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the black tulip-第11章

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therefore; he placed a ladder against the partition wall 

between their gardens; and; looking into that of his 

neighbour Van Baerle; he convinced himself that the soil of 

a large square bed; which had formerly been occupied by 

different plants; was removed; and the ground disposed in 

beds of loam mixed with river mud (a combination which is 

particularly favourable to the tulip); and the whole 

surrounded by a border of turf to keep the soil in its 

place。 Besides this; sufficient shade to temper the noonday 

heat; aspect south…southwest; water in abundant supply; and 

at hand; in short; every requirement to insure not only 

success but also progress。 There could not be a doubt that 

Van Baerle had become a tulip…grower。 



Boxtel at once pictured to himself this learned man; with a 

capital of four hundred thousand and a yearly income of ten 

thousand guilders; devoting all his intellectual and 

financial resources to the cultivation of the tulip。 He 

foresaw his neighbour's success; and he felt such a pang at 

the mere idea of this success that his hands dropped 

powerless; his knees trembled; and he fell in despair from 

the ladder。 



And thus it was not for the sake of painted tulips; but for 

real ones; that Van Baerle took from him half a degree of 

warmth。 And thus Van Baerle was to have the most admirably 

fitted aspect; and; besides; a large; airy; and well 

ventilated chamber where to preserve his bulbs and 

seedlings; while he; Boxtel; had been obliged to give up for 

this purpose his bedroom; and; lest his sleeping in the same 

apartment might injure his bulbs and seedlings; had taken up 

his abode in a miserable garret。 



Boxtel; then; was to have next door to him a rival and 

successful competitor; and his rival; instead of being some 

unknown; obscure gardener; was the godson of Mynheer 

Cornelius de Witt; that is to say; a celebrity。 



Boxtel; as the reader may see; was not possessed of the 

spirit of Porus; who; on being conquered by Alexander; 

consoled himself with the celebrity of his conqueror。 



And now if Van Baerle produced a new tulip; and named it the 

John de Witt; after having named one the Cornelius? It was 

indeed enough to choke one with rage。 



Thus Boxtel; with jealous foreboding; became the prophet of 

his own misfortune。 And; after having made this melancholy 

discovery; he passed the most wretched night imaginable。 









Chapter 6



The Hatred of a Tulip…fancier





From that moment Boxtel's interest in tulips was no longer a 

stimulus to his exertions; but a deadening anxiety。 

Henceforth all his thoughts ran only upon the injury which 

his neighbour would cause him; and thus his favourite 

occupation was changed into a constant source of misery to him。 



Van Baerle; as may easily be imagined; had no sooner begun 

to apply his natural ingenuity to his new fancy; than he 

succeeded in growing the finest tulips。 Indeed; he knew 

better than any one else at Haarlem or Leyden  the two 

towns which boast the best soil and the most congenial 

climate  how to vary the colours; to modify the shape; and 

to produce new species。 



He belonged to that natural; humorous school who took for 

their motto in the seventeenth century the aphorism uttered 

by one of their number in 1653;  〃To despise flowers is to 

offend God。〃 



From that premise the school of tulip…fanciers; the most 

exclusive of all schools; worked out the following syllogism 

in the same year:  



〃To despise flowers is to offend God。 



〃The more beautiful the flower is; the more does one offend 

God in despising it。 



〃The tulip is the most beautiful of all flowers。 



〃Therefore; he who despises the tulip offends God beyond 

measure。〃 



By reasoning of this kind; it can be seen that the four or 

five thousand tulip…growers of Holland; France; and 

Portugal; leaving out those of Ceylon and China and the 

Indies; might; if so disposed; put the whole world under the 

ban; and condemn as schismatics and heretics and deserving 

of death the several hundred millions of mankind whose hopes 

of salvation were not centred upon the tulip。 



We cannot doubt that in such a cause Boxtel; though he was 

Van Baerle's deadly foe; would have marched under the same 

banner with him。 



Mynheer van Baerle and his tulips; therefore; were in the 

mouth of everybody; so much so; that Boxtel's name 

disappeared for ever from the list of the notable 

tulip…growers in Holland; and those of Dort were now 

represented by Cornelius van Baerle; the modest and 

inoffensive savant。 



Engaging; heart and soul; in his pursuits of sowing; 

planting; and gathering; Van Baerle; caressed by the whole 

fraternity of tulip…growers in Europe; entertained nor the 

least suspicion that there was at his very door a pretender 

whose throne he had usurped。 



He went on in his career; and consequently in his triumphs; 

and in the course of two years he covered his borders with 

such marvellous productions as no mortal man; following in 

the tracks of the Creator; except perhaps Shakespeare and 

Rubens; have equalled in point of numbers。 



And also; if Dante had wished for a new type to be added to 

his characters of the Inferno; he might have chosen Boxtel 

during the period of Van Baerle's successes。 Whilst 

Cornelius was weeding; manuring; watering his beds; whilst; 

kneeling on the turf border; he analysed every vein of the 

flowering tulips; and meditated on the modifications which 

might be effected by crosses of colour or otherwise; Boxtel; 

concealed behind a small sycamore which he had trained at 

the top of the partition wall in the shape of a fan; 

watched; with his eyes starting from their sockets and with 

foaming mouth; every step and every gesture of his 

neighbour; and whenever he thought he saw him look happy; or 

descried a smile on his lips; or a flash of contentment 

glistening in his eyes; he poured out towards him such a 

volley of maledictions and furious threats as to make it 

indeed a matter of wonder that this venomous breath of envy 

and hatred did not carry a blight on the innocent flowers 

which had excited it。 



When the evil spirit has once taken hold of the heart of 

man; it urges him on; without letting him stop。 Thus Boxtel 

soon was no longer content with seeing Van Baerle。 He wanted 

to see his flowers; too; he had the feelings of an artist; 

the master…piece of a rival engrossed his interest。 



He therefore bought a telescope; which enabled him to watch 

as accurately as did the owner himself every progressive 

development of the flower; from the moment when; in the 

first year; its pale seed…leaf begins to peep from the 

ground; to that glorious one; when; after five years; its 

petals at last reveal the hidden treasures of its chalice。 

How often had the miserable; jealous man to observe in Van 

Baerle's beds tulips which dazzled him by their beauty; and 

almost choked him by their perfection! 



And then; after the first blush of the admiration which he 

could not help feeling; he began to be tortured by the pangs 

of envy; by that slow fever which creeps over the heart and 

changes it into a nest of vipers; each devouring the other 

and ever born anew。 How often did Boxtel; in the midst of 

tortures which no pen is able fully to describe;  how 

often did he feel an inclination to jump down into the 

garden during the night; to destroy the plants; to tear the 

bulbs with his teeth; and to sacrifice to his wrath the 

owner himself; if he should venture to stand up for the 

defence of his tulips! 



But to kill a tulip was a horrible crime in the eyes of a 

genuine tulip…fancier; as to killing a man; it would not 

have mattered so very much。 



Yet Van Baerle made such progress in the noble science of 

growing tulips; which he seemed to master with the true 

instinct of genius; that Boxtel at last was maddened to such 

a degree as to think of throwing stones and sticks into the 

flower…stands of his neighbour。 But; remembering that he 

would be sure to be found out; and that he would not only be 

punished by law; but also dishonoured for ever in the face 

of all the tulip…growers of Europe; he had recourse to 

stratagem; and; to gratify his hatred; tried to devise a 

plan by means of which he might gain his ends without being 

compromised himself。 



He considered a long time; and at last his meditations were 

crowned with success。 



One evening he tied two cats together by their hind legs 

with a string about six feet in length; and threw them from 

the wall into the midst of that noble; that princely; that 

royal bed; which contained not only the 〃Cornelius de Witt;〃 

but also the 〃Beauty of Brabant;〃 milk…white; edged with 

purple and pink; the 〃Marble of Rotterdam;〃 colour of flax; 

blo
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