Project Gutenberg 2005-11-01 Public domain in the USA. 212 Hawthorne, Nathaniel 1804 1864 Sights from a Steeple (From "Twice Told Tales") Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twice-Told_Tales Produced by David Widger "Sights from a Steeple (From 'Twice Told Tales')" by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a reflective work that can be classified as a short story, written during the mid-19th century, a time marked by Romanticism in literature. The piece meditates on observation and perception, offering a unique perspective from a steeple overlooking a town, capturing the essence of human experience and the blend of the mundane with the profound as the narrator contemplates life, nature, and the human condition. In this narrative, the speaker, stationed high atop a steeple, surveys the world below with curiosity and introspection. He beholds various scenes: young lovers strolling, merchants engaged in labor, children mimicking soldiers, and a funeral procession—a juxtaposition of life’s joy and sorrow. The shifting weather mirrors these human experiences as a storm looms, and Hawthorne captures the interplay between the natural world and human emotions. The narrator's longing for deeper connection with the lives unfolding below heightens a sense of existential contemplation, culminating in a moment of hope as the sun breaks through the clouds, illuminating the chaos with a beautiful rainbow. This story encapsulates Hawthorne's interest in the complexity of human emotions and the beauty found even amidst struggle. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 63.0 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Short stories New England -- Social life and customs -- Fiction Historical fiction, American PS Text Children's Literature Category: Short Stories Category: American Literature 42096 2025-10-04T08:11:56.408506 text/html 37185 2021-01-02T00:10:08 text/html 101277 2025-10-04T08:12:01.499459 application/epub+zip 100016 2025-10-04T08:11:59.486501 application/epub+zip 76396 2025-10-04T08:11:58.384477 application/epub+zip 240270 2025-10-04T08:12:02.930464 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 234071 2025-10-04T08:12:00.827487 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 201293 2022-09-05T03:30:49.579629 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 34660 2025-10-04T08:11:56.193518 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 34624 2021-01-02T00:10:08 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 19112 2025-10-04T08:12:03.059439 application/rdf+xml 18443 2025-10-04T08:11:58.868476 image/jpeg 4183 2025-10-04T08:11:58.625480 image/jpeg 14833 2021-01-02T00:10:08 application/octet-stream application/zip 13940 2021-01-02T00:10:08 application/octet-stream application/zip 100756 2025-10-04T08:11:56.413514 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia