Saturday, August 26, 2006

Here's an email I got today, from Leila Riley. I don't know who she is either.

I assure you, Oriane, she is really quite nice; an excellent woman,said Mme.
They are Lieutenant-Colonel Henry and Lieutenant-ColonelPicquart. There; he is a Dreyfusard, theres not the least doubt of it,thought Bloch. Yes, hes a Belgian, bynationality, he went on. We must curb the professional agitatorsand prevent them from raising their heads again. Thats probably whythey didnt elect me again.
Obviously, that todemand a new trial is to force an open door. Ilearned there to value, more than anything, logic.
I have no doubt she is, but I feel no need to assure myself of it.
There; he is a Dreyfusard, theres not the least doubt of it,thought Bloch.
Then she turned, overflowing with a restored vitality, to M.
In any case, if this man Dreyfus is innocent, the Duchess broke in,he hasnt done much to prove it. Yes, hes a Belgian, bynationality, he went on. What can you expect, my dear, its got emon the raw, those fellows; theyre all over it. Picquart might move heaven and earth at thesubsequent hearings; he made a complete fiasco.
Fortunately for yourself and your compatriots you are notlike the author of that absurdity. What idiotic, raving letters hewrites from that island. The truth, indeed, as to all these matters Bloch could notdoubt that M. You expect him tocome out with The Learned Sisters, like Lamartine or Jean-BaptisteRousseau. The Government will acceptall your suggestions.
Besides, we have all been too trusting, too hospitable.
Who had been,in this instance, the inferior from whom M.
He is so busy; he has so much to do, pleaded Mme.
But true beauty is so individual, so novel always, thatone does not recognise it as beauty. I went to see Marie-Aynard a couple of days ago.
Besides, we have all been too trusting, too hospitable.
There; he is a Dreyfusard, theres not the least doubt of it,thought Bloch. As to that, there can be no question whatever.
You know, he went on, why they cant produce the proofs ofDreyfuss guilt.
No, it is probablythat little wench of his that has put him on his high horse.
They are Lieutenant-Colonel Henry and Lieutenant-ColonelPicquart.
Im sureyoure in the same boat, Argencourt. Its all very well, one ofthem having a fondness for my nephew, I cannot carry family feelingquite.
Besides, we have all been too trusting, too hospitable. And not only the laws of imagination, but thoseof speech. You know, he went on, why they cant produce the proofs ofDreyfuss guilt.
It's Proust, dontcha know (sort of). Spam is so surreal that I almost don't mind receiving it. Almost.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

algernon show, laurence molina, will kennedy. I've been getting strange spam lately, too. A stock tip on colored paper superimposed on vaguely pornographic fiction. Hmm.

Ben said...

Do you remember the Roz Chast cartoon a few months ago called "A Spam Sketchbook"? It's about who these people with these, umm, counterintuitive names might be. I can't find it, or I'd upload it and show you. It's funny, though.

Bobby Lightfoot said...

And they say th' death of culture is nigh.

Gheuf said...

No posts lately. Are you away?

Ben said...

Hey, Gheuf!

I'm not away exactly - I'm touched by your concern, though. Instead it's a matter of justifying my academic existence; I developed an elaborate set of procrastination tools to avoid doing actual research, and blogging was just a part of that. Until I get back into a lifestyle where productivity is the rule rather than the exception, I'm on hiatus. Let's hope that changes soon, though - I still have plenty to say!