The date for Beaver/Beard and Huxley entry is
incorrect. It was posted in July 2009.
One of the entries (17 July 2009) under
the subject L N G of Q
"C.Kunin sent a chienerel written in 1800 about poor Ellen Gee (a
rather cruel way to refer to deathly B-stings) addressed to "Ye nymphs of Q,
then shun each B.[snip] To adhere to the spirit, following a suggestion of
Fran Assa ( who recommended Huxley's 1923 "Antic Hay" - in relation to beavers,
beards and escapism), I'll copy down a relevant quote, although Kinbote's was a
rich brown, not golden:
...'This beard' - he
pointed to the blond fan - 'why, may I ask?' 'More Russianism,' said Mr.
Mercaptan... 'Christlike is my behavior, Like every good believer, I
imitate the Saviour, And cultivate a beaver.' and Castor fibers abound in ch.4 amidst a lot of bad celebratory
verse."
JM
..................................................................
----- Original Message -----
From: Anthony Stadlen
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 12:52
AM
Subject: Re: [NABOKV-L] THOUGHTS re the Great Beaver]
"Beaver"
obsolete? It was alive and much used in Aldous Huxley's "Antic Hay", in the
1920s. Its antihero Gumbril acquires a beard, and attracts the appellation
Beaver.
Anthony Stadlen