The only marvellous thing
about him was the quantity of languages that he knew.
"He knows them all," said the Spaniard, when describing their neighbor
to Desnoyers. "He has only to hear of a new one to master it. He
holds the key, the secret of all languages, living or dead. He
speaks Castilian as well as we do, and yet he has never been in a
Spanish-speaking country."
Argensola again felt a thrill of mystery upon reading the titles of many
of the volumes. The majority were old books, many of them in languages
that he was not able to decipher, picked up for a song at second-hand
shops or on the book stands installed upon the parapets of the Seine.
Only a man holding the key of tongues could get together such volumes.
An atmosphere of mysticism, of superhuman insight, of secrets intact
for many centuries appeared to emanate from these heaps of dusty volumes
with worm-eaten leaves. And mixed with these ancient tomes were others
red and conspicuous, pamphlets of socialistic propaganda, leaflets in
all the languages of Europe and periodicals--many periodicals, with
revolutionary titles.
Tchernoff did not appear to enjoy visits and conversation. He would
smile enigmatically into his black beard, and was very sparing with his
words so as to shorten the interview. But Argensola possessed the means
of winning over this sullen personage.
Pages:
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160