Henry Miller - NEXUS

Those strange figures out of the world of art—painters, sculptors, particularly painters—was it not natural that I should feel at home with them? Their work spoke to me in mysterious fashion. Had they used words I might have been baffled. However remote their world from ours, the ingredients were the same: rocks, trees, mountains, water, theatre, work, play, costumes, worship, youth and old age, harlotry, coquetry, mimicry, war, famine, torture, intrigue, vice, lust, joy, sorrow. A Tibetan scroll, with its mandalas, its gods and devils, its strange symbols, its prescribed colors, was as familiar to me, some part of me, as the nymphs and sprites, the streams and forests, of a European painter.

But what was closer to me than anything in Chinese, Japanese or Tibetan art was this art of India born of the mountain itself. (As if the mountains became pregnant with dreams and gave birth to their dreams, using the poor human mortals who hollowed them out as tools.) It was the monstrous nature, if we may speak of the grandiose as such, yes, the monstrous nature of these creations which so appealed to me, which answered to some unspoken hunger in my own being. Moving amidst my own people I was never impressed by any of their accomplishments; I never felt the presence of any deep religious urge, nor any great aesthetic impulse: there was no sublime architecture, no sacred dances, no ritual of any kind. We moved in a swarm, intent on accomplishing one thing—to make life easy. The great bridges, the great dams, the great skyscrapers left me cold. Only Nature could instill a sense of awe. And we were defacing Nature at every turn. As many times as I struck out to scour the land, I always came back empty-handed. Nothing new, nothing bizarre, nothing exotic. Worse, nothing to bow down before, nothing to reverence. Alone in a land where every one was hopping about like mad. What I craved was to worship and adore. What I needed were companions who felt the same way. But there was nothing to worship or adore, there were no companions of like spirit. There was only a wilderness of steel and iron, of stocks and bonds, of crops and produce, of factories, mills and lumber yards, a wilderness of boredom, of useless utilities, of loveless love...

Afew days later. A telephone call from MacGregor. You know what, Hen? No, what?

She's coming round. All on her own too. Don't know what's come over her. You didn't go to see her, did you?

No. In fact I've hardly had a chance to think about her.

You bastard! But you brought me luck, just the same. Or rather your pictures did. Yeah, those Japanese prints you had on your wall. I went and bought a couple, beautifully framed, and I sent them to her. Next day I get a telephone call. She was all excited. Said they were just what she always longed for. I told her that it was from you I got the inspiration. She pricked up her ears. Surprised, I guess, that I had a friend who cared anything about art. Now she wants to meet you. I said you were a busy man, but I'd call you and see if we could come to your place some evening. A queer girl, what? Anyway, this is your chance to fix things for me. Throw a lot of books around, will you? You know, the kind I never read. She's a school teacher, remember. Books mean something to her ... Well, what do you say? Aren't you happy? Say something!

I think it's marvelous. Watch out, or you'll be marrying again.

Nothing would make me happier. But I have to go easy. You can't rush her. Not her! It's like moving a stone wall.

Silence for a moment. Then—Are you there, Hen?

Sure, I'm listening.

I'd like to get a little dope from you before I see you ... before I bring Guelda, I mean. Just a few facts about painters and paintings. You know me, I never bothered to brush up on that stuff. For instance, Hen, what about Breughel—was he one of the very great? Seems to me I've seen his stuff before—in frame stores and book shops. That one you have, with the peasant ploughing the field ... he's up on a cliff, I seem to remember, and there's something falling from the sky ... a man maybe ... heading straight for the ocean. You know the one. What's it called?

The Flight of Icarus, I think.

Of whom?

Icarus. The guy who tried to fly to the sun but his wings melted, remember?

Sure, sure. So that's it? I think I'd better drop around some day and have another look at those pictures. You can wise me up. I don't want to look like a jackass when she starts talking art.

O.K., I said. Anytime. But remember, don't keep me long.

Before you hang up, Hen, give me the name of a book I could make her a present of. Something clean—and poetic. Can you think of one quick?

Yes, just the thing for her: Green Mansions. By W. H. Hudson. She'll love it.

You're sure?

Absolutely. Read it yourself first.

I'd like to, Hen, but I haven't the time. By the way, remember that book list you gave me ... about sewn years ago? Well, I've read three so far. You see what I mean.

You're hopeless, I replied.

One more thing, Hen. You know, vacation time is coming soon. I've got a notion to take her to Europe with me. That is, if I don't cross her up in the meantime. What do you think?

A wonderful idea. Make it a honeymoon trip.

It was MacGregor, I'll bet, said Mona.

Right. Now he's threatening to bring his Guelda some evening.

What a pest! Why don't you tell the landlady to say you're out next time there's a call?

Wouldn't do much good. He'd come around to find out if she were lying. He knows me. No, we're trapped.

She was getting ready to leave—an appointment with Pop. The novel was almost completed now. Pop still thought highly of it.

Pop's going to Miami soon for a brief vacation.

That's good.

I've been thinking, Val ... I've been thinking that maybe we could take a vacation too while he's away.

Like where? I said.

Oh, anywhere. Maybe to Montreal or Quebec.

It'll be freezing up there, won't it?

I don't know. Since we're going to France I thought you might like a taste of French life. Spring is almost here, it can't be so very cold there.

We said nothing more about the trip for a day or two. Meanwhile Mona had been investigating. She had all the dope on Quebec, which she thought I'd like better than Montreal. More French, she said. The small hotels weren't too expensive.

A few days later it was decided. She would take the train to Montreal and I would hitch hike. I would meet her at the railway station in Montreal.

It was strange to be on the road again. Spring had come but it was still cold. With money in my pocket I didn't worry about lifts. If it was no go I could always hop a bus or a train. So I stood there, on the highway outside Paterson N. J., determined to take the first car heading north, no matter if it went straight or zigzag.

It took almost an hour before I got the first lift. This advanced me about twenty miles. The next car advanced me fifty miles. The countryside looked cold and bleak. I was getting nothing but short hauls. However, I had oodles of time. Now and then I walked a stretch, to limber up. I had no luggage to speak of—tooth-brush, razor, change of linen. The cold crisp air was invigorating. It felt good to walk and let the cars pass by.

I soon got tired of walking. There was nothing to see but farms. Burial grounds, they looked like. I got to thinking of MacGregor and his Guelda. The name suited her, I thought. I wondered if he'd ever break her down. What a cheerless conquest!

A car pulled up and I hopped in, without questioning the destination. The guy was a nut, a religious nut. Never stopped talking. Finally I asked him where he was heading. For the White Mountains, he replied. He had a cabin tip in the mountains. He was the local preacher.