M&D - Chapter 18 - This Incompletely Recogniz'd man

[Johnny Marr]

Mason returns to the family bosom, to find his own sisters hostile and his
own sons indifferent to him - they barely recognise who he is. Mason buys
their peace, and their partial goodwill, with a pair of Toy Ships bought
last minute in Tenerife, affording him the opportunity to play with them
down by the Stream, "leaving the Women to discuss his character".

William is now five years old, Doctor Isaac is three. William has taken the
role of the watchful elder brother, with Isaac "closer to agreeable
laughter". They're old enough to detect the differences in the Toy Boats to
the British ones they've seen in the flesh - they can spot the difference
in the rigging, the carvings and the number of Guns they carried. Mason
seizes upon this as an opportunity to tell an entertaining story of how the
blue Spanish ships, camouflaged against the sea, can sneak attack the
French boats - only for this sons to shrug out of range when he shapes to
tickle them at the end of the anecdote.

Shocking news at the start of July, as Bradley dies after a short illness.
We learn that Susannah has predeceased him (five years earlier, it later
transpires), as Bradley is to be buried alongside her at Minchinhampton.

This sudden news would be devestating to any close friend, and a man of
Mason feels particularly guilty because he senses that Bradley knew about
his prior relationship with Susannah and that he still found her
"impossible not to gaze at", yet never properly addressed the matter, even
when he and Susannah lived next door to and regularly socialised with Mason
and Rebekah. The card references continue as Mason recalls how the four of
them played plenty of "Cards upon Nights of Cloud or Storm", as well as
Piquet and various Parlour games (and a reference to the possibly
apocryphal Pope Joan that I can't quite contextualise at close to 3 in the
morning ...)

"Was he always fated for these terrible unending four-door Farces? They do
not always end luckily, as at the Cape, with ev'ryone's Blood unspill'd".
TRP will refer to four-door farces again in ATD - the classic farce set up
of people moving in and out through rooms and doors and narrowly missing
one another. In this situation, it reminds us that Mason is the only
surivivor of the foursome, and that he is happy to be back home, closer to
his children, thawing out the relationship with his Sisters and able to
channel Rebekah's spirit in a more manageable environment. His desire to
travel abroad for any length of time must now be severely diminished.

Mason is embarassed when he turns up for Bradley's funeral only to be told
that "Bradley wish'd only the Family near. Any further word will be in the
newspapers". A harsh judgement for a close friend who wanted to pay his
respects - having been in demand by all of London's intellectual circles
just a few months before, Maso now finds himself as "Incompletely
Recogniz'd" by polite society as by his own progeny. He is back to the
position of the lone unappreciated maverick.
"some of us are Outlaws, and some Trespassers upon the very World.
Everywhere stand Monitors advising Mason, that he may not proceed. He is a
Warrior who has just lost his Lord".
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