“I say,” he said, “it is past twelve. Will you give me the pleasure … ? Lunch with me?”
Christophe accepted gratefully. He thought:
“This is a good fellow—decidedly a good fellow. I was mistaken.”
They went out together. On the way Christophe put forward his request:
“You see how I am placed. I came here to look for work—music lessons—until I can make my name. Could you speak for me?”
“Certainly,” said Kohn. “To anyone you like. I know everybody here. I’m at your service.”
He was glad to be able to show how important he was.
Christophe covered him with expressions of gratitude. He felt that he was relieved of a great weight of anxiety.
At lunch he gorged with the appetite of a man who has not broken fast for two days. He tucked his napkin round his neck, and ate with his knife. Kohn-Hamilton was horribly shocked by his voracity and his peasant manners. And he was hurt, too, by the small amount of attention that his guest gave to his bragging. He tried to dazzle him by telling of his fine connections and his prosperity: but it was no good: Christophe did not listen, and bluntly interrupted him. His tongue was loosed, and he became familiar. His heart was full, and he overwhelmed Kohn with his simple confidences of his plans for the future. Above all, he exasperated him by insisting on taking his hand across the table and pressing it effusively. And he brought him to the pitch of irritation at last by wanting to clink glasses in the German fashion, and, with sentimental speeches, to drink to those at home and to Vater Rhein. Kohn saw, to his horror, that he was on the point of singing. The people at the next table were casting ironic glances in their direction. Kohn made some excuse on the score of pressing business, and got up. Christophe clung to him: he wanted to know when he could have a letter of introduction, and go and see someone, and begin giving lessons.
“I’ll see about it. Today—this evening,” said Kohn. “I’ll talk about you at once. You can be easy on that score.”
Christophe insisted.
“When shall I know?”
“Tomorrow … tomorrow … or the day after.”
“Very well. I’ll come back tomorrow.”
“No, no!” said Kohn quickly. “I’ll let you know. Don’t you worry.”
“Oh! it’s no trouble. Quite the contrary. Eh? I’ve nothing else to do in Paris in the meanwhile.”
“Good God!” thought Kohn. … “No,” he said aloud. “But I would rather write to you. You wouldn’t find me the next few days. Give me your address.”
Christophe dictated it.
“Good. I’ll write you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow. You can count on it.”
He cut short Christophe’s handshaking and escaped.
“Ugh!” he thought. “What a bore!”
As he went into his office he told the boy that he would not be in when “the German” came to see him. Ten minutes later he had forgotten him.
Christophe went back to his lair. He was full of gentle thoughts.
“What a good fellow! What a good fellow!” he thought. “How unjust I was about him. And he bears me no ill-will!”
He was remorseful, and he was on the point of writing to tell Kohn how sorry he was to have misjudged him, and to beg his forgiveness for all the harm he had done him. The tears came to his eyes as he thought of it. But it was harder for him to write a letter than a score of music: and after he had cursed and cursed the pen and ink of the hotel—which were, in fact, horrible—after he had blotted, crisscrossed, and torn up five or six sheets of paper, he lost patience and dropped it.
The rest of the day dragged wearily: but Christophe was so worn out by his sleepless night and his excursions in the morning that at length he dozed off in his chair. He only woke up in the evening, and then he went to bed: and he slept for twelve hours on end.
Next day from eight o’clock on he sat waiting for the promised letter. He had no doubt of Kohn’s sincerity. He did not go out, telling himself that perhaps Kohn would come round by the hotel on his way to his office. So as not to be out, about midday he had his lunch sent up from the eating-house downstairs. Then he sat waiting again. He was sure Kohn would come on his way back from lunch. He paced up and down his room, sat down, paced up and down again, opened his door whenever he heard footsteps on the stairs. He had no desire to go walking about Paris to stay his anxiety. He lay down on his bed. His thoughts went back and back to his old mother, who was thinking of him too—she alone thought of him. He had an infinite tenderness for her, and he was remorseful at having left her. But he did not write to her. He was waiting until he could tell her that he had found work. In spite of the love they had for each other, it would never have occurred to either of them to write just to tell their love: letters were for things more definite than that. He lay on the bed with his hands locked behind his head, and dreamed. Although his room was away from the street, the roar of Paris invaded the silence: the house shook. Night came again, and brought no letter.
Came another day like unto the last.
On the third day, exasperated by his voluntary seclusion, Christophe decided to go out. But from the impression of his first evening he was instinctively in revolt against Paris. He had no desire to see anything: no curiosity: he was too much taken up with the problem of his own life to take any pleasure in watching the lives of others: and the memories of lives
