Authors, English -- 20th century -- Biography; Blackwood, Algernon, 1869-1951
It was February and freezing cold. Kay was away for the week, trying
a new play at Mount Vernon, where he slept. There was no reason why I
should not have let Calder spend at least one warm night in the room.
But, apart from the shock of annoyance at finding him asleep in my
own bed, and apart from a moment’s anger at his cool impudence, the
startling parallel with Boyde was vividly unpleasant. It was Boyde No.
2 I saw sleeping in my bed. If I let him stay one night I should never
get rid of him at all. $10 a week among three! Calder must take up his
bed and walk.
I woke him and told him to dress and leave the room. I watched him
dress, heard him plead, heard him describe the freezing weather,
describe his walking the streets all night without a cent in his
pockets. He blushed and giggled all the time. It was some minutes
before he believed I was in earnest, before he crawled out of bed; it
was much longer before he was dressed and ready to go.... I saw him
down the stairs and through the front door and out into the bitter
street. I gave him a dollar, which represented two days’ meals for
me, and would pay a bed in a doss-house for him. When he was gone I
spent a wretched night, ashamed of myself through and through. It
really was Boyde who turned him out, but the excuse had no comfort in
it. The little incident remains unkindly vivid; I still see it; it
happens over again; the foolish, good-natured face, the blushes and
shyness, the implicit belief in my own kindness, the red cheeks and
curly hair--going through the front door into the bitter streets. It
all stands out. Shame and remorse go up and down in me while I write it
now, a belated confession.... I never saw Calder again.
Another thing that still shames me is our treatment of old greasy
Mother Bernstein. Though a little thing, this likewise keeps vividly
alive. A “little” thing! The big things, invariably with extenuating
circumstances that furnish modifying excuses and comforting
explanations, are less stinging in the memory. It is the little things
that pierce and burn and prick for years to come. In my treatment of
Mrs. Bernstein, at any rate, lay an alleviating touch of comedy. In
the end, too, the debt was paid. Twelve months later--it seemed a
period of years--Kay got suddenly from a brother £100--an enormous sum;
while I had twice received from my brother, God bless him! post-office
orders for £10. This was a long time ahead yet, but Mrs. Bernstein
eventually received her due with our sincerest thanks. She had moved to
another house in Lafayette Place by then. We paid up and left her, Kay
going to one boarding-house, I to another.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account