Page 412 - swanns-way

sinuations against Brichot. Naturally, once he saw that
Brichot was popular in this house, it was a way of hitting
back at us, of spoiling our party. I know his sort, the dear,
good friend of the family, who pulls you all to pieces on the
stairs as he’s going away.’
‘Didn’t I say so?’ retorted her husband. ‘He’s simply a
failure; a poor little wretch who goes through life mad with
jealousy of anything that’s at all big.’
Had the truth been known, there was not one of the
‘faithful’ who was not infinitely more malicious than
Swann; but the others would all take the precaution of tem-
pering their malice with obvious pleasantries, with little
sparks of emotion and cordiality; while the least indication
of reserve on Swann’s part, undraped in any such conven-
tional formula as ‘Of course, I don’t want to say anything—‘
to which he would have scorned to descend, appeared to
them a deliberate act of treachery. There are certain origi-
nal and distinguished authors in whom the least ‘freedom
of speech’ is thought revolting because they have not begun
by flattering the public taste, and serving up to it the com-
monplace expressions to which it is used; it was by the same
process that Swann infuriated M. Verdurin. In his case as in
theirs it was the novelty of his language which led his audi-
ence to suspect the blackness of his designs.
Swann was still unconscious of the disgrace that threat-
ened him at the Verdurins’, and continued to regard all
their absurdities in the most rosy light, through the admir-
ing eyes of love.
As a rule he made no appointments with Odette except

412 Swann’s Way