Mr. Tolman by Frank R. Stockton
Mr. Tolman, the elderly and wealthy sole proprietor of the firm Pusey and Co., finds himself sitting late in his counting-room one winter evening, reluctant to go home, and realizes he has grown tired of a life in which nothing depends on him. Deciding he wants "to feel that I am necessary to myself," he leaves the keys and his letters with his head clerk, Mr. Canterfield, writes a will leaving his fortune to a charitable organization in case anyone should think him mad, and travels to a neighboring city to find a small business he can run himself among ordinary people. After rejecting a dry-goods shop, a grocery, and a taxidermist's, he settles on a small stationery-and-notions shop that also runs a circulating library, kept by an old widow, Mrs. Walker, who wants to retire to the country now that her son Henry has become a commercial traveller. Mr. Tolman buys the entire establishment—stock, fixtures, furniture, and library—and Mrs. Walker teaches him the business, including which subscribers to trust, before leaving with Henry. As proprietor, Mr. Tolman delights in ordinary transactions: selling paper to a boy, lending milk money to a girl, and managing library patrons. He becomes curious about "Dormstock's Logarithms of the Diapason," a dense book on musical mathematics that one subscriber, P. Glascow, has renewed nine times. Glascow turns out to be a night druggist with daytime leisure who reads at the shop; he begins minding the store during Mr. Tolman's meals, becoming a trusted regular. A young lady, Miss Edwards, a teacher on holiday, asks for the same "Dormstock" book, which Glascow is still using. Told of her interest, Glascow voluntarily surrenders the book, but Miss Edwards refuses to take it from him, and a standoff over the volume ensues, with neither willing to claim it from the other. Eventually she visits the shop just to consult a passage, Glascow is called in to explain it, and the two begin meeting there regularly over the book, forming a bond through their shared interest in musical logarithms. Concluding they would make a good match, Mr. Tolman engineers a private meeting between them in the back room, arranging chairs and standing guard at the door while Glascow proposes. The proposal succeeds. Mr. Tolman then sells the entire shop, stock, and lease to Glascow, keeping only the "Dormstock" volume itself, which he gives the couple as a wedding present with a generous bank-note tucked inside. Mr. Tolman explains his whole adventure to the newly engaged couple, who do not think him crazy, given their own devotion to the book. He returns to Pusey and Co., where Mr. Canterfield remarks that he looks ten years younger and must have had a pleasant time; Mr. Tolman agrees that objects of interest crowded upon him and that he never had a more enjoyable holiday. That evening, finding himself willing to go home again, he tears up the will he had made, feeling no further need to prove his sanity.
By Frank R. Stockton · First published 1894 · Genre: Fiction, Short Story, Humor · 12,362 words
First lines
Mr. Tolman was a gentleman whose apparent age was of a varying character. At times, when deep in thought on business matters or other affairs, one might have thought him fifty-five or fifty-seven, or even sixty. Ordinarily, however, when things were running along in a satisfactory and commonplace way, he appeared to be about fifty years old, while upon some extraordinary occasions, when the world assumed an unusually attractive aspect, his age seemed to run down to forty-five or less.
What this Textopian page supports
Mr. Tolman is listed on Textopian as a short story by Frank R. Stockton, dated 1894 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Frank R. Stockton
- Date: 1894 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Fiction, Short Story, Humor, Satire, Literary
- Length: 12,362 words
- Structure: 1 section, 172 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for Mr. Tolman by Frank R. Stockton
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Discussion starters
- What should a reader notice first when entering Mr. Tolman?
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Genres
- Fiction — The book is a work of imaginative narrative.
- Short Story — The book is a brief and concise narrative.
- Humor — The book contains elements of wit and comedy.
- Satire — The book uses humor, irony, and exaggeration to criticize or mock.
Tags
mystery · adventure · humor · suspense · character study · social commentary · 19th century · American literature · short story · plot twist · narrative style · dialogue