"I suppose you get ideas for your poetry from all sorts of things," said Lord Emsworth, nobly resisting the temptation to collar the conversation again. He was feeling extremely friendly towards this poet fellow. It was deuced civil of him not to be put out and huffy at being left alone in the smoking-room.
"From practically everything," said Psmith, "except fish."
"Fish?"
"I have never written a poem about fish."
"No?" said Lord Emsworth, again feeling that a pin had worked loose in the machinery of the conversation.
"I was once offered a princely sum," went on Psmith, now floating happily along on the tide of his native exuberance, "to write a ballad for the Fishmonger's Gazette entitled 'Herbert the Turbot.' But I was firm. I declined."
"Indeed?" said Lord Emsworth.
"One has one's self-respect," said Psmith.
"Oh, decidedly," said Lord Emsworth.
"It was painful, of course. The editor broke down completely when he realized that my refusal was final. However, I sent him on with a letter of introduction to John Drinkwater, who, I believe, turned him out quite a good little effort on the theme."
(from Leave It To Psmith, by Sir Pelham Wodehouse)
No comments:
Post a Comment