There can be no doubt, though, that the rattle bored him, and that he found other and more soothing amusements when he was left alone. For instance, Mr. Button discovered one day that during the preceding week he had smoked more cigars than ever before—a phenomenon, which was explained a few days later when, entering the nursery unexpectedly, he found the room full of faint blue haze and Benjamin, with a guilty expression on his face, trying to conceal the butt of a dark Havana. This, of course, called for a severe spanking, but Mr. Button found that he could not bring himself to administer it. He merely warned his son that he would "stunt his growth."

Far up the road the lights of the Shevlins' country house drifted into view, and presently there was a sighing sound that crept persistently toward them—it might have been the fine plaint of violins or the rustle of the silver wheat under the moon. Hornaday, Anne. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012 . Retrieved January 1, 2009. He was admitted, and almost immediately attained a prominent position in the class, partly because he seemed a little older than the other freshmen, whose average age was about eighteen.

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I'm not boasting," he asserted uncomfortably. She sniffed again. "The idea," she said, and after a moment: "I should think you'd have enough pride to stop it."

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896 -1940) is widely considered the poet laureate of the Jazz Age. He wrote many short stories and four novels, This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and the Damned, Tender is the Night and The Great Gatsby. An unfinished novel, The Last Tycoon, was published posthumously. By the time he was twelve years old his parents had grown used to him. Indeed, so strong is the force of custom that they no longer felt that he was different from any other child—except when some curious anomaly reminded them of the fact. But one day a few weeks after his twelfth birthday, while looking in the mirror, Benjamin made, or thought he made, an astonishing discovery. Did his eyes deceive him, or had his hair turned in the dozen years of his life from white to iron-gray under its concealing dye? Was the network of wrinkles on his face becoming less pronounced? Was his skin healthier and firmer, with even a touch of ruddy winter colour? He could not tell. He knew that he no longer stooped, and that his physical condition had improved since the early days of his life. He did not remember. He did not remember clearly whether the milk was warm or cool at his last feeding or how the days passed -there was only his crib and Nana's familiar presence. And then he remembered nothing. When he was hungry he cried - that was all. Through the noons and nights he breathed and over him there were soft mumblings and murmurings that he scarcely heard, and faintly differentiated smells, and light and darkness. What happened?" demanded Mr. Button, as he came up in a gasping rush. "What was it? How is she? A boy? Who is it? What—" "Talk sense!" said Doctor Keene sharply, He appeared somewhat irritated.Bradshaw, Peter (February 6, 2009). "Film review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". Guardian.co.uk. London . Retrieved May 1, 2011. Am I mad?" thundered Mr. Button, his terror resolving into rage. "Is this some ghastly hospital joke? Brodesser, Claude (May 19, 2000). "Taylor sews up deal to adapt 'Button' ". Variety . Retrieved April 28, 2007. Benjamins father, Thomas Button, meets up with Benjamin again. Thomas Button walks with a crutch due to an infection in his foot and his health is failing. He invites Benjamin out to dinner and then shows him his button factory. He then reveals to Benjamin that he is his father and shows him pictures of their family. Benjamin has a hard time taking it all in, but eventually realizes that Thomas wants to reconcile with him before he dies. Thomas promises to leave Benjamin everything. Before Thomas dies, Benjamin takes him to the lake to watch the sunrise and both men are at peace with the past. When, six months later, the engagement of Miss Hildegarde Moncrief to Mr. Benjamin Button was made known (I say "made known," for General Moncrief declared he would rather fall upon his sword than announce it), the excitement in Baltimore society reached a feverish pitch. The almost forgotten story of Benjamin's birth was remembered and sent out upon the winds of scandal in picaresque and incredible forms. It was said that Benjamin was really the father of Roger Button, that he was his brother who had been in prison for forty years, that he was John Wilkes Booth in disguise—and, finally, that he had two small conical horns sprouting from his head.