Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Chapter seven. For better or forworse, I rejoiced greatly in the happy
advent of the foreign visitors. Theywere indeed a pleasant break in our little
family circle, a circle which,though very sweet and dear to me,
I had sometimes felt might grow inmany years to have an element of sameness
(00:22):
about it. The winter began todraw on, and we made several little
colonies, one in the Boylston Cave, one in the neighboring island, which
Ernest had ingeniously christened Snark Island,and several other equally desirable and agreeable settlements.
Every one was happy and contented.Many wondrous tales were told or read
(00:48):
in turn by the boys and Mishapduring the long evenings, and when these
grew too exciting for healthful imaginations,I would chasten the merriment by reciting parts
of my private journal, which causedthem to think so deeply that after a
few sentences they often retired to theirrooms to ponder until morning. In the
(01:11):
early part of the autumn, wehad hung up the skin of Fritz's anaconda
to dry. Fastened to a stoutlimb of our family tree, it became
a portentous ornament but a misfortune whichhappened to the Marquis of Hindaiyanos shortly afterwards,
(01:32):
warned us to stuff the huge cuticleof the tropical monster. Returning home
from a soiree on Snark Island lateone night, the marquis had occasion to
step along the limb from which dependedthe serpent. Just as he approached the
animal, his foot slipped and hewas precipitated down into the cavernous jaws.
(01:56):
I was just in my first sleepwhen I was startled by a cry succer
tone no de chien ah, andthe sounds became muffled. I awoke my
dear wife and earnestly requested her tolisten. Amoi AMOI help, I am
perdieu swallowed to ta fey let ushasten, said my wife, springing up
(02:23):
rashness, I observed firmly detaining herone hand, while with the other I
emphasized my remarks, is ever aquality to be eschewed, especially after dark.
If the gentleman is, as hesays himself, swallowed, we can
sorrow for him in the morning.Amoi amoi father, father, cried little
(02:50):
Franz. The Marquis of haindaanos hastumbled down the anaconda. Misfortune, I
replied, may happen to any one, and instead of allowing excitement to get
the better of us, we shouldrather be thankful for our own preservation.
Notwithstanding, I complied with the lad'swish and lighted a candle. Meanwhile,
(03:15):
the cries of the marquis had summonedquite a little gathering. He had fallen
completely to the end of the serpent, as was now made evident by the
somewhat violent agitations of the animal's tail. Get me out, shrieked the voice
inside jamurs courage. Mon Amie,I said cheerily, as I did a
(03:38):
little light shivering, for pajamas arenot a sufficient protection in the rainy season.
After some trouble, we persuaded theiguana to bite a hole in the
anaconda's tail, through which we drewout the unlucky marquis. He thanked us
warmly and withdrew to his room.This event decided us, and on the
(04:02):
morrow we began to stuff the serpent. We found this no light task.
After emptying into the cavern five tonsof hay, which my brave wife gave
us from her bag. We concludedthat operations must go faster, So we
constructed a derrick in combination with apile driver, and in three weeks,
(04:26):
by aid of these powerful engines,we had emptied two granite quarries, all
the seaweed about Snark Island, andthe wardrobe of our wrecked vessel into the
skin, and had the gratification ofseeing as fine a specimen for a zoological
collection as anyone could wish. Iimmediately built a museum in a rock,
(04:51):
where the presence of more mephitic airinduced Earnest, with his usual wit,
to christen the building again Gass Museum. Here we put specimens of all sorts.
And here little Franz, who tomy great joy, was developing a
fine taste for natural history, passedmany a long hour picking out the eyes
(05:15):
of lobsters and watching the heart pulsationsof the oyster and the clam. Thus
passed nearly a year. Fritz,whose attachment to Miss Happ was becoming very
evident, acquainted me of the fact. One day in the spring, with
many blushes, I rejoiced at theprospect of a permanent settlement in our dear
(05:41):
island, And as Colonel Hap professedhimself equally pleased. Arrangements were made for
a speedy marriage. Aunt vas verda. The object zigine of here living,
asked Count Vaughan Apollinaris, whose ideasflowed freely and mixed readily with any subject,
(06:02):
I confess. I replied that thestudy of nature is the only one
possible. And do you not desireyour children to have a liberal education?
Asked Colonel Hap. We need auniversity here, yah, a gymnasium a
Saint deutschlandt continued Apollinaris. Your idea, gentlemen, I answered, speaks well
(06:27):
for you. We will found oneat once and educate my younger children and
the crews of your ship. Weshould have a commencement to begin with,
said Colonel Hap. No no,Papa said miss Hap, let us have
a class day, and Fritz andI will be married. Then I approved
(06:48):
of the plan and kissed my futuredaughter in law on the forehead, which
would have pleased her had she notbeen preoccupied at the moment. All was
arranged in a satisfactory manner. Onaccount of my admirable qualifications for the situation,
I was unanimously chosen president of theuniversity with a view to this position,
(07:13):
I had prepared a set of subscriptionbooklets and a report. My dear
wife was obviously best qualified for secretary, so we built a railing, neat
and strong around her, and providedher with paper, pens, ink,
and many large books. Count Apollinarisdisappeared for some days. On his return
(07:38):
he brought something carefully covered up incanvas. On taking this covering off,
he displayed to us a most ingeniousapparatus. An index needle moving on a
pivot dependent on two concentric circles madeof galvanized German silver, pointed to a
(07:59):
graded crest of the same metal.The degrees ranged from minus thirty three and
a third to thirty three. Thewhole was regulated by the formula x squared
plus two x y plus y squaredequals parentheses x plus y parentheses squared.
(08:22):
This, in combination with factorial N, made the first factor of an expression
in which the second was W,representing weight or difficulty, and the third
was T, representing time not lessthan one and not greater than three hours.
(08:43):
A synthetized plate was suspended by manyyards of the strongest red tape over
A firepan. Connected with this platewas a balance that fed a cog wheel
which regulated the two concentric circles.Before or spoken of a lever throwing W
(09:03):
or T into operation connected with anescapement united to the x plus two x
y plus y squared bar was practicablefor the thumb and forefinger. Any blue
book that needed valuation was burned upin the firepan. Its quality was determined
(09:24):
by the lever. The flames heatedthe sensitized plate, which communicated the quality
of the blue book expressed in termsof heat, to the needle, which
immediately pointed to the correct mark,never exceeding thirty three nor less than minus
thirty three. In a third,we shed happy tears over this triumph of
(09:46):
mechanical skill, and I appointed VanApollinaris Professor of German. At once the
weeks passed and the happy day dawned. I regretted that the rough life which
my son Fritz had been leading hadleft its mark upon his dress coat,
but misshapp kindly said that he wouldbe presentable to her in any costume whatever.
(10:11):
My dear wife, who was muchadmired by the foreigners, made a
beautiful cloak of skins for herself,which became her admirably. The Marquis of
hanyati Yanos had been quite marked inhis attention to her. But I assured
him, if he wished to takeher away with him, he would find
(10:33):
that she preferred me to him.Though my spirit of unselfishness, I continued
forbids my throwing any obstacle in theway of such a plan. I cannot
reckon without my wife, as ittakes two to make a bargain. We
smiled pleasantly and shook hands. Themarriage was very affecting the tropical FOLI drooped
(11:01):
in every direction. Lanterns hung inthe foliage, invisible until night permitted them
to display their gay colors. Crowdsof visitors witnessed the ceremony. As the
wedding march rang blandly grandly through theglad banyan trees. The people formed into
a long procession, which, headedby the brass band, wound in and
(11:26):
out of the shrubbery, till itseemed to me that I saw three processions
instead of one. The ship's chaplainread the service. Colonel hap standing near
his daughter, and my dear wifeseated close by, dissolved in tears of
happiness and gratitude, who giveth thiswoman away? I of can er er,
(11:52):
that is of I do, saidColonel Happy, hurriedly, while the
enchanted spectators sang the class day songcomposed expressly for the occasion, poetry by
Ernest, whose facile pen could accomplishnearly anything, and music by Fritz,
(12:16):
who had passed the winter at hisupright piano, playing duets with mishap.
When the ceremony was completed with loudcheers, we joined hands and danced round
the nodding trees. After this wewent to the banquet, where we found
that the iguana, taking advantage ofthe fact that general attention was diverted from
(12:39):
himself, had eaten up a largequantity of the wedding cake. His imprudence
caused him a good deal of pain. Later in the evening I made an
appropriate speech. The fact of thewedding cake being gone, I said,
smilingly, matters very little, indeed, since we have the Julipa at Widiana
(13:03):
in large quantities. Here here shoutedmany voices while they raised their glasses and
made them touch with a musical ring, which so expressively denotes a joyful unanimity
of sentiment. Let us drink tothe success of the college university I mean
(13:24):
here here, and the unanimity withwhich we clinked the glasses reduced us to
using gourds for the remaining toasts.Long life to the young couple here here
then began a series of toasts.Three cheers for the chaplain who married us,
said Fritz. Loud cheering rent theair. Three cheers for my dear
(13:48):
father, the President. The cheersseemed to diminish in their intensity, so,
thinking that our guests were not unnaturallyfatigued, I rose and our pleasant
party broke up. We proceeded tothe family tree, where a large fire
was kindled, and suddenly a loudreport rent the air, and our foliaged
(14:11):
home was no more. The President'sreport had blown it up. The night
has closed around me. I amfeeling very well, and as my dear
children go on their honeymoon tomorrow,I close this journal of our dangers and
our joys and send it with themthat others in the great world may know
(14:37):
of our life and sorrow and rejoicewith its vicissitudes. Phinis, end of
chapter seven, end of the newSwiss Family Robinson, A Tale for children
of all ages by Owen Wister
Chapter seven. For better or forworse, I rejoiced greatly in the happy
advent of the foreign visitors. Theywere indeed a pleasant break in our little
family circle, a circle which,though very sweet and dear to me,
I had sometimes felt might grow inmany years to have an element of sameness
(00:22):
about it. The winter began todraw on, and we made several little
colonies, one in the Boylston Cave, one in the neighboring island, which
Ernest had ingeniously christened Snark Island,and several other equally desirable and agreeable settlements.
Every one was happy and contented.Many wondrous tales were told or read
(00:48):
in turn by the boys and Mishapduring the long evenings, and when these
grew too exciting for healthful imaginations,I would chasten the merriment by reciting parts
of my private journal, which causedthem to think so deeply that after a
few sentences they often retired to theirrooms to ponder until morning. In the
(01:11):
early part of the autumn, wehad hung up the skin of Fritz's anaconda
to dry. Fastened to a stoutlimb of our family tree, it became
a portentous ornament but a misfortune whichhappened to the Marquis of Hindaiyanos shortly afterwards,
(01:32):
warned us to stuff the huge cuticleof the tropical monster. Returning home
from a soiree on Snark Island lateone night, the marquis had occasion to
step along the limb from which dependedthe serpent. Just as he approached the
animal, his foot slipped and hewas precipitated down into the cavernous jaws.
(01:56):
I was just in my first sleepwhen I was startled by a cry succer
tone no de chien ah, andthe sounds became muffled. I awoke my
dear wife and earnestly requested her tolisten. Amoi AMOI help, I am
perdieu swallowed to ta fey let ushasten, said my wife, springing up
(02:23):
rashness, I observed firmly detaining herone hand, while with the other I
emphasized my remarks, is ever aquality to be eschewed, especially after dark.
If the gentleman is, as hesays himself, swallowed, we can
sorrow for him in the morning.Amoi amoi father, father, cried little
(02:50):
Franz. The Marquis of haindaanos hastumbled down the anaconda. Misfortune, I
replied, may happen to any one, and instead of allowing excitement to get
the better of us, we shouldrather be thankful for our own preservation.
Notwithstanding, I complied with the lad'swish and lighted a candle. Meanwhile,
(03:15):
the cries of the marquis had summonedquite a little gathering. He had fallen
completely to the end of the serpent, as was now made evident by the
somewhat violent agitations of the animal's tail. Get me out, shrieked the voice
inside jamurs courage. Mon Amie,I said cheerily, as I did a
(03:38):
little light shivering, for pajamas arenot a sufficient protection in the rainy season.
After some trouble, we persuaded theiguana to bite a hole in the
anaconda's tail, through which we drewout the unlucky marquis. He thanked us
warmly and withdrew to his room.This event decided us, and on the
(04:02):
morrow we began to stuff the serpent. We found this no light task.
After emptying into the cavern five tonsof hay, which my brave wife gave
us from her bag. We concludedthat operations must go faster, So we
constructed a derrick in combination with apile driver, and in three weeks,
(04:26):
by aid of these powerful engines,we had emptied two granite quarries, all
the seaweed about Snark Island, andthe wardrobe of our wrecked vessel into the
skin, and had the gratification ofseeing as fine a specimen for a zoological
collection as anyone could wish. Iimmediately built a museum in a rock,
(04:51):
where the presence of more mephitic airinduced Earnest, with his usual wit,
to christen the building again Gass Museum. Here we put specimens of all sorts.
And here little Franz, who tomy great joy, was developing a
fine taste for natural history, passedmany a long hour picking out the eyes
(05:15):
of lobsters and watching the heart pulsationsof the oyster and the clam. Thus
passed nearly a year. Fritz,whose attachment to Miss Happ was becoming very
evident, acquainted me of the fact. One day in the spring, with
many blushes, I rejoiced at theprospect of a permanent settlement in our dear
(05:41):
island, And as Colonel Hap professedhimself equally pleased. Arrangements were made for
a speedy marriage. Aunt vas verda. The object zigine of here living,
asked Count Vaughan Apollinaris, whose ideasflowed freely and mixed readily with any subject,
(06:02):
I confess. I replied that thestudy of nature is the only one
possible. And do you not desireyour children to have a liberal education?
Asked Colonel Hap. We need auniversity here, yah, a gymnasium a
Saint deutschlandt continued Apollinaris. Your idea, gentlemen, I answered, speaks well
(06:27):
for you. We will found oneat once and educate my younger children and
the crews of your ship. Weshould have a commencement to begin with,
said Colonel Hap. No no,Papa said miss Hap, let us have
a class day, and Fritz andI will be married. Then I approved
(06:48):
of the plan and kissed my futuredaughter in law on the forehead, which
would have pleased her had she notbeen preoccupied at the moment. All was
arranged in a satisfactory manner. Onaccount of my admirable qualifications for the situation,
I was unanimously chosen president of theuniversity with a view to this position,
(07:13):
I had prepared a set of subscriptionbooklets and a report. My dear
wife was obviously best qualified for secretary, so we built a railing, neat
and strong around her, and providedher with paper, pens, ink,
and many large books. Count Apollinarisdisappeared for some days. On his return
(07:38):
he brought something carefully covered up incanvas. On taking this covering off,
he displayed to us a most ingeniousapparatus. An index needle moving on a
pivot dependent on two concentric circles madeof galvanized German silver, pointed to a
(07:59):
graded crest of the same metal.The degrees ranged from minus thirty three and
a third to thirty three. Thewhole was regulated by the formula x squared
plus two x y plus y squaredequals parentheses x plus y parentheses squared.
(08:22):
This, in combination with factorial N, made the first factor of an expression
in which the second was W,representing weight or difficulty, and the third
was T, representing time not lessthan one and not greater than three hours.
(08:43):
A synthetized plate was suspended by manyyards of the strongest red tape over
A firepan. Connected with this platewas a balance that fed a cog wheel
which regulated the two concentric circles.Before or spoken of a lever throwing W
(09:03):
or T into operation connected with anescapement united to the x plus two x
y plus y squared bar was practicablefor the thumb and forefinger. Any blue
book that needed valuation was burned upin the firepan. Its quality was determined
(09:24):
by the lever. The flames heatedthe sensitized plate, which communicated the quality
of the blue book expressed in termsof heat, to the needle, which
immediately pointed to the correct mark,never exceeding thirty three nor less than minus
thirty three. In a third,we shed happy tears over this triumph of
(09:46):
mechanical skill, and I appointed VanApollinaris Professor of German. At once the
weeks passed and the happy day dawned. I regretted that the rough life which
my son Fritz had been leading hadleft its mark upon his dress coat,
but misshapp kindly said that he wouldbe presentable to her in any costume whatever.
(10:11):
My dear wife, who was muchadmired by the foreigners, made a
beautiful cloak of skins for herself,which became her admirably. The Marquis of
hanyati Yanos had been quite marked inhis attention to her. But I assured
him, if he wished to takeher away with him, he would find
(10:33):
that she preferred me to him.Though my spirit of unselfishness, I continued
forbids my throwing any obstacle in theway of such a plan. I cannot
reckon without my wife, as ittakes two to make a bargain. We
smiled pleasantly and shook hands. Themarriage was very affecting the tropical FOLI drooped
(11:01):
in every direction. Lanterns hung inthe foliage, invisible until night permitted them
to display their gay colors. Crowdsof visitors witnessed the ceremony. As the
wedding march rang blandly grandly through theglad banyan trees. The people formed into
a long procession, which, headedby the brass band, wound in and
(11:26):
out of the shrubbery, till itseemed to me that I saw three processions
instead of one. The ship's chaplainread the service. Colonel hap standing near
his daughter, and my dear wifeseated close by, dissolved in tears of
happiness and gratitude, who giveth thiswoman away? I of can er er,
(11:52):
that is of I do, saidColonel Happy, hurriedly, while the
enchanted spectators sang the class day songcomposed expressly for the occasion, poetry by
Ernest, whose facile pen could accomplishnearly anything, and music by Fritz,
(12:16):
who had passed the winter at hisupright piano, playing duets with mishap.
When the ceremony was completed with loudcheers, we joined hands and danced round
the nodding trees. After this wewent to the banquet, where we found
that the iguana, taking advantage ofthe fact that general attention was diverted from
(12:39):
himself, had eaten up a largequantity of the wedding cake. His imprudence
caused him a good deal of pain. Later in the evening I made an
appropriate speech. The fact of thewedding cake being gone, I said,
smilingly, matters very little, indeed, since we have the Julipa at Widiana
(13:03):
in large quantities. Here here shoutedmany voices while they raised their glasses and
made them touch with a musical ring, which so expressively denotes a joyful unanimity
of sentiment. Let us drink tothe success of the college university I mean
(13:24):
here here, and the unanimity withwhich we clinked the glasses reduced us to
using gourds for the remaining toasts.Long life to the young couple here here
then began a series of toasts.Three cheers for the chaplain who married us,
said Fritz. Loud cheering rent theair. Three cheers for my dear
(13:48):
father, the President. The cheersseemed to diminish in their intensity, so,
thinking that our guests were not unnaturallyfatigued, I rose and our pleasant
party broke up. We proceeded tothe family tree, where a large fire
was kindled, and suddenly a loudreport rent the air, and our foliaged
(14:11):
home was no more. The President'sreport had blown it up. The night
has closed around me. I amfeeling very well, and as my dear
children go on their honeymoon tomorrow,I close this journal of our dangers and
our joys and send it with themthat others in the great world may know
(14:37):
of our life and sorrow and rejoicewith its vicissitudes. Phinis, end of
chapter seven, end of the newSwiss Family Robinson, A Tale for children
of all ages by Owen Wister
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