THE SHOT* BY ALEXANDER POUSHKIN (Translated by T. Keane) E WERE stationed in the town ofN— . The ⅱ ofan offcer ⅲ the army is well known. ln the morning, drill and the riding-school; dinner with the ColoneI or at a Jewish restaurant; in the evening, punch and cards. ln N—there was not one open house, nor a single marriageable girl. We used tO meet in each Other'S rooms,where all 、 saw 、 men ln form. One civilian only 、 vas admitted intO our SOCiety,. He 、 about 、 thirty-five years of age, and therefore we looked upon him as an 01d Ⅱ ow. His expenence gave him great advantage over us, and his habitual sullenness, stern disposition and caus- tic tongue produced a deep impression upon our young minds. Some mystery surrounded his existence; he had the appearance ofa Russian, although his name was a foreign one. He had for- merly served in the Hussars, and with distinction. N0b0dy knew the cause that had induced him tO retire 仕 om the servlce and settle in a wretched town, where he lived poorly and, at the same time, extravagantly. He always went on 応 Ot , and con- stantly wore a shabby black overcoat, but the offcers 0f our regiment were ever welcome at his table. His dinners, it is true, never consisted ofmore than tWO or three dishes, prepared by a retired soldier, but the champagne flowed like water. Nobody om Po カ石〃 Prose / (Bohn Library)

P U T 01 S "A low forehead," added Mademoiselle Z06. Then, antiphonally, ⅲ a monotonous V01ce, with mock gravity, the brother and sister recited the following P0ints 0fa kind 0f police description: "A low forehead. ” "Wall-eyed. " 。、 Furtive looking. " "A crow's 応 0t on his temple. " "High cheek-bones, red and shiny. ' "His ears were ragged ・ " "His face was blank and expressionless. " "lt was only by his hands, which were constantly movmg, that you divined his thoughts. ' "Thin, rather bent, weak ⅲ appearance. "ln reality ofunusual strength. " "He could easily bend a five-franc piece between his thumb and forefinger. ” "His thumb was huge. ' "He spoke with a drawl." "HiS tone was unctuous. Suddenly Monsieur Bergeret cned eagerly: 。。 Z06 ! We have forgotten his yellow hair and his scant beard. We must begin agmn ・ ' pauline had been listening with astonishment t0 this strange 代 ci . She asked her father and her aunt how they had come t0 learn this prose passage by heart, and why they recited it like a Litany. Monsieur Bergeret replied gravely: "Pauline, what you have just heard is the sacred text, I may say the liturgy ofthe Bergeret family. lt is right that it should transmitted tO you ⅲ order that it may not pensh with YO 町 aunt and me. grandfather, my child, YO grandfather, 日 0i Bergeret, who was not one t0 be amused with trifles, set a high value on this passage, pnncipally on account 0f 0 ⅱ g ⅲ . He entitled it 'The Anatomy 0fPut0is.' And he was accustomed t0 say that in certain respects he set the anatomy 0f Put0is above the anatomy 0fQuaresmeprenant. 'lfthe description written bY zenomanes,' he said, 'iS more learned 田 richer in rare and

T H E S TA N D A R D O F L I V I N G the first thing. Know what l'd d0? l'd get a string ofpearls. Real pearls." Annabel's eyes turned tO 応Ⅱ OW Midge's. "Yes," she said, slowly. "I think that's a kind ofa good idea. And it would make sense, t00. Because you can wear pearls with anything. " Together they went over t0 the shOp window and st00d pressed against it. lt contained but one object—a double row Of great, even pearls clasped by a deep emerald around a little pink velvet throat. "What do you suppose they cost?" Annabel said. "Gee, I don't ow , " Midge said. "Plenty, I guess. " "Like a thousand dollars? ” Annabel said. "Oh, I guess like more," Midge said. 、。 On account of the emerald. ' "Well, like ten thousand dollars? ” Annabel said. "Gee, I wouldn't even know," Midge said. The devil nudged Annabel in the ribs. "Dare you to go 1n and price them," she said. "Like fun!" Midge said. "Dare you," Annabel said. "Why, a store like this wouldn't even be open this after- noon," Midge said. "Yes, it is so, t00,"Annabel said."Peoplejust came out. And there's a doorman on. Dare you. "Well," Midge said. "But you've got to come t00. ' They tendered thanks icily, t0 the doorman for ushering them int0 the shop. lt was C001 and quiet, a broad, gracious room with paneled walls and so 代 carpet. But the girls wore ex- pressions ofbitter disdain, as ifthey st00d ⅲ a sty. A slim, immaculate clerk came to them and bowed. His neat face showed no astonishment at their appearance. 、。 Good afternoon," he said. He implied that he would never forget it ifthey would grant him the favor ofaccepting his so ル spoken greeting. "Good afternoon," Annabel and Midge said together, and ⅲ like freezing accents. 、 'ls there somethmg—?" the clerk said.

128 A N AT 0 L E F R A N C E weak in appearance, ⅲ reality he is extraordinarily strong: he can easily bend a five-franc piece between his thumb and fore- fingere 'There were good reasons,' said the newspaper, 、応 r at- tributing t0 him a long senes of robberies perpetrated with marvelous skill. "Putois was the ね lk ofthe town. One day it was said that he had been arrested and committed to prison. But it was soon dis- covered that the man who had been taken for Putois was a ped- dler named g02 礼 As nothing could be proved against him, he was discharged after a fortnight's precautionary detention. And still Putois could not be found. Madame Cornouiller Ⅱ a victim to another robbery still more audacious than the first. Three silver teaspoons were stolen 丘 om her sideboard. "She recognized the hand of Putois, had a chain put on her bedroom door, and 1 awake at night. " III About ten o'clock, when Pauline had gone to bed. Mademoi- selle Bergeret said to her brother: "Don't forget to tell how Putois seduced Madame Cornouiller's cook. ' 当 was just thinking 0f it, sister," replied her brother. "TO omit that incident would be t0 omit the best part 0f the st0 . But we must come tO it ln its proper place. The police made a careful search for Putois but they did not find him. When it was known that he could not be found, everyone made it a point 0f hono to discover him ・ and the malicious succeeded. As there were not a few malicious 応 lk at Saint-Omer and ⅲ the neigh- bourhood, PutOis was observed at one and the same time ⅲ street, field and wood. Thus, another trait was added t0 his character. TO him was attributed that gift 0f ubiquity which is possessed by so many popular heroes. A being capable oftrav- eling long distances ⅲ a moment, and ofappeanng suddenly ⅲ the place where he is least expected, is naturally alarming. Putois was the terror of Saint-Omer. Madame CornouiIIer,

T E G 10 C 0 N D A S M I L E "Mrs. Hutton passed away half hour ago ・ " 281 The voice remained even ⅲ its softness, the melancholy Of the eyes did not deepen. Dr. Libbard spoke 0f death as he would speak 0f a 10Ca1 cricket match. AII things were equally vain and equally deplorable. Mr. Hutton found himselfthinking ofJanet Spence's words. At any moment, at any moment. She had been extraordinarily right. 'What happened?" he asked. "What was the cause?" Dr. Libbard explained. lt was heart failure brought on by a violent attack Of nausea, caused ⅲ its turn by the eatrng Of something Of an irritant nature. Red currants? 、行 . Hutton sug- gested. Very likely. lt had been t00 much for the heart. There was chronic valvular disease: something had collapsed under the strain. lt was all over; she could not have suffered much. 、、 lt's a pity they should have chosen the day 0f the Eton and Harrow match for the funeral,: ” 01d General Grego was sayrng as he stood 叩 , h1S top hat ⅲ his hand, under the shadow ofthe lich gate, wiping his face with his handkerchief. Mr. Hutton overheard the remark and with diffculty re- strained a desire t0 inflict gnevous b0dily pain on the General• He would have liked to hit the 0 旧 brute ⅲ the middle ofhis big red face. Monstrous great mulberry, spotted with meal! Was there no respect for the dead? Did nobody care? ln theory he didn't much care; let the dead bury their dead. But here, at the graveside, he had found himself actually sobbing. Poor EmilY, they had been pretty happy once. Now she was lying at the bot- tom 0fa seven-foot h0 厄 . And here was Grego complamng that he couldn't go t0 the Eton and Harrow match. Mr. Hutton looked round at the group 0f black figures that were drifting slowly out 0f the churchyard toward the fleet 0f cabs and motors assembled ⅲ the road outside. Against the brilliant background 0f the July grass and flowers and foliage' they had a horribly alien and unnatural appearance. lt pleased him t0 think that all these people would soon be dead t00. That evemng Mr. Hutton sat up late ⅲ his library readmg

328 JA M E S J OY C E 0 , the heart's b100d of a patr10t! That's a Ⅱ ow now that'd sell his country for fourpence—ay—and go down on his bended knees and thank the Almighty Christ he had a country to sell. " There was a knock at the door. 。℃ ome ⅲ ! " said Mr. Henchy. A person resembllng a poor clergyman or a poor actor 叩 - peared ⅲ the doorway. His black clothes were tightly buttoned on his short body and it was impossible to say whether he wore a clergyman's collar or a layman's, because the collar 0f his shabby frock-coat, the uncovered buttons of which reflected the candlelight, was turned up about his neck. He wore a round hat ofhard black felt. His face, shining with raindrops, had the appearance 0f damp yellow cheese save where two rosy spots indicated the cheekbones. He opened his very long mouth sud- denly tO express disappointment and at the same time opened wide h1S very bright blue eyes t0 express pleasure and surpnse. 。。 0 Father Keon!" said Mr. Henchy, jumping up om his chair. "ls that you? Come ⅲ ! " "Oh, no, no, no!" said Father Keon quickly, pursing his lips as ifhe were addressing a child. "Won't you come ⅲ and sit down?" "NO, no, no!" said Father Keon, speaklng in a discreet, m- dulgent, velvety voice. "Don't let me disturb you now! l'm 」 ust looking for Mr. Fanning.. "He's round at the 召 c た Eagle," said Mr. Henchy. "But won't you come in and Sit dO 、 a "NO, no, thank you. lt was Just a little business matter," said Father Keon. 、 'Thank you, indeed. " He retreated 仕 om the doorway and Mr. Henchy, seizmg one ofthe candlesticks, went t0 the door t0 light him downstairs. “ 0 , don't trouble, I beg!" "No, but the stairs is so dark. ” "NO, no, I can see.. Thank you, indeed. ' "Are you nght now?" "AII right, thanks.... Thanks. " Mr. Henchy returned with the candlestick and put it on the ね b 厄 . He sat down again at the e. There was silence for a few moments.

T H E M I N I S T E R ' S B L A C K V E I L ーー A PA R A B L E 487 the clergyman's figure was the signal for the bell tO cease its summons. "But what has good Parson Hooper got upon his face?" cried the sexton in astonishment. AII within hearing lmmediately turned about, and beheld the semblance 0fMr. Hooper, pacing slowly his meditative way towards the meeting-house. 、 Mith one accord they s ねれ ed, ex- pressmg more wonder than ifsome strange minister were com- ing t0 dust the cushions 0f Mr,. Hooper's pulpit. 。、 Are you sure it is 0 町 parson?" inquired G00dman Gray 0f the sexton. "Of a certainty it is good Mr. Hooper," replied the sexton. "He was t0 have exchanged pulpits with Parson Shute, ofWest- bury; but Parson Shute sent to excuse himselfyesterday, being tO preach a funeral sermon. The cause of so much amazement may appear suffciently slight. Mr. Hooper, a gentlemanly person, of about thirty, though still a bachelor, was dressed with due clerical neatness, as if a careful wife had starched his band, and brushed the weekly dust om his Sunday's garb. There was but one thing remarkable ⅲ his appearance. Swathed about his forehead, and hangmg down over his face, so 10W as t0 be shaken by his breath, Mr. Hooper had on a black veil. On a nearer view it seemed t0 consist Of two folds Of crape, which entirely con- cealed his features, except the mouth and chin, but probably did not intercept his sight, further than to give a darkened as- pect t0 all living and inanimate things. With this gloomy shade before him, good Mr. Hooper walked onward, at a slow and quiet pace, stooping somewhat, and lookmg on the ground, as is customary with abstracted men, yet nodding kindly t0 those Ofhis panshioners whO still waited on the meeting-house steps. But so wonder-struck were they that his greeting hardly met with a return "I can't really feel as ifgood Mr. Hooper's face was behind that piece ofcrape," said thesexton. "I don't like it; ” muttered an 01d woman, as she hobbled int0 the meeting-house. "He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face. ''

104 A L E X A N D E R P 0 U S H K ー N With these words he hastily departed, and we, after agreemg tO meet at Silvio's, dispersed tO 0 vanous quarters. I arrived at Silvio's house at the appointed time, and found nearly the whole regnnent there. AII his belongings were al- ready packed; nothing remained but the bare, bullet-riddled walls. We sat down to ね b 厄 . 0 町 host was rn an excellent hu- mor, and his gaiety was qurckly communicated to the rest. Corks popped every moment, glasses foamed incessantly, and, with the utmost warmth, we wished 0 departing friend a pleasant J0urney and every happiness. When we rose 仕 om the table it was already late ⅲ the evemng. After having wished everybody good-bye, Silvio took me by the hand and detained me just at the moment when I was prepanng t0 depart. 当 want tö speak to you," he sald ⅲ a 10W voice. I stopped behind. The guests had departed, and we two were 厄代 alone. Sittmg down opposite each other, we silently lit 0 pipes. Silvi0 seemed greatly troubled; not a trace remained 0f his former feverish gaiety. The intense pallor of his face, his sparkling eyes, and the thick smoke issuing 仕 om his mouth, gave him a truly diabolical appearance. Several minutes elapsed, and then Silvio broke the silence. "Perhaps we shall never see each 0ther agam," said he; "be- fore we part, I should like t0 have an explanation with you. You may have observed that I care very little for the 叩ⅲ io Ⅱ of other people, but I like you, and I feel that it would be pamful tO me tO leave you with a wrong lmpression upon yo 町 mind. ' He paused, and began t0 refill his pipe. I sat gazing silently at the 升 00r. "You thought it strange," he continued, 'that I did not de- mand satisfaction 仕 om that drunken idiot R— . You will ad- mit, however, that since I had the choice 0f weapons, his life was my hands, while my own was no great danger. I could ascribe my forbearance t0 generosity alone, but I will not tell a lie. lfl could have chastised R— without the least risk to my own li , I should never have pardoned him. " I looked at SiIvio with astonishment. Such a éonfession completely astounded me. Silvi0 continued:

172 E D G A R A L L A N P 0 E taking hue 仕 om the many tinted windows through which stream the rays 仕 om the tripods. But to the chamber which lies most westwardly 0f the seven, there are now none of the maskers who venture, for the night is wanlng away; and there flows a ruddrer light through the blood-colored panes; and the blackness of the sable drapery appalls; and to him whose 応 ot falls upon the sable carpet, there comes 仕 om the near clock of ebony a mumed peal more solemnly emphatic than any which reaches e 炉 ears WhO indulge ⅲ the more remote gayeties Of the Other apartments. But these other apartments were densely crowded, and ⅲ them beat feverishly the heart ofli 危 . And the revel went whirl- ingly on, until at length there commenced the sounding ofmid- night upon the clock. And then the music ceased, as I have told; and the revolutions Ofthe waltzers were quieted; and there was an uneasy cessation Ofall thlngs as before. But now there were twelve strokes to be sounded by the bell of the clock; and thus it h 叩 pened, perhaps, that before the last echoes 0f the last chime had utterly sunk into silence, there were many individu- als ⅲ the crowd who had 応皿 d leisure to become aware ofthe presence 0fa masked figure which had arrested the attention of no single individual before. And the rumor 0f this new pres- ence having spread itself whisperingly ound, there arose at length from the whole company, a buzz, or murmur, expressive ofdisapprobation and surprise then, finally, of terror, of hor- ror, and 0f disgust. ln an assembly ofphantasms such as I have painted, it may well be supposed that no ordmary appearance could have ex- cited such sensation. ln truth the masquerade license Of the night was nearly unlimited; but the figure ln question had out- Heroded Herod, and gone beyond the bounds of even the pnnce's indefinite decorum. There are chords in the hearts 0f the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion. Even with the utterly lost, t0 whom ⅱ and death are equally 」 ests, there are matters ofwhich nojest can be made. The wh01e company, indeed, seemed now deeply t0 feel that ⅲ the cos- tume and bearing 0f the stranger neither wit nor propnety ex- isted. The figure was tall and gaunt, and shrouded om head to

410 A RT H U R S C H N I T Z L E R な 1 ー late ⅲ the evemng on the terrace ofsome hotel? ln vain he tried to recall those vanished words. The merchant stood at the window and stared into the so れ pale night. He was determined he would remember his dead Wife. But hO 、 much he searched his mmost consclousness, at first he could only see himselfin the light ofa grey morning, standing ⅲ black clothes outside a curtained doorway, receiv- mg and returning sympathetic handshakes, with a s ね厄 reek of carbolic and flowers ⅲ his nostrils. SIowIy he succeeded ⅲ re- calling t0 his mind the image ofhis dead wife. And yet at first it was but the image ofan image for he could only see the large portrait in a gilt frame that hung over the piano ⅲ the drawing- room at home and displayed a haughty-looking lady ofthirty ⅲ a ball dress. Then at last she herself appeared as a young girl, who, nearly twenty years before, pale and trembling, had ac- cepted his proposal of marriage. Then there arose before him the appearance 0fa woman ⅲ all her splendour, enthroned be- side him ⅲ a theatre-box, gazing at the stage, but inwardly far away.. Then he remembered a passionate creature whO wel- comed him with unexpected warmth on his return 丘 om a long Journey,. Swiftly again his thoughts turned t0 a nervous tearful being, with greenish heavy eyes, who had poisoned his days with all manner of evil humours. Next he saw an alarmed, af- fectionate mother, in a light morning 仕 ock , watching by the bedside of a sick child who, none the less, died. Last ofall, he saw a pale, outstretched creature ⅲ a room reeklng ofether, her mouth so pitifully drawn down at the corners, and cold beads of sweat on her forehead, who had shaken his very soul with pity. He knew that all these pictures, and a hundred others, that flashed past h1S mind's eye with incredible speed, were of one and the salile being who had been lowered into the grave two years ago, over whom he had wept, and after whose death he had lt freed om bondage. lt seemed to him he must choose one out Ofall these pictures tO reach some definite reac- tion; for at present he was tossed by. shame and anger, groping ⅲ the VOid. He stOOd there irresolute, and gazed across at the houses ⅲ their gardens, shimmering faintly red and yellow ⅲ