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The Egotist Considers
EvenAmory’sreadingpaledduringthisperiod;hedelvedfurtherintothemistysidestreetsofliterature:Huysmans,WalterPater,TheophileGautier,andtheraciersectionsofRabelais,Boccaccio,Petronius,andSuetonius.Oneweek,throughgeneralcuriosity,heinspectedtheprivatelibrariesofhisclassmatesandfoundSloane’sastypicalasany:setsofKipling,O.Henry,JohnFox,Jr.,andRichardHardingDavis;"WhatEveryMiddle-AgedWomanOughttoKnow,""TheSpelloftheYukon";a"gift"copyofJamesWhitcombRiley,anassortmentofbattered,annotatedschoolbooks,and,finally,tohissurprise,oneofhisownlatediscoveries,thecollectedpoemsofRupertBrooke.
TogetherwithTomD’Invilliers,hesoughtamongthelightsofPrincetonforsomeonewhomightfoundtheGreatAmericanPoeticTradition.
TheundergraduatebodyitselfwasrathermoreinterestingthatyearthanhadbeentheentirelyPhilistinePrincetonoftwoyearsbefore.Thingshadlivenedsurprisingly,thoughatthesacrificeofmuchofthespontaneouscharmoffreshmanyear.IntheoldPrincetontheywouldneverhavediscoveredTanadukeWylie.Tanadukewasasophomore,withtremendousearsandawayofsaying,"Theearthswirlsdownthroughtheominousmoonsofpreconsideredgenerations!"thatmadethemvaguelywonderwhyitdidnotsoundquiteclear,butneverquestionthatitwastheutteranceofasupersoul.AtleastsoTomandAmorytookhim.
