The white light of the astrallamp , and the red glow of the bright coal-fire , made the room brilliant and cheerful ; and before the fire , in a deep arm-chair , sat Mr. Pringle , looking just fit to be seated in such a chair , and in such a room . He was a tall and quite a handsome gentleman , with a bald brow ; and was always so nicely dressed , that even Eustace Bright never liked to enter his presence , without at least pausing at the threshold to settle his shirt-collar . But now , as Primrose had hold of one of his hands , and Periwinkle of the other , he was forced to make his appearance with a rough-and-tumble sort of look , as if he had been rolling all day in a snow-bank . And so he had . Mr. Pringle turned towards the student , benignly enough , but in a way that made him feel how uncombed and unbrushed he was , and how uncombed and unbrushed , likewise , were his mind and thoughts . `` Eustace , '' said Mr. Pringle , with a smile , `` I find that you are producing a great sensation among the little public of Tanglewood , by the exercise of your gifts of narrative . Primrose here , as the little folks choose to call her , and the rest of the children , have been so loud in praise of your stories , that Mrs. Pringle and myself are really curious to hear a specimen . It would be so much the more gratifying to myself , as the stories appear to be an attempt to render the fables of classical antiquity into the idiom of modern fancy and feeling . At least , so I judge from a few of the incidents , which have come to me at second hand . '' `` You are not exactly the auditor that I should have chosen , sir , '' observed the student , `` for fantasies of this nature . '' `` Possibly not , '' replied Mr. Pringle . `` I suspect , however , that a young author 's most useful critic is precisely the one whom he would be least apt to choose . Pray oblige me , therefore . '' `` Sympathy , methinks , should have some little share in the critic 's qualifications , '' murmured Eustace Bright . `` However , sir , if you will find patience , I will find stories . But be kind enough to remember that I am addressing myself to the imagination and sympathies of the children , not to your own . '' Accordingly , the student snatched hold of the first theme which presented itself . It was suggested by a plate of apples that he happened to spy on the mantel-piece . THE THREE GOLDEN APPLES . Did you ever hear of the golden apples , that grew in the garden of the Hesperides ?
Ah , those were such apples XXXXX would bring a great price , by the bushel , if any of them could be found growing in the orchards of nowadays !
among as at before by from if in into so