Chapter 24 Section VI
Lowell avoided Longfellow's gaze, and deliberately skipped Bucky's long speech attacking Longfellow, "I think that in this world, pious gratitude is rarer than good poetry, Longfellow .Bucky's no more emotional than horseradish. Lonsar was terrified when he got into the police, probably because he knew who murdered Healy. He knew Bucky was the murderer, and maybe he was an accomplice."
"As soon as we mentioned Longfellow's work of translating the Divine Comedy, he was like a match that ignited." Holmes still
Suspiciously said, "The murderer moved Healey's body from the bedroom to the yard. He must be a strong guy. Besides, we found that Bucky had nothing to do with the two victims."
"They don't need to have anything to do with each other!" Lowell said. "Remember, Dante put a lot of people in Hell that he never met. Bucky has no personal relationship with Healy or Talbot, but there is." Two things should not be underestimated. First, he is proficient in the "Divine Comedy". Besides old Tickner, he is the only one who does not belong to our club, but has the same knowledge of "Divine Comedy" as we do."
"Agreed," Holmes said.
"The second is motivation," continued Lowell. "He's as poor as a rat. He thinks our city has abandoned him, so he spends his days drinking away his sorrows. If it weren't for this temporary job as a governess, he would have Not a penny. He hates us because he thinks Longfellow and I stood by while he was fired. Bucky would rather have Dante destroyed by someone else than see treacherous Americans rescue him .”
"Hey, dear Lowell, would Bucky pick Healy and Talbot?" Fields asked.
"He can choose whomever he pleases, as long as their crimes correspond to the crimes he has decided to punish, and can finally find their origin in the "Divine Comedy." In this light, "The Divine Comedy" has not yet been released in America. Before it can gain a foothold, before it is recognized by Americans, he will ruin its reputation."
"Could Bucky be our Satan?" Fields asked.
"Should I say: He must be our Satan?" Lowell said, holding his ankle and frowning.
"Lowell?" Longfellow looked down at Lowell's feet.
"Oh, don't worry, thank you. It may be that I got bruised by an iron brace a few days ago at Great Oak Park."
Dr. Holmes bent over and motioned for Lowell to roll up his trousers. "Has it been swollen for a while, Lowell?" The bruised wound had grown from the size of a penny to the size of a dollar coin.
"How do I know?" He didn't take his injury seriously at all.
"Maybe you should care about yourself as much as you care about Bucky," Holmes scolded. "It didn't heal, it got worse. You just had a quick bandage, didn't you? Doesn't look like an infection. You're not feeling well at all." None, Lowell?"
Suddenly, his foot hurt more and more. "It hurts now and then." Then he remembered. "When I was at Healey's, a fly got up my trouser leg. Could it really be a fly bite?"
Holmes said, "Nonsense. I've never heard of a fly like that biting. Probably something else."
"No, it should be a fly, and I beat it to pieces." Lowell grinned and said, "Holmes, there is such a fly among the things I brought you."
Holmes thought for a while and asked, "Longfellow, has Professor Agassi returned from Brazil?"
Longfellow said: "Probably be back this week."
"I suggest you take the insect specimen you find to Agassiz's museum," Holmes told Lowell. "He knows everything about insects."
Lowell felt he had said enough about his wounds. "If you think it's necessary. Here, I suggest following Bucky for a few days--if he hasn't died of alcoholism. See if he can help us find any clues. Two men guarded outside his apartment in a carriage, the other People stand still. If everyone has no objections, I will lead a team to monitor Bucky. Who will go with me?"
No one responded.Fields tugged at his watch chain nonchalantly.
"Oh, come on!" Lowell patted the publisher's shoulder, "Fields, it's you."
"Sorry, Lowell. I have promised Oscar Holden to have tea with Longfellow today. Last night he had a note from Manning warning him to stop printing Longfellow's translations or he would Lose the Harvard business. We have to act fast or Horton will give in."
"I have promised others to go to the theater to give lectures on the cutting-edge development of homeopathy and allopathic medicine. If I cancel it, it will cause serious financial losses to the organizers." Dr. Holmes said first, "Welcome everyone!"
"But we might be on the verge of a turnaround!" Lovell said.
"Lowell," Fields said, "if we get busy spying on Bucky and let Manning overpower Dante, all our translation work, all our hope, will go to naught. We'll just spend a bag of Holden can be appeased in just a few minutes, and then we will act as you said."
In the afternoon, Longfellow stood in front of the Greek-style stonework of the Revere Hotel, smelling the strong aroma of steak and hearing the muffled sounds of people eating.Oscar Holden invited them to lunch here, so that there would be no further talk of murder or insects for at least an hour.Fields leaned on the driver's seat of the carriage, and ordered the coachman to rush back to Charles Street immediately, and drive Anne Fields to Cambridge to attend the activities of the Ladies Club.Fields was the only one in Longfellow's circle who owned a private carriage, not only because the publisher had a lot of money, but also because he considered it a luxury to escape the headaches of moody coachmen and sickly horses, and Not uneconomical.
Longfellow's attention was drawn to a lonesome woman in a black veil walking up Bowdoin Square.With a book in her hand, she walked slowly, her eyes downcast to the ground.Touching the scene, Longfellow couldn't help thinking of the encounter with Fanny Appleton in Bacon Street, when she just nodded politely and didn't stop to talk to him.He had met her in Europe, too, when he was studying languages for a professorship, and she was very friendly to her brother's professor friend.But back in Boston, it was as if Virgil had whispered advice in her ear, as Virgil advised Dante, who approached the Fence: "Let's not say much, just look and go." After the pretty young woman refused to talk to him, Longfellow sketched a beautiful maiden after her in his book Hyperion.
Sure, if she read the book she would see a shadow of herself, but, months passed, the teenage girl had no reaction to the man she called Professor.When he finally meets Fanny again, she expresses, quite frankly, that she does not like being held like a slave in the professor's work for the readers to see.He didn't want to apologize, but a few months later his feelings exploded in a way he had never been before, not even for Mary Potter (Mary was Longfellow's ex-wife, who was married only a few years later. died prematurely of a miscarriage.) Miss Appleton and Professor Longfellow began to see each other regularly. In May 1843, Longfellow wrote a note proposing marriage to her.On the same day, he got her permission.oh blessed forever
Days ushered in such a new life, this happy new life!He recited these words over and over again until they took shape and gained weight, like a sweet fragrance that could hold him in his arms and protect him from wind and rain.
"Where might Holden go?" Fields asked after the carriage left, "He must not forget our lunch."
"Perhaps he's busy at the Riverside Printing Office and can't get away, ma'am." Longfellow raised his hat in greeting to a portly lady who passed them by, who returned a timid smile.Longfellow's courtesies to women, however brief, were presented as if they were a bouquet of flowers whenever they were made.
"Who is she?" Fields frowned.
"Two winters ago," replied Longfellow, "this lady served us at dinner at Copeland."
"Oh, yes. At any rate, if he's really busy at the printing office, he'd better be preparing plates of the Inferno, and we've got to get your translation to Florence as soon as possible."
"Fields." Longfellow pursed his lips high.
"Sorry, Longfellow," Fields said, "next time I see her, I swear I'll raise my hat."
Longfellow shook his head, "It's not this. Look over there." Fields followed Longfellow's gaze, and saw a man bent strangely, carrying a small shiny oilcloth backpack, full of energy walking on the opposite sidewalk.
"Bucky."
"That Bucky who used to be a Harvard teacher?" the publisher asked. "You see his eyes are bloodshot, like an autumn sunset." They watched the Italian teacher walk faster and faster, and began to trot. , then briskly flashed into a small shop around the corner and disappeared.The shop was very low, with a shingle roof, and in the window hung a sign made of poor quality materials, which said "Wade Sun Company".
"Do you know this little store?" Longfellow asked.
Fields shook his head, "He seems to be rushing to do something urgent?"
"Mr. Holden won't mind waiting a while." Longfellow took Fields' hand. "Attention! We'll catch him off guard, and maybe we'll get a lot from him."
They were about to turn the corner so they could cross the street when they saw Green coming cautiously from Metcalf's with a load of medicine; Same as ice cream.The Metcalfe Drugstore put up a merchandise billboard with a picture of a wise man with a big nose, and was promoting medicines for neuralgia, dysentery, and other similar ailments.After taking these drugs, Green became as sleepy as Rip Van Winkle, falling asleep in translation seminars, often to the point of complaints from several friends.
"Oh! It's Green," Longfellow said to the publisher. "Fields, we've got to keep him from talking to Bucky."
"Why?" Fields asked.
But Green had gotten closer, and they couldn't talk any further. "Dear Fields, Longfellow! What brought you here today?"
"My dear friend," said Longfellow, staring nervously at the canopied door of Wade Sun's across the way, "we're going to lunch at the Revere's. Why are you here? This Aren't you planning to stay in East Greenwich on Sunday?"
Green nodded and sighed again, "Shelley hopes I'll get better under her care. How can I survive the doctor she hired who insists that I stay in bed all day! Illness doesn't kill people, but it's a Most uncomfortable companion." He described his latest illness at length.Green babbled, while Longfellow and Fields kept their eyes fixed on the other side of the street. "But I shouldn't bore everyone with my sickness. It's all worth it to attend a seminar on the translation of The Divine Comedy, and I haven't heard a call for a meeting in weeks! I Can't help wondering if the meeting has been cancelled. Please tell me, my dear Longfellow, that it is not."
"We paused," Longfellow said, craning his neck to look across, through the shop window Bucky could be seen struggling to figure something out.
"We'll start over soon, don't worry," Fields added.A carriage pulled up on the opposite corner, blocking the view, and they couldn't see the pharmacy or Bucky. "I'm afraid we must go now, Mr. Green," said Fields hastily, taking Longfellow by the hand, and leading him forward.
"Wrong way, gentlemen! You have gone too far, the Revere Hotel is over there!" Green said with a smile.
"That's right, um..." Fields hesitated, unable to find a proper excuse to prevaricate.Two carriages were approaching a busy intersection, and they had to wait for the carriage to pass.
"Green," said Longfellow, interrupting Fields, "we have to go away for a while. How about you dine with us and Mr. Holden at the hotel?"
"If you don't go back, I'm afraid my daughter will be angry." Green said worriedly, "Oh, look who's coming!" Green took a step back on the narrow sidewalk, staggering. "Mr. Horton!"
"I'm very sorry, gentlemen." A clumsy-looking man in the black suit worn by undertakers appeared next to them, and he extended his extremely long hand to shake hands with Green standing at the front. "I caught sight of you three just as I was going into the Revere's. I hope you didn't have to wait long. Mr. Green, dear sir, will you dine with us? How are you doing, old chap?"
"Severely malnourished." Green replied with a sad face. "Some time ago, the Dante Club discussion on Wednesday night was my only and all nutrition."
Longfellow and Fields took turns watching the door of Wade Sun's company every fifteen seconds.Before the carriage in the middle moved away, the coachman sat in the carriage with a leisurely look, as if his first task was to block the sight of Mr. Longfellow and Fields.
"You mean 'some time ago'?" Holden said to Green, looking surprised. "Does this have something to do with Dr. Manning, Fields? There's also the Florence Celebration Committee waiting to deliver the first volume." What about the special edition of the book? I need to find out if the publication is delayed. You can't keep me in the dark!"
"Of course not, Holden," Fields said. "We just let the reins go a little bit."
"However, I would like to ask, if a person has been used to enjoying a moment of bliss once a week, and now this happiness is gone, what do you ask him to replace?" Green complained with some exaggeration .
"I know not," Houghton replied, "but I'm afraid that with the cost of printing books so high... I have to ask, if Manning or Harvard are trying to get in the way, your Dante is doing well." live?"
Green raised his hands and waved them in the air, "If one word can be used to express Dante's thought, Mr. Horton, it is power. As long as you have glimpsed the world he showed, it will be entrenched in your mind, It is equal to the real world and will never disappear. Even the various sounds he described, harsh, high-pitched, and sweet, will still exist for a long time. No matter what year or month, as long as you hear the roar of the sea and the howl of the wind , or the chirping of a bird, and they immediately ring in your ears.”
Bucky came out of the pharmacy, and they could see him perusing the contents of his bag, looking quite agitated.
Green stopped talking: "Fields? Hey, what's going on? You seem to be waiting for something to happen across the street."
Longfellow patted his wrist lightly, signaling Fields to distract Green.Fields understood immediately, and putting his hands loosely around his shoulders, he said, "You know, Green, that there have been several advances in publishing since the end of the war..."
Longfellow pulled Holden aside, and said in a low voice, "We can appreciate this lunch another day. There should be a carriage heading for Buck's Bay in ten minutes. Please accompany Green to the platform on foot and see him off." Car, you don't go away until the carriage starts. Be careful not to let him get out of the carriage." Longfellow raised his eyebrows slightly when he spoke, showing his anxiety clearly.
Holden nodded and agreed without hesitation, without asking why.Longfellow had never asked him or anyone he knew for help, and now that Longfellow had asked, how could he say yes?The owner of the Riverside Printing House gently took Green's arm and said, "Mr. Green, may I take you to the carriage platform? I guess the next carriage will leave soon. In this cold November Standing in the middle for too long is injurious to health."
After a hasty farewell, two large public carriages rumbled up, and the carriages rang their bells along the way to remind pedestrians to give way.Immediately after the carriage passed, the two poets crossed the street and turned the corner, only to find that the Italian teacher had disappeared.One of them looked forward, the other looked back, and Bucky was nowhere to be seen for two blocks.
"Where the hell did this guy go?" Fields asked.
Longfellow pointed with his finger, and Fields looked in the direction of the finger, and saw Bucky sitting comfortably on the back seat of a carriage, which was the carriage that blocked their view just now.The horses pulling the cart trotted along, as if they did not intend to share the impatience of the passengers.
"We can't find a cab just now!" said Longfellow.
"We might catch him," said Fields. "Pike the driver's cab is not far from here. The scoundrel charges twenty-five cents a seat, and sometimes rips off half a dollar. That block." No one but Holmes can bear his virtue, and Pike doesn't buy it from anyone but Holmes."
Fields and Longfellow hurried to the block and found Parker not waiting in the carriage, but sitting motionless in front of the building at 21 Charles Street.Holding a handful of cash in his hand, Fields asked Parker to drive them out.
"Gentlemen, I can't help you if you give me all the money in the country," said Pike gruffly. "I've got an appointment to drive Dr. Holmes."
"Listen carefully, Pike," Fields exaggerated in a tone of command. "We are very good friends with Dr. Holmes. If he was here himself, he would have ordered you to drive us."
"Are you friends with the doctor?" Pike asked.
"Exactly!" Fields said loudly, relieved.
"Since you are his friend, it will be even more wrong for you to leave his carriage. I have an appointment with Dr. Holmes." Pike was indifferent, and sat back again, picked up an ivory toothpick, and did not rush Pick your teeth.
"Hi!" Holmes greeted with a smile.He walked down the steps with great vigor, carrying a handbag, wearing a black worsted wool coat, a beautiful white silk tie around his neck, and a white rose in the buttonhole. "Fields, Longfellow. So you've decided to come to my allopathic lectures!"
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