The Memoirs of a Failure: with an Account of the Man and His Manuscript — John Shaqi
The Memoirs of a Failure: with an Account of the Man and His ManuscriptKittredge, Daniel Wright
Science
The Memoirs of a Failure: with an Account of the Man and His Manuscript
Kittredge, Daniel Wright
Failure (Psychology) -- Fiction; Harvard University -- Fiction; University of Virginia -- Fiction
The terraces are connected on the sides by open colonnades, forming
two interior courts. In them, for indefinite periods, Dunlevy was
accustomed to walk, his hands crossed behind him, gazing out upon the
distant wooded valleys of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We wondered what
sort of man he might be, who was as sufficient unto himself as the
fixed stars in the sky which radiate no other light than their own.
He came to take his meals in the same dining-hall with us; indeed I
sat at the table beside him. I think he liked me, because I let him
alone. I did not attempt conversation. It was noticeable that he tried
to come to his meals after the others had finished eating. But he found
this difficult, as one burly foot-ball player usually remained as long
as anything remained on the table. This fellow used to make stupid,
broadside sallies at Dunlevy, who had the look of a man who had once
been strong and robust, but who was now almost ashamed of his grotesque
appearance. Dunlevy did not try to stop the foot-ball player in any of
his onslaughts of muscular wit. The latter’s name was Crowther. I used
to think that Crowther’s conception of wit amused Dunlevy more often
than it irritated him.
One morning at breakfast I made a most inane remark for a place where
all the conversation was devoted to the subject of athletics, such
as who was the Harvard full-back in ’94 or what was the best batting
average last year. My remark was totally out of place, as it had to do
with literature. It happened this way: when I came into the dining-hall
I noticed a copy of one of Cardinal Newman’s works sticking out of the
pocket of Dunlevy’s overcoat. And as I took my seat at the table no one
was saying anything, so I merely remarked how much I admired Newman’s
style. Every one stared at me except Dunlevy, who was smiling at my
thoughtlessness.
“What is it in the cardinal’s fashion that you admire so much?” asked
Crowther.
“The color of his coat, of course;” suggested Dunlevy with a straight
face.
“Why, what color was it?” asked Crowther, seriously knitting his brow.
“He preferred red,” answered Dunlevy, “because his books were not read.”
The bell rang for nine o’clock lectures; and Dunlevy and I were left
alone.
That was the last time we had breakfast together at the University of
Virginia. Dunlevy had overtaxed himself by his work in the School of
Philosophy, and broke down in health.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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