514
PARTISAN REVIEW
an aisle in the middle of the theater and hastily departed. Once
free of the usher, Cornelius walked further down, blind in the
soft darkness after the recent blaze of chandeliers, and after some
trouble found himself the kind of seat he wanted, one in the
middle of the aisle, where he would not be disturbed by those
who wished to depart.
Located in his seat, and comfortable at last, Cornelius
directed his gaze toward the screen. The newsreel was on, and
cavalrymen were leaping high barriers, flying upward from the
saddle at the apex of the jump and settling back again, all of this
performed with no little grace. The unseen voice, the commenta–
tor who always made Cornelius remember the Oracle at Delphi,
was saying: "Uncle Sam does not intend to be unprepared." The
scene shifted suddenly, to the accompaniment of sad and heavy
music. Flood pictures were shown; a family departed from its
almost submerged frame house in a rowboat, the young son of
the family clutching his dog in his arms. The face of the dog and
of the boy were shown in a close-up. The bleak and baffled look
of the dog charmed the audience. Everything moved slowly in
the slowly moving water. The commentator stated his senti–
ments in a histrionic baritone: "Nature shows its might on the
Ohio. Thousands are left homeless by the cruel and raging
waters." And then with a montage of archetypal newsreel scenes
(West Point; a batter swinging; Roosevelt at the microphone; an
actress descending from a train) and a martial music which came
to
a ringing close, the newsreel was ended. The theater lightened
and a well-dressed young man came upon the stage before the
screen, carrying a microphone with him. The uniformed ushers
followed him. In the corner stood a round red poster
to
which
golden discs were attached. When you turned the disc over, the
amount of money you had won was revealed by the dollar sign
upon the disc.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," said the young
.~
man, speaking into the microphone with a knowing and effi-
cient tone. "The management is again glad to offer prizes for the
winners in Screeno. Again we are offering $425 for anyone who
gets Screeno with the first seven numbers called.
If
no one is so
fortunate, then we will add $25
to
the amount and next week the
sum will be $450. Besides this, $50 in prizes will be distributed
