首页 >出版文学> Lavengro>第44章

第44章

  ’YourbookofphilosophyintoGerman,sir?’
  ’Yes,sir;mybookofphilosophyintoGerman。Iamnotadrug,sir,inGermanyasGoetheishere,nomoreismybook。IintendtoprintthetranslationatLeipzig,sir;andifitturnsoutaprofitablespeculation,asImakenodoubtitwill,providedthetranslationbewellexecuted,Iwillmakeyousomeremuneration。
  Sir,yourremunerationwillbedeterminedbythesuccessofyourtranslation。’
  ’But,sir-’
  ’Sir,’saidthepublisher,interruptingme,’youhaveheardmyintentions;Iconsiderthatyououghttofeelyourselfhighlygratifiedbymyintentionstowardsyou;itisnotfrequentlythatI
  dealwithawriter,especiallyayoungwriter,asIhavedonewithyou。Andnow,sir,permitmetoinformyouthatIwishtobealone。ThisisSundayafternoon,sir;Inevergotochurch,butI
  aminthehabitofspendingpartofeverySundayafternoonalone-
  profitablyIhope,sir-inmusingonthemagnificenceofnatureandthemoraldignityofman。’
  CHAPTERXXXIV
  Thetwovolumes-Ayoungauthor-Intendededitor-Quintilian-
  Loosemoney。
  ’WHATcan’tbecuredmustbeendured,’and’itishardtokickagainstthepricks。’
  AttheperiodtowhichIhavebroughtmyhistory,IbethoughtmeoftheproverbswithwhichIhaveheadedthischapter,anddeterminedtoactuptotheirspirit。Ideterminednottoflyinthefaceofthepublisher,andtobear-whatIcouldnotcure-hisarroganceandvanity。Atpresent,attheconclusionofnearlyaquarterofacentury,IamgladthatIcametothatdetermination,whichIdidmybesttocarryintoeffect。
  Twoorthreedaysafterourlastinterview,thepublishermadehisappearanceinmyapartment;heboretwotatteredvolumesunderhisarm,whichheplacedonthetable。’Ihavebroughtyoutwovolumesoflives,sir,’saidhe,’whichIyesterdayfoundinmygarret;youwillfindthemofserviceforyourcompilation。AsIalwayswishtobehaveliberallyandencouragetalent,especiallyyouthfultalent,Ishallmakenochargeforthem,thoughIshouldbejustifiedinsodoing,asyouareawarethat,byouragreement,youaretoprovideanybooksandmaterialswhichmaybenecessary。
  Haveyoubeeninquestofany?’
  ’No,’saidI,’notyet。’
  ’Then,sir,Iwouldadviseyoutolosenotimeindoingso;youmustvisitallthebookstalls,sir,especiallythoseintheby-
  streetsandblindalleys。Itisinsuchplacesthatyouwillfindthedescriptionofliteratureyouareinwantof。Youmustbeupanddoing,sir;itwillnotdoforanauthor,especiallyayoungauthor,tobeidleinthistown。To-nightyouwillreceivemybookofphilosophy,andlikewisebooksfortheReview。And,bythebye,sir,itwillbeaswellforyoutoreviewmybookofphilosophyfortheReview;theotherreviewsnothavingnoticedit。Sir,beforetranslatingit,IwishyoutoreviewmybookofphilosophyfortheReview。’
  ’Ishallbehappytodomybest,sir。’
  ’Verygood,sir;Ishouldbeunreasonabletoexpectanythingbeyondaperson’sbest。Andnow,sir,ifyouplease,IwillconductyoutothefutureeditoroftheReview。Asyouaretoco-operate,sir,Ideemitrighttomakeyouacquainted。’
  Theintendededitorwasalittleoldman,whosatinakindofwoodenpavilioninasmallgardenbehindahouseinoneofthepurlieusofthecity,composingtunesuponapiano。Thewallsofthepavilionwerecoveredwithfiddlesofvarioussizesandappearances,andaconsiderableportionoftheflooroccupiedbyapileofbooksallofonesize。Thepublisherintroducedhimtomeasagentlemanscarcelylesseminentinliteraturethaninmusic,andmetohimasanaspirantcritic-ayounggentlemanscarcelylesseminentinphilosophythaninphilology。Theconversationconsistedentirelyofcomplimentstilljustbeforeweseparated,whenthefutureeditorinquiredofmewhetherIhadeverreadQuintilian;and,onmyreplyinginthenegative,expressedhissurprisethatanygentlemanshouldaspiretobecomeacriticwhohadneverreadQuintilian,withthecomfortableinformation,however,thathecouldsupplymewithaQuintilianathalf-price,thatis,atranslationmadebyhimselfsomeyearspreviously,ofwhichhehad,pointingtotheheaponthefloor,stillafewcopiesremainingunsold。Forsomereasonorother,perhapsapoorone,I
  didnotpurchasetheeditor’stranslationofQuintilian。
  ’Sir,’saidthepublisher,aswewerereturningfromourvisittotheeditor,’youdidrightinnotpurchasingadrug。Iamnotprepared,sir,tosaythatQuintilianisadrug,neverhavingseenhim;butIampreparedtosaythatman’stranslationisadrug,judgingfromtheheapofrubbishonthefloor;besides,sir,youwillwantanyloosemoneyyoumayhavetopurchasethedescriptionofliteraturewhichisrequiredforyourcompilation。’
  Thepublisherpresentlypausedbeforetheentranceofaveryforlorn-lookingstreet。’Sir,’saidhe,afterlookingdownitwithattention,’Ishouldnotwonderifinthatstreetyoufindworksconnectedwiththedescriptionofliteraturewhichisrequiredforyourcompilation。Itisinstreetsofthisdescription,sir,andblindalleys,wheresuchworksaretobefound。Youhadbettersearchthatstreet,sir,whilstIcontinuemyway。’
  Isearchedthestreettowhichthepublisherhadpointed,and,inthecourseofthethreesucceedingdays,manyothersofasimilarkind。Ididnotfindthedescriptionofliteraturealludedtobythepublishertobeadrug,but,onthecontrary,bothscarceanddear。IhadexpendedmuchmorethanmyloosemoneylongbeforeI
  couldprocurematerialsevenforthefirstvolumeofmycompilation。
  CHAPTERXXXV
  FrancisArdry-Certainsharpers-Braveandeloquent-Opposites-
  Flingingthebones-Strangeplaces-Dog-fighting-Learningandletters-Batchofdogs-Redoubledapplication。
  ONEeveningIwasvisitedbythetallyounggentleman,FrancisArdry,whoseacquaintanceIhadformedatthecoffee-house。Asitisnecessarythatthereadershouldknowsomethingmoreaboutthisyoungman,whowillfrequentlyappearinthecourseofthesepages,Iwillstateinafewwordswhoandwhathewas。HewasbornofanancientRomanCatholicfamilyinIreland;hisparents,whoseonlychildhewas,hadlongbeendead。Hisfather,whohadsurvivedhismotherseveralyears,hadbeenaspendthrift,andathisdeathhadleftthefamilypropertyconsiderablyembarrassed。Happily,however,thesonandtheestatefellintothehandsofcarefulguardians,nearrelationsofthefamily,bywhomthepropertywasmanagedtothebestadvantage,andeverymeanstakentoeducatetheyoungmaninamannersuitabletohisexpectations。AttheageofsixteenhewastakenfromacelebratedschoolinEnglandatwhichhehadbeenplaced,andsenttoasmallFrenchuniversity,inorderthathemightformanintimateandaccurateacquaintancewiththegrandlanguageofthecontinent。Therehecontinuedthreeyears,attheendofwhichhewentunderthecareofaFrenchabbetoGermanyandItaly。Itwasinthislattercountrythathefirstbegantocausehisguardiansseriousuneasiness。HewasintheheydayofyouthwhenhevisitedItaly,andheenteredwildlyintothevariousdelightsofthatfascinatingregion,and,whatwasworse,fallingintothehandsofcertainsharpers,notItalian,butEnglish,hewasfleecedofconsiderablesumsofmoney。Theabbe,who,itseems,wasanexcellentindividualoftheoldFrenchschool,remonstratedwithhispupilonhisdissipationandextravagance;but,findinghisremonstrancesvain,veryproperlyinformedtheguardiansofthemanneroflifeofhischarge。TheywerenotslowincommandingFrancisArdryhome;and,ashewasentirelyintheirpower,hewasforcedtocomply。HehadbeenaboutthreemonthsinLondonwhenImethiminthecoffee-room,andthetwoelderlygentlemeninhiscompanywerehisguardians。Atthistimetheywereverysolicitousthatheshouldchooseforhimselfaprofession,offeringtohischoiceeitherthearmyorlaw-hewascalculatedtoshineineitheroftheseprofessions-for,likemanyothersofhiscountrymen,hewasbraveandeloquent;buthedidnotwishtoshacklehimselfwithaprofession。As,however,hisminoritydidnotterminatetillhewasthree-and-twenty,ofwhichagehewantednearlytwoyears,duringwhichhewouldbeentirelydependentonhisguardians,hedeemeditexpedienttoconceal,toacertaindegree,hissentiments,temporisingwiththeoldgentlemen,withwhom,notwithstandinghismanyirregularities,hewasagreatfavourite,andatwhosedeathheexpectedtocomeintoayetgreaterpropertythanthatwhichheinheritedfromhisparents。
  SuchisabriefaccountofFrancisArdry-ofmyfriendFrancisArdry;fortheacquaintance,commencedinthesingularmannerwithwhichthereaderisacquainted,speedilyripenedintoafriendshipwhichenduredthroughmanylongyearsofseparation,andwhichstillendurescertainlyonmypart,andonhis-ifhelives;butitismanyyearssinceIhaveheardfromFrancisArdry。
  Andyetmanypeoplewouldhavethoughtitimpossibleforourfriendshiptohavelastedaweek-forinmanyrespectsnotwopeoplecouldbemoredissimilar。HewasanIrishman-I,anEnglishman;-he,fiery,enthusiastic,andopen-hearted;I,neitherfiery,enthusiastic,noropen-hearted;-he,fondofpleasureanddissipation;I,ofstudyandreflection。Yetitisofsuchdissimilarelementsthatthemostlastingfriendshipsareformed:
  wedonotlikecounterpartsofourselves。’Twogreattalkerswillnottravelfartogether,’isaSpanishsaying;Iwilladd,’Nortwosilentpeople’;wenaturallyloveouropposites。
  SoFrancisArdrycametoseeme,andrightgladIwastoseehim,forIhadjustflungmybooksandpapersaside,andwaswishingforalittlesocialconverse;andwhenwehadconversedforsomelittletimetogether,FrancisArdryproposedthatweshouldgototheplaytoseeKean;sowewenttotheplay,andsaw-notKean,whoatthattimewasashamedtoshowhimself,but-amanwhowasnotashamedtoshowhimself,andwhopeoplesaidwasamuchbettermanthanKean-asIhavenodoubthewas-thoughwhetherhewasabetteractorIcannotsay,forIneversawKean。
  TwoorthreeeveningsafterFrancisArdrycametoseemeagain,andagainwewentouttogether,andFrancisArdrytookmeto-shallI