By the Toss of a Coin
The Master and his brother Henry must decide which of them goes to fight for Bonnie Prince Charlie.
1745
The Master and his brother Henry must decide which of them goes to fight for Bonnie Prince Charlie.
1745
It is 1745, and James - the Master of Ballantrae - and his younger brother Henry both want to fight for Bonnie Prince Charlie. But one of them must stay at home and make peace with King George II, in case he wins, and James suggests a way of deciding who it shall be.
“WHEN very obstinate folk are met, there are only two ways out: Blows — and I think none of us could care to go so far; or the arbitrament of chance — and here is a guinea piece. Will you stand by the toss of the coin?”
“I will stand and fall by it,” said Mr. Henry. “Heads, I go; shield, I stay.” The coin was spun and it fell shield. “We shall live to repent of this,” says Mr. Henry.
As for Miss Alison, she caught up that piece of gold which had just sent her lover to the wars, and flung it clean through the family shield in the great painted window.
“If you loved me as well as I love you, you would have stayed,” cried she.
“‘I could not love you, dear, so well, loved I not honour more,’” sang the Master.*
“Oh!” she cried, “you have no heart — I hope you may be killed!”
** From the poem ‘To Lucasta, going to the wars’ by Richard Lovelace (1618–1658).
1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?
2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?
3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?
Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
What was at dispute between James and Henry?
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
James or Henry had to fight for Bonnie Prince Charlie. The other had to stay at home. They could not agree.