The record-union., 1896-01-11
MY FRIEND ARCANIEVA.


traetive edge of society.
I am glad you were able to come this
evening, Paddy he said ''Lumley has
brought down a splendid Russian fell
low. He came with letters to some of
the men of Trinity, and Lumley is doing
the honors."
7 am glad, too Bridget is better
now, and she ordered me away, found
me, in fact, getting stupid, which she
attributed to the atmosphere Of the
siCkroom."
4 hope you told her that the club
called in a body
'Inded I did, Oldberry. All you fell
lows are so kind to US; Bridget wonders
as much as I"
Oldberry looked at me, smiling in his
pleasant way. why, Paddy, you're
the pride of the club and as for Miss
Bridget, we all worship the ground she
treads on
Oldberry took my arm and led me
across the hall into a little room where
the members read and wrote letters on
the club notepaper. Near row of book
shelves saw Lumley's broad shoulders
and his massive brown head; he was
holding a book in one hand, and with
the other was accentuating his words
by a series Of vivid gesticulations Be
side him stood a remarkable figure.
The delicate face, with its large lumi
nous eyes, was of pale olive tint like
that Of faded ivory, and there was
something in the excessive blackness of
the hair. pointed beard and mustache
suggesting Eastern rather than South
ern blood. The man was slim to a fault,
and not above the middle hight. He
wore his hair brushed off his forehead
like child's ready for the round comb;
an ugly fashion, I noted. and nothing
less picturesque than his head and face
could carry off an effect 50 unbecoming.
The hair behind fell on to the top of his
velvet coat-collar; and this collar,
curving deeply round his long neck, and
low in front to display a quantity of
soft silk neckerchief, looked no less for
eign and striking than his head.
"Ah!" cried Lumley, spying me, and
holding out his hand with his smile of
cordial pleasure. This is Paddy, our
Paddy"
All the fellows called me Paddy. and
smiled when they greeted me. I have
always thought it was because of the
pleasure they took in pronouncing my
name.
"Paddyl' murmured the Russian, let
ting his luminous gaze rest gently on
my face, and saw that even his deep
eyes were stirred by something like a
smile as he hesitated over the fascin-
ating syllables. "It is a kind of SEN
sation to meet any one of the name he
said, and his English was perfect.
Then the rascally charm of Paddy
has penetrated to far Russia laughed
Lumley.
I'VE speak of an Irishman as Paddy
just as we speak of an Englishman as
John Bull; only somehow John Bull does
not make US smile, and we invariably
show our teeth when we say Paddy.
You must excuse me, sir, but the name
is so sympathetic and humorous-like
the face of a good-tempered child"
"Oh, it's never necessary to apollo
gize to Paddy" said Oldberry; "he does
not understand the disagreeable in
anything, He has got an enviable trick
of shutting his eyes upon all that is un-
pleasant, and everything he sees
pleases him.
Oldberry, you perceive is a good
natured fellow. Indeed they are all
gcod-natured fellows at the Athe-
naeum. Why they should agree to
spoil me in their persistent way is a
question cannot answer.
We fell into literary chat Lumley
had just founded a new review, which
we fondly hoped would eclipse the
famous Edinburgh" and of its pros
poets each had much to say. We all
wrote poetry, essays and short stories
in those days. I have never been able
to ascertain that the Irish Review Sc
7.i14,cJrr int with ,-ar,t4+ ion
and circulation of the great Whig or
gan; indeed, I fear that, like most
things Irish, it appealed too exclusively
to local tastes; but we were proud of it,
we were desperately in earnest, and we
were exceedingly Industrious. And
when Arcanieva actually proposed to
translate a short story by Turgeneff
and write an essay on Russian politics
for us, we literally embraced him.
toasted him in punch, and listened re-
spectfully to his views expressed be-
tween continuous puffs of cigarettes.
AS an Englishman or a Frenehman,
he would have interested US, but as a
Russian. he simply captivated us. His
slow lisping tones, his careful enuncia-
ticn, the breathless magnitude of his
views upon European questions, which
we approached with provincial reti-
cence and timidity, that queer black
head of his and the impossible ivory
facial combined to catch our fancy
and mysteriously inhame our imagina-
ton. We in Dublin are insufficiently
accustomed to foreign influences, and
hence our awe for the foreigner
Frenchmen have occasionally sought
the shelter of our hospltable homes, and
have been kind enough to profess them
selves both amused and interested
A casual Italian has settled in our
midst, and fallen in love with our la
dies. I think I have even heard OF a
German domesticated among US. But
a Russianl The picture of a Chinese,
a Turk or a japanese walking our
streets and familiarly greeting US by
name could not have excited us more
than this For weeks we went about
seeking wild and improbable excuses
for coming in contact with the fasci-
mating stranger. We grew proud and
ostentatious, and spoke with frantic
volubility of Tolstoi and Lermontoff
and ivan TuEgeneff. A few of US went
SO far as to purchase OHendorff's meth
Cd Of learning Russian, and called
one another Gospodi this and Gospodi
that, in tripping, lively way that
limited a considerable knowledge of the
language behind it. What a splendid
thing it was, we felt, to walk down
Grafton street with a real live Tartar.
not in the least like a Tartar but a
gentle polished creature, who might be
Russian attaehe and who held us
spellbound by his discourse, which
flowed from his lips softly and f1uently,