The Canterville Ghost

He had hoped that even modern Americans would be excited by the sight of a Spectre In Armour. If they did not get excited for any other reason, they should have done it because they respected their national poet; Longfellow. The ghost had read Longfellow's graceful and attractive poetry about knights many times while waiting for the Cantervilles to return to the manor.

Besides, it was his own suit of armour. He had worn it with great success at the Kenilworth tournament, and even the Virgin Queen herself had thought it was excellent armour. Yet when he had put it on, he had been completely unable to manage the weight of the huge breastplate and steel helmet, and had fallen heavily on the stone floor, losing the skin from both his knees, and bruising the knuckles of his right hand.

For some days after this he was extremely ill, and hardly moved out of his room, except to add blood to the stain in the library. However, by taking great care of himself, he got better. Then he decided have a third try to frighten the United States Ambassador and his family. He decided he would appear to them on Friday, the 17th of August. Once he had decided this, he spent most of that day looking at his wardrobe. He finally decided that he would wear a large hat with a red feather, a cloth used to wrap the bodies of people about to be buried, and a rusty dagger.

Vocabulary:

Armour: Metal protection for a soldier's body
Spectre: Ghost.
National poet: The poet whose work is most typical of his country.
Knights: Soldiers who wear armour and ride horses.
Tournament: A competition for knights.
Virgin Queen: Queen Elizabeth the first.
Breastplate: Armour for the chest.
Knuckles: The lumps on your hand under your fingers.
Wardrobe: Here it means all his clothes.
Dagger: A short knife for fighting and stabbing.