"Avram Davidson - The Montavarde Camera" - читать интересную книгу автора (Davidson Avram)

his weekly call.

тАЬMind you,тАЭ said Mr. Collins to his brother-in-law, тАЬI donтАЩt know just what process the inventor used in
developing his plates, but I did the best I could, and I donтАЩt think itтАЩs half bad. See here. This is the only
thing IтАЩve done so far. One of those old Tudor houses in Great Cumberland Street. They say it was one
of the old plague houses. Pity itтАЩs got to be torn down to make way for that new road. I thought IтАЩd beat
the wreckers to it.тАЭ

тАЬVery neatly done, IтАЩm sure,тАЭ said his brother-in-law. тАЬI donтАЩt know much about photography myself.
But evidently you havenтАЩt heard about this particular house. No? Happened yesterday. My cook was out
marketing, and just as she came up to the corner, the house collapsed in a pile of dust. Shoddy
worksmanship somewhere; I mean, the house couldnтАЩt have been more than three hundred years old. Of
course, there was no one in it, but still, it gave the cook quite a turn. I suppose thereтАЩs no harm in your
having this camera, but, as for me, considering its associations, I wouldnтАЩt have it in the house. Naked
women, indeed!тАФsaving your presence, Mary.тАЭ

тАЬOh, come now,тАЭ said Mr. Collins. тАЬMontavarde was an artist.тАЭ

тАЬMany artists have been pious, decent people, Lucius. There can be no compromise between good and
evil.тАЭ Mrs. Collins snuffled her agreement. Mr. Collins pursed his little mouth and said no more until his
good humor was restored by the maidтАЩs coining in with the tea tray.

тАЬI suppose, then, Wycliffe, you wouldnтАЩt think of letting me take your picture.тАЭ

тАЬWell, I donтАЩt know why ever not,тАЭ Mrs. Collins protested. тАЬAfter the amount of money Lucius spent on
the camera, we ought to make some use out of it, I think. Lucius will take your likeness whenever itтАЩs
convenient. He has a great deal of free time. Raspberry jam or gooseberry, Wycliffe?тАЭ

Mr. Collins photographed his brother-in-law in the vicarage gardenтАФalone, and then with his curate, the
Reverend Osias Gomm. Both clerical gentlemen were very active in the temperance movement, and this
added a note of irony to the tragic events of the following day. It was the carriage of Stout, the brewer;
there was no doubt about that. The horses had shied at a scrap of paper. The witnesses (six of them) had
described seeing the two clergymen start across the street, deep in conversation. They described how the
carriage came flying around the corner.

тАЬThey never knew wot тАШit тАЩem,тАЭ the witnesses agreed. Mrs. Collins said that was the only thing that
comforted her. She said nothing, of course, about the estate (three thousand pounds in six percent
bonds), but she did mention the picture.

тАЬHow bright it is, Lucius,тАЭ she said. тАЬAlmost shining.тАЭ

After the funeral she felt free to talk about the financial affairs of her late brother, and until the estate was
close to being settled, Mr. Collins had no time for photography. He did keep up the monthly payments
on the camera, however, although he found them rather a drain. After all, it had not been his income
which had just been increased 180 pounds per annum.

He had. of course, protested, and it had, of course, done him no good at all. Mrs. Collins, with a snuffle,
spoke of increased prices, the unsteady condition of World Affairs, and the necessity of Setting
Something Aside For the Future, because, she said, who knows?