The Project Gutenberg EBook of The White Old Maid (From "Twice Told Tales"), by 
Nathaniel Hawthorne

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net


Title: The White Old Maid (From "Twice Told Tales")

Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne

Posting Date: December 2, 2010 [EBook #9214]
Release Date: November, 2005
First Posted: August 23, 2003
Last Updated: February 5, 2007

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WHITE OLD MAID ***




Produced by David Widger.  HTML version by Al Haines.









                        TWICE TOLD TALES

                       THE WHITE OLD MAID

                     By Nathaniel Hawthorne



The moonbeams came through two deep and narrow windows, and showed a
spacious chamber, richly furnished in an antique fashion.  From one
lattice, the shadow of the diamond panes was thrown upon the floor;
the ghostly light, through the other, slept upon a bed, falling
between the heavy silken curtains, and illuminating the face of a
young man.  But, how quietly the slumberer lay! how pale his features!
and how like a shroud the sheet was wound about his frame!  Yes; it
was a corpse, in its burial-clothes.

Suddenly, the fixed features seemed to move, with dark emotion.
Strange fantasy!  It was but the shadow of the fringed curtain, waving
betwixt the dead face and the moonlight, as the door of the chamber
opened, and a girl stole softly to the bedside.  Was there delusion in
the moonbeams, or did her gesture and her eye betray a gleam of
triumph, as she bent over the pale corpse-pale as itself--and pressed
her living lips to the cold ones of the dead?  As she drew back from
that long kiss, her features writhed, as if a proud heart were
fighting with its anguish. Again it seemed that the features of the
corpse had moved responsive to her own.  Still an illusion!  The
silken curtain had waved, a second time, betwixt the dead face and the
moonlight, as another fair young girl unclosed the door, and glided,
ghost-like, to the bedside.  There the two maidens stood, both
beautiful, with the pale beauty of the dead between them. But she, who
had first entered, was proud and stately; and the other, a soft and
fragile thing.

"Away!" cried the lofty one.   "Thou hadst him living!  The dead is
mine!"

"Thine!" returned the other, shuddering.   "Well hast thou spoken!
The dead is thine!"

The proud girl started, and stared into her face, with a ghastly look.
But a wild and mournful expression passed across the features of the
gentle one; and, weak and helpless, she sank down on the bed, her head
pillowed beside that of the corpse, and her hair mingling with his
dark locks.  A creature of hope and joy, the first draught of sorrow
had bewildered her.

"Edith!" cried her rival.

Edith groaned, as with a sudden compression of the heart; and removing
her cheek from the dead youth's pillow, she stood upright, fearfully
encountering the eyes of the lofty girl.

"Wilt thou betray me?" said the latter, calmly.

"Till the dead bid me speak, I will be silent," answered Edith. "Leave
us alone together!  Go, and live many years, and then return, and tell
me of thy life.  He, too, will be here!  Then, if thou tellest of
sufferings more than death, we will both forgive thee."

"And what shall be the token?" asked the proud girl, as if her heart
acknowledged a meaning in these wild words.

"This lock of hair," said Edith, lifting one of the dark, clustering
curls, that lay heavily on the dead man's brow.

The two maidens joined their hands over the bosom of the corpse, and
appointed a day and hour, far, far in time to come, for their next
meeting in that chamber.  The statelier girl gave one deep look at the
motionless countenance, and departed,--yet turned again and trembled,
ere she closed the door, almost believing that her dead lover frowned
upon her.  And Edith, too!  Was not her white form fading into the
moonlight?  Scorning her own weakness, she went forth, and perceived
that a negro slave was waiting in the passage, with a wax light, which
he held between her face and his own, and regarded her, as she
thought, with an ugly expression of merriment.  Lifting his torch on
high, the slave lighted her down the staircase, and undid the portal
of the mansion.  The young clergyman of the town had just ascended the
steps, and bowing to the lady, passed in without a word.


Years, many years rolled on; the world seemed new again, so much older
was it grown, since the night when those pale girls had clasped their
hands across the bosom of the corpse.  In the interval, a lonely woman
had passed from youth to extreme age, and was known by all the town,
as the  "Old Maid in the Winding-Sheet."  A taint of insanity had
affected her whole life, but so quiet, sad, and gentle, so utterly
free from violence, that she was suffered to pursue her harmless
fantasies, unmolested by the world, with whose business or pleasures
she had naught to do.  She dwelt alone, and never came into the
daylight, except to follow funerals.  Whenever a corpse was borne
along the street, in sunshine, rain, or snow, whether a pompous train,
of the rich and proud, thronged after it, or few and humble were the
mourners, behind them came the lonely woman, in a long, white garment,
which the people called her shroud.  She took no place among the
kindred or the friends, but stood at the door to hear the funeral
prayer, and walked in the rear of the procession, as one whose earthly
charge it was to haunt the house of mourning, and be the shadow of
affliction, and see that the dead were duly buried.  So long had this
been her custom, that the inhabitants of the town deemed her a part of
every funeral, as much as the coffin pall, or the very corpse itself,
and augured ill of the sinner's destiny, unless the  "Old Maid in the
Winding-Sheet" came gliding, like a ghost, behind.  Once, it is said,
she affrighted a bridal party, with her pale presence, appearing
suddenly in the illuminated hall, just as the priest was uniting a
false maid to a wealthy man, before her lover had been dead a year.
Evil was the omen to that marriage!  Sometimes she stole forth by
moonlight, and visited the graves of venerable Integrity, and wedded
Love, and virgin Innocence, and every spot where the ashes of a kind
and faithful heart were mouldering. Over the hillocks of those favored
dead would she stretch out her arms, with a gesture, as if she were
scattering seeds; and many believed that she brought them from the
garden of Paradise; for the graves, which she had visited, were green
beneath the snow, and covered with sweet flowers from April to
November.  Her blessing was better than a holy verse upon the
tombstone.  Thus wore away her long, sad, peaceful, and fantastic
life, till few were so old as she, and the people of later generations
wondered how the dead had ever been buried, or mourners had endured
their grief, without the  "Old Maid in the Winding Sheet."

Still, years went on, and still she followed funerals, and was not yet
summoned to her own festival of death.  One afternoon, the great
street of the town was all alive with business and bustle, though the
sun now gilded only the upper half of the church-spire, having left
the housetops and loftiest trees in shadow.  The scene was cheerful
and animated, in spite of the sombre shade between the high brick
buildings.  Here were pompous merchants, in white wigs and laced
velvet; the bronzed faces of sea-captains; the foreign garb and air of
Spanish creoles; and the disdainful port of natives of Old England;
all contrasted with the rough aspect of one or two hack settlers,
negotiating sales of timber, from forests where axe had never sounded.
Sometimes a lady passed, swelling roundly forth in an embroidered
petticoat, balancing her steps in high-heeled shoes, and courtesying,
with lofty grace, to the punctilious obeisances of the gentlemen.  The
life of the town seemed to have its very centre not far from an old
mansion, that stood somewhat back from the pavement, surrounded by
neglected grass, with a strange air of loneliness, rather deepened
than dispelled by the throng so near it.  Its site would have been
suitably occupied by a magnificent Exchange, or a brick block,
lettered all over with various signs; or the large house itself might
have made a noble tavern, with the  "King's Arms" swinging before it,
and guests in every chamber, instead of the present solitude.  But,
owing to some dispute about the right of inheritance, the mansion had
been long without a tenant, decaying from year to year, and throwing
the stately gloom of its shadow over the busiest part of the town.
Such was the scene, and such the time, when a figure, unlike any that
have been described, was observed at a distance down the street.

"I espy a strange sail, yonder," remarked a Liverpool captain; "that
woman in the long, white garment!"

The sailor seemed much struck by the object, as were several others,
who, at the same moment, caught a glimpse of the figure that had
attracted his notice.  Almost immediately, the various topics of
conversation gave place to speculations, in an undertone, on this
unwonted occurrence.

"Can there be a funeral, so late this afternoon?"  inquired some.

They looked for the signs of death at every door,--the sexton, the
hearse, the assemblage of black-clad relatives,--all that makes up the
woeful pomp of funerals.  They raised their eyes, also, to the sun-gilt
spire of the church, and wondered that no clang proceeded from its
bell, which had always tolled till now, when this figure appeared in
the light of day.  But none had heard that a corpse was to be borne to
its home that afternoon, nor was there any token of a funeral, except
the apparition of the "Old Maid in the Winding-Sheet."

"What may this portend?" asked each man of his neighbor.

All smiled as they put the question, yet with a certain trouble in
their eyes, as if pestilence, or some other wide calamity, were
prognosticated by the untimely intrusion among the living, of one
whose presence had always been associated with death and woe.  What a
comet is to the earth, was that sad woman to the town.  Still she
moved on, while the hum of surprise was hushed at her approach, and
the proud and the humble stood aside, that her white garment might not
wave against them.  It was a long, loose robe, of spotless purity.
Its wearer appeared very old, pale, emaciated, and feeble, yet glided
onward, without the unsteady pace of extreme age.  At one point of her
course, a littly rosy boy burst forth from a door, and ran, with open
arms, towards the ghostly woman, seeming to expect a kiss from her
bloodless lips.  She made a slight pause, fixing her eye upon him with
an expression of no earthly sweetness, so that the child shivered and
stood awe-struck, rather than affrighted, while the Old Maid passed
on.  Perhaps her garment might have been polluted even by an infant's
touch; perhaps her kiss would have been death to the sweet boy, within
a year.

"She is but a shadow," whispered the superstitious.   "The child put
forth his arms and could not grasp her robe!"

The wonder was increased, when the Old Maid passed beneath the porch
of the deserted mansion, ascended the moss-covered steps, lifted the
iron knocker, and gave three raps.  The people could only conjecture,
that some old remembrance, troubling her bewildered brain, had
impelled the poor woman hither to visit the friends of her youth; all
gone from their home, long since and forever, unless their ghosts
still haunted it,--fit company for the  "Old Maid in the
Winding-Sheet."  An elderly man approached the steps, and reverently
uncovering his gray locks, essayed to explain the matter.

"None, Madam," said he, "have dwelt in this house these fifteen years
agone,--no, not since the death of old Colonel Fenwicke, whose funeral
you may remember to have followed.  His heirs being ill-agreed among
themselves, have let the mansion-house go to ruin."

The Old Maid looked slowly round, with a slight gesture of one hand,
and a finger of the other upon her lip, appearing more shadow-like
than ever, in the obscurity of the porch.  But again she lifted the
hammer, and gave, this time, a single rap.  Could it be that a
footstep was now heard, coming down the staircase of the old mansion,
which all conceived to have been so long untenanted?  Slowly, feebly,
yet heavily, like the pace of an aged and infirm person, the step
approached, more distinct on every downward stair, till it reached the
portal.  The bar fell on the inside; the door was opened.  One upward
glance, towards the church-spire, whence the sunshine had just faded,
was the last that the people saw of the "Old Maid in the Winding-Sheet."

"Who undid the door?" asked many.

This question, owing to the depth of shadow beneath the porch, no one
could satisfactorily answer.  Two or three aged men, while protesting
against an inference, which might be drawn, affirmed that the person
within was a negro, and bore a singular resemblance to old Caesar,
formerly a slave in the house, but freed by death some thirty years
before.

"Her summons has waked up a servant of the old family," said one, half
seriously.

"Let us wait here," replied another.   "More guests will knock at the
door, anon.  But the gate of the graveyard should be thrown open!"

Twilight had overspread the town, before the crowd began to separate,
or the comments on this incident were exhausted.  One after another
was wending his way homeward, when a coach--no common spectacle in
those days--drove slowly into the street.  It was an old-fashioned
equipage, hanging close to the ground, with arms on the panels, a
footman behind, and a grave, corpulent coachman seated high in
front,--the whole giving an idea of solemn state and dignity.  There
was something awful, in the heavy rumbling of the wheels.  The coach
rolled down the street, till, coming to the gateway of the deserted
mansion, it drew up, and the footman sprang to the ground.

"Whose grand coach is this?" asked a very inquisitive body.

The footman made no reply, but ascended the steps of the old house,
gave three raps with the iron hammer, and returned to open the
coach-door.  An old man possessed of the heraldic lore so common in
that day examined the shield of arms on the panel.

"Azure, a lion's head erased, between three flower-deluces," said he;
then whispered the name of the family to whom these bearings belonged.
The last inheritor of its honors was recently dead, after a long
residence amid the splendor of the British court, where his birth and
wealth had given him no mean station.  "He left no child," continued
the herald, "and these arms, being in a lozenge, betoken that the
coach appertains to his widow."

Further disclosures, perhaps, might have been made, had not the
speaker suddenly been struck dumb, by the stern eye of an ancient
lady, who thrust forth her head from the coach, preparing to descend.
As she emerged, the people saw that her dress was magnificent, and her
figure dignified, in spite of age and infirmity,--a stately ruin, but
with a look, at once, of pride and wretchedness.  Her strong and rigid
features had an awe about them, unlike that of the white Old Maid, but
as of something evil.  She passed up the steps, leaning on a gold-headed
cane; the door swung open, as she ascended,--and the light of a
torch glittered on the embroidery of her dress, and gleamed on the
pillars of the porch.  After a momentary pause--a glance backwards--and
then a desperate effort--she went in.  The decipherer of the coat
of arms had ventured up the lowest step, and shrinking back
immediately, pale and tremulous, affirmed that the torch was held by
the very image of old Caesar.

"But, such a hideous grin," added he, "was never seen on the face of
mortal man, black or white!  It will haunt me till my dying day."

Meantime, the coach had wheeled round, with a prodigious clatter on
the pavement, and rumbled up the street, disappearing in the twilight,
while the ear still tracked its course.  Scarcely was it gone, when
the people began to question whether the coach and attendants, the
ancient lady, the spectre of old Caesar, and the Old Maid herself,
were not all a strangely combined delusion, with some dark purport in
its mystery.  The whole town was astir, so that, instead of
dispersing, the crowd continually increased, and stood gazing up at
the windows of the mansion, now silvered by the brightening moon.  The
elders, glad to indulge the narrative propensity of age, told of the
long-faded splendor of the family, the entertainments they had given,
and the guests, the greatest of the land, and even titled and noble
ones from abroad, who had passed beneath that portal.  These graphic
reminiscences seemed to call up the ghosts of those to whom they
referred.  So strong was the impression, on some of the more
imaginative hearers, that two or three were seized with trembling
fits, at one and the same moment, protesting that they had distinctly
heard three other raps of the iron knocker.

"Impossible!" exclaimed others.   "See!  The moon shines beneath the
porch, and shows every part of it, except in the narrow shade of that
pillar.  There is no one there!"

"Did not the door open?"  whispered one of these fanciful persons.

"Didst thou see it, too?" said his companion, in a startled tone.

But the general sentiment was opposed to the idea, that a third
visitant had made application at the door of the deserted house. A
few, however, adhered to this new marvel, and even declared that a red
gleam, like that of a torch, had shone through the great front window,
as if the negro were lighting a guest up the staircase.  This, too,
was pronounced a mere fantasy.  But, at once, the whole multitude
started, and each man beheld his own terror painted in the faces of
all the rest.

"What an awful thing is this!" cried they.

A shriek, too fearfully distinct for doubt, had been heard within the
mansion, breaking forth suddenly, and succeeded by a deep stillness,
as if a heart had burst in giving it utterance.  The people knew not
whether to fly from the very sight of the house, or to rush trembling
in, and search out the strange mystery. Amid their confusion and
affright, they were somewhat reassured by the appearance of their
clergyman, a venerable patriarch, and equally a saint, who had taught
them and their fathers the way to heaven, for more than the space of
an ordinary lifetime.  He was a reverend figure, with long, white hair
upon his shoulders, a white beard upon his breast, and a back so bent
over his staff, that he seemed to be looking downward, continually, as
if to choose a proper grave for his weary frame.  It was some time
before the good old man, being deaf, and of impaired intellect, could
be made to comprehend such portions of the affair as were
comprehensible at all.  But, when possessed of the facts, his energies
assumed unexpected vigor.

"Verily," said the old gentleman, "it will be fitting that I enter the
mansion-house of the worthy Colonel Fenwicke, lest any harm should
have befallen that true Christian woman, whom ye call the 'Old Maid in
the Winding-Sheet.'"

Behold, then, the venerable clergyman ascending the steps of the
mansion, with a torch-bearer behind him.  It was the elderly man, who
had spoken to the Old Maid, and the same who had afterwards explained
the shield of arms, and recognized the features of the negro.  Like
their predecessors, they gave three raps, with the iron hammer.

"Old Caesar cometh not," observed the priest.  "Well, I wot, he no
longer doth service in this mansion."

"Assuredly, then, it was something worse, in old Caesar's likeness!"
said the other adventurer.

"Be it as God wills," answered the clergyman.  "See! my strength,
though it be much decayed, hath sufficed to open this heavy door. Let
us enter, and pass up the staircase."

Here occurred a singular exemplification of the dreamy state of a very
old man's mind.  As they ascended the wide flight of stairs, the aged
clergyman appeared to move with caution, occasionally standing aside,
and oftener bending his head, as it were in salutation, thus
practising all the gestures of one who makes his way through a throng.
Reaching the head of the staircase, he looked around, with sad and
solemn benignity, laid aside his staff, bared his hoary locks, and was
evidently on the point of commencing a prayer.

"Reverend Sir," said his attendant, who conceived this a very suitable
prelude to their further search, "would it not be well, that the
people join with us in prayer?"

"Well-a-day!" cried the old clergyman, staring strangely around him.
"Art thou here with me, and none other?  Verily, past times were
present to me, and I deemed that I was to make a funeral prayer, as
many a time heretofore, from the head of this staircase.

"Of a truth, I saw the shades of many that are gone.  Yea, I have
prayed at their burials, one after another, and the 'Old Maid in the
Winding-Sheet' hath seen them to their graves!"

Being now more thoroughly awake to their present purpose, he took his
staff, and struck forcibly on the floor, till there came an echo from
each deserted chamber, but no menial, to answer their summons.  They
therefore walked along the passage, and again paused, opposite to the
great front window, through which was seen the crowd, in the shadow
and partial moonlight of the street beneath.  On their right hand was
the open door of a chamber, and a closed one on their left.  The
clergyman pointed his cane to the carved oak panel of the latter.

"Within that chamber," observed he, "a whole lifetime since, did I sit
by the death-bed of a goodly young man, who, being now at the last
gasp--"

Apparently, there was some powerful excitement in the ideas which had
now flashed across his mind.  He snatched the torch from his
companion's hand, and threw open the door with such sudden violence,
that the flame was extinguished, leaving them no other light than the
moonbeams, which fell through two windows into the spacious chamber.
It was sufficient to discover all that could be known.  In a
high-backed oaken arm-chair, upright, with her hands clasped across her
breast, and her head thrown back, sat the  "Old Maid in the
Winding-Sheet."  The stately dame had fallen on her knees, with her
forehead on the holy knees of the Old Maid, one hand upon the floor, and
the other pressed convulsively against her heart.  It clutched a lock of
hair, once sable, now discolored with a greenish mould.  As the priest
and layman advanced into the chamber, the Old Maid's features assumed
such a resemblance of shifting expression, that they trusted to hear
the whole mystery explained, by a single word.  But it was only the
shadow of a tattered curtain, waving betwixt the dead face and the
moonlight.

"Both dead!" said the venerable man.  "Then who shall divulge the
secret?  Methinks it glimmers to and fro in my mind, like the light
and shadow across the Old Maid's face.  And now't is gone!"









End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The White Old Maid (From "Twice Told
Tales"), by Nathaniel Hawthorne

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WHITE OLD MAID ***

***** This file should be named 9214.txt or 9214.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
        http://www.gutenberg.org/9/2/1/9214/

Produced by David Widger.  HTML version by Al Haines.

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.

Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
redistribution.



*** START: FULL LICENSE ***

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
http://gutenberg.net/license).


Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works

1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works.  See paragraph 1.E below.

1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.

1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
States.

1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
copied or distributed:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
1.E.9.

1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.

1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.

1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg-tm License.

1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.net),
you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
that

- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."

- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
     License.  You must require such a user to return or
     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
     Project Gutenberg-tm works.

- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
     of receipt of the work.

- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.

1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.

1.F.

1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
your equipment.

1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.

1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.

1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.


Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm

Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.


Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.

The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
page at http://pglaf.org

For additional contact information:
     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
     Chief Executive and Director
     gbnewby@pglaf.org


Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
particular state visit http://pglaf.org

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
donations.  To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate


Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works.

Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.


Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.


Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:

     http://www.gutenberg.net

This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.