最も誠実にして忠順、徳義に篤く素直なしもべたるJ・アボット――『あしながおじさん』のなかのサミュエル・ピープス(9) Your Most Loyall, Dutifull, Faithfull Servant, J. Abbott: Samuel Pepys in Daddy-Long-Legs (9) [Daddy-Long-Legs]
『あしながおじさん』4年生2月の日曜日の手紙の後半です。
It's a beautiful day―frozen and icy and clear. As soon as dinner is over, Sallie and Julia and Marty Keene and Elenor Pratt (friends of mine, but you don't know them) and I are going to put on short skirts and walk 'cross country to Crystal Spring Farm and have a fried chicken and waffle supper, and then have Mr. Crystal Spring drive us home in his buckboard. We are supposed to be inside the campus at seven, but we are going to stretch a point to-night and make it Eight.
Farewell, kind Sir.
I have the honour of subscribing myself,
Your most loyall, dutifull, faithfull
and obedient servant,
J. ABBOTT.
（すばらしい日です――霜と氷と澄んだ空気。昼食が終わりしだい、サリーとジュリアそしてマーティー・キーンとエリナー・プラット（ふたりともわたしの友だちですけど知りませんよね）とわたしは、ショート・スカートをはいて、田舎道を「クロスカントリー」でクリスタル・スプリング農場まで歩いてって、そこでフライドチキンとワッフルを夕食にいただくつもりです。帰りはクリスタル・スプリング氏に荷馬車で送ってもらいます。7時にはキャンパスに戻ってないといけないのですが、今宵はちょっと延長して、8時にします。寛大なるサァ、これにて失礼つかまつります、
御許に我が身を仕えまいる栄誉に浴しつつ、
最も誠実にして忠順、徳義に篤く素直なしもべたる、
J・アボット）
この手紙の長々しい結辞は、サミュエル・ピープスの日記からとられています。ただし、日記の中に引用されている他者の手紙からです。1660年5月4日の日記で、事務的な仕事を書きとめたなかにまず自分の短い手紙が引かれ、それから、国王宛の手紙の添削を、Captain Itham が連れてきたある紳士 (gentleman) に頼まれたのを、覚えている限りで書き留める、というかたちで仰々しい文章が引用されているのです。――
DIARY OF SAMUEL PEPYS.
MAY 1660
4th. I wrote this morning many letters, and to all the copies of the vote of the council of war I put my name, that if it should come in print my name maybe at it. I sent a copy of the vote to Doling, inclosed in this letter:
"SIR,
"He that can fancy a fleet (like ours) in her pride, with pendants
loose, guns roaring, caps flying, and the loud 'Vive le Roys,'
echoed from one ship's company to another, he, and he only, can
apprehend the joy this inclosed vote was received with, or the
blessing he thought himself possessed of that bore it, and is"Your humble servant."
About nine o'clock I got all my letters done, and sent them by the messenger that came yesterday. This morning came Captain Isham on board with a gentleman going to the King, by whom very cunningly, my Lord tells me, he intends to send an account of this day's and yesterday's actions here, notwithstanding he had writ to the Parliament to have leave of them to send the King the answer of the fleet. Since my writing of the last paragraph, my Lord called me to him to read his letter to the King, to see whether I could find any slips in it or no. And as much of the letter as I can remember, is thus:
"May it please your Most Excellent Majesty," and so begins.
"That he yesterday received from General Monk his Majesty's letter and direction; and that General Monk had desired him to write to the Parliament to have leave to send the vote of the seamen before he did send it to him, which he had done by writing to both Speakers; but for his private satisfaction he had sent it thus privately (and so the copy of the proceedings yesterday was sent him), and that this come by a gentleman that came this day on board, intending to wait upon his Majesty, that he is my Lord's countryman, and one whose friends have suffered much on his Majesty's behalf. That my Lords Pembroke and Salisbury are put out of the House of Lords. That my Lord is very joyful that other countries do pay him the civility and respect due to him; and that he do much rejoice to see that the King do resolve to receive none of their assistance (or some such words), from them, he having strength enough in the love and loyalty of his own subjects to support him. That his Majesty had chosen the best place, Scheveling, for his embarking, and that there is nothing in the world of which he is more ambitious, than to have the honour of attending his Majesty, which he hoped would be speedy. That he had commanded the vessel to attend at Helversluce till this gentleman returns, that so if his Majesty do not think it fit to command the fleet himself, yet that he may be there to receive his commands and bring them to his Lordship. He ends his letter, that he is confounded with the thoughts of the high expressions of love to him in the King's letter, and concludes,"Your most loyall, dutifull, faithfull and obedient subject and servant, E. M."
The rest of the afternoon at ninepins. In the evening came a packet from London, among the rest a letter from my wife, which tells me that she has not been well, which did exceedingly trouble me, but my Lord sending Mr. Cook at night, I wrote to her and sent a piece of gold enclosed to her, and wrote also to Mrs. Bowyer, and enclosed a half piece to her for a token. After supper at the table in the coach, my Lord talking concerning the uncertainty of the places of the Exchequer to them that had them now; he did at last think of an office which do belong to him in case the King do restore every man to his places that ever had been patent, which is to be one of the clerks of the signet, which will be a fine employment for one of his sons. After all this discourse we broke up and to bed. In the afternoon came a minister on board, one Mr. Sharpe, who is going to the King; who tells me that Commissioners are chosen both of Lords and Commons to go to the King; and that Dr. Clarges is going to him from the Army, and that he will be here to-morrow. My letters at night tell me, that the House did deliver their letter to Sir John Greenville, in answer to the King's sending, and that they give him L500 for his pains, to buy him a jewel, and that besides the L50,000 ordered to be borrowed of the City for the present use of the King, the twelve companies of the City do give every one of them to his Majesty, as a present, L1000. <ftp://ftp.archive.org/pub/etext/4/2/0/4200/4200.txt >
実は手紙の本文は引用符のなかに入っているけれどもほぼ内容の要約のようであり（まあ、いくらなんでも小説じゃないんだから、全文を復元してみせる記憶力があるはずもないですが）、ピープスの地の文 "He ends his letter, that he is confounded with the thoughts of the high expressions of love to him in the King's letter, and concludes," （彼は、国王の手紙に示されている自分に対する高貴な親愛の表現に戸惑っていると手紙を結び、結辞として次のように書く）が入り込んでもいます。
しかし手紙の書き出しの "May it please your Most Excellent Majesty" と結びの "Your most loyall, dutifull, faithfull and obedient subject and servant, E. M." は、記憶にあるかぎりでの直接「引用」と考えていいのだと思います。
そして、思い出していただくと、頭の "May it please your Most Excellent Majesty" は、サミュエル・ピープスへの言及と引用に満ちた2月15日付の手紙プラス日曜日の手紙の、はじめに使われていたのでした。――
20266-7.JPG)
だから、リクツっぽく書くと、2月15日と数日後の日曜日に書かれたジュディーの手紙の頭書きと結辞は、1660年5月4日のピープスの日記に引用された手紙の頭書きと結辞の引用ですが、それはピープス（から）の引用であると同時にピープス（の日記）に引用された（手紙の）引用の引用なのでした。
そして、よく見ると、Feb. 15th と書いたあとに（ということは既に15日に） "May it please your Most Excellent Majesty," と書かれていたのだから、日曜日の結辞を既に15日に見越していた、ということになります。だからなに？ｗ
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なお、前に「デートと万年カレンダー――ジュディーの誕生日 Dates and the Perpetual Calendar: Judy's Birthday」 [2009/08/30]と「デートと万年カレンダーによるジュディーの誕生日の推定はほんとにあっていたのか？ Was the Supposition of Judy's Birthday from Dates and the Perpetual Calendar True」[2009/12/04]で書いたように、少なくともジュディーが卒業する年のカレンダーの3月は、(1) ジーン・ウェブスター自身が卒業した1901年と (2) 『あしながおじさん』が出版される1912年と重なるのでしたが、それぞれの年の2月のカレンダーはつぎのようです。――
1901年 February
| Su | Mo | Tu | W | Th | Fr | Sa |
| __ | __ | __ | __ | __ | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | __ | __ |
1912年 February
| 日 | 月 | 火 | 水 | 木 | 金 | 土 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
//////////////////////////////////////
E-text Works by Samuel Pepys at Project Gutenberg <http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/p#a1181>
1660年の日記 <http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/4/1/2/4125/4125.htm>
"Friday 4 May 1660" The Diary of Samuel Pepys <http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1660/05/04/>
どなたか押してくださらんだろうかｗ
kaoru さま、ご訪問ありがとうございます。
by morichanの父 (2010-01-03 16:11)
新年おめでとうございます♪
リニューアルされてたのですね(*^^)v
by まつき (2010-01-04 16:33)