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PARTISAN REVIEW
fini shing, deep and autumna l, ftll ed thi s da rk encampmen t o r c10 lh and
vl'i ve t. Pi cni cking in th a t camp the shop ass is tants devi sed p racti ca l
jokes. Th ey let their co ll eagues wra p them ti ghtl y up to their ears in
dark , coo l cl o th and lay in a row bli ssfull y immo bil e under th e Slack o f
ba les -li ving bo lts of cloth like mummi es, ro llin g th eir eyes with an
assumed [car a t their own immobility. O r else they let themse lves be
swun g up to th e ceilin g on eno rmo us, o utspread bl ankets of clo th . T he
dull thuddin g of these bl ankets and the current of a ir tha t arose made
them mad with joy . It seemed as if the who le shop was ta king o ff in
fli ght, the fabrics rising in inspi ra ti on , the shop ass islants, w ith their
coa tta ils flowi ng, swinging upwa rd like prophels on short ascensio n s..
My mo ther looked indul gentl y a t these games, the re laxa ti o n due in the
ho urs o f sies ta justifIed in her eyes even the wo rst transgress io n s.
In th e summer the back o f Ihe shop was da rk because o f the weeds
grow ing in the courtya rd . The sto reroom window overl ook ing it
became a ll g reen and iridescent like subma rine d epths from the
movement o f leaves and their undul a tin g reflection s. Flies buzzed there
mono tono usly in the semio bscurity of long aft ernoon s, monstro us
specimen s bred on Fa ther 's sweet win e, ha iry hermits lamenting their
accursed fa te day in , day out in long, mo no tono us sagas. T ha t
degenera te race of shop fli es, inclined to wil d and unexpected mu ta–
ti ons, a bo unded in unna tura l specimen s, bred from inces tuo us uni on s,
degenera ted in to a super-race of to p heavy g iants, of veterans emitting a
deep melancholy buzz. Towa rd the end of the summer some specimen s
were pos thumo usly ha tched out with wasted wings, mute and vo ice–
less, th e las t of their race, resemblin g la rge, bluish beetl es, and ended
their sad lives runnin g up and down the g reen windowpanes on busy
futil e errands.
T he rarely opened door became covered with cobwebs. My mother
slept behind the desk, in a clo th hammock swin ging between the
shel ves. T he shop assistants, bo thered by fli es, win ced and g ri maced ,
stirring in an uneasy sleep . Meanwhil e, the weeds took over the
courtyard. Under the ruthl ess hea t o f the sun , th e rubbi sh heap
sp routed enormo us nettl es and ma ll ows.
The hea t o f the sun fallin g o n the subterranean wa ter on thi s p lo t
of soil p roduced a fermenta tion of venomo us substances, some po ison–
ous deriva ti ves of chl o rophyll. T hi s mo rbid p rocess brought fo rth
ma lfo rmed wrinkl ed lea ves of astoni shing li ghtness whi ch spread until
the space under the window was fill ed with a ti ss ue-thin tang le o f green
pleo nasms, of weed y rubbi sh degenera ting into a papery, tawdry
pa tchwo rk cling ing to the wa ll s of the storeroom. T he shop assistants
