Page 148 - swanns-way

‘Oh, yes, that boy I saw here once, who looks so like the
Bellini portrait of Mahomet II. It’s an astonishing likeness;
he has the same arched eyebrows and hooked nose and
prominent cheekbones. When his beard comes he’ll be Ma-
homet himself. Anyhow he has good taste, for Bergotte is
a charming creature.’ And seeing how much I seemed to
admire Bergotte, Swann, who never spoke at all about the
people he knew, made an exception in my favour and said:
‘I know him well; if you would like him to write a few words
on the title-page of your book I could ask him for you.’
I dared not accept such an offer, but bombarded Swann
with questions about his friend. ‘Can you tell me, please,
who is his favourite actor?’
‘Actor? No, I can’t say. But I do know this: there’s not a
man on the stage whom he thinks equal to Berma; he puts
her above everyone. Have you seen her?’
‘No, sir, my parents do not allow me to go to the the-
atre.’
‘That is a pity. You should insist. Berma in Phèdre, in the
Cid; well, she’s only an actress, if you like, but you know that
I don’t believe very much in the ‘hierarchy’ of the arts.’ As
he spoke I noticed, what had often struck me before in his
conversations with my grandmother’s sisters, that whenever
he spoke of serious matters, whenever he used an expres-
sion which seemed to imply a definite opinion upon some
important subject, he would take care to isolate, to steri-
lise it by using a special intonation, mechanical and ironic,
as though he had put the phrase or word between inverted
commas, and was anxious to disclaim any personal respon-

148 Swann’s Way