LITMIR.BIZ

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and liked the music Ruth was playing though he was not susceptible to music.

      11. Develop the following statement.

      1. Arthur gave Martin an opportunity to recover himself.

      2. An oil-painting caught and held Martin.

      3. Martin looked at books as a starving man would look at food.

      4. Martin was thrilling to the new impression.

      5. Martin felt a shock looking at Ruth.

      6. Martin felt himself angry for the boast.

      7. During the first part of the dinner Martin was very quiet.

      8. Martin was a brave man.

      9. Ruth was glancing at Martin across her shoulder.

      12. Retell the chapter for the persons of Martin Eden, Ruth, Mrs. Morse, Arthur.

      Chapter II

      Martin awoke next morning from rosy scenes of dream to a steamy atmosphere that smelled of soapsuds and dirty clothes. As he came out of his room he heard the splash of water, a sharp exclamation, and a resounding smack as his sister Gertrude visited her irritation upon one of her numerous progeny. The squall of the child went through him like a knife. He was aware that the whole thing, the very air he breathed, was repulsive and mean. How different, he thought, from the atmosphere of beauty and repose of the house wherein Ruth dwelt.

      “Come here, Alfred,” he called to the crying child, at the same time thrusting his hand into his trousers pocket. He put a quarter in the youngster’s hand, and held him in his arms a moment, soothing his sobs. “Now run along and get some candy, and don’t forget to give some to your brothers and sisters.”

      His sister lifted a flushed face from the wash-tub and looked at him.

      “A nickel would have been enough,” she said. “It’s just like you, no idea of the value of money. The child’ll eat himself sick.”

      “That’s all right, Sis,” he answered jovially. “My money will take care of itself. If you weren’t so busy I’d kiss you.”

      He wanted to be affectionate to this sister, who was good, and who, in her way, he knew loved him. But the hard work, the many children, and the nagging of her husband had changed her.

      “Go along an’ get your breakfast,” she said roughly, though secretly pleased. He had always been her favourite.

      Martin had his breakfast in the kitchen, then went downstairs and out into the street, breathing great breaths of air.

      He decided to visit the Oakland Library, because Ruth lived in Oakland. Who could tell? A library was a most likely place for her, and he might see her there. He did not know the way of libraries, and he wandered through endless rows of books. He had heard of book philosophy, but had not imagined there had been so much written about it. He found books on trigonometry in the mathematics section, and ran through the pages staring at the meaningless formulas and figures. From every side the books seemed to press upon him and crush him. He had never dreamed that the fund of human knowledge bulked so big. He was frightened. How could his brain ever master it all? Later, he remembered that there were other men, many men, who had mastered it; and he swore that his brain could do what theirs had done. No more of the sea for him. There was power in all that wealth of books, and if he would do great things he must do them on the land.

      Noon came, and afternoon. He forgot to eat, and searched for the books on etiquette; for his mind was troubled by a simple and very concrete problem. When you meet a young lady, and she asks you to call, how soon can you call? But he sought vainly for the answer. He abandoned his search. He had not found what he wanted though he had discovered that he would have to learn how to be polite.

      “Did you find what you wanted?” the man at the desk asked him as he was leaving.

      “Yes, sir,” he answered. “You have a fine library here.”

      The man nodded. “We should be glad to see you here often. Are you a sailor?”

      “Yes, sir,” he answered. “And I’ll come again.”

      “Now how did he know that?” he asked himself, as he went down the stairs.

_______

      Martin spent long hours in the Oakland and Berkeley Libraries, and made out application blanks for membership for himself, his sisters Gertrude and Marian, and Jim, his sister’s boarder, the latter’s consent being obtained at the expense of several glasses of beer. With four cards permitting him to draw books, he burned the gas late in the servant’s room, and was charged fifty cents a week for it by Mr. Higginbotham, his sister’s husband.

      He bought a dictionary and many different books.

      He dared not go near Ruth’s neighbourhood in the daytime, but night found him lurking like a thief around the Morse home, stealing glimpses at the windows. One afternoon he saw her mother coming out of a bank, and received another proof of the enormous distance that separated Ruth from him. She was of the class that dealt with banks. He had never been inside a bank in his life, and he had an idea that such institutions were frequented only by the very rich and the very powerful.

      In one way he had undergone a moral revolution. He must be clean if he wished to be worthy of breathing the same air with Ruth. He washed his teeth, and scrubbed his hands with a kitchen scrub-brush, till he saw a nail-brush in a drug-store window. He swiftly noted the difference between the baggy knees of the trousers worn by the working-class, and the straight line from knee to foot of those worn by the men above the working-class. Also, he learned the reason why, and invaded his sister’s kitchen in search of irons and ironing-board. He had misadventure at first, hopelessly burning one pair and buying another with what little money he still had.

      But the reform went deeper than mere outward appearance. He still smoked, but he drank no more. Up to that time, drinking had seemed to him the proper thing for men to do, and he had prided himself on his strong head. But now the need for strong drink had vanished. He was drunken in new and more profound ways – with Ruth, who had fired him with love, with books and with the sense of personal cleanliness.

      Exercises

      1. Listen to the chapter with your book closed and put the statements in the correct order.

      1. Martin spent hours on end in the servant’s room reading.

      2. The books in the library pressed upon Martin and crushed him.

      3. Martin’s dwelling differed much from Ruth’s home.

      4. Ruth had fired with love.

      5. Martin liked his sister and nephew.

      6. Martin did not exactly know how to behave in the company of such a girl as Ruth was.

      7. Martin thought the library was a most lovely place for Ruth.

      2. Learn the words from the text:

      exclamation, irritation, aware, repulsive, mean, soothe, value, affectionate, crush, swear, vain, abandon, consent, obtain, dare, undergo, misadventure, vanish.

      3. Complete the sentences using the words from the text. Make the changes where necessary.

      1. He did not .......... say what he thought.

      2. The newspaper reports of scandals are a constant source of .......... for the president.

      3. The magician .......... in a puff of smoke.

      4. They are .......... of dangers.

      5. His mother .......... abandoned him when he was five years old.

      6. What a .......... man.

      7. The winner will receive a prize to the .......... of 10,000.

      8. Don’t be so .......... to your little brother.

      9. She was doing her best to .......... her crying baby.

      4. Choose a word to match the following

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