The Project Gutenberg eBook, Almayer's Folly, by Joseph Conrad

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Title: Almayer's Folly
A Story of an Eastern River

Author: Joseph Conrad

Release Date: February 23, 2006 [eBook #720]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ALMAYER'S FOLLY***

Transcribed from the 1915 T. Fisher Unwin Ltd. edition by David Price,
email ccx074@coventry.ac.uk

ALMAYER'S FOLLY: A STORY OF AN EASTERN RIVER
by Joseph Conrad

Qui de nous n'a eu sa terre promise, son jour d'extase et sa fin en
exil?--AMIEL.

_LONDON_: T. FISHER UNWIN, LTD.
ADELPHI TERRACE

_First Edition_ . . . 1895

_Second Impression_, 1907

_Third_ ,, 1914

_Fourth_ ,, 1915

To the memory of T. B.

CHAPTER I.

"Kaspar! Makan!"

The well-known shrill voice startled Almayer from his dream of splendid
future into the unpleasant realities of the present hour. An unpleasant
voice too. He had heard it for many years, and with every year he liked
it less. No matter; there would be an end to all this soon.

He shuffled uneasily, but took no further notice of the call. Leaning
with both his elbows on the balustrade of the verandah, he went on
looking fixedly at the great river that flowed--indifferent and
hurried--before his eyes. He liked to look at it about the time of
sunset; perhaps because at that time the sinking sun would spread a
glowing gold tinge on the waters of the Pantai, and Almayer's thoughts
were often busy with gold; gold he had failed to secure; gold the others
had secured--dishonestly, of course--or gold he meant to secure yet,
through his own honest exertions, for himself and Nina. He absorbed
himself in his dream of wealth and power away from this coast where he
had dwelt for so many years, forgetting the bitterness of toil and strife
in the vision of a great and splendid reward. They would live in Europe,
he and his daughter. They would be rich and respected. Nobody would
think of her mixed blood in the presence of her great beauty and of his
immense wealth. Witnessing her triumphs he would grow young again, he
would forget the twenty-five years of hear