And Even Now by Sir Max Beerbohm
page 53 of 194 (27%)
page 53 of 194 (27%)
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Archangel who bears that name and no surname.
It was always when Watts-Dunton spoke carelessly, casually, of some to me illustrious figure in the past, that I had the sense of being wafted right into that past and plumped down in the very midst of it. When he spoke with reverence of this and that great man whom he had known, he did not thus waft and plump me; for I, too, revered those names. But I had the magical transition whenever one of the immortals was mentioned in the tone of those who knew him before he had put on immortality. Browning, for example, was a name deeply honoured by me. `Browning, yes,' said Watts-Dunton, in the course of an afternoon, `Browning,' and he took a sip of the steaming whisky-toddy that was a point in our day's ritual. `I was a great diner-out in the old times. I used to dine out every night in the week. Browning was a great diner-out, too. We were always meeting. What a pity he went on writing all those plays! He hadn't any gift for drama--none. I never could understand why he took to play-writing.' He wagged his head, gazing regretfully into the fire, and added, `Such a clever fellow, too!' Whistler, though alive and about, was already looked to as a hierarch by the young. Not so had he been looked to by Rossetti. The thrill of the past was always strong in me when Watts-Dunton mentioned--seldom without a guffaw did he mention--`Jimmy Whistler.' I think he put in the surname because `that fellow' had not behaved well to Swinburne. But he could not omit the nickname, because it was impossible for him to feel the right measure of resentment against `such a funny fellow.' As heart-full of old hates as of old loves was Watts-Dunton, and I take it as high testimony to the charm of Whistler's quaintness that Watts-Dunton did not hate him. You may be aware that Swinburne, in '88, wrote for one of the monthly reviews a criticism of the `Ten |
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