首页 >出版文学> Lavengro>第42章

第42章

  ’Lor!don’tyouknow,dear?Why,atannerissixpence;and,asyouweretalkingjustnowaboutcrowns,itwillbeaswelltotellyouthatthoseofourtradenevercallsthemcrowns,butbulls;butI
  amtalkingnonsense,justasifyoudidnotknowallthatalready,aswellasmyself;youareonlyshamming-I’mnotrap,dear,normorewastheblessedwomaninthebook。Thankyou,dear-thankyouforthetanner;ifIdon’tspendit,I’llkeepitinremembranceofyoursweetface。What,youaregoing?-well,firstletmewhisperawordtoyou。Ifyouhaveanycliestosellatanytime,I’llbuythemofyou;allsafewithme;Ineverpeach,andscoresatrap;sonow,dear,Godblessyou!andgiveyougoodluck。
  Thankyouforyourpleasantcompany,andthankyouforthetanner。’
  CHAPTERXXXII
  Thetanner-Thehotel-Drinkingclaret-Londonjournal-Newfield-Commonplaceness-Thethreeindividuals-Botheration-
  Frankandardent。
  ’TANNER!’saidImusingly,asIleftthebridge;’Tanner!whatcanthemanwhocuresrawskinsbymeansofapreparationofoakbarkandothermaterialshavetodowiththenamewhichthesefakers,astheycallthemselves,bestowonthesmallestsilvercoininthesedominions?Tanner!Ican’ttracetheconnectionbetweenthemanofbarkandthesilvercoin,unlessjourneymentannersareinthehabitofworkingforsixpenceaday。ButIhaveit,’Icontinued,flourishingmyhatovermyhead,’tanner,inthisinstance,isnotanEnglishword。’IsitnotsurprisingthatthelanguageofMr。
  PetulengroandofTawnoChiknoiscontinuallycomingtomyassistancewheneverIappeartobeatanonpluswithrespecttothederivationofcrabbedwords?IhavemadeoutcrabbedwordsinAEschylusbymeansofthespeechofChiknoandPetulengro,andeveninmyBiblicalresearchesIhavederivednoslightassistancefromit。Itappearstobeakindofpicklock,anopensesame,Tanner-
  Tawno!theoneisbutamodificationoftheother;theywereoriginallyidentical,andhavestillmuchthesamesignification。
  Tanner,inthelanguageoftheapple-woman,meaneththesmallestofEnglishsilvercoins;andTawno,inthelanguageofthePetulengres,thoughbestoweduponthebiggestoftheRomans,accordingtostrictinterpretationsignifiethalittlechild。
  SoIleftthebridge,retracingmystepsforaconsiderableway,asIthoughtIhadseenenoughinthedirectioninwhichIhadhithertobeenwandering;IshouldsaythatIscarcelywalkedlessthanthirtymilesaboutthebigcityonthedayofmyfirstarrival。Nightcameon,butstillIwaswalkingabout,myeyeswideopen,andadmiringeverythingthatpresenteditselftothem。
  Everythingwasnewtome,foreverythingisdifferentinLondonfromwhatitiselsewhere-thepeople,theirlanguage,thehorses,theTOUTENSEMBLE-eventhestonesofLondonaredifferentfromothers-atleastitappearedtomethatIhadneverwalkedwiththesamecaseandfacilityontheflagstonesofacountrytownasonthoseofLondon;soIcontinuedrovingabouttillnightcameon,andthenthesplendourofsomeoftheshopsparticularlystruckme。
  ’AregularArabianNightsentertainment!’saidI,asIlookedintooneonCornhill,gorgeouswithpreciousmerchandise,andlightedupwithlustres,theraysofwhichwerereflectedfromahundredmirrors。
  But,notwithstandingtheexcellenceoftheLondonpavement,Ibeganaboutnineo’clocktofeelmyselfthoroughlytired;painfullyandslowlydidIdragmyfeetalong。Ialsofeltverymuchinwantofsomerefreshment,andIrememberedthatsincebreakfastIhadtakennothing。IwasnowintheStrand,and,glancingabout,IperceivedthatIwasclosebyanhotel,whichboreoverthedoorthesomewhatremarkablenameofHolyLands。Withoutamoment’shesitationI
  enteredawell-lightedpassage,and,turningtotheleft,Ifoundmyselfinawell-lightedcoffee-room,withawell-dressedandfrizzledwaiterbeforeme,’Bringmesomeclaret,’saidI,forI
  wasratherfaintthanhungry,andIfeltashamedtogiveahumblerordertosowell-dressedanindividual。Thewaiterlookedatmeforamoment;then,makingalowbow,hebustledoff,andIsatmyselfdownintheboxnearesttothewindow。Presentlythewaiterreturned,bearingbeneathhisleftarmalongbottle,andbetweenthefingersofhisrighthandtwolargepurpleglasses;placingthelatteronthetable,heproducedacorkscrew,drewthecorkinatwinkling,setthebottledownbeforemewithabang,andthen,standingstill,appearedtowatchmymovements。YouthinkIdon’tknowhowtodrinkaglassofclaret,thoughtItomyself。I’llsoonshowyouhowwedrinkclaretwhereIcomefrom;and,fillingoneoftheglassestothebrim,Iflickereditforamomentbetweenmyeyesandthelustre,andthenheldittomynose;havinggiventhatorganfulltimetotestthebouquetofthewine,Iappliedtheglasstomylips,takingalargemouthfulofthewine,whichI
  swallowedslowlyandbydegrees,thatthepalatemightlikewisehaveanopportunityofperformingitsfunctions。AsecondmouthfulIdisposedofmoresummarily;then,placingtheemptyglassuponthetable,Ifixedmyeyesuponthebottle,andsaid-nothing;
  whereuponthewaiter,whohadbeenobservingthewholeprocesswithconsiderableattention,mademeabowyetmorelowthanbefore,and,turningonhisheel,retiredwithasmartchuckofhishead,asmuchastosay,Itisallright:theyoungmanisusedtoclaret。
  AndwhenthewaiterhadretiredItookasecondglassofthewine,whichIfoundexcellent;and,observinganewspaperlyingnearme,Itookitupandbeganperusingit。Ithasbeenobservedsomewherethatpeoplewhoareinthehabitofreadingnewspaperseverydayarenotunfrequentlystruckwiththeexcellenceofstyleandgeneraltalentwhichtheydisplay。Now,ifthatbethecase,howmustIhavebeensurprised,whowasreadinganewspaperforthefirsttime,andthatoneofthebestoftheLondonjournals!Yes,strangeasitmayseem,itwasneverthelesstruethat,uptothemomentofwhichIamspeaking,Ihadneverreadanewspaperofanydescription。Iofcoursehadfrequentlyseenjournals,andevenhandledthem;but,asforreadingthem,whatweretheytome?I
  carednotfornews。ButhereIwasnowwithmyclaretbeforeme,perusing,perhaps,thebestofalltheLondonjournals;itwasnotthe-,andIwasastonished:anentirelynewfieldofliteratureappearedtobeopenedtomyview。Itwasadiscovery,butI
  confessratheranunpleasantone;forIsaidtomyself,IfliterarytalentissoverycommoninLondon,thatthejournals,thingswhich,astheirverynamedenotes,areephemeral,arewritteninastylelikethearticleIhavebeenperusing,howcanIhopetodistinguishmyselfinthisbigtown,when,forthelifeofme,I
  don’tthinkIcouldwriteanythinghalfsocleveraswhatIhavebeenreading?AndthenIlaiddownthepaper,andfellintodeepmusing;rousingmyselffromwhich,Itookaglassofwine,and,pouringoutanother,beganmusingagain。WhatIhavebeenreading,thoughtI,iscertainlyverycleverandverytalented;buttalentandclevernessIthinkIhaveheardsomeonesayareverycommonplacethings,onlyfittedforeverydayoccasions。IquestionwhetherthemanwhowrotethebookIsawthisdayonthebridgewasacleverman;but,afterall,washenotsomethingmuchbetter?I
  don’tthinkhecouldhavewrittenthisarticle,butthenhewrotethebookwhichIsawonthebridge。Then,ifhecouldnothavewrittenthearticleonwhichInowholdmyforefinger-andIdonotbelievehecould-whyshouldIfeeldiscouragedattheconsciousnessthatI,too,couldnotwriteit?Icertainlycouldnomorehavewrittenthearticlethanhecould;butthen,likehim,thoughIwouldnotcomparemyselftothemanwhowrotethebookI
  sawuponthebridge,IthinkIcould-andhereIemptiedtheglassofclaret-writesomethingbetter。
  ThereuponIresumedthenewspaper;and,asIwasbeforestruckwiththefluencyofstyleandthegeneraltalentwhichitdisplayed,I
  wasnowequallysowithitscommonplacenessandwantoforiginalityoneverysubject;anditwasevidenttomethat,whateveradvantagethesenewspaper-writersmighthaveovermeinsomepoints,theyhadneverstudiedtheWelshbards,translatedKaempeViser,orbeenunderthepupilageofMr。PetulengroandTawnoChikno。
  AndasIsatconningthenewspaperthreeindividualsenteredtheroom,andseatedthemselvesintheboxatthefartherendofwhichIwas。Theywereallthreeverywelldressed;twoofthemelderlygentlemen,thethirdayoungmanaboutmyownage,orperhapsayearortwoolder:theycalledforcoffee;and,aftertwoorthreeobservations,thetwoeldestcommencedaconversationinFrench,which,however,thoughtheyspokeitfluentlyenough,Iperceivedatoncewasnottheirnativelanguage;theyoungman,however,tooknopartintheirconversation,andwhentheyaddressedaportiontohim,whichindeedwasbutrarely,merelyrepliedbyamonosyllable。
  Ihaveneverbeenalistener,andIpaidbutlittleheedtotheirdiscourse,norindeedtothemselves;asIoccasionallylookedup,however,Icouldperceivethatthefeaturesoftheyoungman,whochancedtobeseatedexactlyoppositetome,woreanairofconstraintandvexation。ThiscircumstancecausedmetoobservehimmoreparticularlythanIotherwiseshouldhavedone:hisfeatureswerehandsomeandprepossessing;hehaddarkbrownhairandahigh-archedforehead。Afterthelapseofhalfanhour,thetwoelderindividuals,havingfinishedtheircoffee,calledforthewaiter,andthenroseasiftodepart,theyoungman,however,stillremainingseatedinthebox。Theothers,havingreachedthedoor,turnedround,and,findingthattheyouthdidnotfollowthem,oneofthemcalledtohimwithatoneofsomeauthority;
  whereupontheyoungmanrose,and,pronouncinghalfaudiblytheword’botheration,’roseandfollowedthem。Inowobservedthathewasremarkablytall。Allthreeleftthehouse。Inabouttenminutes,findingnothingmoreworthreadinginthenewspaper,I
  laiditdown,andthoughtheclaretwasnotyetexhausted,Iwasthinkingofbetakingmyselftomylodgings,andwasabouttocallthewaiter,whenIheardastepinthepassage,andinanothermomentthetallyoungmanenteredtheroom,advancedtothesamebox,and,sittingdownnearlyoppositetome,againpronouncedtohimself,butmoreaudiblythanbefore,thesameword。
  ’Atroublesomeworldthis,sir,’saidI,lookingathim。
  ’Yes,’saidtheyoungman,lookingfixedlyatme;’butIamafraidwebringmostofourtroublesonourownheads-atleastIcansaysoofmyself,’headded,laughing。Then,afterapause,’Ibegpardon,’hesaid,’butamInotaddressingoneofmyowncountry?’
  ’Ofwhatcountryareyou?’saidI。
  ’Ireland。’