the magic skin-第5章
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a jealous blade; as he saw a mediaeval dagger with a hilt wrought like
lace; and spots of rust like splashes of blood upon it。
India and its religions took the shape of the idol with his peaked cap
of fantastic form; with little bells; clad in silk and gold。 Close by;
a mat; as pretty as the bayadere who once lay upon it; still gave out
a faint scent of sandal wood。 His fancy was stirred by a goggle…eyed
Chinese monster; with mouth awry and twisted limbs; the invention of a
people who; grown weary of the monotony of beauty; found an
indescribable pleasure in an infinite variety of ugliness。 A salt…
cellar from Benvenuto Cellini's workshop carried him back to the
Renaissance at its height; to the time when there was no restraint on
art or morals; when torture was the sport of sovereigns; and from
their councils; churchmen with courtesans' arms about them issued
decrees of chastity for simple priests。
On a cameo he saw the conquests of Alexander; the massacres of Pizarro
in a matchbox; and religious wars disorderly; fanatical; and cruel; in
the shadows of a helmet。 Joyous pictures of chivalry were called up by
a suit of Milanese armor; brightly polished and richly wrought; a
paladin's eyes seemed to sparkle yet under the visor。
This sea of inventions; fashions; furniture; works of art and fiascos;
made for him a poem without end。 Shapes and colors and projects all
lived again for him; but his mind received no clear and perfect
conception。 It was the poet's task to complete the sketches of the
great master; who had scornfully mingled on his palette the hues of
the numberless vicissitudes of human life。 When the world at large at
last released him; when he had pondered over many lands; many epochs;
and various empires; the young man came back to the life of the
individual。 He impersonated fresh characters; and turned his mind to
details; rejecting the life of nations as a burden too overwhelming
for a single soul。
Yonder was a sleeping child modeled in wax; a relic of Ruysch's
collection; an enchanting creation which brought back the happiness of
his own childhood。 The cotton garment of a Tahitian maid next
fascinated him; he beheld the primitive life of nature; the real
modesty of naked chastity; the joys of an idleness natural to mankind;
a peaceful fate by a slow river of sweet water under a plantain tree
that bears its pleasant manna without the toil of man。 Then all at
once he became a corsair; investing himself with the terrible poetry
that Lara has given to the part: the thought came at the sight of the
mother…of…pearl tints of a myriad sea…shells; and grew as he saw
madrepores redolent of the sea…weeds and the storms of the Atlantic。
The sea was forgotten again at a distant view of exquisite miniatures;
he admired a precious missal in manuscript; adorned with arabesques in
gold and blue。 Thoughts of peaceful life swayed him; he devoted
himself afresh to study and research; longing for the easy life of the
monk; devoid alike of cares and pleasures; and from the depths of his
cell he looked out upon the meadows; woods; and vineyards of his
convent。 Pausing before some work of Teniers; he took for his own the
helmet of the soldier or the poverty of the artisan; he wished to wear
a smoke…begrimed cap with these Flemings; to drink their beer and join
their game at cards; and smiled upon the comely plumpness of a peasant
woman。 He shivered at a snowstorm by Mieris; he seemed to take part in
Salvator Rosa's battle…piece; he ran his fingers over a tomahawk form
Illinois; and felt his own hair rise as he touched a Cherokee
scalping…knife。 He marveled over the rebec that he set in the hands of
some lady of the land; drank in the musical notes of her ballad; and
in the twilight by the gothic arch above the hearth he told his love
in a gloom so deep that he could not read his answer in her eyes。
He caught at all delights; at all sorrows; grasped at existence in
every form; and endowed the phantoms conjured up from that inert and
plastic material so liberally with his own life and feelings; that the
sound of his own footsteps reached him as if from another world; or as
the hum of Paris reaches the towers of Notre Dame。
He ascended the inner staircase which led to the first floor; with its
votive shields; panoplies; carved shrines; and figures on the wall at
every step。 Haunted by the strangest shapes; by marvelous creations
belonging to the borderland betwixt life and death; he walked as if
under the spell of a dream。 His own existence became a matter of doubt
to him; he was neither wholly alive nor dead; like the curious objects
about him。 The light began to fade as he reached the show…rooms; but
the treasures of gold and silver heaped up there scarcely seemed to
need illumination from without。 The most extravagant whims of
prodigals; who have run through millions to perish in garrets; had
left their traces here in this vast bazar of human follies。 Here;
beside a writing desk; made at the cost of 100;000 francs; and sold
for a hundred pence; lay a lock with a secret worth a king's ransom。
The human race was revealed in all the grandeur of its wretchedness;
in all the splendor of its infinite littleness。 An ebony table that an
artist might worship; carved after Jean Goujon's designs; in years of
toil; had been purchased perhaps at the price of firewood。 Precious
caskets; and things that fairy hands might have fashioned; lay there
in heaps like rubbish。
〃You must have the worth of millions here!〃 cried the young man as he
entered the last of an immense suite of rooms; all decorated and gilt
by eighteenth century artists。
〃Thousands of millions; you might say;〃 said the florid shopman; 〃but
you have seen nothing as yet。 Go up to the third floor; and you shall
see!〃
The stranger followed his guide to a fourth gallery; where one by one
there passed before his wearied eyes several pictures by Poussin; a
magnificent statue by Michael Angelo; enchanting landscapes by Claude
Lorraine; a Gerard Dow (like a stray page from Sterne); Rembrandts;
Murillos; and pictures by Velasquez; as dark and full of color as a
poem of Byron's; then came classic bas…reliefs; finely…cut agates;
wonderful cameos! Works of art upon works of art; till the craftsman's
skill palled on the mind; masterpiece after masterpiece till art
itself became hateful at last and enthusiasm died。 He came upon a
Madonna by Raphael; but he was tired of Raphael; a figure by Correggio
never received the glance it demanded of him。 A priceless vase of
antique porphyry carved round about with pictures of the most
grotesquely wanton of Roman divinities; the pride of some Corinna;
scarcely drew a smile from him。
The ruins of fifteen hundred vanished years oppressed him; he sickened
under all this human thought; felt bored by all this luxury and art。
He struggled in vain against the constantly renewed fantastic shapes
that sprang up from under his feet; like children of some sportive
demon。
Are not fearful poisons set up in the soul by a swift concentration of
all her energies; her enjoyments; or ideas; as modern chemistry; in
its caprice; repeats the action of creation by some gas or other? Do
not many men perish under the shock of the sudden expansion of some
moral acid within them?
〃What is there in that box?〃 he inquired; as he reached a large closet
final triumph of human skill; originality; wealth; and splendor; in
which there hung a large; square mahogany coffer; suspended from a
nail by a silver chain。
〃Ah; monsieur keeps the key of it;〃 said the stout assistant
mysteriously。 〃If you wish to see the portrait; I will gladly venture
to tell him。〃
〃Venture!〃 said the young man; 〃then is your master a prince?〃
〃I don't know what he is;〃 the other answered。 Equally astonished;
each looked for a moment at the other。 Then construing the stranger's
silence as an order; the app