The Adventures of Augie March - Saul Bellow [222]
of it. Beneath some paper stored for kindling beside the fireplace I found a big volume, without covers and in fine type. It contained Campanella's City of the Sun, More's Utopia, Machiavelli's Discourses and The Prince, as well as long selections from St. Simon, Comte, Marx and Engels. I don't recall what ingenious person made this collection, but it certainly was a whopper. Two days it rained, and I was sunk in it while wet wood tried to burn and I tossed in whole bundles of resinous ocote to try to make a blaze. It was too wet to fly Caligula. I stood upon the toilet seat and fed him through the hood, pushed the meat on him in order to get back as quickly as possible to the book. Utterly fascinated I was, and forgot how I sat on my bones, getting up lamed, dazed by all that boldness of assumption and reckoning. I wanted to talk to Thea about this, but she was too preoccupied with other things. I said, "Whose is this book?" "Just a book. Somebody's." "Well, this is some splendid stuff." She was glad I had found something to interest myself in but didn't care about the topic. She laid her hand to one side of my face and kissed me on the other; however, that was only to send me on my way.' I took a stretch in the rainy garden. From the wall I saw old da Fiori in the arbor as he picked his nose. Then I went to get my rubber poncho, for I had a great craving for company. Thea had asked me to get some photographic paper, which gave me an errand. As I marched down the wide, terraced stony stages in the slow rain there was a shaggy long-legged pig who lay in the red mud of the ditch, and a chicken stood on him and pecked the lice. And the gramophone was playing at Hilario's through a loudspeaker, Tres cosas hay en la vida Salud dinero y amor 356 " and next something winding and slow by Claudia Muzio or maybe Amelita Galli-Curci from Jewels of the Madonna. Eleanor Klein once had had that record. It made me feel sad, though not in a low state. In my foul-weather gear I passed before the cathedral where the beggars soaked in their wool colors and showed their lopped puckered limb ends. I left some coins behind; after all, the dough originally was Smitty's; I thought some of it should pass on. From Hilario's second-floor porch of flowers somebody called me and banged on the tin shield of Carta Blanca beer to get my attention. It was Wiley Moulton, who said, "Come on up." I was glad to. Besides Iggy there were two other people at the table who at first seemed man and wife to me. He was pushing fifty but behaved younger, a dry, thin, tall person. But I looked first at the girl, introduced to me merely as Stella. I was happy to see her. She ranked everything in the house, man, beast, and plant, as far as beauty went. Her features rose very slightly from the surface of her face, full of sense; her eyes were, I guess I'd say, amorous. It was natural that I should be happy to see her; I think, the way revolutionists feel the hands of passersby to know whether they're common people or aristocrats, when you're in love you also make identifications like that. Stella was this man Oliver's girl. And although when he looked at me he appeared to be at ease he was suspicious, and that's the irrationality of people, for he had arranged to make himself envied instead. Moulton soon made it clear that I wasn't unattached. "Hah, Bolingbroke," he said. "Who's that, me?" "Of course you. You can't look like a personage and not expect to receive an illustrious name. Something clicked when I saw you, and I | said there's a man who ought to be Bolingbroke if he isn't already. You don't mind, do you?" "Could anyone mind being Bolingbroke?" Each, according to his tendency, had a look of pleasantry, with malice or with sympathy. "This is Mr. March. Bolingbroke, what's your first name?" "Augie." "How is Thea?" "Fine." "We haven't seen you two much. Must be that eagle that keeps you busy." "He does, we are busy." "I admired you like anything when you arrived in the station wagon and I saw you take out that bird. I was sitting up here and watching the whole thing.