"Mark Twain. Interview " - читать интересную книгу автора

Mark Twain.

Interview


***
The nervous, dapper, "peart" young man took the chair I offered him,
and said he was connected with the Daily Thunderstorm, and added,--
"Hoping it's no harm, I've come to interview you,"
"Come to what?"
"Interview you."
"Ah! I see. Yes,-- yes. Um! Yes-- yes."
I was not feeling bright that morning. Indeed, my powers seemed a bit
under a cloud. However, I went to the bookcase, and when I had been looking
six or seven minutes I found I was obliged to refer to the young man. I
said,--
"How do you spell it?"
"Spell what?" "Interview."
"Oh, my goodness! what do you want to spell it for?"
"I don't want to spell it; I want to see what it means."
"Well, this is astonishing, I must say. / can tell you what it means,
if you-- if you-- "
"Oh, all right! That will answer, and much obliged to you,⁶
too."
"In, in, ter, ter, rnter-- "
"Then you spell it with an I ?"
"Why, certainly!"
"Oh, that is what took me so long."
"Why my dear sir, what did you propose to spell it with?"
"Well, I-- I-- I hardly know. I had the Unabridged, and I was ciphering
around in the back end, hoping I might tree her among the
pictures.⁶ But it's a very old edition."
"Why, my friend, they wouldn't have a picture of it in even the latest
e-- My dear sir, I beg your pardon, I mean harm in the world, but you do not
look as-- as intelligent as I had expected you would. No harm,-- I mean no
harm at all at аll."
"Oh, don't mention it! It has often been said, and by people who would
not flatter and who could have" no inducement to flatter, that I am quite
remarkable in that way. Yes,-- yes; they always speak of it with rapture."
"I can easily imagine it. But about this interview. You know it is the
custom, now, to interview any man who has become notorious."
"Indeed! I had not heard of it before. It must be very interesting.'
What do you do it with?"
"Ah, well,-- well,-- well,-- this is disheartening. It ought to be
done
with a club in some cases; but customarily it consists in the interviewer
asking questions and the interviewed answering them. It is all the rage now.
Will you let me ask you certain questions calculated to bring out the
salient points of your public and private history?"
"Oh, with pleasure-- with pleasure. I have a very bad memory, but I