This post was actually prompted after the previous post about crowds and individuals thought i expressed.
This first thought came to me years ago first in school though then it was not so definitive.
It was prompted by a story in it called “Remember the Roses”.
As if the mystery in the story was not enough it was the only story in the book for whom author information page said “Information not available” author name though was Avery Taylor but the yeah there was no Google then.
Its a story that has a haunting quality about it and i believed i was the only one who thought so much about it, but i found a comment here just a few hours ago by someone who also remembers it which just adds to the story anyways :).
Caesarean Conspiracies seems to be my most visited post on the blog .
Actually thought i would put a link to the story if i could find it online and i was led to a site http://www.remembertheroses.com/ .
Here the person tells in the background section how he came across the story
“About fifteen years ago while traveling in India, I came across an old book of short stories being read by the school children there”
I happen to be one of the schoolchildren and have loved it ever since.
I would want to see the movie cause everyone has their own interpretation ,
own touching part of the story and a part of my own imagination and thoughts is what this post is all about.
Every time i think of the story i have a different dimension to it.
The story overall is really special in that special book aptly name “Treasury of short stories ” .
I still treasure it and its yellow pages with underlines and meanings i remember some of the happiest days of my life.
There is a word called “apoplexy” in it which i had not understood and had looked up the dictionary.
Strangely i forget so much in todays’s world, but i always remember that word and the story.
It is in this story that in those days when very few people around spoke good english that we came across the first french words “Au revoir” ,”Adieu” and “Vive Churchill” etc.
Its a story set in the World war era of Nazis where Robert a soldier of the Allied forces is captured by the German and he is saved by a
mysterious woman called Jehane Lebrun.
No one believes his true story and report of escape and when he digs up the evidences he can only come to the conclusion that its Joan of Arc
who saved him and his friend.
But what is more touching is the way the story sets off as though this Robert of the second world war era is the Knight called
Sir Robert whom Joan of Arc is supposed to have loved.
Its a very touching story with just the right amout of love , mystery and history and sort of lingers on and on in the mind especially the last line
“See Jehane i remembered the roses”
In this story the below lines are the ones which first brought the conflicting thought about individual vs the whole crowd(be it a nation/ community/family).
Here Robert is being helped to escape by Jehane and he also tries to take with him another captive soldier but he is unconscious and when Robert cannot revive him
Robert decides to kill him so that he has an easy death compared to the torture by Nazis to give secrets, but Jehane prevents this by the below argument.
Robert:“Do you think i enjoy doing it”
Joan:“No it sickens you”
Robert:“yes but its necessary”
Joan: “Ah yes the old story Always the same. Better to sacrifice one life than many. Thats what they tell you , isn’t it”
Robert:“And its true”
Joan: “Its never true” There was pitiless anger in her eyes and her voice was bitter
“Every life is precious. War demands that we kill, but in our own defence, to save what God has given us.But this is murder…It is betrayal and you know its wrong. In
your heart its wrong”
Since then whenever i come to a conflict about whether Every life is precious or some are more equal than the others this story fills my mind.
Honestly i have never resolved any answer.
As long as that one life to be sacrificed is no one to you or rather is not some one precious or special in our own eyes , we have a tendency to say yes one life can and should be sacrificed if saves/ helps the collective whole.
The moment we replace the person to be sacrificed with someone we love or regard as a great person relative to other being who live day in and day out the argument thins out and we believe every life is precious.
Its also probably my favorite short story with a romatic touch, along with that excellent Jeffrey Archer short story called “Old Love” and i remember it very well ,far after it was supposed to be remembered by the school .
================================
P.S: For all those who somehow love this story , thanks to Vinits efforts we have a pdf version of it. and here is the link to download “Remember the Roses”.Very nice of you Vinitt and thanks a lot.
Check the comments section for links to other stories and a few more uploaded here.
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2b12de67400a8fb991b20cc0d07ba4d29c366712a409c822
Update3: Since this a rare post with too many comments to scan through I am putting the links to the specific comments where one can get all stories and of course the scanned copies download .
all the stories are collected from the net and whatever we could not I have scanned my copy and uploaded it.
Check the two links below
https://frozenthoughtz.wordpress.com/2008/04/07/remembering-the-roses-and-its-yet-unanswered-question/#comment-360
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2b12de67400a8fb991b20cc0d07ba4d29c366712a409c822
Hi, I am looking for this stroy for years now.. I read this when i was in school, written by Avery Taylor. Do you have this story
Thanks in advance/
Vini
Hi Vinitt,
I dont have any soft copy of it nor did i find any on net. I have the story in my my old yellowed school book and i am not sure how to share it.
Till i find some way out sorry..
Hey for some reason I have lost that book..CAN YOU plz Photocopy it and send it to me. I will be greatful to you.
Letme know if you can i will send you my address
Vini
Hmm better still give me some time a few weeks may be ,i will try to scan and email the book to you
i mean the story
Hey Yamini,
Thanks a lot, I will be waiting for it eagerly.
vini
Hey Yamini,
Went through a couple of your posts, its really amazing the way you have put in your thoughts here, Gr8
I’m still waiting for your response on “Remember the Roses”
I have converted it to soft copy. If you need it do let me know
ys vinitt do send me a copy,its handy to have one than 9 images and the book anyways is in a very fragile condition.
hi vinitt and yamini,
can you PLEASE email me the story of “remember the roses”…………..even i read the story lot time ago………………..unfortunately i lost the book and i searched everywhere with no vain………………..i shall be ever grateful to both of you………………….thanks in advance
pls note my email id…………… asim_1971@rediffmail.com
Hi Asim,
Nice to find one more who loves the story. Vinitt has indeed made a wonderful soft copy based on the scanned pages of my book and hope you enjoy it.
I have added a link at the end of the post from wherein you can download it.
Great effor Vinitt once again
thanks a lot to you guys……………..i really appreciate it…………..thanks yamini for putting up the link………………..this will let others to ‘re-live’ the experience
Thanks Yamini,
It would not have been possible without your help, I just did a small task of making it a PDF, so that the story doesn’t dies with the yellow pages of the book.
Vinitt,
You did a great job…………………………the PDF file was done with a lot of care…………….i see that you put in a lot of effort………………you deserve a big thank you
please note: the (last) name of the author was misspelled in the PDF file (on page 1)
Well.. ive been searching for this story for a long time.. i did my schooling in india and remember reading it from my sisters english story book.. i never had the oppurtunity to read it myself.. however in addition to be probably one of the greatest short stories ever written.. it makes me feel.. how wonderful the stories were that we studied in our school yrs..
i still remember michelangelo, gift of the magi, the sniper.. some of the best
btw.. what i meant was that it wasnt in my course…. just like tiger in the tunnel.. another gr8 story.
Yeah Roy ,
The short stories we studied were wonderful and in school days the way we read them or rather sometimes made to read them had a charm of their own. And Tiger in the Tunnel was quite awesome. The first time i read it which I did as soon I got my hands on a story book,I never got it completely and once the whole thing sunk in it was quite profound.
Actually the story I did not get on my first read was The Signalman . I got confused. Anyway that book was aptly named – A treasury of short stories. To pick and choose is tough.
Hi Yamini,
I too am an ICSE passout (’94 batch) and have been searching for this book high and low. It’s one of the best collections of short stories that I have ever read. But just like all of you I have been unable to find the book anywhere.
Yamini, I would really appreciate if you could send me the scanned version of the book via email. I’d love to hold on to the book even in electronic form. Do you think you would be able to send it to me?
Many thanks,
Avid Reader
I will do it but when I can’t really say. It would take some time and work esp since its in a very delicate condition.
But I promise the day its done I will upload and post a link here and email you.
Would it be possible that you give us just the names of the stories and their authors to begin with. It will be a great start if you could just provide a list.
many thanks,
Avid reader
And I used to think I was the only person desperate and nostalgic about these. Its nice to see more such :).
I am in midst of one of my busiest schedules of this year else you would have had the book by now but luckily
Some one else had asked for the contents hoping to find the stories on the net ,so I do have the list handy.Enjoy!!
Treasury of Short Stories
1. The Tiger in the Tunnel…..Ruskin Bond
2. The Silver Lining…………….Chaman Nahal
3. The Liar…………………………Mulk Raj Anand
4. Half a Rupee Worth……….R K Narayan
5. The Case for the Defence….Graham Greene
6. Robin……………………………Jim Corbett
7. Dusk…………………………….Saki (Hector Hugh Munro)
8. The Face on the Wall……..E.V.Lucas
9. Mowgli’s Brothers………….Rudyard Kipling
10. TheGift of the the Magi……O Henry
11. A Fishy Story………………….Jerome K Jerome
12. Three Questions………………Leo Tolstoy
13. David Swan ……………………Nathaniel Hawthorne
14. The SignalMan ………………..Cahrles dickens
15. The Lost Pearls………………..Sir Patrick Hastings
16. Remember the Roses………..Avery Taylor
Also for the time being here is one the stories I found on the Net.
http://students.iiit.ac.in/~nirnimesh/Literature/The%20Face%20on%20the%20Wall.htm
Hi Yamini,
If you plan to scan the book “Treasury of Short Stories” Please add my email to the mailing list too. I just want to create a PDF version an upload to my server
Well you can find The Liar here.
http://books.google.co.in/books?id=txzmTi3Ny50C&pg=PA212&lpg=PA212&dq=the+liar%2Bmulk+raj+anand%2Bread+the+story&source=bl&ots=i3dtedZzRA&sig=YTnhveoLC1M_65eB6vm_Wm87Tr0&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result
I have just read it again , and i feel so nostalgic about my school days.
Thanks Once again
Hi,
Just went through the content.. very faded memories of the stories.. As for Robin by jim corbett, I just remember the last line may “The Happy hunting grounds”,
correct me if I’m wrong?
That would be great Vinitt and
Well a quick googling got in between work got me this much. So that reduces the effort.
Anyone finds the text of the rest pls update else I will scan whn I can manage.
Treasury of Short Stories
1. The Tiger in the Tunnel…..Ruskin Bond
2. The Silver Lining…………….Chaman Nahal
3. The Liar…………………………Mulk Raj Anand – A part of it is on google books in link above by Vinitt
4. Half a Rupee Worth……….R K Narayan
5. The Case for the Defence….Graham Greene
6. Robin……………………………Jim Corbett
7. Dusk…………………………….Saki (Hector Hugh Munro) – http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/375/
8. The Face on the Wall……..E.V.Lucas – http://students.iiit.ac.in/~nirnimesh/Literature/The%20Face%20on%20the%20Wall.htm
9. Mowgli’s Brothers………….Rudyard Kipling
10. The Gift of the the Magi……O Henry – http://www.auburn.edu/~vestmon/Gift_of_the_Magi.html
11. A Fishy Story………………….Jerome K Jerome
12. Three Questions………………Leo Tolstoy – http://www.online-literature.com/tolstoy/2736/ **********
13. David Swan ……………………Nathaniel Hawthorne – http://www.classicreader.com/book/188/1/
14. The SignalMan ………………..Cahrles dickens – http://www.gordon-fernandes.com/hp-lovecraft/other_authors/signalman.htm
15. The Lost Pearls………………..Sir Patrick Hastings
16. Remember the Roses………..Avery Taylor – download at http://www.mediafire.com/?xeidjmn2yzs
omg..this is awesome. I will do anything to buy this book. Another great textbook we had was for hindi…’ek aur ek gyarah’.
Yamini – have you been able to figure out if this book in this current compilation is still in print?
Hi michelle its so nice that you love it enough to buy the book but I did not find it anywhere on the web.
We did not have ek aur ek gyarah – we had gadya chayan and shresht ekanki and of course poetry book parikrama in hindi.
Apart from the stories for which i have listed the links below i will try to scan the rest of the stories from treasury of short stories by the new year hopefully.
Hey yamini,
check out my new website
http://www.platfuse.com
Well here’s the Christmas and New Year special 🙂
The following scanned stories are uploaded at
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2b12de67400a8fb991b20cc0d07ba4d29c366712a409c822
For the rest links are below.
If Vinitt manages to get a pdf created and sends it will surely add it here.
Till then its the scanned copy with all my childish writing and doodles on the book.
Treasury of Short Stories – Scanned pages for below
1. The Tiger in the Tunnel…..Ruskin Bond
2. The Silver Lining…………….Chaman Nahal
3. The Liar…………………………Mulk Raj Anand
4. Half a Rupee Worth……….R K Narayan
5. The Case for the Defence….Graham Greene
6. Robin……………………………Jim Corbett
9. Mowgli’s Brothers………….Rudyard Kipling
11. A Fishy Story………………….Jerome K Jerome
15. The Lost Pearls………………..Sir Patrick Hastings
===================================================================================
Links for the rest of the stories
7. Dusk…………………………….Saki (Hector Hugh Munro) – http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/375/
8. The Face on the Wall……..E.V.Lucas – http://students.iiit.ac.in/~nirnimesh/Literature/The%20Face%20on%20the%20Wall.htm
10. The Gift of the the Magi……O Henry – http://www.auburn.edu/~vestmon/Gift_of_the_Magi.html
12. Three Questions………………Leo Tolstoy – http://www.online-literature.com/tolstoy/2736/
13. David Swan ……………………Nathaniel Hawthorne – http://www.classicreader.com/book/188/1/
14. The SignalMan ………………..Cahrles dickens – http://www.gordon-fernandes.com/hp-lovecraft/other_authors/signalman.htm
16. Remember the Roses………..Avery Taylor – download at http://www.mediafire.com/?xeidjmn2yzs
Hey I am checking out your website. Quite a nice techno look and feel. Just that for a short sighted person like me dependent on a 14 inch laptop the fint seemed a tad too small :).
Also I’ve uploaded the remaining scanned stories from Treasury of short stories – link in comment.
Hi,
Great compilation there.
Offline:
Saw the website Platfuse Studios. I must say its great Flash work and design.
Amazing techno feel, nice urban colors and very futuristic.
Kool animation and nice tracks.
Great job done there. I support it, India has great talent.
Hello Every body…
I have same fealings andI too was haunted by this story until recently I contacted Shravan Kambam of XMD film through mail and to my utter surprise he emailed me the entire story Remember the roses..and to my surprise even though I was reading the story after 17 years or so..I remembered each and every line…and had the same feeling which I guess all of you must have experienced but hard to express….
I am 92 ICSE pass out from Ranchi Loreto..and have lost the book..I wish I could get it from somewhere..
Thanks Rimjhim and Abhishek,
I really feel nice whenever i see that people love the book so much after so many years. I sometimes felt I was way too sentimental to adore it as such.
And yes Remember the roses has that haunting quality about it every time I read it.
Hello i am JAMES, i read the story “Remember the Roses” just a few hours ago and i loved it, though i already knew the climax. I came to know about this story a few months ago when i visited New york to see my cousins. It was then that my cousin mentioned about this story which he had read in school and said he loved it. He praised the story so much that it led me to look for it and read it. He told me the climax so it was not much of a twist but i liked it anyway. i am sure i would have enjoyed it a lot more had i not known it.
What is the “unanswered” question in Remember the Roses?
Thanks James
And Yes answer the unanswered question 🙂
Hi,
Its great to see this website.I am also looking for this remember the roses story.Finally i got it here.
It will be nice if we get rest of the stories also.
i am also trying for those stories.Actually this treasury of short stories text book is not available in any stores because the syllabus is changed.Anyhow lets find them online.
Ho i am sorry.i didnt see the link, yamini posted.Excellent share.Thank u.
And i know a classmate named yamini in my 10th std. Are u that yamini…by chance.
i completed my 10th from Jasmine high school, hyderabad.
Glad that you could the stories Sundeep .
I am not Yamini from Hyderabad.
Thank u for ur reply Yamini
HI EVERYONE,
This is a beautiful poem, i like very much.It was there in our I.C.S.E 9TH STD.Anyone of u remember this…
‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’
Whose woods these are I think I know,
His house is in the village though.
He will not see me stopping here,
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer,
To stop without a farmhouse near,
Between the woods and frozen lake,
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake,
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep,
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
— Robert Frost
Of course I do it was there in the poetry book Panorama and the last 4 lines were part of so many Autograph books in school.
Hi,
Do any one know the story THE SELFISH GIANT by oscar wilde.It was in our 6th std english literature – CBSE . Its a sweey story.Its available online.
READ IT.
Hi
I am ICSE PASS OUT (91 BATCH). ICSE HAD AN ENIGMA, MAGIC AND A UNIQUE CHARM….. I still remember the lines from the poem, “The pied piper of hamelin.”
”
AND I CHIEFLY USE MY CHARM
ON CREATURES THAT DO PEOPLE HARM
THE MOLE AND THE TOAD AND THE NEWT AND THE VIPER
PEOPLE CALL ME THE PIED PIPER.”
But of course ICSE then had that magic. Before I wrote here I never realized how many truly were captivated by it, I thought myself queer.
There’s that strange empathy whenever someone talks of ICSE of those days.
Its not just the English which I’d say is best of the lot , but even the Hindi ,Geography and History.
And everyone here keeps reminding me of just one more adorable poems we read then.
We had this poem Pied piper not in Std X but before that and enjoyed it greatly.
But ours was defined by ‘ The HighwayMan ‘ and ‘ She walks in beauty’ as we had it in VIII, IX and X.
ICSE had the best syllabus and curriculum at that time. Reading great masterpieces like julius caeser, Hamlet, Macbeth etc helped me a lot in my future life. (Infact, ICSE background is an asset for students appearing in tough exams like IAS, CAT, FMS etc). Even otherwise, an ICSE person never fails in life. He sees the “extraordinary in the ordinary” and turns adversities into opportunities.
“ICSE coupled with convent education” was the reason why it became so popular at that time. I strongly believe that one can learn a lot from these christian missionaries. Their dedication, committment, secularism and zeal towards life is commendable.
I still miss my school days( church bells ringing, sisters & fathers pacing around and the morning assembly reflections being conducted).
I am remembered of a poem we read at that time.
“FOR IT COMES FROM THE WEST LAND, THE LAND OF OLD BROWN HILLS, APRILS IN THE WEST WIND AND DAFFOIDILS.”
“THE YOUNG CORN IS GREEN BROTHER, WHERE THE RABBITS RUN
IT IS WARM RAIN AND SUN BROTHER, WARM RAIN AND SUN”
…………I NEVER HEAR THE WEST WIND BUT TEARS ARE IN MY EYES.
Hey Yamini,
How does it feel when so many people get connected form just that one story? Dont you feel nostalgic? I do.
Simply I close my eyes and feel like floating in my old days of adolescence.
Forgot to add , for people who love Remember the Roses ,
Check out the movie which is under production.
http://www.remembertheroses.com/
BTW Did any of you guys got a chance to see movie ‘Perfume’.
Tis just amazing.
I dont just feel nostalgic , I really feel happy because though I loved those old days, there never were many then who expressed their joy of reading the story as openly as people here have done.
This and the Caesarean Conspiracies – both related to ICSE English are the top posts on this blog and it makes me feel so normal – something like I ‘m not the only one who was crazy about the stories we read then.
Hi:
Does anyone remember the publisher of the book treasury of short stories?
I think I might able to lay my hands on a copy.
Regards
VJ
ya Vaibhav this is the Info I have
A Treasury of Short Stories
Frank bros. & Co.() Ltd.
Daryaganj Delhi-2
Revised Edition 1989
Reprinted 1990
Hi Yamini,
I am not sure if my earlier comment went through, the submit returned a failure.
I wrote that i was amazed to see this post. I had been long wishing that i could get a copy of this book. The one i had , my parents had sold to the paperwallah since they moved from city to city frequently and tried to keep their baggage minimum. I remember tearing up for having lost this book and others that were dear to me.
The year i first met my husband, i retold many of the stories from this book to him, thats how much i loved this book. And i thought i was the only one crazy after this book ! Seeing this post and many of your comments brought sweet memories to me. I am so glad I had ICSE as my syllabus. I didn;t realize how much it had defined me and my outlook.
thanks for the post.
regards,
Sarita
Hi Sarita,
Its really sweet – retelling those stories the way you described it.
Even I recommend it to any friend I feel likes stories – though these days they are rare.
Yes ICSE then as it was almost defined tastes and outlook greatly esp then when information was not as widely available.
My book that I have preserved is way too fragile but luckily I managed to save it despite moving around somehow.
hi all……its amazing!!!!so many people sharing the same thoughts….the same nostalgia.i had been thinking of the story Remember the Roses for a quite a long time..just searched and got this frozen…well-named!!i remember in one of Garcia Marquez’s books One hundred years of solitude….people sleeping in a room and sharing the common dreams and entering other’s dreams…..almost like that!!!
definitely ICSE gave us the most romantic and mysterious flight of thoughts….so complete in itself….the Pindarus and Portia of Julius Caesar…..the face on the wall was amazing too….
http://www.anvil.clara.net/Signal-Man.pdf…this is for our TOSS’s The Signalman
“most romantic and mysterious flight of thoughts” NOW what do I say to that. Definitely true and then you remind me of Portia…
Great times – And yes Ive been wanting to read Garcia marquez since long just doesn’t happen
Thanks
This is amazing !! I was a fool to think that I was the only fan of the book for its wonderful collection of some gr8 stories ! I had given my book to my junior who did not want to spend the money on buying it, and till date I have not stopped regretting it. The book was a collectible. I think when the heat subsides, I am going to old delhi and look for this book, you never know I just might find the treasure there 🙂
hi all,
it’s great to see so many nostalgic scribblings… after more than 5 years of living away from home and two years of almost blank memory (courtesy a neuro disorder) i was fishing in and out the old old pages of memory book to remember the name ‘REMEMBER THE ROSES’. the only story that still echoed in memory lane… read it again in a go today.thanx for posting it… for lending so much of fresh air after all those long long years…. the book must still be there at home. i used to read the story every time i got hold of the book.
Is “the tiger in the tunnel” available online. pls let me know. its urgent.
Thanks Shilpi and Anitha – Its a definite treasure for me
shobana : By online if you mean a webpage I did not find it , but yes its among the scanned files Ive provided above.
hey nyone from the 96 batch we had different collection from that mentioned above n I, like u ppl in search of sparrows nd the rest of the book.
pls do tell me wr to find the soft or the hard copy
im class 9th student of icse board this year we have the story remember the roses in our book called ‘a treasure trove of short stories’. this was the 1st story i read from this book & this really touched my heart.
Hello Yamini,
Im glad 2 no that im not the only one, who is found of the story remember the roses so much.
Yamini (and Vinit) – thanks a lot for the link to the story! My sister and myself (both ICSE students many moons ago!) have been looking around for it for quite some time 🙂
Hi Guys,
Its amazing to see how people can share thoughts and become nostalgic. Thank’s guys for uploading the short stories. I had no idea how to get that story “Remember the Roses”- my favourite. I have downloaded it. I will be downloading the rest.
The poem is oviously one of them to be remembered.
Thank you guys for sharing.
This is so amazing. I used to think I was the only one that loved “Remember the roses” from the ICSE syllabus in my class. It is great to see so many fans of this short story. I also remember it being the longest “short story” in the book 😀 Ah the great memories.
Gifts of the Magi is also a great classic.
Hei,hei,hei,all you guys out there…just ammmaaaazing to find sooooooooo many of you being haunted by the same feeling of nostalgia,the same story,the same thoughts!!!!I read it from my sister’s school book as a child and spent sleepless nights haunted by the story and searching for it desperately as she had already lost it by the time I grew up(older,I mean).Thanks,for the story and all the thoughts shared on I.C.S.E and Convents and Sisters and Fathers and Chappels and …..everything that brings memories and tears to my eyes.Thanks to you Yamini and you Vinit for “Remember the Roses”,and to you Sundeep for “Miles to go before I sleep….”.
There was another poem “The Highway Man”.Does anyone remember it and can anyone please post it for me or mail it to me?I will really be greatful to whoever sends it to me as it haunts me as much as”Remember the Roses”.
I also distinctly remember “Face On The Wall” which is a story about friends sharing experiences and one of them cooking up this unique story of a face on the wall….
Nostalgic,nostalgic,nostalgic again in the middle of the night as I’m writing like a crazy lost soul and thanks to all of you once again.
“Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thoughts….”.
This was especially for you Yamini….Guess you do not have a pinch of doubt left that there are many as crazy as you existing in this stupidly sensible,fictitious real world…
Ofcourse,count me as one too…..
Hei what’s wrong with the time?I posted the cmment at 2:39am 14th Jan 2010 but the date and time reflecting on the post is different….anyway how does that matter?
i just remeber a line—–One Kiss My Bonnie Sweetheart—-perhaps the line that penetrated a teenager’s mind and heart!!!! but here is the poem…..by Alfred Noyes
The wind was a torrent of darkness upon the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight looping the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding–
Riding–riding–
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn door.
He’d a French cocked hat on his forehead, and a bunch of lace at his chin;
He’d a coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of fine doe-skin.
They fitted with never a wrinkle; his boots were up to his thigh!
And he rode with a jeweled twinkle–
His rapier hilt a-twinkle–
His pistol butts a-twinkle, under the jeweled sky.
Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,
He tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred,
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord’s black-eyed daughter–
Bess, the landlord’s daughter–
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.
Dark in the dark old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked
Where Tim, the ostler listened–his face was white and peaked–
His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay,
But he loved the landlord’s daughter–
The landlord’s black-eyed daughter;
Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say:
“One kiss, my bonny sweetheart; I’m after a prize tonight,
But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light.
Yet if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day,
Then look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I’ll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way.”
He stood upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand,
But she loosened her hair in the casement! His face burnt like a brand
As the sweet black waves of perfume came tumbling o’er his breast,
Then he kissed its waves in the moonlight
(O sweet black waves in the moonlight!),
And he tugged at his reins in the moonlight, and galloped away to the west.
He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon.
And out of the tawny sunset, before the rise of the moon,
When the road was a gypsy’s ribbon over the purple moor,
The redcoat troops came marching–
Marching–marching–
King George’s men came marching, up to the old inn-door.
They said no word to the landlord; they drank his ale instead,
But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed.
Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets by their side;
There was Death at every window,
And Hell at one dark window,
For Bess could see, through her casement, the road that he would ride.
They had bound her up at attention, with many a sniggering jest!
They had tied a rifle beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast!
“Now keep good watch!” and they kissed her. She heard the dead man say,
“Look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I’ll come to thee by moonlight, though Hell should bar the way.”
She twisted her hands behind her, but all the knots held good!
She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood!
They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like years,
Till, on the stroke of midnight,
Cold on the stroke of midnight,
The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!
The tip of one finger touched it, she strove no more for the rest;
Up, she stood up at attention, with the barrel beneath her breast.
She would not risk their hearing, she would not strive again,
For the road lay bare in the moonlight,
Blank and bare in the moonlight,
And the blood in her veins, in the moonlight, throbbed to her love’s refrain.
Tlot tlot, tlot tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hooves, ringing clear;
Tlot tlot, tlot tlot, in the distance! Were they deaf that they did not hear?
Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill,
The highwayman came riding–
Riding–riding–
The redcoats looked to their priming! She stood up straight and still.
Tlot tlot, in the frosty silence! Tlot tlot, in the echoing night!
Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light!
Her eyes grew wide for a moment, she drew one last deep breath,
Then her finger moved in the moonlight–
Her musket shattered the moonlight–
Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him–with her death.
He turned, he spurred to the West; he did not know who stood
Bowed, with her head o’er the casement, drenched in her own red blood!
Not till the dawn did he hear it, and his face grew grey to hear
How Bess, the landlord’s daughter,
The landlord’s black-eyed daughter,
Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.
Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky,
With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!
Blood-red were his spurs in the golden noon, wine-red was his velvet coat
When they shot him down in the highway,
Down like a dog in the highway,
And he lay in his blood in the highway, with the bunch of lace at his throat.
And still on a winter’s night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
When the road is a gypsy’s ribbon looping the purple moor,
The highwayman comes riding–
Riding–riding–
The highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.
Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard,
He taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred,
He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord’s black-eyed daughter–
Bess, the landlord’s daughter–
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.
Hi Shekhar
The poem is a Classic and I never forget it
We had been taught that thrice
In Std VII, St IX and of course Xth Std
And there are so many time when I look at a full moon I remember the line
“The moon was a ghostly galleon….”
Lakshmi , I ‘m not sure may be some issue with time zone in WordPress , but as you said it doesnt seriously matter
You are right Bikash – it was the longest short story but the best.
Yamini
Lakshmi
Thanks a lot – Its the best line ever
“We look before and after and pine for what is not,
Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thoughts….”
Strange howmuch ever I try I cant memorize 10 lines of anything new and I can still recall poems in panorama poetry book so easily.
And you are right I am not the only crazy ones – its very good feeling . There were 184 downloads for this one story of Remember the Roses.Thanks to Vinitt again
yeah…i remember that when i read that line “The moon was a ghostly galleon….”…i felt that gallon has been misspelled!!and then our teacher told us that galleon stands for old spanish ships.
Thanks soooo much Shekhar, for posting the poem….The poem not only touched me as a teenager but still haunts me….
And you are absolutely right Yamini….some things,some lines,some thoughts and emotions are never forgotten….
They stay on and on and on in our minds or may be they go in too deep and become a part of us…..The same with me,I am an absolute failure at remembering or memorizing anything for that matter….but these lines never leave me.
‘when old age shall this generation waste,
thou shalt remain,in midst of other woe
than,ours,a friend to man,to whom thou say’st,
“Beauty is truth,truth beauty”-that is all
ye know on earth,and all ye need to know.’
-Ode On A Gracian Urn -KEATS
Hi, i’m glad to see all u guys remember ur old bk.This yr we r also studying ‘A Treaury of Short Stories’ for r ICSE . We have a few of the stories mentioned in the list of contents, i. e. – 1,5,7,10,11,16. So the book will be quite easily available in print for those who wanted to buy it. Hope this helps. 🙂
bye.
Hi, Remember the Roses has haunted me too since I read it in school years back…I found my “Treasury of Short Story” a few years back and shared it with my husband…great to see so many of us have remembered it..
“Remember the Roses” will always be one of my favourites. Reading it again brings back the memories of school, the wonderful teachers and friends and the best time in my life. “Stopping by the Woods” is probably the only poem I will read again and again and I don’t think I will forget a single word in it even when (and if) I am hundred :). We were lucky that our lives were enriched, our knowledge enhanced by that wonderfully selected bunch of stories. Thanks to the poster this blog too for refreshing the memories when it was so needed.
i hav de story in my text book!
its fab
read it just now
its my favourite story
How nice !! enjoy and you will remember it for a long time in your life as all the people who comment here do
Hi. I am so glad to see these posts. And I thought I must have been amongst the few to cherish the good old ICSE days. I passed out in 1990, and our Treasury of Short Stories had a story called Sparrows. Anyone has it ? I want to read it to my 6 year old son. My book is in Patiala and I now live in Mumbai, so can’t get hold of it. We did not have Remember the Roses, but I read it from the juniors book some years later. And it touched me too. Truly romantic and beautiful.
Yes its been the same thought since I wrote this post.
We did not have Sparrows , but may be if you remember the author we can find it on google.
Hi. I am not sure about the author. I think it was Rabindranath Tagore.
I found the story – Sparrows. Its by KA Abbas. I suddenly remembered the name of the protagonist – Rahim Khan – and then I got it.
Good :)) Strange how things linger in our memories
hello,
i am in class 10 and have read the story ‘remember the roses & i have loved it. so, could anyone send me the soft copy of the story,please? and if possible, info about the author and some of her novels.
The link is there at the end of the post
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2b12de67400a8fb991b20cc0d07ba4d29c366712a409c822
hey……you people studied it years ago……..we are studying it now..there are a few changes in the book…a few stories….but its part of the syllabus.. 🙂
i’ve read this story by Avery Taylor. It is a wonderful story and it has really touched my heart,
thats good christine – this is one story that sure is loved across a few generations 🙂
i have this book currently with me its vry frsh it has remember the roses ,tiger in the tunnel and all othr lsted above . its in my course i am in class9.it is treasusre trove of short stories
hey vinu , thats good if you have a fresh copy –
it would be great if you can may be publish the publisher or where you can get the book from as quite a few people here enquired on it,
but we thought it no longer was in publication
its selina publications.i got frm universal book shop lko.
its not selina sry its frank bros. publications
Wow,
I thought I had lost this story forever. Thanks a lot…
Amit
hi everyone. the book treasury of short stories is no more available but the latest book prescribed by ICSE is called ‘The Treasure Trove of Short Stories’ contains Remember the Roses by Avery Taylor and some other short stories that you named. Maybe you should check it out
can anyone tell me that the knight robert whom jehane love was robert phillips only
No one can tell I guess but thats what the story wants us to think
Man….this story has literally chenged my perception towards life….i Coud hardly breathe after ii finished ready it…..For reasons unknown i really could’nt stop crying for a full hour….its awsome to find more lovers of this story… 🙂
Man….this story has literally changed my perception towards life….i Coud hardly breathe after ii finished ready it…..For reasons unknown i really could’nt stop crying for a full hour….its awsome to find more lovers of this story… 🙂
Ive been stunned myself to find so many people loving it. I hardly blog these days but yet some comment on this post make me look back on this blog
Yamini and Vinitt – you two are awesome! I had lent my copy of Treasury of Short Stories (which I inherited from my sister, filled with painstaking notes, etc) to a friend who had plugged a eighth grade, I think. I never got it back. I still curse him for that.
Anyway, Remember the Roses was haunting and the fact that it was by Anonymous, made it even more intriguing. I had tried Googling many years ago, came up with zilch and forgot about it.
Today a colleague asked me if I had heard of the author Saki (Hector Hugh Munro) and I was like, yes! yes! Then I started talking about my Treasury of Short Stories copy, Panorama (book of poems) and then finally Remember the Roses.
That’s when I Googled it once more, hoping to find a copy of the book but I came across your post. Thank you! I have downloaded the story and mailed it to my friend too.
Do let me know if it would be possible to get a copy of your book. I will be very grateful…
hey ashutosh glad the post helped – even I was intrigued by the fact that it was anonymous.
all the stories are collected from the net and whatever we could not I have scanned my copy and uploaded it.
Check the two links below
https://frozenthoughtz.wordpress.com/2008/04/07/remembering-the-roses-and-its-yet-unanswered-question/#comment-360
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=2b12de67400a8fb991b20cc0d07ba4d29c366712a409c822
did avery taylor wrote any other story??????? i didn’t find anything on the net about him or her..
anyway it is the best story i ever read.. … love it
Well, i just gave icse last year. Our short story syllabus had stories taken from “A treasure trove of Short Stories”. The icse syllabus got changed in our year, so icse pass outs some years before me didn’t get the chance to read this wonderful story. I loved the story, i hounded everyone in my family and my friends to read it. They all loved it. I tried to search for it online but precious little info is available about it. Finally, i too found the site remembertheroses.com. And finally, gained some info on the author. Kudos to her for creating such a hauntingly charming story. Also, i remember the “highwayman” as well. We were taught the poem in class 8. All i can say is that icse sure has a knack for setting haunting stories and poems for students to read in their syllabus. I’m ever grateful. Remember the roses, Ode to the west wind, ode on a grecian urn, la belle dame sans merci, the highwayman are the best stories and poems i have ever read. and they were all part of my icse/isc school syllabus. they are not the sort of stories and poems you think is good while reading it and then forget about it, they’ll stay with me forever.
i too remembered all the best stories in ICSE syllabus including “skyjack”
anybody remembers the Radiant Reader?!!
hey guys..i am an tenth std student and i love the stories in out text book a treasure trove of short stories…actually it doesnt have all the stories listed above and i wanna thank yamini for the links as i love reading n i loved the stories they have now edited…thnx!
Dear Yamini & Vinitt,
Remember the Roses, was a story that I have never forgotten…and never will…because I had to excuse myself from the English class as I was crying so hard! We’d just started the lesson…the last in the book and I was asked to read it out. I had, ofcourse, already read the story before the term had begun…and had already cried over it in private…and you can imagine my horror, when I found the words beginning to blur, in front of a class of 32 girls! And not to forget our English teacher!
What an amazing story…just thinking about it even now, makes the hair on my neck rise and my eyes are beginning to prick, just as they always did, every time I read or even thought of young Jehane and Robert.
For some strange reason the pdf file on Mediafire did not download properly…Except for the name, which is legible, the rest is just pages of boxed ?
I think I did keep my textbook, as I loved the story so much, but have no idea where my parents put away everything when I left home.
Would it be too much of an imposition, if I were to ask you to check the files that were uploaded? I would so love to have a copy of this beautiful piece of writing!
I feel so blessed when I think about how fortunate we, ICSE, students were…to have the kind of exposure we did!
Thank you for your site post. Jones and I happen to be saving to buy a new book on this issue and your writing has made people like us to save our own money. Your opinions really clarified all our issues. In fact, more than what we had acknowledged just before we discovered your excellent blog. My partner and i no longer nurture doubts including a troubled mind because you have attended to our needs in this article. Thanks
I am student and I also had the same experience. I had read that story a number of times. I simply loves that story very much. Its the best story I have ever read.
I don’t remember how many times I have read this story since my schooldays, but everytime I read it….it still has its charm.
Yamini, thanx a ton for starting this discussion on remember the roses. i was in love with this story. am a 93 icse passout. As somebody has rightly pointed out, icse syllabus was truly wonderful – vry wholesome, very complete, i must say.
i got nostalgic whn i came thru your post. Thanx a ton for bringing out alive my childhood memories.
its strange how a common thread os this story is bonding so many strangers…
So true!!if i remember correctly it was the last story of the book….or may be that it was taught last to us.But it was so exciting…….!!!!i am still not out of the hair-raising feelings which i experienced almost 20 years back
i’m 2010 pass out frm icse(bishop westcott ranchi) too, literature books still hav the same magic! 2 books i’ve read ‘anthlogoy of short stories’ and ‘a treasure trove of short stories’. The stories in there r awesome! 🙂
I was talking to my wife the other night and the only story I could recollect from ICSE syllabus was Remember The Roses. I googled for Remember the roses and landed here. Looking at the content of the book I started to recollect some of the other stories. Reading this blog took me back 20 years down the memory lanes. Thank you for this blog.
Hi All, It is great to be connected with things done at school and thanks for names in Treasure of Short Stories coz I was too searching for them. There was another set of such stories such as ‘every cloud had silver lining etc. Can you guys think of the names of these. we can google them and take the print outs.
Hi Aziz,can you please tell from which batch of ICSE Xth you are? May be that helps in finding out the story/book you are talking of…….
This blog is indeed a boon to all!!!
Hello Fellow Readers,
Reading this blog and the replies and responses has been a joyride and somehow I have taken it up as a task to find out about Avery Taylor (Avery Brown as someone mentioned). I always tend to compare that story with the epic by Magaret Mitchell in the sense that both of them have just given us one known piece of work and they are both sublime. But I have a little need of my own : Does anybody have the copy of a short story by O’Henry called A Strange Romance. I’ve looked all over the web for it with no results, and have lost my collection of his stories. Chezard Ibn Abid, chezardbinabid@gmail.com
Any help will be appreciated.
Thank you.
heyyy…….i jst gave d icse exam…….and read the story in d begining of d year………..its jst beautiful…….i want to believe dat it iz a true story……..feel blessed aftr reading d story!!
Hi Jehanne.. How were your exams? Do you people still get the option of “PICTURE Story” analysis in your 40 marks long composition of English Language paper….and “survey sheets” in the geography exam
?
Hey there,
I belong to the ICSE batch of 2010-11(so quite junior to you guys) and our batch had A Treasure Trove of Short Stories in our syllabus. We didn’t have Remember the roses in the syllabus even though it was in the index. Nevertheless I did read it then out of curiosity and naturally I loved it. Today, I found my book and I chose to read the same story. But this time I even did a Google search again out of curiosity and I find this blog post depicting my exact exact thoughts. And I was even more surprised to find batches of ICSE as old as ’94 and ’95 when I was just born who studied the same syllabus as I did in my 10th. Thank you for making this post…:’)
Hello everybody,
While this post is about the story “Remember the Roses”, a good story that makes a compelling reading, I’d like your help in tracing a book that I read many years ago. It is about a girl who is sent 400 years to the past in plague ridden London by her husband’s stepmother. She uses her knowledge of 20th century science and medicine much to her scorn and ridicule to contain the disease. She has to find a way to come to the present which involves sorcery, black magic and what not. I found the story highly gripping and simply awesome.I have a hunch the book is by Harold Robbins, but I googled and found that none of his books’ titles looked familiar.
[…] blog but for the random comments on my most famous post I guess seen by all nostalgic ICSE students remembering-the-roses-and-its-yet-unanswered-question and […]
hey guys,
i never thought that there were soo many people who like “Remember the Roses” and the moment i read the story i couldn’t help myself so i started finding more about Jehane the main character and i found out that the story is kind of true in a way.
i wanted to ask or in a way request u all that if u guys know any such awesome stories which are true or atleast based on a true one then please tell me
thank you in advance
i luv dis story. Read it in my std 9-10 coursebuk ‘ A Treasure Trove Of Short Stories ‘. Though it wasnt in my icse syllabus yet i read it 6 times, more number of times than any story i read in d last 2 yrs. ( std 9-10). I liked it d most. Its 1 of d best short stories.
All who keep commenting here on this lovely story .. Thanks for I can never forget or abandon this blog as every once in a while this post stirs someone to write a comment here bringing me back to look at my thoughts .
hello there, i was trying to find these 2books for ICSE 1992-1993 syllabus, “treasury of short stories” and “panorama: collection of poems”. I see activity regarding this….if anyone has a pdf copy of the 2 books, please please let me know. Thanks
Hey, your post really made my day.
I answered the ICSE in 2014 and we still had this story in the book- A Treasure Trove Of Short Stories. A lot of the stories from your book were also there in it. Like you, I too used too think that I was alone in thinking so much about this wonderful story. I totally agree with how the lack of information on Avery Taylor just adds to the mystery. Both the story and her style of writing are just fabulous.
I just casually searched for Remember the Roses on Google and that led me here.
The board still picks out excellent stories for us and the texts are quite inexpensive, so I strongly recommend that you go through the present books too. They really have a charm about them.
It’s a real pleasure to know that people have experienced the same joy reading this story out of their literature textbooks just like I did.It’s amazing to know that this particular story has been influencing people this way since way before I was born!
Hats off to the CISCE for their impeccable taste in literature that can have such a lasting impact on young minds!
Thank you for your post.
This was also a good one—–
https://storywrite.com/story/8042321-Story-Face-on-the-Wall-by-EV-Lucas…-Luv-it–by-Charul
Wasn’t it?
Shekhar
Hi All,
Are you all still there?
I am coming in really late I know- I would also do anything to get two ICSE text books (1987 batch)- Ek Aur Ek Gyarah with Das Babu and Shefali and Stresh Ekanki. Back in those days I hardly paid attention to those stories- my only purpose to read the book was to obtain a good grade. Dying to read them once more with a more mature mind. All my searches for Ek Aur Ek Gyarah leads me towards a hindi movie that is totally unrelated to the book that I am searching. Will anybody in this forum send me the links to those two books? I will really appreciate that.
You are right. There is no trace of ek aur ek gyarah…. But if one reflects back in spit of our attachment to these things of those times…ek aur ek gyarah was not that striking or consequential…may be my view only. But I too look for such lost and fond memories of ICSE days(i am from 1991 batch) and will keep all posted.
Shekhar
Ek aur ek gyarah though I did see it in amazon.in listed not sure if its same. I seem to have misplaced my shrest ekanki or lost it when moving house. I have Pariktama(poetry) and gadya chayan only currently.
Not sure if anyone remembers “Katha Sarovar” from the same days as “Ek aur Ek gyarah”. A way more refined take on Hindi literature and some memorable reads. I have a copy that I can put on on the Internet Archive.
Hey wow what a nostalgic thread. Its 30 years ago – around this time that I gave my test on English and in a whatsapp group from our school – asked if they remembered anything – a lot of people responded but none had the book. This is such a lovely discussion. I would love to get if not the book but the TOC of Panorama, Katha Sarovar, Gadhya chayan and/or ek aur ek gyarah.
Yamini/Vineet – thanks for preserving and sharing the treasure!
Here is the Table of contents of panorama (you can find almost all online ) and gadya chayan
panorama
https://frozenthoughtz.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/panorama_1-copy.jpeg?resize=438%2C438
https://frozenthoughtz.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/panorama_2-copy.jpeg?resize=438%2C438
https://frozenthoughtz.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/panorama_3-copy.jpeg?resize=438%2C438
https://frozenthoughtz.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/panorama_4-copy.jpeg?resize=438%2C438
https://frozenthoughtz.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/panorama_5-copy-1.jpeg?resize=438%2C438
gadya chayan
https://frozenthoughtz.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/gadya_chayan_contents-copy.jpeg?resize=438%2C438
This post is like that Snape’s “After all these years” . Some one just remembers it . I check the blog rarely and yet !!.
I Just remember ” the highwayman” so well from panorama for like 2 years they recited it to us . “the moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon the cloudy seas” – 15 mins we had on this line . I still recall it looking at the moon sometimes