48
PARTISAN REVIEW
spell of silence that had been cast over the room, and Reynolds
poured wine and distributed filled glasses.
"I need this," said Mrs. Soules.
"Don't worry my lady. You won't see much. It's just
like a circus, as if you would be going to the
Cirque Medrano.
The crowd will be too large to see anything, and I give you my
word there is nothing much to see but people standing around
like dogs looking at theiri own shadows, and
poules,
and pick–
pockets and peddlers. Ah humanity
I
These fools
I"
Sorel said.
"But the idea is so grisly. You know tomorrow morning I
was planning to read some more of Proust in the
Cathedral of
Saint Germain des Pres,"
Alvin said, and they looked at him
curiously, Hirschmann sneering at him from the window.
"Ah this world is crazy. It is only we French who save
the human race from being ridiculous," Sorel said, and they
laughed.
"What do you think of Hitler?" Mrs. Soules asked, and
Sorel looked contemptuously at her.
"He's a German. I tell you, the German, he is crazy.
Crazier than the Russians. Some day we French
will
have to
erect a huge wall around Germany and Russia and keep civilized
nations out of it. That fellow Hitler is crazy enough to get
into power in Germany, and when he does, War." Again Jacques
shrugged his shoulders. "Well the fools want to make a sham–
bles. And I will have to do my duty and be killed."
"Why not a revolution ?"said Reynolds, ashes from his cig–
arette dropping onto the wine-red carpet as he spoke.
"I tell you Reynolds, my dear ch.ap, you are too talented
to concern yourself with such foolishness."
"You guys can talk, but I waht to say that since I went to
that Russian wedding, I now got an ambition in life, and a hope
to rescue myself from either newspaper work or writing detec–
tive stories," Jack Soules said. "When I go back to Louisiana,
I'm going to start a church with Russian weddings for the nig–
gers, and charge them five bucks a throw. I'll make my pile in
a year and then go to the South Sea Islands, and let Jacques save
civilization, and Art here fight the revolution."
"Capitalism and war will pursue you there. There's no
corner in the world where it won't," said Hirschmann bitterly.
"All I can say is that I think it's barbaric, guillotining in
public," Mrs. Soules said.
"Why? You cannot be so soft. Look at your own Amer-
