William Faulkner, SANCTUARY â WordPress.com - literature save 2
William Faulkner, SANCTUARY â WordPress.com - literature save 2
William Faulkner, SANCTUARY â WordPress.com - literature save 2
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Two days before it opened Snopes emerged from a dentist's office and stood at<br />
the curb, spitting. He took a goldwrapned cigar from his pocket and removed the foil and<br />
put the cigar gingerly between his teeth. He had a black eye, and the bridge of his nose<br />
was bound in soiled adhesive tape. "Got hit by a car in Jackson," he told them in the<br />
barbershop. "But I dont think I never made the bastard pay," he said, showing a sheaf of<br />
yellow bills. He put them into a notecase and stowed it away. "I'm an American," he said.<br />
"I dont brag about it, because I was born one. And I been a decent Baptist all my life, too.<br />
Oh, I aint no preacher and I aint no old maid; I been around with the boys now and then,<br />
but I reckon I aint no worse than lots of folks that pretends to sing loud in church. But the<br />
lowest, cheapest thing on this earth aint a nigger: it's a jew. We need laws against them.<br />
Drastic laws. When a durn lowlife jew can <strong>com</strong>e to a free country like this and just<br />
because he's got a law degree, it's time to put a stop to things. A jew is the lowest thing<br />
on this creation. And the lowest kind of jew is a jew lawyer. And the lowest kind of jew<br />
lawyer is a Memphis jew lawyer. When a jew lawyer can hold up an American, a white<br />
man, and not give him but ten dollars for something that two Americans, Americans,<br />
southron gentlemen; a judge living in the capital of the State of Mississippi and a lawyer<br />
that's going to be as big a man as his pa some day, and a judge too; when they give him<br />
ten times as much for the same thing than the lowlife jew, we need a law. I been a liberal<br />
spender all my life; whatever I had has always been my friends' too. But when a durn,<br />
stinking, lowlife jew will refuse to pay an American one tenth of what another American,<br />
and a judge at that--"<br />
"Why did you sell it to him, then?" the barber said.<br />
"What?" Snopes said. The barber was looking at him.<br />
"What was you trying to sell to that car when it run over you?" the barber said.<br />
"Have a cigar," Snopes said.<br />
XXVII<br />
The trial was set for the twentieth of June. A week after his Memphis visit, Horace<br />
telephoned Miss Reba. "Just to know if she's still there," he said. "So I can reach her if I<br />
need to."<br />
"She's here," Miss Reba said. "But this reaching. I dont like it. I dont want no<br />
cops around here unless they are on my business."<br />
"It'll be only a bailiff," Horace said. "Someone to hand a paper into her own<br />
hand."<br />
"Let the postman do it, then," Miss Reba said. "He <strong>com</strong>es here anyway. In a<br />
uniform too. He dont look no worse in it than a full-blowed cop, neither. Let him do it."<br />
"I wont bother you," Horace said. "I wont make you any trouble."<br />
"I know you aint," Miss Reba said. Her voice was thin, harsh, over the wire. "I<br />
aint going to let you. Minnie's done took a crying spell tonight, over that bastard that left<br />
her, and me and Miss Myrtle was sitting here, and we got started crying too. Me and<br />
Minnie and Miss Myrtle. We drunk up a whole new bottle of gin. I cant afford that. So<br />
dont you be sending no jay cops up here with no letters for nobody. You telephone me<br />
and I'll turn them both out on the street and you can have them arrested there."