The Extra Day

The Extra Day

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Blackwood #2 in our series by Algernon Blackwood
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Title: The Extra Day
Author: Algernon Blackwood
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THE EXTRA DAY
BY
ALGERNON BLACKWOOD
AUTHOR OF "THE CENTAUR," "A PRISONER IN FAIRYLAND,"
"INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES," ETC.
New York 1915
Set up and electrotyped. Published September, 1915. Reprinted
November, 1915.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER
I THE MATERIAL
II FANCY--SEED OF WONDER
III DEATH OF A MERE FACT
IV FACT--EDGED WITH FANCY
V THE BIRTH OF WONDER
VI THE GROWTH OF WONDER
VII IMAGINATION WAKES

VIII WHERE WONDER HIDES
IX A PRIEST OF WONDER
X FACT AND WONDER--CLASH
XI JUDY'S PARTICULAR ADVENTURE
XII TIM'S PARTICULAR ADVENTURE
XIII TIME HESITATES
XIV MARIA STIRS
XV "A DAY WILL COME"
XVI TIME HALTS
XVII A DAY HAS COME
XVIII TIME GOES ON AGAIN--
XIX --AS USUAL
XX --BUT DIFFERENTLY!

CHAPTER I
THE MATERIAL
Judy, Tim, and Maria were just little children. It was impossible to say
exactly what their ages were, except that they were just the usual age,
that Judy was the eldest, Maria the youngest, and that Tim, accordingly,
came in between the two.
Their father did his best for them; so did their mother; so did Aunt
Emily, the latter's sister. It is impossible to say very much about these

three either, except that they were just Father, Mother, and Aunt Emily.
They were the Authorities-in-Chief, and they knew respectively
everything there was to be known about such remote and difficult
subjects as London and Money; Food, Health and Clothing; Conduct,
Behaviour and Regulations, both general and particular. Into these three
departments of activity the children, without realising that they did so,
classed them neatly. Aunt Emily, besides the special duties assigned to
her, was a living embodiment of No. While Father allowed and
permitted, while Mother wobbled and hesitated, Aunt Emily shook her
head with decision, and said distinctly No. She was too full of warnings,
advice, and admonitions to get about much. She wore gold glasses, and
had an elastic, pointed nose. From the children's point of view she must
be classed as invalid. Somewhere, deep down inside them, they felt
pity.
The trio loved them according to their just deserts; they grasped that the
Authorities did their best for them. This "best," moreover, was done in
different ways. Father did it with love and tenderness, that is, he spoilt
them; Mother with tenderness and love, that is, she felt them part of
herself and did not like to hurt herself; Aunt Emily with affectionate
and worthy desire to see them improve, that is, she trained them.
Therefore they adored their father, loved their mother, and thought
highly--from a distance preferably--of their aunt.
This was the outward and visible household that an ordinary person,
say, a visitor who came to lunch on Sunday after church, would have
noticed. It was the upper layer; but there was an under layer too. There
was Thompson, the old pompous family butler; they trusted him
because he was silent and rarely smiled, winked at their mischief,
pretended not to see them when he caught them in his pantry, and never
once betrayed them. There was Mrs. Horton, the fat and hot-tempered
family cook; they regarded her with excitement including dread,
because she left juicy cakes (still wet) upon the dresser, yet denied
them the entry into her kitchen. Her first name being Bridget, there was
evidently an Irish strain in her, but there was probably a dash of French
as well, for she was an excellent cook and recipe was her
master-word--she pronounced it "recipee."