And When It Was Done, Some
Middle-Aged Person From The Provinces, Who Had Never Seen A Pineapple
Out Of
A plate, or a kris out of the South Kensington, would say that
it did not remind him of something
That it ought to remind him of, and
therefore that it was bad. If the gallery could be bequeathed to the
nation, something might, perhaps, be gained, but the nation would
complain of the draughts and the absence of chairs. But no matter. In
another world we shall see certain gentlemen set to tickle the backs of
Circe's swine through all eternity. Also, they will have to tickle with
their bare hands.
The Japanese rooms, visited and set in order for the second time, hold
more pictures than could be described in a month; but most of them are
small and, excepting always the light, within human compass. One,
however, might be difficult. It was an unexpected gift, picked up in a
Tokio bye-street after dark. Half the town was out for a walk, and all
the people's clothes were indigo, and so were the shadows, and most of
the paper-lanterns were drops of blood red. By the light of smoking
oil-lamps people were selling flowers and shrubs - wicked little dwarf
pines, stunted peach and plum trees, wisteria bushes clipped and twisted
out of all likeness to wholesome plants, leaning and leering out of
green-glaze pots. In the flickering of the yellow flames, these forced
cripples and the yellow faces above them reeled to and fro fantastically
all together.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 71 of 264
Words from 19243 to 19505
of 71314
