The Rise Of Silas Lapham By William Dean Howells Part 1 - William Dean Howells (best e reader for academics txt) 📗
- Author: William Dean Howells
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How They Could Endure It. Of Course They Are Fated to Be
Overwhelmed by Oblivion At Last, Poor Fellows; But To See
It Weltering all Round Them While They Are In the Very Act
Of Achieving immortality Must Be Tremendously Discouraging.
I Don'T Suppose That We Who Have The Habit Of Reading,
And At Least A Nodding acquaintance With Literature,
Can Imagine The Bestial Darkness Of The Great Mass Of
People--Even People Whose Houses Are Rich And Whose Linen
Is Purple And Fine. But Occasionally We Get Glimpses Of It.
I Suppose You Found The Latest Publications Lying all About
In Lapham Cottage When You Were Down There?"
Young Corey Laughed. "It Wasn'T Exactly Cumbered with Them."
"No?"
"To Tell The Truth, I Don'T Suppose They Ever Buy Books.
The Young Ladies Get Novels That They Hear Talked of Out
Of The Circulating library."
"Had They Knowledge Enough To Be Ashamed of Their Ignorance?"
"Yes, In certain Ways--To A Certain Degree."
"It'S A Curious Thing, This Thing we Call Civilisation,"
Said The Elder Musingly. "We Think It Is An Affair Of Epochs
And Of Nations. It'S Really An Affair Of Individuals.
One Brother Will Be Civilised and The Other A Barbarian.
I'Ve Occasionally Met Young Girls Who Were So Brutally,
Insolently, Wilfully Indifferent To The Arts Which Make
Civilisation That They Ought To Have Been Clothed in the
Skins Of Wild Beasts And Gone About Barefoot With Clubs
Over Their Shoulders. Yet They Were Of Polite Origin,
And Their Parents Were At Least Respectful Of The Things
That These Young Animals Despised."
"I Don'T Think That Is Exactly The Case With The
Lapham Family," Said The Son, Smiling. "The Father
And Mother Rather Apologised about Not Getting
Time To Read, And The Young Ladies By No Means Scorned it."
"They Are Quite Advanced!"
"They Are Going to Have A Library In their Beacon
Street House."
"Oh, Poor Things! How Are They Ever Going to Get
The Books Together?"
"Well, Sir," Said The Son, Colouring a Little, "I Have
Been Indirectly Applied to For Help."
"You, Tom!" His Father Dropped back In his Chair And Laughed.
"I Recommended the Standard Authors," Said The Son.
"Oh, I Never Supposed your Prudence Would Be At Fault, Tom!"
of 1 Part 9 Pg 99
"But Seriously," Said The Young Man, Generously Smiling
In Sympathy With His Father'S Enjoyment, "They'Re Not
Unintelligent People. They Are Very Quick, And They
Are Shrewd And Sensible."
"I Have No Doubt That Some Of The Sioux Are So. But That
Is Not Saying that They Are Civilised. All Civilisation
Comes Through Literature Now, Especially In our Country.
A Greek Got His Civilisation By Talking and Looking,
And In some Measure A Parisian May Still Do It. But We,
Who Live Remote From History And Monuments, We Must Read Or We
Must Barbarise. Once We Were Softened, If Not Polished,
By Religion; But I Suspect That The Pulpit Counts For Much
Less Now In civilising."
"They'Re Enormous Devourers Of Newspapers, And Theatre-Goers;
And They Go A Great Deal To Lectures. The Colonel
Prefers Them With The Stereopticon."
"They Might Get A Something in that Way," Said The Elder
Thoughtfully. "Yes, I Suppose One Must Take Those Things
Into Account--Especially The Newspapers And The Lectures.
I Doubt If The Theatre Is A Factor In civilisation Among Us.
I Dare Say It Doesn'T Deprave A Great Deal, But From What I'Ve
Seen Of It I Should Say That It Was Intellectually Degrading.
Perhaps They Might Get Some Sort Of Lift From It;
I Don'T Know. Tom!" He Added, After A Moment'S Reflection.
"I Really Think I Ought To See This Patron Of Yours.
Don'T You Think It Would Be Rather Decent In me To Make
His Acquaintance?"
"Well, If You Have The Fancy, Sir," Said The Young Man.
"But There'S No Sort Of Obligation. Colonel Lapham Would
Be The Last Man In the World To Want To Give Our Relation
Any Sort Of Social Character. The Meeting will Come About
In The Natural Course Of Things."
"Ah, I Didn'T Intend To Propose Anything immediate,"
Said The Father. "One Can'T Do Anything in the Summer,
And I Should Prefer Your Mother'S Superintendence.
Still, I Can'T Rid Myself Of The Idea Of A Dinner.
It Appears To Me That There Ought To Be A Dinner."
"Oh, Pray Don'T Feel That There'S Any Necessity."
"Well," Said The Elder, With Easy Resignation, "There'S At
Least No Hurry."
"There Is One Thing i Don'T Like," Said Lapham,
In The Course Of One Of Those Talks Which Came Up
Between His Wife And Himself Concerning corey, "Or At
Least I Don'T Understand It; And That'S The Way His
Father Behaves. I Don'T Want To Force Myself On Any Man;
But It Seems To Me Pretty Queer The Way He Holds Off.
of 1 Part 9 Pg 100I Should Think He Would Take Enough Interest In his
Son To Want To Know Something about His Business.
What Is He Afraid Of?" Demanded lapham Angrily. "Does He
Think I'M Going to Jump At A Chance To Get In with Him,
If He Gives Me One? He'S Mightily Mistaken If He Does.
I Don'T Want To Know Him."
"Silas," Said His Wife, Making a Wife'S Free Version
Of Her Husband'S Words, And Replying to Their Spirit
Rather Than Their Letter, "I Hope You Never Said A Word
To Mr. Corey To Let Him Know The Way You Feel."
"I Never Mentioned his Father To Him!" Roared the Colonel.
"That'S The Way I Feel About It!"
"Because It Would Spoil Everything. I Wouldn'T Have
Them Think We Cared the Least Thing in the World For
Their Acquaintance. We Shouldn'T Be A Bit Better Off.
We Don'T Know The Same People They Do, And We Don'T Care
For The Same Kind Of Things."
Lapham Was Breathless With Resentment Of His Wife'S Implication.
"Don'T I Tell You," He Gasped, "That I Don'T Want To Know
Them? Who Began It? They'Re Friends Of Yours If They'Re Anybody'S."
"They'Re Distant Acquaintances Of Mine," Returned mrs. Lapham
Quietly; "And This Young Corey Is A Clerk Of Yours. And I
Want We Should Hold Ourselves So That When They Get Ready
To Make The Advances We Can Meet Them Half-Way Or Not,
Just As We Choose."
"That'S What Grinds Me," Cried her Husband.
"Why Should We Wait For Them To Make The Advances? Why
Shouldn'T We Make 'Em? Are They Any Better Than We Are?
My Note Of Hand Would Be Worth Ten Times What Bromfield
Corey'S Is On The Street To-Day. And I Made My Money.
I Haven'T Loafed my Life Away."
"Oh, It Isn'T What You'Ve Got, And It Isn'T What You'Ve
Done Exactly. It'S What You Are."
"Well, Then, What'S The Difference?"
"None That Really Amounts To Anything, Or That Need give
You Any Trouble, If You Don'T Think Of It. But He'S
Been All His Life In society, And He Knows Just What To
Say And What To Do, And He Can Talk About The Things
That Society People Like To Talk About, And You--Can'T."
Lapham Gave A Furious Snort. "And Does That Make Him
Any Better?"
"No. But It Puts Him Where He Can Make The Advances
Without Demeaning himself, And It Puts You Where You
Can'T. Now, Look Here, Silas Lapham! You Understand This
Thing as Well As I Do. You Know That I Appreciate You,
And That I'D Sooner Die Than Have You Humble Yourself
To A Living soul. But I'M Not Going to Have You Coming
of 1 Part 9 Pg 101To Me, And Pretending that You Can Meet Bromfield Corey
As An Equal On His Own Ground. You Can'T. He'S Got
A Better Education Than You, And If He Hasn'T Got More
Brains Than You, He'S Got Different. And He And His Wife,
And Their Fathers And Grandfathers Before 'Em, Have Always
Had A High Position, And You Can'T Help It. If You Want
To Know Them, You'Ve Got To Let Them Make The Advances.
If You Don'T, All Well And Good."
"I Guess," Said The Chafed and Vanquished colonel,
After A Moment For Swallowing the Pill, "That They'D
Have Been In a Pretty Fix If You'D Waited to Let Them
Make The Advances Last Summer."
"That Was A Different Thing altogether. I Didn'T
Know Who They Were, Or May Be I Should Have Waited.
But All I Say Now Is That If You'Ve Got Young Corey
Into Business With You, In hopes Of Our Getting into
Society With His Father, You Better Ship Him At Once.
For I Ain'T Going to Have It On That Basis."
"Who Wants To Have It On That Basis?" Retorted her Husband.
"Nobody, If You Don'T," Said Mrs. Lapham Tranquilly.
Irene Had Come Home With The Shaving in her Belt,
Unnoticed by Her Father, And Unquestioned by Her Mother.
But Her Sister Saw It At Once, And Asked her What She Was
Doing with It.
"Oh, Nothing," Said Irene, With A Joyful Smile
Of Self-Betrayal, Taking the Shaving carefully Out,
And Laying it Among The Laces And Ribbons In her Drawer.
"Hadn'T You Better Put It In water, 'Rene? It'Ll Be All
Wilted by Morning," Said Pen.
"You Mean Thing!" Cried the Happy Girl. "It Isn'T A Flower!"
"Oh, I Thought It Was A Whole Bouquet. Who Gave It To You?"
"I Shan'T Tell You," Said Irene Saucily.
"Oh, Well, Never Mind. Did You Know Mr. Corey Had Been
Down Here This Afternoon, Walking on The Beach With Me?"
"He Wasn'T--He Wasn'T At All! He Was At The House With Me.
There! I'Ve Caught You Fairly."
"Is That So?" Drawled penelope. "Then I Never Could
Guess Who Gave You That Precious Shaving."
"No, You Couldn'T!" Said Irene, Flushing beautifully.
"And You May Guess, And You May Guess, And You May Guess!"
With Her Lovely Eyes She Coaxed her Sister To Keep On
Teasing her, And Penelope Continued the Comedy With The
Patience That Women Have For Such Things.
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