Mr. Ferdinand's Fate

Chapter 3: The Sonnet Form

 

Mr. Anders meanwhile proceeded upstairs to the male servant quarters and into the room of Mr. Ferdinand. A bed was there, and a dresser was there, and a crucifix hung on the wall. Mr. Anders opened the dresser and rifled through whites and greys and finally came upon a bundle of paperish materials which he took in hand for sorting. He moved from top to bottom a railroad schedule, a note of recommendation, a passport. Then Mr. Anders had in hand the photograph, here it was, of Mr. Ferdinand with his cousin somewhat removed: drinking large steins in a beer house, leaning together, having a good time, smiling. What a moustache on the cousin! Mr. Anders turned the photograph over--nothing at all was written on the reverse--but in doing so he saw that the next piece of paper had a poem on it. Mr. Anders read it.

Grow green, my heather, past the potted plot

Resigned to you by gardeners pastly famed;

Erect your frondles far and, stopping not,

Erect, inject, the country--unashamed!

The Dumphries Oak has blasted out its corns

In rains of plenty down upon the lawn;

Nor horse nor squirrel 'pon these early morns

Get all the meat before a new life's dawn!

From dust all rose, the plants included are,

Re-making History's urge to fornicate;

O life! fecund my plants! or near or far

Make merry with your natures incarnate!

Twenty seasons makes a lifetime but;

Fourteen lines I've had, to bust my nut!

Mr. Anders took the entirety of the bundle of memorabilia out of the room and went downstairs where there was a curious conversation underway concerning a curious utterance of Lady Helen.

Lady Dumphries said, "But daughter, what is 'double-u-tee-ef'?"

Lady Helen said, "Really, I have no idea. I don't know at all why I said it, and I don't know what it means."

Lord Dumphries said, "Very strange."

"I don't want to get into it now; but I simply cannot remember what I was thinking, or even being at that moment. I'm really of no help whatsoever. Something ... possessed me."

Lord Dumphries noticed Mr. Anders standing there. "Ah!"

Constable Eddings looked too. "You have found the photograph?"

"Yes." He gave the photograph to Constable Eddings. "And I found a curious poem," giving it over to Lord Humphries. "Probably not something to share with the ladies."

Constable Edddings looked at the photo and said, "There is a resemblance." Then he glanced over Lord Dumphries' shoulder to see the poem. "What an unusual poem," he said.

"How so?" asked Lady Dumphries.

"It's an acrostic."