The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Wives of The Dead, by Nathaniel Hawthorne

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you
will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
using this eBook.

Title: The Wives of The Dead

Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne

Release Date: September 18, 2003 [eBook #9243]
[Most recently updated: May 16, 2022]

Language: English

Character set encoding: UTF-8

Produced by: David Widger

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WIVES OF THE DEAD ***




The Wives of The Dead

by Nathaniel Hawthorne




The following story, the simple and domestic incidents of which may be
deemed scarcely worth relating, after such a lapse of time, awakened
some degree of interest, a hundred years ago, in a principal seaport of
the Bay Province. The rainy twilight of an autumn day,—a parlor on the
second floor of a small house, plainly furnished, as beseemed the
middling circumstances of its inhabitants, yet decorated with little
curiosities from beyond the sea, and a few delicate specimens of Indian
manufacture,—these are the only particulars to be premised in regard to
scene and season. Two young and comely women sat together by the
fireside, nursing their mutual and peculiar sorrows. They were the
recent brides of two brothers, a sailor and a landsman, and two
successive days had brought tidings of the death of each, by the
chances of Canadian warfare and the tempestuous Atlantic. The universal
sympathy excited by this bereavement drew numerous condoling guests to
the habitation of the widowed sisters. Several, among whom was the
minister, had remained till the verge of evening; when, one by one,
whispering many comfortable passages of Scripture, that were answered
by more abundant tears, they took their leave, and departed to their
own happier homes. The mourners, though not insensible to the kindness
of their friends, had yearned to be left alone. United, as they had
been, by the relationship of the living, and now more closely so by
that of the dead, each felt as if whatever consolation her grief
admitted were to be found in the bosom of the other. They joined their
hearts, and wept together silently. But after an hour of such
indulgence, one of the sisters, all of whose emotions were influenced
by her mild, quiet, yet not feeble character, began to recollect the
precepts of resignation and endurance which piety had taught her, when
she did not think to need them. Her misfortune, besides, as earliest
known, should earliest cease to interfere with her regular course of
duties; accordingly, having placed the table before the fire, and
arranged a frugal meal, she took the hand of her companion.

“Come, dearest sister; you have eaten not a morsel to-day,” she said.
“Arise, I pray you, and let us ask a blessing on that which is provided
for us.”

Her sister-in-law was of a lively and irritable temperament, and the
first pangs of her sorrow had been expressed by shrieks and passionate
lamentation. She now shrunk from Mary’s words, like a wounded sufferer
from a hand that revives the throb.

“There is no blessing left for me, neither will I ask it!” cried
Margaret, with a fresh burst of tears. “Would it were His will that I
might never taste food more!”

Yet she trembled at these rebellious expressions, almost as soon as
they were uttered, and, by degrees, Mary succeeded in bringing her
sister’s mind nearer to the situation of her own. Time went on, and
their usual hour of repose arrived. The brothers and their brides,
entering the married state with no more than the slender means which
then sanctioned such a step, had confederated themselves in one
household, with equal rights to the parlor, and claiming exclusive
privileges in two sleeping-rooms contiguous to it. Thither the widowed
ones retired, after heaping ashes upon the dying embers of their fire,
and placing a lighted lamp upon the hearth. The doors of both chambers
were left open, so that a part of the interior of each, and the beds
with their unclosed curtains, were reciprocally visible. Sleep did not
steal upon the sisters at one and the same time. Mary experienced the
effect often consequent upon grief quietly borne, and soon sunk into
temporary forgetfulness, while Margaret became more disturbed and
feverish, in proportion as the night advanced with its deepest and
stillest hours. She lay listening to the drops of rain, that came down
in monotonous succession, unswayed by a breath of wind; and a nervous
impulse continually caused her to lift her head from the pillow, and
gaze into Mary’s chamber and the intermediate apartment. The cold light
of the lamp threw the shadows of the furniture up against the wall,
stamping them immovably there, except when they were shaken by a sudden
flicker of the flame. Two vacant arm-chairs were in their old positions
on opposite sides of the hearth, where the brothers had been wont to
sit in young and laughing dignity, as heads of families; two humbler
seats were near them, the true thrones of that little empire, where
Mary and herself had exercised in love a power that love had won. The
cheerful radiance of the fire had shone upon the happy circle, and the
dead glimmer of the lamp might have befitted their reunion now. While
Margaret groaned in bitterness, she heard a knock at the street door.

“How would my heart have leapt at that sound but yesterday!” thought
she, remembering the anxiety with which she had long awaited tidings
from her husband.

“I care not for it now; let them begone, for I will not arise.”

But even while a sort of childish fretfulness made her thus resolve,
she was breathing hurriedly, and straining her ears to catch a
repetition of the summons. It is difficult to be convinced of the death
of one whom we have deemed another self. The knocking was now renewed
in slow and regular strokes, apparently given with the soft end of a
doubled fist, and was accompanied by words, faintly heard through
several thicknesses of wall. Margaret looked to her sister’s chamber,
and beheld her still lying in the depths of sleep. She arose, placed
her foot upon the floor, and slightly arrayed herself, trembling
between fear and eagerness as she did so.

“Heaven help me!” sighed she. “I have nothing left to fear, and
methinks I am ten times more a coward than ever.”

Seizing the lamp from the hearth, she hastened to the window that
overlooked the street-door. It was a lattice, turning upon hinges; and
having thrown it back, she stretched her head a little way into the
moist atmosphere. A lantern was reddening the front of the house, and
melting its light in the neighboring puddles, while a deluge of
darkness overwhelmed every other object. As the window grated on its
hinges, a man in a broad-brimmed hat and blanket-coat stepped from
under the shelter of the projecting story, and looked upward to
discover whom his application had aroused. Margaret knew him as a
friendly innkeeper of the town.

“What would you have, Goodman Parker?” cried the widow.

“Lackaday, is it you, Mistress Margaret?” replied the innkeeper. “I was
afraid it might be your sister Mary; for I hate to see a young woman in
trouble, when I have n’t a word of comfort to whisper her.”

“For Heaven’s sake, what news do you bring?” screamed Margaret.

“Why, there has been an express through the town within this
half-hour,” said Goodman Parker, “travelling from the eastern
jurisdiction with letters from the governor and council. He tarried at
my house to refresh himself with a drop and a morsel, and I asked him
what tidings on the frontiers. He tells me we had the better in the
skirmish you wot of, and that thirteen men reported slain are well and
sound, and your husband among them. Besides, he is appointed of the
escort to bring the captivated Frenchers and Indians home to the
province jail. I judged you would n’t mind being broke of your rest,
and so I stepped over to tell you. Good night.”

So saying, the honest man departed; and his lantern gleamed along the
street, bringing to view indistinct shapes of things, and the fragments
of a world, like order glimmering through chaos, or memory roaming over
the past. But Margaret stayed not to watch these picturesque effects.
Joy flashed into her heart, and lighted it up at once; and breathless,
and with winged steps, she flew to the bedside of her sister. She
paused, however, at the door of the chamber, while a thought of pain
broke in upon her.

“Poor Mary!” said she to herself. “Shall I waken her, to feel her
sorrow sharpened by my happiness? No; I will keep it within my own
bosom till the morrow.”

She approached the bed, to discover if Mary’s sleep were peaceful. Her
face was turned partly inward to the pillow, and had been hidden there
to weep; but a look of motionless contentment was now visible upon it,
as if her heart, like a deep lake, had grown calm because its dead had
sunk down so far within. Happy is it, and strange, that the lighter
sorrows are those from which dreams are chiefly fabricated. Margaret
shrunk from disturbing her sister-in-law, and felt as if her own better
fortune had rendered her involuntarily unfaithful, and as if altered
and diminished affection must be the consequence of the disclosure she
had to make. With a sudden step she turned away. But joy could not long
be repressed, even by circumstances that would have excited heavy grief
at another moment. Her mind was thronged with delightful thoughts, till
sleep stole on, and transformed them to visions, more delightful and
more wild, like the breath of winter (but what a cold comparison!)
working fantastic tracery upon a window.

When the night was far advanced, Mary awoke with a sudden start. A
vivid dream had latterly involved her in its unreal life, of which,
however, she could only remember that it had been broken in upon at the
most interesting point. For a little time, slumber hung about her like
a morning mist, hindering her from perceiving the distinct outline of
her situation. She listened with imperfect consciousness to two or
three volleys of a rapid and eager knocking; and first she deemed the
noise a matter of course, like the breath she drew; next, it appeared a
thing in which she had no concern; and lastly, she became aware that it
was a summons necessary to be obeyed. At the same moment, the pang of
recollection darted into her mind; the pall of sleep was thrown back
from the face of grief; the dim light of the chamber, and the objects
therein revealed, had retained all her suspended ideas, and restored
them as soon as she unclosed her eyes. Again there was a quick peal
upon the street-door. Fearing that her sister would also be disturbed,
Mary wrapped herself in a cloak and hood, took the lamp from the
hearth, and hastened to the window. By some accident, it had been left
unhasped, and yielded easily to her hand.

“Who’s there?” asked Mary, trembling as she looked forth.

The storm was over, and the moon was up; it shone upon broken clouds
above, and below upon houses black with moisture, and upon little lakes
of the fallen rain, curling into silver beneath the quick enchantment
of a breeze. A young man in a sailor’s dress, wet as if he had come out
of the depths of the sea, stood alone under the window. Mary recognized
him as one whose livelihood was gained by short voyages along the
coast; nor did she forget that, previous to her marriage, he had been
an unsuccessful wooer of her own.

“What do you seek here, Stephen?” said she.

“Cheer up, Mary, for I seek to comfort you,” answered the rejected
lover. “You must know I got home not ten minutes ago, and the first
thing my good mother told me was the news about your husband. So,
without saying a word to the old woman, I clapped on my hat, and ran
out of the house. I could n’t have slept a wink before speaking to you,
Mary, for the sake of old times.”

“Stephen, I thought better of you!” exclaimed the widow, with gushing
tears and preparing to close the lattice; for she was no whit inclined
to imitate the first wife of Zadig.

“But stop, and hear my story out,” cried the young sailor. “I tell you
we spoke a brig yesterday afternoon, bound in from Old England. And who
do you think I saw standing on deck, well and hearty, only a bit
thinner than he was five months ago?”

Mary leaned from the window, but could not speak. “Why, it was your
husband himself,” continued the generous seaman. “He and three others
saved themselves on a spar, when the Blessing turned bottom upwards.
The brig will beat into the bay by daylight, with this wind, and you’ll
see him here to-morrow. There’s the comfort I bring you, Mary, and so
good night.”

He hurried away, while Mary watched him with a doubt of waking reality,
that seemed stronger or weaker as he alternately entered the shade of
the houses, or emerged into the broad streaks of moonlight. Gradually,
however, a blessed flood of conviction swelled into her heart, in
strength enough to overwhelm her, had its increase been more abrupt.
Her first impulse was to rouse her sister-in-law, and communicate the
new-born gladness. She opened the chamber-door, which had been closed
in the course of the night, though not latched, advanced to the
bedside, and was about to lay her hand upon the slumberer’s shoulder.
But then she remembered that Margaret would awake to thoughts of death
and woe, rendered not the less bitter by their contrast with her own
felicity. She suffered the rays of the lamp to fall upon the
unconscious form of the bereaved one. Margaret lay in unquiet sleep,
and the drapery was displaced around her; her young cheek was
rosy-tinted, and her lips half opened in a vivid smile; an expression
of joy, debarred its passage by her sealed eyelids, struggled forth
like incense from the whole countenance.

“My poor sister! you will waken too soon from that happy dream,”
thought Mary.

Before retiring, she set down the lamp, and endeavored to arrange the
bedclothes so that the chill air might not do harm to the feverish
slumberer. But her hand trembled against Margaret’s neck, a tear also
fell upon her cheek, and she suddenly awoke.




*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WIVES OF THE DEAD ***

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will
be renamed.

Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the
United States without permission and without paying copyright
royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm
concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may
do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
license, especially commercial redistribution.

START: FULL LICENSE

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at
www.gutenberg.org/license.

Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works

1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your
possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the
person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph
1.E.8.

1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this
agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.

1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the
Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual
works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting
free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm
works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily
comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when
you share it without charge with others.

1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no
representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
country other than the United States.

1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear
prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work
on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the
phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed,
performed, viewed, copied or distributed:

  This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
  most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
  restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
  under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
  eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
  United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
  you are located before using this eBook.

1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is
derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm
trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works
posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
beginning of this work.

1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.

1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg-tm License.

1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format
other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official
version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm website
(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain
Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the
full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
provided that:

* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
  the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
  you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
  to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has
  agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
  Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
  within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
  legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
  payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
  Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
  Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
  Literary Archive Foundation."

* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
  you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
  does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
  License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
  copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
  all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm
  works.

* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
  any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
  electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
  receipt of the work.

* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
  distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.

1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than
are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
forth in Section 3 below.

1.F.

1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
cannot be read by your equipment.

1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.

1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
without further opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO
OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
remaining provisions.

1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in
accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or
additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any
Defect you cause.

Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm

Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
from people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future
generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at
www.gutenberg.org

Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.

The Foundation's business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,
Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up
to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website
and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact

Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without
widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular
state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate

Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works

Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be
freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of
volunteer support.

Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
edition.

Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
facility: www.gutenberg.org

This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.