Subject: contingent

From: "Chris Stewart" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2006 06:43:30 -0700

He shall and should die, and so should all his sort:and so they will. And I am a poor man, signore, I havea wife and child to keep.
But in his heart of hearts it was always himself he wasthinking of, while he did it.
Iknew that in my own soul I had said, Yes, he must die if he cannotfind his own way. Just so long as he is in Africa, and it suits hispurpose! Theother half my debts are to be paid with:Furniture etc. I should have gonethird myself, out of shame of spending somebody elses money. Passionless, barren, utterly, coldly foul and hopeless. For manhood is a strange quality, to befound in human rats as well as in hot-blooded men. We went to the old capital in the centre of the island, and this isinteresting.
His things were being sent down to Syracuse fromthe monastery.
We shall have him on ourhands all our life. DonBernardo has written to his friends there.
We went into his bedroom, and he rang for moresodas. Malta is all a pale, softish,yellowish rock, just like bathbrick: this goes into fathomless dust.
For manhood is a strange quality, to befound in human rats as well as in hot-blooded men. A tout climbed on the foot-board: were we goingto Malta?
But alas, he had no white shoes: they had got lost orstolen.
He says he wont sleep in your house again. Particularly twoyoung men, Maltese, who were friends of Don Bernardo. No, I would not helpto keep him alive, not if I had to choose again. I asked Melenga what had happened, and read him the letter.
It isexactly two years since I read it first in the monastery. The greatrocks rose above us, yellow and carved, cut straight by man.
I should have gonethird myself, out of shame of spending somebody elses money. Where now is sacredFrance and the holy Allied Cause! We went to the consul and the steameragency. During August and September and half October we were away in thenorth.
Only I noticed he wilted a little when theofficers of the ship came near. We had to go down to have passports examined.
I would have died rather than be so humiliated, I couldnever have borne it. The greatrocks rose above us, yellow and carved, cut straight by man.
How did he pay his bill at the SanDomenico?
He took my letter in the sense implied and no wayoffended at my procedure. There came also a letter from Rome, addressed to me.
He took my hand in both his, and bowed to thewomen, who nodded and went upstairs. How is ithe has nobody that he can ask for a hundred lire or two?