The Lion And The Unicorn:

by Richard Harding Davis

Prentiss stood on the sidewalk and said: "I wish you good luck, sir." And the Captain said: "I'm coming back a Major, Prentiss." But he never came back. And one day-the Lion remembered the day very well, for on that same day the newsboys ran up and down Jermyn Street shouting out the news of "a 'orrible disaster" to the British arms. It was then that a young lady came to the door in a hansom, and Prentiss went out to meet her and led her upstairs. They heard him unlock the Captain's door and say, "This is his room, miss," and after he had gone they watched her standing quite still by the centre table. She stood there for a very long time looking slowly about her, and then she took a photograph of the Captain from the frame on the mantel and slipped it into her pocket, and when she went out again her veil was down, and she was crying. She must have given Prentiss as much as a sovereign, for he called her "Your ladyship," which he never did under a sovereign.

Genres: Fiction

84 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1898

About the author

Richard Harding Davis (1864–1916) was a journalist and writer of fiction and drama, known foremost as the first American war correspondent to cover the Spanish-American War, the Second Boer War, and the First World War. His writing greatly assisted the political career of Theodore Roosevelt and he also played a major role in the evolution of the American magazine. His influence extended to the world of fashion and he is credited with making the clean-shaven look popular among men at the turn of the 20th century.

Reviews

[S. Spelbring · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a collection for (4?) short stories: Lion and the Unicorn, one about a sailor/soldier,one about a British Governor, and one about a prisoner.

They were all pretty good, except I didn't quite understand what was happening in the one about a prisoner, maybe I need to read it again. This a free Kindle classic I found while looking through other free books about unicorns. Let me just say, this is not about unicorns, unless you count the one on the British Royal Coat of Arms.

[Mbuye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four stories by war correspondent Richard Harding Davis, all romantic and occasionally sentimental, but all more or less about the important values in life. The title story is about a love too little understood and too late valued; the second, ‘The Fever Ship’, a Union ship returning with war prisoners in a fever ship, where we meet with a delirious young man, whose dreams of the woman he loves - but are they dreams? ‘The Man With One Talent’ is just that, in pursuit of an unachievable dream. The last story, The Vagrant, brings home to a middle-aged bachelor the useless life he has been leading for the last years, and its unfolding galvanises him into action and a useful life once again.

While there is no real sting-in-the-tail, these stories reminded me in style of the romantic stories of O. Henry, without that slight touch of cynicism characteristic of O. Henry's best work.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute premise, where A couple of statues across the street y’all to each other about what is going on in the apartment across the way.