Marketing Theory and Evidence Practice

Question: Examine about the Marketing Theory and Evidence Practice. Answer: Presentation: The retailers should attempt to stretch the time spent by the clients at the stores as this would build the possibilities of deals and the clients are bound to buy merchandise or administrations (Sharp 2013). The chain retailers are huge substances which appreciate significant levels of notoriety and positive attitude among the clients. These sorts of stores contribute less to the neighborhood economy and thus they can contribute more to their own development and advancement. The customary retailers have basic execution and they have fixed arrangement of steadfast clients who are the normal guests in the retail shop (Pandey Bhardwaj and Mishra 2014). They have high income potential and they can utilize the web while attempting to connect with the clients. They have low exchanging costs moreover. The contenders can gain from Zara by being touchy to the criticisms of the clients and giving high inclination to them. They additionally center around quality, reasonable costs and the most recent assortment of product. Zara brings creation near the requests of the clients. It has low gracefully chain the executives and they offer quick conveyance of the new items. This causes them to support in the market. References Pandey, A., Bhardwaj, S. what's more, Mishra, S., 2014. An exact investigation of composed retailers and their effect on shopper's purchasing behavior.Asian Journal of Management,5(2), pp.121-124. Sharp, B 2013,Marketing: Theory, Evidence, Practice, first Edition, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne.

Self Esteem of Students with Specific Learning Difficulties within a Essay

Confidence of Students with Specific Learning Difficulties inside a Secondary School - Essay Example The assessment investigates hypothetical and viable thoughts regarding confidence among dyslexic students and makes ends dependent on information accumulated through understudies self-evaluation and normalized starting and end appraisal tests. The examination exhibits that there is a relationship between's the Wave 3 Literacy Intervention Program and the expansion in confidence of extraordinary students with dyslexia. Following a 10-week program, dominant part of the understudies got a normal proportion of 3.1 which is the ideal result for the undertaking. The estimation of Wave 3 Literacy Intervention is along these lines set up, while anticipating corrections by method of advancing the intercession program, particularly for unique students who have experienced the program a few times. Presentation â€Å"I've discovered that individuals will overlook what you stated, individuals will overlook what you did, however individuals will always remember how you made them feel.† Maya Angelou. This statement, for me, summarizes the significant position instructors have and the potential impact they have on their understudies. I may not be a Socrates, Confucius or Jesus, however I do feel I am an extraordinary instructor when I can contact hearts and will, notwithstanding bestowing information and aptitudes to set up an age of students for productive contemporary living. In this current research action, I become advantaged to encourage uncommon students enduring dyslexia. Before sufficiently long, I face the truth that dyslexics discover the school an unusual battleground where they are untalented to exist ( Scott 2004, p. 55). All the more especially, Scott takes note of that ‘for by far most of dyslexic kids and grown-ups, school has been a position of mental and frequently physical torment. Dyslexia is depicted as a learning inability in kids which impedes their capacity to peruse, compose, spell and now and then talk. Showed to be either mellow or extre me in youngsters, nervous system specialists see that it is â€Å"never past the point where it is possible to improve their language skills† (Medicine Net 2012, p.1). Many, in spite of the fact that not all, of my particular learning trouble understudies come to me troubled with confidence issues, feeling that they have just bombed too often and dreadful that they are going to flop once more. While compassion fills me with their affliction, I don't see this condition to be unfavorable, given my familiarity with present day ways to deal with understudy learning and development. At school, disappointment in proficiency has tremendous thump on impacts for the entire scholastic educational program and with all subjects. Neglecting to peruse and compose is an extremely open disappointment (Scott, 2004). Any understudy with restricted capability in English including explicit inabilities identified with education risks being abandoned by their friends. This short examination concer ning the adequacy of Wave 3 intercessions and their potential in raising the confidence of understudies is borne out of my college concentrates as well as a certified enthusiasm for dyslexic understudies, their should be heard and how I can best serve them through my training. It is clear to me that a student’s confidence directly affects their learning. Instructors characterize learning as â€Å"a long haul change in mental portrayals or relationship because of experience† (Omrod 2000, p. 10). As a teacher I can give that learning

Music, Photography, and Two.js

Music, Photography, and Two.js Hello World! I havent posted in a while life has been busy, between classes and studying and sleeping and eating and doing things other than those I just mentioned. I have, however, been able to do some pretty cool things with my time. So I finally cleaned, and more importantly, reorganized my room. After attending a synthfest  in the Media Lab a while ago (basically just a gathering of a bunch of people with really nice synthesizers to play with), I realized how much I missed my synths from back home. Luckily, I live close enough to home so that when my parents came up to visit a few weeks ago, I asked them to bring along my keyboards. As you might have guessed, Im in that chair pretty often! Ive been spending a ton of time writing music lately MIT is definitely an inspiring place artistically. For my Jazz History course, Ive been listening to a lot of jazz, and thats definitely been reflected in some of the music Ive been writing lately. Heres a little (incomplete) demo of something Im currently working on, with some sort of jazz-type influence. Other than jazz, Ive been into a lot more strictly electronic music, too the new Aphex Twin album, Syro, has been had a pretty big effect on me. Heres another (silly) demo of something more IDM-ish I wrote recently. So besides music, Ive also had the opportunity to take a ton of awesome photos for my photography seminar. I have 24/7 access to the darkroom in the Student Center, and Ive definitely been in there past midnight developing photos already. I have a friend that I usually shoot photos with, and one evening we went out on to the Mass Ave. bridge and shot a bunch of photos of this under construction building thats way down the river. This is a picture I took with my phone of a film print, so a lot of the quality is missing (I need to find a scanner!). Whats really neat about this shot is that you can actually see the sunset through the windows of the building. I had to go through several tries to print this photo the contrast was pretty tricky to get right, but Im pretty happy with how it turned out. Other than film photography, I got to try out playing with a strobe a few days ago in class! The Edgerton Center has loads of awesome resources, and we were able to use a strobe light to take photos of milk drops, like the photo Harold Edgerton took in 1936. Basically, you turn all the lights off in the room, open the shutter on your camera, release a drop of milk, and at the moment it strikes the surface of the table, flash the strobe. Obviously, theres a lot of timing involved with this, but if you get it right, the result is awesome. For the second photo, there were actually two drops of milk its a double exposure. The first exposure captured the rippling on the surface of the milk, then the timing of the strobe was adjusted, and another drop was released, which captured the drop before it struck the table. Pretty cool stuff (although I do for some reason find the photo to be somewhat unsettling!). Finally, I arrive at Two.js. Basically, Two.js is an API that allows you to use Javascript to do neat 2-D animations in web browsers. Now, Ill preface this with a warning. I like to think I know how to program. I spent last summer working at an oceanographic institution (WHOI, which MIT actually has a joint program with!), working on programming for sonar data. I have never before, however, touched web programming, so proceed with caution. Ive hosted on my github.io page what my messing around with Two.js has accomplished, which is in short, very little. Proceed with caution. Or for those of you who would rather just see a picture, So, my next project is to learn HTML/CSS. Well see how that goes. Thats it for now, Im off to work on some music. Thanks for reading!

Linguistics

Stop the Use of Cell Phones While Driving - 854 Words

Andre Jones AC1208431 SP180.0.2 Principles of Public speaking Assignment 6_06 May 13 2013 Many people driving don’t know that they can be so many wrongs they can be doing without realizing it. Plenty talk on the phone while driving, drink, text and drive. A lot of people even innocent people as well have had accidents involving one of those. Out of the three there has been one that has become more common, and it’s only increasing if people don’t put a stop to it themselves. A usage of a cell phone should not be displayed at any point while driving. It can wait many have had accidents even deaths because of reading or of writing a simple text messages. No text is worth dying for. As technology keeps on evolving quickly you’d wonder†¦show more content†¦It should be banned before more deaths calculate for something that can be avoided. Also thinking about many things that can happen while driving and using your phone, lifetime injuries come into play. A few lucky ones make it alive in an accident, but having a lifetime injury is another . Driving and using the cell phone can put someone around you even your self at risk of being paralyzed or having breaking something some thing because of this. Being behind the wheel you should be very smart in the decisions you chose to make. One being no phone while driving, it’s dangerous even looking at it for a quick glance. It can put yours and others in danger in situations you wouldn’t want to be in. This type of matter should be looked at very seriously and banned while people are driving since there had been a significant increase of accidents because of cell phone use. Always drive with precaution and safety no phones will help avoid trouble. Be smart and turn off the phone when you turn your carShow MoreRelatedCell Phone Use While Driving1503 Words   |  7 Pagesforth over the lines or driving at very inconsistent speeds. You wonder what could possibly be causing the driver to drive so erratically. Is the driver drunk? Is the driver preoccupied with eating his or her lunch? Is the driver busy attending children in the backseat? Once you pull along the side you realize that was not the case, instead you notice the driver has a cellular telephone up to her or his ear chatting away, or even worse you pass and see the driver holding a phone texting, you pass byRead MorePractice Safe Text Essay1254 Words   |  6 Pagesamong the people of our country, cell phone use, and more specifically texting while driving, has become a big issue. Since texting and driving is a big issue, there are active and upcoming ways to stop it. Throughout the recent years, there have been hundreds of campaigns as well as ads on television, and in magazines to convince people to stop the use of cell phones while driving. Technology in cars is also being built to address the issue of texting and driving behind the wheel. There needs toRead MoreThe Epidemic of Texting and Driving Essay1478 Words   |  6 PagesAutomobile crashes as a result of texting while driving is an epidemic that has taken over the nation in the past years. In today’s society, people have become more and more dependent on technology as e veryday uses. How many can honestly say that they have text and driven? How many have had to swerve, stop on the brakes or almost gotten into an accident because of it? Texting while driving is the most common thing that almost everyone has done or seen. The main issue and threat is that peopleRead MoreRole Of The Phone Addiction Causes Dangerous Actions Involving The Cell Phone1034 Words   |  5 Pagesmajority of cell phone users, especially smartphone users, are addicted to their phone. The role of the phone addiction causes dangerous actions involving the use of the cell phone. Using a cell phone, especially texting and driving, puts not only the driver but those around in serious danger. Driving is not an instance where multitasking is good. When drivers are trying to multitask by driving and using their cell phones to text, the risk of an accident significantly jumps due to erratic driving. EvenRead MoreDangers of Cell Phone Use While Driving Essay1306 Words   |  6 Pa geslast few decades, the use of cell phones has become a very common tool. Furthermore, Technology has certainly advanced, and the cell phone is becoming the most preferred mode of communication. The demand for a cell phone is growing every day. In addition, the use of wireless technology is affordable, and anyone can buy a cell phone at a reasonable price. They come in all shapes and sizes. They range from black to bright metallic white. American public use of cell phones is increasing everydayRead MoreCell Phones And The United States971 Words   |  4 PagesCell phones originated in the United States in 1946, as a signal to an unused channel. Then, the calls got connected to an operator, which he or she would forward the call to the other party. While having a conversation, you were only allowed to talk to one person at a time. Adrian Lee (www.express.co.uk) says, â€Å"The weight of the phone used to make that call was about the same as a bag of sugar (2lb). The brick†“like battery required, which allowed a talk time of just 30 minutes and took 10 hoursRead MoreDistarctions of Cell Phone Use While Operating Motor Vehicles1575 Words   |  7 PagesShannon Hudak Distractions of Cell Phone Use While Operating a Motor Vehicle Using cell phones while driving are not only dangerous but deadly. We have many distractions while driving, let alone the use of cell phones as well. In this day and age cell phones are used for a variety of things such as text-messaging, internet usage, watching television, e-mailing, faxes, games, and much more. Driving is a privilege, not a right. Many Americans take the technology we have today for granted. OnceRead MoreIncrease Public Safety And Prevent Unnecessary Risks Behind The Wheel While Operating A Motor Vehicle1398 Words   |  6 Pagesof this proposal is to increase public safety and prevent unnecessary risks behind the wheel while operating a motor vehicle. Drivers have a duty to themselves and to the public to operate their vehicles in a safe manner free from distraction. The safest way to ensure against distraction and preserve everyone’s well-being is to abstain from all cell phone usage including dialing, talking, or texting while operating a vehicle. According to the National Safety Council, motor vehicle crashes are theRead MoreBan On Cell Phone Use911 Words   |  4 PagesBan on Cell Phone Use With the occurrence of an extreme emergency, the best thing to do would be to call 911. Without a cell phone, the options become limited to a small number. In a life or death situation, most would like to increase the chances of survival, and that can be more easily achieved with a cell phone. Calling for help would not be possible if cell phones were prohibited while driving. In some cases, many wouldn’t bring their phones with them, in order to avoid a ticket. While beneficialRead MoreThe Effects Of Cell Phone Use On Driving Performance And Safety1205 Words   |  5 PagesAneci Persuitti ENGC 1101 SEC 43 December 15, 2014 The Effects of Cell Phone Use on Driving Performance and Safety As technology advances, people are relying on it more and more. Cell phones have literally become a necessity. Every day on the roads, people are driving and using their cell phones to talk, text, browse the internet, use GPS, etc. According to the International Telecommunication Union, â€Å"the number of mobile-cellular subscriptions worldwide is approaching the number of people on earth

Original writing †My Decision about a Scary Ride Free Essays

As we entered the gigantic theme park on a lovely summer day a voice from behind us shouted, â€Å"STOP!† We quickly turned around like spinning machines and we saw a 6 foot tall security guard running toward us like fast cheetah, his face was red like a rosy red tomato and it looked like his hat was going to fall off. I got a bit nervous because he was running towards us like we had just killed someone. I turned around and looked at Alisha and I saw that she was looking down with embarrassment, then I looked around me and I saw that everyone was staring at us like we had committed some sort of crime. We will write a custom essay sample on Original writing – My Decision about a Scary Ride or any similar topic only for you Order Now â€Å"Girls you have forgotten your tickets† the security guard said. I felt so relieved that I let out a big sigh, like I had just ran a marathon, and Alisha and I started to laugh. After that we got our tickets from the security guard and headed towards the first ride which was called Space Invaders. When we got to the Space Invaders I could smell the horrible smell of oil, which smelt like a leaking gas, which made me feel a bit sick. I could also hear the big racket of the ride, and the screaming and shouting of the people on it, when it went whooshing past me in to the far distance like a crying baby slowly falling asleep. We waited in the queue for about ten minutes before it was our turn. When we got off the Space Invaders Alisha and I were just about to walk to the next ride when we saw a group of people that looked a bit like the characters from Harry Potter. One of them had bright red hair which made it look like his hair was on fire, this boy looked the same as Ronald from Harry Potter. Another boy that was with him had really big glasses that covered half of his face and it looked like the character of Harry Potter, and there was one girl that had white hair which made her look about 90 years old. I glared at there faces properly and they looked quite familiar so I said to Alisha, â€Å"Alisha don’t these people look familiar?† and she said, â€Å"Yes they do look quite familiar.† Now we were both confused, so we decided to forget about it and walk off All of a sudden they started taking there hair off which made us realise that they were not a weird group of people but they were someone else. They were the rest of our mates Aziza, Amana and Sabah. Alisha and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. Then we said to the rest of our friends, â€Å"Come on lets go on the next ride†. All my friends wanted to go on the big tall rides but I was too frightened to go on them, but I was too ashamed to say it. The reason I didn’t want to go on these big tall rides was when I was about five years old I sat on a really big ride and my seat belt was not tied properly so I nearly feel out. Ever since then I have hated sitting on big rides. I was not that ashamed to say it to Alisha because she is my best friend, but I do not want to say it in front of the rest of my friends because they will start calling me names. My friends were on their way to queue up for the next ride when I shouted, â€Å"I don’t want to go on that ride yet, let’s go on the Water Log first!† They all turned around and looked at me in a puzzled way and said â€Å"Okay we will go on that ride first but after that we are going on this big one.† I said, â€Å"Okay then†. I felt a bit relieved, but I was still scared. When we reached for the queue off the Water Log I saw that the queue was really long which made me feel a bit better because it will give me a bit more time to think of a good excuse not to go on the ride. All of my mates were laughing and enjoying themselves but I was just stood there like a statue staring at the big scary ride that I had to go on. Sabah noticed that I was staring at the ride so she said, â€Å"Why are you staring at that ride?† â€Å"Are you scared or something?† and I mumbled under my breath like a noise from a distance â€Å"No, why would I be scared.† Finally, it was our turn to sit on the Water Log. A big brown train splashing through the water like a sailing boat came in front of us and at the side of it said â€Å"The Water Log†. It was written in big bold writing. We quickly jumped in to the train and the ride set off. Whilst it was going up my eyes were fixed on the big tall ride, like a hunter on its target. I was the only one out of our group that was not enjoying themself. I was concentrating so hard on the next ride I was going to go on that I did not even realise that the ride I was sat on was about to finish. When we got off the Water Log Amana said, â€Å"Now its time for us to go on that big ride.† I just looked at her face and said â€Å"Can we go to the toilet first?† All of my mates glared at me and Alisha said, â€Å"We listened to you, now you will have to listen to us.† And I just mumbled, â€Å"Okay then.† Then all off my friends starting screaming with excitement. Alisha gripped me by the hand and dragged me towards the ride like she was dragging a rope in a game of tug of war. When we got to the ride I saw that the queue was really long. When I looked ahead of me the queue looked like a long colourful, slithery snake. I said to my friends, â€Å"I don’t feel well you lot go on the ride and I will wait for you at the exit.† But they just said â€Å"No it will be better if we all go on together.† So I just said, â€Å"Okay then.† After this, I decided that I was not going to make any more excuses because it would make it obvious to my friends that I was scared. Whenever I looked up at the ride I could imagine myself as a five year old girl falling off which made me feel like crying. I could hear the whooshing of the ride vibrating in my ears and my heart was beating as fast as a drum. The biggest drop of the ride looked like a big blue tower stretched out 100 miles above the ground. And the rest of the ride stretched out in different directions as far as I could see. There was one more group of people to go on the ride and then it was our turn. I looked towards my friends and they were really excited, they were screaming and jumping around like kangaroos. Finally it was our turn, the people that were on the train before us got off, and all off the sudden the gates opened and people started to get on the ride. I went up to the seat and was just about to sit down when a weird feeling passed through me and made me blurt out to my friends â€Å"I don’t want to go on this ride I am too scared.† My friends looked up at me and said, â€Å"But a thought you wanted to go on this ride.† They got off the ride and took me to a side where I told them the reason why I was scared of rides. When I told them the reason I expected them to laugh but they did not laugh at all Sabah just said, â€Å"Why are you ashamed that you are scared off a rollercoaster?† and Alisha said, â€Å"The first time I went on a rollercoaster I was even scared.† They all agreed with her. Then Aziza said, â€Å"Come on lets all of us go on this rollercoaster together.† But I was still too scared to go on it. So they decided that if I didn’t go on it they were not going to go on it either which made me feel a bit guilty, so I decided that I will go on the rollercoaster with them. When I got on to the rollercoaster, I grabbed the metal part of the seat belt which was freezing cold like ice. I tied it up and got the bar of the seat down. Then all of a sudden the ride started to go. I could hear people screaming and shouting like animals from behind me but I could not see anything because I decided to close my eyes. When we get to the top all my friends started saying â€Å"Open your eyes.† So I opened my eyes and started screaming like a baby, but once it started going down the drop I really enjoyed myself. After the ride had stopped I enjoyed myself so much that I wanted to go on it again but unfortunately I couldn’t because the ride had closed. I was not scared on a ride ever again. It’s good to over come your fears. How to cite Original writing – My Decision about a Scary Ride, Papers

Stage Craft Essay free essay sample

Since ancient times, people have been enjoying the delights of theatre and play enacted and carried out on stage. The history on lighting for the theatre is very interesting and innovative. As technology has developed over the years, theatergoers have been witness to extraordinary progress as innovations took over and added unique contributions to stage craft, architecture and theatrical lighting. The history of stage lighting and lighting cues in theatre dates back to Greek and Roman times. Light has always been an important component for theatrical storytelling, and various lighting techniques have evolved over the centuries, Before the 20th century, many experimented with electric lights but it was until the turn of the century where electric lights were used exclusively in most theatres. During the 20th century, stage lighting design became an art in its own right, emerging from the obscurity of props, set designs, and costumes. Great efforts were to bring the subtlety and drama of effective light on the stage. We will write a custom essay sample on Stage Craft Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The American playwright and producer David Belasco and his assistant Louis Hartman had developed many light instruments. Jean Rosenthal, another pioneer of American stage lighting, invented a system for recording a particular lighting sequence so that it could be faithfully repeated. Going into the 1940s and 1950s, stage lighting kept on evolving and improving. Many technical advances included special lenses, reflectors, projectors, and new plastic materials for color filters. In 1948, mechanical dimmer switches were replaced by electronic dimmers capable of being controlled with a remote control. Today, the lighting designer programs and operates a computerized control board that can recreate any instant of a lighting performance. These improvements increase the lighting quality and the creativity that can be used on plays and events. The 20th century had witnessed the two greatest wars in history and social upheaval without parallel. The political movements of the â€Å"proletariat† were  manifested in theatre by movements like realism, naturalism, symbolism, impressionism and ultimately, highly stylized anti-realism. Society battled to determine the ultimate goals and meaning of political philosophy in the live of an ordinary person. Meanwhile, commercial theatre advanced at full force, manifesting itself in the development of popular forms of drama. Some major musicals at the time were Oklahoma! , Porgy and Bess, and Showboat. In 1912 lights were placed in the auditorium to allow for more natural angles of illumination for both the actor and the set. The projector lamp, a spotlight that could be dimmed, was invented in 1914; after 1919 colored â€Å"gels†, or gelatine, were placed over the lights. By 1922 stage lighting had become a scientific study. The great technological advances allowed spectacular shows such as The Phantom of the Opera to compete to another innovation which were movies. The cost of producing big shows such as the ones I mentioned previously, combined with the organizations of actors and technical persons in theatre, have limited what live theatre can do competing with Hollywood films. The 20th century could be the most important time frame for theatre as it improved in many different ways. Stage lighting played a major role in doing so with its affects and better lighting quality for plays, events, and etc. Plays and musicals are still performed to this day; the most notorious plays and musicals are the ones that are showed on Broadway. The type of scenarios that can be enhanced with the advanced technology of stage lighting is endless causing a tone to any type of scene and play. Stage lightning is one of the most important factors in theatre all because its improvements made in the 20th century which were very important to the quality of theatre.

Earning an Online Degree after Retirement Essays

Earning an Online Degree after Retirement Essays Earning an Online Degree after Retirement Essay Earning an Online Degree after Retirement Essay Retirement is a time in which people put aside their career and spend quality time doing things that they enjoy doing rather than things that they have to do. However, there can still be important goals after retirement; goals that work to further the person both mentally and emotionally. For many retirees that are suddenly faced with time that is left to their discretion it may be time to revisit their education by earning an online degree. The computer has opened up a whole new world for us. Gone are the days when college classes meant sitting behind a desk. Today, a whole world of education is open to us – a world in which we can logon to the Internet and be treated to a whole host of degree opportunities. Students who choose to pursue an online degree through a reputable school can receive the same high quality education as they would by attending classes in a traditional setting. The difference, of course, is with an online degree the work can be done at the student’s convenience and there is no commute time. Retirees may especially enjoy an online degree as it allows them to pursue their educational and personal goals while still leaving them time to enjoy their friends, families, and other hobbies of interest to them.

Printable Metric Conversion Quiz

Printable Metric Conversion Quiz Do you feel confident about your ability to make metric to metric unit conversions? Heres a quick little quiz you can take to test your knowledge. You can take the quiz online or print it out. You may wish to review metric conversions before taking this quiz. An online version of this quiz is available if you prefer to be scored as you take the quiz. TIP:To view this exercise without ads, click on print this page. There are ___ in 2000 mm?(a) 200 m(b) 2 m(c) 0.002 m(d) 0.02 mThere are ____ in 0.05 ml?(a) 0.00005 liters(b) 5 liters(c) 50 liters(d) 0.0005 liters30 mg is the same mass as:(a) 300 decigrams(b) 0.3 grams(c) 0.0003 kg(d) 0.03 gThere are ____ in 0.101 mm?(a) 1.01 cm(b) 0.0101 cm(c) 0.00101 cm(d) 10.10 cm20 m/s is the same as:(a) 0.02 km/s(b) 2000 mm/s(c) 200 cm/s(d) 0.002 mm/s30 microliters is the same as:(a) 30000000 liters(b) 30000 deciliters(c) 0.000003 liters(d) 0.03 milliliters20 grams is the same as:(a) 2000 mg(b) 20000 mg(c) 200000 mg(d) 200 mg15 km is:(a) 0.015 m(b) 1.5 m(c) 150 m(d) 15000 m30.4 cm is:(a) 0.304 mm(b) 3.04 mm(c) 304 mm(d) 3040 mmThere are ____ in 12.0 ml?(a) 0.12 l(b) 0.012 1(c) 120 l(d) 12000 l Answers:1 b, 2 a, 3 d, 4 b, 5 a, 6 d, 7 b, 8 d, 9 c, 10 b

Organized Crime in the United States Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organized Crime in the United States - Assignment Example If push comes to shove, Mafia usually ends up with an option to murder and other related act of crimes just to make it a point to achieve its objectives. Organized crime just like the Mafia continues to exist today because it has substantial hold prior to its foundation and sustainability. Its operations as an organization substantially involve both economic and political concerns. In this reason, it is always an opportunity for Mafia to have tie up with corrupt political machines (Mallory, 2007). Not only that, it also ensures to have strong link with other powerful few in the society. In this way, they could have more freedom to initiate everything prior to the achievement of their objectives. Furthermore, social disorganization in the face of gangs usually evolves into a group something bigger and ends up like organized crime (Mallory, 2007). This means, culture in making violence persists and even could form into something more systematic just with the case of organized crime. The U.S. criminal justice system is dealing with the American Mafia due to the following reasons. First, part in the judicial investigation and emancipation of law, there is a concrete battle on how to define Mafia or even organized crime. The state tries to come up with concrete definition how to define organized crime and substantially includes Mafia in this category (Lyman & Potter, 2007; Mallory, 2007). Another point is the fact that the US justice system is not oblivious about the crimes committed by this group that at some point may lead to terroristic activities. That is why The Patriot Act may substantially deal with this issue (Reichel, 2007). This eventually paves the way to investigate further this group and even subject their actuation to the rule of law in order to ensure that justice system prevails in the state. For this reason, the US criminal justice system views the cases of crimes committed by Mafia in the same

How mobile devices are used in business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

How mobile devices are used in business - Essay Example (The Changing Face of Retail: The Store of the Future: The New Role of the Store in a Multichannel Environment 7). In order to explore this opportunity better applications have to be developed by the retailers to enhance in-store experience and invest in their network connectivity. (8). There are many applications available for smart phones like web browsing, communication, email, telephone and instant messaging, entertainment such as games, movies and music, social networking, banking and location based services. It has been reported that daily 1600 applications (Brussels) are added to mobile services. Thus the consumerization of smart phones has become an irrevocable turning point in corporate environment, which has transformed how business entities do their operations. PART -1 There are multiple approaches to how the smart phone devices are integrated into the corporate infrastructure for tapping best benefits out of them. Many IT industries connect BYO devices via Wi-Fi (Bring Yo ur Own Device) â€Å"which allow employees to work from the device of their choice† which help the employees to have â€Å"full access to specific services† (Smartphones and Tablets in the Enterprise: Managing BYO Device Programs 1). Many innovations on smart phones have occurred in recent years and resulted in â€Å"multi touch input, gesture based interaction, advanced soft keyboards, enhanced connectivity and a great number of dedicated special purpose application†(Bao et al. 1).   On the other side there are limitations  which make difficulties for the users to understand the information’s quickly. Different Options Available for Mobile Devices 1. Leverage Device Capabilities: Making full use of device capabilities is the first objective of any mobile devices application. Especially equipment such as â€Å"sight (camera), hearing (microphone and voice phone connections), touch (touch screen), and sense of location in space (GPS)† (Best Prac tices for Developing Enterprise Smartphone Apps 1). There are additional features like integrating enterprise applications with other capabilities on the phone devices. 2. Create Task Oriented Applications: In present corporate world, applications generated are enterprise oriented which are more powerful and sophisticated. Mainly users prefer particular devices to complete specific tasks. â€Å"For this reason, you should consider breaking down comprehensive back ends into small, helpful task-driven applications† (Best Practices for Developing Enterprise Smartphone Apps 1). One of the applications like GPS mapping in smart phones will help the user, to get directions from time to time or as and when required. Similarly, when a report builder, after attending meeting needs a fresh data of that meeting, he or she can use voice recognition and speech to text technology. In addition, cameras can be used and recorded pictures and videos can be integrated into the system as a part of customer record. 3. Adopt a Context Sensitive Approach: In mobile device it is time consuming for users to browse and reach to the destination. To avoid this, users can be directly take to the task which they want to perform. Besides, an application given can perform many tasks and manage multiple objectives. 4. Minimize End User Typing: In a smart phone application data is entered through a soft keyboard which is

British Invasion Of Black Soul Music Music Essay

British Invasion Of Black Soul Music Music Essay In the early 1960s before the British invasion black soul music, Doo wop, Motown and RB dominated the American audiences. The 1960s saw the civil rights movement. In 1963, a march on Washington saw the passing of the civil rights act of 1964 which outlawed discrimination in public accommodations and employment. This followed with the assassination of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, spurring riots in 125 US cities in 1968, coinciding with the civil rights act of 1968. The 1960s saw Billboard change the name of its RB chart to Soul, but the term Soul had been used as a label since the mid 50s. It had its beginnings in the 1950s when Ray Charles exploited the gospel sound to create fusions of black religious and RB music with songs such as I got a woman based on the gospel song My Jesus is all the World. Sam Cooke also contributed a great deal to Soul. Cooke produced an almost unbroken sequence of hits from 1957 to 1964, the year of his death his music gave proof that anything was possible. This influenced artists who would later become global black Soul performers such as Aretha Franklin, The Falcons and James Brown. Groups such as The Angels, The Shirelles and The Righteous Brothers helped to popularize the music as mainstream. For much of the 1960s soul could be seen as the umbrella term for black popular music, which dominated American audiences in the early to mid 1960s. However one of the biggest success stories was the Detroit based Motown, which could be seen as pop soul which gave fame to names such as Diana Ross, Gladys Knight and Smokey Robinson. Tamla Motown was created by Berry Gordy Jr and although the stars were all black, you couldnt fully define it as black music as the intent was to make music palatable to white audiences. Gordy was also known to have controlled the performing styles and clothes in a way to prepare them for the wider mainstream audience. Amongst the most successful of his artist was Marvin Gaye, who was the first to take his artistic control over his recordings and repertoire. The East Coast DooWop and girl groups also made a contribution to African-American music during the 1960s. They were singers and groups whose origins were found on the street corners in the form of cappella groups found in many urban centres. With very rare exceptions, these groups did not write their own songs, but relied on their handlers to set up the recording sessions, pick the material, and produce the records. In fact, many of these behind-the-scenes people eventually became stars in their own right in the seventies. The influence of Doo Wop can be seen in soul music through groups such as William Robinsons, The Miracles who started a Doo Wop group whilst at school. White popular music of the UK developed into one of the most leading musics in the world. Through the 1950s there existed a barely understood American style. Rock and Roll. At the beginning of 1960 American pop music continued to set the patterns of the native musical efforts in the UK. The US contribution to the British charts was large and extremely important At this point- the twist was in full swing, Chubby Checker, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis dominated the British charts. After rock and roll, Britain returned to its traditional values with the likes of Cliff Richard and Living Doll which brought mums and dads along as well. For a short while in Britain at the end of the 1950s into the early 60s there was a revival of American Skiffle, made popular by Skiffle artist, Lonnie Donegan. Skiffle was the first attempt undertaken to appropriate American popular music. It was a growing interest in rural and urban blues. Many of these interests involved a conservative nostalgia for the authentic of some imagined yesteryear. Skiffle would later influence John Lennon and Paul Mcartney in their first band The Quarrymen and The Beatles. We can also see the influence of African American artists through British RB which developed as a major musical movement in the early 1960s, initially in London, but also in other urban centres in the UK, as predominately young white male musicians attempted to emulate the style and recordings of African American RB artists. We can see this influence through The Rolling Stones. Muddy Waters used song extension to transform 1940s Chicago Blues. This was achieved by reviving repertoire he had learnt and increasing amplification. 15 years later The Stones and subsequently Cream and Canned Heat followed his example in substance as well as spirit by themselves drawing from the same source. Thus The Stones recorded I Just want to make love to you and I cant be Satisfied. Blues songs and influences continued to surface in the Rolling Stones music throughout their long career. Cream made versions of the delta blues and Canned Heat took their inspiration from the delta bluesman Tommy Johnson. This song copying tradition played a big role in the pop music.- All these African American influences such as Skiffle, RB and Soul along with white American Rock and Roll gave way to Beat music or the Merseybeat. Bands who defined this genre were largely the Beatles but also Hermans Hermits and Gerry and the Pacemakers, to name a few. In Walter Everetts The Beatles as Musicians he describes their compositional style as imitations of buddy holly and RB techniques practised by the witty guitarist Chuck Berry, the energetic Little Richard, and the humorous and skilful coasters After the large success of the Merseybeat in the UK, it transformed over to the US led by The Beatles on the 7th of February 1964. This would be then followed by other beat, pop and rock groups. Among the most successful bands in the genre were the Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, The Kinks, Manfred Mann, The Animals, the Spencer Davis Group and The Who. Many of these bands dominated the UK and US charts from 1964, becoming a second wave of British Invasion acts in the US, and in the UK were central to the Mod subculture. Several of the bands and their members went on to become leading rock music performers of the late 1960s and early 1970s, helping to create sub-genres that included psychedelic, progressive and hard rock and making RB a key component of that music. However the British Invasion ended careers of black artists such as chubby checker and fats domino with only a handful surviving such as the Motown artists. However soul music did remain popular through evolved forms such as Funk which can be associated to James Brown. This later developed into Funk and Soul influenced by Phychedelic Rock. A good example would be the band Sly and the Family Stone and their album Stand! who were successful. However groups such as The Miracles and The Supremes found it hard to keep up with the changing trends and could never recover. Black music charted a musical path different from white rock. Although much black music crossed over to the pop charts, black performers did not share common ground with their white counterparts.-

Effective Teaching and Learning Environments Essay

This assignment will discuss effective teaching and learning environments. According to Brophy (2004) there are twelve principles contributing to effective teaching; a supportive classroom environment, the opportunity to learn, curricular alignment, establishing learning orientations, coherent content, thoughtful discourse, practice and application activities, scaffolding students, strategy teaching, co-operative learning, goal orientated assessment and achievement expectations. All these principles contribute to the active involvement of the student and attaining effective learning environments. For this assignment we will focus on three of the main principles and discuss its effectiveness in my own learning and influences it will have on my own teaching. Supportive learning environment Teachers modelling personal attributes such as approachability, friendliness, emotional maturity and sincerity towards individuals as well as learners create an environment of cohesiveness and support. Educational content can be developed to connect and build on students’ prior knowledge and experiences whilst also encouraging understanding of learning outcomes in a positive collaborative environment. As a tertiary student I find these qualities very encouraging in allowing me to pursue my education without fearing to contribute and asking questions without being chastised or frown upon. An example of a non-supportive environment was observed at a high school where a teacher humiliated a student for failing a math test. The teacher made the student stand in front of the class and then called him ‘stupid’ leaving the student distraught and traumatised. Needless to say this was an extremely negative experience and could have detrimental effects on the student or all the students’ motivation for learning. A supportive environment is one where the students can be interactive with the teacher, other peers and lesson content. A recent excursion to the Attadale foreshore with the aides of workbooks and precise teacher instructions allowed the students to engage and explore the lesson by utilising their senses and the natural environment. This effective teaching method succeeded in building and supporting group collaboration and expanding their knowledge. Opportunity to learn The opportunity to learn greatly depends on the how much time is spent on participating in lessons and learning activities. Being an effective teacher is to be prepared and organised, using allocated class time efficiently for accomplishing activities and achieving instructional goals. Teachers need to articulate clear expectations and a sense of purpose that can be processed easily by the students in regards to general behaviour and engagement especially during lessons. Teachers can give clear and consistent expectations through modelling or direct instructions. Effective teachers instruct strategies and procedures for students to manage their own learning, elaborating content allowing students to respond and form their own interpretations. An example observed in a classroom setting lead to unenthusiastic results. A student needed clarification of an assessment, the teacher had instructed the whole class although as an observer I noticed that not many students understood what was required. The teacher approached the one student and admonishes him with a â€Å"why don’t you know anything!† statement. The students in the class have since stopped asking clarifying questions and continue to struggle in their lessons. The learning opportunities for students in this setting were limited. A more positive approach to teaching is to allow all students at different abilities a chance e.g. a grade 5 class spelling test had the teacher separating students into small literacy groups according to their abilities. Attention was focused on the struggling students whilst the more capable students had clear instructional goals to work towards. Curricular alignment The curriculum components are used as assistance in creating constant instructions and learner outcomes from K-12. The curriculum has been designed to assist students in their attainment of knowledge, understanding, appreciation and life applications in preparation for students to participate in adult roles within society. Teachers need to instil appreciation for learning into students, the why and because of learning and knowing that there are good reasons for learning that leads to life applications where what they have learned can be used when needed in other contexts. When I was in high school (Brunei Darussalam) I was taught using textbooks and to memorize random information available in the texts. Assessments were based on the amount of information memorized. This type of learning was not productive to me or the local society as it did not allow for the development for curiosity beyond textbooks. Students were passive and were not permitted to query anything other than content of lesson. Information was not related to daily matters in life. The difference in the education system here is that teachers motivate and encourage analytical thinking with questions and guidance. I was found lacking in understanding curricular concepts involving thinking ‘beyond’ the textbook although the push to ‘think outside the box’ was something that I relearned and appreciated over time. Finally, although these three main ideas; a supportive classroom climate, opportunity to learn and circular alignment have been highlighted individually, each idea should be applied in conjunction with the other nine principles mentioned by Brophy for attaining effective teaching and learning environments. All twelve principles are meant to be aligned as a measure of assisting students in accomplishing intended curricular outcomes. These main ideas influence my teaching by motivating the creation of an understanding and cohesive classroom by modelling and being supportive to the personal, social and academic well being of all students; by being prepared and ensure that lesson plans are stimulating, challenging and that the diverse learning abilities of the students have been taken into account to further maximise their opportunities to learn; and with curriculum guidance be able to achieve specific outcomes geared towards students being able to function socially and adapt to the adult world.

What You Need to Know About Commedia DellArte

Commedia dellarte, also known as Italian comedy, was a humorous theatrical presentation performed by professional actors who traveled in troupes throughout Italy in the 16th century. Performances took place on temporary stages, mostly on city streets, but occasionally even in court venues. The better troupes — notably Gelosi, Confidenti, and Fedeli — performed in palaces and became internationally famous once they traveled abroad. Music, dance, witty dialogue, and all kinds of trickery contributed to the comic effects. Subsequently, the art form spread throughout Europe, with many of its elements persisting even into the modern theater. Given the vast number of  Italian dialects, how would a touring company make itself understood? Apparently, there was no attempt made to change the performances dialect from region to region. Even when a local company performed, much of the dialogue would not have been understood. Regardless of region, the oft-used character  il Capitano  would have spoken in Spanish,  il Dottore  in Bolognese, and  lArlecchino  in utter gibberish. The focus was placed on physical business, rather than spoken text. Influence The impact of  commedia dell’arte  on European drama can be seen in French pantomime and the English harlequinade. The ensemble companies generally performed in Italy, although a company called the  comà ©die–italienne  was established in Paris in 1661. The  commedia dell’arte  survived the early 18th century only by means of its vast influence on written dramatic forms. Props There were no elaborate sets in  commedia. Staging, for example, was minimalistic, with rarely anything more than one market or street scene, and the stages were frequently temporary outdoor structures. Instead, great use was made of props including animals, food, furniture, watering devices, and weapons. The character  Arlecchino  bore two sticks tied together, which made a loud noise on impact. This gave birth to the word slapstick. Improvisation In spite of its outwardly anarchic spirit, commedia dellarte  was a highly disciplined art requiring both virtuosity and a strong sense of ensemble playing. The unique talent of  commedia  actors was to improvise comedy around a pre-established scenario. Throughout the act, they responded to each other, or to the audiences reaction, and made use of  lazzi  (special rehearsed routines that could be inserted into the plays at convenient points to heighten the comedy), musical numbers, and impromptu dialogue to vary the happenings on stage. Physical Theater Masks forced actors to project their characters emotions through the body. Leaps, tumbles, stock gags (burle  and  lazzi), obscene gestures, and slapstick antics were incorporated into their acts. Stock Characters The actors of the  commedia  represented fixed social types. These types included  tipi fissi, for example, foolish old men, devious servants, or military officers full of false bravado. Characters such as Pantalone (the miserly Venetian merchant), Dottore Gratiano (the pedant from Bologna), or Arlecchino (the mischievous servant from Bergamo), began as satires on Italian types and became the archetypes of many of the favorite characters of 17th- and 18th-century European theatre. Arlecchino  was the most famous. He was an acrobat, a wit, childlike, and amorous. He wore a cat-like mask and motley-colored clothes and carried a bat or wooden sword.Brighella  was  Arlecchinos  crony. He was more roguish and sophisticated, a cowardly villain who would do anything for money.Il Capitano  (the captain) was a caricature of the professional soldier — bold, swaggering, and cowardly.Il Dottore  (the doctor) was a caricature of learning who was pompous and fraudulent.Pantalone  was a caricature of the Venetian merchant, rich and retired, mean and miserly, with a young wife or an adventurous daughter.Pedrolino  was a white-faced, moonstruck dreamer and the forerunner of the modern clown.Pulcinella, as seen in the  English Punch and Judy shows, was a dwarfish humpback with a crooked nose. He was a cruel bachelor who chased pretty girls.Scarramuccia, dressed in black and carrying a pointed sword, was the Robin Hood of his day.The handsome  Inamorat o  (the lover) went by many names. He wore no mask and had to be eloquent in order to perform speeches of love.The  Inamorata  was his female counterpart; Isabella Andreini was the most famous. Her servant, usually called  Columbina, was the beloved of Harlequin. Witty, bright, and given to intrigue, she developed into such characters as Harlequine and Pierrette.La Ruffiana  was an old woman, either the mother or a village gossip who thwarted the lovers.Cantarina  and  Ballerina  often took part in the comedy, but for the most part, their job was to sing, dance, or play music. There were many other minor characters, some of which were associated with a particular region of Italy, such as  Peppe Nappa  (Sicily),  Gianduia  (Turin),  Stenterello  (Tuscany),  Rugantino  (Rome), and  Meneghino  (Milan). Costumes The audience was able to pick up on the type of person actors were representing through each characters dress. For elaboration, loose-fitting garments alternated with very tight, and jarring color contrasts opposed monochrome outfits. Except for the inamorato, males would identify themselves with character-specific costumes and half-masks. The  zanni  (precursor to clown), such Arlecchino, for example, would be immediately recognizable because of his black mask and patchwork costume. While the inamorato and the female characters wore neither masks nor costumes unique to that personage, certain information could still be derived from their clothing. Audiences knew what members of the various social classes typically wore, and also expected certain colors to represent certain emotional states. Masks All the fixed character types, the figures of fun or satire, wore colored leather masks. Their opposites, typically pairs of young lovers around whom the stories revolved, had no need for such devices. In modern Italian  handcrafted theater, masks  are still created in the ancient tradition of  carnacialesca. Music The inclusion of music and dance into  commedia  performance required that all actors have these skills. Frequently at the end of a piece, even the audience joined in on the merrymaking.

Berea College Acceptance Rate, SAT/ACT Scores, GPA

Berea College is a private liberal arts college with an acceptance rate of 38%. Located in Berea, Kentucky, and founded in 1855, Berea College is one of nine Work Colleges in the U.S. Students pay no tuition, and all students receive significant financial aid for all four years of attendance. Most Berea students are first generation students from the Appalachia area. Accepted students work 10 to 15 hours a week on campus or in the community as part of Bereas Labor Program. Since its founding, Berea has had a non-sectarian Christian identity. Berea is a member of the  Work Colleges Consortium. Considering applying to Berea College? Here are the admissions statistics you should know, including average SAT/ACT scores and GPAs of admitted students. Acceptance Rate During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, Berea College had an acceptance rate of 38%. This means that for every 100 students who applied, 38 students were admitted, making Bereas admissions process competitive. Admissions Statistics (2017-18) Number of Applicants 1,576 Percent Admitted 38% Percent Admitted Who Enrolled (Yield) 73% SAT Scores and Requirements Berea College requires that all applicants submit either SAT or ACT scores. During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, 16% of admitted students submitted SAT scores. SAT Range (Admitted Students) Section 25th Percentile 75th Percentile ERW 520 590 Math 510 623 ERW=Evidence-Based Reading and Writing This admissions data tells us that most of Bereas admitted students fall within the top 35% nationally on the SAT. For the evidence-based reading and writing section, 50% of students admitted to Berea scored between 520 and 590, while 25% scored below 520 and 25% scored above 590. On the math section, 50% of admitted students scored between 510 and 623, while 25% scored below 510 and 25% scored above 623. Applicants with a composite SAT score of 1210 or higher will have particularly competitive chances at Berea. Requirements Berea College does not require the SAT writing section. Note that Berea participates in the scorechoice program, which means that the admissions office will consider your highest score from each individual section across all SAT test dates. ACT Scores and Requirements Berea College requires that all applicants submit either SAT or ACT scores. During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, 83% of admitted students submitted ACT scores. ACT Range (Admitted Students) Section 25th Percentile 75th Percentile English 22 29 Math 20 26 Composite 22 27 This admissions data tells us that most of Bereas admitted students fall within the top 37% nationally on the ACT. The middle 50% of students admitted to Berea received a composite ACT score between 22 and 27, while 25% scored above 27 and 25% scored below 22. Requirements Berea does not require the ACT writing section. Unlike many universities, Berea superscores ACT results; your highest subscores from multiple ACT sittings will be considered. GPA Berea College indicates that most admitted students have a minimum GPA of 3.0 in college preparatory level coursework. This data suggests that most successful applicants to Berea College have primarily B grades. Self-Reported GPA/SAT/ACT Graph Berea College Applicants Self-Reported GPA/SAT/ACT Graph. Data courtesy of Cappex. The admissions data in the graph is self-reported by applicants to Berea College. GPAs are unweighted. Find out how you compare to accepted students, see the real-time graph, and calculate your chances of getting in  with a free Cappex account. Admissions Chances Berea College has a competitive admissions process with a low acceptance rate due to the colleges unique mission of providing a nearly free education to students with significant financial need. However, Berea also has  holistic admissions  process involving factors such as community service, character and personal qualities, social maturity and demonstrated interest in the College.  Each application is considered based on transcripts, test scores, financial eligibility, letters of recommendation, and personal interviews. Students with strong academic potential and financial need from Appalachia receive preference at Berea. In the scattergram above, note that most successful applicants to Berea tend to have GPAs of B or better, SAT scores (ERWM) of 1000 or higher, and ACT composite scores of 20 or better. However, test scores are only one part of the admissions requirements for Berea. All admissions data has been sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics and Berea College Undergraduate Admissions Office.

A Safe Injection Site Is Essential For Esquimalt And Victoria

In 2015, Victoria, BC saw an increase in drug overdoses throughout the city including one death occurring in Esquimalt (Times Colonist, 2015). Drug-related overdose fatalities are preventable if the population has access to services that would minimize the risk of an overdose. Through the assessment of the community of Esquimalt, I am proposing that there is a need to establish a safe injection site to prevent accidental overdoses, as well as provide social services for detoxification and rehabilitation programs. It is necessary to note that Victoria and Esquimalt are not differentiated when studies are done. Therefore, the extrapolation of accurate drug use statistics for Esquimalt is not available. For the purpose of this paper, Victoria†¦show more content†¦In addition, drug-related deaths have occurred in this community. Therefore, a safe injection site is a priority for Esquimalt. Moreover, safe injection sites have been proven to save taxpayer’s dollars. Accordi ng to Kerr and Woods (2009), an individual who uses intravenous drugs has an increased risk of contracting HIV. The lifetime cost of HIV per person is approximately $150,000. However, with proper intervention to decrease HIV rates, the healthcare system saves $130,000. This injection site I am proposing would be modeled after the InSite program in Vancouver. Pinkerton (2011) reports that this program has saved taxpayers $1.9 million a year in HIV and overdose-related health costs. Therefore, a program like this in the community would be beneficial because it will ensure the marginalized members of the community are receiving care, but also decrease spending on future health care costs related to disease and overdose. Drug Addiction in Esquimalt While doing research on this community, it became apparent that the public has access to many different social services that have helped the residents achieve wellness (Abra et al., 2016), including Edgewood Health Network, a rehabilitation centre for addictions and mental health. However, there is no support for people who are currently active drug users or have relapsed (Edgewood Health Network, n.d). Studies have shown that relapsed users have an increased risk of

The Blue Sword CHAPTER THIRTEEN Free Essays

string(84) " months that it seemed likely the entire complement of the fort could have changed\." It was two days later when, as the morning sun shone down on them, Harry first saw Istan again; and she altered their course a little to the north, for it was not the town she was aiming for, but Jack Dedham’s garrison. She prayed to anything that might be listening that he would be there, not off on some diplomatic sortie or border-beating. She could not imagine trying to explain her errand to anyone else; she did not think Jack would conclude that she was mad. We will write a custom essay sample on The Blue Sword CHAPTER THIRTEEN or any similar topic only for you Order Now She did think that anyone else – even Dickie; especially Dickie – would. But even if Jack were at the fort, and believed her story, would he help her? She didn’t know, and didn’t dare make guesses. But she and Terim and Senay, even with Senay’s father’s reinforcements, would not be very effective by themselves. Rather more effective than I would have been by myself, though, she thought. The first evening, after Senay and Terim had joined her, and after the animals were settled and the other two human beings were asleep, Harry had cut herself a long straight slender branch from a tree, and stripped it with the short knife she kept in one boot. When they set out that evening she tied it lengthwise to Sungold’s saddle, so it rubbed against her right leg as she rode, but at least it did not threaten either of her companions, who rode close at her sides. They eyed it, but said nothing. When she first recognized Istan looming out of the dawn light at them, she paused, took out her knife again, and deliberately ripped several inches of hem from her white tunic, unlashed her branch, and tied the raveling bit of cloth to one end of it. She tucked the other end just under one leg, and held it upright with one hand. â€Å"It is a sign that we come in peace,† she explained, a little sheepishly, to her friends; their faces cleared, and they nodded. It was still very early. The town was silent as they skirted it; nothing, not even a dog, challenged them as they rode toward the fort. Harry found herself watching out of the corners of her eyes, looking for any odd little wisps of fog that might be following them. The dogs ought to bark. She didn’t see any fog. She didn’t know if either of her companions was a fog-rouser; and she knew only too well that she did not know what she herself was capable of. They rode up to the closed gate of the fort, the horses’ hooves making small thunks in the sandy ground, kicking up small puffs of grit; she thought of the fourposter pony, who was no doubt drowsing in his stall now, dreaming of hay. Harry looked at the fort gate in surprise; as she remembered, and she was reasonably sure that she remembered correctly, the gate was opened at dawn, with reveille, and stayed open till taps at sunset. The gate, wooden and iron-barred, in a wall of dull yellow brick, was higher than her head as she sat on Sungold, looking up; and its frame was higher yet. They rode right up to it, and no one hailed them; and they stood in front of it, at a loss, their shadows nodding bemusedly at them from the grey wood before them and Harry’s little flag limp at the end of its pole. Narknon went up to the gate and sniffed it. Harry had never thought of the possibility of not being able to get inside the fort in the first place. She rode up next to the gate and hammered on it with her fist. As her flesh struck the solid barrier it sent a tingle up her arm, and a murmur of kelar at the base of her skull told her that she could walk through this wall if she had to, to pursue her purpose. In that instant she realized exactly how Corlath had stolen her from the bedroom that at present was not so far from where Sungold stood; and she understood as well that the kelar must see some use in her errand at the Outlander fort to back her so strongly; and for that she did not know whether to be glad or sorry or fearful. And if fearful, for the sake of whom? Her new people – or her old friends? And she had a quiver of wry sympathy for how the Hill-king must have felt, walking up the Residency stairs in the middle of the night; and then she tipped her head back to stare at the Outlander wall, and touched her calf to her Hill horse’s side, to move him away from that wall. â€Å"Since when is this gate closed during daylight?† she shouted; and Homelander speech tasted strange in her mouth, and she wondered if she spoke the words as a Hillwoman might. With her words, the spell, whatever spell it might be, was broken; and the three Hill riders suddenly blinked, as if the sun had grown brighter; and a small panel shot back, beside the gate and above their heads; and a man’s face glared down. â€Å"Where did you come from, Hillman, and what do you want of us?† He looked without pleasure at the white rag. â€Å"We came from the Hills,† Harry said, grinning, â€Å"but I am no Hillman; and we would like speech with Colonel Dedham.† The man scowled at her. She suspected that he did not like her knowing Jack’s name. â€Å"He does not speak to Hillfolk – or those who ride like Hillfolk,† he added disagreeably. By now there were several faces peering over the wall at them; Harry did not recognize any of them, and found this strange, for she had known at least by sight nearly all of Dedham’s men. She had not been gone for so many months that it seemed likely the entire complement of the fort could have changed. You read "The Blue Sword CHAPTER THIRTEEN" in category "Essay examples" She squinted up at them, wondering if her eyes or her memory was playing her tricks. She frowned at her interlocutor’s tone. â€Å"You could bear a message to him, then,† she said, trying to decide if it was worth the possibility of some kind of uproar if she said her name. â€Å"Hillfolk – † began the man at the window, and his tone was not encouraging. â€Å"Oh, Bill, for the love of God, the new orders say nothing about rudeness,† said one of the faces at the fence. â€Å"If you won’t carry a message as requested, I will – and I’ll be sure to mention why an off-duty man had to do it.† â€Å"Tom?† said Harry hesitantly. â€Å"Is that Tom Lloyd?† There was a tense and breathless silence, and the man at the open panel hissed something that sounded like â€Å"witchcraft.† The voice from the fence came again, slowly but clearly: â€Å"This is Tom Lloyd, but you have the advantage of me.† â€Å"True enough,† said Harry dryly, and shook back her hood and looked up at him. â€Å"We danced together, some months ago: my brother, Di – Richard, collected favors from all his tall friends to dance with his large sister.† â€Å"Harry – † said Tom, and leaned over the fence, his shoulders outlined against the light, his face and hands as pale as the desert sand. â€Å"Harry?† â€Å"Yes,† said Harry, shaken at how strange he looked to her, that she had not recognized him before he spoke. â€Å"I need to talk to Colonel Dedham. Is he here?† Harry’s heart was in her mouth. â€Å"Yes, he is: reading a six-months-old newspaper from Home over a cup of coffee right now, I’d say.† Tom sounded dazed. â€Å"Bill, you wretch, open the gate. It’s Harry Crewe.† Harry’s legs were tight on Sungold’s sides, and the big horse threw his head up and shivered. â€Å"He don’t look like Harry Crewe,† Bill said suddenly. â€Å"And what about the two with him – her? And that funny-colored leopard?† â€Å"They’re my friends,† said Harry angrily. â€Å"Either open the gate or at least take my message.† â€Å"I can’t leave my post – another man’ll have to take the word. I won’t open the gate to Hillfolk. It’s Hillfolk it’s closed for. Tom’s too easy. How do I know you’re Harry Crewe? You look like a bloody Darian, and you ride like one, and you can’t even talk right.† Harry’s pulse began to bang in her ears. â€Å"For pity’s sake – â€Å" â€Å"Not you, Tom,† said Bill; â€Å"we already know as how you’re off duty. Get another man what’s on.† â€Å"Don’t bother,† said Harry, between her teeth; â€Å"I’ll take the message myself. I know where Jack’s quarters are.† She dropped her pole in the dust, and, conscious she was doing a supremely stupid thing, she brought Sungold a few more dancing steps away from the gate, turned him, and set him at it. He went up and over with a terrific heave of his hindquarters, and Harry had reason to be grateful for the perfect fit of her saddle; but once in the air he seemed to float, and look around, and he came down as lightly as a blown leaf. He trotted two steps and halted, while Harry tried to look calm and lofty and as though she had known what she was doing all the time. The leap was over in a few seconds, and no one had expected anything so incredible, even from a Hillman; now men were shouting, and there was a crowd all around her. She thought no one would shoot her out of hand, but she wasn’t quite sure, so she waited, instead of going in search of Jack Dedham as she had threatened. Sungold stretched his neck out and shook himself. Narknon flowed over the gate behind them – there was a howl of fear and wrath from Bill – and the cat trotted to Sungold and crouched under his belly. But she did not have to look for Jack after all, because the row at the gate brought him at a run scant seconds after Sungold’s leap. He rounded the narrow corner of some dark building opposite the place where Sungold stood. The horse lifted first one foot and then another, unaccustomed to such noisy reckless human beings, but still obedient to his rider’s wishes. He replaced each foot in just the print it had left. Jack came to a halt, barely avoiding running into them. Sungold pitched his ears toward the balding grey-haired Outlander who stood now, stock still, staring: his eyes traveled from the big chestnut horse down to the laconic cat, up to the horse’s rider, and his jaw visibly dropped. Harry’s hood was still back on her shoulders, and her bright hair flamed in the young sunlight; he recognized her immediately, although he had never seen such an expression on her face before. A moment passed while he could think of nothing; then he strode forward with a cry of â€Å"Harry!† and raised his arms, and she, a young girl again with a young girl’s face, ungracefully tumbled off her horse and into them. He thumped her on the back, as he might have one of his own men back from an impossible mission and long since given up for lost; and then he kissed her heartily on the mouth, which he would not have done to any of his own men; and Harry hugged him around the neck, an d then, embarrassed, tried to back away. He held her shoulders a minute longer and stared at her; they were much of a height, and Tom Lloyd, looking wistfully on, found himself thinking that they looked very much alike, for all of the girl’s yellow hair and Hill clothing; and he realized, without putting any of it into words, that the girl he had danced with months ago, and thought about as he blacked his boots, and lost sleep over when she disappeared, was gone forever. Harry drew a hasty sleeve across her eyes; and then Tom, emboldened by his commander’s behavior, hugged her too, but backed away without meeting her eyes; and Harry, even preoccupied as she was, was briefly puzzled by Tom’s air of farewell, and she guessed something of what her brother had never told her. The whole fort was aroused; there were dozens of men standing around staring, and asking questions of one another; some were in uniform, and some looked like they had fallen out of bed a minute before; a few carried rifles and were looking around wildly. A few of those rifles were pointed at Narknon, but the cat had sense enough not to move, or even yawn and display her dangerous-looking fangs. The Outlanders asked each other questions, and there was a lot of shrugging; but while their colonel’s evident delight in their sudden Hill visitor allayed any immediate fears they might have, Harry thought they looked tense and wary, as men may who live long under some strain. â€Å"What should I ask first?† said Jack. â€Å"Why are you here? Your horse tells me where you’ve been these months past – God, what an animal – but I am totally awestruck by the intelligence †¦ although, come to think of it, I don’t seem to be surprised. Do you know that the entire station turned out to look for you when you vanished? Although I doubt in fact that you know anything of the sort; I flatter myself I searched as painstakingly as anyone, but what the Hills take, if they mean to keep it, they keep it, and I rather thought they meant to keep you. Everyone was sure the Hillfolk did have something to do with your evaporating like that – although it was more a superstition than a rational conclusion, as nary a trace of anything did we find; no rumors in the marketplace either. Amelia, poor lady, had well-bred hysterics, and Charles chewed his mustaches ragged, and Mrs. Peterson took her girls south to Ootang. And your brother stopped talking to everybody, and rode three horses to death – and he takes good care of his horses, usually, or I wouldn’t have him here. I don’t think he even noticed when Cassie Peterson left.† Harry blushed, and looked at her feet. â€Å"So you see, he does care – you’ve wondered, haven’t you? He wasn’t too fond of his commanding officer there for the weeks that it lasted, for I couldn’t somehow work up the proper horror – oh, I was worried about you, but I was also †¦ envious.† He looked at her, smiling, wondering what her reaction would be to his words, wondering if he had said the right thing, knowing that the truth was not always its own excuse; knowing that his relief at seeing her made him talk too much and too freely – a reaction that had, often enough in the past, gotten him into trouble with his superior officers. And Harry looked back at him, and she smiled too, but she remembered the vertigo of the Outlander girl alone in a camp of the Hillfolk, surrounded by a people speaking a language she could not speak, whose hopes she did not understand, whose dreams she could not share. The people of the Hills had been her own people’s foes for eighty years and more, for she was born and bred a Homelander; how could Jack – even Jack – speak of envy? Her smile froze, and her tunic napped against her back and hips, for she had, somehow, lost her sash, and she had hung Gonturan from Sungold’s saddle, so as to look, she hoped, a little less like immediate war. Lost her sash. A Hillman would never lose his sash. What was she? Damalur-sol. Ha. She laid a hand on Sun-gold’s shoulder, but when he turned his head to touch her with his nose she was not comforted, for he had lived all his life in the Hills. She wished bitterly that her brother had told her of Tom Lloyd, months ago. That was something she might have understood, and Tom was kind and honest. She swallowed and looked at Jack again, and he saw memory shining in her eyes, and he smiled sadly at her, and was sorry for any further pain his thoughtless words had given her. â€Å"Child,† he said quietly, â€Å"choices are always hard. But do you not think yours is already made?† Harry’s fingers combed through her Hill horse’s mane, and she said, â€Å"There never was a choice. I ride the only way open to me, and yet often and again it seems to me I am dangerously unfit for it.† She laughed a little and shakily. â€Å"It seems to me further that it is very odd that fate should lay so careful a trail and spend so little time preparing the one that must follow it.† Jack nodded. â€Å"It is not the sort of thing that is recorded in official histories, but I believe that such thoughts have come not infrequently to others – † he smiled faintly – â€Å"ensnared as you are.† Harry’s hand dropped back to her side and she smiled again. â€Å"Colonel, I shall try not to take myself too seriously.† â€Å"And I shall try not to talk too much.† They grinned at each other, and knew that they were friends, and the knowledge was a relief and a pleasure and a hope to each of them, but for different reasons. Then Jack looked her over again, as if noticing the travel stains for the first time and said in a deliberately bright tone: â€Å"You look like you could use a bath †¦ My God, that sword: you’re carrying a king’s ransom casually across your pommel.† â€Å"Not casually,† said Harry somberly. â€Å"Questions later,† Jack said, â€Å"but I will hope that you will answer them. First food and rest, and then you will tell me a very long story, and it has to be the true one, although I don’t promise to believe it.† â€Å"I am not quite alone, † said Harry, smiling again. â€Å"Will you let two friends of mine past your formidable gate as well?† â€Å"Not so formidable,† said Colonel Dedham. â€Å"I wish I’d arrived a minute earlier and seen that jump. I don’t believe it.† â€Å"It’s true, sir,† said Tom. â€Å"I believe it’s true, I just don’t believe it,† said Jack. â€Å"No doubt all of your story will be just as impossible. And just to start with, what is that?† he said, pointing at Narknon, who still had not moved. â€Å"She’s a hunting-cat, a folstza. She adopted me soon after †¦ I left here.† Narknon, deeming the moment right, stood up slowly, and opened her big green eyes to their fullest extent, batted the long golden lashes once or twice at Jack, and began to pace toward him, while he gamely held his ground. Narknon paused a step away and started to purr, and Jack laughed uncertainly; whereupon the cat took the last step and rubbed her cheek against the back of his hand. Jack, with the look of a man who throws dice with the devil, petted her and Narknon redoubled the purr. â€Å"I think I’m being courted,† said Jack. â€Å"Narknon has an excellent sense of whose side it is most expedient to be on,† said Harry. â€Å"But – â€Å" â€Å"Yes, we will let your companions come in in the traditional fashion. Unbar the gate, there, Shipson, and be quick about it, before anything else comes over it. I don’t like the new standing orders, and they obviously aren’t much good besides.† Jack looked up from Narknon, who was now leaning her full weight against his legs and tapping her tail against the backs of his thighs, to gaze again at Sungold. â€Å"A real Hill horse. Can they all leap over Outlander forts before breakfast?† â€Å"No. Or they may, but most of their riders have more sense than to try it. Particularly after a journey such as we’ve had.† The excitement of seeing Jack again, and the reassurance of the warmth of his welcome, drained away from her, and she remembered that she was exhausted, and the sense of coming home to a place that was no longer home oppressed her further. â€Å"I’d like the bath and the food, and we all have to have sleep. But most of the story will have to wait; I’ll tell you what I must, but †¦ we don’t have much time.† â€Å"You are here for a purpose, and I can guess some of it. I’ll try not to be stupid.† The gate opened, and Terim and Senay rode quietly through and stopped by Sungold’s flank and dismounted. Harry introduced them, and they bowed, touching their fingers respectfully to their foreheads, but without the last flick outward of the fingers that indicates that the one addressed is of superior rank. When she said in Hill-speech, â€Å"And this is Colonel Dedham, whose aid we are here to seek,† she was pleased with the way her Outlander friend in his turn bowed and touched his fingers to his forehead, only glancing at her with mild inquiry. â€Å"I am sorry,† said Jack as he led the way to his quarters, â€Å"but I speak only a little of your Hill tongue. I must ask you to tell me what I need to hear in my own language, and apologize to your friends for the necessary rudeness of excluding them.† This was spoken in heavily accented but perfectly adequate Hill-speech, and Terim and Senay both smiled. â€Å"We understand the need for speed and clarity, and it would not have occurred to us to take offense,† said Terim, who had a king’s son’s swiftness for turning a diplomatic phrase; and Senay simply nodded. So Jack Dedham cleared off the table in the second of the two small rooms that were his, the table in question accustomed to duty as a dining-table and writing-desk, as well as a convenient surface to set any indeterminate object down on; and his batman brought breakfast for three. The three ate their way through it with enthusiasm, and the man, grinning, brought second breakfasts for three. â€Å"Make it four, Ted,† said Dedham. â€Å"I’m getting hungry again.† When they were finished, and Harry was staring into her teacup and realizing with uneasy chagrin that she’d rather be drinking malak, Jack filled his pipe and began to produce thick heavy clouds of smoke that crawled around the room and nosed into the corners. â€Å"Well?† he said. â€Å"Tell me in what fashion you have come to seek my aid.† Harry said, staring at the worn tips of her Hill boots, â€Å"The Northern army will be coming through the mountains †¦ soon. Very soon. Corlath’s army is camped on the plain before the wide gap – the Bledfi Gap, we call it – the Gate of the North, you know, in the Horfel Mountains – â€Å" Jack said from a cloud of smoke: â€Å"The Gambor Pass, in the Ossander range. Yes.† â€Å"We want to plug the northwest leak, the little way through the mountains above Ihistan – where an undesirable trickle of Northern soldiers could come through and – â€Å" â€Å"And raze Istan, and go on to harass Corlath.† Harry nodded. â€Å"Not just harass; there are not many Hillfolk to fight.† â€Å"That explains, no doubt,† said Jack, â€Å"why there are only three of you – and a cat with long teeth – for the northwest leak, as you call it.† Harry smiled faintly. â€Å"It was almost one of me, alone.† â€Å"I would hazard, then, that you are not precisely here under Corlath’s orders.† â€Å"Not exactly.† â€Å"Does he know where you are?† Harry thought about it, and said carefully, â€Å"I did not tell him where I was going before I left.† Her ribs missed the pressure of a sash. Dedham blinked a few times, slowly, and said, â€Å"I assume I am to conclude that he will be able to guess where you’ve gone. And these two poor fools decided to throw their lots in with an outlaw? I am impressed.† Harry was silent for a minute. For all her brave words to Jack at the fort gate, she felt that the path she had thought she was following had blurred and then lurched underfoot as soon as Sungold had jumped the wall. It was difficult for her now to remember who she was – damalur-sol and sashless – and why she was here, and where she was going; her thoughts ambled around in her head, tired and patternless. She remembered Luthe saying to her: â€Å"It is not an enviable position, being a bridge, especially a bridge with visions†; and she thought that in fact a nice clear vivid vision would be a great boon. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. â€Å"Corlath did not take at all kindly to Sir Charles that day, did he?† Jack smiled without humor. â€Å"Not at all kindly, no.† Harry scowled. â€Å"He’s still cutting off his nose to spite his face, ignoring the northwest pass.† â€Å"Ritger’s Gap,† said Jack. â€Å"He probably doesn’t look at it that way, though. He came to us offering an alliance of mutual support, true, but he was doing us a favor by giving us the benefit of his spies’ work in the north – which Sir Charles, in his less than infinite wisdom, chose to disbelieve. I would assume that your Corlath will now simply wipe out as many Northerners as he can, and what’s left of his Hillfolk in the end will retreat to those eastern mountains of his. Whether or not the western plains are overrun with unchecked Northerners is not, finally, of great interest to him one way or another. Our decision not to help only means a few more divisions of the Northern army to harry them in their Hills: unfortunate but not of the first importance.† â€Å"If the Homeland got behind the attempt to throw back the Northerners – â€Å" â€Å"There was never any chance of that, my dear, believe me,† replied Jack. â€Å"You are attempting to be logical, I suspect, and logic has little to do with government, and nothing at all to do with military administration. â€Å"You are also still thinking like a Homelander – an Outlander, if you wish – for all you’ve learned to ride like a Hillman,† and his eyes settled on Gonturan, hanging by her belt over the back of Harry’s chair. â€Å"You know Istan is here, and it seems like a waste to you that we should be obliterated without a chance; and you were also fortunately absent that day, and did not hear Sir Charles being insufferable. Sir Charles is a good man in many ways, but new things disconcert him. The idea of an alliance between Hill and Outlander is blasphemously new.† You are also still thinking like a Homelander – an Outlander, if you wish – for all you’ve learned to ride like a Hillman. The words hung before Harry’s eyes as if sewn on a banner and then thrust into the ground at her feet as her standard. She looked at nothing as she said, â€Å"You are working up to telling me that there is nothing that can be done.† â€Å"No; but I am working up to telling you that there is no possibility of there being done what ought to be done – I agree with you, our, or at any rate my, country should get serious about the threat from the North. It is a real threat.† He rubbed his face with his hand, and looked momentarily weary. â€Å"I am glad you have put this chance, little as it is, in my hand. My orders, of course, forbid me to go skylarking off to engage the Northerners at Ritger’s Gap or anywhere else – the official, illogical attitude is that this is a tribal matter, and if we stay quietly at home with our gates closed the wave will break and flow around us. I know this is nonsense, and so do a few of the men who’ve been here more than a few years. I’ve been brooding for months – off and on since Corlath’s unexpected visit; I believed what he told us that his spies had brought back from the North – whether or not it’s worth my pen sion to go try and do anything about it. I rather think it is, as we’re sure to be killed if we stay at home and I’d rather be killed out doing something than have my throat slit in bed. You’re just the excuse I’ve been looking for; it’s been a bit hard to determine which dragon a solitary St. George should take on, when there seem to be dragons everywhere.† Harry looked at Jack, conscious of Terim and Senay at her elbow, and a furry shoulder pressed against her feet under the table. The sense of dislocation was almost a physical thing, like a stomachache or a sore throat; but Jack’s words now eased the sore place a little. The bridge could stretch to cross this chasm, perhaps, after all. She was still alone and still scared, but for the first time since she had ridden away from Corlath’s camp she felt that her errand was not necessarily a mad one; and so her conviction that she was doomed to it was therefore a little less terrifying. And perhaps it did not matter in what world she belonged if both worlds were marching in step. And now that Jack believed her, she could depend on him; for Harimad-sol was still laprun, and while she was glad of Terim and Senay, they looked up to her, and she didn’t entirely like the sensation. The old friendship with Jack had taught her what kind of man he was, and he would not be embarrassingly awed by Harimad-sol and her legendary sword. The literal-minded pragmatism of the Outlander psyche had its uses. But as the weight of solitude eased, his words laid a new weight on her: Were her perceptions so wrong then? Was she in fact thinking like a Homelander – and had she, then, betrayed her new allegiance? She opened the palm of her right hand, and looked at the small white scar that lay across it. What did Corlath think of her desertion? Had Luthe’s fears for her been correct, and had she not been able to see the right way when the ways divided before her? â€Å"Harry.† Jack reached across the table and pulled her right hand toward him. â€Å"What is that?† She closed her fingers till what she suddenly felt was her brand of Cain disappeared. â€Å"It’s a †¦ ritual I went through. I’m a king’s Rider.† â€Å"Good Lord. How the – excuse me – how did you manage that? Not that I ever doubted your sterling qualities, but I know something of that tradition – king’s Riders are the, um, the elite †¦ â€Å" â€Å"Yes,† said Harry. Jack only looked at her, but her mouth went dry. She swallowed and said, â€Å"They thought it would be †¦ useful †¦ to have a damalur-sol again.† â€Å"Lady Hero,† said Jack. â€Å"Yes.† She swallowed again. â€Å"Cor – Corlath said that this war had no hope, and something like – something like a damalur-sol was a little like hope. I – I have seen Lady Aerin – do you know about the Water of Sight? – and so they think I must be someone important too.† Jack studied her as a botanist might study a new plant. â€Å"Blood calls to blood, evidently. Although Richard is the straightest arrow I’ve ever seen: maybe it only runs from mother to daughter.† Harry brought her head up sharply and stared at her old friend. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Surely you know,† Jack said, frowning. â€Å"Your great-grandmother – mother’s mother’s mother – was a Hillwoman; one of rank, I believe. That was before we’d gained a proper foothold here, or we were at least still struggling to keep what we’d got. It was a terrible scandal. I don’t know much about it; it makes Richard quite green even to think about it. Young Dick turns green rather easily about some things: but some curious sense of honor compelled him to tell me, as his commanding officer, so that I could make allowances if he went off screaming into the Hills of his ancestors, I suppose. The blood taint that Fate has seen fit to hand him seems to prey on his mind.† Jack had been watching her closely as he rattled on, and broke off abruptly. â€Å"My dear, you must have known of this?† Harry sat still in her chair, where she was sure she would sit forever, gazing in amazement at the story Jack had just told her. She must have looked very queer, for Terim said to her anxiously, â€Å"Harimad-sol, what is wrong? You look as if you have seen your father’s ghost. Has this man said aught of ill to you?† Harry roused and shook her head, which felt thick and heavy. â€Å"No; he has just told me something that bewilders me even as it makes all plain.† Senay said softly: â€Å"Sol, might we know what it is?† Harry tried to smile. â€Å"He has said that my mother’s grandmother was a Hillwoman, and thus the blood of your Hills runs in my veins.† The two looked back at her with the sort of surprise and consternation she was sure was still plain on her own face. Terim said: â€Å"But we know you must be one of us, or the king’s madness would not come to you, and everyone knows that it does: already there are tales told of Harimad-sol at the laprun trials. The Water of Sight shows you things, and Lady Aerin speaks to you, and your eyes turn yellow when you are held by some strong emotion. In fact, they are yellow now.† Harry laughed: a little laugh and a weak one, but still a laugh, and she said to Jack, â€Å"My friends are not the least surprised by this intelligence, for all that it shakes me to my soul and makes my heart beat too fast – with fear or joy I am not quite sure. They say they have known me for a Hillwoman all along.† â€Å"I’ve no doubt that’s true,† Jack said dryly. â€Å"You may be sure Corlath would have made no Outlander his Rider, even if the Lady Aerin ordered him to.† â€Å"But why was I never told?† Harry mused, still trying to collect her thoughts together in one place so that she could look at them. Perhaps she was a better-constructed bridge than she had realized; and she thought of beams and girders, and almost laughed; how Outlanderish an image that was, to be sure. And as she labeled that bit of herself Outlander she then was free to label some other bit Damarian; and she felt a little more like herself all over, as though she were fitting into her skin a little more securely. She still was not sure what she was, but at least she need not be unhappy for not knowing: and now, perhaps, she had the missing pieces she needed to begin to learn. â€Å"I think,† Jack said slowly, â€Å"that I have an idea about that. I had assumed that you did know, but I remember now how Richard and I talked about you when you were to come out here – he seemed to think it would be bad for you in a particular way – † He frowned, trying to remember clearly. â€Å"You were evidently a little too, um, bohemian for him, and he obviously thought living in the land of your grandmother’s mother was going to aggravate the tendency. But I never thought he would, er †¦ â€Å" â€Å"Protect me from myself by keeping me in ignorance?† Harry smiled ruefully. â€Å"Well, I didn’t know, but I’m not surprised. Angry maybe – how dare he? – but not surprised. He takes the man’s responsibility toward his frail female relations very seriously, does Dickie. Drat him. Where is my inestimable brother? Here?† Jack was smiling at her, as she sat with her sword hilt touching her shoulder when she gestured. â€Å"No,† he said, â€Å"he’s off being diplomatic, which is something he shows some brilliance at, for me and Sir Charles. We’d like some extra men here, just in case this silly tribal matter gets out of hand, and I would only get red and froth at the mouth, while Richard can look earnest and beseeching, and may even have some effect.† He looked gloomily at the table. â€Å"I torment myself, now and again, wondering whether, if Corlath had given us a bit more warning about what he had in mind, if Peterson and I could have brought Charles around – even a little – this mess we’re in might have been, even a little, less of a mess. But it is not, as we say when we are being diplomatic, a fruitful source of inquiry.† Harry was thinking, For that matter, why didn’t Mummy or Father tell me about my mysterious inheritance? They must have known, to tell my wretched brother – indeed, it must have been generally known to some extent; that explains why we were never quite the thing – I always thought it was just because we didn’t give the right sort of dinner parties and spent too much time in the saddle. She went hot and cold, and her last shred of doubt about whether she had chosen wisely when she chose the Hills over the country that had raised her dissolved; but she had loved her family and her home, and she was without bitterness. She yanked her attention back as Jack began to speak again: â€Å"It’s been a little anxious here lately. There is something, or there are somethings, hanging around the town and the fort; and twice my men have gone out scouting and found signs of battle; and once there was a corpse.† His face was drawn and old. â€Å"It wasn’t quite human; although from a distance it would probably look human enough.† Harry said softly: â€Å"I have been told that much of the Northern army is not quite human.† Jack was silent for a little, then said: â€Å"In simple numbers I can’t promise much. I don’t want to risk forcibly anyone’s neck but my own, as we will be going against orders, but there are a few men here I know who have the same attitude toward the Northerners that I do. I will put it to them.† Harry said, â€Å"So, how many and how quickly?† â€Å"Not very and very. Those of us who will go have been quivering like so many arrows on so many bowstrings for weeks; we’ll be grateful for the chance to snap forward. Look: you and your friends can have a bath and a nap; and we should be able to march at sunset.† There had been something obscurely troubling Harry since she entered the fort so precipitously; and at first she had put it down to the confusion, to her first sight of Outlanders since she had ceased to be one herself; and the troubled reflections that this recognition had brought her. But the sense of not-quite-right, of a whiff of something unpleasant, or a vibration in the air, increased as the rest of her relaxed. She looked around her now, able to think about this specific disturbance, to focus on its cause if her kelar would point the way. She turned her head one way and another; it was much worse in the small closed space that was Jack’s rooms. It was as she put her hand over the blue stone on Gonturan’s hilt that she finally understood what it was. â€Å"One last thing,† she said. â€Å"Yes?† said Jack, but it took Harry a little time to put it in words. â€Å"No †¦ guns. Rifles or revolvers, or whatever it is you use. They’ll only, um, go wrong.† And she shivered in the proximity of Jack’s hunting-rifles hung on the wall, and two revolvers on belts hooked over the back of an unoccupied chair. Jack tapped his fingers on the table. â€Å"Not just rumors, then?† he said. Harry shook her head. â€Å"Not just rumors. It’s not something I’ve seen, about guns – but I know. I know something of what the Hillfolk do, or are – and even if we could stop whatever it is we do, and I can’t, because I usually don’t know what I’m doing in the first place – I know too that, whatever it is, it will ride with those that we will be facing. And – and the presence of yours in this room,† and she waved her hand, while the other one still rested on the blue gem, â€Å"is making me feel †¦ edgy. It’s the sort of thing I’m learning to pay attention to.† The room was suddenly smaller and darker than it had been before Harry spoke; Jack stared at her, seeing his young friend and seeing almost clearly the outline of the thing she had taken on in the Hills; and then an unexpected ray of sunlight fell through the window and the blue gem of her sword hilt blazed up as her hand slipped away from it, and her cheek and hair were lit blue. But the outline of her burden was gone. Jack thought, I am going to follow this child, to my death perhaps, but I am going to follow her, and be proud of the opportunity. â€Å"Very well. I believe you. It’s rather pleasant to have one’s favorite old-wives’-tales borne out as truth. You’ll not want infantry anyway; and our cavalry is accustomed to its sabers.† â€Å"Now, about that bath?† Harry said. Ted was told to provide the baths and beds required; she and Senay were led to Jack’s bathroom first, and Harry sank gratefully into the water in the tall tin tub, sliding down till the water closed over her face and she looked up at a wavering circular world. She had to come up at last to breathe, and the world opened out again. Senay unbraided and combed her long dark hair, which fell past her knees in well-ordered waves; Harry watched with envy. Her own hair was nearly so long, but it liked escaping whatever it was put into, and bits were always getting caught in things and snapped off; so while Senay’s hair smoothly framed her face and smoothly twisted into a knot at the nape of her neck, Harry always had unrepentant tendrils launching themselves in all directions. Senay bound her sleek mane up again as Harry climbed, dripping, out of the tub. Senay slipped into the water with her own grateful sigh, and Harry put on th e oversized nightshirt Ted had laid out for her and stumbled into Jack’s bedroom, where two cots had been set up by the bed. Narknon finished investigating all the corners of Jack’s rooms, while Jack and Ted eyed her warily, soon after Harry finished her bath; but when the cat tried to squeeze herself next to her sol on the bed, Harry was so deeply asleep already that she refused to make room and Narknon, with a discontented yowl, had to sleep humped over her feet. How to cite The Blue Sword CHAPTER THIRTEEN, Essay examples