7179: The Mission, a short story by Hugh B. Cave

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

>From Bob Corbett:

Folks, some years ago I posted to this list a short story by
Hugh B. Cave called The Mission.  It is set in Haiti in the
1950s and was published first in Saturday Evening Post on
March 14, 1959.

Later it was published by Double Day as an independent book,
also in 1959.  It has been reprinted in numeous collections
of short stories and I must have 1/2 dozen of those in my
library as well.

I got to know Hugh after reading his marvelous non-fiction book
on Haiti called  HAITI, HIGHROAD TO ADVENTURE. Sister Joan
Margaret (from Ecole St. Vincent) had loaned that book to me
back in 1983 and then put me in touch with Hugh.  We got to be
good friends.

Sometime in the 1980s he gave me permission to publish The
Mission in my hard copy magazine on Haiti, and later allowed
me to post it to the list and now it is on my web site in
a more permanent home.

Hugh, in his 90s is still writing!!! He published two novels
in the year 2000. At age 89 he got on-line and we've had
a delightful e-mail correspondence, though I still treasure
the huge pile of "paper" letters I have from him in our
pre-e-mail correspondence days.  There really is a qualitative
difference in e-spondence and correspondence.

The Mission is set in Haiti at Carnival time.  I should have
posted this earlier this week but just didn't get to it.
I would probably not have posted it at all but some many
months ago someone wrote me to find the story and I said I'd
post it to my web site.  I finally did.

I haven't posted it below as e-mail; the story is 15 pages
long in text.  But you may find it on my web site at:

http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/misctopic/texts/mission.htm

Watch it; this is one of those addresses which doesn't end
in html, but just in htm

Enjoy.  I do have permission to post other of his stories
and for those of you who remember Sister Joan Margaret I'll
have to post his "Girl In Black Stockings" since she is the
"doctor" he used as his model in the story.

Best,  Bob Corbett