Happy Semiquincentennial to our American listeners. Mark's musical celebration of the big day can be found here. But we also have a pertinent Tale for Our Time for this weekend: My Kinsman, Major Molineux, Nathaniel Hawthorne's allegory of the American Revolution. In tonight's penultimate episode, young Robin thinks he has finally found his eminent cousin:
"Pretty mistress," for I may call her so with a good conscience thought the shrewd youth, since I know nothing to the contrary, -- "my sweet pretty mistress, will you be kind enough to tell me whereabouts I must seek the dwelling of my kinsman, Major Molineux?"
Robin's voice was plaintive and winning, and the female, seeing nothing to be shunned in the handsome country youth, thrust open the door, and came forth into the moonlight. She was a dainty little figure with a white neck, round arms, and a slender waist, at the extremity of which her scarlet petticoat jutted out over a hoop, as if she were standing in a balloon. Moreover, her face was oval and pretty, her hair dark beneath the little cap, and her bright eyes possessed a sly freedom, which triumphed over those of Robin.
"Major Molineux dwells here," said this fair woman.
Members of The Mark Steyn Club can hear Mark read Part Two of our tale simply by clicking here and logging-in. Part One can be found here.
Thank you for all your perceptive comments about this caper. Steyn will be right back here tomorrow with the conclusion of My Kinsman, Major Molineux.
Tales for Our Time is a unique feature of The Mark Steyn Club - and, we're pleased to say, one of our most popular: our nightly audio serialisations of classic literature from Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four to Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, via some neglected but highly pertinent gems such as Conan Doyle's tale of proto-jihadists preying on foolish westerners, The Tragedy of the Korosko. If you're minded to join us in The Mark Steyn Club in this our tenth season, you're more than welcome. You can find more information here. And, if you have a chum you think might enjoy Tales for Our Time (so far, we've covered H G Wells, Dickens, Wodehouse, Kipling, Kafka, Gogol, Baroness Orczy, Victor Hugo, Louisa May Alcott, O Henry, John Buchan, Scott Fitzgerald and more), we have a special Gift Membership that makes a perfect birthday present.