over the teacups-第19章
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to 'the governor' with my verses; if I were you。 For either he will
think what you have written is something wonderful; almost as good as
he could have written himself;in fact; he always did believe in
hereditary genius;or he will pooh…pooh the whole rhyming nonsense;
and tell you that you had a great deal better stick to your business;
and leave all the word…jingling to Mother Goose and her followers。
〃'Show me your verses;' says Horace。 Very good it was in him; and
mighty encouraging the first counsel he gives! 'Keep your poem to
yourself for some eight or ten years; you will have time to look it
over; to correct it and make it fit to present to the public。'
〃'Much obliged for your advice;' says the poor poet; thirsting for a
draught of fame; and offered a handful of dust。 And off he hurries
to the printer; to be sure that his poem comes out in the next number
of the magazine he writes for。〃
〃Is not poetry the natural language of lovers?〃
It was the Tutor who asked this question; and I thought he looked in
the direction of Number Five; as if she might answer his question。
But Number Five stirred her tea devotedly; there was a lump of sugar;
I suppose; that acted like a piece of marble。 So there was a silence
while the lump was slowly dissolving; and it was anybody's chance who
saw fit to take up the conversation。
The voice that broke the silence was not the sweet; winsome one we
were listening for; but it instantly arrested the attention of the
company。 It was the grave; manly voice of one used to speaking; and
accustomed to be listened to with deference。 This was the first time
that the company as a whole had heard it; for the speaker was the
new…comer who has been repeatedly alluded to;the one of whom I
spoke as 〃the Counsellor。〃
〃I think I can tell you something about that;〃 said the Counsellor。
〃I suppose you will wonder how a man of my profession can know or
interest himself about a question so remote from his arid pursuits。
And yet there is hardly one man in a thousand who knows from actual
experience a fraction of what I have learned of the lovers'
vocabulary in my professional experience。 I have; I am sorry to say;
had to take an important part in a great number of divorce cases。
These have brought before me scores and hundreds of letters; in which
every shade of the great passion has been represented。 What has most
struck me in these amatory correspondences has been their remarkable
sameness。 It seems as if writing love…letters reduced all sorts of
people to the same level。 I don't remember whether Lord Bacon has
left us anything in that line;unless; indeed; he wrote Romeo and
Juliet' and the 'Sonnets;' but if he has; I don't believe they differ
so very much from those of his valet or his groom to their respective
lady…loves。 It is always; My darling! my darling! The words of
endearment are the only ones the lover wants to employ; and he finds
the vocabulary too limited for his vast desires。 So his letters are
apt to be rather tedious except to the personage to whom they are
addressed。 As to poetry; it is very common to find it in love…
letters; especially in those that have no love in them。 The letters
of bigamists and polygamists are rich in poetical extracts。
Occasionally; an original spurt in rhyme adds variety to an otherwise
monotonous performance。 I don't think there is much passion in men's
poetry addressed to women。 I agree with The Dictator that poetry is
little more than the ashes of passion; still it may show that the
flame has had its sweep where you find it; unless; indeed; it is
shoveled in from another man's fireplace。〃
〃What do you say to the love poetry of women?〃 asked the Professor。
〃Did ever passion heat words to incandescence as it did those of
Sappho?〃
The Counsellor turned;not to Number Five; as he ought to have done;
according to my programme; but to the Mistress。
〃Madam;〃 he said; 〃your sex is adorable in many ways; but in the
abandon of a genuine love…letter it is incomparable。 I have seen a
string of women's love…letters; in which the creature enlaced herself
about the object of her worship as that South American parasite which
clasps the tree to which it has attached itself; begins with a
slender succulent network; feeds on the trunk; spreads its fingers
out to hold firmly to one branch after another; thickens; hardens;
stretches in every direction; following the boughs;and at length
gets strong enough to hold in its murderous arms; high up in air; the
stump and shaft of the once sturdy growth that was its support and
subsistence。〃
The Counsellor did not say all this quite so formally as I have set
it down here; but in a much easier way。 In fact; it is impossible to
smooth out a conversation from memory without stiffening it; you
can't have a dress shirt look quite right without starching the
bosom。
Some of us would have liked to hear more about those letters in the
divorce cases; but the Counsellor had to leave the table。 He
promised to show us some pictures he has of the South American
parasite。 I have seen them; and I can assure you they are very
curious。
The following verses were found in the urn; or sugar…bowl。
CACOETHES SCRIBENDI。
If all the trees in all the woods were men;
And each and every blade of grass a pen;
If every leaf on every shrub and tree
Turned to a sheet of foolscap; every sea
Were changed to ink; and all earth's living tribes
Had nothing else to do but act as scribes;
And for ten thousand ages; day and night;
The human race should write; and write; and write;
Till all the pens and paper were used up;
And the huge inkstand was an empty cup;
Still would the scribblers clustered round its brim
Call for more pens; more paper; and more ink。
V
〃Dolce; ma non troppo dolce;〃 said the Professor to the Mistress; who
was sweetening his tea。 She always sweetens his and mine for us。 He
has been attending a series of concerts; and borrowed the form of the
directions to the orchestra。 〃Sweet; but not too sweet;〃 he said;
translating the Italian for the benefit of any of the company who
might not be linguists or musical experts。
〃Do you go to those musical hullabaloos?〃 called out Number Seven。
There was something very much like rudeness in this question and the
tone in which it was asked。 But we are used to the outbursts; and
extravagances; and oddities of Number Seven; and do not take offence
at his rough speeches as we should if any other of the company
uttered them。
〃If you mean the concerts that have been going on this season; yes; I
do;〃 said the Professor; in a bland; good…humored way。
〃And do you take real pleasure in the din of all those screeching and
banging and growling instruments?〃
〃Yes;〃 he answered; modestly; 〃I enjoy she brouhaha; if you choose to
consider it such; of all this quarrelsome menagerie of noise…making
machines; brought into order and harmony by the presiding genius; the
leader; who has made a happy family of these snarling stringed
instruments and whining wind instruments; so that although
Linguae centum sent; oraque centum;
notwithstanding there are a hundred vibrating tongues and a hundred
bellowing mouths; their one grand blended and harmonized uproar sets
all my fibres tingling with a not unpleasing tremor。〃
〃Do you understand it? Do you take any idea from it? Do you know
what it all means?〃 said Number Seven。
The Professor was long…suffering under this series of somewhat
peremptory questions。 He replied very placidly; 〃I am afraid I have
but a superficial outside acquaintance with the secrets; the
unfathomable mysteries; of music。 I can no more conceive of the
working conditions of the gre