5. What other method might have been adopted?
6. Characterize fully the spirit and the motive which impel Sister Anne’s final deed of sacrifice. What impresses you as the finest element in her act?
7. Comment upon the author’s way of ending the story.
SETH MILES AND THE SACRED FIRE
Cornelia A. P. Comer, accomplished critic, essayist, and writer of short stories, was educated at Vassar, and afterwards engaged in journalistic work in the Middle West and California. She now lives in Seattle.
There are really three stories in one: Cynthia’s and Dick’s we put together from suggestions; that of Seth Miles we know from his own detailed narrative; Richard’s remains for our forming. All the details are woven into a tale of one day. A day hot and sultry in itself is made to coincide with the grumblings and self-pitying of a pampered son; both day and character are cleared without the arrival of the threatened storm, and duty is made as splendid and beautiful as the sun emerging from a darkened sky. A dilettante, conceiving in his cultured self an appropriate offering from Mammon to the Muses, learns that even the heir of millions has work to do. The place and the teacher emphasize the greatness of the lesson. There is little doubt in the reader’s mind that Seth Miles’s sacrifice has been worth while. To him comes a double reward: the realization that Cynthia and Dick have lived lives worth his self-denial, and the satisfaction that to their son, through his own wise teachings, has come the ability to 'sense things.'
Suggested Points for Study and Comment
1. Comment upon the advantages secured by opening the story with direct quotations.
2. What light do these quotations throw upon the character of Richard’s father?