“Yes，unclethatis，ifitwouldbequiteagreeabletoyourself。”
“Wouldn’titanswer，Bobby，ifIweretoleaveitatrandomsometimewithinayearorso，forexample？mustIsayprecisely？”
“Ifyouplease，uncleprecisely。”
“Well，then，Bobby，myboyyou’reafinefellow，aren’tyou？
sinceyouwillhavetheexacttimeI’llwhyI’llobligeyouforonce：“
“Dearuncle！”
“Hush，sir！”[drowningmyvoice]I’llobligeyouforonce。Youshallhavemyconsentandtheplum，wemus’n’tforgettheplum
letmesee！whenshallitbe？To-day’sSundayisn’tit？Well，then，youshallbemarriedpreciselyprecisely，nowmind！whenthreeSundayscometogetherinaweek！Doyouhearme，sir！Whatareyougapingat？Isay，youshallhaveKateandherplumwhenthreeSundayscometogetherinaweekbutnottillthenyouyoungscapegracenottillthen，ifIdieforit。YouknowmeI’mamanofmywordnowbeoff！”Hereheswallowedhisbumperofport，whileIrushedfromtheroomindespair。
Avery“fineoldEnglishgentleman。”wasmygrand-uncleRumgudgeon，butunlikehimofthesong，hehadhisweakpoints。Hewasalittle，pursy，pompous，passionatesemicircularsomebody，witharednose，athickscull，[sic]alongpurse，andastrongsenseofhisownconsequence。Withthebestheartintheworld，hecontrived，throughapredominantwhimofcontradiction，toearnforhimself，amongthosewhoonlyknewhimsuperficially，thecharacterofacurmudgeon。Likemanyexcellentpeople，heseemedpossessedwithaspiritoftantalization，whichmighteasily，atacasualglance，havebeenmistakenformalevolence。Toeveryrequest，apositive“No！”washisimmediateanswer，butintheendinthelong，longendtherewereexceedinglyfewrequestswhichherefused。Againstallattacksuponhispursehemadethemoststurdydefence；buttheamountextortedfromhim，atlast，wasgenerallyindirectratiowiththelengthofthesiegeandthestubbornnessoftheresistance。Incharitynoonegavemoreliberallyorwithaworsegrace。
Forthefinearts，andespeciallyforthebelles-lettres，heentertainedaprofoundcontempt。WiththishehadbeeninspiredbyCasimirPerier，whosepertlittlequery“Aquoiunpoeteestilbon？”
hewasinthehabitofquoting，withaverydrollpronunciation，astheneplusultraoflogicalwit。ThusmyowninklingfortheMuseshadexcitedhisentiredispleasure。Heassuredmeoneday，whenI
askedhimforanewcopyofHorace，thatthetranslationof“Poetanasciturnonfit“was“anastypoetfornothingfit“aremarkwhichItookinhighdudgeon。Hisrepugnanceto“thehumanities“had，also，muchincreasedoflate，byanaccidentalbiasinfavorofwhathesupposedtobenaturalscience。Somebodyhadaccostedhiminthestreet，mistakinghimfornolessapersonagethanDoctorDubbleL。
Dee，thelectureruponquackphysics。Thissethimoffatatangent；
andjustattheepochofthisstoryforstoryitisgettingtobeafterallmygrand-uncleRumgudgeonwasaccessibleandpacificonlyuponpointswhichhappenedtochimeinwiththecapriolesofthehobbyhewasriding。Fortherest，helaughedwithhisarmsandlegs，andhispoliticswerestubbornandeasilyunderstood。Hethought，withHorsley，that“thepeoplehavenothingtodowiththelawsbuttoobeythem。”
Ihadlivedwiththeoldgentlemanallmylife。Myparents，indying，hadbequeathedmetohimasarichlegacy。IbelievetheoldvillainlovedmeashisownchildnearlyifnotquiteaswellashelovedKatebutitwasadog’sexistencethatheledme，afterall。Frommyfirstyearuntilmyfifth，heobligedmewithveryregularfloggings。Fromfivetofifteen，hethreatenedme，hourly，withtheHouseofCorrection。Fromfifteentotwenty，notadaypassedinwhichhedidnotpromisetocutmeoffwithashilling。Iwasasaddog，itistruebutthenitwasapartofmynatureapointofmyfaith。InKate，however，Ihadafirmfriend，andIknewit。Shewasagoodgirl，andtoldmeverysweetlythatImighthaveherplumandallwheneverIcouldbadgermygrand-uncleRumgudgeon，intothenecessaryconsent。Poorgirl！shewasbarelyfifteen，andwithoutthisconsent，herlittleamountinthefundswasnotcome-at-ableuntilfiveimmeasurablesummershad“draggedtheirslowlengthalong。”What，then，todo？Atfifteen，orevenattwenty-one[forI
hadnowpassedmyfiftholympiad]fiveyearsinprospectareverymuchthesameasfivehundred。Invainwebesiegedtheoldgentlemanwithimportunities。HerewasapiecederesistanceasMessieursUdeandCaremewouldsaywhichsuitedhisperversefancytoaT。ItwouldhavestiffedtheindignationofJobhimself，toseehowmuchlikeanoldmouserhebehavedtoustwopoorwretchedlittlemice。Inhishearthewishedfornothingmoreardentlythanourunion。Hehadmadeuphismindtothisallalong。Infact，hewouldhavegivententhousandpoundsfromhisownpocketKate’splumwasherownifhecouldhaveinventedanythinglikeanexcuseforcomplyingwithourverynaturalwishes。Butthenwehadbeensoimprudentastobroachthesubjectourselves。Nottoopposeitundersuchcircumstances，I
sincerelybelieve，wasnotinhispower。
Ihavesaidalreadythathehadhisweakpoints；butinspeakingofthese，Imustnotbeunderstoodasreferringtohisobstinacy：whichwasoneofhisstrongpoints“assurementcen’etaitpassafoible。”WhenImentionhisweaknessIhaveallusiontoabizarreold-womanishsuperstitionwhichbesethim。Hewasgreatindreams，portents，etidgenusomneofrigmarole。Hewasexcessivelypunctilious，too，uponsmallpointsofhonor，and，afterhisownfashion，wasamanofhisword，beyonddoubt。Thiswas，infact，oneofhishobbies。Thespiritofhisvowshemadenoscrupleofsettingatnaught，buttheletterwasabondinviolable。Nowitwasthislatterpeculiarityinhisdisposition，ofwhichKatesingenuityenabledusonefineday，notlongafterourinterviewinthedining-room，totakeaveryunexpectedadvantage，and，havingthus，inthefashionofallmodernbardsandorators，exhaustedinprolegomena，allthetimeatmycommand，andnearlyalltheroomatmydisposal，Iwillsumupinafewwordswhatconstitutesthewholepithofthestory。
IthappenedthensotheFatesordereditthatamongthenavalacquaintancesofmybetrothed，weretwogentlemenwhohadjustsetfootupontheshoresofEngland，afterayear’sabsence，each，inforeigntravel。Incompanywiththesegentlemen，mycousinandI，preconcertedlypaiduncleRumgudgeonavisitontheafternoonofSunday，Octoberthetenth，justthreeweeksafterthememorabledecisionwhichhadsocruellydefeatedourhopes。Forabouthalfanhourtheconversationranuponordinarytopics，butatlast，wecontrived，quitenaturally，togiveitthefollowingturn：
CAPT。PRATT。“WellIhavebeenabsentjustoneyear。Justoneyearto-day，asIliveletmesee！yes！thisisOctoberthetenth。
Youremember，Mr。Rumgudgeon，Icalled，thisdayyeartobidyougood-bye。Andbytheway，itdoesseemsomethinglikeacoincidence，doesitnotthatourfriend，CaptainSmitherton，here，hasbeenabsentexactlyayearalsoayearto-day！”
SMITHERTON。“Yes！justoneyeartoafraction。Youwillremember，Mr。
Rumgudgeon，thatIcalledwithCapt。Pratolonthisveryday，lastyear，topaymypartingrespects。”
UNCLE。“Yes，yes，yesIrememberitverywellveryqueerindeed！Bothofyougonejustoneyear。Averystrangecoincidence，indeed！JustwhatDoctorDubbleL。Deewoulddenominateanextraordinaryconcurrenceofevents。DoctorDub-“
KATE。[Interrupting。]“Tobesure，papa，itissomethingstrange；butthenCaptainPrattandCaptainSmithertondidn’tgoaltogetherthesameroute，andthatmakesadifference，youknow。”
UNCLE。“Idon’tknowanysuchthing，youhuzzy！HowshouldI？Ithinkitonlymakesthemattermoreremarkable，DoctorDubbleL。Dee-
KATE。Why，papa，CaptainPrattwentroundCapeHorn，andCaptainSmithertondoubledtheCapeofGoodHope。”
UNCLE。“Precisely！theonewenteastandtheotherwentwest，youjade，andtheybothhavegonequiteroundtheworld。Bytheby，DoctorDubbleL。Dee-
MYSELF。[Hurriedly。]“CaptainPratt，youmustcomeandspendtheeveningwithusto-morrowyouandSmithertonyoucantellusallaboutyourvoyage，andwellhaveagameofwhistand-
PRATT。“Wist，mydearfellowyouforget。To-morrowwillbeSunday。
Someotherevening-
KATE。“Oh，no。fie！Robert’snotquitesobadasthat。To-day’sSunday。”
PRATT。“IbegbothyourpardonsbutIcan’tbesomuchmistaken。I
knowto-morrow’sSunday，because-“
SMITHERTON。[Muchsurprised。]“Whatareyouallthinkingabout？
Wasn’tyesterday，Sunday，Ishouldliketoknow？”
ALL。“Yesterdayindeed！youareout！”
UNCLE。“To-daysSunday，Isaydon’tIknow？”
PRATT。“Ohno！to-morrow’sSunday。”
SMITHERTON。“Youareallmadeveryoneofyou。IamaspositivethatyesterdaywasSundayasIamthatIsituponthischair。”
KATE。[jumpingupeagerly。]“IseeitIseeitall。Papa，thisisajudgmentuponyou，aboutaboutyouknowwhat。Letmealone，andI’llexplainitallinaminute。It’saverysimplething，indeed。
CaptainSmithertonsaysthatyesterdaywasSunday：soitwas；heisright。CousinBobby，anduncleandIsaythatto-dayisSunday：soitis；weareright。CaptainPrattmaintainsthatto-morrowwillbeSunday：soitwill；heisright，too。Thefactis，weareallright，andthusthreeSundayshavecometogetherinaweek。”
SMITHERTON。[Afterapause。]“Bytheby，Pratt，Katehasuscompletely。Whatfoolswetwoare！Mr。Rumgudgeon，thematterstandsthus：theearth，youknow，istwenty-fourthousandmilesincircumference。Nowthisglobeoftheearthturnsuponitsownaxis-
revolvesspinsroundthesetwenty-fourthousandmilesofextent，goingfromwesttoeast，inpreciselytwenty-fourhours。DoyouunderstandMr。Rumgudgeon？-“
UNCLE。“TobesuretobesureDoctorDub-“
SMITHERTON。[Drowninghisvoice。]“Well，sir；thatisattherateofonethousandmilesperhour。Now，supposethatIsailfromthispositionathousandmileseast。OfcourseIanticipatetherisingofthesunhereatLondonbyjustonehour。Iseethesunriseonehourbeforeyoudo。Proceeding，inthesamedirection，yetanotherthousandmiles，Ianticipatetherisingbytwohoursanotherthousand，andIanticipateitbythreehours，andsoon，untilIgoentirelyroundtheglobe，andbacktothisspot，when，havinggonetwenty-fourthousandmileseast，IanticipatetherisingoftheLondonsunbynolessthantwenty-fourhours；thatistosay，Iamadayinadvanceofyourtime。Understand，eh？”
UNCLE。“ButDoubleL。Dee-“
SMITHERTON。[Speakingveryloud。]“CaptainPratt，onthecontrary，whenhehadsailedathousandmileswestofthisposition，wasanhour，andwhenhehadsailedtwenty-fourthousandmileswest，wastwenty-fourhours，oroneday，behindthetimeatLondon。Thus，withme，yesterdaywasSundaythus，withyou，to-dayisSundayandthus，withPratt，to-morrowwillbeSunday。Andwhatismore，Mr。
Rumgudgeon，itispositivelyclearthatweareallright；fortherecanbenophilosophicalreasonassignedwhytheideaofoneofusshouldhavepreferenceoverthatoftheother。”
UNCLE。“Myeyes！well，Katewell，Bobby！thisisajudgmentuponme，asyousay。ButIamamanofmywordmarkthat！youshallhaveher，boy，plumandall，whenyouplease。Doneup，byJove！ThreeSundaysallinarow！I’llgo，andtakeDubbleL。Dee’sopinionuponthat。”
EndofTheWorksofEdgarAllanPoeV。3
TheWorksofEdgarAllanPoeVolume4oftheRavenEditionINFIVEVOLUMES
VOLUMEFOUR
ContentsTheDevilintheBelfryLionizingX-ingaParagrabMetzengersteinTheSystemofDoctorTarrandProfessorFetherTheLiteraryLifeofThingumBob，Esq。