Читать книгу The Chord of Steel - Thomas B. Costain - Страница 6

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The thwarted actor in Alexander the First came out in all his children, particularly in his second son, who was born in Edinburgh in 1819 and given the name of Alexander Melville. When in his early youth he was sent to Newfoundland for his health, he took advantage of a chance, first to organize a Shakespeare class and then to start the members on amateur theatricals. He acted as director but it is probable he managed to insinuate himself into some of the humble bit parts with which Shakespeare’s plays abound. There did not seem to be any shortage of theatrical talent, but finding costumes was a different matter. His experience as an actor was destined to begin and end there, but he managed to establish one histrionic record even in so short a time. His Antony appeared on the stage wearing cavalry boots!

It was while in Newfoundland that he gained a respect for the fresh airs of the American continent which resulted later in his moving there. Newfoundland was not the dark and dismal place he had expected, covered with heavy clouds and with fogs which outdid those of London. Against the clear blue of the sky the mountain peaks stood up straight and high, and only in the direction of the Banks, a hundred miles out to sea, did there seem to be continuously foggy weather. He liked the island so much that he was sorry when it became necessary to leave and he talked often thereafter of going back.

The second Alexander Bell inherited the family traits and talents in superabundance. He was destined to reduce the teaching of proper speech to a science and to write a book called Bell’s Standard Elocutionist, which came out in 1860 and has continued to sell ever since. The number of editions through which it has run approaches now the monumental number of two hundred. He was to be also the inventor of a system which he called Visible Speech, about which much will be told later.

He was a man of powerful presence. His voice, due to his own self-imposed training and discipline, was deep and resonant, without a trace of accent or burr. In platform readings from Shakespeare, he let his suppressed desire to be an actor take possession of him and his audiences would hang upon every word. He was almost as successful as Charles Dickens would become later, when he took to reading extracts from his novels in public. And the mention of that great author and showman brings up an amusing incident in the early life of the second Alexander Bell. Finding his audiences so receptive to Shakespeare, he decided to provide diversity by inserting some light pieces from Dickens. The elders of the church which he attended were furious that he had descended to the frivolity of Sam Weller and Mr. Pickwick and they created such a disturbance about it that the elocutionist resigned his membership.

The turning point in the life of Alexander the Second came when he left London (where he had been assisting his father) for Edinburgh in preparation for a second trip across the Atlantic. This was in 1843 and there was in the Scottish capital at the time a painter of miniatures, a Miss Eliza Grace Symonds, who had developed a wide clientele. It occurred to young Bell that he should get himself immortalized on ivory before leaving for the wilds of America, so he sat to Miss Symonds for his portrait in water color.

The artist seems to have been sufficiently interested in this dynamic young man to call upon her full resources. At any rate she produced an inspired likeness. Here was a young man who was going to cut a swath in the world: a fine mop of black hair brushed back carelessly from a white forehead, a pair of dark eyes looking out eagerly at life, the merest hint of the maturity of whiskers on each cheek, the well-modeled Bell nose. He was, moreover, attired most stylishly in the best Early Victorian tradition, a coat with wide black lapels, a dark silk tie knotted under a high white collar, the glove stripped modishly from one hand and held in the other.

Well, they were married soon after and the eager subject of the portrait gave up the idea of returning to America. They settled down in Edinburgh in a flat at 16 South Charlotte Street, a rather dark habitation up several flights of stairs. Young Bell gave himself out as a professor of elocution and the art of speech and began to collect pupils. In addition, he continued his readings from Shakespeare. Mrs. Bell went on with her career as a portrait painter. If her work is to be judged by the one she had done of her husband and a self-portrait, she had a most unusual degree of talent. The self-portrait seems unsparing and perhaps unfair compared with the painting of her by H. Ulke which hangs today in the homestead at Tutelo Heights. In the Ulke painting, which poses her in partial profile, she has both beauty and charm in a much greater degree than she has allowed herself. The miniature nonetheless is a masterpiece of detail. The lace at her neck and wrists, and the fabric of a dark lace jacket are done with meticulous artistry.

They had three children, all boys. The second, named Alexander, was born on March 3, 1847, which as it happened was his grandfather’s birthday. Soon after his arrival the parents moved to a lighter domicile at 13 South Charlotte Street and it was here that he was raised. It was sufficiently large for the family to be comfortable and Mrs. Bell had adequate domestic help. In addition, her widowed mother lived in the same house in an upper flat.

The oldest of their three sons, who was christened Melville James, had inherited the histrionic gifts of his father and grandfather. His capacity for mimicry, in fact, was so great that he could deliver monologues in the course of which his dark and expressive features would take on the guise of any number of successive characters. His voice was an instrument of such pliability that he could change it at will. He had it in him to become the great comedian his grandfather had wanted to be, a Grossmith, a Martyn Green. In addition, he could perform tricks of magic with such skill that his audiences were always baffled.

The second son will monopolize nearly all the pages which follow and so it does not seem necessary to refer to him further at this point.

The third son, named Edward Charles, was born on September 20, 1848. He seems to have been a quiet and gentle boy, of an artistic temperament. The letters he sent his parents were always embellished with sketches of people he had seen and things which had happened. They showed a real gift for caricature, and it is unfortunate that they seemed to have been lost in the passage of the years. The third boy was always a little delicate and he grew rapidly, finally reaching the unusual height of six feet four inches.

Because he was not strong, the two older brothers were always very solicitous of “little Edward.” They kept watchful eyes on him, sparing him discomfort and guarding him in every way. A diary kept by Alexander, now alas lost, had many references to this rather diffident but gifted younger brother, in all of which a deep affection was displayed.