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349
The Journal of a Disappointed Man
·
W. N. P. Barbellion
266
I
marked
him
down
at
once
as
my
legitimate
prey.
Sitting
back
in
my
chair,
I
replied
slowly
in
my
most
offensive
manner:
"The
Island
of
Celebes
is
of
enormous
size
and
curious
shape
situated
in
the
Malay
Archipelago."
The
Caledonian
made
no
sign.
Instead
of
grinning
at
his
error
and
confessing
to
a
"floater,"
he
endeavoured
to
carry
on
by
remarking,
"That
of
course
would
be
N.
of
Papua,"
just
for
all
the
world
as
if
his
error
was
a
minor
one
of
latitude
and
longitude.
Ignoring
his
comment,
I
continued:
"From
the
Zoogeographical
point
of
view,
Celebes
is
unequalled
in
importance,
having
the
strangest
fauna
almost
of
any
island
on
the
face
of
the
globe.
Then
there's
'Wallace's
Line,'"
I
said,
being
purposely
obscure.
The
Caledonian
said
nought
but
"looked
hurt."
It
was
so
obvious
that
he
didn't
know,
and
it
was
so
obvious
that
I
knew
that
he
didn't
know,
that
after
my
farcical
truculence
I
expected
the
tension
to
dissolve
in
laughter.
Yet
it
is
hard
for
a
Caledonian
to
say
"God
be
merciful
to
me,
ignorant
devil
that
I
am."
So
I
pursued
him
with
more
information
about
"Wallace's
Line,"
with
an
insouciant
air,
as
much
as
to
say,
"Wallace's
Line
of
course
you
heard
discussed
before
you
were
breached."
"Some
do
say,
you
know,
that
the
Line
is
'all
my
eye
and
Betty
Martin,'
e.g.,
R----."
This
gave
him
his
first
opportunity
of
finding
his
feet
in
this
perilously
deep
water.
So
he
said
promptly,
eager
to
seem
knowledgeable
with
an
intelligent
rejoinder:
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
