Those Barren Leaves Aldous Huxley (best biographies to read txt) đ
- Author: Aldous Huxley
Book online «Those Barren Leaves Aldous Huxley (best biographies to read txt) đ». Author Aldous Huxley
The young man, who looked even younger than he really wasâ âand at best it was only two or three months since Lord Hovenden had attained his majorityâ âsmiled amiably at Mr. Cardan and shook his head, then turned hopefully to the person who sat opposite him. âAsk me anover,â he said. Lord Hovenden still found it difficult to pronounce a th. âWhat do you say, Mr. Falx?â An expression of respectful attention appeared on his boyish, freckled face as he waited for Mr. Falxâs answer. Whatever the answer might be, it was obvious that Lord Hovenden would regard it as oracular. He admired, he revered Mr. Falx.
Mr. Falx, indeed, invited admiration and respect. With his white beard, his long and curly white hair, his large dark liquid eyes, his smooth broad forehead and aquiline nose, he had the air of a minor prophet. Nor were appearances deceptive. In another age, in other surroundings, Mr. Falx would in all probability have been a minor prophet: a denouncer, a mouthpiece of the Lord, a caller to salvation, a threatener of wrath to come. Having been born in the middle of the nineteenth century and having passed the years of his early manhood in the profession which, between three and seven, every male child desires to embraceâ âthat of the engine driverâ âhe had become not exactly a prophet, but a Labour leader.
Lord Hovenden, whose claim to figure in Mrs. Aldwinkleâs court was the fact that she had known him since he was a baby, that he was descended from Simon de Montfort, and that he was immensely rich, had added a further merit: he had become an ardent Guild Socialist. An earnest young schoolmaster had first apprised him of the factâ âhitherto but very imperfectly realized by Lord Hovendenâ âthat there are a great many poor people whose lives are extremely disagreeable and arduous and who, if justice were done, would be better off than they are at present. His generous impulses were stirred. Youthfully, he desired to precipitate an immediate millennium. Perhaps, too, a certain egotistical ambition to distinguish himself above his fellows had something to do with his enthusiasm. Among persons born in privileged positions and in the midst of wealth, snobbery often takes a form rather different from that which it commonly assumes. Not always, indeed; for there are plenty of rich and titled persons who regard wealth and title with the same abject respect as is shown by those whose acquaintance with the nobility and the plutocracy is only in fiction and the pages of the weekly papers. But others, whose ambition it is to climb out of the familiar surroundings into, at any rate intellectually, higher spheres, become infected with a passionate snobbery in regard to the artistic or political world. This snobberyâ âthe snobbery of blood towards brainâ âhad mingled without his being conscious of it with Lord Hovendenâs purely humanitarian ardour, and had given it added strength. Lord Hovendenâs pleasure at being introduced to Mr. Falx had been enormous, and the thought that he alone, of all his friends and relations, enjoyed the privilege of Mr. Falxâs acquaintance, that he alone was free of the exciting political world in which Mr. Falx lived, had made him more than ever enthusiastic in the cause of justice. There had been occasions, howeverâ âand they had become more frequent of lateâ âwhen Lord Hovenden had found that the demands made on him by a strenuous social life left him very little time for Mr. Falx or Guild Socialism. For one who danced as long and often as he did it was difficult to pay much attention to anything else. In lulls between the merrymaking he remembered with shame that he had not done his duty by his principles. It was to make up for arrears in enthusiasm that he had cut short his grouse shooting to accompany Mr. Falx to an International Labour Conference in Rome. The conference was to be held towards the end of September; but Lord Hovenden had sacrificed a monthâs more shooting than was necessary by suggesting that, before the conference, Mr. Falx and he should go to stay for a few weeks with Mrs. Aldwinkle. âCome when you like and bring whom you like.â Those were the words of Lilianâs invitation. He telegraphed to Mrs. Aldwinkle to say that Mr. Falx needed
Comments (0)