The Adventures of Augie March - Saul Bellow [266]
discussed it with Clem, who was of like opinion. Clem was no slouch. He now said he was pushing ahead in the field of psychology and a lot was clear to him that was a mystery before. Oh, he still knocked himself. He said, "I bought all my fine notions at a fire sale," but he was growing more confident of his point of view. He made a big thing of my coming back, declaring that we were among the few true friends around. That was no lie. I had the. warmest feelings toward him. Well, then, he came around and said we must go to the Oriental Theatre and have supper. Till his last penny, Clem had to treat, and then he didn't mind if you stood him to something. He liked to look well, though his face was often raging, wrinkled, or his laugh was enormous while his teeth were snaggly, his head huge, and the suit he wore was prosperous, solid, middle-aged, a banker's suit, but his shanks were long, 432.. his shoes were wrecked, his socks old Argyles, he wore a turtleneck sweater and stunk of cigars. So we went to the Oriental. The stars crept in the blue heavens there, like Arabian nights. We heard Milton Berie singing "River, Stay Away from My Door," then floppy dancers, as couch-dolls in velvet, followed by an act of little dogs zipping across the stage in automobiles, and then a troupe of girls playing bagpipes. First they performed "Annie Laurie" and then went into classical numbers. They did the "Liebestod" and "Vaise Triste," and then came the feature, which was so lousy we walked out and went to a restaurant. Dignified again after his windy haw-haws in the wild gallery, Clem ordered a big Chinese dinner--sweet and sour pork, bamboo shoots, chicken chow mein with pineapple, egg too yung, and tea, rice, sherbet, almond cakes. We cleaned up on this and meanwhile had a conversation. "Now just suppose," he said, "we were on our way up the Nile to the first cataract, sailing in a dahabiyeh. The green fields and boys shying rocks at the heavy birds, and the splashing flowers, while we eat dates with aphrodisiacs in them and beautiful. Coptic girls come rowing up to the music of the lateen sails and so on. Going to Kamak to copy inscriptions. How would that be?" "Well, I just came back from one exotic place." "Yes, but you jumped the gun. You weren't ready to go yet. You won't take things step by step. That's why your trip wasn't a success. Now if you were ah Egyptologist you could go on this trip up the' Nile." "Good, then I'll become one. All I need is about ten-years' preparation." "Look at you, you look so bright and happy after supper and your face is so pleasant, why, you might be the owner of this building. Haw, haw! Oh, brother, you're swell!" "The only thing is," said I, flattered and smiling, "why the Nile?" "For you? Something exceptional," said Clem. "When I think of you I have to think in terms of something exceptional. On the level of achievement." He had picked up this vocabulary at the university. One of his favorite words was "reinforced," which meant to give food to a rat who has solved a problem, to encourage him. Meantime, with big red lips, scowling laughter, and territorial face, the great nose with its passages, he looked like a king. "Are you like one of the lousy crowd cheering the Coptics who row out to the boat? You are not. You are a distinguished personality. You are a man of feeling. Among us poor drips at the human masquerade you come like an angel." I tried to tut-tut him, but he said, "Oh, keep your shirt on, I'm not finished yet. You may not like it so much before I finish." "Well, don't build me up so, and you won't have to tear me down." "We aren't in the same universe of discourse. This is not yet what St. Thomas calls my level of first intention. I didn't say I thought you were an angel; only us common-clay, step-by-step, unfortunate ordinary personnel see you arrive as for a ball, smiling and beaming. You have ambitions. But you're ambitious in general. You're not concrete enough. You have to be concrete. Now Napoleon was. Goethe was. You take this Professor Sayce who actually had this Nile deal.