Скорбь сатаны/The Tribulation of Satan (Мари Корелли). Страница 152 из 279

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"

I

am

very

glad

,

Miss

Clare

,

that

you

were

not

offended

at

the

article

you

speak

of

.

It

was

rather

strong

I

admit

--

but

you

know

we

can

not

all

be

of

the

same

opinion

...

"

"

Indeed

no

!

"

she

said

quietly

and

with

a

slight

smile

--

"

Such

a

state

of

things

would

make

a

very

dull

world

!

I

assure

you

I

was

not

and

am

not

in

the

least

offended

--

the

critique

was

a

smart

piece

of

writing

,

and

made

not

the

slightest

effect

on

me

or

on

my

book

.

You

remember

what

Shelley

wrote

of

critics

?

No

?

You

will

find

the

passage

in

his

preface

to

'

The

Revolt

of

Islam

,

'

and

it

runs

thus

--

'

I

have

sought

to

write

as

I

believe

that

Homer

,

Shakespeare

,

and

Milton

wrote

,

with

an

utter

disregard

of

anonymous

censure

.

I

am

certain

that

calumny

and

misrepresentation

,

though

it

may

move

me

to

compassion

can

not

disturb

my

peace

.

I

shall

understand

the

expressive

silence

of

those

sagacious

enemies

who

dare

not

trust

themselves

to

speak

.

I

shall

endeavour

to

extract

from

the

midst

of

insult

and

contempt

and

maledictions

,

those

admonitions

which

may

tend

to

correct

whatever

imperfections

such

censurers

may

discern

in

my

appeal

to

the

Public

.

If

certain

Critics

were

as

clear-sighted

as

they

are

malignant

,

how

great

would

be

the

benefit

to

be

derived

from

their

virulent

writings

!

As

it

is

,

I

fear

I

shall

be

malicious

enough

to

be

amused

with

their

paltry

tricks

and

lame

invectives

.

Should

the

public

judge

that

my

composition

is

worthless

,

I

shall

indeed

bow

before

the

tribunal

from

which

Milton

received

his

crown

of

immortality

,

and

shall

seek

to

gather

,

if

I

live

,

strength

from

that

defeat

,

which

may

nerve

me

to

some

new

enterprise

of

thought

which

may

not

be

worthless

!

'

"

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As

she

gave

the

quotation

,

her

eyes

darkened

and

deepened

--

her

face

was

lighted

up

as

by

some

inward

illumination

--

and

I

discovered

the

rich

sweetness

of

the

voice

which

made

the

name

of

'

Mavis

'

suit

her

so

well

"

You

see

I

know

my

Shelley

!

"

she

said

with

a

little

laugh

at

her

own

emotion

--

"

And

those

words

are

particularly

familiar

to

me

,

because

I

have

had

them

painted

up

on

a

panel

in

my

study

.

Just

to

remind

me

,

in

case

I

should

forget

,

what

the

really

great

geniuses

of

the

world

thought

of

criticism

--

because

their

example

is

very

encouraging

and

helpful

to

a

humble

little

worker

like

myself

.

I

am

not

a

press-favourite

--

and

I

never

get

good

reviews

--

but

--

"

and

she

laughed

again

--

"

I

like

my

reviewers

all

the

same

!

If

you

have

finished

your

tea

,

will

you

come

and

see

them

?

"

Come

and

see

them

!

What

did

she

mean

?

She

seemed

delighted

at

my

visible

surprise

,

and

her

cheeks

dimpled

with

merriment

.

"

Come

and

see

them

!

"

she

repeated

--

"

They

generally

expect

me

at

this

hour

!

"

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She

led

the

way

into

the

garden

--

we

followed

--

I

,

in

a

bewildered

confusion

of

mind

,

with

all

my

ideas

respecting

'

unsexed

females

'

and

repulsive

blue-stockings

upset

by

the

unaffected

behaviour

and

charming

frankness

of

this

'

celebrity

'

whose

fame

I

envied

,

and

whose

personality

I

could

not

but

admire

.

With

all

her

intellectual

gifts

she

was

yet

a

lovable

woman

--

ah

Mavis

!

--

how

lovable

and

dear

I

was

destined

in

misery

to

know

!

Mavis

,

Mavis

!

--

I

whisper

your

sweet

name

in

my

solitude

--

I

see

you

in

my

dreams

,

and

kneeling

before

you

I

call

you

Angel

!

--

my

angel

at

the

gate

of

a

lost

Paradise

,

whose

Sword

of

Genius

turning

every

way

,

keeps

me

back

from

all

approach

to

my

forfeited

Tree

of

Life

!

Scarcely

had

we

stepped

out

on

the

lawn

before

an

unpleasant

incident

occurred

which

might

have

ended

dangerously

.

At

his

mistress

's

approach

the

big

St

Bernard

dog

rose

from

the

sunny

corner

where

he

had

been

peacefully

dozing

,

and

prepared

to

greet

her

--

but

as

soon

as

he

perceived

us

he

stopped

short

with

an

ominous

growl

.

Before

Miss

Clare

could

utter

a

warning

word

,

he

made

a

couple

of

huge

bounds

and

sprang

savagely

at

Lucio

as

though

to

tear

him

in

pieces

--

Lucio

with

admirable

presence

of

mind

caught

him

firmly

by

the

throat

and

forced

him

backwards

.

Mavis

turned

deathly

pale

.

"

Let

me

hold

him

!

He

will

obey

me

!

"

she

cried

,

placing

her

little

hand

on

the

great

dog

's

neck

--

"

Down

,

Emperor

!

Down

!

How

dare

you

!

Down

sir

!

"

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