text:
Joe Biden's Fourth State of the Union Address

Good evening.

Mr. Speaker. Madam Vice President. Members of Congress. My Fellow Americans.

In January 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt came to this chamber to speak to the nation.

He said, “I address you at a moment unprecedented in the history of the Union.”

Hitler was on the march. War was raging in Europe.

President Roosevelt’s purpose was to wake up the Congress and alert the American people that this was no ordinary moment.

Freedom and democracy were under assault in the world.

Tonight I come to the same chamber to address the nation.

Now it is we who face an unprecedented moment in the history of the Union.

And yes, my purpose tonight is to both wake up this Congress, and alert the American people that this is no ordinary moment either.

Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault here at home as they are today.

What makes our moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack, both at home and overseas, at the very same time.

Overseas, Putin of Russia is on the march, invading Ukraine and sowing chaos throughout Europe and beyond.

If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you, he will not.

But Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine and provide the weapons it needs to defend itself. That is all Ukraine is asking. They are not asking for American soldiers.

In fact, there are no American soldiers at war in Ukraine. And I am determined to keep it that way.

But now assistance for Ukraine is being blocked by those who want us to walk away from our leadership in the world.

It wasn’t that long ago when a Republican President, Ronald Reagan, thundered, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”

Now, my predecessor, a former Republican President, tells Putin, “Do whatever the hell you want.”

A former American President actually said that, bowing down to a Russian leader.

It’s outrageous. It’s dangerous. It’s unacceptable.

America is a founding member of NATO the military alliance of democratic nations created after World War II to prevent war and keep the peace.

Today, we’ve made NATO stronger than ever.

We welcomed Finland to the Alliance last year, and just this morning, Sweden officially joined NATO, and their Prime Minister is here tonight.

Mr. Prime Minister, welcome to NATO, the strongest military alliance the world has ever known.

I say this to Congress: we must stand up to Putin. Send me the Bipartisan National Security Bill.

History is watching.

If the United States walks away now, it will put Ukraine at risk.

Europe at risk. The free world at risk, emboldening others who wish to do us harm.

My message to President Putin is simple.

We will not walk away. We will not bow down. I will not bow down.

History is watching, just like history watched three years ago on January 6th.

Insurrectionists stormed this very Capitol and placed a dagger at the throat of American democracy.

Many of you were here on that darkest of days.

We all saw with our own eyes these insurrectionists were not patriots.

They had come to stop the peaceful transfer of power and to overturn the will of the people.

January 6th and the lies about the 2020 election, and the plots to steal the election, posed the gravest threat to our democracy since the Civil War.

But they failed. America stood strong and democracy prevailed.

But we must be honest the threat remains and democracy must be defended.

My predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth of January 6th.

I will not do that.

This is a moment to speak the truth and bury the lies.

And here’s the simplest truth. You can’t love your country only when you win.

As I’ve done ever since being elected to office, I ask you all, without regard to party, to join together and defend our democracy!

Remember your oath of office to defend against all threats foreign and domestic.

Respect free and fair elections! Restore trust in our institutions! And make clear –political violence

has absolutely no place in America!

History is watching.

And history is watching another assault on freedom.

Joining us tonight is Latorya Beasley, a social worker from Birmingham, Alabama. 14 months ago tonight, she and her husband welcomed a baby girl thanks to the miracle of IVF.

She scheduled treatments to have a second child, but the Alabama Supreme Court shut down IVF treatments across the state, unleashed by the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

She was told her dream would have to wait.

What her family has gone through should never have happened. And unless Congress acts, it could happen again.

So tonight, let’s stand up for families like hers!

To my friends across the aisle, don’t keep families waiting any longer. Guarantee the right to IVF nationwide!

Like most Americans, I believe Roe v. Wade got it right. And I thank Vice President Harris for being an incredible leader, defending reproductive freedom and so much more.

But my predecessor came to office determined

to see Roe v. Wade overturned.

He’s the reason it was overturned. In fact, he brags about it.

Look at the chaos that has resulted.

Joining us tonight is Kate Cox, a wife and mother

from Dallas.

When she became pregnant again, the fetus had a fatal condition.

Her doctors told Kate that her own life and her ability to have children in the future were at risk if she didn’t act.

Because Texas law banned abortion, Kate and her husband had to leave the state to get the care she needed.

What her family has gone through should never have happened as well. But it is happening to so many others.

There are state laws banning the right to choose, criminalizing doctors, and forcing survivors of rape and incest to leave their states as well to get the care they need.

Many of you in this Chamber and my predecessor are promising to pass a national ban on reproductive freedom.

My God, what freedoms will you take away next?

In its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade the Supreme Court majority wrote, “Women are not without –

electoral or political power.”

No kidding.

Clearly, those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women in America.

They found out though when reproductive freedom

was on the ballot and won in 2022, 2023, and they will find out again, in 2024.

If Americans send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you, I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again!

America cannot go back. I am here tonight to show the way forward. Because I know how far we’ve come.

Four years ago next week, before I came to office, our country was hit by the worst pandemic and the worst economic crisis in a century.

Remember the fear. Record job losses. Remember the spike in crime. And the murder rate.

A raging virus that would take more than 1 million American lives and leave millions of loved ones behind.

A mental health crisis of isolation and loneliness.

A president, my predecessor, who failed the most basic duty. Any President owes the American people the duty to care.

That is unforgivable.

I came to office determined to get us through one of the toughest periods in our nation’s history.

And we have. It doesn’t make the news but in thousands of cities and towns the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told.

So let’s tell that story here and now.

America’s comeback is building a future of American possibilities, building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down, investing in all of America, in all Americans to make sure everyone has a fair shot and we leave no one behind!

The pandemic no longer controls our lives. The vaccines that saved us from COVID are now being used to help beat cancer.

Turning setback into comeback.

That’s America!

I inherited an economy that was on the brink. Now our economy is the envy of the world!

15 million new jobs in just three years – that’s a record!

Unemployment at 50-year lows.

A record 16 million Americans are starting small businesses and each one is an act of hope.

With historic job growth and small business growth for Black, Hispanic, and Asian-Americans.

800,000 new manufacturing jobs in America and counting.

More people have health insurance today than ever before.

The racial wealth gap is the smallest it’s been in 20 years.

Wages keep going up and inflation keeps coming down!

Inflation has dropped from 9% to 3% – the lowest in the world!

And trending lower.

And now instead of importing foreign products and exporting American jobs, we’re exporting American products and creating American jobs – right here in America where they belong!

And the American people are beginning to feel it.

Consumer studies show consumer confidence is soaring.

Buy American has been the law of the land since the 1930s.

Past administrations including my predecessor failed to Buy American.

Not any more.

On my watch, federal projects like helping to build American roads bridges and highways will be made with American products built by American workers creating good-paying American jobs!

Thanks to my Chips and Science Act the United States is investing more in research and development than ever before.

During the pandemic a shortage of semiconductor chips drove up prices for everything from cell phones to automobiles.

Well instead of having to import semiconductor chips, which America invented I might add, private companies are now investing billions of dollars to build new chip factories here in America!

Creating tens of thousands of jobs many of them paying over $100,000 a year and don’t require a college degree.

In fact my policies have attracted $650 Billion of private sector investments in clean energy and advanced manufacturing creating tens of thousands of jobs here in America!

Thanks to our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, 46,000 new projects have been announced across your communities – modernizing our roads and bridges, ports and airports, and public transit systems.

Removing poisonous lead pipes so every child can drink clean water without risk of getting brain damage.

Providing affordable high speed internet for every American no matter where you live.

Urban, suburban, and rural communities — in red states and blue.

Record investments in tribal communities.

Because of my investments, family farms are better be able to stay in the family and children and grandchildren won’t have to leave home to make a living.

It’s transformative.

A great comeback story is Belvidere, Illinois. Home to an auto plant for nearly 60 years.

Before I came to office the plant was on its way to shutting down.

Thousands of workers feared for their livelihoods. Hope was fading.

Then I was elected to office and we raised Belvidere repeatedly with the auto company knowing unions make all the difference.

The UAW worked like hell to keep the plant open and get those jobs back. And together, we succeeded!

Instead of an auto factory shutting down an auto factory is re-opening and a new state-of-the art battery factory is being built to power those cars.

Instead of a town being left behind it’s a community moving forward again!

Because instead of watching auto jobs of the future go overseas 4,000 union workers with higher wages will be building that future, in Belvidere, here in America!

Here tonight is UAW President, Shawn Fain, a great friend, and a great labor leader.

And Dawn Simms, a third generation UAW worker  in Belvidere.

Shawn, I was proud to be the first President in American history to walk a picket line.

And today Dawn has a job in her hometown providing stability for her family and pride and dignity.

Showing once again, Wall Street didn’t build this country!

The middle class built this country! And unions built the middle class!

When Americans get knocked down, we get back up!

We keep going!

That’s America! That’s you, the American people!

It’s because of you America is coming back!

It’s because of you, our future is brighter!

And it’s because of you that tonight we can proudly say the State of our Union is strong and getting stronger!

Tonight I want to talk about the future of possibilities that we can build together.

A future where the days of trickle-down economics are over and the wealthy and biggest corporations no longer get all the breaks.

I grew up in a home where not a lot trickled down on my Dad’s kitchen table.

That’s why I’m determined to turn things around so the middle class does well the poor have a way up and the wealthy still does well.

We all do well.

And there’s more to do to make sure you’re feeling the benefits of all we’re doing.

Americans pay more for prescription drugs than anywhere else.

It’s wrong and I’m ending it.

With a law I proposed and signed and not one Republican voted for we finally beat Big Pharma!

Instead of paying $400 a month for insulin seniors with diabetes only have to pay $35 a month!

And now I want to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for every American who needs it!

For years people have talked about it but I finally got it done and gave Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs just like the VA does for our veterans.

That’s not just saving seniors money.

It’s saving taxpayers money cutting the federal deficit by $160 Billion because Medicare will no longer have to pay exorbitant prices to Big Pharma.

This year Medicare is negotiating lower prices for some of the costliest drugs on the market that treat everything from heart disease to arthritis.

Now it’s time to go further and give Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices for 500 drugs over the next decade.

That will not only save lives it will save taxpayers another $200 Billion!

Starting next year that same law caps total prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare at $2,000 a year even for expensive cancer drugs that can cost $10,000, $12,000, $15,000 a year.

Now I want to cap prescription drug costs at $2,000 a year for everyone!

Folks Obamacare, known as the Affordable Care Act is still a very big deal.

Over one hundred million of you can no longer be denied health insurance because of pre-existing conditions.

But my predecessor and many in this chamber want to take that protection away by repealing the Affordable Care Act I won’t let that happen!

We stopped you 50 times before and we will stop you again!

In fact I am protecting it and expanding it.

I enacted tax credits that save $800 per person per year reducing health care premiums for millions of working families.

Those tax credits expire next year.

I want to make those savings permanent!

Women are more than half of our population but research on women’s health has always been underfunded.

That’s why we’re launching the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, led by Jill who is doing an incredible job as First Lady.

Pass my plan for $12 Billion to transform women’s health research and benefit millions of lives across America!

I know the cost of housing is so important to you.

If inflation keeps coming down mortgage rates will come down as well.

But I’m not waiting.

I want to provide an annual tax creditthat will give Americans $400 a month for the next two years as mortgage rates come down to put toward their mortgage when they buy a first home or trade up for a little more space.

My Administration is also eliminating title insurance fees for federally backed mortgages.

When you refinance your home this can save you $1,000 or more.

For millions of renters, we’re cracking down on big landlords who break antitrust laws by price-fixing and driving up rents.

I’ve cut red tape so more builders can get federal financing, which is already helping build a record 1.7 million housing units nationwide.

Now pass my plan to build and renovate 2 million  affordable homes and bring those rents down!

To remain the strongest economy in the world we need the best education system in the world.

I want to give every child a good start by providing access to pre-school for 3- and 4-year-olds.

Studies show that children who go to pre-school are nearly 50% more likely to finish high school and go on to earn a 2- or 4-year degree no matter their background.

I want to expand high-quality tutoring and summer learning time and see to it that every child learns to read by third grade.

I’m also connecting businesses and high schools so students get hands-on experience and a path to a good-paying job whether or not they go to college.

And I want to make college more affordable.

Let’s continue increasing Pell Grants for working- and middle-class families and increase our record investments in HBCUs and Hispanic and Minority-serving Institutions

I fixed student loan programs to reduce the burden  of student debt for nearly 4 Million Americans including nurses firefighters and others in public service like Keenan Jones a public-school educator in Minnesota who’s here with us tonight.

He’s educated hundreds of students so they can go to college now he can help his own daughter pay for college.

Such relief is good for the economy because folks are now able to buy a home start a business even start a family.

While we’re at it I want to give public school teachers a raise!

Now let me speak to a question of fundamental fairness for all Americans.

I’ve been delivering real results in a fiscally responsible way.

I’ve already cut the federal deficit by over one trillion dollars.

I signed a bipartisan budget deal that will cut another trillion dollars over the next decade.

And now it’s my goal to cut the federal deficit $3 trillion more by making big corporations and the very wealthy finally pay their fair share.

Look, I’m a capitalist.

If you want to make a million bucks – great!

Just pay your fair share in taxes.

A fair tax code is how we invest in the things –

that make a country great, health care, education, defense, and more.

But here’s the deal.

The last administration enacted a $2 Trillion tax cut that overwhelmingly benefits the very wealthy and the biggest corporations and exploded the federal deficit.

They added more to the national debt than in any presidential term in American history.

For folks at home does anybody really think the tax code is fair?

Do you really think the wealthy and big corporations need another $2 trillion in tax breaks?

I sure don’t. I’m going to keep fighting like hell to make it fair!

Under my plan nobody earning less than $400,000 will pay an additional penny in federal taxes.

Nobody. Not one penny.

In fact the Child Tax Credit I passed during the pandemic cut taxes for millions of working families and cut child poverty in HALF.

Restore the Child Tax Credit because no child should go hungry in this country!

The way to make the tax code fair is to make big corporations and the very wealthy finally pay their share.

In 2020 55 of the biggest companies in America made $40 Billion in profits and paid zero in federal income taxes.

Not any more!

Thanks to the law I wrote and signed big companies  now have to pay a minimum of 15%.

But that’s still less than working people pay in federal taxes.

It’s time to raise the corporate minimum tax to at least 21% so every big corporation finally begins to pay their fair share.

I also want to end the tax breaks for Big Pharma, Big Oil, private jets, and massive executive pay!

End it now!

There are 1,000 billionaires in America.

You know what the average federal tax rate for these billionaires is? 8.2 percent!

That’s far less than the vast majority of Americans pay.

No billionaire should pay a lower tax rate than a teacher, a sanitation worker, a nurse!

That’s why I’ve proposed a minimum tax of 25% for billionaires. Just 25%.

That would raise $500 Billion over the next 10 years.

Imagine what that could do for America. Imagine a future with affordable child care so millions of families can get the care they need and still go to work and help grow the economy.

Imagine a future with paid leave because no one should have to choose between working and taking care of yourself or a sick family member.

Imagine a future with home care and elder care so seniors and people living with disabilities can stay in their homes and family caregivers get paid what they deserve!

Tonight, let’s all agree once again to stand up for seniors!

Many of my Republican friends want to put Social Security on the chopping block.

If anyone here tries to cut Social Security or Medicare or raise the retirement age I will stop them!

Working people who built this country pay more into Social Security than millionaires and billionaires do. It’s not fair.

We have two ways to go on Social Security.

Republicans will cut Social Security and give more tax cuts to the wealthy.

I will protect and strengthen Social Security and make the wealthy pay their fair share!

Too many corporations raise their prices to pad their profits charging you more and more for less and less.

That’s why we’re cracking down on corporations that engage in price gouging or deceptive pricing from food to health care to housing.

In fact, snack companies think you won’t notice when they charge you just as much for the same size bag

but with fewer chips in it.

Pass Senator Bob Casey’s bill to put a stop to shrinkflation!

I’m also getting rid of junk fees those hidden fees added at the end of your bills without your knowledge. My administration just announced we’re cutting credit card late fees from $32 to just $8.

The banks and credit card companies don’t like it.

Why?

I’m saving American families $20 billion a year with all of the junk fees I’m eliminating.

And I’m not stopping there.

My Administration has proposed rules to make cable travel utilities and online ticket sellers tell you the total price upfront so there are no surprises.

It matters.

And so does this.

In November, my team began serious negotiations with a bipartisan group of Senators.

The result was a bipartisan bill with the toughest set of border security reforms we’ve ever seen

in this country.

That bipartisan deal would hire 1,500 more border security agents and officers.

100 more immigration judges to help tackle a backload of 2 million cases.

4,300 more asylum officers and new policies so they can resolve cases in 6 months instead of 6 years.

100 more high-tech drug detection machines to significantly increase the ability to screen and stop vehicles from smuggling fentanyl into America.

This bill would save lives and bring order to the border.

It would also give me as President new emergency authority to temporarily shut down the border  when the number of migrants at the border is overwhelming.

The Border Patrol Union endorsed the bill.

The Chamber of Commerce endorsed the bill.

I believe that given the opportunity a majority of the House and Senate would endorse it as well.

But unfortunately, politics have derailed it so far.

I’m told my predecessor called Republicans in Congress and demanded they block the bill. He feels it would be a political win for me and a political loser for him.

It’s not about him or me.

It’d be a winner for America!

My Republican friends you owe it to the American people to get this bill done.

We need to act.

And if my predecessor is watching instead of playing politics and pressuring members of Congress to block this bill, join me in telling Congress to pass it!

We can do it together. But here’s what I will not do.

I will not demonize immigrants saying they “poison the blood of our country” as he said in his own words.

I will not separate families.

I will not ban people from America because of their faith.

Unlike my predecessor, on my first day in office I introduced a comprehensive plan to fix our immigration system, secure the border, and provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and so much more.

Because unlike my predecessor, I know who we are

as Americans.

We are the only nation in the world with a heart and soul that draws from old and new.

Home to Native Americans whose ancestors have been here for thousands of years. Home to people from every place on Earth.

Some came freely.

Some chained by force.

Some when famine struck, like my ancestral family in Ireland.

Some to flee persecution.

Some to chase dreams that are impossible anywhere but here in America.

That’s America, where we all come from somewhere, but we are all Americans.

We can fight about the border, or we can fix it. I’m ready to fix it.

Send me the border bill now!

A transformational moment in our history happened 59 years ago today in Selma, Alabama.

Hundreds of foot soldiers for justice marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, named after a Grand Dragon of the KKK, to claim their fundamental right to vote.

They were beaten bloodied and left for dead.

Our late friend and former colleague John Lewis was at the march.

We miss him.

Joining us tonight are other marchers who were there including Betty May Fikes, known as the “Voice of Selma”.

A daughter of gospel singers and preachers, she sang songs of prayer and protest on that Bloody Sunday,

to help shake the nation’s conscience. Five months later, the Voting Rights Act was signed into law.

But 59 years later, there are forces taking us back in time.

Voter suppression. Election subversion. Unlimited dark money. Extreme gerrymandering.

John Lewis was a great friend to many of us here. But if you truly want to honor him and all the heroes who marched with him, then it’s time for more than just talk.

Pass and send me the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act!

And stop denying another core value of America our diversity across American life.

Banning books.

It’s wrong!

Instead of erasing history, let’s make history!

I want to protect other fundamental rights!

Pass the Equality Act, and my message to transgender Americans: I have your back!

Pass the PRO Act for workers rights! And raise the federal minimum wage because every worker has the right to earn a decent living!

We are also making history by confronting the climate crisis, not denying it.

I’m taking the most significant action on climate ever in the history of the world.

I am cutting our carbon emissions in half by 2030.

Creating tens of thousands of clean-energy jobs, like the IBEW workers building and installing 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations.

Conserving 30% of America’s lands and waters  by 2030.

Taking historic action on environmental justice for fence-line communities smothered by the legacy of pollution.

And patterned after the Peace Corps and Ameri Corps, I’ve launched a Climate Corps to put 20,000 young people to work at the forefront of our clean energy future.

I’ll triple that number this decade.

All Americans deserve the freedom to be safe, and America is safer today than when I took office.

The year before I took office, murders went up 30% nationwide the biggest increase in history.

That was then.

Now, through my American Rescue Plan, which every Republican voted against, I’ve made the largest investment in public safety ever.

Last year, the murder rate saw the sharpest decrease in history, and violent crime fell to one of the lowest levels in more than 50 years.

But we have more to do.

Help cities and towns invest in more community police officers, more mental health workers, and more community violence intervention.

Give communities the tools to crack down on gun crime, retail crime, and carjacking.

Keep building public trust, as I’ve been doing by taking executive action on police reform, and calling for it to be the law of the land, directing my Cabinet to review the federal classification of marijuana, and expunging thousands of convictions  for mere possession, because no one should be jailed for using or possessing marijuana!

To take on crimes of domestic violence, I am ramping up federal enforcement of the Violence Against Women Act, that I proudly wrote, so we can finally end the scourge of violence against women in America!

And there’s another kind of violence I want to stop.

With us tonight is Jasmine, whose 9-year-old sister Jackie was murdered with 21 classmates and teachers at her elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

Soon after it happened, Jill and I went to Uvalde and spent hours with the families.

We heard their message, and so should everyone in this chamber do something.

I did do something by establishing the first-ever Office of Gun Violence Prevention in the White House that Vice President Harris is leading.

Meanwhile, my predecessor told the NRA he’s proud he did nothing on guns when he was President.

After another school shooting in Iowa he said we should just “get over it.”

I say we must stop it.

I’m proud we beat the NRA when I signed the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years!

Now we must beat the NRA again!

I’m demanding a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines!

Pass universal background checks!

None of this violates the Second Amendment or vilifies responsible gun owners.

As we manage challenges at home, we’re also managing crises abroad including in the Middle East.

I know the last five months have been gut-wrenching for so many people, for the Israeli people, the Palestinian people, and so many here in America.

This crisis began on October 7th with a massacre by the terrorist group Hamas.

1,200 innocent people women and girls men and boys slaughtered, many enduring sexual violence.

The deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

250 hostages taken.

Here in the chamber tonight are American families whose loved ones are still being held by Hamas.

I pledge to all the families that we will not rest until we bring their loved ones home.

We will also work around the clock to bring home Evan and Paul, Americans being unjustly detained all around the world.

Israel has a right to go after Hamas.

Hamas could end this conflict today by releasing the hostages, laying down arms, and surrendering those responsible for October 7th.

Israel has an added burden because Hamas hides and operates among the civilian population. But Israel also has a fundamental responsibility to protect innocent civilians in Gaza.

This war has taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in Gaza combined.

More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed.

Most of whom are not Hamas.

Thousands and thousands are innocent women and children.

Girls and boys also orphaned.

Nearly 2 million more Palestinians under bombardment or displaced.

Homes destroyed, neighborhoods in rubble, cities in ruin.

Families without food, water, medicine.

It’s heartbreaking.

We’ve been working non-stop to establish an immediate ceasefire that would last for at least six weeks.

It would get the hostages home, ease the intolerable humanitarian crisis, and build toward something more enduring.

The United States has been leading international efforts to get more humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

Tonight, I’m directing the U.S. military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the Gaza coast that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters.

No U.S. boots will be on the ground.

This temporary pier would enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day.

But Israel must also do its part.

Israel must allow more aid into Gaza and ensure that humanitarian workers aren’t caught in the cross fire.

To the leadership of Israel I say this.

Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip.

Protecting and saving innocent lives has to be a priority.

As we look to the future, the only real solution is a two-state solution.

I say this as a lifelong supporter of Israel and the only American president to visit Israel in wartime.

There is no other path that guarantees Israel’s security and democracy.

There is no other path that guarantees Palestinians can live with peace and dignity.

There is no other path that guarantees peace between Israel and all of its Arab neighbors, including Saudi Arabia.

Creating stability in the Middle East also means containing the threat posed by Iran.

That’s why I built a coalition of more than a dozen countries to defend international shipping and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.

I’ve ordered strikes to degrade Houthi capabilities and defend U.S. Forces in the region.

As Commander in Chief, I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and military personnel.

For years, all I’ve heard from my Republican friends and so many others is China’s on the rise and America is falling behind.

They’ve got it backward.

America is rising.

We have the best economy in the world.

Since I’ve come to office, our GDP is up.

And our trade deficit with China is down to the lowest point in over a decade.

We’re standing up against China’s unfair economic practices.

And standing up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

I’ve revitalized our partnerships and alliances in the Pacific.

I’ve made sure that the most advanced American technologies can’t be used in China’s weapons.

Frankly for all his tough talk on China, it never occurred to my predecessor to do that.

We want competition with China, but not conflict.

And we’re in a stronger position to win the competition for the 21st Century against China or anyone else for that matter.

Here at home I’ve signed over 400 bipartisan bills.

But there’s more to do to pass my Unity Agenda.

Strengthen penalties on fentanyl trafficking.

Pass bipartisan privacy legislation to protect our children online.

Harness the promise of A.I. and protect us from its peril.

Ban A.I. voice impersonation and more!

And keep our one truly sacred obligation, to train and equip those we send into harm’s way and care for them and their families when they come home, and when they don’t.

That’s why I signed the PACT Act, one of the most significant laws ever, helping millions of veterans who were exposed to toxins and who now are battling more than 100 cancers.

Many of them didn’t come home.

We owe them and their families.

And we owe it to ourselves to keep supporting our new health research agency called ARPA-H and remind us that we can do big things like end cancer as we know it!

Let me close with this.

I know I may not look like it, but I’ve been around a while.

And when you get to my age certain things become clearer than ever before.

I know the American story.

Again and again I’ve seen the contest between competing forces in the battle for the soul of our nation.

Between those who want to pull America back to the past and those who want to move America into the future.

My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy.

A future based on the core values that have defined America.

Honesty. Decency. Dignity. Equality.

To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot. To give hate no safe harbor.

Now some other people my age see a different story.

An American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution.

That’s not me.

I was born amid World War II when America stood for freedom in the world.

I grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania and Claymont, Delaware among working people who built this country.

I watched in horror as two of my heroes, Dr. King and Bobby Kennedy, were assassinated and their legacies inspired me to pursue a career in service.

A public defender, county councilman, elected United States Senator at 29, then Vice President, to our first Black President, now President, with our first woman Vice President.

In my career I’ve been told I’m too young and I’m too old.

Whether young or old, I’ve always known what endures.

Our North Star.

The very idea of America, that we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives.

We’ve never fully lived up to that idea, but we’ve never walked away from it either.

And I won’t walk away from it now.

My fellow Americans the issue facing our nation isn’t how old we are it’s how old our ideas are?

Hate, anger, revenge, retribution are among the oldest of ideas.

But you can’t lead America with ancient ideas that only take us back.

To lead America, the land of possibilities, you need a vision for the future of what America can and should be.

Tonight you’ve heard mine.

I see a future where we defend democracy not diminish it.

I see a future where we restore the right to choose and protect other freedoms not take them away.

I see a future where the middle class finally has a fair shot and the wealthy finally have to pay their fair share in taxes.

I see a future where we save the planet from the climate crisis and our country from gun violence.

Above all, I see a future for all Americans!

I see a country for all Americans!

And I will always be a president for all Americans!

Because I believe in America!

I believe in you the American people.

You’re the reason I’ve never been more optimistic about our future!

So let’s build that future together!

Let’s remember who we are!

We are the United States of America.

There is nothing beyond our capacity when we act together!

May God bless you all.

May God protect our troops.


text:
Page:Hardwicke's Science-Gossip - Volume 1.pdf/44

28 quiring the art of the optician to reveal their beautiful diversity of forms, and their extreme delicacy of structure. They are inhabitants of the water, and so widely distributed, that there is scarcely a pool, a ditch, or a water-course where they are not to be found, attached to submerged weeds, or mixed with floating debris, or deposited on old piles subject to tidal influences, or forming a covering on the surface of the mud, arranged in patches, and varying in colour from a yellowish brown to a dark chocolate. Some species are indigenous to fresh, some to salt, and some to brackish water, but those common to the one are never found in a lively and healthy state in the other.

In the early history of Diatomaceæ, they were placed by naturalists in the animal kingdom, in consequence of their curious movements; a more intimate acquaintance with their nature and habits, acquired by the aid of improved microscopes, and confirmed by chemical experiments, has resulted in their being transferred to the vegetable kingdom by the unanimous consent of all competent judges. It is now ascertained that the power of locomotion is not peculiar to the Ditomaceæ, but that many of the simple plants, such as Oscillatoria, the Desmidiaceæ, Protococcus, and others, possess this power in common with the Diatoms, and some of them, in certain stages of their existence, are much more active in their movements than any of the Diatomaceæ.

The characteristic feature of the Diatom is its silicious envelope covered with a net-work of fine markings, diversified in pattern, and in some of the species so exquisitely delicate as to require the best objectives and the highest powers to resolve them. Being composed of silica, these frustules are indestructible by the usual agents of decomposition; when, therefore, they are cleansed by being boiled for a few minutes in hydrochloric or nitric acid, they become objects of permanent interest, and may be preserved by mounting, either dry or in Canada balsam.

In order to secure clean and good specimens for mounting, it is absolutely necessary to separate the Diatoms from all foreign matter, which unavoidably becomes mixed with them in collecting. The following is a plan I have tried with great success. On returning home allow your bottles to stand for an hour, by which time the Diatoms and debris will have settled at the bottom, pour off the greater portion of the water, then shaking the bottle briskly, empty its contents into a soup-plate, place the plate in a window for an hour or two, when it will be found that the Diatoms, attracted by the light, will have arranged themselves on the surface of the mud; by gently rotating the plate they become loosened and may be poured off in a pure state, and are ready for being examined alive, or for boiling in acid.

In collecting Diatoms, half a dozen wide-mouthed bottles, a large-bowled spoon as thin as possible, and a stick with a hook at one end, are all the apparatus required. The spoon for carefully skimming the mud, the stick for pulling in any submerged plants or floating rubbish, and the bottles to hold your gatherings, taking care to place the different kinds in separate bottles, being furnished with a Coddington lens to examine your specimens on the spot.

The marine forms of Diatomaceæ may frequently be found attached to seaweed; but some of the rarer kinds must be sought for from the stomach of lobsters, oysters, whelks, and other mollusks.

The favourite habitats of those common to brackish water are marsh-ditches exposed to tidal influences, where they may generally be obtained in great quantities and many varieties.

The best localities near London are the marshes at Erith on the opposite side of the road from the entrance to the Railway station, and Swanscombe Salt Marsh, lying towards the river, about half a mile from Northfleet Railway Station. At both of these places I have always been able to get many interesting forms, together with fine specimens of living Gromia, and a variety of beautiful animal Infusoria. Others may be procured from the marsh ditches at North Woolwich, immediately beyond the Gardens by the Railway Station.

Fresh water Diatoms, in one form or other, are almost ubiquitous. They may be found deposited in brown tufts on the sides and bottom of nearly every clean ditch and every running stream. They line the sides of the locks up the river, fringe the leaves of the larger water-plants, and float in every collection of scum. Pinnularia cuspidata, Stauroneis, &c., may be obtained from a rill running across Keston Common, near Bromley, Kent, and all these forms, together with the beautiful Surirella biseriata and Surirella splendida, abound in the boggy pools on Winter Down, lying to the right of the main road one and a-half or two miles through Esher, opposite to Claremont Park.

I must reserve a few remarks upon the subject of illumination, and the best mode of

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text: Page:In ghostly Japan (IA cu31924014202687).pdf/62


text:
Page:In ghostly Japan (IA cu31924014202687).pdf/101

 {| style="margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; border:none;"
 * style="border:1px solid black;"|In Ghostly Japan 1899 a (3).jpg
 * style="text-align:center;"|
 * }
 * style="text-align:center;"|
 * }
 * }


text: Page:In ghostly Japan (IA cu31924014202687).pdf/102


text: Page:In ghostly Japan (IA cu31924014202687).pdf/143


text: Page:In ghostly Japan (IA cu31924014202687).pdf/144


text:
Author:Emma Laura Shoubridge

Works

 * A Pilgrimage to Mecca (1870)

title: Author:Emma Laura Shoubridge


text: Page:In ghostly Japan (IA cu31924014202687).pdf/200


text: Page:In ghostly Japan (IA cu31924014202687).pdf/201


text:
Page:Hardwicke's Science-Gossip - Volume 1.pdf/45

] resolving the difficult markings on some of the finer forms of Diatomaceæ, to a future opportunity. J. S.

MONGST the numerous subjects which animal products supply for the worker with the microscope, there are a few which are more interesting, or which offer a greater variety of structure, than those delicate filamentous processes which constitute the substance we know as hair. To pluck out a hair from the head of a playmate, and look at it with a simple microscope, is one of the first experiments of schoolboy days, although the result of the investigation is not always satisfactory, for reasons which will be presently apparent. Although this epidermal substance is not confined to hair only, but under various circumstances takes the form of horn, hoof, and nail, yet, as an external appendage, hairs are found not only on the superior orders of animals, but are likewise developed on the lower orders, on various insects, and to a limited extent on crustaceous animals; hence it naturally follows that the variety of hair is very great, its limits not being confined to the quills of the porcupine on the one hand, or the delicate hairs of the butterfly on the other; examination having proved that the horn of the rhinoceros is but a mass of hairs firmly united together, while the revelations of the microscope render it difficult to say how small those hairs may be which the insect world possesses.

It will be sufficient for our present purpose to refer more particularly to hair as commonly understood, and we may accept as a type of it, that with which we are most familiar, viz., human hair. This substance originates in a

bulbous root, contained in a depression of the skin, termed a "hair-follicle," and it is by an accumulation of the pulp within the bulb, that the hair is formed and in due course pushed upwards. When viewed through a microscope with reflected light, the external covering only is seen, which is called the cuticle, and consists of a thin membranous substance, freely marked with irregular lines, which result from the imbricated edges of scales or compressed cells with which the shaft is enveloped (fig. 1).

When viewed with transmitted light, a dark line is seen to run up the centre, which for a long time sustained the notion that human hair was tubular. A more careful investigation, however, has show that the dark line is due to air, contained in cells, forming a pith or medullary substance. Surrounding this central column, and forming the bulk of the hair, is a fibrous substance termed the cortex, which, like the medulla, consists of cells, and to this horny portion of the hair is due its peculiar properties of strength and elasticity. There are likewise a number of pigment granules, exceedingly small, but which give to hair its various shades of colour, according as they are more or less numerous.

The microscopist will find a never ending variety in the structure of hair, both with regard to the internal and external arrangements of the scales, cells, and pigment. Thus, while human hair is comparatively smooth, the hairs of many animals are rough, and the scales on their surface looser. This is a principal reason why wools are so useful for weaving and felting, processes for which human hair is not applicable. A reference

to figs. 1, 2, and 3 will illustrate the difference between human hair and wool, which is but a modification of hair, and will explain why Merino wool is so esteemed by the manufacturers.

The wool of some kinds of goats, termed mohair (fig. 4), is of a similar character, but much finer in substance. The hair of the bat tribe affords most interesting objects, from the peculiar arrangement of the cortical scales, which project very much from the


text:
Page:In ghostly Japan (IA cu31924014202687).pdf/253

 {| style="margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; border:none;"
 * style="border:1px solid black;"|In Ghostly Japan 1899 a (4).jpg
 * style="text-align:center;"|
 * }
 * style="text-align:center;"|
 * }
 * }


text:
Page:Hardwicke's Science-Gossip - Volume 1.pdf/46

30 surface, and in the case of one of the Indian bats, the scales are arranged in curious whorls at regular intervals, not unlike the stem of the well-known plant "Equisetum." The

hairs of the mouse (fig. 5), and rabbit (fig. 6), as well as all the rodents, are admirable objects, from their distinctly serrated surfaces.

Without attempting to enumerate the animals whence these interesting objects can be obtained, it may be briefly states that every hair has its own peculiar characters, and is worth all the patience and time which can be

devoted to it. For examination under the polariscope hairs of all kinds, when properly mounted, are popular objects of admiration, exhibiting with extreme brilliancy characters and definitions otherwise unattainable. For the critical examination of hairs, recourse must be had to the use of acids and alkalies, aided by pressure and gentle heat; but for mounting hairs or sections of hairs on glass slides a different method must be adopted. Macerate in ether to cleanse them from fatty matters, and if opaque they must be soaked in turpentine, then mount them in balsam. Sections may be obtained by gluing several

hairs together and then slicing them with a sharp knife or razor.

In concluding this brief notice of hairs, the young microscopist is reminded that the field is a wide one, and that it is not at all necessary to go beyond the boundaries of his native haunts to obtain materials for an extensive cabinet of interesting specimens. W. M. B.

THE CABBAGE BUTTERFLY AND ITS METAMORPHOSES.

BY PROFESSOR A. DE QUATREFAGES.

(EXTERNAL PHASES.)

LL our readers must have seen the cabbage-butterflies (Pieris Brassicæ) in their gardens, or in the country; they have black bodies, white ringed antennæ, and wings which are white on the upper side, but yellowish below, and covered with black spots, whose number and position mark the sexes. They are frequently seen in the months of August and September flying in pairs, sometimes in pursuit of each other, and occasionally rushing round and round, as though engaged in some severe contest. It seems as if a real struggle was going on, but it is absolutely nothing of the sort. The male urges his suit, and the female rejects it in true coquettish spirit. Finally, she settles down, but her wings are closely applied to each other, in this way covering the entire body. The male moves round and round her for a few moments, and then, as if he had taken his final departure, flies almost out of sight; but this is evidently a ruse. As soon as the female unfolds her wings and exhibits her entire form, he returns quickly enough, but to no purpose;


text:
Author:Sarah M. Kendall

Works

 * USCIS Remarks by Sarah Kendall, Chief, IPO (2020)

title: Author:Sarah M. Kendall


text:
Author:Mīrzā Muḥammad Ibrāhīm

Works

 * A Grammar of the Persian Language (1841)

title: Author:Mīrzā Muḥammad Ibrāhīm


text:
User talk:Duckmather

SnowyCinema (talk) 04:06, 8 March 2024 (UTC)

Taming of the Shrew
The Yale Shakespeare series requires some seriously advanced formatting, even many of our experienced editors here find such a volume challenging. It is also part of a series with an established formatting, so the formatting must match the other volumes in the series. It may not be a good option for a new Wikisource editor. I recommend trying works from the Monthly Challenge first. --EncycloPetey (talk) 06:40, 15 March 2024 (UTC)

Royal Book of Oz
Thanks for your help on this transcription project! I really appreciate all of the help that you've been providing with the bot and your own manual checking. It felt so daunting to do all on my own that I had given up a bit, but I've got some renewed energy to keep working on it since you're helping! Thanks, and do let me know if there is anything I can help with.

Best, SDudley (talk) 13:38, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

 * Hi! Could you please run your SodiumBot again to populate more of The Royal Book of Oz? It really helps me in filling it out. Thanks! @Duckmather SDudley (talk) 02:48, 29 May 2024 (UTC)
 * I just did it again for chapter 16, chapter 17, and chapter 18; have fun! Duckmather (talk) 17:27, 4 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Thank you! This is extremely helpful. SDudley (talk) 17:28, 4 June 2024 (UTC)

Match and Split
The text you are loading into the Page namespace is quite seriously different from the text of the scan. Look for example at all of the linked Biblical passages in Page:04.BCOT.KD.PoeticalBooks.vol.4.Writings.djvu/34. Match and split should only be done when the texts closely match, not when the two texts are radically different from each other. --EncycloPetey (talk) 18:11, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

I also see pages like Page:04.BCOT.KD.PoeticalBooks.vol.4.Writings.djvu/579 that are missing chunks of sentences, and none of the in-text Hebrew has the vowel markings from the original. --EncycloPetey (talk) 19:25, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

Group Messaging Encryption
Why is this the title for the article? That's not the title of the article. --EncycloPetey (talk) 00:34, 9 June 2024 (UTC)

 * That was the title of the page onwiki (which I had assumed was a short form of the title of the article). If you want, I can move the page to the actual title and ask to get rid of the resulting redirect. Duckmather (talk) 00:46, 9 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Which wiki? I am still confused. --EncycloPetey (talk) 01:39, 9 June 2024 (UTC)
 * English Wikisource, duh. By the way, I just boldly moved the page to its correct title, Efficient and Secure Group Messaging Encryption. Duckmather (talk) 20:51, 9 June 2024 (UTC)

USA PATRIOT Act
I saw that you were doing a match-and-split to a separate index. That index is for the bill, not the law as enacted. For that, we already have an index here (starting on p. 272). TE(æ)A,ea. (talk) 02:31, 18 June 2024 (UTC)

Also, please put the license template and categories at the bottom, instead of at the top of the page. It will help other editors if content is placed consistently in works, and placed in the locations where they are displayed. The license is always displayed at the bottom,. with the categories below it. So it is best practice to place the templates and categorization at the bottom as well. --EncycloPetey (talk) 03:30, 18 June 2024 (UTC)

 * Thank you for noticing! Now that I think of it, I'm actually thinking of making the base title into a versions page that lists the bill version vs. the enacted version (and transcluding + proofreading from the enacted index as is for the enacted version, but matching-and-splitting for the bill version). Duckmather (talk) 03:35, 18 June 2024 (UTC)

Problematic
I see you marked this page as problematic but you did not elaborate. What is the problem that requires unusual action? --EncycloPetey (talk) 04:11, 20 June 2024 (UTC)

 * There's a table in the text. I just haven't gotten around to adding it yet. Duckmather (talk) 04:20, 20 June 2024 (UTC)
 * A table doesn't make the page problematic. Problematic pages are missing the scan page, have a tear or damage resulting in lost text, or need an image file process.  If the issue is simply that table formatting hasn't been applied, then the page is just "not proofread". --EncycloPetey (talk) 06:01, 20 June 2024 (UTC)
 * @EncycloPetey Are you sure Wikisource's current documentation agrees with this? In the problem templates section of Help:Beginner's guide to proofreading, it seems to indicate marking pages problematic when they are missing "something". I believe this practice is at least typical in the MC, and I find it more helpful than having the pages marked not proofread. Maybe that is just me. Regards, TeysaKarlov (talk) 21:57, 17 July 2024 (UTC)
 * It appears not to be current. That advice was added in 2012 by AdamBMorgan, who last edited here in 2015.  The advice appears to be outdated with regard to tables (which are formatting), but is correct for the other templates (which apply to content). --EncycloPetey (talk) 22:23, 17 July 2024 (UTC)

Em and pline
Hi @Duckmather,

I am not sure why you changed " s to ":s in Index:Slavery, a poem.pdf, as the left indent provided by each should be identical, but the ":"'s do not work properly with  (they do not align right properly). Was there some benefit to ":s that I was missing, and was the right alignment issue somehow not visible on the device you were using? At any rate, I have switched back to " s.

Regards, TeysaKarlov (talk) 20:41, 17 July 2024 (UTC)

 * Color me mystified. I think the reason I was trying to do it was because I wanted all indentation to use the ":" symbol for consistency, because I thought the two were equivalent; I didn't know that they weren't. (A quick look at the web developer tools in Firefox suggests that when I add a ":" symbol, the Poem extension wraps it in a  tag.) In any case, the em tag is fine for now.
 * Maybe the Poem extension has something wrong with it instead. I've also thought about creating a variant of pline that uses a div tag (since Help:Poetry says that putting a span tag inside a poem will cause a lint error) but I'm not sure how useful that would actually be.
 * Duckmather (talk) Duckmather (talk) 21:53, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
 * @Duckmather I don't think I can be of much help identifying the root cause of the issue, although it may not effect both poem and ppoem (I haven't tested both). At any rate, I probably wouldn't go creating a new template just to fix this "issue", as the workaround is simple enough, and if pline was causing lint errors, ShakespeareFan or Beardo would probably be all over it. Regards, TeysaKarlov (talk) 00:38, 20 July 2024 (UTC)

title: User talk:Duckmather


text: Template:Act of Congress/testcases

title: Template:Act of Congress/testcases


text: A Chinese Biographical Dictionary/Fan Ch'un-jen


text: A Chinese Biographical Dictionary/Fan Chung-yen


text: A Chinese Biographical Dictionary/Fan Ch'ung


text: A Chinese Biographical Dictionary/Fan Hsüan


text: A Chinese Biographical Dictionary/Fan Jan


text: A Chinese Biographical Dictionary/Fan K'uai


text: A Chinese Biographical Dictionary/Fan Li


text: A Chinese Biographical Dictionary/Fan Ning


text: Template:Noinclude/doc

title: Template:Noinclude/doc


text: A Chinese Biographical Dictionary/Fan Shih-ch'ung


text: A Chinese Biographical Dictionary/Fan Su


text: A Chinese Biographical Dictionary/Fan Ts'êng


text: A Chinese Biographical Dictionary/Fan Tsu-yü


text: A Chinese Biographical Dictionary/Fan Wên-ch'êng


text: A Chinese Biographical Dictionary/Fan Yeh


text: A Chinese Biographical Dictionary/Fan Yün


text:
Page:The Burmese & Arakanese calendars (IA burmesearakanese00irwiiala).pdf/19

Rh 17. For ordinary use the English divisions of a day have practically ousted the Burmese ones, at least in the towns, and the word "nayi" has come to mean "hour." The words "minute" and "second" have been engrafted into the Burmese language.

18. La (moon) is a mean lunation, i.e. the average period from new moon to new moon. Sandra Matha also means a lunation; Thuriya Matha means a solar month = $$\frac{1}{12}$$ of a year.

19. Labyi is full moon. Lagwè is new moon.

20. Ata Yet or Ata Ne is the solar New Year's Day, or the day on which the mean sun enters the sign Meiktha (Aries).

21. Haragon (Hind. Ahargana) or Thawana is the total number of days elapsed from the beginning of the era, or from any other fixed point which may be taken as a starting point for calculations, to a given day.

22. Kyammat is an aggregate of units, each of which is the 800th part of a day (= 108 seconds = 270 kaya). This arbitrary unit is obviously a rude and imperfect substitute for decimal fractions.

23. Didi (Hind. Tithi) is the 30th part of a mean lunation, or the average time in which the mean moon increases her longitudinal distance from the mean sun by 12 degrees.

24. Kaya is the difference between total days and total didi in any given period. It must not be confounded with kaya, the measure of time, .4 of a second (paragraph 16).

23. Awaman is the remainder in the arithmetical operation of reduction of days to didi or vice versa. In other words awaman is the numerator of a fraction of kaya.

26. Yet lun is the epact or moon's age at midnight of solar new year's day, expressed in whole didi.

27. Adimath (Hind. adhika masa) means both an intercalated month and the total intercalated months from the beginning of the era or any other fixed point to a given point of time. Adimtath thetha means the epact of the total intercalated months, or fraction of a month, which accumulates year by year up to one month.

28. La lun is the number of whole months by which the total solar years expired during the era exceed the total luni-solar years expired during the era. When solar new year's day falls in Tagu the la lun is 0; when it falls in Kason the la lun is 1; and so on. If the solar and luni-solar years were perfectly adjusted there would never be any la lun.


text: Template:Author index/sandbox

title: Template:Author index/sandbox


text:
Page:The Burmese & Arakanese calendars (IA burmesearakanese00irwiiala).pdf/20

 29. Thokdadein at midnight of any given day is the number of days expired from and excluding Ata Yet.

30. Thagayit is the number of the year of the Burmese era. It denotes expired years, not current years as in Europe. That is to say, the era began at the commencement of the year 0. The first of January 1900 was Burmese 1261 Pyatho waxing 2nd, which means the second day of the month of Pyatho after the completion of 1261 years of the Burmese era.

31. Ratha or Huit Kywin is Thagayit minus a constant. In other words, a fixed number is deducted from thagayit in order to shorten calculations, and the difference is termed ratha.

32. Wa is the Buddhist lent, which extends from the full moon of Wazo to the full moon of Thadingyut.

33. Wa-tat (lent repeated) is an expression applied to the Burmese leap year. Wa-ngè-tat means that the year has an intercalary month without any intercalary day. Wa-gyi-tat means that it has both intercalary month and intercalary day.


text:
Index talk:Maugham - Of Human Bondage, 1915.djvu

Proofreading
A quick pass through multiple pages marked as "proofread" reveals multiple errors on those pages, including:

 * Missing chapter numbers / chapter number formatting.
 * Headers left in the body of the page, and unformatted.
 * Extraneous spaces around quotation marks.

Based on what I've seen, no page marked as "proofread" should be considered so, due to the many errors that were not caught. --EncycloPetey (talk) 04:42, 8 March 2024 (UTC)


text:
Page:Self-help with illustrations of conduct and perseverance (IA selfhelpwithillu00smiliala).pdf/372

 established, and for his "judicious and masterly arrangements in respect to supplies, which opened an abundant free market, and inspired confidence into dealers of every description." The same close attention to and mastery of details characterized him throughout his Indian career; and it is remarkable that one of his ablest despatches to Lord Clive, full of practical information as to the conduct of the campaign, was written whilst the column he commanded was crossing the Toombuddra, in the face of the vastly superior army of Dhoondiah, posted on the opposite bank, and while a thousand matters of the deepest interest were pressing upon the commander's mind. But it was one of his most remarkable characteristics, thus to be able to withdraw himself temporarily from the business immediately in hand, and to bend his full powers upon the consideration of matters totally distinct; even the most difficult circumstances on such occasions failing to embarrass or intimidate him.

Returned to England with a reputation for generalship, Sir Arthur Wellesley met with immediate employment. In 1808 a corps of 10,000 men destined to liberate Portugal was placed under his charge. He landed, fought, and won two battles, and signed the Convention of Cintra. After the death of Sir John Moore he was entrusted with the command of a new expedition to Portugal. But Wellington was fearfully overmatched throughout his Peninsular campaigns. From 1809 to 1813 he never had more than 30,000 British troops under his command, at a time when there stood opposed to him in the Peninsula some 350,000 French, mostly veterans, led by some of Napoleon's ablest generals. How was he to contend against


text: Page:Actions and reactions (IA actionsreactions00kipliala).pdf/9


text: Template:Author index page/doc

title: Template:Author index page/doc


text:
Page:Self-help with illustrations of conduct and perseverance (IA selfhelpwithillu00smiliala).pdf/377

 over'—and you will not lose by it in the end." A well-known brewer of beer attributed his success to the liberality with which he used his malt. Going up to the vat and tasting it, he would say, "Still rather poor, my lads; give it another cast of the malt." The brewer put his character into his beer, and it proved generous accordingly, obtaining a reputation in England, India, and the colonies, which laid the foundation of a large fortune. Integrity of word and deed ought to be the very corner-stone of all business transactions. To the tradesman, the merchant, and manufacturer it should be what honour is to the soldier, and charity to the Christian. In the humblest calling there will always be found scope for the exercise of this uprightness of character. Hugh Miller speaks of the mason with whom he served his apprenticeship as one who "put his conscience into every stone that he laid." So the true mechanic will pride himself upon the thoroughness and solidity of his work, and the high-minded contractor upon the honesty of performance of his contract in every particular. The upright manufacturer will find not only honour and reputation, but substantial success, in the genuineness of the article which he produces, and the merchant in the honesty of what he sells, and that it really is what it seems to be. Baron Dupin, speaking of the general probity of Englishmen, which he held to be a principal cause of their success, observed, "We may succeed for a time by fraud, by surprise, by violence; but we can succeed permanently only by means directly opposite. It is not alone the courage, the intelligence, the activity, of the merchant and manufacturer which maintain the superiority of their productions and the character


text:
Page:Chronologies and calendars (IA chronologiescale00macdrich).pdf/84

 his MSS. Even the adherents of the Jerusalem Talmud cannot gainsay the fact. How much more, then, must those who hold the Talmud as pro non scripto doubt the conclusions of both works.

112. But events much older than these have been fixed in a similar manner. Thus Sir Henry Rawlinson was able, from the occurrence of an eclipse of the sun, B.C. 763, to fix the order of the Assyrian dates indicated in, or arising from, the translation of ancient terra-cotta tablets, Again, the battle between the Median and Lydian kings long remained in history without any exact date, until Bailly, in the last century, calculated the solar eclipse which indirectly put an end to the battle; and he found that the date corresponded with our 30th September, 610 B.C.

113. Coming nearer modern times, the Norse invasion under Haco is mentioned in the Norwegian Chronicle as having taken place in one summer when 'a great darkness drew over the sun, so that only a small ring was bright round the orb.' Thus unconsciously, as Tytler points out, there is afforded to modern science the date for dating Haco's great expedition, and the needful calculations show that the time was 5th Aug., 1263.

114. Of course these and the former figures, it should be stated, are given on the chronological, not the astronomical, basis, for astronomers look upon the solar year next immediately preceding our era as 0, and the year before that as 1, so that B.C. 1 to chronologers is equal to B.C. 0 among astronomers. This peculiarity will often meet difficulties as to dates, at least such dates as are commonly received by historians in connecting pre and post Advent events.


text:
Page:Chronologies and calendars (IA chronologiescale00macdrich).pdf/85

 115. Passing from stars to comets, it must be admitted that the want of precise regularity renders them of less account. Still the years in which they have been specially prevalent, or in which a notable one has recurred, are known as the 'Comet Years,' and it is not uncommon to hear observant folk refer to some event—its years having escaped them—as having taken place in the year, say Hally's comet, or of Donati's comet. 'It may be taken as a fact (though in no proper sense a rule) that a bright and conspicuous comet comes about once in ten years, and a very remarkable comet every thirty years. Thus we have had during the present century bright comets in 1811, 1825, 1835, 1843, 1858, 1861, 1874, and 1882, whereof these of 1811, 1843, and 1858 were specially celebrated. Tested then by either standard of words, "bright and conspicuous," or "specially celebrated," it may be affirmed that a good comet is now due.' 'It is fortunate,' Sir John Herschell remarked, 'for astronomy that the confusion of dates and the irreconcilable contradictions which historical statements too often exhibit when confronted with the best knowledge we possess of the ancient reckonings of time, affect recorded observations but little. An astronomical observation of any striking and wellmarked phenomenon carries with it, in most cases, abundant means of recovering its exact date.'

116. The true place of astronomy in chronology is neither so high as that which Herschell claims for it, nor so insignificant as to be neglected with safety; but midway between these two points. Chronology, without the aid of astronomy, is only an abstract science; and astronomy, severed from


text:
Page:Chronologies and calendars (IA chronologiescale00macdrich).pdf/86

 history or from chronology, reveals records of phenomena which are cabilistic and useless. On the ground therefore, of utility alone, the two sciences are well and appropriately yoked together, as the examples mentioned prove.

117. The position of chronology as at the Middle Ages has been tersely put by the learned compilers of Le Grand Dictionnairé Universel. 'Chronology,' they declare, 'as a science was till then (Scaliger's time, 16th century,) unknown. People wrote ancient history without any criterion, copying the dates, as everything else, from the authorities immediately under their notice, without so much as troubling themselves to reconcile the differences in these records, or indicating principles upon which the counting of years should be placed.' And who can tell what erroneous conclusions, founded upon errors in dates, have arisen and flourished?

118. It is noteworthy that the 'Father of History' as a title arose from the researches of Herodotus, who flourished in the fifth century B.C. In other words, his having existed would be as substantial to Julius Cæsar as the historic verity of the Julian calendar was to Dionysius the Little, when he invented the Christian era. Herodotus opens his treatise in a manner worthy of all commendation, 'This is the publication,' the rubric runs, 'of the researches of Herodotus of Halicarnassus, in order that the actions of men may not be effaced by time.' But when he slips into chronology, one is amazed to find that he approves of the data of Solon, who had 'put the terms of man's life at 70 years; these 70 years then gave 25,200 days, without


text:
Page:Chronologies and calendars (IA chronologiescale00macdrich).pdf/87

 including the intercalary month, and if we add that month to every other year in order that the seasons arriving at the proper time may agree, the intercalary months will be 35 more in the 70 years, and the days of these months will be 1,050.'

119. This method of calculating time is just another instance of how wayward would be all history without chronology. And yet what do we find? Chroniclers in every country in its infancy have devoted themselves to the task of spinning out fables, and passing these to posterity as immaculate records. I do not say that history, and accurate history, cannot be written without a chronological basis, but I do affirm that the neglect of chronology has plunged many histories otherwise meritorious into much confusion as to the origin, potency, and extinction of epochs.

120. Scaliger is known as the father of chronology. He lived and died before the science of paleography was thought of. Paleography is likewise of assistance in Chronology, and is the science of deciphering, writings, especially those of ancient times, and of deciding upon their age, their authenticity, and present value. It is sometimes known as diplomatics. These three sentences will suffice to show that the great Scaliger must have wrought under serious disadvantages.

121. In this science—so helpful towards accuracy in chronology—France led the way, in 1681, with Mabillon's


text:
Page:Chronologies and calendars (IA chronologiescale00macdrich).pdf/88

 de re Diplomatica; and in Scotland a treatise appeared in 1739. Thereafter Greece, Italy, and Germany were severally the objects of paleographic research; and in 1803 a similar service was performed for England, It was not, however, till 1873 that a Paleographical Society was formed in London.

122. Nowadays writings are placed under one or two classes, viz., genuine or spurious. Thus, a writing is spurious if it is not the production of the person whose name it claimed as author, or, when anonymous, it is held to be spurious if it has not sprang from the time and place of pretended origin, Again, any writing is genuine which is really the work of the author thereof, or whose name belongs to the period and place alleged for the first appearance of the MS.

123. Paleography is not specially concerned with the ethics revealed, but tells us the genuine from the spurious in writings on sun-dried bricks, oyster shells, slabs, tiles, papyri, parchment, medals, bones, coins, metals, paper, ivory, bark, leather, lead, wood, or other substance used for recording the thoughts of mankind. The necessity at the moment, or the ingenuity of man, has often shown itself by the strangest methods of chronicling events.

124. Chronology, when founded on paleography, becomes a more exact science; and, consequently, the elaborate tables of dates which in the last century were looked upon as perfectly accurate, have been relegated to the limbo of the effete. A copy—perhaps a copy of a tenth copy—of a writing was too often regarded as the original, and dateless


text:
Page:Tales from the Gulistan (1928).pdf/34

The Manners of Kings

heard that a royal prince of short stature and mean presence, whose brothers were tall and good-looking, once saw his father glancing on him with aversion and contempt; but he had the shrewdness and penetration to guess the meaning, and said : “O father, a puny, intelligent fellow is better than a tall, ignorant man, neither is everything [which is] bigger in stature higher in price. A sheep is nice to eat, and an elephant is carrion. The smallest mountain on earth is Jûr, nevertheless it is great with Allah in dignity and Station. Hast thou not heard that a lean scholar one day said to a fat fool, ‘Although an Arab horse may be weak, it is thus worth more than a stable full of asses.

The father laughed at this sally, the pillars of the State approved of it; but the brothers felt much aggrieved.

While a man says not a word His fault and virtue are concealed; Think not that every desert is empty: Possibly it may contain a sleeping tiger.

I heard that on the said occasion the King was menaced by a powerful enemy, and that when the two armies were about to encounter each other, the first who entered the battlefield was the little fellow, who said: “I am not he whose back thou wilt see on the day of battle, but he whom thou shalt behold in dust and blood. Who himself fights. Stakes his own life in battle; but he who flees, the blood of his army.”

After uttering these words he rushed among the troops of


text:
Page:Chronologies and calendars (IA chronologiescale00macdrich).pdf/89

 documents were accorded a startling antiquity. The paleographist, perusing, observe, however, that the

earliest uncial of precise date is found in the record of sale by Didymus and his wife to Miccalus of a date in the first century, now specified 3rd June, 88 A.D. (British Museum MSS., Case A, No. 6), the A.R. (7th) of Domition being given.

. In regard to printing, it is important to bear in mind that in 593 A.D. the Chinese Emperor Wan-ti ordered a collection of the syllabic texts with the view to their being officially printed; but there was no great use of printing in China until the tenth century of the Christian era.

. Printing in Europe was, however, much later; and the following table shows the Western progress of the art:—

At Mentz (Mayence) a printing press was set up in 1454

1467

1470


text: Template:Act of Canadian Parliament/doc

title: Template:Act of Canadian Parliament/doc


text: Template:Act of Canadian Parliament/sandbox


text:
Page:Lesianawai v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs.pdf/14

Beech-Jones J

Thornton

In Thornton, Gageler and Jagot JJ held that the effect of the Youth Justice Act was that a finding of guilt for which no conviction was recorded was not, and was "not taken to be", a conviction for any purpose. It followed that s 85ZR(2)(b) was engaged and the "corresponding purpose" was "any purpose", including the purpose of considering whether to revoke the cancellation of a visa. Their Honours concluded that "[t]he Minister's consideration of Mr Thornton's youth offending in deciding not to revoke the cancellation of the visa was contrary to the direction in s 85ZR(2)(b) of the Crimes Act" (emphasis added).

Gordon and Edelman JJ reached the same conclusion by in part relying on s 85ZS. Their Honours construed s 85ZR(2) so that, if a State law provides that in "particular circumstances" a person is deemed never to have been convicted of an offence for any purpose, then a Commonwealth authority in that State in those circumstances is to take that person as never having been convicted for any purpose. Their Honours construed ss 183 and 184 of the Youth Justice Act as specifying particular circumstances in which a person was taken never to have been convicted, namely, where a finding of guilt had been made and a court had decided or been mandated not to record a conviction. Thus, their Honours found that s 85ZR(2) was engaged for all purposes in those particular circumstances. Their Honours concluded that ss 85ZS(1)(d)(ii) and 85ZM of the Crimes Act precluded the Minister from taking into account any of the "findings of guilt" made against the respondent or the fact that he had been charged with the offences he committed when he was a child.

The Children Proceedings Act

Relying on s 85ZR, s 85ZS and Thornton'', the plaintiff contended that under a "State law", namely the Children Proceedings Act, he was "taken never to have been convicted" of (at least) the offences for which he was sentenced by the


text:
Page:Lesianawai v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs.pdf/15

Beech-Jones J

Children's Court when he was under the age of 16 years for all but presently immaterial purposes.

During the period of the plaintiff's appearances before the Children's Court, Pt 2 of the Children Proceedings Act contained various provisions applicable to any court exercising criminal jurisdiction and any criminal proceedings before such a court. Part 3 addressed the conduct and disposition of criminal proceedings in the Children's Court. The Children's Court was vested with jurisdiction to hear and determine proceedings in respect of any offence other than a "serious indictable offence", and committal proceedings in respect of any indictable offence, including a serious indictable offence, if the offence was alleged to have been committed by a person who was a child at the time the offence was committed and was under the age of 21 years when they were charged before the Children's Court. "Child" was defined as a person under the age of 18 years.

Within Pt 2, s 6 specified various principles applicable to the exercise of criminal jurisdiction by any court with respect to children, including that "children who commit offences bear responsibility for their actions but, because of their state of dependency and immaturity, require guidance and assistance".

Within Div 3 of Pt 2 was s 14, which provided:

"Recording of conviction

(1) Without limiting any other power of a court to deal with a child who has pleaded guilty to, or has been found guilty of, an offence, a court:

 * (a) shall not, in respect of any offence, proceed to, or record such a finding as, a conviction in relation to a child who is under the age of 16 years, and

 * (b) may, in respect of an offence which is disposed of summarily, refuse to proceed to, or record such a finding as, a conviction in relation to a child who is of or above the age of 16 years.

(2) Subsection (1) does not limit any power of a court to proceed to, or record such a finding as, a conviction in respect of a child who is


text:
Page:Lesianawai v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs.pdf/16

Beech-Jones J

charged with an indictable offence that is not disposed of summarily."

Save for where the Children's Court committed a person for trial or sentence to a higher court in respect of an indictable offence (including a serious indictable offence), proceedings in the Children's Court were required to be dealt with summarily. With the possible exception of three offences, all of the offences for which the plaintiff was sentenced by the Children's Court when he was under the age of 16 years were not serious indictable offences and the plaintiff was not committed to a higher court. Leaving aside those three offences (which may have been misdescribed in the police certificate), it should therefore be concluded that the plaintiff could not have been, and was not, "convicted" of any of those offences. Instead, he either pleaded guilty to or was found guilty of those offences.

Section 15(1) of the Children Proceedings Act imposed a (limited) restriction on the use that might be made of a finding of guilt of (or a plea of guilty to) an offence committed by a person when they were a child. It provided that a finding of guilt shall not be admitted in evidence in any criminal proceedings that might be subsequently taken against that person, other than in the Children's Court, provided that no conviction was recorded following that finding of guilt (or plea) and the person has not been punished by a court for any offence committed in the two years prior to the commencement of those subsequent proceedings.

Section 33(1) of the Children Proceedings Act conferred power on the Children's Court to make orders that amount to the imposition of a sentence. This included the power to make an order committing a person to the control of the relevant Minister for a period of time that does not exceed two years, ie, a "control order". The existence of the power to make orders under s 33(1) was predicated


text:
Page:Lesianawai v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs.pdf/17

Beech-Jones J

on the Court having found a person guilty of an offence (and not on their being "convicted").

Two matters should be noted about these provisions of the Children Proceedings Act in their application to the plaintiff.

First, like the provisions of the Youth Justice Act considered in Thornton, the above provisions of the Children Proceedings Act reflect a clear distinction between a finding of guilt and a conviction. Under the Children Proceedings Act, a finding of guilt is not a conviction and, subject to any statutory provisions that provide to the contrary, is not treated as a conviction for any purpose. An example of a statutory provision that provides to the contrary is s 33(6) of the Children Proceedings Act, which was introduced with effect from 3 November 2008. Section 33(6) deems a finding of guilt by the Children's Court to be a conviction "[f]or the purposes of any provision of the road transport legislation that confers power on a court with respect to a person who has been convicted of an offence" and enables the Court to exercise power under that legislation as if the person had been convicted of the offence.

Second, an issue arises as to the operative date of the provisions of State law that engage s 85ZR(2) (and s 85ZS) of the Crimes Act. Section s 85ZR(2)(b) is engaged at the point in time when the relevant Commonwealth authority purports to takes some step or action ("by any Commonwealth authority") that involves a consideration of something that took place in respect of a person who, under State law, is taken never to have been convicted. In this case, the action "by any Commonwealth authority" was the decision by the delegate on 9 October 2013 to cancel the plaintiff's visa. In doing so, the delegate considered something about the plaintiff, namely various findings of guilt made against him as a child. It follows that the relevant "State law" to be considered is so much of the State law that in October 2013 defined and described the effect of the findings of guilt made by the Children's Court when the plaintiff was under the age of 16 years.

As explained, the effect of the Children Proceedings Act as continually in force up until the time of the delegate's decision is that a finding of guilt was not to be treated as a conviction for any purpose unless that Act or other legislation specifically so provided. No such provision was referred to. Thus, under State law applying as at 9 October 2013, the plaintiff is "taken [as] never … hav[ing] been


text:
Page:The Pictorial Key to the Tarot.pdf/17

4 own sphere. I know that for the high art of ribaldry there are few things more dull than the criticism which maintains that a thesis is untrue, and cannot understand that it is decorative. I know also that after long dealing with doubtful doctrine or with difficult research it is always refreshing, in the domain of this art, to meet with what is obviously of fraud or at least of complete unreason. But the aspects of history, as seen through the lens of occultism, are not as a rule decorative, and have few gifts of refreshment to heal the lacerations which they inflict on the logical understanding. It almost requires a Frater Sapiens dominabitur astris in the Fellowship of the Rosy Cross to have the patience which is not lost amidst clouds of folly when the consideration of the Tarot is undertaken in accordance with the higher law of symbolism. The true Tarot is symbolism; it speaks no other language and offers no other signs. Given the inward meaning of its emblems, they do become a kind of alphabet which is capable of indefinite combinations and makes true sense in all. On the highest plane it offers a key to the Mysteries, in a manner which is not arbitrary and has not been read in. But the


text:
Page:Brewster's millions (IA brewstersmillion00greaiala).pdf/111

 The fast-and-loose game displeased Miss Barbara greatly. She was at first surprised, then piqued, then resentful. Monty gradually awoke to the distressing fact that she was going to be intractable, as he put it, and forthwith undertook to smooth the troubled sea. To his amazement and concern she was not to be appeased.

"Does it occur to you, Monty," she said, with a gentle coldness that was infinitely worse than heat, "that you have been carrying things with a pretty high hand? Where did you acquire the right to interfere with my privileges? You seem to think that I am not to speak to any man but you."

"O, come now, Babs," retorted Monty, "I've not been quite as unreasonable as that. And you know yourself that Grimes is the worst kind of a bounder."

"I know nothing of the sort," replied the lady, with growing irritation. "You say that about every man who gives me a smile or a flower. Does it indicate such atrocious taste?"

"Don't be silly, Barbara. You know perfectly well that you have talked to Gardner and that idiot Valentine by the hour, and I've not said a word. But there are some things I can't stand, and the impertinence of Grimes is


text:
Page:Brewster's millions (IA brewstersmillion00greaiala).pdf/112

 one of them. Jove! he looked at you, out of those fishy eyes, sometimes as though he owned you. If you knew how many times I've fairly ached to knock him down!"

Inwardly Barbara was weakening a little before his masterfulness. But she gave no sign.

"And it never occurred to you," she said, with that exasperating coldness of the voice, "that I was equal to the situation. I suppose you thought Mr. Grimes had only to beckon and I would joyfully answer. I'll have you know, Monty Brewster, right now, that I am quite able to choose my friends, and to handle them. Mr. Grimes has character and I like him. He has seen more of life in a year of his strenuous career than you ever dreamed of in all your pampered existence. His life has been real, Monty Brewster, and yours is only an imitation."

It struck him hard, but it left him gentle.

"Babs," he said, softly, "I can't take that from you. You don't really mean it, do you? Am I as bad as that?"

It was a moment for dominance, and he missed it. His gentleness left her cold.

"Monty," she exclaimed irritably, "you are terribly exasperating. Do make up your


text:
Page:Brewster's millions (IA brewstersmillion00greaiala).pdf/113

 mind that you and your million are not the only things in the world."

His blood was up now, but it flung him away from her.

"Some day, perhaps, you'll find out that there is not much besides. I am just a little too big, for one thing, to be played with and thrown aside. I won't stand it."

He left the house with his head high in the air, angry red in his cheeks, and a feeling in his heart that she was the most unreasonable of women. Barbara, in the meantime, cried herself to sleep, vowing she would never love Monty Brewster again as long as she lived.

A sharp cutting wind was blowing in Monty's face as he left the house. He was thoroughly wretched.

"Throw up your hands!" came hoarsely from somewhere, and there was no tenderness in the tones. For an instant Monty was dazed and bewildered, but in the next he saw two shadowy figures walking beside him. "Stop where you are, young fellow," was the next command, and he stopped short. He was in a mood to fight, but the sight of a revolver made him think again. Monty was not a coward, neither was he a fool. He was quick to see that a struggle would be madness.


text:
Page:Brewster's millions (IA brewstersmillion00greaiala).pdf/114

 "What do you want?" he demanded as coolly as his nerves would permit.

"Put up your hands quick!" and he hastily obeyed the injunction.

"Not a sound out of you or you get it good and proper. You know what we want. Get to work, Bill; I'll watch his hands."

"Help yourselves, boys. I'm not fool enough to scrap about it. Don't hit me or shoot, that's all. Be quick about it, because I'll take cold if my overcoat is open long. How's business been to-night?" Brewster was to all intents and purposes the calmest man in New York.

"Fierce!" said the one who was doing the searching. "You're the first guy we've seen in a week that looks good."

"I hope you won't be disappointed," said Monty, genially. "If I'd expected this I might have brought more money."

"I guess we'll be satisfied," chuckled the man with the revolver. "You're awful nice and kind, mister, and maybe you wouldn't object to tellin' us when you'll be up dis way ag'in."

"It's a pleasure to do business with you, pardner," said the other, dropping Monty's $300 watch in his pocket. "We'll leave car-fare for you for your honesty." His hands were


text:
Page:Brewster's millions (IA brewstersmillion00greaiala).pdf/115

 running through Brewster's pockets with the quickness of a machine. "You don't go much on jewelry, I guess. Are dese shoit buttons de real t'ing?"

"They're pearls," said Monty, cheerfully.

"My favorite jool," said the man with the revolver. "Clip 'em out, Bill."

"Don't cut the shirt," urged Monty. "I'm going to a little supper and I don't like the idea of a punctured shirt-front."

"I'll be as careful as I kin, mister. There, I guess dat's all. Shall I call a cab for you, sir?"

"No, thank you, I think I'll walk."

"Well, just walk south a hundred steps without lookin' 'round er yellin' and you kin save your skin. I guess you know what I mean, pardner."

"I'm sure I do. Good-night."

"Good-night," came in chuckles from the two hold-up men. But Brewster hesitated, a sharp thought penetrating his mind.

"By gad!" he exclaimed, "you chaps are very careless. Do you know you've missed a roll of three hundred dollars in this overcoat pocket?" The men gasped and the spasmodic oaths that came from them were born of incredulity. It was plain that they doubted their ears.


text:
Page:Brewster's millions (IA brewstersmillion00greaiala).pdf/116

 "Say it ag'in," muttered Bill, in bewildered tones.

"He's stringin' us, Bill," said the other.

"Sure," growled Bill. "It's a nice way to treat us, mister. Move along now and don't turn 'round."

"Well, you're a couple of nice highwaymen," cried Monty in disgust.

"Sh— not so loud."

"That is no way to attend to business. Do you expect me to go down in my pocket and hand you the goods on a silver tray?"

"Keep your hands up! You don't woik dat game on me. You got a gun there."

"No, I haven't. This is on the level. You overlooked a roll of bills in your haste and I'm not the sort of fellow to see an earnest endeavorer get the worst of it. My hands are up. See for yourself if I'm not telling you the truth."

"What kind of game is dis?" growled Bill, dazed and bewildered. "I'm blowed if I know w'at to t'ink o' you," cried he in honest amazement. "You don't act drunk, and you ain't crazy, but there's somethin' wrong wid you. Are you givin' it to us straight about de wad?"

"You can find out easily."


text:
Page:Brewster's millions (IA brewstersmillion00greaiala).pdf/117

 "Well, I hate to do it, boss, but I guess we'll just take de overcoat and all. It looks like a trick and we takes no chances. Off wid de coat."

Monty's coat came off in a jiffy and he stood shivering before the dumbfounded robbers.

"We'll leave de coat at de next corner, pardner. It's cold and you need it more'n we do. You're de limit, you are. So long. Walk right straight ahead and don't yell."

Brewster found his coat a few minutes later, and went whistling away into the night. The roll of bills was gone.


text:
Page:Brewster's millions (IA brewstersmillion00greaiala).pdf/118

 Brewster made a good story of the "hold-up" at the club, but he did not relate all the details. One of the listeners was a new public commissioner who was aggressive in his efforts at reform. Accordingly Brewster was summoned to headquarters the next morning for the purpose of looking over the "suspects" that had been brought in. Almost the first man that he espied was a rough-looking fellow whose identity could not be mistaken. It was Bill.

"Hello, Bill," called Monty, gaily. Bill ground his teeth for a second, but his eyes had such an appeal in them that Monty relented.

"You know this fellow, Mr. Brewster?" demanded the captain, quickly. Bill looked utterly helpless.

"Know Bill?" questioned Monty in surprise. "Of course I do, Captain."

"He was picked up late last night and detained, because he would give no account of his actions."


text:
Page:Brewster's millions (IA brewstersmillion00greaiala).pdf/119

 "Was it as bad as that, Bill?" asked Brewster, with a smile. Bill mumbled something and assumed a look of defiance. Monty's attitude puzzled him sorely. He hardly breathed for an instant, and gulped perceptibly.

"Pass Bill, Captain. He was with me last night just before my money was taken, and he couldn't possibly have robbed me without my knowledge. Wait for me outside, Bill. I want to talk to you. I'm quite sure neither of the thieves is here, Captain," concluded Brewster, after Bill had obeyed the order to step out of the line.

Outside the door the puzzled crook met Brewster, who shook him warmly by the hand.

"You're a peach," whispered Bill, gratefully "What did you do it for, mister?"

"Because you were kind enough not to cut my shirt."

"Say, you're all right, that's what. Would you mind havin' a drink with me? It's your money, but the drink won't be any the worse for that. We blowed most of it already, but here's what's left." Bill handed Monty a roll of bills.

"I'd a kept it if you'd made a fight," he continued, "but it ain't square to keep it now."


text:
Page:Brewster's millions (IA brewstersmillion00greaiala).pdf/120

 Brewster refused the money, but took back his watch.

"Keep it, Bill," he said, "you need it more than I do. It's enough to set you up in some other trade. Why not try it?"

"I will try, boss," and Bill was so profuse in his thanks that Monty had difficulty in getting away; As he climbed into a cab he heard Bill say, "I will try, boss, and say, if ever I can do anything for you jes' put me nex'. I'm nex' you all de time."

He gave the driver the name of his club, but as he was passing the Waldorf he remembered that he had several things to say to Mrs. Dan. The order was changed, and a few moments later he was received in Mrs. Dan's very special den. She wore something soft and graceful in lavender, something that was light and wavy and evanescent, and made you watch its changing shadows. Monty looked down at her with the feeling that she made a very effective picture.

"You are looking pretty fit this morning, my lady," he said by way of preamble. "How well everything plays up to you."

"And you are unusually courtly, Monty," she smiled. "Has the world treated you so generously of late?"


text:
Page:The Yellow Book - 03.djvu/27

 "Tell me not Now"

By William Watson

The Yellow Book—Vol. III.

title: Page:The Yellow Book - 03.djvu/27


text: Page:The Yellow Book - 03.djvu/28

title: Page:The Yellow Book - 03.djvu/28


text: The Yellow Book/Volume 3/"Tell me not Now"