68
PARTISAN REVIEW
downfa ll of the retail textil e trade. Who o f the p resent genera tion of
textil e merchants remembered the good traditi ons of their ancient art ?
Whi ch o f them knew for in stance tha t pieces o f cl o th , laid in a stack on
display shelves in accordance with the prin cipl es o f textil e a rt, could
emi t under the touch o f a finger running downwa rd , a sound like a
descendin g scale? Which amo ng hi s contempo ra ri es was conversan t
with the fin er poin ts of style in the exchange of notes, memos and
letters? How man y still remembered the charm o[ merchant d ip lomacy,
the dipl omacy of the good o ld school, the exciting stages o f nego tia–
ti on : beginning with irreconcil able stiffness and intransigent reserve a t
the visit of the representa tive of a foreign firm , through gradual thaw
under the influence of the indefa tigabl e persuas io ns and blandi shments
o f tha t en voy, until the invita tion
to
a workin g supper with wine–
served a t the desk, on top of papers, in an exalted mood, with some
pinching of Adela's bOllom whil e she served the mea l, amid peppery
jo kes and a free flow of ta lk, as behooves gentl emen who know wh a t is
expected in the circumstances -was crowned with a mutuall y p rofi–
ta ble business deal?
In
the qui etn ess of the mo rning hours, whil e the hea t was slow ly
ri sing, my fa ther expected to find a happy and inspired ph rase tha t
would give the required weight
to
hi s leller to Messrs. Christian Seipel
&
Sons, Spinners and Mechani cal Weavers.
It
was to be a cutting ripos t
to
the unfounded demands o f these gentl emen , the repl y
ad rem,
concise a t the decisive point, so tha t the letter could rise
to
a strong and
willy fin al plea to produce the desired shock effect, and could then be
rounded o ff with one energetic, el egant and fin al irrevocabl e sentence.
He could almost feel the form o f that phrase whi ch had been eluding
him for many days, he could almost touch it with hi s fin gertips, but
could not lay hi s hands on it. He wa ited for a flash of carefree humor
to
take by storm the obstacle tha t stubbornl y barred hi s way. He reached
for yet ano ther clean sheet of paper in order to give fresh impctus to the
conquest of the o bstacle tha t had been defying all his efforts.
Meanwhil e the shop became graduall y peopl ed with hi s ass istants.
T hey entered flu shed from the ea rl y morning hea t, avoiding fa ther's
desk, a t which they cas t fri ghtened and guilt-ridden loo ks.
Exhausted after the ni ght and conscious of it, they felt the weight
of hi s sil ent di sapproval, whi ch no thing they did could di spcl. No–
thing could placa te the master, brooding o ver hi s worries, no show o f
eagern ess could pacify him as he sa t lurking like a scorpion behind his
desk his glasses flashing omino usly as he fo raged like a mo use among
hi s papers. His excitement increased, hi s latent temper intensified in
