my mark twain-第15部分

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up　and　down；　up　and　down；　between　the　villa　terrace　and　the　pergola；　and
talked　with　the　melancholy　amusement；　the　sad　tolerance　of　age　for　the
sort　of　men　and　things　that　used　to　excite　us　or　enrage　us；　now　we　were
far　past　turbulence　or　anger。　　Once　we　took　a　walk　together　across　the
yellow　pastures　to　a　chasmal　creek　on　his　grounds；　where　the　ice　still
knit　the　clayey　banks　together　like　crystal　mosses；　and　the　stream　far
down　clashed　through　and　over　the　stones　and　the　shards　of　ice。　　Clemens
pointed　out　the　scenery　he　had　bought　to　give　himself　elbow…room；　and
showed　me　the　lot　he　was　going　to　have　me　build　on。　　The　next　day　we　came
again　with　the　geologist　he　had　asked　up　to　Stormfield　to　analyze　its
rocks。　　Truly　he　loved　the　place；　though　he　had　been　so　weary　of　change
and　so　indifferent　to　it　that　he　never　saw　it　till　he　came　to　live　in　it。
He　left　it　all　to　the　architect　whom　he　had　known　from　a　child　in　the
intimacy　which　bound　our　families　together；　though　we　bodily　lived　far
enough　apart。　　I　loved　his　little　ones　and　he　was　sweet　to　mine　and　was
their　delighted…in　and　wondered…at　friend。　　Once　and　once　again；　and　yet
again　and　again；　the　black　shadow　that　shall　never　be　lifted　where　it
falls；　fell　in　his　house　and　in　mine；　during　the　forty　years　and　more
that　we　were　friends；　and　endeared　us　the　more　to　each　other。




XXV。

My　visit　at　Stormfield　came　to　an　end　with　tender　relucting　on　his　part
and　on　mine。　　Every　morning　before　I　dressed　I　heard　him　sounding　my　name
through　the　house　for　the　fun　of　it　and　I　know　for　the　fondness；　and　if　I
looked　out　of　my　door；　there　he　was　in　his　long　nightgown　swaying　up　and
down　the　corridor；　and　wagging　his　great　white　head　like　a　boy　that
leaves　his　bed　and　comes　out　in　the　hope　of　frolic　with　some　one。　　The
last　morning　a　soft　sugarsnow　had　fallen　and　was　falling；　and　I　drove
through　it　down　to　the　station　in　the　carriage　which　had　been　given　him
by　his　wife's　father　when　they　were　first　married；　and　been　kept　all
those　intervening　years　in　honorable　retirement　for　this　final　use。　　Its
springs　had　not　grown　yielding　with　time；　it　had　rather　the　stiffness　and
severity　of　age；　but　for　him　it　must　have　swung　low　like　the　sweet
chariot　of　the　negro　〃spiritual〃　which　I　heard　him　sing　with　such　fervor；
when　those　wonderful　hymns　of　the　slaves　began　to　make　their　way
northward。　　'Go　Down；　Daniel'；　was　one　in　which　I　can　hear　his　quavering
tenor　now。　　He　was　a　lover　of　the　things　he　liked；　and　full　of　a　passion
for　them　which　satisfied　itself　in　reading　them　matchlessly　aloud。　　No
one　could　read　'Uncle　Remus'　like　him；　his　voice　echoed　the　voices　of　the
negro　nurses　who　told　his　childhood　the　wonderful　tales。　　I　remember
especially　his　rapture　with　Mr。　Cable's　'Old　Creole　Days；'　and　the
thrilling　force　with　which　he　gave　the　forbidding　of　the　leper's　brother
when　the　city's　survey　ran　the　course　of　an　avenue　through　the　cottage
where　the　leper　lived　in　hiding：　〃Strit　must　not　pass！〃

Out　of　a　nature　rich　and　fertile　beyond　any　I　have　known；　the　material
given　him　by　the　Mystery　that　makes　a　man　and　then　leaves　him　to　make
himself　over；　he　wrought　a　character　of　high　nobility　upon　a　foundation
of　clear　and　solid　truth。　　At　the　last　day　he　will　not　have　to　confess
anything；　for　all　his　life　was　the　free　knowledge　of　any　one　who　would
ask　him　of　it。　　The　Searcher　of　hearts　will　not　bring　him　to　shame　at
that　day；　for　he　did　not　try　to　hide　any　of　the　things　for　which　he　was
often　so　bitterly　sorry。　　He　knew　where　the　Responsibility　lay；　and　he
took　a　man's　share　of　it　bravely；　but　not　the　less　fearlessly　he　left　the
rest　of　the　answer　to　the　God　who　had　imagined　men。

It　is　in　vain　that　I　try　to　give　a　notion　of　the　intensity　with　which　he
pierced　to　the　heart　of　life；　and　the　breadth　of　vision　with　which　he
compassed　the　whole　world；　and　tried　for　the　reason　of　things；　and　then
left　trying。　　We　had　other　meetings；　insignificantly　sad　and　brief；　but
the　last　time　I　saw　him　alive　was　made　memorable　to　me　by　the　kind；　clear
judicial　sense　with　which　he　explained　and　justified　the　labor…unions　as
the　sole　present　help　of　the　weak　against　the　strong。

Next　I　saw　him　dead；　lying　in　his　coffin　amid　those　flowers　with　which　we
garland　our　despair　in　that　pitiless　hour。　　After　the　voice　of　his　old
friend　Twichell　had　been　lifted　in　the　prayer　which　it　wailed　through　in
broken…hearted　supplication；　I　looked　a　moment　at　the　face　I　knew　so
well；　and　it　was　patient　with　the　patience　I　had　so　often　seen　in　it：
something　of　puzzle；　a　great　silent　dignity；　an　assent　to　what　must　be
from　the　depths　of　a　nature　whose　tragical　seriousness　broke　in　the
laughter　which　the　unwise　took　for　the　whole　of　him。　　Emerson；
Longfellow；　Lowell；　HolmesI　knew　them　all　and　all　the　rest　of　our
sages；　poets；　seers；　critics；　humorists；　they　were　like　one　another　and
like　other　literary　men；　but　Clemens　was　sole；　incomparable；　the　Lincoln
of　our　literature。









End