Сборник текстов и упражнений по внеаудиторному чтению для студентов факультета культуры и искусств, изучающих английский язык. Полторак Д.Л. - 8 стр.

        "Politics, of course!" she said. "What else? Like his dear father,"          "My dear lady," he said, "this painting is very interesting. There
she explained. "Mr. Burtenshaw was in Parliament three years before           is humour in it, and it was done with enthusiasm. Enthusiasm and hu-
he died. He made wonderful speeches and the most important people             mour are things that we cannot teach. An artist must be born with them,
were beginning to notice him. His money helped too, of course. I think        he is lucky if he has them. Anybody can learn to draw, and if your son
you can understand now, Mr. Mendoza, why I want to see Charles in             continues to study, he will be a fine artist. I’ll be happy to see more of
politics. It is my duty to the memory of his dear father. And I want him      his work."
to marry well, a girl with money and a good name. If he marries such a               Mrs. Burtenshaw took the painting out of his hand. "You don't
girl, it will help him in his career. But if he becomes an artist, what       understand, or perhaps you don't want to understand, that I haven't
chance will he have to meet a girl from a good family? He will never          come here to ask you to encourage my son. I want you to tell my son
speak to anybody except students and the kind of girls who work in            that he will never be an artist, that he is hopeless. Isn't that clear?"
artists' studios – hardly the kind of people that a mother wants her son             "Yes," Mendoza answered, "clear enough. But can you tell me
to meet!"                                                                     why I must do anything of the kind? Why must I tell him that he is
        "And if it is impossible to make him go in for any career except      hopeless?" A smile slowly appeared on her face. She looked out of the
painting, what then?" Mendoza asked.                                          window and said quietly, "You understand, of course, that I am not
        The pleasant smile on her face disappeared immediately, and her       asking you to work for nothing. I shall be only too glad to pay you
eyes became small and hard, "If he refuses to change his mind," she           whatever you ask. My boy's future cannot be a question of money. But
said, "he will have to take care of himself. While I live, he has nothing     you can hardly believe that I will pay anything at all if you are going to
except what I give him. If he comes to me for help, I'll close my door in     help this young idiot to go against his mother!"
his face."                                                                           Mendoza looked at her without speaking, and now his eyes were
        As Mendoza listened to her words and looked at her hard eyes          half closed. At last he said, "You say you will pay me well. May I ask
and mouth, he thought to himself: "A man, a gentleman, can't touch a          how much you are thinking of paying?"
woman, of course; but how I'd like to push her out of the room and tell              She looked at him and met his eye at last,
her never to come back!" But he only said: "I understand you, Mrs.                   "Is this business?" she asked,
Burtenshaw. I understand that you want to save your son from the ter-                "It is!" he answered shortly.
rible life of an artist, to save him for the high and wonderful ideals of            "Then," she said, "I have in my mind – perhaps – hm – one hun-
Parliament politics. But how can I tell your boy that he has no talent if I   dred pounds."
have never seen his work? Can you bring me one or two examples?"                     Mendoza stood up and threw his hands wide.
        "I have one of his pictures here with me," she answered. "I knew             "My dear lady,» he said. "I'm afraid you don't understand who
you would ask me for it. You will see immediately that it's hopeless.         you are talking business with. I am Mendoza. Perhaps a hundred
It's the same with everything he draws; pictures of dirty, vulgar men,        pounds means very much to some small artists, but you cannot think it
never anything nice or pleasant."                                             is of any importance to me. If you want me to lie about anything con-
        Mendoza took the painting from her and examined it carefully. It      nected with art: if you want me to tell a young man with talent not to
was a picture of a pirate, in a bright blue coat and a tremendous hat,        give his life, his strength, his young mind and enthusiasm to art, you
with a knife in one hand and a gun in the other, and a gold ring in one       must pay me not less than a thousand pounds. I won't touch this busi-
ear. It was far from a good picture; the hand that had painted it had         ness for less – not for two hundred pounds, not for three hundred
never received teaching in art. But Mendoza's eyes at once saw the au-        pounds, not for nine hundred and ninety-nine pounds. Take it or leave
thor's great talent.

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