Among the Wonderful Read Online Free PDF

its interest, on its own terms. Or maybe the specimens were simply becoming more challenging. And demanding. Especially the ones with canes.
    “I don’t know if we want to start here, Mr. Archer,” Guillaudeu called down the hall when he saw where the ad man was going. “I would really prefer —” But Mr. Archer continued straight past the marble stairway to a set of doors at the far end of the ground-level hall.
    “But the waxworks! Surely, with the crowd it draws!” Mr. Archer was already swinging open the door. “The
Herald
said it was the most impressive new exhibit here. Ah, yes. Here we are.” The men started along the path made by a narrow red rug stretching the length of the dark, wood-paneled gallery. On either side velvet cords ran through brass pedestal guides to keep visitors in the appropriate realm. Guillaudeu hated the wax gallery.
    “I’ve always been fond of wax dioramas,” Mr. Archer continued. “Because I’m not always in the mood for statuary, you know. Sculpture has such a conceit. But here” — he waved his cane dangerously — “here the sculptures wear real shoes. You see this? I’ve got a chair just like that at home.” He stopped to read the placard. “John Milton, yes indeed. He did have good taste in chairs. Ha!”
    “I just … I don’t mean to be rude but I cannot bear to be in here. I may have to continue upstairs.”
    “Why, Mr. Guillaudeu? What do you mean?”
    “I practice taxidermy, as you know. I’m concerned with rebuilding a sort of … 
anima
. Not that a mounted creature comes close to its living essence, of course, but I’m interested in a certain grace. The way I see it, whoever created these wax figures was not interested in any sort of … vitality. See here, for example: Milton’s eyes. He’s not looking down at his writing desk, though he’s got a quill in his hand. He’s not ruminating into the distance. His gaze, in fact, is so askance that he seems to be —”
    “My dear sir!” Mr. Archer interrupted. “Milton was blind! Of course he’s not looking at anything. But look at this one! THE INTEMPERATE FAMILY .” This unfortunate group was gathered around a rough-hewn table. The unkempt patriarch bent over a jug, while his youngest children cried with empty bowls in front of them. They passed Petrarch, Aristotle, and Queen Victoria.
    “This one’s the worst,” Guillaudeu said as they passed the scene of Judas’ betrayal. “Let’s proceed.” He pulled his key ring from his waistcoat pocket. “The small stairwell ahead of us doesn’t open to the public until noon. We can access all floors up to the rooftop garden. Shall we move on?”
    Mr. Archer paused in the doorway. “Mr. Guillaudeu, if I may interject. I wonder if we might focus our tour less on your animals and more on … how shall we say … the humanoid elements of Barnum’s collection? I’ve heard about automatons, you see. And —”
    “Yes, all right,” Guillaudeu interrupted as they climbed the stairs. Too often visitors passed over the work of the taxidermist simply because they assumed that an animal specimen was less worthy of their scrutiny than some overembellished and underfunctional machine. He hadn’t expected the ad man to be any different, but still it disappointed him.
    The wide halls and high-ceilinged galleries of the second floor clattered with visitors. The building’s layout allowed people to flow into each floor’s main galleries from the widelanding that surrounded the central marble stairway. Patrons could also walk from one gallery to the next through arched portals, with smaller doors scattered throughout that detoured into smaller annexes. Some of the annexes then led into additional hallways, which in turn led to even smaller salons. It had taken a long time for Guillaudeu to memorize each floor’s idiosyncratic layout. The second floor was fairly easy, with its nine main galleries and several annexes. The third floor had more numerous,