and had put on smoking caps,—Lord Chiltern, indeed, having clothed himself in a wonderful Chinese dressing-gown, and they were sitting round the fire in the smoking-room; but though they were thus employed and thus dressed the two younger ladies were still with them. "How could I tell you everything in two minutes?" said Lady Chiltern. "I'd have given a guinea to have heard her," said Lord Chiltern, getting up and rubbing his hands as he walked about the room. "Can't you fancy all that she'd say, and then her horror when she'd remember that Phineas was a Papist himself?" "But what made Miss Boreham turn nun?" "I fancy she found the penances lighter than they were at home," said the lord. "They couldn't well be heavier." "Dear old aunt!" "Does she never go to see Sister Veronica?" asked Miss Palliser. "She has been once," said Lady Chiltern. "And fumigated herself first so as to escape infection," said the husband. "You should hear Gerard Maule imitate her when she talks about the filthy priest." "And who is Gerard Maule?" Then Lady Chiltern looked at her friend, and Phineas was almost sure that Gerard Maule was the man who was dying for Adelaide Palliser. "He's a great ally of mine," said Lady Chiltern. "He's a young fellow who thinks he can ride to hounds," said Lord Chiltern, "and who very often does succeed in riding over them." "That's not fair, Lord Chiltern," said Miss Palliser. "Just my idea of it," replied the Master. "I don't think it's at all fair. Because a man has plenty of horses, and nothing else to do, and rides twelve stone, and doesn't care how he's sworn at, he's always to be over the scent, and spoil every one's sport. I don't call it at all fair." "He's a very nice fellow, and a great friend of Oswald's. He is to be here to-morrow, and you'll like him very much. Won't he, Adelaide?" "I don't know Mr. Finn's tastes quite so well as you do, Violet. But Mr. Maule is so harmless that no one can dislike him very much." "As for being harmless, I'm not so sure," said Lady Chiltern. After that they all went to bed. Phineas remained at Harrington Hall till the ninth, on which day he went to London so that he might be at Tankerville on the tenth. He rode Lord Chiltern's horses, and took an interest in the hounds, and nursed the baby. "Now tell me what you think of Gerard Maule," Lady Chiltern asked him, the day before he started. "I presume that he is the young man that is dying for Miss Palliser." "You may answer my question, Mr. Finn, without making any such suggestion." "Not discreetly. Of course if he is to be made happy, I am bound at the present moment to say all good things of him. At such a crisis it would be wicked to tinge Miss Palliser's hopes with any hue less warm than rose colour." "Do you suppose that I tell everything that is said to me?" "Not at all; but opinions do ooze out. I take him to be a good sort of a fellow; but why doesn't he talk a bit more?" "That's just it." "And why does he pretend to do nothing? When he's out he rides hard; but at other times there's a ha-ha, lack a-daisical air about him which I hate. Why men assume it I never could understand. It can recommend them to nobody. A man can't suppose that he'll gain anything by pretending that he never reads, and never thinks, and never does anything, and never speaks, and doesn't care what he has for dinner, and, upon the whole, would just as soon lie in bed all day as get up. It isn't that he is really idle. He rides and eats, and does get up, and I daresay talks and thinks. It's simply a poor affectation." "That's your rose colour, is it?" "You've promised secrecy, Lady Chiltern. I suppose he's well off?" "He is an eldest son. The property is not large, and I'm afraid there's something wrong about it." "He has no profession?" "None at all. He has an allowance of £800 a year, which in some sort of fashion is independent of his father. He has nothing on earth to do. Adelaide's whole fortune is four thousand pounds. If they were to marry what would become of them?" "That wouldn't be enough to live on?" "It ought to be enough,—as he must, I suppose, have the property some day,—if only he had something to do. What sort of a life would he lead?" "I suppose he couldn't become a Master of Hounds?" "That is ill-natured, Mr. Finn." "I did not mean it so. I did not indeed. You must know that I did not." "Of course Oswald had nothing to do, and, of course, there was a time when I wished that he should take to Parliament. No one knew all that better than you did. But he was very different from Mr. Maule." "Very different, indeed." "Oswald is a man full of energy, and with no touch of that affectation which you described. As it is, he does work hard. No man works harder. The learned people say that you should produce something, and I don't suppose that he produces much. But somebody must keep hounds, and nobody could do it better than he does." "You don't think that I meant to blame him?" "I hope not." "Are he and his father on good terms now?" "Oh, yes. His father wishes him to go to Saulsby, but he won't do that. He hates Saulsby." Saulsby was the country seat of the Earl of Brentford, the name of the property which must some day belong to this Lord Chiltern, and Phineas, as he heard this, remembered former days in which he had ridden about Saulsby Woods, and had thought them to be anything but hateful. "Is Saulsby shut up?" he asked. "Altogether, and so is the house in Portman Square. There never was anything more sad or desolate. You would find him altered, Mr. Finn. He is quite an old man now. He was here in the spring, for a week or two;—in England, that is; but he stayed at an hotel in London. He and Laura live at Dresden now, and a very sad time they must have." "Does she write?" "Yes; and keeps up all her interest about politics. I have already told her that you are to stand for Tankerville. No one,—no other human being in the world will be so interested for you as she is. If any friend ever felt an interest almost selfish for a friend's welfare, she will feel such an interest for you. If you were to succeed it would give her a hope in life." Phineas sat silent, drinking in the words that were said to him. Though they were true, or at least meant to be true, they were full of flattery. Why should this woman of whom they were speaking love him so dearly? She was nothing to him. She was highly born, greatly gifted, wealthy, and a married woman, whose character, as he well knew, was beyond the taint of suspicion, though she had been driven by the hard sullenness of her husband to refuse to live under his roof. Phineas Finn and Lady Laura Kennedy had not seen each other for two years, and when they had parted, though they had lived as friends, there had been no signs of still living friendship. True, indeed, she had written to him, but her letters had been short and cold, merely detailing certain circumstances of her outward life. Now he was told by this woman's dearest friend that his welfare was closer to her heart than any other interest! "I daresay you often think of her?" said Lady Chiltern. "Indeed, I do." "What virtues she used to ascribe to you! What sins she forgave you! How hard she fought for you! Now, though she can fight no more, she does not think of it all the less." "Poor Lady Laura!" "Poor Laura, indeed! When one sees such shipwreck it makes a woman doubt whether she ought to marry at all." "And yet he was a good man. She always said so." "Men are so seldom really good. They are so little sympathetic. What man thinks of changing himself so as to suit his wife? And yet men expect that women shall put on altogether new characters when they are married, and girls think that they can do so. Look at this Mr. Maule, who is really over head and ears in love with Adelaide Palliser. She is full of hope and energy. He has none. And yet he has the effrontery to suppose that she will adapt herself to his way of living if he marries her." "Then they are to be married?" "I suppose it will come to that. It always does if the man is in earnest. Girls will accept men simply because they think it ill-natured to return the compliment of an offer with a hearty 'No.'" "I suppose she likes him?" "Of course she does. A girl almost always likes a man who is in love with her,—unless indeed she positively dislikes him. But why should she like him? He is good-looking, is a gentleman, and not a fool. Is that enough to make such a girl as Adelaide Palliser think a man divine?" "Is nobody to be accepted who is not credited with divinity?" "The man should be a demigod, at least in respect to some part of his character. I can find nothing even demi-divine about Mr. Maule." "That's because you are not in love with him, Lady Chiltern." Six or seven very pleasant days Phineas Finn spent at Harrington Hall, and then he started alone, and very lonely, for Tankerville. But he admitted to himself that the pleasure which he had received during his visit was quite sufficient to qualify him in running any risk in an attempt to return to the kind of life which he had formerly led. But if he should fail at Tankerville what would become of him then? About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Anthony Trollope (2006). Phineas Redux. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/18640/pg18640-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

The Story of Gerard Maule

The Warden by Anthony Trollope, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . The Jupiter here The Jupiter Though Eleanor Harding rode off from John Bold on a high horse, it must not be supposed that her heart was so elate as her demeanour. In the first place, she had a natural repugnance to losing her lover; and in the next, she was not quite so sure that she was in the right as she pretended to be. Her father had told her, and that now repeatedly, that Bold was doing nothing unjust or ungenerous; and why then should she rebuke him, and throw him off, when she felt herself so ill able to bear his loss?—but such is human nature, and young-lady-nature especially. As she walked off from him beneath the shady elms of the close, her look, her tone, every motion and gesture of her body, belied her heart; she would have given the world to have taken him by the hand, to have reasoned with him, persuaded him, cajoled him, coaxed him out of his project; to have overcome him with all her female artillery, and to have redeemed her father at the cost of herself; but pride would not let her do this, and she left him without a look of love or a word of kindness. Had Bold been judging of another lover and of another lady, he might have understood all this as well as we do; but in matters of love men do not see clearly in their own affairs. They say that faint heart never won fair lady; and it is amazing to me how fair ladies are won, so faint are often men's hearts! Were it not for the kindness of their nature, that seeing the weakness of our courage they will occasionally descend from their impregnable fortresses, and themselves aid us in effecting their own defeat, too often would they escape unconquered if not unscathed, and free of body if not of heart. Poor Bold crept off quite crestfallen; he felt that as regarded Eleanor Harding his fate was sealed, unless he could consent to give up a task to which he had pledged himself, and which indeed it would not be easy for him to give up. Lawyers were engaged, and the question had to a certain extent been taken up by the public; besides, how could a high-spirited girl like Eleanor Harding really learn to love a man for neglecting a duty which he assumed! Could she allow her affection to be purchased at the cost of his own self-respect? As regarded the issue of his attempt at reformation in the hospital, Bold had no reason hitherto to be discontented with his success. All Barchester was by the ears about it. The bishop, the archdeacon, the warden, the steward, and several other clerical allies, had daily meetings, discussing their tactics, and preparing for the great attack. Sir Abraham Haphazard had been consulted, but his opinion was not yet received: copies of Hiram's will, copies of wardens' journals, copies of leases, copies of accounts, copies of everything that could be copied, and of some that could not, had been sent to him; and the case was assuming most creditable dimensions. But, above all, it had been mentioned in the daily Jupiter. That all-powerful organ of the press in one of its leading thunderbolts launched at St Cross, had thus remarked: "Another case, of smaller dimensions indeed, but of similar import, is now likely to come under public notice. We are informed that the warden or master of an old almshouse attached to Barchester Cathedral is in receipt of twenty-five times the annual income appointed for him by the will of the founder, while the sum yearly expended on the absolute purposes of the charity has always remained fixed. In other words, the legatees under the founder's will have received no advantage from the increase in the value of the property during the last four centuries, such increase having been absorbed by the so-called warden. It is impossible to conceive a case of greater injustice. It is no answer to say that some six or nine or twelve old men receive as much of the goods of this world as such old men require. On what foundation, moral or divine, traditional or legal, is grounded the warden's claim to the large income he receives for doing nothing? The contentment of these almsmen, if content they be, can give him no title to this wealth! Does he ever ask himself, when he stretches wide his clerical palm to receive the pay of some dozen of the working clergy, for what service he is so remunerated? Does his conscience ever entertain the question of his right to such subsidies? Or is it possible that the subject never so presents itself to his mind; that he has received for many years, and intends, should God spare him, to receive for years to come these fruits of the industrious piety of past ages, indifferent as to any right on his own part, or of any injustice to others! We must express an opinion that nowhere but in the Church of England, and only there among its priests, could such a state of moral indifference be found." I must for the present leave my readers to imagine the state of Mr Harding's mind after reading the above article. They say that forty thousand copies of The Jupiter are daily sold, and that each copy is read by five persons at the least. Two hundred thousand readers then would hear this accusation against him; two hundred thousand hearts would swell with indignation at the griping injustice, the barefaced robbery of the warden of Barchester Hospital! And how was he to answer this? How was he to open his inmost heart to this multitude, to these thousands, the educated, the polished, the picked men of his own country; how show them that he was no robber, no avaricious, lazy priest scrambling for gold, but a retiring, humble-spirited man, who had innocently taken what had innocently been offered to him? "Write to The Jupiter," suggested the bishop. "Yes," said the archdeacon, more worldly wise than his father, "yes, and be smothered with ridicule; tossed over and over again with scorn; shaken this way and that, as a rat in the mouth of a practised terrier. You will leave out some word or letter in your answer, and the ignorance of the cathedral clergy will be harped upon; you will make some small mistake, which will be a falsehood, or some admission, which will be self-condemnation; you will find yourself to have been vulgar, ill-tempered, irreverend, and illiterate, and the chances are ten to one, but that being a clergyman, you will have been guilty of blasphemy! A man may have the best of causes, the best of talents, and the best of tempers; he may write as well as Addison, or as strongly as Junius; but even with all this he cannot successfully answer, when attacked by The Jupiter. In such matters it is omnipotent. What the Czar is in Russia, or the mob in America, that The Jupiter is in England. Answer such an article! No, warden; whatever you do, don't do that. We were to look for this sort of thing, you know; but we need not draw down on our heads more of it than is necessary." The article in The Jupiter, while it so greatly harassed our poor warden, was an immense triumph to some of the opposite party. Sorry as Bold was to see Mr Harding attacked so personally, it still gave him a feeling of elation to find his cause taken up by so powerful an advocate: and as to Finney, the attorney, he was beside himself. What! to be engaged in the same cause and on the same side with The Jupiter; to have the views he had recommended seconded, and furthered, and battled for by The Jupiter! Perhaps to have his own name mentioned as that of the learned gentleman whose efforts had been so successful on behalf of the poor of Barchester! He might be examined before committees of the House of Commons, with heaven knows how much a day for his personal expenses;—he might be engaged for years on such a suit! There was no end to the glorious golden dreams which this leader in The Jupiter produced in the soaring mind of Finney. And the old bedesmen, they also heard of this article, and had a glimmering, indistinct idea of the marvellous advocate which had now taken up their cause. Abel Handy limped hither and thither through the rooms, repeating all that he understood to have been printed, with some additions of his own which he thought should have been added. He told them how The Jupiter had declared that their warden was no better than a robber, and that what The Jupiter said was acknowledged by the world to be true. How The Jupiter had affirmed that each one of them—"each one of us, Jonathan Crumple, think of that!"—had a clear right to a hundred a year; and that if The Jupiter had said so, it was better than a decision of the Lord Chancellor: and then he carried about the paper, supplied by Mr Finney, which, though none of them could read it, still afforded in its very touch and aspect positive corroboration of what was told them; and Jonathan Crumple pondered deeply over his returning wealth; and Job Skulpit saw how right he had been in signing the petition, and said so many scores of times; and Spriggs leered fearfully with his one eye; and Moody, as he more nearly approached the coming golden age, hated more deeply than ever those who still kept possession of what he so coveted. Even Billy Gazy and poor bed-ridden Bell became active and uneasy, and the great Bunce stood apart with lowering brow, with deep grief seated in his heart, for he perceived that evil days were coming. It had been decided, the archdeacon advising, that no remonstrance, explanation, or defence should be addressed from the Barchester conclave to the editor of The Jupiter; but hitherto that was the only decision to which they had come. Sir Abraham Haphazard was deeply engaged in preparing a bill for the mortification of papists, to be called the "Convent Custody Bill," the purport of which was to enable any Protestant clergyman over fifty years of age to search any nun whom he suspected of being in possession of treasonable papers or Jesuitical symbols; and as there were to be a hundred and thirty-seven clauses in the bill, each clause containing a separate thorn for the side of the papist, and as it was known the bill would be fought inch by inch, by fifty maddened Irishmen, the due construction and adequate dovetailing of it did consume much of Sir Abraham's time. The bill had all its desired effect. Of course it never passed into law; but it so completely divided the ranks of the Irish members, who had bound themselves together to force on the ministry a bill for compelling all men to drink Irish whiskey, and all women to wear Irish poplins, that for the remainder of the session the Great Poplin and Whiskey League was utterly harmless. Thus it happened that Sir Abraham's opinion was not at once forthcoming, and the uncertainty, the expectation, and suffering of the folk of Barchester was maintained at a high pitch. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Anthony Trollope (1996). The Warden. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/619/pg619-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html.

The Jupiter

The Blessing and Curse of Dimensional Travel 

Let's learn about via these 68 free stories. They are ordered by most time reading created on HackerNoon. Visit the to find the most read stories about any technology. Smartphones /Learn Repo 1. The Joy of Using Single-Purpose Tech What is it about smartphones that make them the most useful technology ever created? 2. The Rise of Refurbished Phones — Except in the U.S. Refurbished phones are becoming more and more popular, but the U.S. is lagging behind in sales. Here's a look at why. 3. Freedom, Kant, and Why You Should Flush Your Smartphone Down the Toilet Photo by Jens Johnsson 4. Statistics of Damaged Mobile Phones in the UK According to the latest research, the British People have spent more than £680m each year just to have their phones’ screens fixed. From a poll of 2,000 users of mobile phones, the study showed that 53% have paid around £30 or more just to have their phones fixed last year alone. With around 42.7 million mobile phone users in the UK alone, the numbers can add up to a huge amount. 5. How to Track a Smartphone: Android and iOS Devices There are many popular tracker apps that help you to track your phone or your kid's or family member's phones, for security purposes. 6. How to Develop Mobile Apps Using ARKit The creation and development of mobile applications is a large and rapidly developing industry. In the past few years, it has been modified significantly due to the introduction of novel futuristic technologies. 7. Catalyst Total Protection Case for iPhone 12 Review The Total Protection Cases for iPhone 12 Series are fully sealed protection cases that are waterproof, drop-proof and compatible with the MagSafe Charger. 8. The Retail CIO’s Guide to Mobile Device Management Strategy Are you in retail and planning to make mobile part of your strategy? Do you follow a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy and need to separate business and personal data on the same devices? If so, mobile device management (MDM) will become an important strategic consideration for your executive team. 9. 5 Simple Ways to Make Your Old iPhone Faster One of the major concerns with older iPhones is the drop in performance and speed. Here are some ways to increase the speed of your older iPhone. 10. The Future of Battery Technology: What’s Next? Lithium-ion batteries are the standard for electronics, electric vehicles and are also growing in popularity for military and aerospace applications. A prototype Li-ion battery was developed by Akira Yoshino in 1985, then a commercial Li-ion battery was developed by a Sony and Asahi Kasei team in 1991. Since then, there haven't really been any breakthroughs in rechargeable batteries, however, because Lithium is finite and not renewable, we will need to find different methods of making these batteries that almost all our electronic devices rely on. 11. Mobile Devices Will Never Replace Desktops The future of technology makes a lot of people very curious. There are hundreds of new devices developed every day, each of them improving upon former models. 12. What We’ll Likely See From the Sprint and T-Mobile Merger Through 2023 Those of us in the business of selling secondhand mobile phones have been closely following the new cell phone trends and developments in 2020. However, one piece of news that has gotten a bit buried amid it all is the T-Mobile/Sprint merger. T-Mobile successfully acquired Sprint on April 1. As you may have noticed, it’s been somewhat of a quiet summer as far as the merger goes—but that’s about to change. 13. The “Brain Drain” Hypothesis Explains That Smartphones Distract Us, Even When Not In Use The mere presence of your phone or apps like Gmail, Slack, and iMessage can decrease your ability to focus even when they don't actually distract you. 14. The Ultimate Ways to Increase Android Phone Battery life The conversation about mobile phones is never ending until a smaller and smarter device takes over the scene and performs all of our daily tasks more quickly and more efficiently. However, until such time comes, smartphones are, and will remain, the most important devices in our daily personal and professional lives. 15. Why Foldable Phones are NOT the Next Big Thing I was convinced that folding phones were going to be the next big thing. Now, a bit over a month into using one myself, I’m not so sure anymore. 16. The 10 Technologies that Completely Changed How we See the World Remember great technological advances that changed the lives of thousands of people and the new bets of the future through information technology. 17. How Should the Smartphone Evolve? This Slack discussion by David, Mario, Dane, and I occurred in Hacker Noon's official #slogging-beta channel, and has been edited for readability. 18. Smartphones Are Now Control Hubs for Personal Service Robots The next decade will see huge strides in artificial intelligence and connectivity, supported by the internet of things. All this creates the technological foundation for the growing smart home market, especially in the domestic robot segment. In its global forecast, MarketAndMarkets predicts that the global value of domestic robot market will hit $9.1 billion by 2024 with a CAGR of 22.4%. 19. What to Expect in the New iPhone 12 Design Despite the COVID-19 pandemic sending the world into a frenzy, the new iPhone 12 might just bring some good news for the Apple loyalists and the company in general. Although a lot has been speculated regarding the design and the innovations surrounding the design, let's discuss the technological relevance of Apple's new design. 20. Success Story + 1 = OnePlus OnePlus went from zero to hero in a matter of a year and became the fastest-growing Android device company. 21. Upcoming Mobile Phones: Future Smartphones in 2020 and 2021 With the pace of smartphone evolution, there is always something waiting for you behind the scenes. No sooner have you spotted the last handset, than there is anticipation for the next big thing. 22. My Personal Digital Transformation Story Smartphone Addiction, Burnout and Balance 23. Why smartphone hacking is a real threat & how to handle it Even if you aren't very tech-savvy, you may have heard about vulnerabilities in both Android and iOS platforms making the news. Despite these headlines, smartphone hacking is a real challenge many of us still don't take seriously. 24. Building a Free Music Site Using React Native So, you want to build a music site with React Native. That’s not an ordinary task because of certain technical limitations but it’s still possible. The chosen framework works best for mobile applications so you can get two or even three products instead of one: a music website and mobile apps for iOS and Android. Sounds good, huh? The question is how to develop such solutions, and we’re going to answer it in this guide. 25. Forget The Gig Economy, Join The Life Economy: Get Paid To Live Written by Chris Kalaboukis, Chief Philosopher, Engineer, and Futurist at hellofuture written for Nodle and Hackernoon. 26. The Metaverse’s Road to Mass Appeal Runs Through Smartphones The Metaverse’s Road to Mass Appeal Runs Through Smartphones. 27. 5 Best Free Android Personalization Apps in 2023 Here are 5 of the coolest and top-notch personalization apps for Android that you should look into this year.  Read the list and download the apps for free! 28. What is Wireless Charging and How Does Wireless Charging Work? This article explains wireless charging so consumers can make an educated decision on how to charge their devices. 29. Two Factor Authentication - The Deep State Tool That Supports Mass Technology Dysfunction 2FA is the initial, mandatory stage of ongoing privacy intrusions that are unwarranted and Orwellian. Alternatives now exist. 30. All Types of POST Requests With API Tester Post requests are the most common types of requests that we perform on the internet and it is very useful in our day-to-day work life. 31. Can Your Smartpones Actually Help in Early COVID-19 Detection? Our smartphones have already played an important role in this virus pandemic. Whether in defining your location’s degree of contagion or providing data on your movements to help assess the threat of infection - smartphones do come to the rescue. 32. Developing Cross-platform Mobile Applications with Xamarin Xamarin is a cross-platform development tool that allows building truly cross-platform mobile apps with power-packed functionality and native user experience. 33. How to Lock WhatsApp Using Your Face or Fingerprint on iOS or Android? Are you living in a house with kids? Do you often face a situation where you are using your phone and kids suddenly snatch it from your hands and start playing games? You are quite fine with it but when it comes to being compromised with your message’s security on WhatsApp, you do not want them to read your private messages. Thankfully, now you are no more required to keep phones away from your kids and worry about your privacy. How? 34. The Endless Quest of Finding Developers For Your Next Big App Businesses which hope to one day become scalable choose to go down the digital path because smartphone holders are their main demographic. 35. Adverse Effects of Smartphone Addiction Today, as the world progresses, the inevitable dominance of technology has taken over almost every aspect of our lives. Unfortunately, relationships are replaced by virtual ones, leisure time is spent while scrolling, and you no longer need drugs to escape from reality. Instead of shutting your eyes and empowering smartphones to rule our lives, it would be wiser to embrace this revolution, let it infuse in your daily routine, and exploit its power to enhance your life. 36. No, We Won't All Move To Mobile Eventually - And Here's Why With the development of mobile technologies, everything has become much easier. While people were forced to do everything by hand in the previous century, now very convenient and smart devices act as a source to conduct everything digitally. 37. The Gaming World is Changing For decades, Video Games have been entertaining adults and children. 38. Covert Google Voice Into Your Own Private Bouncer Or Receptionist In the event that you don’t have a Google Voice telephone number yet, you’re passing up a great opportunity. Google Voice has some extraordinary highlights that can help ensure your security. Also, you can keep your Google Voice telephone number forever, or for in any event insofar as Google is eager to have it. 39. The Reason Why the Best Smartphones Still Need Protection You know the familiar feeling of a smartphone slipping through your fingers and those few milliseconds when you realize it’s too late to catch it — it’s going to hit the ground. Oh no, you don’t want to pay it to get it repaired. Or worse, replaced. Your heart jolts and your stomach twists in anticipation as you watch it smack against the floor. 40. Three Strategies to Help Break an Internet Addiction In more ways than most people recognize, the internet has infiltrated every part of our lives. In some cases, that's been beneficial. For example, the internet puts the majority of the world's knowledge right at our fingertips, allowing individual learning on a previously unheard-of scale. It has also enabled free-flowing global communications, making the vast world a much more integrated community. 41. OnePlus Nord 2 5G Review OnePlus launches new mid-range Nord 2 5G Android smartphone. With 12GB RAM and 256 GB storage, it will compete with Google Pixel 4a 5G, and Samsung Galaxy A52. 42. What Is Google Fi And How Does It Work? Google Fi is a versatile virtual system transporter (MVNO) that gives voice calling, SMS, and portable broadband administrations. It’s situated in the United States, and banded together fundamentally with U.S.- based cell bearers, yet you can utilize it for universal calling, and worldwide information is likewise accessible. Inclusion and administration are like significant bearers, while estimating is in accordance with lower cost MVNOs. Google Fi works with most present day telephones including Android gadgets from most producers, just as the iPhone. 43. How Technology Is Revolutionizing the Dating Scene for Millennials and Gen Zers These days, it’s hard to imagine life without computers; the advances in technology leading to the development of smartphones and tablets have truly made the personal computer ubiquitous. Thirty-five years ago, when Microsoft was founded, computing stood on the threshold of a new era; it’s hard to imagine Bill Gates and Paul D. Allen knew what lay in store, and when, two years later, Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak made the first truly usable personal computer - the Apple II - the Age of Computing dawned on an unsuspecting world. 44. How Can Smartphone Tech Elevate Car Technology To Help Assess The Roads Better? Many cars nowadays have a navigation system with a display inside the car of where you are going. 45. Not-So-True Smartphone Hacks I'm sure a friend or family member has told you every do-it-yourself smartphone trick in the book. For example: don’t charge your phone using knock-off cables, bury your device in a bag of rice to reverse water damage, phone signals interfere with hospital, plane, and gas station technology, and more. Some of these are true, many of them are false. Who is to blame? General word of mouth. Let’s dig in. 46. AttachBack So Far: The Story of My Early-Stage Startup Can a brand new startup forever change the way we use our phones? I think I know the answer. In this post, I’ll share the story of my fledgling startup that aims to do just that. 47. The Technological Relevance of the iPhone X Design Despite the covid19-pandemic sending the world into frenzy, the new iPhone 12 might just bring some good news for the Apple loyalists and even the company in general. Although a lot has been speculated regarding the design and the innovations surrounding the same, we will take some time out to discuss the technological relevance of the inclusions. 48. How COVID-19 Showed Us We Don't Need New Smartphones Every Single Year The year 2020 has started off quite roughly: the new COVID-19 virus, already dubbed as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, spread across the world quite rapidly, already infecting hundreds of thousands and killing tens of thousands of people. 49. Android P Developer Preview Released Android is the most popular operating systems these days and especially when you are a mobile user, you tend to opt for the android. The reason behind the same is that android is easy to use and open source which makes it easier for each and everyone to operate. Another reason behind the increase in the number of android users is that the android based mobiles are cheaper when compared to the iOS based phones. 50. Research Shows That Smartphone Addiction Is As Dreadful As Drug Abuse Do you know that  62 percent of Americans check their smartphones more than 160 times per day? And a whopping 76.5 percent of people consider themselves addicted to their smartphones. 51. How Apps Can Steal Your Privacy Each day, the world makes 250 million terabytes of new data – every second 946 Instagram photos are taken, 8,690 tweets are posted, 77,783 things are searched on Google, and 2,845,459 emails are sent and received all over the world. With all of this new data, keeping your data private and away from prying eyes that will exploit any information about you is becoming more difficult by the day. Most people have no idea who owns their data, let alone what they are doing with it. 52. Hacking The Phone Repair Revolution: Current Phone Replacement Cycle Most people have been keeping their smartphones longer because of fewer new features and a high price. Today, repairing your phone is far more economical. 53. Swipe right for dopamine How smartphone navigation feeds our reward receptors 54. The Independent Phone :  More Privacy, Less Freedom? Freedom and privacy tend to go together, but there is a difference. With a more private phone, does it really mean you have more freedom? 55. Latest in Tech: Instagram Fined Millions Over Children's Data Privacy There's always something new in the world of technology, and it can be hard to keep up. 56. The Impact Of Blockchain Technology On Mobile Applications Blockchain technology has impacted and improved almost all sectors of modern technology, one of which is mobile application. 57. How To Find a Perfect Phone My teacher once told me in school, “Your shoe reflects a lot about your personality,” which seemed weird because our school forced us all to wear the same shoe. 58. Why You Should Repair Your Broken Smartphone Cell phones are a crutch in American culture and when our crutches are broken, we struggle to function as well. Since 1973, the rise of cellular phones have been the fastest growing technology phenomenon ever. 95% of Americans owned a cell phone in 2018, up 33% from 2002. 59. Cool Mobile Tech Stories 2021 I have some mobile tech stories to share with our slogging folks, hope you will like them. 60. Top Gadget Stories 2021 Looking for some cool gadget stories? Here are some interesting gadget stories from March 2021. Enjoy! 61. 7 Ways To Keep Your Mobile Phone Secure It is critical to change our outlook towards the security of smartphones and adopt as many precautions as possible for safeguarding ourselves. 62. Technologies That has Changed Our Lives Man-made technologies have now changed the lives of a Man to an extreme extent. We have made progress very quickly in the last 3-4 decades. It has taken us so far that many of us nowadays cannot imagine a single day without checking our smartphones now. 63. Proximity Events Specification: How To Receive Events From Device Proximity Sensors This is an experimental technology
Check the Browser compatibility table carefully before using this in production. 64. How To Save Your Child From Teen Sexting There are a lot of dangerous things your child might be getting into. Digitalization has been a boon for industries, but some teenagers use the same technology that can lead them to dire consequences. Your teen uses different social media platforms and messaging apps to stay connected with their  friends. They share photos on Instagram, message friends through WhatsApp, always share their current location on Facebook. But teens don’t always make the wisest decision. This is when parental control apps like FamiSafe comes into play. 65. Is iOS 16 Really Worth Getting? Apple has its own way of gaining eyeballs, and this time it's the beta release of iOS 16. While the recently launched iOS version is gaining all the attention, reactions are mixed, with some still wondering whether iOS 16 is worth getting or not. To address the same, I wanted to share an in-depth analysis of newly introduced features and usability. 66. Smartphones: The True Cost of Upgrades Photo by Daniel Romero on Unsplash 67. What You Should Know About iBeacon Technology Bluetooth beacons are a technology that sticks out when looking for ways to increase engagement and revenue for physical establishments. And once you get started, you'll be bombarded with terms like iBeacon, Eddystone, and BLE beacons, which might intimidate anovice. Let's go over each phrase, starting with iBeacon technology. 68. How Technology Can Help with Mental Health Diagnosis Imagine for a minute that it's morning and you’ve just woken up. Bleary-eyed still, you fumble for your smartphone. Because, well, what else would you do? We're in 2020, in the middle of a global pandemic, and for better or for worse, approximately 81% of the U.S. population owns a smartphone. Thank you for checking out the 68 most read stories about Smartphones on HackerNoon. to find the most read stories about any technology. Visit the /Learn Repo

68 Stories To Learn About Smartphones

Kite or Board?

¿Cometa o tabla?

Cerf-volant ou planche ?

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カイトかボードか？

Kite ou prancha?

Diều hay ván?

风筝还是木板？

The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . The Robber Robbed here The Robber Robbed Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits. —Pudd’nhead Wilson’s Calendar. Behold, the fool saith, “Put not all thine eggs in the one basket”—which is but a manner of saying, “Scatter your money and your attention;” but the wise man saith, “Put all your eggs in the one basket and—watch that basket” —Pudd’nhead Wilson’s Calendar. What a time of it Dawson’s Landing was having! All its life it had been asleep, but now it hardly got a chance for a nod, so swiftly did big events and crashing surprises come along in one another’s wake: Friday morning, first glimpse of Real Nobility, also grand reception at Aunt Patsy Cooper’s, also great robber-raid; Friday evening, dramatic kicking of the heir of the chief citizen in presence of four hundred people; Saturday morning, emergence as practising lawyer of the long-submerged Pudd’nhead Wilson; Saturday night, duel between chief citizen and titled stranger. The people took more pride in the duel than in all the other events put together, perhaps. It was a glory to their town to have such a thing happen there. In their eyes the principals had reached the summit of human honor. Everybody paid homage to their names; their praises were in all mouths. Even the duelists’ subordinates came in for a handsome share of the public approbation: wherefore Pudd’nhead Wilson was suddenly become a man of consequence. When asked to run for the mayoralty Saturday night he was risking defeat, but Sunday morning found him a made man and his success assured. The twins were prodigiously great, now; the town took them to its bosom with enthusiasm. Day after day, and night after night, they went dining and visiting from house to house, making friends, enlarging and solidifying their popularity, and charming and surprising all with their musical prodigies, and now and then heightening the effects with samples of what they could do in other directions, out of their stock of rare and curious accomplishments. They were so pleased that they gave the regulation thirty days’ notice, the required preparation for citizenship, and resolved to finish their days in this pleasant place. That was the climax. The delighted community rose as one man and applauded; and when the twins were asked to stand for seats in the forthcoming aldermanic board, and consented, the public contentment was rounded and complete. Tom Driscoll was not happy over these things; they sunk deep, and hurt all the way down. He hated the one twin for kicking him, and the other one for being the kicker’s brother. Now and then the people wondered why nothing was heard of the raider, or of the stolen knife or the other plunder, but nobody was able to throw any light on that matter. Nearly a week had drifted by, and still the thing remained a vexed mystery. On Saturday Constable Blake and Pudd’nhead Wilson met on the street, and Tom Driscoll joined them in time to open their conversation for them. He said to Blake—“You are not looking well, Blake; you seem to be annoyed about something. Has anything gone wrong in the detective business? I believe you fairly and justifiably claim to have a pretty good reputation in that line, isn’t it so?”—which made Blake feel good, and look it; but Tom added, “for a country detective”—which made Blake feel the other way, and not only look it, but betray it in his voice— “Yes, sir, I got a reputation; and it’s as good as anybody’s in the profession, too, country or no country.” have “Oh, I beg pardon; I didn’t mean any offense. What I started out to ask was only about the old woman that raided the town—the stoop-shouldered old woman, you know, that you said you were going to catch; and I knew you would, too, because you have the reputation of never boasting, and—well, you—you’ve caught the old woman?” “D——— the old woman!” “Why, sho! you don’t mean to say you haven’t caught her?” “No; I haven’t caught her. If anybody could have caught her, I could; but nobody couldn’t, I don’t care who he is.” “I am sorry, real sorry—for your sake; because, when it gets around that a detective has expressed himself so confidently, and then—” “Don’t you worry, that’s all—don’t you worry; and as for the town, the town needn’t worry, either. She’s my meat—make yourself easy about that. I’m on her track; I’ve got clues that—” “That’s good! Now if you could get an old veteran detective down from St. Louis to help you find out what the clues mean, and where they lead to, and then—” “I’m plenty veteran enough myself, and I don’t need anybody’s help. I’ll have her inside of a we—inside of a month. That I’ll swear to!” Tom said carelessly— “I suppose that will answer—yes, that will answer. But I reckon she is pretty old, and old people don’t often outlive the cautious pace of the professional detective when he has got his clues together and is out on his still-hunt.” Blake’s dull face flushed under this gibe, but before he could set his retort in order Tom had turned to Wilson, and was saying, with placid indifference of manner and voice— “Who got the reward, Pudd’nhead?” Wilson winced slightly, and saw that his own turn was come. “What reward?” “Why, the reward for the thief, and the other one for the knife.” Wilson answered—and rather uncomfortably, to judge by his hesitating fashion of delivering himself— “Well, the—well, in fact, nobody has claimed it yet.” Tom seemed surprised. “Why, is that so?” Wilson showed a trifle of irritation when he replied— “Yes, it’s so. And what of it?” “Oh, nothing. Only I thought you had struck out a new idea, and invented a scheme that was going to revolutionize the time-worn and ineffectual methods of the—” He stopped, and turned to Blake, who was happy now that another had taken his place on the gridiron: “Blake, didn’t you understand him to intimate that it wouldn’t be necessary for you to hunt the old woman down?” “B’George, he said he’d have thief and swag both inside of three days—he did, by hokey! and that’s just about a week ago. Why, I said at the time that no thief and no thief’s pal was going to try to pawn or sell a thing where he knowed the pawnbroker could get both rewards by taking into camp the swag. It was the blessedest idea that ever struck!” him with I “You’d change your mind,” said Wilson, with irritated bluntness, “if you knew the entire scheme instead of only part of it.” “Well,” said the constable, pensively, “I had the idea that it wouldn’t work, and up to now I’m right anyway.” “Very well, then, let it stand at that, and give it a further show. It has worked at least as well as your own methods, you perceive.” The constable hadn’t anything handy to hit back with, so he discharged a discontented sniff, and said nothing. After the night that Wilson had partly revealed his scheme at his house, Tom had tried for several days to guess out the secret of the rest of it, but had failed. Then it occurred to him to give Roxana’s smarter head a chance at it. He made up a supposititious case, and laid it before her. She thought it over, and delivered her verdict upon it. Tom said to himself, “She’s hit it, sure!” He thought he would test that verdict, now, and watch Wilson’s face; so he said reflectively— “Wilson, you’re not a fool—a fact of recent discovery. Whatever your scheme was, it had sense in it, Blake’s opinion to the contrary notwithstanding. I don’t ask you to reveal it, but I will suppose a case—a case which will answer as a starting-point for the real thing I am going to come at, and that’s all I want. You offered five hundred dollars for the knife, and five hundred for the thief. We will suppose, for argument’s sake, that the first reward is and the second offered by to pawnbrokers and—” advertised private letter Blake slapped his thigh, and cried out— “By Jackson, he’s got you, Pudd’nhead! Now why couldn’t I or fool have thought of that?” any Wilson said to himself, “Anybody with a reasonably good head would have thought of it. I am not surprised that Blake didn’t detect it; I am only surprised that Tom did. There is more to him than I supposed.” He said nothing aloud, and Tom went on: “Very well. The thief would not suspect that there was a trap, and he would bring or send the knife, and say he bought it for a song, or found it in the road, or something like that, and try to collect the reward, and be arrested—wouldn’t he?” “Yes,” said Wilson. “I think so,” said Tom. “There can’t be any doubt of it. Have you ever seen that knife?” “No.” “Has any friend of yours?” “Not that I know of.” “Well, I begin to think I understand why your scheme failed.” “What do you mean, Tom? What are you driving at?” asked Wilson, with a dawning sense of discomfort. “Why, that there any such knife.” isn’t “Look here, Wilson,” said Blake, “Tom Driscoll’s right, for a thousand dollars—if I had it.” Wilson’s blood warmed a little, and he wondered if he had been played upon by those strangers; it certainly had something of that look. But what could they gain by it? He threw out that suggestion. Tom replied: “Gain? Oh, nothing that you would value, maybe. But they are strangers making their way in a new community. Is it nothing to them to appear as pets of an Oriental prince—at no expense? Is it nothing to them to be able to dazzle this poor little town with thousand-dollar rewards—at no expense? Wilson, there isn’t any such knife, or your scheme would have fetched it to light. Or if there is any such knife, they’ve got it yet. I believe, myself, that they’ve seen such a knife, for Angelo pictured it out with his pencil too swiftly and handily for him to have been inventing it, and of course I can’t swear that they’ve never had it; but this I’ll go bail for—if they had it when they came to this town, they’ve got it yet.” Blake said— “It looks mighty reasonable, the way Tom puts it; it most certainly does.” Tom responded, turning to leave— “You find the old woman, Blake, and if she can’t furnish the knife, go and search the twins!” Tom sauntered away. Wilson felt a good deal depressed. He hardly knew what to think. He was loath to withdraw his faith from the twins, and was resolved not to do it on the present indecisive evidence; but—well, he would think, and then decide how to act. “Blake, what do you think of this matter?” “Well, Pudd’nhead, I’m bound to say I put it up the way Tom does. They hadn’t the knife; or if they had it, they’ve got it yet.” The men parted. Wilson said to himself: “I believe they had it; if it had been stolen, the scheme would have restored it, that is certain. And so I believe they’ve got it yet.” Tom had no purpose in his mind when he encountered those two men. When he began his talk he hoped to be able to gall them a little and get a trifle of malicious entertainment out of it. But when he left, he left in great spirits, for he perceived that just by pure luck and no troublesome labor he had accomplished several delightful things: he had touched both men on a raw spot and seen them squirm; he had modified Wilson’s sweetness for the twins with one small bitter taste that he wouldn’t be able to get out of his mouth right away; and, best of all, he had taken the hated twins down a peg with the community; for Blake would gossip around freely, after the manner of detectives, and within a week the town would be laughing at them in its sleeve for offering a gaudy reward for a bauble which they either never possessed or hadn’t lost. Tom was very well satisfied with himself. Tom’s behavior at home had been perfect during the entire week. His uncle and aunt had seen nothing like it before. They could find no fault with him anywhere. Saturday evening he said to the Judge— “I’ve had something preying on my mind, uncle, and as I am going away, and might never see you again, I can’t bear it any longer. I made you believe I was afraid to fight that Italian adventurer. I had to get out of it on some pretext or other, and maybe I chose badly, being taken unawares, but no honorable person could consent to meet him in the field, knowing what I knew about him.” “Indeed? What was that?” “Count Luigi is a confessed assassin.” “Incredible!” “It’s perfectly true. Wilson detected it in his hand, by palmistry, and charged him with it, and cornered him up so close that he had to confess; but both twins begged us on their knees to keep the secret, and swore they would lead straight lives here; and it was all so pitiful that we gave our word of honor never to expose them while they kept that promise. You would have done it yourself, uncle.” “You are right, my boy; I would. A man’s secret is still his own property, and sacred, when it has been surprised out of him like that. You did well, and I am proud of you.” Then he added mournfully, “But I wish I could have been saved the shame of meeting an assassin on the field of honor.” “It couldn’t be helped, uncle. If I had known you were going to challenge him I should have felt obliged to sacrifice my pledged word in order to stop it, but Wilson couldn’t be expected to do otherwise than keep silent.” “Oh, no; Wilson did right, and is in no way to blame. Tom, Tom, you have lifted a heavy load from my heart; I was stung to the very soul when I seemed to have discovered that I had a coward in my family.” “You may imagine what it cost to assume such a part, uncle.” me “Oh, I know it, poor boy, I know it. And I can understand how much it has cost you to remain under that unjust stigma to this time. But it is all right now, and no harm is done. You have restored my comfort of mind, and with it your own; and both of us had suffered enough.” The old man sat awhile plunged in thought; then he looked up with a satisfied light in his eye, and said: “That this assassin should have put the affront upon me of letting me meet him on the field of honor as if he were a gentleman is a matter which I will presently settle—but not now. I will not shoot him until after election. I see a way to ruin them both before; I will attend to that first. Neither of them shall be elected, that I promise. You are sure that the fact that he is an assassin has not got abroad?” “Perfectly certain of it, sir.” “It will be a good card. I will fling a hint at it from the stump on the polling-day. It will sweep the ground from under both of them.” “There’s not a doubt of it. It will finish them.” “That and outside work among the voters will, to a certainty. I want you to come down here by and by and work privately among the rag-tag and bobtail. You shall spend money among them; I will furnish it.” Another point scored against the detested twins! Really it was a great day for Tom. He was encouraged to chance a parting shot, now, at the same target, and did it. “You know that wonderful Indian knife that the twins have been making such a to-do about? Well, there’s no track or trace of it yet; so the town is beginning to sneer and gossip and laugh. Half the people believe they never had any such knife, the other half believe they had it and have got it still. I’ve heard twenty people talking like that to-day.” Yes, Tom’s blemishless week had restored him to the favor of his aunt and uncle. His mother was satisfied with him, too. Privately, she believed she was coming to love him, but she did not say so. She told him to go along to St. Louis, now, and she would get ready and follow. Then she smashed her whisky bottle and said— “Dah now! I’s a-gwyne to make you walk as straight as a string, Chambers, en so I’s bown’ you ain’t gwyne to git no bad example out o’ yo’ mammy. I tole you you couldn’t go into no bad comp’ny. Well, you’s gwyne into my comp’ny, en I’s gwyne to fill de bill. Now, den, trot along, trot along!” Tom went aboard one of the big transient boats that night with his heavy satchel of miscellaneous plunder, and slept the sleep of the unjust, which is serener and sounder than the other kind, as we know by the hanging-eve history of a million rascals. But when he got up in the morning, luck was against him again: A brother-thief had robbed him while he slept, and gone ashore at some intermediate landing. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Mark Twain (2004). The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/102/pg102-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

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