THE HALL OF THE BRIGHT CARVINGS

Gonurncnesr, that is, the main massing of the original stone, takenby itselfwould have displayed a certain ponderous archit€ctural qualitywerc it possible to have ignored thc circumfusion of those-meandwcllings that swarmed like an epidcmic around irs outer walls. Theysprar,vled 9yc"*€ dgping carth, each one half way over its niighbouruntil, held back by the castlc ramparB, the innermost of thesE-hovelslaid hold ollhe great walls, clamping themselves thcreto likc limpetsto a rock, These dwel,lings, by ancient law, were granted this ;hiUintimacy with the str6nghold'that loomed'above ihcm. bver theirirrcgular roofs would fall throughout the scasons, the shadows of time-eaten buttresses, of broken and lofry turrcts, and, most inormous of all,thc shadow of the Tower of Flints. This towcr, patchcd uncvcnly withblacL ivy, arosc like a mutilated finger from among the fists ofknucklcdmasonry and pointed blasphemously at heavcn. At night the dwls madeof it an echoing throat; by day i1 stood voiceless ind cast its'longshadow.

Vcry little communicatioq passcd betwecn the denizcns of these outerquarters and those who lived within thc walls, savc whcn, on the firstJune morning of each year, the cntire population of the clay dwellingshad sanction to enter the Grounds in order to display the woqdJncarvings on which they had been working during the year. Thesecarvings, blazoned in strangc colour, were generilly ol animals orfigures and' were treated in a highly stylized manner pcculiar tothemselves. The competition among them to display the finest object ofthe year was bitter and rabid. Their sole passion was directed, oncetheir days of love had guttered, on th€ production of this woodensculpture, and among tbe muddle of huts at the foot of the outer wall,existcd a score ofcreativc craftsmen whose position as leading carvcrsgave them pride of place among the shadows.

At one point within the Outcr Wall, a fow feet from the carth, thegrea-t stonc-$ of which the wall itself was construct€d, juttcd forward inthe form of a marsive shelf stretching from east to wist for'about twohundred to three hundred feet. Thcie protruding sroncs were paintedwhite, and it was upon this shclf that on the firsi morning oiJune thecarvings were ranged every year for judgement by the Eirl of Groan.

l'o , Titus Groan

,,i[hose works judged to be the most consummate, and there were never,,morc,than thrce chosen, were subsequently relegated to the Hall of the

'Bright Carvings.Standing immobile throughout the day, these vivid objects, with

:'their fantastic shadows on thc wall bchind them shifting andftngating hour by hour with the sun's rotation, ecuded a kind of, darkness fot all their colour. The air betwccn thcm was turgid with,.contempt and jealousy. The craftsmen stood.about like beggais, theirfamilies clustered in silent groups, They were uncouth and pre-maturely aged. All radiance gone.

The carvings that were left unselected were burned the same eveningin the courtyard below Lord Groan's western balcony, and it wascuotomary for him to stand there at the time 9f thc burning and to bo-n,

his hcad silcntly as if in pain, and then as a gong beat thrice fromwithin, thc three carvings to escape thc flames would be brought forthin the moonlight. They were stood upon the balustrade of the balconyin full view of the crowd below, and the Earl of,Groan would call fortheir authors to come forward. When they had stationed thcmsclvesimmediately bencath wherc hc was staniling, the Earl would throwdown, to them the traditional scrolls of vcllum, which, as the writingsupon them verified, pcrmitted thcse mcn to walk the battlements abovetheir cantqnmcnt af the full moon'of each alternaie moirth. On theseparticular nights, from a window in the southern wall of Gormenghast,an observer might watch the minute moonlit figurcs whose skill hadwon for thcm this honour which they so coveted, moving to and froalong the battlements., Saving this exception of the day o{ carvings, and !he. latitudepermitted to thc most peerless, there was no other opportunity for thosewho lived within thc walls to knowof thcse 'duter'folk, nor in fact werethey of interest to the 'inner' world, being submerged within the,shadows of the great walls.

They wcrc all-but forgottcn people: the brecd that was rememberedwith a start, or with the unreality of a recrudescent dream. The day ofcarvings alone brought them into the sunlight and reawakened thememory offormer times. For as far back as cven Nettel, thc octogcnarianwho livcd in thc towcr above the rusting drmoury, could remember, theceremony had becn hcld. lnnumcrable carvings |rad smouldercd toashes in obedience to the law, but the choicest were still housed in theHall of thc Bright Carvings.

This hall which ran along the top storcy of the north wing wasprcsided ovcr by the curator, Rottcodd, who, as no one ever visitedthe room, slcpt during most of hir life in the hammock he haderected at the far end. For all his dozing, he had never been knownto relinquish the feather duster from his grasp; the duster with which

Titus Groan r r

hc.would perfory o-ne of thc only two regular tasks which appearedto be necessary in that long and silent hill, namely to flick ife dustfrom the Bright Carvings., i

As oljccts ojpealty, these works hcld littlc interest to.him and yet inspite of himsclf he had become attached in a propiuquital way to a f€wgf the :ryjnSs. He would be more than th6rough when dtisting rheEmerald Hoisc. The black-and-olive Head whicl faccd it acrosf theboards and the Piebald shark were also his cspccial care. Not that thcrcwere any on which the dust was allowed to settle.

_ Entering at seven o'clock; winter and summcr, year in and year out,Rottcodd would disengage himeelfofhisjacket and draw or*r hi, h.ada long grey overall which descended shapelessly to his ankles. With hisfeather duster tucked beneath his arm, it was his habit to peersagaciously ovcr his glasses down'the lcngth of the hall. His skull-wasdark and small likc a corroded musket bullet and his cyes behind thegleaming of his glasses werc the twin miniatures of his head. All threcwere constantly o_n the mgvg as.though to make up for the time theyspent as,lee?, the head wobbling in a mechanical.way from,side to sidiwhen Mr Rottcodd walked, and the cyes, as though taking their cue' from the _parent sphcre to which they ,r,ere attac--hed, peiring hcre,there, and everywhere at nothinf; in particular. Having peered quieklyorrer his gJasses on cntcring and-having repeated thc peilbrmanci alon!the length of.the north wing after enveloping trimsctf in his ovcrall, iiwas the c$tom of Rottcodd to relieve tiis Ien armpit,of thc featherduster, and with that lryeapon raised, to advance towards the first ofthecarvings-on his right hand side, without more ado. Being at the topfloor of the north_wing, tliis hall was not in ar,ry real t"nu"i hall at ali,but was more in the nature of a loft, The only window was atits far end,and opposite the door through which Rottiodd would enter from thiupper body of the building. It gave little light. The shutters wereinvariably lowered. Thc Hall of thc Bright eiruings was illuminatednight and {ay by sevengreat candelabra ruspcndedtrom the cciling atintervals of nine feet The candles were nevei allowed to fail or uu"i togutter, Rottcodd himself seeing to their rcplenishmcnt before retiring atninc o'clock in the evening. There was a-stock of whitc candles in-thesmall dark ante-room beyond the door of the hall, where also were keptready for usc Rottbodd's overall, a huge vieitors, book, white with du&,and.a stcpladder. There werc no chairs or tablcs, nor indecd anyfurniture save the hammock at the window end whcrc Mr Rottcoddslept. The boarded ffoor was white with dust which, so assiduously keptfrom the.carvings, had no altcrnative resting place and had coliectiddeep and ash-like, accumulating especially in the four corners of thehall.

Having flicked at thc first carving on his right, Rottcodd would move

-

t2 Titus Groan

mechanically down the long. phalanx of colour standing a mom€ntbefore each carving, his eyes running up and down it and all ovei it,and his head wobbling knowingly on his neck before he introduced hisfeather duster.,Rottcodd was unmarried. An aloofness and even anervousness was apparent on first acquaintance and,the ladies held apeculiar horror for him. Hie, then, was an ideal existence, living aloneday and night in a long loft. Yet occasionally, for one reason or another,a servant or a member of the houeehold would makc an unexpcctcdappcarance and startle him wirh some qucstion appertaining to ritual,and then thc dust would scttlc oncc more in the hall and on the soul ofMr Rottcodd.

What werc his reveries ap he lay in his hammock with his dark bullethead tucked in thc erook of his arm? What would he be drcaming of,hour after hour, year after year? It is not'easy to feel that any greatthoughts haunted his mind nor - in spite of thc sculpture whore brightfilcs surged over the dust in narrowing perspective like the highway foran ompcro. - ,that Rottcodd rnade ani attempt to avail himself of hisieolation, but rather that he was enjoying the $olitude for its Own Sake,with, at the back of his mind, the dread of an inrudcr.

One humid afternoon a visitor did arive to disturb Rottcodd as hclay deeply hammocked, for his siesta was broken sharply, by a rattlingof the door handlc which wae apparcntly performcd in lieu of the morcpopular practice ofknocking at the panels. The sound cchoed down thelong room and then settlcd into the finc duEt on the boardcd floor. Thesunlight squeezed itself bctwecn the thin cracls of the window blind,Even on a hot, stifling, unhealthy afternoon such as this, the blindswere down and the caridlelight filled the room with an incongruousradiance. At the sound ofthe door handle being rattled Rottcodd sat upsuddenly. The thin bands of moted light edging their way through theshutters barred his dark head with thc brilliance of the outer world. Ashc,lowered himself over the hammock, it wobbled on his shoulders, andhis cyes darted up and down the door returning again and again aftertheir rapid and prccipitousjourneys io the agitations ofthe door handle.Gripping his ,feather duster in his right hand, Rortcodd began toadvance down the bright avcndc, hie feet giving. rise at each stcp tolittle clouds of dust. When he had at last reached the door the handlehad ceased to vibratc. towering himself,suddcnly to his kneeg he placedhis right eye at the kcyhole, and conmolling thc oscillation ofhis headand thc vagaries of his left eye (which was for ever trying to dash upand down the vertical surfacc of the door), he was ,able by dint ofconcentration to obscrve, within three inches of his keyholcd eye, aneye which wda not his, bcing not only of a different colour to.hie owniron marble but being, which is morc convincing, on thc other side ofthe door. This third eye which was going through the same performance

Titus Groan ,gas the one.belonging to Rottcodd, belonged to Flay, the taciturn servantof Sepulchrave, Earl of Gormenghast-. For ,Fliy to be four roomshoriaontally or one floo1 vcrtically away frorn hir lordship ,;. ;;;;;e19ugh thing in the castle. For him to be abscnt at all froni his **t"*side was abnormal, yet here apparently on this stiflinr il;;;It:rloo} was the eye of Mr Flay at the ourer keyhore of the IIail of theFrjqh,,9."tng., and.presumally thc rest of Mr Flay ;r-j;;;;;behind it. on mutual recognition the eycs-withdrew simuitaneouslvand the brass doorknob rat[led again in ihe grip oe*," ,i.iiort t *i.Ro.ttcojl9 turncd the key in the loik and the d-ooi opened slowly.

----'MrTlay appeared to clutter up the doorway as hi stood ,"r"il.d, hi.

armsfolded, surveying the smaller man before him in an cxpressionlessway. It did not look as though such a bony face as his could gir. nor*Jutterance, but rathcr that instcad of sounds, something riorc brittle,morc ancient, somcthing dryer would.merge, somethinfpcrh"il ;;;rn Ene.naturc ot-a_sphnter or a fragment of stone. Neverthellss, theharsh lips-partcd. jlt's mer, hc said, and toolc a step forward into therogr^r, h! knee joints cracking as he did so. His passage across-a room- in fact his passage through life - was accomp."i.a 6v th"r" .r""t in*sounds, one per step, which might be likenei to the

'brcaking of dr!

twigs.Rottcodd, seeing that it-was-indced he, motioned him to advance by

an irritable gesturc of the hand, and closed the,door behind him.Conversation was ncver one of Mr Flay,s accomplishments and for

some time he gazcd mirthlessly ahead oi him, and t}en, after what::.me!-an eternity to Rottcodd he raised a bony hand and scratchedhimself behind the ear. Thin he made his second remark, ,,Still hcre,eh?' he said, his voice forcing its way out of his face.

Rottcodd, feeling presumibly thit there was little need to answersuch a question, shruggcd his shoulders and gave his eyes the run ofthcceiling.

- Mr Flay p_ulled himself rog,eth€r and continued: ,I said still hcre, eh,

Rottcodd?' He stared bitterly at the carving of the Emerald ttorse,'You're still hcre, eh?'

'I'm invariably here,' said Rottcodd, lowcring his sleaminc slassesand running.his eyes all_over.Mr Flay,s visa[e. ,day in, i^:y ort,invariably. Vcry hoi weather. Extremely stiflin[. Did you ;ani

""y:thing?''Nothing,'said Flay and he turned towards Rottcodd with somethins

menacing.in his attitude. 'I want nothing., He wiped the palms of hi!hands on his hlps whcre the dark cloth s[one like iilk.

Rottcodd flicked ash from his shocs with the feather duster and tiltedhis_bullet head. 'Ah,' he said in a non-committal way.

'You say "ah",' said FIay, turning his back on Rottcodd and

-14 Tilus C,roan

beginning to walk down the coloured avenuc, 'but I tell you, it is more,tlian'l'ah""'

',ir,,!Of course,' said Rbttcodd. 'Much more, I dare say. But I fail tounderstand. .,I am a Curator.' At this he drew his body up to full heightand stood on the tips ofhis tocs in the dust., 'A what?' said Flay, straggling above him for hc had returned. 'A

curator?1'That is so,' said Rottcodd, shaking his head.Flay madc a hard noise in his throat. To Rottcodd it signified a

completc, lack of understanding and it annoyed him. that thc manshould invade his province.

'Curator,' said Flay, after a ghastly silence, iI will tell you something.I know something. Eh?'

'Well?'said Rottcoddtl'll tell you,l said Flay. 'But first, what day is it? What month, andwhat ycar is it? An$^/er me.'

Rottcodd was puzzled at this question, but he was bccoming a littleintrigued. It was so obvious that the bony man had something on hismind, aird he replied, 'It is the cighth day of the eighth month, I amunccrtain about the year. But why?'

In a voice almost inaudible FIay repeated 'The eighth day of theeighth month.' His eyes werc almost transparerit as though in a countryof uglf hills one were to find among the harsh rochs two sky-reflectinglakes. 'Come here,' he said, 'comc closcr, Rottcodd, I will tell you. Youdon't understand Gormcnghast, what happens in Gormenghast * thethings that happcn - no, no. Below you, that's where it all is, under thisnorth wing. What are thcse things up here? These wooden things? Nouse now. Keep them, but no use now. Everything is moving. The castleio moving. Today, first timc for ycars he's alone, his Lordship. Not inmy sight.' Flay bit at his knuckle. 'Bedchamber of Ladyship, thdt'swhere he is. Lordship is beside himself: won't have me, won't let me into see the New One. The New One. He's come. He's downstairs. Ihaven't seen him.' Flay bit at the corresponding knuckle on the otherhand as though to balance thc seneation. 'No one's bcen in, Of coursenot. I'll bc ncxt. The birds arc lincd along the bedrail. Ravens, starlings,all thc perishers, and the whitc rook. There's a kestre\ claws throughthe pillow. My lady feeds thcm with crusts. Graiq and crusts. Hardlysecn her new-born. Heir to Gormenghast. Doesn't look at him. But mylord kecps staring. Secn him through the grating, Needg me. Won't letme in. Are you listening?'

Mr Rottcodd certainly was listcning. In the first place he had nevcrheard Mr Flay talk so much in his life bcfore, and in the second placethe news that a son had been born at long last to the ancient andhistoric house of Groan was, after all, an interesting tlt-bit for a curator

Titus Aroaa 15

living alone on the-u?per storey of thc desolate north wing. Here wassomething with which he could occupy his mind for some tiirc to come.It was- trte, as Mr flay poinred out, that he, Rottcodd, could notpoesibly- feel the pulle of the castle as he lay in his hammock, for inpoint,offact Rottcodd had not even suspccted that an heir was on itsway. His meals came up in a mihiature tift through darknees from theservan$'-quartcrs many floors below. and he slepl in the antc-room atnight and consequcntly he was comiletely cut off from the world andall its happenings. Flay had brought him rcal .news. All the game hedislikcd leing disturbed cven when information of this magnitude wasbrought. What was

-pfssrng through the bullet-shaped f,ead was aquestion concerning Mr Flay,s entry. Why had Flay, iho never in thenormal coursc ofevents would have raiscd an eyebrow to acknowledgehis presence - why had he row gonc to the trouble of climbing to

" pu'rt

of the castle so foreign to him? And to forcc a conrerg"iion on "personality as-uncxpansive as his own. He ran his eyes over Mr Flay in

his own peculiarly rapid way and surprised h$r.-l,f Ly saying suddenly;(T9 wlat may I attribute your preserice, Mr Flay?'What?' said Flay. 'What's that?, He looked down on Rottcodd and

his eyes became glassy.

. .I" qu$ Ml Flay had rurpriscd himself. Why, indeed, hc thought tohimsel{, had he troubled to tcll Rottcodd the news which m""-rrt somuch tohim? Why Rottcodd, of all peoplc? He continued staring at thccurator for some while, and the more he stood and pondered the-clearcrit bccame to him that the question he had been aiked wa8, to say thevcry least, uncomfortably. pertinent,

The little man in front bf him had asked a simple and forthrightquestion. It had rfco rather a_ poser. -He took a coilple of shambli'ngstep.s towards Mr Rottcodd and then, forcing his hands into his trouseipockcts, turncd round very slowly on onc heel.tAh,'' 5. said at last, 'I see whai you mcan, Rottcodd- I sec what youmean.'

. Rottcodd was longing to get back to his hammock and enjoy theluxury. of being quite alone again, but his eye travelled *ei ,no..spcedily towards the visitor's face whcn he heard the remark. Mr Flayhad said that he sary what Rottcodd had meant. Had he rcally? Veryin_tercsting. What, tiy thcway, hadhemeant? What preciscly tn"i it th"iMr- F|1V had scen? He flicked an imaginary speik of dust fi,om thcgilded head ofa dryad.

oYou are interested in thc birth below?' he .inquired.Ilay stood for a while as though hc had heard nothing, but.aftcr a fcw

minutes it became obvious he was thunderstruck, 'Intirested!' he criedin a deep, husky voice, 'Interested! The child is a Groan. An authenticmale Groan. Challcnge to Change! No C/ron6u, Rottcodd. No Change!'

-rO Ti,tus C,roan

,:r,lAh,l said Rottcodd. nI see your point, Mr Flay. But his lordship was

not,dYing?'', ,lNo,' said Mr Flay, 'he was not dying, but ueth lengtlunl' and hc

,strode.to the wooden shutt€r$ with long, slow heron-like paces, and thedust rose behind him. When it had settled Rottcodd could see hisangular parchment-coloured head leaning itselfagainst the lintel ofthewindow,

Mr Flay could not fecl entirely satisfied with his answcr to Rottcodd'sgueetion covering the reason for his appearance in the Hall of the BrightCarvings. As he stood there by the window the question repeated itselfto him again and again. Why Rottcodd? Why on earth Rottcodd? Andyet he kniw that directly he heard ofthe birth ofthe heir, when his dournature had been stirred so violently that he had found himself itchingto communicate his enthusiasm to anothcr being - fiom that momentRottcodd had lcapt to his mind. Nevcr of a communicative orenthugiastic nature he had found it dilflcult even under the emotionalstress of the advent to inform Rottcodd of the facts. And, as has beenremarked, he had surprised cven himselfnot only for having unburdenedhimself at all, but for having done so in so short a time.

He turned, and saw that thc Curator was standing r+earily by thcFiebald $hark, his small croppcd round hcad moving to and fro like abird's, and his hands clasped before him with thc feathcr dustcr betweenhis 6ngers. t{c could see that Rottcodd was politely waiting for him togo. Altogeth{r Mr FIay war in a peculiar state of mind, He wasiurprisecl at lvlr Rottcodd for being so unimpressed at the news, and he

was surprised at himsclf for having brought it' He tookfrom his pocketa vast watch of silver and held it horizontally on the flat of his palm''Must go,' he said awkwardly. 'Do you hcar me, Rottcodd, I must go?'

''Good of you to call,' snid Rottcodd. 'Will you sign your name in the

visitors' book as you go out?''No! Not a visitor.' Flay brought his shoulders up to his ears. 'Been

with Iordship thirty-seven years. Sign a fuok,'he added contemptuously,and hc spat into a far corner of the room.

'As you wish,' eaid Mr Rottcodd. 'It was to th€ section of the visitors'book devoted to the staffthat I was referring.'

'No!'said Flay.As hc passcd tht curator on his way to the door he looked carefully

at him as he camc abreast, and the question rankled. Why? The castlewas fillcd with the excitement of the .nativity. All was alive withconjccture. There was no control. Rumour s'r,ept through the strong'hold. Everywherc, in passagc, archway, cloister, refcctory, kitchen,dormitory, and hall it was the same. Why had he chosen theunenthusiastic Rottcodd? And then, in a flash he realized, He musthave subconsciouely known that the news would be new to"no one else;

Titas Groaa t7that Rottcodd was virgin soil for hig message, Rottcodd the curator wholived alone among the Bright Carvings wis the only one on whom hecould vent the- tidings without jeopardizing his sullen dignity, and towhom although the knowledge would givc rise to but little enthusiasmit would at least be new.

. IIlyinS solved the problem in his mind and having realized in adullish way that the conclusion was particularly mundane and unin-spired, and that therc was no question of his ioul calling along thecorridors and up the stairs to the soul of Rottcodd, Mr fliy in ithinstraddling manner moved along the passages of the north'wing anddown the curve of stone steps that led to the stone quadrangle, 6c[ngthe while a curious disilluiion, a scnse of having'sulfercd a loss o?dignity, and a feeling of being thankful that his viiit to Rottcodd hadbcen unobserved and that Rottcodd himself was well hiddcn from theworld in the Hall of the Bright Carvings.

THE GREAT KITCHEN

As Flay passed through the servants' archway and descended the twelvc$teps that led into the main corridor of the kitchen quarters, he becameaware of an acute transformation of mood, The solitude of MrRottcodd's sanctum, which had been lingering in his mind, wasv19l11ed. Here among the stone passages werc iU the symptoms ofribald excitement. Mr Flay hunched his bony shoulders and-with hishands in hisjackct pockets dragged them to thc front so that only theblack cloth dividcd his clenched fists. The material was strctched astllqugh it wo-uld split at the small of his back. He stared mirthlessly toright and left and then advanced, his long spidery legs cracking ai heshotrldered his lyay through a heaving group of menials. They wereguffawing to cach othcr coarsely and one of them, evidently the wit,was contorting his face, as pliable as putty, into shapps that appearcdto be independent oflthc skull, if indced hc had a skuil beneiih.thatelastic flesh. Mr Flay pushed past.

The corridor was alive. Clusters of aproned figures mixed anddiscngaged. Some were singing. Some weie arguing and some weredrapcd against the wall, quite silent from edf,ausiion, thcir hands$lgling from their wrists or .flapping stupidly to rhe beat of somckitchen catch-song. The clamour was pitilees. Technically this wasmorc the spirit which Flay liked to see, or at all events thought to bemore appropriat€ to the occasion. Rottcodd's lack of enthusiasm had

-7

r8 Tilus Groan

shocked him an{ here, at any rate, the traditional observance of felicityat.the birth of an heir to Gormenghast was being observed. But.itwould have beeh impossible for him to show any. signs of enthusiasmhimself when surrounded by it in others. As he moved along thecrowded corridor and passed in turn the dark passages that led io the

.,slaughter-housc witlr its stcnch of fresh blood,-the blakerics with their,:iweet loaves and the stairs that led down to the wine vaults and the,underground network ofthe castle cellars, he felt a ccrtain satisfactionat seing how many ofthe roystcrers staggered aside to let him pa$s, forhis station as retainer-in-chief to his Lordship was commanding and hissour mouth and the frown that had made.a permanent nest upon hisjutting forehead were a warning.

It was not often that Flay approved of happiness in others. He saw inhappiness the sceds ofindependence, and in-indepcndence the secds ofrevolt. But on an occasion such as this it was different, for the spirit ofconvention was being rigorously adhered.to, and in between h-is riboMtIlry experienced twinges of pleasure.

He had come to where, on hii left, and halfway along thc servants,corridor, the heavy wooden doors of the Great Kitchin stood ajar.Ahead of him, narrowing in dark perspective, for thcre were nowindows, the rest of the corridor stretched silently away, It had nodoors on eithcr side and at thc far end it was tcrminatcd'by a wall offlints. This uscless passage was, as might be supposed, usually dcserted,b-ut -Mr Flay noticed that scvcral fifurcs weii tying stretchcd in theshadows. At the $ame time he was momentarily diafencd by a grcatbellowing and clattering and stamping.

As Mr Flay entered the Great Kitchen the steaming, airless concen-tration of a ghastly heat struck him. He folt that his b6dy had receiveda blow. N9t ontV was thc norrnal sickcning atmosphcre of the kitchena.ugmented by the sun's rays streaming into the room at various pointsthrough the high windows, but, in the iiot of the festivities, the fires hadbeen banked dangerpusly. But Mr Flay realized that it was ipht thatthis should be as insufferable as it was. He even realized that ihc fourgrillers who were forcing joint after joint betwecn the metal doors withtheir clumsy boots, until the oven began to givc under the immoderatestrain, were in key with the legitimate temper of the occasion. Thc factthat thry had no idea what they were doing nor why they were doingit was irrelevant. The Countess had given birth; was ihis i moment foirafional behaviour?

The walts of the vast room which were streaming with calid moisture,were built yth grey slabs of stone and were the fersonal concern of acgmpany of eightcen men known as the 'Grey Sciubbers,. It had beenthcir privilege on reaching adolescence to discover that, being the sonsof their fatherq ,their careers had been arranged for them-and that

Titus Groan rg

stretching ahead' of them lay their identical lives consisting of anunimaginative if praiseworthy duty. This was to restore, each morning,to the great grcy floor and the lofty walls of the kitchcn a etainlesgcomplexion. On every day of the year from three hours before daybreakuntil about eleven o'clock, when the scalfolding and ladders became ahindrance to the cooks, the Grey Scrubbers fulfilled their hercditarycalling, Through the character of thcir trade, thcir arms had becomeunusually powerful, and when they let their huge hands hang loosely attheir sides, thcre wag more than an ccho of the simian. Coarse as thcsemen appca.red, they wcre an integral part of the Great Kitchen. Withoutthc Grey Scrubbers something very earthy, very heavy, very real wouldbe missing to any sociologist searching in that steaming room, for thecompletion of a circle of temperaments, a gamut of the lower humanvalues,

Through daily proximity to the great elabs of stone , the faces of theGrey Scrubbcrs had bccome like slabs themselves. There ,was noexpression whatever upon the cightcen faces, unlcss the lack ofexprcssion is in i*elf an expression. They wcre simply slabs that theGrey Scrubbers spoke from occasionally, stared from incessantly, heardwith, hardly evcr. They were uaditionally deaf. The cycs werc there,gmall and flat as coins, and the colour of the walls themsclves, as thoughduiing thc long hours ofprofessional staring the grey stone had at lastreflccted itrelfindclibly oncc and for all. Ycs, thc eyes were there, tlirty-six of them and the eighteen nosds were tlcrc, and the lines of themouths that resembled the harsh cracks that divided the stone slabs,they were there too. Alihough nothing physical was missing from anyone of their eightcen.faces yet it would be impossiblc to pcrceive thefaintest sign of animation and, even if a basinful of thcir fcatures hadbcen shaken together and ifcach feature had bcen picked out at random,and stuck upon somc dummy-head of wax at any capricious spot oiangle, it would have made no difference, for even the moat fantastic, themost ingenious of arrangements could not have tempted into life adesign whose component parts were dead. In all, counting the ears,which on occasion may bc monstrously expressive, the one hundredand eight featurcs wcre unablc, at thc best of times, to muster betweenthcm, individually op taken az massc, the faintcst shadow of anyihingthat might hint at the workings of what lay beneath.

Having watchcd the excitement developing around them in thc GreatKitchen, and being uilable to comprehend what it was all about forlack ofhearing, they had up to thc lagt hour or two been unable to enterinto that fcstive spirit which had attacked the very heart and,bowels ofthc kitchen stalf,

But herc and now, on this day ofdays, cognizant at last ofthc arrivalof the new Lord, t}te eighteen Grey $crubbers'were lying side by side

Titut Groan Titus Croan 2l

upon the flagptones bcneath a gr€at table, dcad drunk to a man. Theyhad done honour to the occasion and were out of the picture, havingbeen rolled under the table onc by one lil,e so many barrels of ale, as,indeed they.wcrc.'; Through the clamour of the voices in thc Great Kitchen thar rose

'and fell, that changcd tempo, and lingered, until a strid€nt rush or a,wheazy elide of sound camc to a new pause, only to be shattered by,ahidcouo_croak of laughter or a thrilled whispcr, or a clearing of somecoanre throat - through all this thick and interwoven skein oibedlam,the ponderous snoring of the Grey Scrubbers had continued as arecognizable theme of dolorous persistence

In favour of the Grey Scrubbers it must be said that it was not untilthe walls and floor of the kitehen wcre shining from their exertions thatthey attacked the bungs as though unwcaned. But it was not only theywho had succumbed. The same unqucstionable proof of loyalty couldbe observed in no less than forty members of the kitchen, who, iike theGrey- Scrubbrrs, recognizing the bottle as the true medium throughwhich to externalize their alfection for the family of Groan, were seeiigvisions and dreaming dreams.

Mr.Flay, wiping away with thc back of his claw-likc hand thepersoiration that had {ready gathercd on his brow, allowed his eyes toremain a momcnt on the inert and foreshortcned bodics of thc inebriateGrey Scrubbers. Their heads were towards him, and rvere cropped toa gun-grey stubble. Beneath thc table a shadow had roosted, ind therest oftheir bodies, receding in parallel lines, were soon devoured in thedarkness. At first glance he had been reminded of nothing so much asa row of cuded-up hedgehogs, and it was somc time bcfoie hc realizcdthat hc was rcgarding a line of prickly skulls. When he had satisfiedhimselfon this point his eyes *avelled sourly around the,Great Kitchen.Evcrything was confusion, but behind the flux of the shifting figuresand the temporary chaos of overturned mixing tables, of [he

-floor

littered with.stock-pots, basting pans, broken bowls and dishes, andoddmcnts of food, Mr Flay could sce the main fixtures in the room andkeep them in his mind as a means of reference, for the kitchen $,vambcfore his eyes in a clammy mist. Dividcd by the heavy stonc wall inwhich was situated a hatch of strong timber, was the gard,e-mangor withits stacks of cold meat and hanging carcaEcs and on

"the insidi of the

wall the spir. On a fixed, table running along a length of the wall werehuge bowls gapablc of holding,fifty portions. The stock-pots \.vcreperpetually simmering, having boiled over, and the floor about thcmwai a me_ss of sepia fluid and egg-shells that had been floating in thepots.for the purpose of clearing the soup. The sawdust that waispreadneatly_over the floor each morning was by now kicked into heapi andsoaked in the splashings of wine. And where scattered.about ttie floor

little blobr of fat had becn rolled or trodden in, the sawdust stuck tothem.giving them the appearance of rissoles. Hanging along the

{rinning walls were rows of sticking knives and steelsf boning kiives,skinning knives and two-handed cleavers, and beneath them i twelve-foot by nine-foot chopping block, cross-hatched aod hollowed bydecades oflong wounds,

On the other side of the room, to Mr Flay's left, a capacious cnornouscoppcr, a row ofovens and a narrow doorway acted as his landmarks.The doors of the ovcns were flying wide and acid flames were leapingdangerously, as the fat that had been thrown into the fires bubbled andstank.

Mr flay was in two minds. He hated what he $aw; for of all therooms in the castle, it was the kitchen he detested most, and for a veryreal reason; and yet a thrill in his scarecrow body made him aware ofhow right it all was. He could not, of course, analyse his feelings norwould the idea have occurred to him, but he was so much a pait andparcel of Gormenghast that he could instinctively tell when the essenceof its tradition was running in a true channel, powerfully and with nodeviation.

But the fact that Mr Flay appreciatcd, as.from the profoundest ofmo.tive$, thc vulgarity of the Great Kitchen in no way mitigatcd hiscontempt for thc figures he saw beforc him as individuals. As he lookedfrom one to another the satisfaction which he had at first experiencedin seeing them collectively gave way to a detestation as he observedthem piccemeal.

A prodigious twisted beam, warped into a spiral, floated, or so itscemed in the haze, across ttie breadth of the Great Kitchen. Here andthere along its undersurface, iron hooks were screwed into its grain.Slung over it like sacks half filled with sawdust, so absolutely lifelessthey appeared, were two pastry-cooks, an ancient poissonnin, .a rdtierwith legs so bandy as to describe a rugged circle, a red-headed ligumier,and five saucitrs with their green scarves around their necks. One ofthem ncar the far end from lihere FIay stood twitched a little, but apartfrom this all was.stillness, They wcre very happy.

Mr Flay took a few paces and the atmosphere closed around him. Hehad stood by the door unobserved, but now as he came forward aroysterer leaping suddenly into the air caught hold ofone ofthe hooksin the dark beam above them. He was suspended by one arm, acretinous little man with a face of concentrated impudence. He musthavc possessed a strength out ofall proportions to his size, for with theweight ofhis body hanging on the end ofone arm he yet drew himselfup so that his head reached the level of the iron hook. As Mr Flaypassed beneath, the dwar{, twisting himself upside down with incrediblespeed, coiled his legs around the twisted beam and dropping the rest of

L2 Tilus Groan

himsclf vertically with his face a few inches from that of Mr Flay,SriT"{ at him- grotesquely with his head upside down, before Fliycould do anything save come to an abrupt iratt. Ttre dwarf had theiswung himself oa to the beam again and was running along it on allfours with an agility more likely to be found injungles lhan irikitchens.

Aprodigious bellow outvoicing alr cacophon-y ciused him to turn hishgld away from the dwarf, Away to his left in the shade ofa supportingpillar he could make out

-the vague unmistalcable shape of ,iri"t rr"f,

really been at the back of his briin like a tumour, eri, since he hadentered the great kitchen.

SWELTER.

Tx.o $ef of Gormenghast, balancing his body with dilficulty upon acask of wine, was addressin€ a gryup 6f appreniices in thei*trip"'a u"asodden jackets and small white caps. They claspcd each'other'sshoulders for.thcir support. Their ad6lescent faces s'teaming *ith ihihcat ofthe a{jacent ovens were quite stupefied, and when thJv hushedor applauded the enormity above them, it was with a crazcd-andsycophantic fervour. As Mr flay approached to within a few yards ofthe. cluster, anoiher roar, such as he 6ad heard a moment or two earlier,rolled into the heat above the wine-barrel.

The young scullions had heard this roar many times before but hadncver associatcd it with-anything othcr than anger. At first, conse-quently, it had frightened them, but they had soonlerceived that therewas no irritation in its note today.

The che{, as he loomed over them, drunken, arrogant and pcdantic,was enjoying himself.

As _the apprentices s,rrayed tipsily around the wine cas}, their facescatching and losing the- Iight that streamed through a high window,thcy also, in a dclirious fashion - were cnjoying therisclves,-The echoesdicd from thc apparently reasonress bellow Jf the chief chef and thes$ging circle about the barel stamped its fect fcvcrish.ly and gave hiehshrill cries qf delight, for they had sebn an inane smile evolvinffrom t1eblur ofthe huge head above them. Never before had they enjiyed suchlatitude in.the prcscnce of the chef. They struggled to outdo oie anotherin thc taking of liberties unheard of hitherio. They vied for favours,screaming his name at the rops of their voices. They tried to catch hiseye. They were very tired, very heavy and sick with the drink and thehcat, but were living fiercely on their fuddled reserves of nervous

Tilus Groan 2lenergy. All.saving onc high-shouldered boy, who throughour the scenehad preserved a moody silencc. He loathed the figure above him and hedespised his fellow-apprenticcs. He leaned against the shadowy side ofthe pillar,,out of the chef's line of vision.

Mr Flay was annoyed, even on such a day, by the sccne, Althoughapproving in theory, in practice it seemed to him that the spectacle wasunplcasant. Hc remembcred, whcn he had first come across Swelter,how he and the chef had instantaneously entertained a mutual dislike,and how this antipathy festered. To Swelter it was irksome to see thebony straggly figure of Lord Sepulchrave's first servant in his kitchenat all, the only palliative to this annoyance being thc opportunity whichif alTorded for the display of his superior wit at Mr Flay's expense.

Mr Flay entered $welter's steaming province for one purpoac only.To prove to himself as much as to othcrs, that he, as Lord Groan'spersonal attcndant, would on no account bc intimidated by any memberof thc staff,

To kecp this fact well in front of his own.mind, he made a tour of thescrvants' quartcrs every so often, never entering the kitchen, however,without a queasiness of stomach, never departing from it without arenewal ofsplecn.

The long [eqms of sunlight, which wcre reflccted from the moistwalls in a shimmering hazc, }lad pranked the chef's body with blotchesof ghost-light. The effect from below was that of a dappled volume ofwarm vague whitcness and of a grey that dissolved into swamps ofmidnight - of a volume that towered and dissolved among the rafters.As occasion merited hc supported himself against t}re stone pillar at hisside and as he did so the pat6hes of light shifted across the degradedwhiteness of thc stretched uniform he wore. When Mi Flay had firsteyed him, the cook's head had been entirely in shadow. Upon it the tallcap ofolfice rose coldly, a vague topsail halflost in a fitful sky. In thetotal e{fect there was indeed sornething ofthc gallcon.

One of the blotches of reflected sunlight swayed to and fro across thepaunch. This.particular pool of light moving in a mesmeric mannerbackwards and forwards pickid out from time to timc a long rcd islandof spilt wine. It seemed to leap forward from the mottled cloth when thelight fastcned upon iq,in startling contrast to the chiaroscuro and.todefy thc laws of tone. This ungarnished sign of Sweltcr's debauche,taking the swollen curve of linen, had somehow, to Mr Flay's surprise,a fascination. For a minute he watched it appear, and disappear toreappear again- a lozenge ofcrimson, as the body bchind it swayed.

Another senseless bout of foot-stamping and screaming broke thespell, and lifting his eyes he scowled about him. $uddenly, for amoment, the memory of Mr Rottcodd in his dusty deserted hall stoleinto his consciousness and he was shocked to realize how much he had