The Rise Of Silas Lapham By William Dean Howells Part 1, William Dean Howells [the red fox clan txt] 📗

I Guess She'S Got

About As Much Culture As Any Of Them.  Don'T You?"

 

"She Reads A Great Deal," Admitted her Mother.  "She Seems

To Be At It The Whole While.  I Don'T Want She Should

Injure Her Health,  And Sometimes I Feel Like Snatchin'

The Books Away From Her.  I Don'T Know As It'S Good

For A Girl To Read So Much,  Anyway,  Especially Novels.

I Don'T Want She Should Get Notions."

 

"Oh,  I Guess Pen'Ll Know How To Take Care Of Herself,"

Said Lapham.

 

"She'S Got Sense Enough.  But She Ain'T So Practical

As Irene.  She'S More Up In the Clouds--More Of What You

May Call A Dreamer.  Irene'S Wide-Awake Every Minute;

And I Declare,  Any One To See These Two Together When

There'S Anything to Be Done,  Or Any Lead To Be Taken,

Would Say Irene Was The Oldest,  Nine Times Out Of Ten.

It'S Only When They Get To Talking that You Can See Pen'S Got

Twice As Much Brains."

 

"Well," Said Lapham,  Tacitly Granting this Point,

And Leaning back In his Chair In supreme Content.

"Did You Ever See Much Nicer Girls Anywhere?"

 

His Wife Laughed at His Pride.  "I Presume They'Re As Much

Swans As Anybody'S Geese."

 

"No; But Honestly,  Now!"

 

"Oh,  They'Ll Do; But Don'T You Be Silly,  If You Can

Help It,  Si."

 

The Young People Came In,  And Corey Said It Was Time For

His Boat.  Mrs. Lapham Pressed him To Stay,  But He Persisted,

And He Would Not Let The Colonel Send Him To The Boat;

He Said He Would Rather Walk.  Outside,  He Pushed along Toward

The Boat,  Which Presently He Could See Lying at Her Landing

In The Bay,  Across The Sandy Tract To The Left Of The Hotels.

From Time To Time He Almost Stopped in his Rapid Walk,

As A Man Does Whose Mind Is In a Pleasant Tumult; And Then

He Went Forward At A Swifter Pace.  "She'S Charming!"

He Said,  And He Thought He Had Spoken Aloud. 

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He Found Himself Floundering about In the Deep Sand,

Wide Of The Path; He Got Back To It,  And Reached the Boat

Just Before She Started.  The Clerk Came To Take His Fare,

And Corey Looked radiantly Up At Him In his Lantern-Light,

With A Smile That He Must Have Been Wearing a Long Time;

His Cheek Was Stiff With It.  Once Some People Who Stood

Near Him Edged suddenly And Fearfully Away,  And Then He

Suspected himself Of Having laughed outright.

 

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Corey Put Off His Set Smile With The Help Of A Frown,

Of Which He First Became Aware After Reaching home,

When His Father Asked--

 

"Anything gone Wrong With Your Department Of The Fine

Arts To-Day,  Tom?"

 

"Oh No--No,  Sir," Said The Son,  Instantly Relieving

His Brows From The Strain Upon Them,  And Beaming again.

"But I Was Thinking whether You Were Not Perhaps Right

In Your Impression That It Might Be Well For You To Make

Colonel Lapham'S Acquaintance Before A Great While."

 

"Has He Been Suggesting it In any Way?" Asked bromfield Corey,

Laying aside His Book And Taking his Lean Knee Between

His Clasped hands.

 

"Oh,  Not At All!" The Young Man Hastened to Reply.

"I Was Merely Thinking whether It Might Not Begin To

Seem Intentional,  Your Not Doing it."

 

"Well,  Tom,  You Know I Have Been Leaving it Altogether

To You----"

 

"Oh,  I Understand,  Of Course,  And I Didn'T Mean To Urge

Anything of The Kind----"

 

"You Are So Very Much More Of A Bostonian Than I Am,  You Know,

That I'Ve Been Waiting your Motion In entire Confidence

That You Would Know Just What To Do,  And When To Do It.

If I Had Been Left Quite To My Own Lawless Impulses,

I Think I Should Have Called upon Your Padrone At Once.

It Seems To Me That My Father Would Have Found Some Way Of

Showing that He Expected as Much As That From People Placed

In The Relation To Him That We Hold To Colonel Lapham."

 

"Do You Think So?" Asked the Young Man.

 

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"Yes. But You Know I Don'T Pretend To Be An Authority

In Such Matters.  As Far As They Go,  I Am Always

In The Hands Of Your Mother And You Children."

 

"I'M Very Sorry,  Sir.  I Had No Idea I Was Over-Ruling

Your Judgment.  I Only Wanted to Spare You A Formality

That Didn'T Seem Quite A Necessity Yet.  I'M Very Sorry,"

He Said Again,  And This Time With More Comprehensive Regret.

"I Shouldn'T Like To Have Seemed remiss With A Man Who Has

Been So Considerate Of Me.  They Are All Very Good-Natured."

 

"I Dare Say," Said Bromfield Corey,  With The Satisfaction

Which No Elder Can Help Feeling in disabling the Judgment

Of A Younger Man,  "That It Won'T Be Too Late If I Go

Down To Your Office With You To-Morrow."

 

"No,  No.  I Didn'T Imagine Your Doing it At Once,  Sir."

 

"Ah,  But Nothing can Prevent Me From Doing a Thing

When Once I Take The Bit In my Teeth," Said The Father,

With The Pleasure Which Men Of Weak Will Sometimes Take

In Recognising their Weakness.  "How Does Their New House

Get On?"

 

"I Believe They Expect To Be In it Before New Year."

 

"Will They Be A Great Addition To Society?"

Asked bromfield Corey,  With Unimpeachable Seriousness.

 

"I Don'T Quite Know What You Mean," Returned the Son,

A Little Uneasily.

 

"Ah,  I See That You Do,  Tom."

 

"No One Can Help Feeling that They Are All People Of Good

Sense And--Right Ideas."

 

"Oh,  That Won'T Do.  If Society Took In all The People

Of Right Ideas And Good Sense,  It Would Expand Beyond

The Calling capacity Of Its Most Active Members.

Even Your Mother'S Social Conscientiousness Could Not

Compass It.  Society Is A Very Different Sort Of Thing

From Good Sense And Right Ideas.  It Is Based upon Them,

Of Course,  But The Airy,  Graceful,  Winning superstructure

Which We All Know Demands Different Qualities.

Have Your Friends Got These Qualities,--Which May Be Felt,

But Not Defined?"

 

The Son Laughed.  "To Tell You The Truth,  Sir,  I Don'T

Think They Have The Most Elemental Ideas Of Society,

As We Understand It.  I Don'T Believe Mrs. Lapham Ever

Gave A Dinner."

 

"And With All That Money!" Sighed the Father.

 

"I Don'T Believe They Have The Habit Of Wine At Table.

I Suspect That When They Don'T Drink Tea And Coffee With

Their Dinner,  They Drink Ice-Water."

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"Horrible!" Said Bromfield Corey.

 

"It Appears To Me That This Defines Them."

 

"Oh Yes.  There Are People Who Give Dinners,  And Who Are

Not Cognoscible.  But People Who Have Never Yet Given

A Dinner,  How Is Society To Assimilate Them?"

 

"It Digests A Great Many People," Suggested the Young Man.

 

"Yes; But They Have Always Brought Some Sort Of Sauce

Piquante With Them.  Now,  As I Understand You,

These Friends Of Yours Have No Such Sauce."

 

"Oh,  I Don'T Know About That!" Cried the Son.

 

"Oh,  Rude,  Native Flavours,  I Dare Say.  But That Isn'T

What I Mean.  Well,  Then,  They Must Spend.  There Is No

Other Way For Them To Win Their Way To General Regard.

We Must Have The Colonel Elected to The Ten O'Clock Club,

And He Must Put Himself Down In the List Of Those Willing

To Entertain.  Any One Can Manage A Large Supper.  Yes,  I See

A Gleam Of Hope For Him In that Direction."

 

In The Morning bromfield Corey Asked his Son Whether He

Should Find Lapham At His Place As Early As Eleven.

 

"I Think You Might Find Him Even Earlier.  I'Ve Never

Been There Before Him.  I Doubt If The Porter Is There

Much Sooner."

 

"Well,  Suppose I Go With You,  Then?"

 

"Why,  If You Like,  Sir," Said The Son,  With Some Deprecation.

 

"Oh,  The Question Is,  Will He Like?"

 

"I Think He Will,  Sir;" And The Father Could See That

His Son Was Very Much Pleased.

 

Lapham Was Rending an Impatient Course Through The Morning'S

News When They Appeared at The Door Of His Inner Room.

He Looked up From The Newspaper Spread On The Desk Before Him,

And Then He Stood Up,  Making an Indifferent Feint Of Not

Knowing that He Knew Bromfield Corey By Sight.

 

"Good Morning,  Colonel Lapham," Said The Son,  And Lapham

Waited for Him To Say Further,  "I Wish To Introduce

My Father." Then He Answered,  "Good Morning," And Added

Rather Sternly For The Elder Corey,  "How Do You Do,

Sir? Will You Take A Chair?" And He Pushed him One.

 

They Shook Hands And Sat Down,  And Lapham Said

To His Subordinate,  "Have A Seat;" But Young Corey

Remained standing,  Watching them In their Observance Of

Each Other With An Amusement Which Was A Little Uneasy.

Lapham Made His Visitor Speak First By Waiting for Him To Do So. 

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"I'M Glad To Make Your Acquaintance,  Colonel Lapham,

And I Ought To Have Come Sooner To Do So.  My Father

In Your Place Would Have Expected it Of A Man In my Place

At Once,  I Believe.  But I Can'T Feel Myself