Chapter 11
This envelope contained several documents purporting to be copies of extraordinary originals, and amongst them a letter which was read by Mrs. Makebelieve more than ten thousand times or ever she went to bed that night. It related that more than two years previously one Patrick Joseph Brady had departed this life, and that his will, dated from a multitudinous address in New York, devised and bequeathed to his dearly beloved sister Mary Eileen Makebelieve, otherwise Brady, the following shares and securities for shares, to wit:--and the thereinafter mentioned houses and messuages, lands, tenements, hereditaments and premises, that was to say:--and all household furniture, books, pictures, prints, plate, linen, glass and objects of vertu, carriages, wines, liquors and all consumable stores and effects whatsoever then in the house so and so, and all money then in the Bank and thereafter to accrue due upon the thereinbefore mentioned stocks, funds, shares and securities.... Mrs. Makebelieve wept and besought God not to make a fool of a woman who was not only poor but old. The letter requested her to call on the following day, or at her earliest convenience, to "the above address," and desired that she should bring with her such letters or other documents as would establish her relationship to the deceased and assist in extracting the necessary Grant of Probate to the said Will, and it was subscribed by Messrs. Platitude & Glambe, Solicitors, Commissioners for Oaths and Protectors of the Poor.
To the Chambers of these gentlemen Mrs. Makebelieve and Mary repaired on the following day, and, having produced the letters and other documents for inspection, the philanthropists, Platitude and Glambe, professed themselves to be entirely satisfied as to their bona fides, and exhibited an eagerness to be of immediate service to the ladies in whatever capacity might be conceived. Mrs. Makebelieve instantly invoked the Pragmatic Sanction; she put the entire matter to the touchstone of absolute verity by demanding an advance of fifty pounds. Her mind reeled as she said the astounding amount, but her voice did not. A check was signed and a clerk dispatched, who returned with eight five-pound notes and ten sovereigns of massy gold. Mrs. Makebelieve secreted these, and went home marveling to find that she was yet alive. No trams ran over her. The motor cars pursued her, and were evaded. She put her hope in God, and explained so breathlessly to the furious street. One cyclist who took corners on trust she cursed by the Ineffable Name, but instantly withdrew the malediction for luck, and addressed his dwindling back with an eye of misery and a voice of benediction. For a little time neither she nor her daughter spoke of the change in their fortunes saving in terms of allusion; they feared that, notwithstanding their trust, God might hear and shatter them with His rolling laughter. They went out again that day furtively and feverishly and bought....
But on the following morning Mrs. Makebelieve returned again to her labor. She intended finishing her week's work with Mrs. O'Connor (it might not last for a week). She wished to observe that lady with the exact particularity, the singleness of eye, the true, candid, critical scrutiny which had hitherto been impossible to her. It was, she said to Mary, just possible that Mrs. O'Connor might make some remarks about soap. It was possible that the lady might advance theories as to how this or that particular kind of labor ought to be conducted.... Mrs. Makebelieve's black eye shone upon her child with a calm peace, a benevolent happiness rare indeed to human regard.
In the evening of that day Mary and the young man who lodged with their neighbor went out for the walk which had become customary with them. The young man had been fed with an amplitude which he had never known before, so that not even the remotest slim thread, shred, hint, echo or memory of hunger remained with him: he tried but could not make a dint in himself anywhere, and, consequently, he was as sad as only a well-fed person can be. Now that his hunger was gone he deemed that all else was gone also. His hunger, his sweetheart, his hopes, his good looks (for his injuries had matured to the ripe purple of the perfect bruise) all were gone, gone, gone. He told it to Mary, but she did not listen to him; to the rolling sky he announced it and it paid no heed. He walked beside Mary at last in silence, listening to her plans and caprices, the things she would do and buy, the people to whom gifts should be made and the species of gift uniquely suitable to this person and to that person, the people to whom money might be given and the amounts, and the methods whereby such largesse could be distributed. Hats were mentioned and dresses, and the new house somewhere--a space-embracing-somewhere, beyond surmise, beyond geography. They walked onwards for a long time, so long that at last a familiar feeling stole upon the youth. The word "food" seemed suddenly a topic worthy of the most spirited conversation. His spirits arose. He was no longer solid, space belonged to him also, it was in him and of him, and so there was a song in his heart. He was hungry and the friend of man again. Now everything was possible. The girl? Was she not by his side? The regeneration of Ireland and of Man? That could be done also; a little leisure and everything that can be thought can be done: even his good looks might be returned to him: he felt the sting and tightness of his bruises and was reassured, exultant. He was a man predestined to bruises; they would be his meat and drink and happiness, his refuge and sanctuary forever. Let us leave him, then, pacing volubly by the side of Mary, and exploring with a delicate finger his half-closed eye, which, until it was closed entirely, would always be half-closed by the decent buffet of misfortune. His ally and stay was hunger, and there is no better ally for any man: that satisfied and the game is up; for hunger is life, ambition, good-will and understanding, while fullness is all those negatives which culminate in greediness, stupidity and decay; so his bruises troubled him no further than as they affected the eyes of a lady wherein he prayed to be comely.
Bruises, unless they are desperate indeed, will heal at the last for no other reason than that they must. The inexorable compulsion of all things is towards health or destruction, life or death, and we hasten our joys or our woes to the logical extreme. It is urgent, therefore, that we be joyous if we wish to live. Our heads may be as solid as is possible, but our hearts and our heels shall be light or we are ruined. As to the golden mean--let us have nothing to do with that thing at all; it may only be gilded, it is very likely made of tin of a dull color and a lamentable sound, unworthy even of being stolen; and unless our treasures may be stolen they are of no use to us. It is contrary to the laws of life to possess that which other people do not want; therefore, your beer shall foam, your wife shall be pretty, and your little truth shall have a plum in it--for this is so; that your beer can only taste of your company, you can only know your wife when some one else does, and your little truth shall be savored or perish. Do you demand a big truth? Then, Oh Ambitious! you must turn aside from all your companions and sit very quietly, and if you sit long enough and quiet enough it may come to you; but this thing alone of all things you cannot steal, nor can it be given to you by the County Council. It cannot be communicated, and yet you may get it. It is unspeakable but not unthinkable, and it is born as certainly and unaccountably as you were yourself, and is of just as little immediate consequence. Long, long ago in the dim beginnings of the world there was a careless and gay young man who said--"Let truth go to hell"--and it went there. It was his misfortune that he had to follow it; it is ours that we are his descendants. An evil will either kill you or be killed by you, and (the reflection is comforting) the odds are with us in every fight waged against humanity by the dark or elemental beings. But humanity is timid and lazy, a believer in golden means and subterfuges and compromises, loath to address itself to any combat until its frontiers are virtually overrun and its cities and granaries and places of refuge are in jeopardy from those gloomy marauders. In that wide struggle which we call Progress, evil is always the aggressor and the vanquished, and it is right that this should be so, for without its onslaughts and depredations humanity might fall to a fat slumber upon its corn sacks and die snoring: or, alternatively, lacking these valorous alarms and excursions it might become self-satisfied and formularized, and be crushed to death by the mere dull density of virtue. Next to good the most valuable factor in life is evil. By the interaction of these all things are possible, and, therefore (or for any other reason that pleases you) let us wave a friendly hand in the direction of that bold, bad policeman whose thoughts were not governed by the Book of Regulations which is issued to all recruits, and who, in despite of the fact that he was enrolled among the very legions of order, had that chaos in his soul which may "give birth to a Dancing Star."
As to Mary--even ordinary, workaday politeness frowns on too abrupt a departure from a lady, particularly one whom we have companioned thus distantly from the careless simplicity of girlhood to the equally careless but complex businesses of adolescence. The world is all before her, and her chronicler may not be her guide. She will have adventures, for everybody has. She will win through with them, for everybody does. She may even meet bolder and badder men than the policeman--Shall we then detain her? I, for one, having urgent calls elsewhere, will salute her fingers and raise my hat and stand aside, and you will do likewise, because it is my pleasure that you should. She will go forward, then, to do that which is pleasing to the gods, for less than that she cannot do, and more is not to be expected of any one.
THUS FAR THE STORY OF MARY MAKEBELIEVE
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Complete List of Titles
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A MODERN BOOK OF CRITICISMS (81) Edited with an Introduction by LUDWIG LEWISOHN
ANDERSON, SHERWOOD (1876-)
Winesburg, Ohio, (104)
ANDREYEV, LEONID (1871-)
The Seven That Were Hanged and The Red Laugh (45) Introduction by THOMAS SELTZER
ATHERTON, GERTRUDE (1859-)
Rezanov (71) Introduction by WILLIAM MARION REEDY
BALZAC, HONORE DE (1799-1850)
Short Stories (40)
BAUDELAIRE, PIERRE CHARLES (1821-1867)
His Prose and Poetry (70)
BEARDSLEY, THE ART OF AUBREY (1872-1898)
64 Black and White Reproductions (42) Introduction by ARTHUR SYMONS
BEERBOHM, MAX (1872-)
Zuleika Dobson (50) Introduction by FRANCIS HACKETT
BEST GHOST STORIES (73)
Introduction by ARTHUR B. REEVE
BEST HUMOROUS AMERICAN SHORT STORIES (87)
Edited with an Introduction by ALEXANDER JESSUP
BEST RUSSIAN SHORT STORIES (18)
Edited with an Introduction by THOMAS SELTZER
BLAKE, WILLIAM (1757-1827)
Poems (91) Edited with notes by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS
BUTLER, SAMUEL (1835-1902)
The Way of All Flesh (13)
CABELL, JAMES BRANCH
Beyond Life (25) Introduction by GUY HOLT
CARPENTER, EDWARD (1844-)
Love's Coming of Age (51)
CHEKHOV, ANTON (1860-1904)
Rothschild's Fiddle and Thirteen Other Stories (31)
CHESTERTON, G. K. (1874-)
The Man Who Was Thursday (35)
CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE (99)
Edited with an Introduction by Dr. BENJ. HARROW
CRANE, STEPHEN (1870-)
Men, Women and Boats (102) Introduction by VINCENT STARRETT
D'ANNUNZIO, GABRIELE (1864-)
The Flame of Life (65)
The Triumph of Death (112) Introduction by BURTON RASCOE
DAVIDSON, JOHN
Poems (60)
DAUDET, ALPHONSE (1840-1897)
Sapho (85) In same volume Prevost's "Manon Lescaut"
DOSTOYEVSKY, FEDOR (1821-1881)
Poor People (10) Introduction by THOMAS SELTZER
DOWSON, ERNEST (1867-1900)
Poems and Prose (74) Introduction by ARTHUR SYMONS
DREISER, THEODORE
Free and Other Stories (50) Introduction by H. L. MENCKEN
DUNSANY, LORD (Edward John Plunkett) (1878-)
A Dreamer's Tales (34) Introduction by PADRIAC COLUM
Book of Wonder (43)
ELLIS, HAVELOCK (1859-)
The New Spirit (95) Introduction by the author
EVOLUTION IN MODERN THOUGHT (37)
A Symposium, including Essays by Haeckel, Thomson, Weismann, etc.
FLAUBERT, GUSTAVE (1821-1880)
Madame Bovary (28)
The Temptation of St. Anthony (92) Translated by LAFCADIO HEARN
FLEMING, MARJORIE (1803-1811)
Marjorie Fleming's Book (93) Introduction by CLIFFORD SMYTH
FRANCE, ANATOLE (1844-)
The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard (22) Introduction by LAFCADIO HEARN
The Queen Pedauque (110) Introduction by JAMES BRANCH CABELL
The Red Lily (7)
Thais (67) Introduction by HENDRIK W. VAN LOON
FRENSSEN, GUSTAV (1863-)
John Uhl (101) Introduction by LUDWIG LEWISOHN
GAUTIER, THEOPHILE (1811-1872)
Mlle. de Maupin (53)
GEORGE, W. L. (1882-)
A Bed of Roses (75) Introduction by EDGAR SALTUS
GILBERT, W. S. (1836-1911)
The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance, Iolanthe, The Gondoliers, (26) Introduction by CLARENCE DAY, Jr.
GISSING, GEORGE, (1857-1903)
The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft (46) Introduction by PAUL ELMER MORE
De GONCOURT, E. and J. (1822-1896) (1830-1870)
Renee Mauperin (76) Introduction by EMILE ZOLA
GORKY, MAXIM (1868-)
Creatures That Once Were Men and Four Other Stories (48) Introduction by G. K. CHESTERTON
HARDY, THOMAS (1840-)
The Mayor of Casterbridge (17) Introduction by JOYCE KILMER
HECHT, BEN
Erik Dorn (29) Introduction by BURTON RASCOE
HUDSON, W. H. (1862-)
Green Mansions (89) Introduction by JOHN GALSWORTHY
IBANEZ, VICENTE BLASCO (1867-)
The Cabin (69) Introduction by JOHN GARRETT UNDERHILL
IBSEN, HENRIK (1828-1906)
A Doll's House, Ghosts, An Enemy of the People (6); Hedda Gabler, Pillars of Society, The Master Builder (36) Introduction by H. L. MENCKEN
The Wild Duck, Rosmersholm, The League of Youth (54)
JAMES, HENRY (1843-1916)
Daisy Miller and An International Episode (63) Introduction by WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS
KIPLING, RUDYARD (1865-)
Soldiers Three (3)
LATZKO, ANDREAS (1876-)
Men in War (88)
LAWRENCE, D. H. (1887-)
Sons and Lovers (109) Introduction by JOHN MACY
LE GALLIENNE, ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN POETRY (107) Edited with an introduction by RICHARD LE GALLIENNE
LOTI, PIERRE (1850-)
Madame Chrysantheme (94)
MACY, JOHN (1877-)
The Spirit of American Literature (56)
MAETERLINCK, MAURICE (1862-)
A Miracle of St. Antony, Pelleas and Melisande, The Death of Tintagiles, Alladine and Palomides, Interior, The Intruder (11)
DeMAUPASSANT, GUY (1850-1893)
Love and Other Stories (72) Edited and translated with an Introduction by MICHAEL MONAHAN
Mademoiselle Fifi, and Twelve Other Stories (8); Une Vie (57) Introduction by HENRY JAMES
MEREDITH, GEORGE (1828-1909)
Diana of the Crossways (14) Introduction by ARTHUR SYMONS
MOLIERE
Plays (78) Introduction by WALDO FRANK
MOORE, GEORGE (1853-)
Confessions of a Young Man (16) Introduction by FLOYD DELL
MORRISON, ARTHUR (1863-)
Tales of Mean Streets (100) Introduction by H. L. MENCKEN
NIETZSCHE, FRIEDRICH (1844-1900)
Thus Spake Zarathustra (9) Introduction by FRAU FOERSTER-NIETZSCHE
Beyond Good and Evil (20) Introduction by WILLARD HUNTINGTON WRIGHT
Genealogy of Morals (62)
O'NEILL, EUGENE (1888-)
The Moon of the Carribbees and Six Other Plays of the Sea (111) Introduction by GEORGE JEAN NATHAN
OUIDA
In a Winter City (24) Introduction by CARL VAN VECHTEN
PAINE, THOMAS (1737-1809)
Selections from the Writings of Thomas Paine (108) Edited with an Introduction by CARL VAN DOREN
PATER, WALTER (1839-1894)
Marius the Epicurean (90)
The Renaissance (86) Introduction by ARTHUR SYMONS
PEPYS', SAMUEL; DIARY (103)
Condensed. Introduction by RICHARD LE GALLIENNE
PREVOST, ANTOINE FRANCOIS (1697-1763)
Manon Lescaut (85) In same volume with Daudet's Sapho
PSYCHOANALYSIS, AN OUTLINE OF (66)
A Symposium of the latest expressions by the leaders of the various schools of the new psychology. Edited by J. S. VAN TESLAAR
RODIN, THE ART OF (1840-1917)
64 Black and White Reproductions (41) Introduction by LOUIS WEINBERG
SCHNITZLER, ARTHUR (1862-)
Anatol, Living Hours, The Green Cockatoo (32) Introduction by ASHLEY DUKES
Bertha Garlan (39)
SCHOPENHAUER, ARTHUR (1788-1860)
Studies in Pessimism (12) Introduction by T. B. SAUNDERS
SHAW, G. B. (1856-)
An Unsocial Socialist (15)
SINCLAIR, MAY
The Belfry (68)
STEPHENS, JAMES
Mary, Mary (30) Introduction by PADRIAC COLUM
STEVENSON, ROBERT LOUIS (1850-1894)
Treasure Island (4)
STIRNER, MAX (Johann Caspar Schmidt) (1806-1859)
The Ego and His Own (49)
STRINDBERG, AUGUST (1849-1912)
Married (2) Introduction by THOMAS SELTZER
Miss Julie, The Creditor, The Stronger Woman, Motherly Love, Paria, Simoon (52)
SUDERMANN, HERMANN (1857-)
Dame Care (33)
SWINBURNE, ALGERNON CHARLES (1837-1909)
Poems (23) Introduction by ERNEST RHYS
THOMPSON, FRANCIS (1859-1907)
Complete Poems (38)
TOLSTOY, LEO (1828-1910)
Redemption and Two Other Plays (77) Introduction by ARTHUR HOPKINS
The Death of Ivan Ilyitch and Four Other Stories (64)
TURGENEV, IVAN (1818-1883)
Fathers and Sons (21) Introduction by THOMAS SELTZER
Smoke (80) Introduction by JOHN REED
VAN LOON, HENDRIK WILLEM (1882-)
Ancient Man (105)
VILLON FRANCOIS (1431-1461)
Poems (58) Introduction by JOHN PAYNE
VOLTAIRE, (FRANCOIS MARIE AROUET) (1694-1778)
Candide (47) Introduction by PHILIP LITTELL
WELLS, H. G. (1866-)
Ann Veronica (27)
The War in the Air (5) New Preface by H. G. Wells for this edition
WHITMAN, WALT (1819-)
Poems (97) Introduction by CARL SANDBURG
WILDE, OSCAR (1859-1900)
An Ideal Husband, A Woman of No Importance (84)
Dorian Gray (1)
Fairy Tales and Poems in Prose (61)
Intentions (96)
Poems (19)
Salome, The Importance of Being Earnest, Lady Windermere's Fan (83) Introduction by EDGAR SALTUS
WILSON, WOODROW (1856-)
Selected Addresses and Public Papers (55) Edited with an introduction by ALBERT BUSHNELL HART
WOMAN QUESTION, THE (59)
A Symposium, including Essays by Ellen Key, Havelock Ellis, G. Lowes Dickinson, etc. Edited by T. R. SMITH
YEATS, W. B. (1865-)
Irish Fairy and Folk Tales (44)
Transcriber's Notes:
There are several misspellings in the text, such as eagnerness, Padriac.
"deary" & "dearie" are both used.
There are instances of missing capitals, such as 'alanna' and several first words of sentences.
There are several instances of missing punctuation.
Mary's room is described as being "one square inch" in size in original text.