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The Floating Press - Charles Dickens

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22 pages

English

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Looking for a quick but engrossing read? In "Hunted Down," master storyteller Charles Dickens makes an uncharacteristic foray into quasi-detective fiction, and creating an idiosyncratic protagonist whose strange interests and preoccupations make him a natural when it comes to tracking down criminals.

Informations

Publié par	The Floating Press
Date de parution	01 juin 2012
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781775459347
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0100€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

HUNTED DOWN
* * *
CHARLES DICKENS

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Hunted Down First published in 1859 ISBN 978-1-77545-934-7 © 2012 The Floating Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. While every effort has been used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in The Floating Press edition of this book, The Floating Press does not assume liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this book. The Floating Press does not accept responsibility for loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the accuracy or currency of information contained in this book. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Many suitcases look alike. Visit www.thefloatingpress.com
Contents
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I II III IV V
I
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Most of us see some romances in life. In my capacity as ChiefManager of a Life Assurance Office, I think I have within the lastthirty years seen more romances than the generality of men, howeverunpromising the opportunity may, at first sight, seem.
As I have retired, and live at my ease, I possess the means that Iused to want, of considering what I have seen, at leisure. Myexperiences have a more remarkable aspect, so reviewed, than theyhad when they were in progress. I have come home from the Playnow, and can recall the scenes of the Drama upon which the curtainhas fallen, free from the glare, bewilderment, and bustle of theTheatre.
Let me recall one of these Romances of the real world.
There is nothing truer than physiognomy, taken in connection withmanner. The art of reading that book of which Eternal Wisdomobliges every human creature to present his or her own page withthe individual character written on it, is a difficult one,perhaps, and is little studied. It may require some naturalaptitude, and it must require (for everything does) some patienceand some pains. That these are not usually given to it, - thatnumbers of people accept a few stock commonplace expressions of theface as the whole list of characteristics, and neither seek norknow the refinements that are truest, - that You, for instance,give a great deal of time and attention to the reading of music,Greek, Latin, French, Italian, Hebrew, if you please, and do notqualify yourself to read the face of the master or mistress lookingover your shoulder teaching it to you, - I assume to be fivehundred times more probable than improbable. Perhaps a littleself-sufficiency may be at the bottom of this; facial expressionrequires no study from you, you think; it comes by nature to you toknow enough about it, and you are not to be taken in.
I confess, for my part, that I HAVE been taken in, over and overagain. I have been taken in by acquaintances, and I have beentaken in (of course) by friends; far oftener by friends than by anyother class of persons. How came I to be so deceived? Had I quitemisread their faces?
No. Believe me, my first impression of those people, founded onface and manner alone, was invariably true. My mistake was insuffering them to come nearer to me and explain themselves away.
II
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The partition which separated my own office from our general outeroffice in the City was of thick plate-glass. I could see throughit what passed in the outer office, without hearing a word. I hadit put up in place of a wall that had been there for years, - eversince the house was built. It is no matter whether I did or didnot make the change in order that I might derive my firstimpression of strangers, who came to us on business, from theirfaces alone, without being influenced by anything they said.Enough to mention that I turned my glass partition to that account,and that a Life Assurance Office is at all times exposed to bepractised upon by the most crafty and cruel of the human race.
It was through my glass partition that I first saw the gentlemanwhose story I am going to tell.
He had come in without my observing it, and had put his hat andumbrella on the broad counter, and was bending over it to take somepapers from one of the clerks.