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- Генри Джеймс
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- Стр. 1/11
International episode
Four
years
ago
—
in
1874
—
two
young
Englishmen
had
occasion
to
go
to
the
United
States
.
They
crossed
the
ocean
at
midsummer
,
and
,
arriving
in
New
York
on
the
first
day
of
August
,
were
much
struck
with
the
fervid
temperature
of
that
city
.
Disembarking
upon
the
wharf
,
they
climbed
into
one
of
those
huge
high
-
hung
coaches
which
convey
passengers
to
the
hotels
,
and
with
a
great
deal
of
bouncing
and
bumping
,
took
their
course
through
Broadway
.
The
midsummer
aspect
of
New
York
is
not
,
perhaps
,
the
most
favorable
one
;
still
,
it
is
not
without
its
picturesque
and
even
brilliant
side
.
Nothing
could
well
resemble
less
a
typical
English
street
than
the
interminable
avenue
,
rich
in
incongruities
,
through
which
our
two
travelers
advanced
—
looking
out
on
each
side
of
them
at
the
comfortable
animation
of
the
sidewalks
,
the
high
-
colored
,
heterogeneous
architecture
,
the
huge
white
marble
facades
glittering
in
the
strong
,
crude
light
,
and
bedizened
with
gilded
lettering
,
the
multifarious
awnings
,
banners
,
and
streamers
,
the
extraordinary
number
of
omnibuses
,
horsecars
,
and
other
democratic
vehicles
,
the
vendors
of
cooling
fluids
,
the
white
trousers
and
big
straw
hats
of
the
policemen
,
the
tripping
gait
of
the
modish
young
persons
on
the
pavement
,
the
general
brightness
,
newness
,
juvenility
,
both
of
people
and
things
.
The
young
men
had
exchanged
few
observations
;
but
in
crossing
Union
Square
,
in
front
of
the
monument
to
Washington
—
in
the
very
shadow
,
indeed
,
projected
by
the
image
of
the
pater
patriae
—
one
of
them
remarked
to
the
other
,
“
It
seems
a
rum
-
looking
place
.
”
“
Ah
,
very
odd
,
very
odd
,
”
said
the
other
,
who
was
the
clever
man
of
the
two
.
“
Pity
it
’
s
so
beastly
hot
,
”
resumed
the
first
speaker
after
a
pause
.
“
You
know
we
are
in
a
low
latitude
,
”
said
his
friend
.
“
I
daresay
,
”
remarked
the
other
.
“
I
wonder
,
”
said
the
second
speaker
presently
,
“
if
they
can
give
one
a
bath
?
”
“
I
daresay
not
,
”
rejoined
the
other
.
“
Oh
,
I
say
!
”
cried
his
comrade
.
This
animated
discussion
was
checked
by
their
arrival
at
the
hotel
,
which
had
been
recommended
to
them
by
an
American
gentleman
whose
acquaintance
they
made
—
with
whom
,
indeed
,
they
became
very
intimate
—
on
the
steamer
,
and
who
had
proposed
to
accompany
them
to
the
inn
and
introduce
them
,
in
a
friendly
way
,
to
the
proprietor
.
This
plan
,
however
,
had
been
defeated
by
their
friend
’
s
finding
that
his
“
partner
”
was
awaiting
him
on
the
wharf
and
that
his
commercial
associate
desired
him
instantly
to
come
and
give
his
attention
to
certain
telegrams
received
from
St
.
Louis
.
But
the
two
Englishmen
,
with
nothing
but
their
national
prestige
and
personal
graces
to
recommend
them
,
were
very
well
received
at
the
hotel
,
which
had
an
air
of
capacious
hospitality
.
They
found
that
a
bath
was
not
unattainable
,
and
were
indeed
struck
with
the
facilities
for
prolonged
and
reiterated
immersion
with
which
their
apartment
was
supplied
.
After
bathing
a
good
deal
—
more
,
indeed
,
than
they
had
ever
done
before
on
a
single
occasion
—
they
made
their
way
into
the
dining
room
of
the
hotel
,
which
was
a
spacious
restaurant
,
with
a
fountain
in
the
middle
,
a
great
many
tall
plants
in
ornamental
tubs
,
and
an
array
of
French
waiters
.
The
first
dinner
on
land
,
after
a
sea
voyage
,
is
,
under
any
circumstances
,
a
delightful
occasion
,
and
there
was
something
particularly
agreeable
in
the
circumstances
in
which
our
young
Englishmen
found
themselves
.
They
were
extremely
good
natured
young
men
;
they
were
more
observant
than
they
appeared
;
in
a
sort
of
inarticulate
,
accidentally
dissimulative
fashion
,
they
were
highly
appreciative
.
This
was
,
perhaps
,
especially
the
case
with
the
elder
,
who
was
also
,
as
I
have
said
,
the
man
of
talent
.
They
sat
down
at
a
little
table
,
which
was
a
very
different
affair
from
the
great
clattering
seesaw
in
the
saloon
of
the
steamer
.
The
wide
doors
and
windows
of
the
restaurant
stood
open
,
beneath
large
awnings
,
to
a
wide
pavement
,
where
there
were
other
plants
in
tubs
,
and
rows
of
spreading
trees
,
and
beyond
which
there
was
a
large
shady
square
,
without
any
palings
,
and
with
marble
-
paved
walks
.
And
above
the
vivid
verdure
rose
other
facades
of
white
marble
and
of
pale
chocolate
-
colored
stone
,
squaring
themselves
against
the
deep
blue
sky
.
Here
,
outside
,
in
the
light
and
the
shade
and
the
heat
,
there
was
a
great
tinkling
of
the
bells
of
innumerable
streetcars
,
and
a
constant
strolling
and
shuffling
and
rustling
of
many
pedestrians
,
a
large
proportion
of
whom
were
young
women
in
Pompadour
-
looking
dresses
.
Within
,
the
place
was
cool
and
vaguely
lighted
,
with
the
plash
of
water
,
the
odor
of
flowers
,
and
the
flitting
of
French
waiters
,
as
I
have
said
,
upon
soundless
carpets
.
“
It
’
s
rather
like
Paris
,
you
know
,
”
said
the
younger
of
our
two
travelers
.
“
It
’
s
like
Paris
—
only
more
so
,
”
his
companion
rejoined
.
“
I
suppose
it
’
s
the
French
waiters
,
”
said
the
first
speaker
.
“
Why
don
’
t
they
have
French
waiters
in
London
?
”
“
Fancy
a
French
waiter
at
a
club
,
”
said
his
friend
.
The
young
Englishman
started
a
little
,
as
if
he
could
not
fancy
it
.
“
In
Paris
I
’
m
very
apt
to
dine
at
a
place
where
there
’
s
an
English
waiter
.
Don
’
t
you
know
what
’
s
-
his
-
name
’
s
,
close
to
the
thingumbob
?
They
always
set
an
English
waiter
at
me
.
I
suppose
they
think
I
can
’
t
speak
French
.
”
“
Well
,
you
can
’
t
.
”
And
the
elder
of
the
young
Englishmen
unfolded
his
napkin
.
His
companion
took
no
notice
whatever
of
this
declaration
.
“
I
say
,
”
he
resumed
in
a
moment
,
“
I
suppose
we
must
learn
to
speak
American
.
I
suppose
we
must
take
lessons
.
”
“
I
can
’
t
understand
them
,
”
said
the
clever
man
.
“
What
the
deuce
is
HE
saying
?
”
asked
his
comrade
,
appealing
from
the
French
waiter
.
“
He
is
recommending
some
soft
-
shell
crabs
,
”
said
the
clever
man
.
And
so
,
in
desultory
observation
of
the
idiosyncrasies
of
the
new
society
in
which
they
found
themselves
,
the
young
Englishmen
proceeded
to
dine
—
going
in
largely
,
as
the
phrase
is
,
for
cooling
draughts
and
dishes
,
of
which
their
attendant
offered
them
a
very
long
list
.
After
dinner
they
went
out
and
slowly
walked
about
the
neighboring
streets
.
The
early
dusk
of
waning
summer
was
coming
on
,
but
the
heat
was
still
very
great
.
The
pavements
were
hot
even
to
the
stout
boot
soles
of
the
British
travelers
,
and
the
trees
along
the
curbstone
emitted
strange
exotic
odors
.
The
young
men
wandered
through
the
adjoining
square
—
that
queer
place
without
palings
,
and
with
marble
walks
arranged
in
black
and
white
lozenges
.
There
were
a
great
many
benches
,
crowded
with
shabby
-
looking
people
,
and
the
travelers
remarked
,
very
justly
,
that
it
was
not
much
like
Belgrave
Square
.
On
one
side
was
an
enormous
hotel
,
lifting
up
into
the
hot
darkness
an
immense
array
of
open
,
brightly
lighted
windows
.
At
the
base
of
this
populous
structure
was
an
eternal
jangle
of
horsecars
,
and
all
round
it
,
in
the
upper
dusk
,
was
a
sinister
hum
of
mosquitoes
.
The
ground
floor
of
the
hotel
seemed
to
be
a
huge
transparent
cage
,
flinging
a
wide
glare
of
gaslight
into
the
street
,
of
which
it
formed
a
sort
of
public
adjunct
,
absorbing
and
emitting
the
passersby
promiscuously
.
The
young
Englishmen
went
in
with
everyone
else
,
from
curiosity
,
and
saw
a
couple
of
hundred
men
sitting
on
divans
along
a
great
marble
-
paved
corridor
,
with
their
legs
stretched
out
,
together
with
several
dozen
more
standing
in
a
queue
,
as
at
the
ticket
office
of
a
railway
station
,
before
a
brilliantly
illuminated
counter
of
vast
extent
.
These
latter
persons
,
who
carried
portmanteaus
in
their
hands
,
had
a
dejected
,
exhausted
look
;
their
garments
were
not
very
fresh
,
and
they
seemed
to
be
rendering
some
mysterious
tribute
to
a
magnificent
young
man
with
a
waxed
mustache
,
and
a
shirtfront
adorned
with
diamond
buttons
,
who
every
now
and
then
dropped
an
absent
glance
over
their
multitudinous
patience
.
They
were
American
citizens
doing
homage
to
a
hotel
clerk
.
“
I
’
m
glad
he
didn
’
t
tell
us
to
go
there
,
”
said
one
of
our
Englishmen
,
alluding
to
their
friend
on
the
steamer
,
who
had
told
them
so
many
things
.
They
walked
up
the
Fifth
Avenue
,
where
,
for
instance
,
he
had
told
them
that
all
the
first
families
lived
.
But
the
first
families
were
out
of
town
,
and
our
young
travelers
had
only
the
satisfaction
of
seeing
some
of
the
second
—
or
perhaps
even
the
third
—
taking
the
evening
air
upon
balconies
and
high
flights
of
doorsteps
,
in
the
streets
which
radiate
from
the
more
ornamental
thoroughfare
.
They
went
a
little
way
down
one
of
these
side
streets
,
and
they
saw
young
ladies
in
white
dresses
—
charming
-
looking
persons
—
seated
in
graceful
attitudes
on
the
chocolate
-
colored
steps
.
In
one
or
two
places
these
young
ladies
were
conversing
across
the
street
with
other
young
ladies
seated
in
similar
postures
and
costumes
in
front
of
the
opposite
houses
,
and
in
the
warm
night
air
their
colloquial
tones
sounded
strange
in
the
ears
of
the
young
Englishmen
.
One
of
our
friends
,
nevertheless
—
the
younger
one
—
intimated
that
he
felt
a
disposition
to
interrupt
a
few
of
these
soft
familiarities
;
but
his
companion
observed
,
pertinently
enough
,
that
he
had
better
be
careful
.
“
We
must
not
begin
with
making
mistakes
,
”
said
his
companion
.
“
But
he
told
us
,
you
know
—
he
told
us
,
”
urged
the
young
man
,
alluding
again
to
the
friend
on
the
steamer
.
“
Never
mind
what
he
told
us
!
”
answered
his
comrade
,
who
,
if
he
had
greater
talents
,
was
also
apparently
more
of
a
moralist
.
By
bedtime
—
in
their
impatience
to
taste
of
a
terrestrial
couch
again
our
seafarers
went
to
bed
early
—
it
was
still
insufferably
hot
,
and
the
buzz
of
the
mosquitoes
at
the
open
windows
might
have
passed
for
an
audible
crepitation
of
the
temperature
.
“
We
can
’
t
stand
this
,
you
know
,
”
the
young
Englishmen
said
to
each
other
;
and
they
tossed
about
all
night
more
boisterously
than
they
had
tossed
upon
the
Atlantic
billows
.
On
the
morrow
,
their
first
thought
was
that
they
would
re
-
embark
that
day
for
England
;
and
then
it
occured
to
them
that
they
might
find
an
asylum
nearer
at
hand
.
The
cave
of
Aeolus
became
their
ideal
of
comfort
,
and
they
wondered
where
the
Americans
went
when
they
wished
to
cool
off
.
They
had
not
the
least
idea
,
and
they
determined
to
apply
for
information
to
Mr
.
J
.
L
.
Westgate
.
This
was
the
name
inscribed
in
a
bold
hand
on
the
back
of
a
letter
carefully
preserved
in
the
pocketbook
of
our
junior
traveler
.
Beneath
the
address
,
in
the
left
-
hand
corner
of
the
envelope
,
were
the
words
,
“
Introducing
Lord
Lambeth
and
Percy
Beaumont
,
Esq
.
”
The
letter
had
been
given
to
the
two
Englishmen
by
a
good
friend
of
theirs
in
London
,
who
had
been
in
America
two
years
previously
,
and
had
singled
out
Mr
.
J
.
L
.
Westgate
from
the
many
friends
he
had
left
there
as
the
consignee
,
as
it
were
,
of
his
compatriots
.
“
He
is
a
capital
fellow
,
”
the
Englishman
in
London
had
said
,
“
and
he
has
got
an
awfully
pretty
wife
.
He
’
s
tremendously
hospitable
—
he
will
do
everything
in
the
world
for
you
;
and
as
he
knows
everyone
over
there
,
it
is
quite
needless
I
should
give
you
any
other
introduction
.
He
will
make
you
see
everyone
;
trust
to
him
for
putting
you
into
circulation
.
He
has
got
a
tremendously
pretty
wife
.
”
It
was
natural
that
in
the
hour
of
tribulation
Lord
Lambeth
and
Mr
.
Percy
Beaumont
should
have
bethought
themselves
of
a
gentleman
whose
attractions
had
been
thus
vividly
depicted
;
all
the
more
so
that
he
lived
in
the
Fifth
Avenue
,
and
that
the
Fifth
Avenue
,
as
they
had
ascertained
the
night
before
,
was
contiguous
to
their
hotel
.
“
Ten
to
one
he
’
ll
be
out
of
town
,
”
said
Percy
Beaumont
;
“
but
we
can
at
least
find
out
where
he
has
gone
,
and
we
can
immediately
start
in
pursuit
.
He
can
’
t
possibly
have
gone
to
a
hotter
place
,
you
know
.
”
“
Oh
,
there
’
s
only
one
hotter
place
,
”
said
Lord
Lambeth
,
“
and
I
hope
he
hasn
’
t
gone
there
.
”
They
strolled
along
the
shady
side
of
the
street
to
the
number
indicated
upon
the
precious
letter
.
The
house
presented
an
imposing
chocolate
-
colored
expanse
,
relieved
by
facings
and
window
cornices
of
florid
sculpture
,
and
by
a
couple
of
dusty
rose
trees
which
clambered
over
the
balconies
and
the
portico
.
This
last
-
mentioned
feature
was
approached
by
a
monumental
flight
of
steps
.
“
Rather
better
than
a
London
house
,
”
said
Lord
Lambeth
,
looking
down
from
this
altitude
,
after
they
had
rung
the
bell
.
“
It
depends
upon
what
London
house
you
mean
,
”
replied
his
companion
.
“
You
have
a
tremendous
chance
to
get
wet
between
the
house
door
and
your
carriage
.
”
“
Well
,
”
said
Lord
Lambeth
,
glancing
at
the
burning
heavens
,
“
I
‘
guess
’
it
doesn
’
t
rain
so
much
here
!
”
The
door
was
opened
by
a
long
Negro
in
a
white
jacket
,
who
grinned
familiarly
when
Lord
Lambeth
asked
for
Mr
.
Westgate
.
“
He
ain
’
t
at
home
,
sah
;
he
’
s
downtown
at
his
o
’
fice
.
”
“
Oh
,
at
his
office
?
”
said
the
visitors
.
“
And
when
will
he
be
at
home
?
”
“
Well
,
sah
,
when
he
goes
out
dis
way
in
de
mo
’
ning
,
he
ain
’
t
liable
to
come
home
all
day
.
”
This
was
discouraging
;
but
the
address
of
Mr
.
Westgate
’
s
office
was
freely
imparted
by
the
intelligent
black
and
was
taken
down
by
Percy
Beaumont
in
his
pocketbook
.
The
two
gentlemen
then
returned
,
languidly
,
to
their
hotel
,
and
sent
for
a
hackney
coach
,
and
in
this
commodious
vehicle
they
rolled
comfortably
downtown
.
They
measured
the
whole
length
of
Broadway
again
and
found
it
a
path
of
fire
;
and
then
,
deflecting
to
the
left
,
they
were
deposited
by
their
conductor
before
a
fresh
,
light
,
ornamental
structure
,
ten
stories
high
,
in
a
street
crowded
with
keen
-
faced
,
light
-
limbed
young
men
,
who
were
running
about
very
quickly
and
stopping
each
other
eagerly
at
corners
and
in
doorways
.
Passing
into
this
brilliant
building
,
they
were
introduced
by
one
of
the
keen
-
faced
young
men
—
he
was
a
charming
fellow
,
in
wonderful
cream
-
colored
garments
and
a
hat
with
a
blue
ribbon
,
who
had
evidently
perceived
them
to
be
aliens
and
helpless
—
to
a
very
snug
hydraulic
elevator
,
in
which
they
took
their
place
with
many
other
persons
,
and
which
,
shooting
upward
in
its
vertical
socket
,
presently
projected
them
into
the
seventh
horizontal
compartment
of
the
edifice
.
Here
,
after
brief
delay
,
they
found
themselves
face
to
face
with
the
friend
of
their
friend
in
London
.
His
office
was
composed
of
several
different
rooms
,
and
they
waited
very
silently
in
one
of
them
after
they
had
sent
in
their
letter
and
their
cards
.
The
letter
was
not
one
which
it
would
take
Mr
.
Westgate
very
long
to
read
,
but
he
came
out
to
speak
to
them
more
instantly
than
they
could
have
expected
;
he
had
evidently
jumped
up
from
his
work
.
He
was
a
tall
,
lean
personage
and
was
dressed
all
in
fresh
white
linen
;
he
had
a
thin
,
sharp
,
familiar
face
,
with
an
expression
that
was
at
one
and
the
same
time
sociable
and
businesslike
,
a
quick
,
intelligent
eye
,
and
a
large
brown
mustache
,
which
concealed
his
mouth
and
made
his
chin
,
beneath
it
,
look
small
.
Lord
Lambeth
thought
he
looked
tremendously
clever
.
“
How
do
you
do
,
Lord
Lambeth
—
how
do
you
do
,
sir
?
”
he
said
,
holding
the
open
letter
in
his
hand
.
“
I
’
m
very
glad
to
see
you
;
I
hope
you
’
re
very
well
.
You
had
better
come
in
here
;
I
think
it
’
s
cooler
,
”
and
he
led
the
way
into
another
room
,
where
there
were
law
books
and
papers
,
and
windows
wide
open
beneath
striped
awning
.
Just
opposite
one
of
the
windows
,
on
a
line
with
his
eyes
,
Lord
Lambeth
observed
the
weathervane
of
a
church
steeple
.
The
uproar
of
the
street
sounded
infinitely
far
below
,
and
Lord
Lambeth
felt
very
high
in
the
air
.
“
I
say
it
’
s
cooler
,
”
pursued
their
host
,
“
but
everything
is
relative
.
How
do
you
stand
the
heat
?
”
“
I
can
’
t
say
we
like
it
,
”
said
Lord
Lambeth
;
“
but
Beaumont
likes
it
better
than
I
.
”
“
Well
,
it
won
’
t
last
,
”
Mr
.
