He was now thirty-four and realised that he was
never going to do anything with his life. Already he had travelled over
the world, seen a hundred, done a hundred things. He had an enormous
acquaintance in Society and among artists; writers, actors, painters--all
the people who did things and did them well. As a rule they liked him,
despite his bizarre bluntness of speech and manner, and they invariably
spoke of him as a man of great talent; he said because he was so seldom
fool enough to do anything that could reveal incompetence. His mother,
who was a widow, lived in the north, in an old family mansion, half
house, half castle, near the sea coast of Cumberland. He had one sister,
who was married to an American.
Carey always declared that he was that /rara avis/ an atheist, and that
he had been born an atheist. He affirmed that even when a child he had
never, for a moment, felt that there could be any other life than this
earth-life. Few people believed him. There are few people who can believe
in a child atheist.
Pierce had a totally different character. He seemed to be more dreamy and
was more energetic, talked much less and accomplished much more. It had
always been his ambition to be a successful diplomat, and in many
respects he was well fitted for a diplomatic career. He had a talent for
languages, great ease of manner, self-possession, patience and cunning.
He loved foreign life.
Pages:
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54