Philip Van Doren Stern (ed) (157 page)

When
next
he
came
to
me
he
was
drunk—royally
drunk
on
many poets
for
the
first
time
revealed
to
him.
His
pupils
were
dilated,
his words
tumbled
over
each
other,
and
he
wrapped
himself
in
quotations.
Most
of
all
was
he
drunk
with
Longfellow.

"Isn't
it
splendid?
Isn't
it
superb?"
he
cried,
after
hasty
greetings. "Listen
to
this—

"
'Wouldst
thou,'—so
the
helmsman
answered, 'Know
the
secret
of
the
sea? Only
those
who
brave
its
dangers Comprehend
its
mystery.'

By
gum!

"
'Only
those
who
brave
its
dangers Comprehend
its
mystery,'"

he
repeated
twenty
times,
walking
up
and
down
the
room
and
forgetting
me.
"But
I
can
understand
it
too,"
he
said
to
himself.
"I
don't know
how
to
thank
you
for
that
fiver.
And
this;
listen—

"
'I
remember
the
black
wharves
and
the
ships And
the
sea-tides
tossing
free, And
the
Spanish
sailors
with
bearded
lips, And
the
beauty
and
mystery
of
the
ships, And
the
magic
of
the
sea.'

I
haven't
braved
any
dangers,
but
I
feel
as
if
I
knew
all
about
it."

"You
certainly
seem
to
have
a
grip
of
the
sea.
Have
you
ever
seen it?"

"When
I
was
a
little
chap
I
went
to
Brighton
once;
we
used
to
live in
Coventry,
though,
before
we
came
to
London.
I
never
saw
it,

"
'When
descends
on
the
Atlantic The
gigantic Storm-wind
of
the
Equinox.'
"

He
shook
me
by
the
shoulder
to
make
me
understand
the
passion that
was
shaking
himself.

"When
that
storm
comes,"
he
continued,
"I
think
that
all
the
oars in
the
ship
that
I
was
talking
about
get
broken,
and
the
rowers
have their
chests
smashed
in
by
the
bucking
oar-heads.
By
the
way,
have you
done
anything
with
that
notion
of
mine
yet?"

"No.
I
was
waiting
to
hear
more
of
it
from
you.
Tell
me
how
in
the world
you're
so
certain
about
the
fittings
of
the
ship.
You
know
nothing
of
ships."

"I
don't
know.
It's
as
real
as
anything
to
me
until
I
try
to
write
it
254
down.
I
was
thinking
about
it
only
last
night
in
bed,
after
you
had loaned
me
'Treasure
Island';
and
I
made
up
a
whole
lot
of
new
things to
go
into
the
story." "What
sort
of
things?"

"About
the
food
the
men
ate;
rotten
figs
and
black
beans
and
wine in
a
skin
bag,
passed
from
bench
to
bench." "Was
the
ship
built
so
long
ago
as
that?"

"As
what?
I
don't
know
whether
it
was
long
ago
or
not.
It's
only
a notion,
but
sometimes
it
seems
just
as
real
as
if
it
was
true.
Do
I bother
you
with
talking
about
it?"