the days of my life-第44部分

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d　to　endure。　It　runs　a　grave　risk　of　passing　with　the　fashion　of　the　hour。　To　take　a　single　instance；　the　Authorised　version　of　the　Old　Testament；　considered　as　literature；　seems　to　me　to　fulfil　all　the　requisites　of　good　writing；　in　fact　to　be　style　in　the　truest　sense。　Yet　the　meaning　remains　perfectly　clear；　and　were　those　books　to　cease　to　be　studied　for　their　religious　contents；　they　would　still　always　be　read　as　a　model　of　plain　and　vigorous　English。
But　to　return　to　Stevenson。　Here　I　will　add　the　last　letter　save　one　that　I　received　from　him；　though　again　I　do　not　know　to　what　it　refers；　since　the　enclosure　of　which　he　speaks　is　missing；　or　at　any　rate　has　not　been　found　at　present。　Like　the　others　it　is　undated；　but　the　allusion　to　“Nada　the　Lily”　shows　that　it　must　have　been　written　about　twenty　years　ago；　at　the　beginning　of　1892。
Valima　Plantation；　Samoan　Islands。
Rider　Haggard；　Esq。
Dear　Haggard；　—　In　cleaning　up　the　hideous　mess　which　accumulates　about　the　man　of　letters　I　came　on　the　enclosed　sheet。　Its　filthiness　will　indicate　its　age。　But　there　is　internal　evidence　which　to　me　dates　it　still　further　back；　and　that　is　the　reference　to　your　brother　Bazett。　I　now　know　him　well　and　regard　him　with　the　most　sincere　and　lively　affection　and　respect。　Indeed　we　are　panions　in　arms　and　have　helped　each　other　back　and　forth　in　some　very　difficult　and　some　very　annoying　affairs。　This　has　given　a　wonderful　jog　to　my　sense　of　intimacy　with　yourself　until　I　have　a　difficulty　in　remembering　that　I　have　never　seen　you。　Two　remarks　and　I　leave　my　filthy　enclosure　to　speak　for　itself。　First；　the　equations　on　the　fly…leaf　were　not　in　the　least　intended　for　you　—　they’re　pieces　of　a　lesson　in　the　Samoan　language　—　and　you　must　kindly　regard　them　as　non…existent。　Second；　“Nada　the　Lily”　is　A1。
Sincerely　yours；
Robert　Louis　Stevenson。
I　only　wish　I　could　find　the　“filthy　enclosure；”　or　at　least　remember　with　what　it　had　to　do。
I　have　one　more　allusion　to　my　brother　besides　the　letter　which　came　to　me　with　“The　Man　Haggard。”　It　is　written　on　a　little　triangular　bit　of　foolscap　pinned　into　the　manuscript　of　“Nada　the　Lily。”　I　suppose　that　Lang　must　have　sent　it　to　me。
“If　you　see　Haggard；　tell　him　we　have　a　great　affection　for　his　brother。　Our　home　rejoices　when　we　see　him　ing；　and　that　Chaka　mourning　for　his　mother　is　great。”
Here　is　this　last　letter　pinned　into　the　first　of　the　two　acpanying；　parchment…bound　volumes；　that　which　is　entitled　“An　Object　of　Pity；　or；　The　Man　Haggard。　A　Romance。　By　Many　petent　Hands。　Imprinted　at　Amsterdam。”　These　volumes　were　sent　to　me　by　Stevenson　in　July　1893。
Tivoli　Hotel；　Apia；　Samoa；
South　Paci。
Dear　Rider　Haggard；　—　I　send　you　herewith　a　couple　of　small　（and；　so　to　speak；　indecent）　volumes　in　which　your　brother　and　I　have　been　indulging　in　the　juvenile　sport　of　shying　bricks　at　each　other。　Honi　soit　qui　mal　y　pense；　say　I。　And　I　hope　you　will　say　the　same。　We　are　a　large　party；　with　nothing　to　do　—　Lady　Jersey；　my　wife；　Captain　Leigh；　your　brother　and　I；　and　Mrs。　Strong；　my　daughter…inlaw　—　and　that　which　we　wrote　was　not　according　to　wisdom。　I　have　heard　some　of　yours　called　in　question　for　steepness；　here　is　your　revenge。
Yours　very　truly；
Robert　Louis　Stevenson。
The　panion　volume　is　entitled　“Objects　of　Pity；　or；　Self　and　pany。　By　a　Gentleman　of　Quality。　Imprinted　at　Amsterdam。”　It　is　corrected　throughout　in　my　brother　Bazett’s　handwriting。　I　should　judge　that　it　went　to　press　without　his　having　the　advantage　of　seeing　proofs。　Pinned　to　the　title…page　is　the　following　letter　to　me　from　Bazett。
Apia；　Samoa：　July　17；　1893。
Dear　Rider；　—　Enclosed　letter　from　R。　L。　Stevn。　speaks　for　itself。　He　says　we　all　had　nothing　to　do。　He　is　wrong　there。　They　wrote　the　“Object　of　Pity”　on　the　days　I　was　at　work　at　n。　I　did　not　write　my　letter　till　3　＇word　illegible＇　after；　when　Stevenson　insisted　on　having　it　printed　and　took　it　to　Sydney　and　had　it　printed。　I　was　riled　at　being　called　“an　object　of　Pity”　rather；　so　set　to　and　gave　them　a　Roland　for　their　Oliver。
We　have　had　a　very　bad　time　here。　I　have　seen　sights　of　“The　French　Revolution”　—　heads　carried　about　in　the　streets　with　yells　and　shouts　—　wounded　and　dead　carried　along。　Also　a　beastly　bloody　axe　which　decapitated　“young　Mataafa”　shoved　under　my　nose　to　admire　and　adore。　I　told　my　friend　“Safolu”　to　take　his　beastly　thing　away　and　he　seemed　quite　surprised　。　。　。　。　These　books　are　R。　L。　S。‘s　gift　to　you　—　write　him　a　line　。　。　。　。
Your　loving　brother；
Bazett　M。　Haggard。
Stevenson　and　I　are　great　friends；　he　is　such　a　good　chap；　but　as　I　say　of　him　in　my　book。
As　regards　the　volumes　themselves；　which　seem　to　fetch　a　great　deal　of　money　when　they　e　on　the　market；　I　am　only　able　to　say　that　I　have　studied　them　with　great　zeal　but　am　unable　to　make　head　or　tail　of　them。　Perhaps　this　is　because　I　do　not　possess　the　key　to　the　joke　or　understand　the　local　allusions。
I　have　only　one　more　relic　of　Stevenson；　a　very　amusing　poem　which　he　wrote　to　Lang　and　myself　on　“The　World’s　Desire；”　or　rather　a　copy　of　it；　for　I　believe　that　Lang　has　lost　the　original。　Again　I　must　express　my　sorrow　that　I　never　saw　Stevenson。　Evidently　he　was　a　delightful　man　and　as　brilliant　as　he　was　charming；　truly　a　master　of　his　craft。　“Dr。　Jeckell　and　Mr。　Hyde”　has　always　seemed　to　me　one　of　the　most　remarkable　things　of　its　sort　in　the　English　language。　Longman　gave　me　an　early　copy　of　it　just　after　it　was　issued　from　the　press；　and　this　I　still　possess　somewhere。　I　shall　never　forget　the　thrill　with　which　I　read　the　story；　in　places　the　horror　of　it　is　enough　to　cause　the　hair　to　rise。　His　essays；　too；　are　almost　unmatched；　at　any　rate　in　our　time；　and　next　to　these　I　should　put　“The　Master　of　Ballantrae。”　At　least　such　is　my　individual　taste。
About　“King　Solomon’s　Mines”　I　have　only　this　to　add。　In　it　I　made　a　mistake　with　reference　to　an　eclipse；　which　brought　me　into　much　trouble　with　astronomers；　and　also　with　numbers　of　the　reading　public　who　hurried　to　expose　my　ignorance。　In　a　subsequent　edition　I　rectified　the　mistake；　but　that　produced　more　trouble；　since　students　of　the　work　had　violent　arguments　between　themselves；　each　quoting　the　versions　that　they　had　read；　and　wrote　to　me　to　settle　their　disputes。　I　have　always　found　the　movements　of　the　heavenly　bodies　very　ticklish　things　to　touch。　Whatever　one　says　about　the　moon；　for　instance；　is　pretty　sure　to　be　wrong。
I　may　say　this　further；　that　no　book　that　I　have　written　seems　to　have　conveyed　a　greater　idea　of　reality。　At　this　moment　I　hold　in　my　hand　at　least　a　dozen　letters　sorted　from　what　I　call　“Unknown　Correspondents；”　by　which　I　mean　munications　received　from　individuals　with　whom　I　have　no　personal　acquaintance。　Every　one　of　the　writers　of　these　epistles　is　anxious　to　know　whether　or　not　the　work　is　a　record　of　fact。　Even　the　great　dealer　in　precious　stones；　Mr。　Streeter　—　I　fear　I　must　say　the　late　Mr。　Streeter　—　approached　me　on　the　subject。　I　believe　he　actually　sent　an　expedition　to　look　for　King　Solomon’s　Mines；　or　at　any　rate　talked　of　doing　so。　Nor　was　he　so　far　out　in　his　reckoning；　for　since　that　day　they　have　been　discovered　—　more　or　less。　At　any　rate　Rhodesia　has　been　discovered；　which　is　a　land　full　of　gems　and　gold；　the　same　land；　I　believe；　as　that　whence　King　Solomon　did　actually　draw　his　wealth。　Also　Queen　Sheba’s　Breasts　have　been　found；　or　something　very　like　to　them；　and　traces　of　the　great　road　that　I　describe。　Doubtless　I　heard　faint　rumours　of　these　things　during　my　sojourn　in　Africa；　having　made　it　my　habit　through　life　to　keep　my　ears　open；　but　at　the　best　they　were　very　faint。　The　remainder　I　imagined；　and　imagination　has　often　proved　to　be　the　precursor　of　the　truth。　The　mines　of　Kukuana　land；　alias　Rhodesia；　are　destined　to　produce　much　more　treasure　than　ever　Solomon　or　the　Phoenicians　won　out　of　them。　Who　built　the　vast　Zimbabwe　and　other　temples　or　fortresses？　Some　ridiculous　scientist　has　alleged　within　the　last　few　years　that　these　were　reared　by　the　Portuguese　at　the　time　that　those　very　Portuguese　were　talking　of　them　as　the　work　of　the　devil　or　of　ancient　magicians　in　an　unknown　age。　The　thing　is　absurd。　Those　edifices　are　the　relics　of　a　lost　civilisation　which　worshipped　the　Nature　gods。　Who　they　were；　what　they　were；　we　do　not　and　perhaps　never　shall　know。　Andrew　Lang　has　stated　the　whole　problem　much　better　than　I　can　ever　hope　to　do；　in　a　poem　he　once　wrote　at　my　request　for　a　paper　in　which　I　was　interested。　I　do　not　think　that　those　verses　have　ever　been　republished；　so　I　：13
13　Republished　in　The　Poetical　Words　of　Andrew　Lang；　vol。　iii；　p。　42　（1923）；　under　the　title　of　“Zimbabwe。”　—　Ed。
Into　the　darkness　whence　they　came；
They　passed　—　their　country　knoweth　none；
They　and　their　gods　without　a　name
Partake　the　same　oblivion。
Their　work　they　did；　their　work　is　done；
Whose　gold；　it　may　be；　shone　like　fire；
About　the　brows　of　Solomon；
And　in　the　House　of　God’s　Desire。
The　pestilence；　the　desert　spear；
Smote　them：　they　passed　with　none　to　tell
The　names　of　them　that　laboured　here：
Stark　walls　and　crumbling　crucible；
Straight　gates；　and　graves；　and　ruined　well；
Abide；　dumb　monuments　of　old。
We　know；　but　that　men　fought　and　fell；
Like　us　—　like　us　—　for　love　of　gold。
A　girls’　school；　or　some　members　of　it；　evidently　weary　of　the　society　of　their　own　sex；　wrote　congratulating　me　with　great　earnestness　because　I　had　in　“King　Solomon’s　Mines”　produced　a　thrilling　book　“without　a　heroine。”
Truly　in　those　days　my　industry　was　great。　While　on　my　summer　holiday　in　1885　I　ain；”　the　sequel　to　“King　Solomon’s　Mines；”　from　the　first　word　to　the　last；　although　it　did　not　appear　until　about　a　couple　of　years　later；　after　it　had　run　through　Longman’s　Magazine。　On　what　exact　dates　I　began　and　finished　the　story　I　do　not　know；　though　possibly　these　are　entered　on　the　manuscript；　of　which　I　made　a　present　to　my　friend　Charles　Longman。14
14　These　dates　are　not　entered　on　the　MS。　—　Ed。
On　my　return　to　town　in　the　late　autumn　I　began　a　novel　of　a　very　different　style；　which　was　afterwards　published　under　the　name　of　“Jess。”　The　manuscript　of　“Jess”　does　not　state　the　date　of　its　mencemen