Humboldt's Gift (1976 Pulitzer Prize) - Saul Bellow [143]
“Frankly, Charles, the reason why our first number isn’t out is that you sent me so much anthroposophical material. You’re no fool so there must be something to anthroposophy. But for God’s sake, we can’t come out with all this stuff about the soul.”
“Why not? People talk about the psyche, why not the soul?”
“Psyche is scientific,” said Thaxter. “You have to accustom people gradually to these terms of yours.”
I said, “Why did you buy such a huge supply of paper?”
“I wanted to be ready to publish five issues in succession without worrying about supplies. Besides, we got a good buy.”
“Where are all these tons of paper now?”
“In the warehouse. But I don’t think that it’s The Ark that bothers you. It’s really Denise that’s eating at you, the courts and the dollars and all that grief and harassment.”
“No, that’s not what it is,” I said. “Sometimes I’m grateful to Denise. You think I should be like Restif de la Bretonne, in the streets? Well, if Denise weren’t suing me, I’d never get out of the house. Because of her I have to go downtown. It keeps me in touch with the facts of life. It’s been positively enlightening.”
“How so?”
“Well, I realize how universal the desire to injure your fellow man is. I guess it’s the same in the democracies as in dictatorships. Only here the government of laws and lawyers puts a palisade up. They can injure you a lot, make your life hideous, but they can’t actually do you in.”
“Your love of education really does you credit, Charles. No kidding. I can tell you after a friendship of twenty years,” said Thaxter. “Your character is a very peculiar one but there is a certain—I don’t know what to call it—dignity that you do have. If you say soul and I say psyche, you have your reason for it, probably. You probably do have a soul, Charles. And it’s a pretty startling fact about anyone.”
“You have one yourself. Anyway, I think we had better give up our plan to publish The Ark and liquidate our assets remaining if any.”
“Now, Charles, don’t be hasty. We can straighten this business out very easily. We’re almost there.”
“I can’t put any more money into it. I’m not doing well, financially.”
“You can’t compare your situation to mine,” said Thaxter. “I’ve been wiped out in California.”
“How bad is it there?”
“Well, I’ve kept your obligations down to a minimum. You promised to pay Blossom her salary. Don’t you remember Blossom, the secretary? You met her in September?”
“My obligations? In September we agreed to lay Blossom off.”
“Ah, but she was the only one who really knew how to operate all the IBM machinery.”
“But the machinery was never operated.”
“That wasn’t her fault. We were prepared. I was ready to go at any time.”
“What you mean, really, is that you’re too grand a personage to do without a staff.”
“Have a heart, Charles. Just after you left, her husband was killed in a car crash. You wouldn’t want me to fire her at such a time. I know your heart, whatever else, Charles. So I took it on myself to interpret your attitude. It’s only fifteen hundred bucks. There is actually another thing I must mention, the lumber bill for the wing we started.”
“I didn’t tell you to build the wing. I was dead against it.”
“Why, we agreed there was to be a separate office. You didn’t expect me to bring all of that editorial confusion into my house.”
“I definitely said I’d have no part of it. I warned you even, that if you dug that big hole next to your house you’d undermine the foundations.”
“Well, it isn’t very serious,” said Thaxter. “The lumber company can damn well dismantle