,,books ,,by ,,don ,c4 ,,seitz ,,whistler ,,stories4 #afmo4 ,cloth44444444net 4#ge ,leather1 net #a4jj ,,every-,,day ,,europe4 ,ill'd44444444444444net #a4be ,,elba ,,and ,,elsewhere4 ,ill'd4 ,post #hvo4 net #a4be ,,surface ,,japan4 ,ill'd4 #dto444444444444net #e4jj ,,the ,,buccaneers4 ,verses4 ,ill'd4 #hvo444net #a4jj ,,harper ,,brothers1 ,,new ,,york ,illustration3 ,,james ,m',,neill ,,whistler ,from a sketch from life by ,rajon4 ,courtesy of ,frederick ,keppel4 ,,whistler ,,stories ,,collected ,,and ,,arranged ,,by ,,don ,c4 ,,seitz ,,author ,,of ,,writings ,,by ,,and ,,about ,,james ,,abbott ,mc,n,e,i,l,l ,,whistler ,,harper ,,brothers ,,publishers ,,new ,,york ,,and ,,london ,,mcmxiii ,,printed ,,in ,,the ,,united ,,states ,,of ,,america ,,published ,,october #aiac ,,to ,,sheridan ,,ford1 ,,discoverer ,,of ,,the ,,art ,,of ,,folly ,,and ,,of ,,many ,,follies ,,of ,,art ,,preface ,following the example set by ,homer when he smote his bloomin' lyre1 as cited by ,mr4 ,kipling1 who went an' took what he'd admire1 ,i have gleaned the vast volume of ,whistler literature and helped myself in making this compilation4 ,some few of the anecdotes are first-hand4 ,others were garnered by ,mr4 ,ford in the original version of ,the ,gentle ,art of ,making ,enemies4 ,the rest have been published many times1 perhaps4 ,but it seemed desirable to put the tales together without the distraction of other matter4 ,so here they are4 ,d4,c4,s4 ,cos ,cob1 ,,conn41 ,july1 #aiac4 ,,whistler ,,stories ,the studios of ,chelsea are full of ,whistler anecdotes4 ,one tells of a female model to whom he owed some fifteen shillings for sittings4 ,she was a ,philistine of the ,philistines who knew nothing of her patron's fame and was in no way impressed with his work4 ,one day she told another artist that she had been sitting to a little ,frenchman called ,whistler1 who jumped about his studio and was always complaining that people were swindling him1 and that he was making very little money4 ,the artist suggested that if she could get any piece of painting out of ,whistler's studio he would give her ten pounds for it4 ,although skeptical1 the model decided to tell her little ,frenchman of this too generous offer1 and selected one of the biggest and finest works in the studio4 ,what did he say8 asked the artist who had made the offer1 when the model appeared in a state of great excitement and looking almost as if she had come second best out of a scrimmage4 ,he said1 ',ten pounds--,good heavens6--ten pounds6' and he got so mad--well1 that's how ,i came in here like this4 99 99 99 99 99 ,mr4 ,w4,p4 ,frith1 ,r4,a41 following the custom of artists1 talked to a model one day to keep her expression animated4 ,he asked the girl to whom she had been sitting of late1 and received the answer3 ,mr4 ,whistler4 ,and did he talk to you8 ,yes1 sir4 ,what did he say8 ,he asked me who ,i'd been sitting to1 same as you do2 and ,i told him ,i'd been sitting to ,mr4 ,cope1 sir4 ,well1 what else8 ,he asked me who ,i'd been sitting to before that1 and ,i said ,mr4 ,horsley4 ,and what next8 ,he asked me who ,i'd been sitting to before that1 and ,i said ,i'd been sitting to you1 sir4 ,what did he say then8 ,he said1 ',what a d----d crew6' 99 99 99 99 99 ,whistler once came very near painting a portrait of ,disraeli4 ,he had the commission2 he even went down to the country where ,disraeli was2 but the great man did not manage to get into the mood4 ,whistler departed disappointed1 and shortly afterward took place a meeting in ,whitehall which was the occasion of a well-known story3 ,disraeli put his arm in ,whistler's for a little way on the street1 bringing from the artist the exclamation1 ,if only my creditors could see6 99 99 99 99 99 ,whistler's ideas1 the reverse of commercial1 not infrequently placed him in want4 ,he pawned his portrait of his mother1 by many considered the best of his productions4 ,miss ,marion ,peck1 a niece of ,ferdinand ,peck1 ,united ,states ,commissioner to the ,paris ,exposition1 wanted her portrait done by ,whistler4 ,she sat for him nineteen times4 ,further1 she requested1 as the picture was nearing completion1 that extra pains be taken with its finishing4 ,also1 she inquired if it could1 without danger of injury1 be shipped4 ,why8 asked ,whistler4 ,because ,i wish to send it to my home in ,chicago1 explained ,miss ,peck4 ,whistler threw down his brush1 overturned the easel1 and ran around the studio like a madman4 ,what6 he shrieked4 ,send a ,whistler to ,chicago6 ,allow one of my paintings to enter ,hog ,town6 ,never6 ,miss ,peck didn't get the painting4 99 99 99 99 99 ,once he met what seemed to be a crushing retort4 ,he had scornfully called ,balaam's ass the first great critic1 and the inference was plain until a writer in ,vanity ,fair called his attention to the fact that the ass was right4 ,whistler acknowledged the point4 ,but the acknowledgment terminates in a way that is delicious4 ,i fancy you will admit that this is the only ass on record who ever did 'see the ,angel of the ,lord1' and that we are past the age of miracles4 ,even in defeat he was triumphant4 99 99 99 99 99 ,whistler found that ,mortimer ,menpes1 once his very dear friend1 sketched in ,chelsea4 ,how dare you sketch in my ,chelsea8 he indignantly demanded4 ,a vigorous attack on ,mr4 ,menpes then followed in the press4 ,one of the first articles began in this style1 ,menpes1 of course1 being an ,australian3 ,i can only liken him to his native kangaroo--a robber by birth--born with a pocket6 ,he is the claimant of lemon yellow--a color to which ,mr4 ,whistler deemed he had the sole right2 and when he thought he had pulverized him in the press 7it was soon after the ,parnell ,commission1 when ,pigott1 the informer1 had committed suicide in ,spain71 ,whistler one evening thrust this pleasant note into ,mr4 ,menpes's letter-box1 scrawled on a half-sheet of paper1 with the well-known butterfly cipher attached3 ,you will blow your brains out1 of course4 ,pigott has shown you what to do under the circumstances1 and you know the way to ,spain4 ,good-by6 ,speaking at a meeting held to complete the details of a movement for the erection of a memorial to ,whistler1 ,lord ,redesdale gave a remarkable account of the artist's methods of work4 ,one day when he was to begin a portrait of a lady1 said ,lord ,redesdale1 the painter took up his position at one end of the room1 with his sitter and canvas at the other4 ,for a long time he stood looking at her1 holding in his hand a huge brush as a man would use to whitewash a house4 ,suddenly he ran forward and smashed the brush full of color upon the canvas4 ,then he ran back1 and forty or fifty times he repeated this4 ,at the end of that time there stood out on the canvas a space which exactly indicated the figure and the expression of his sitter4 ,this portrait was to have belonged to ,lord ,redesdale1 but through circumstances nothing less than tragic it never came into his possession4 ,there were bailiffs in the house when it was finished4 ,this was no novelty to ,whistler4 ,he only laughed1 and1 laughing1 made a circuit of his studio with a palette-knife1 deliberately destroying all the pictures exposed there4 ,the portrait of the lady was among them4 99 99 99 99 99 ,moncure ,d4 ,conway in his autobiography relates this3 ,at a dinner given to ,w4,j4 ,stillman1 at which ,whistler 7a ,confederate7 related with satisfaction his fisticuffs with a ,yankee on shipboard1 ,william ,rossetti remarked3 ',i must say1 ,whistler1 that your conduct was scandalous4' ,stillman and myself were silent4 ,dante ,gabriel ,rossetti promptly wrote3 ',there is a young artist called ,whistler1 ,who in every respect is a bristler2 ,a tube of white lead ,or a punch on the head ,come equally handy to ,whistler4' ,on one occasion a woman said to ,whistler3 ,i just came up from the country this morning along the ,thames1 and there was an exquisite haze in the atmosphere which reminded me so much of some of your little things4 ,it was really a perfect series of ,whistlers4 ,yes1 madam1 responded ,whistler1 gravely4 ,nature is creeping up4 99 99 99 99 99 ,richard ,a4 ,canfield1 who sat for the portrait now called ,his ,reverence1 though ,canfield was something quite unclerical1 recites3 ,after ,i had my first sitting on ,new ,year's ,day1 #aijc1 ,i saw ,whistler every day until the day ,i sailed for ,new ,york1 which was on ,may #afth4 ,he was not able to work1 however1 on all those days4 ,in fact1 there were days at a time when he could do nothing but lie on a couch and talk1 as only ,whistler could talk1 about those things which interested him4 ,it was mostly of art and artists that he conversed1 but now and again he would revert to his younger days at home1 to the greatness to which the republic had attained1 and to his years at ,west ,point4 ,in spite of all that has been said of him1 ,i know that ,james ,mc,neill ,whistler was one of the intensest ,americans who ever lived4 ,he was not what you call an enthusiastic man1 but when he reverted to the old days at the ,military ,academy his enthusiasm was infectious4 ,i think he was really prouder of the years he spent there--three1 ,i think they were--than any other years of his life4 ,he never tired of telling of the splendid men and soldiers his classmates turned out to be1 and he has often said to me that the ,american army officer trained at ,west ,point was the finest specimen of manhood and of honor in the world4 ,it was in this way that ,i spent every afternoon with ,whistler from ,new ,year's until ,may #aeth1 the day before ,i sailed4 ,when he was able to work ,i would sit as ,i was told1 and then he would paint1 sometimes an hour1 sometimes three4 ,at other times he would lie on the couch and ask me to sit by and talk to him4 ,on the morning of the day of the last sitting he sent me a note asking me to take luncheon with him1 and ,adding that he felt quite himself and up to plenty of work4 ,so ,i went around to his studio1 and he painted until well into the late afternoon4 ,when he was done he said that with a touch or two here and there the picture might be considered finished4 ,then he added3 ',you are going home to-morrow1 to my home as well as yours1 and you won't be coming back till the autumn4 ,i've just been thinking that maybe you had better take the picture along with you4 ,his ,reverence will do very well as he is1 and maybe there won't be any work in me when you come back4 ,i believe ,i would rather like to think of you having this clerical gentleman in your collection1 for ,i have a notion that it's the best work ,i have done4' ,whistler had never talked that way before1 and ,i have since thought that he was thinking that the end was not far away4 ,i told him1 more to get the notion1 if he had it1 out of his mind than anything else1 that ,i would not think of taking the picture1 and that if he didn't put on one of those finishing touches until ,i got back1 so much the better1 for then ,i could see him work4 ,that seemed to bring him back to himself1 and he said3 ',so be it1 your ,reverence4 ,now we'll say au revoir in a couple of mint-juleps4' ,he sent for the materials1 made the cups1 and1 just as the sun was setting1 we drank to each other and the homeland1 and ,i was off to catch a train for ,liverpool and the steamer4 ,so it was that ,whistler and his last subject parted4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a group of ,american and ,english artists were discussing the manifold perfections of the late ,lord ,leighton1 president of the ,royal ,academy4 ,exquisite musician--played the violin like a professional1 said one4 ,one of the best-dressed men in ,london1 said another4 ,danced divinely1 remarked the third4 ,ever read his essays8 asked a fourth4 ,in my opinion they're the best of the kind ever written4 ,whistler1 who had remained silent1 tapped the last speaker on the shoulder4 ,painted1 too1 didn't he8 he said4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a patron of art asked ,whistler to tell him where a friend lived on a certain street in ,london1 to which the artist replied3 ,i can't tell you1 but ,i know how you can find it4 ,just you ring up houses until you come across a caretaker who talks in ,b flat1 and there you are4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a friend of ,whistler's saw him on the street in ,london a few years ago talking to a very ragged little newsboy4 ,as he approached to speak to the artist he noticed that the boy was as dirty a specimen of the ,london newsy as he had ever encountered--he seemed smeared all over--literally covered with dirt4 ,whistler had just asked him a question1 and the boy answered3 ,yes1 sir2 ,i've been selling papers three years4 ,how old are you8 inquired ,whistler4 ,seven1 sir4 ,oh1 you must be more than that4 ,no1 sir1 ,i ain't4 ,then1 turning to his friend1 who had overheard the conversation1 ,whistler said3 ,i don't think he could get that dirty in seven years2 do you8 99 99 99 99 99 ,benrimo1 the dramatist1 who wrote ,the ,yellow ,jacket1 relates that when he was a young writer1 fresh from the breezy atmosphere of ,san ,francisco1 he visited ,london4 ,coming out of the ,burlington ,gallery one day1 he saw a little man mincing toward him1 carrying a cane held before him as he walked1 whom he recognized as ,whistler4 ,with ,western audacity he stopped the pedestrian1 introduced himself1 and broke into an elaborate outburst of acclamation for the works of the master1 who ate it up1 as the saying goes4 ,waving his wand gently toward the famous gallery1 ,whistler queried3 ,been in there8 ,oh1 yes4 ,see anything worth while8 ,some splendid things1 magnificent examples-- ,i'm sorry you ever approved of me1 observed the master1 majestically1 and on he went1 leaving ,benrimo withered under his disdain4 99 99 99 99 99 ,whistler had a ,french poodle of which he was extravagantly fond4 ,this poodle was seized with an affection of the throat1 and ,whistler had the audacity to send for the great throat specialist1 ,mackenzie4 ,sir ,morell1 when he saw that he had been called to treat a dog1 didn't like it much1 it was plain4 ,but he said nothing4 ,he prescribed1 pocketed a big fee1 and drove away4 ,the next day he sent posthaste for ,whistler4 ,and ,whistler1 thinking he was summoned on some matter connected with his beloved dog1 dropped his work and rushed like the wind to ,mackenzie's4 ,on his arrival ,sir ,morell said1 gravely3 ,how do you do1 ,mr4 ,whistler8 ,i wanted to see you about having my front door painted4 99 99 99 99 99 ,whistler used to tell this story about ,dante ,gabriel ,rossetti in his later years4 ,the great ,pre-,raphaelite had invited the painter of nocturnes and harmonies to dine with him at his house in ,chelsea1 and when ,whistler arrived he was shown into a reception-room4 ,seating himself1 he was soon disturbed by a noise which appeared to be made by a rat or a mouse in the wainscoting of the room4 ,this surmise was wrong1 as he found the noise was in the center of the apartment4 ,stooping1 to his amazement he saw ,rossetti lying at full length under the table4 ,why1 what on earth are you doing there1 ,rossetti8 exclaimed ,whistler4 ,don't speak to me6 ,don't speak to me6 cried ,rossetti4 ,that fool ,morris--meaning the famous ,william--has sent to say he can't dine here to-night1 and ,i'm so mad ,i'm gnawing the leg of the table4 99 99 99 99 99 ,one of the affectations of ,whistler was his apparent failure to recognize persons with whom he had been on the most friendly terms4 ,an ,american artist once met the impressionist in ,venice1 where they spent several months together painting1 and he was invited to call on ,whistler if he should go to ,paris4 ,the painter remembered the invitation4 ,the door of the ,paris studio was opened by ,whistler himself4 ,a cold stare was the only reply to the visitor's effusive greeting4 ,why1 ,mr4 ,whistler1 cried the painter1 you surely haven't forgotten those days in ,venice when you borrowed my colors and we painted together6 ,i never saw you before in all my life1 replied ,whistler1 and slammed the door4 ,this habit of forgetting persons1 or pretending to do so1 for nobody ever knew when the lapses of recognition were due to intention or absent-mindedness1 often tempted other artists to play pranks upon him4 ,he was a man who resented a joke at his own expense1 except on a few occasions1 and this trait was often turned to good account4 ,he was at ,naples soon after the incident just related had gained wide circulation4 ,a conspiracy was entered into whereby the ,whistler worshipers there were to be unaware of his presence4 ,he tried to play billiards with a company of young artists4 ,they met his advance with a stony glare4 ,oh1 ,i say1 persisted he1 ,i think ,i know something of that game4 ,i'd like to play4 ,a consultation was held1 and the artists shook their heads1 inquiring of one another1 ,who is he8 ,whistler retired crestfallen1 and a roar of laughter which rang through the room added to his discomfiture4 ,oh1 well1 he said1 pulling nervously at his mustache1 and his tone was petulant1 ,i don't care4 99 99 99 99 99 ,whistler had a great penchant for white hats1 kept all those he had ever worn1 and had a large collection4 ,the flat-brimmed tall hat was a whim of his late years1 imported from ,france1 via the head of ,william ,m4 ,chase4 99 99 99 99 99 ,mr4 ,chase has contributed largely to the budget of ,whistler anecdotes4 ,one day when the two men were painting together in ,whistler's studio in ,london1 a wealthy woman visited them with the demand1 which she had made many times before1 that ,whistler return to her a picture by himself which he had borrowed several years before to place on exhibition4 ,the suave voice of ,whistler was heard in argument1 and he finally induced his patron to depart without the work of art4 ,when she had gone he returned to his work1 muttering something about the absurdity of some persons who believed that because they had paid two hundred pounds for a picture they thought they thereby owned it4 ,besides1 he said1 there is absolutely nothing else in her house to compare with it1 and it would be out of place4 99 99 99 99 99 ,chase1 said ,whistler one day1 how-is it now in ,america8 ,do you find there1 as you do in ,london1 that in houses filled with beautiful pictures and superb statuary1 and other objects of artistic merit1 there is invariably some damned little thing on the mantel that gives the whole thing away8 ,mr4 ,chase replied1 sadly3 ,it is even so1 but you must remember1 ,whistler1 that there are such things as birthdays4 ,people are not always responsible4 99 99 99 99 99 ,mr4 ,chase came up for discussion once at a little party1 and ,whistler's sister observed1 ,mr4 ,chase amuses ,james1 doesn't he1 ,james8 ,james1 tapping his finger-tips together lightly3 ,not often1 not often4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i'm going over to ,london1 said he once to ,chase1 and there ,i shall have a hansom made4 ,it shall have a white body1 yellow wheels1 and ,i'll have it lined with canary-colored satin4 ,i'll petition the city to let me carry one lamp on it1 and on the lamp there will be a white plume4 ,i shall then be the only one4 ,he gave ,mr4 ,chase some pretty hard digs4 ,he said to him one time in the heat of a discussion on some technical point3 ,chase1 ,i am not arguing with you4 ,i am telling you4 99 99 99 99 99 ,reproved by ,mr4 ,chase for antagonizing his friends1 ,whistler retorted3 ,it is commonplace1 not to say vulgar1 to quarrel with your enemies4 ,quarrel with your friends6 ,that's the thing to do4 ,now be good6 99 99 99 99 99 ,the good ,lord made one serious mistake1 he rasped to ,chase1 in ,holland4 ,what8 ,when he made ,dutchmen4 99 99 99 99 99 ,when he had finished his portrait of ,mr4 ,chase he stood off and admired the work4 ,beautiful6 ,beautiful6 was his comment4 ,chase1 who had irked under the queer companionship1 retorted1 ,at least there's nothing mean or modest about you6 ,nothing mean and modest1 he corrected4 ,i like that better6 ,nothing mean and modest6 ,what a splendid epitaph that would make for me6 ,stop a moment6 ,i must put that down6 99 99 99 99 99 ,during the ,chase sittings1 the creditors were always calling4 ,whistler divined their several missions with much nicety by the tone of the raps on the door4 ,a loud1 business-like bang brought1 out this comment3 ,psst6 ,that's one and ten4 ,later came another1 not quite so vehement4 ,two and six1 said ,whistler4 ,psst6 ,what on earth do you mean8 asked ,chase4 ,one pound ten shillings2 two pounds six shillings6 ,vulgar tradesmen with their bills1 ,colonel4 ,they want payment4 ,oh1 well6 ,a gentle knock soon followed4 ,dear me1 said ,whistler1 that must be all of twenty6 ,poor fellow6 ,i really must do something for him4 ,so sorry ,i'm not in4 99 99 99 99 99 ,riding one day in a hansom with ,mr4 ,chase1 ,whistler's eye caught the fruit and vegetable display in a greengrocer's shop4 ,making the cabby maneuver the vehicle to various viewpoints1 he finally observed3 ,isn't it beautiful8 ,i believe ,i'll have that crate of oranges moved over there--against that background of green4 ,yes1 that's better6 ,and he settled back contentedly6 ,a kindly friend told him of a pleasant spot near ,london for an artistic sojourn4 ,i'm sure you'll like it1 he added1 enthusiastically4 ,my dear fellow1 replied ,whistler1 the very fact that you like it is proof that it's nothing for me4 ,he went1 however1 and liked the place1 but on the way some of his canvases went astray4 ,he made such a fuss that the station-master asked ,mr4 ,chase who was his companion3 ,who is that quarrelsome little man8 ,he's really most disagreeable4 ,whistler1 the celebrated artist1 ,mr4 ,chase replied4 ,at that the man approached ,whistler and respectfully remarked3 ,i'm very sorry about your canvases4 ,are they valuable8 ,not yet6 screeched ,whistler4 ,not yet6 ,i only know of two painters in the world1 said a newly introduced feminine enthusiast to ,whistler1 yourself and ,velasquez4 ,why1 answered ,whistler1 in dulcet tones1 why drag in ,velasquez8 ,mr4 ,chase once asked him if he really said this seriously4 ,no1 of course not1 he replied4 ,you don't suppose ,i couple myself with ,velasquez1 do you8 ,i simply wanted to take her down4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sir ,john ,e4 ,millais1 walking through the ,grosvenor ,gallery with ,archibald ,stuart ,wortley1 stopped longer than usual before the shadowy1 graceful portrait of a lady1 an arrangement in gray1 rose1 and silver1 and then broke out3 ,it's damned clever6 ,it's a damned sight too clever6 ,this was his verdict on ,whistler's portrait of ,lady ,meux4 ,millais contended that ,whistler never learned the grammar of his art1 that his drawing is as faulty as it can be1 and that he thought nothing of depicting a woman all out of proportion1 with impossible legs and arms6 99 99 99 99 99 ,in #ahgd there was a suggestion that ,whistler's portrait of ,carlyle should be bought for the ,national ,gallery4 ,sir ,george ,scharf1 then curator of that institution1 came to ,mr4 ,graves's show-rooms in ,pall ,mall to take a look at it4 ,when ,mr4 ,graves produced the painting he observed1 icily3 ,well1 and has painting come to this8 ,i told ,mr4 ,graves1 said ,whistler1 that he should have said1' ,no1 it hasn't4' ,it was nearly twenty years after when ,glasgow finally bought the masterpiece4 ,indeed1 ,whistler had little market for his works until #ahib4 ,he often found1 as he said1 a long face and a short account at the bank4 ,complaining to ,sidney ,starr one day of the sums earned by a certain eminent ,r4,a41 while he received little or nothing1 ,starr reminded him that ,r4,a4's painted to please the public and so reaped their reward4 ,i don't think they do1 demurred ,whistler2 ,i think they paint as well as they can4 ,of ,alma-,tadema's work he observed1 ,my only objection to ,tadema's pictures is that they are unfinished4 ,starr spoke approvingly of the promising work of some of the younger artists4 ,they are all tarred with the same brush1 said ,whistler4 ,they are of the schools6 ,of one particular rising star ,whistler remarked3 ,he's clever1 but there's something common in everything he does4 ,so what's the use of it8 ,starr indicated a distinguishing difference between the work of a certain ,r4,a4 and another4 ,well1 he replied1 it's a nasty difference4 99 99 99 99 99 ,m4,h4 ,spielmann1 the art-critic1 spoke of ,ten o',clock as smart but misleading4 ,whistler retorted1 ,if the lecture had not seemed misleading to him1 it surely would not have been worth uttering at all6 99 99 99 99 99 ,walter ,sickert1 then a pupil of ,whistler's1 praised ,lord ,leighton's ,harvest ,moon in an article on the ,manchester ,art ,treasure ,exhibition4 ,whistler telegraphed him at ,hampstead3 ,the ,harvest ,moon rises at ,hampstead and the cocks of ,chelsea crow6 99 99 99 99 99 ,apropos of his spats with ,sickert he remarked1 ,yes1 we are always forgiving ,walter4 ,another pupil1 foreseeing the end of ,whistler as president of the ,royal ,society of ,british ,artists1 resigned some months before the time4 ,the early rat1 said ,whistler1 grimly1 the first to leave the sinking ship4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in the ,fine ,art ,society's gallery one day he spoke to a knighted ,r4,a4 ,who was that8 ,starr asked4 ,really1 now1 ,i forget1 was the reply4 ,but whoever it was it's some one of no importance1 you know1 no importance whatever4 99 99 99 99 99 ,at an exhibition of ,dor's pictures ,whistler asked an attendant if a certain academician's large religious picture was not on view4 ,no1 said the man2 it's much lower down6 ,impossible6 replied ,whistler1 gleefully4 ,sidney ,starr relates that ,whistler was asked one year to hang the exhibits in the ,walker ,art ,gallery at ,liverpool4 ,in the center of one wall he placed ,luke ,fildes's ,doctor1 and surrounded it with all the pictures he could find of dying people1 convalescents1 still-life medicine bottles1 and the like4 ,this caused comment4 ,but1 said ,whistler1 ,i told them ,i wished to emphasize that particular school4 ,and what did you put on the opposite wall8 ,starr asked4 ,oh1 ,leighton's--,i really forget what it was4 ,but that is different1 you know1 said ,starr4 ,no1 rejoined ,whistler2 it's really the same thing6 99 99 99 99 99 ,having seen a picture of ,starr's in ,liverpool1 which he amiably1 termed a picture among paint1 he observed to him on the occasion of their first meeting3 ,paint things exactly as they are4 ,i always do4 ,young men think they should paint like this or that painter4 ,be quite simple2 no fussy foolishness1 you know2 and don't try to be what they call 'strong4' ,when a picture 'smells of paint1' he said slowly1 it's what they call 'strong4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,riding once with ,starr to dine at the ,caf ,royal1 ,whistler leaned forward in the hansom and looked at the green park in the dusk1 fresh and sweet after the rain2 at the long line of light reflected1 shimmering1 in the wet ,piccadilly pavement1 and said3 ,starr1 ,i have not dined1 as you know1 so you need not think ,i say this in anything but a cold and careful spirit3 it is better to live on bread and cheese and paint beautiful things than to live like ,dives and paint pot-boilers4 ,but a painter really should not have to worry about--'various1' you know4 ,poverty may induce industry1 but it does not produce the fine flower of painting4 ,the test is not poverty2 it's money4 ,give a painter money and see what he'll do4 ,if he does not paint1 his work is well lost to the world4 ,if ,i had had1 say1 three thousand pounds a year1 what beautiful things ,i could have done6 99 99 99 99 99 ,before the portrait of little ,miss ,alexander went to the ,grosvenor ,gallery1 ,tom ,taylor1 the art-critic of the ,times1 called at the studio to see it4 ,ah1 yes--'um1 he remarked1 and added that an upright line in the paneling of the wall was wrong and that the picture would be better without it1 adding1 ,of course1 it's a matter of taste4 ,to which ,whistler rejoined3 ,i thought that perhaps for once you were going to get away without having said anything foolish2 but remember1 so you may not make the mistake again1 it's not a matter of taste at all2 it is a matter of knowledge4 ,good-by6 99 99 99 99 99 ,to a critic who remarked1 ,your picture is not up to your mark2 it is not good this time1 ,whistler replied3 ,you shouldn't say it is not good4 ,you should say you do not like it1 and then1 you know1 you're perfectly safe4 ,now come and have something you do like--have some whiskey4 99 99 99 99 99 ,stopped at an exhibition by an attendant who wished to check his cane1 ,whistler laughed3 ,oh1 no1 my little man2 ,i keep this for the critics4 ,his troubles with the ,royal ,society of ,british ,artists bred a round of biting remarks4 ,when he and his following went out he said1 consolingly3 ,pish6 ,it is very simple4 ,the artists retired4 ,the ,british remained6 ,another shot at the same subject3 ,no longer can it be said that the right man is in the wrong place6 99 99 99 99 99 ,when an adverse vote ended his leadership of the ,royal ,society1 ,whistler said1 philosophically1 ,now ,i understand the feelings of all those who1 since the world began1 have tried to save their fellow-men4 99 99 99 99 99 ,commenting on ,b4,r4 ,haydon's autobiography1 ,whistler said3 ,yes2 ,haydon1 it seems1 went into his studio1 locked the door1 and before beginning to work prayed ,god to enable him to paint for the glory of ,england4 ,then1 seizing a large brush full of bitumen1 he attacked his huge canvas1 and1 of course--,god fled4 99 99 99 99 99 ,starr once asked ,whistler if the southern exposure of the room in which he was working troubled him4 ,yes1 it does1 he answered4 ,but ,ruskin lives in the ,north1 you know1 and a southern exposure troubled him1 rather1 eh8 99 99 99 99 99 ,much that was characteristic of the artist's wit and temper came out during the famous libel suit he brought against ,ruskin4 ,the most amusing feature of it was the exhibition in court of some of the nocturnes and arrangements which were the subject of the suit4 ,the jury of respectable citizens1 whose knowledge of art was probably limited1 was expected to pass judgment on these paintings4 ,whistler's counsel held up one of the pictures4 ,here1 gentlemen1 he said1 is one of the works which have been maligned4 ,pardon me1 interposed ,mr4 ,ruskin's lawyer2 you have that picture upside down4 ,no such thing6 ,oh1 but it is so6 continued ,ruskin's counsel4 ,i remember it in the ,grosvenor ,gallery1 where it was hung the other way about4 ,the altercation ended in the correctness of view of ,ruskin's lawyer being sustained4 ,this error of counsel helped to produce the celebrated farthing verdict4 ,ever after ,whistler wore the farthing on his watch-chain4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the suit had its origin in ,ruskin's comment upon the ,nocturne in ,black and ,gold1 described as a distant view of ,cremorne ,garden1 with a falling rocket and other fireworks4 ,the picture is now the property of ,mrs4 ,samuel ,untermyer1 of ,new ,york4 ,on the opening of the ,grosvenor ,gallery1 in #ahgg1 ,ruskin wrote in ,fors ,clavigera3 ,the ill-educated conceit of the artist nearly approached the aspect of wilful imposture4 ,i have seen and heard much of cockney impudence before now1 but never expected to have a coxcomb ask two hundred guineas for flinging a pot of paint in the public's face4 ,when ,whistler was being examined during the trial1 ,sir ,john ,holker1 the ,attorney-,general1 asked1 ,how long did it take you to knock off that ',nocturne'8 ,i beg your pardon8 said the witness4 ,sir ,john apologized for his flippancy1 and ,whistler replied3 ,about a day4 ,i may have put a few touches to it the next day4 ,for two days' labor you ask two hundred guineas8 ,no1 ,i ask it for the knowledge of a lifetime6 ,then the ,nocturne in ,blue and ,silver1 a moonlight view of ,battersea ,bridge1 was submitted to the jury4 ,baron ,huddleston1 the presiding justice1 asked ,mr4 ,whistler to explain it4 ,which part of the picture is the bridge8 he queried4 ,do you say this is a correct representation8 ,i did not intend it to be a correct portrait of the bridge4 ,are the figures on the top intended for people8 ,they are just what you like4 ,is that a barge beneath8 ,yes1 replied the witness1 sarcastically4 ,i am much encouraged at your perceiving that6 ,my whole scheme was only to bring out a certain harmony of color4 ,what is that gold-colored mark on the side1 like a cascade8 ,that is a firework4 ,do you think now1 said the ,attorney-,general1 insinuatingly1 you could make me see the beauty of that picture8 ,no1 said ,whistler1 after closely scrutinizing his questioner's face4 ,do you know1 ,i fear it would be as hopeless as for the musician to pour his notes into a deaf man's ear4 ,what is that structure in the middle8 asked the irritated attorney4 ,is it a telescope or a fire-escape8 ,is it like ,battersea ,bridge8 ,what are the figures at the top8 ,if they are horses and carts1 how in the name of fortune are they to get off8 99 99 99 99 99 ,a friend who was in court when the farthing damages verdict was brought in relates that ,whistler looked puzzled for a moment2 then his face cleared4 ,that's a verdict for me1 is it not8 he asked2 and when his counsel said1 ,yes1 nominally1 ,whistler replied1 ,well1 ,i suppose a verdict is a verdict4 ,then he said1 ,it's a great triumph2 tell everybody it's a great triumph4 ,when the listener dissented1 he condensed all his concentrated scorn of ,philistine view into a sentence3 ,my dear ,s41 you are just fit to serve on a ,british jury4 99 99 99 99 99 ,whistler vs4 ,ruskin cost the latter so much more than the farthing verdict that his friends sent out a circular soliciting funds in these terms3 ,whistler vs4 ,ruskin4 ,mr4 ,ruskin's costs4 ,a considerable opinion prevailing that a lifelong1 honest endeavor on the part of ,mr4 ,ruskin to further the cause of ,art should not be crowned by his being cast in costs to the amount of several hundreds of pounds1 the ,fine ,art ,society has agreed to set on foot a subscription to defray his expenses arising out of the late action of ,whistler vs4 ,ruskin4 ,persons willing to co-operate will oblige by communicating with the ,society1 #adh1 ,new ,bond ,street1 ,london4 ,mr4 ,whistler received scant sympathy1 the tone of the comment being well noted by this excerpt from the ,london ,standard of ,november #cjth1 #ahgh3 ,of course1 ,mr4 ,whistler has costs to pay too1 and the amount he is to receive from ,mr4 ,ruskin 7one farthing71 even if economically expended1 will hardly go far to satisfy the claims of his legal advisers4 ,but he has only to paint1 or1 as we believe he expresses it1 'knock off1' three or four 'symphonies' or 'harmonies'--or perhaps he might try his hand at a ,set of ,quadrilles in ,peacock ,blue8--and a week's labor will set all square4 ,arthur ,lumley1 a ,new ,york illustrator1 met ,whistler once at a costume ball at ,george ,h4 ,boughton's house in ,london4 ,the artist appeared as ,hamlet1 but in anything but a melancholy mood4 ,next morning's papers related that the sheriff had sold the effects in the ,white ,house the day of the ball to satisfy the claims of his creditors6 99 99 99 99 99 ,isaac ,n4 ,ford1 when correspondent of the ,new ,york ,tribune in ,london1 went with ,frederick ,mac,monnies1 the sculptor1 to visit ,whistler1 who brought out a number of portraits for show4 ,one was that of a woman1 full figure4 ,what do you think of her8 he asked4 ,the sculptor gave a side glance and looked down4 ,since you force me to speak11 he finally blurted out1 ,i must tell you that one leg is longer than the other4 ,instead of the expected outburst1 ,whistler scrutinized the portrait from several points1 and then observed quietly3 ,you are quite right4 ,i had not observed the fault1 and ,i shall correct it in the morning4 ,what an eye for a line a sculptor has6 he said to ,ford later4 99 99 99 99 99 ,he quarreled regularly with his brother-in-law1 ,sir ,f4 ,seymour ,haden1 the famous etcher4 ,a brother-in-law is not a connection calling for sentiment1 he once remarked4 ,haden came into a gallery on one occasion and1 seeing ,whistler1 who was there in company with ,justice ,day1 left abruptly4 ,i see6 ,dropped in for his morning bitters1 observed ,whistler1 cheerfully4 99 99 99 99 99 ,once in conversation ,whistler said3 ,yes1 ,i have many friends1 and am grateful to them2 but those whom ,i most love are my enemies--not in a ,biblical sense1 oh1 no1 but because they keep one always busy1 always up to the mark1 either fighting them or proving them idiots4 99 99 99 99 99 ,whistler was very particular about the spelling of his rather long and complicated group of names4 ,careless people made the ,mc ,mac1 and others left the extra l off ,mc,neill4 ,to one of the latter offenders he wrote3 ,mc,neill1 by the way1 should have two l's4' ,i use them both1 and in the midst of things cannot well do without them6 99 99 99 99 99 ,when ,tom ,taylor1 the critic1 died1 a friend asked ,whistler why he looked so glum4 ,me8 said ,whistler4 ,who else has such cause to mourn8 ,tommy's dead4 ,i'm lonesome4 ,they are all dying4 ,i have hardly a warm personal enemy left6 99 99 99 99 99 ,while a draughtsman in the ,coast ,survey from ,november1 #ahed1 to ,february1 #ahee1 he boarded at the northeast corner of ,e and #abth ,streets1 ,washington4 ,he is remembered as being usually late for breakfast and always making sketches on the walls4 ,to the remonstrating landlord he replied3 ,now1 now1 never mind6 ,i'll not charge you anything for the decorations4 99 99 99 99 99 ,among those with whom ,whistler quarreled most joyously were the two ,moores1 the illustrious ,george and his less famous brother1 ,augustus4 ,both took ,sir ,william ,eden's side in the celebrated ,baronet vs4 ,butterfly case1 where ,whistler was nonsuited in a ,french court of law4 ,augustus edited a sprightly but none too reputable weekly in ,london1 called the ,hawk1 a series of unpalatable references in which so aroused ,whistler that1 meeting ,moore in the ,drury ,lane ,theater on the first night of ,a ,million of ,money1 he struck the editor across the face with his cane4 ,a scrimmage followed1 which contemporary history closed with the artist on the floor4 ,whistler's own account of the unseemly fracas was thuswise3 ,i started out to cane the fellow with as little emotion as ,i would prepare to kill a rat4 ,i did cane him to the satisfaction of my many friends and his many enemies1 and that was the end of it4 ,moore wrote3 ,i am sorry1 but ,i have had to slap ,mr4 ,whistler4 ,my ,irish blood got the better of me1 and before ,i knew it the shriveled-up little monkey was knocked over and kicking about the floor4 ,whistler vigorously controverted this version as a barefaced falsehood4 ,he added3 ,i am sure he never touched me4 ,i don't know why1 for he is a much bigger man than ,i4 ,my idea is that he was thoroughly cowed by the moral force of my attack4 ,i had to turn him round in order to get at him4 ,then ,i cut him again and again as hard as ,i could1 hissing out ',hawk6' with each stroke4 ,oh1 you can take my word for it1 everything was done in the cleanest and most correct fashion possible4 ,i always like to do things cleanly4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the clash with ,george ,moore came to a head with the challenge to fight a duel4 ,in his own version of the event given in the ,london ,chronicle of ,march #bith1 #ahie1 ,mr4 ,moore laid his troubles to his efforts to aid the artist4 ,learning that ,sir ,william ,eden wished his wife's portrait painted1 he undertook a journey to ,paris in the depth of winter1 had two shocking passages across the ,channel1 and spent twenty-five pounds on ,mr4 ,whistler's business4 ,it was arranged1 he thought1 that ,whistler was to receive one hundred pounds for a small sketch4 ,when the sketch materialized it was small indeed4 ,the ,baronet and ,mr4 ,moore expected a little more area of canvas4 ,the picture in question1 remarked ,mr4 ,moore1 is only twelve inches long by six high4 ,the figure of ,lady ,eden is represented sitting on a sofa2 the face is about half an inch in length1 about the size of a sixpence1 and the features are barely indicated4 ,but to the duel3 ,in ,paris1 after the controversy arose1 ,mr4 ,moore told an interviewer he did not think the sketch was worth more than one hundred pounds4 ,to this ,whistler made a furious reply in the ,pall ,mall ,gazette1 alleging that ,moore had acquired a spurious reputation as an art-critic by praising his pictures4 ,moore's reply in the journal produced this response1 sent from the ,hotel ,chatham under date of ,march #abth1 #ahie3 ,mr4 ,whistler begs to acknowledge ,mr4 ,moore's letter of ,march #aa4 ,if1 in it1 the literary incarnation of the 'eccentric' person1 on the curbstone1 is supposed to represent ,mr4 ,moore at the present moment1 ,mr4 ,whistler thinks the likeness exaggerated--as it is absurd to suppose that ,mr4 ,moore can really imagine that any one admires him in his late role before ,interviewer1 or in that of the ,expert in the ,council ,chamber4 ,if1 however1 ,mr4 ,moore means in his parable to indicate ,mr4 ,whistler1 the latter is willing to accept ,mr4 ,moore's circuitous and coarse attempt to convey a gross insult--and1 upon the whole1 will perhaps think the better of him for an intention to make himself at last responsible4 ,in such case ,mr4 ,whistler will ask a friend to meet any gentleman ,mr4 ,moore may appoint to represent him2 and1 awaiting a reply1 has the honor to remain ,mr4 ,moore's1 etc4 ,to which ,mr4 ,moore replied3 ,mr4 ,moore begs to acknowledge the receipt of ,mr4 ,whistler's letter of the #abth inst4 ,in ,mr4 ,moore's opinion ,mr4 ,whistler's conduct grows daily more absurd4 ,i hoped1 explained ,mr4 ,moore1 that ,mr4 ,whistler's friends would intervene and persuade him of the strangeness of his action and the interpretation it would receive in ,england4 ,but four days later ,i was flattered by the following communication3 ,,paris1 le #ae ,mars1 #ahie4 ,,monsieur3 ,a la rception de votre lettre 7lettre d'ailleurs rendue publique dans la ,pall ,mall ,gazette71 ,m4 ,whistler nous a pri de vous demander soit une rtractation1 soit une rparation par les armes4 ,nous vous prions donc de vouloir bien nous mettre en rapport avec deux de vos amis4 ,,francis ,,viel-,,griffin1 #abb ,rue de la ,pompe4 ,,octave ,,mirbeau1 ,carrire-sous-,passy1 ,seine-et-,oise4 ,mr4 ,moore's interlocutor asked him if there was any fear of losing his interesting personality on account of ,mr4 ,whistler's challenge4 ,to this ,mr4 ,moore said3 ,there are three most excellent reasons why ,i should not fight a duel with ,mr4 ,whistler1 as ,mr4 ,whistler well knows4 ,first1 only under the very gravest circumstances1 if under any at all1 would an ,englishman accept a challenge to a duel4 ,the duel has been relegated to the realms of comic opera4 ,as for inviting me to proceed to ,belgium for the purpose of fighting him1 he might as well ask me to strip myself naked and paint my face and stick feathers in my hair--dress myself as a ,redskin1 in fact1 and walk down ,st4 ,james's ,street flourishing a tomahawk4 ,second1 supposing ,i were a ,frenchman1 ,mr4 ,whistler is sixty-five years of age1 and it is against the custom of dueling for any one to accept a challenge from so old a gentleman4 ,moreover1 ,mr4 ,whistler is1 unhappily1 very short-sighted1 and would be unable to see me at twenty paces4 ,third1 the grounds of the quarrel are so infinitely trivial that1 were we both ,frenchmen1 it is doubtful if any seconds would take upon themselves the responsibility of an armed encounter4 ,i have praised ,mr4 ,whistler's pictures that he painted five-and-twenty years ago as much as it is possible to praise works of art4 ,i hold the same opinions about them still4 ,i only wish ,mr4 ,whistler would apply himself to his art instead of wasting his time in quarreling with his friends4 ,the outcome of the ,eden suit kept ,whistler in ill-humor for a long time1 while ,moore continued to be a special object of aversion4 ,the two avoided each other4 ,but1 as some philosopher has said1 if you remain long in ,paris you will meet all your friends and all your enemies4 ,so it fell out that the two foregathered at the same atelier one ,sunday afternoon4 ,they nearly collided in entering1 but ,moore was the first inside4 ,the hostess heard sounds from the hall something between china-breaking and the stamping of hoofs4 ,she went out1 to find ,james in a mighty rage4 ,dear me6 said the lady1 what is the matter1 dear master8 ,whistler won't come in6 ,whistler won't stay under the same roof with that wild ,irishman6 ,moore1 in the inside1 remarked in his sweetly modulated voice3 ,why drag in ,whistler8 ,this play on his best mot1 ,why drag in ,velasquez8 was too much1 and in screaming wrath the painter fled1 leaving ,moore in full possession4 99 99 99 99 99 ,an ,american millionaire1 to whom wealth had come rather quickly from ,western mines1 called at the ,paris studio with the idea of capturing something for his gallery4 ,he glanced casually at the paintings on the walls1 and then queried3 ,how much for the lot8 ,four millions1 said ,whistler4 ,what8 ,my posthumous prices6 ,good morning6 99 99 99 99 99 ,dante ,gabriel ,rossetti once showed ,whistler a sketch and asked his opinion of its merits4 ,it has good points1 ,rossetti1 said ,whistler4 ,go ahead with it by all means4 ,later he inquired how it was getting along4 ,all right1 answered ,rossetti1 cheerfully4 ,i've ordered a stunning frame for it4 ,in due time the canvas appeared at ,rossetti's house in ,cheyne ,walk1 beautifully framed4 ,you've done nothing to it since ,i saw it1 have you8 said ,whistler4 ,no-o1 replied ,rossetti1 but ,i've written a sonnet on the subject1 if you'd like to hear it4 ,he recited some lines of peculiar tenderness4 ,rossetti1 said ,whistler1 as the recitation ended1 take out the picture and frame the sonnet4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,scotch once raised a fund by subscription to buy the portrait of ,carlyle1 at a price of five hundred guineas1 fixed by the painter4 ,when the sum was nearly complete1 he learned that the subscription paper contained a clause disclaiming any indorsement of his theory of art4 ,he telegraphed to the committee3 ,the price of ',carlyle' has advanced to one thousand guineas4 ,dinna ye hear the bagpipes8 99 99 99 99 99 ,a dilettante collector in ,london1 after much angling1 induced ,whistler to view his variegated collection4 ,as the several objects passed in review they provoked only a sober ,h'm1 h'm1 that might have meant anything or nothing4 ,when there was no more to see1 the host paused for an aggregate opinion and got this3 ,my dear sir1 there's really no excuse for it1 no excuse for it at all6 ,to a lady who complained that the frequent sittings commanded for painting her portrait compelled her to sacrifice much personal convenience1 ,whistler replied3 ,but1 my dear lady1 that is nothing in comparison with the sacrifice ,i have to make on your account4 ,just look3 since ,i have been painting your portrait ,i have not had time to attend to my correspondence4 ,there was a mountain of unopened letters on his desk4 99 99 99 99 99 ,frederick ,wedmore1 the patient cataloguer of ,whistler's etchings1 once appeared in print as saying that he had no wish to understand ,whistler's works4 ,he wrote understate1 but the wretched compositor undid him4 ,whistler's response to the explanation was3 ,yes1 the mistake is indeed inexcusable1 since not only ,i1 but even the compositor1 might have known that with ,mr4 ,wedmore and his like it is always a question of understating and never of understanding anything4 ,in his ,memories and ,impressions ,ford ,madox ,hueffer relates that ,madox ,brown1 going to a tea-party at the ,white ,house at ,chelsea1 was met in the hall by ,mrs4 ,whistler1 who begged him to go to the poulterer's and purchase a pound of butter4 ,the bread was cut1 but there was nothing in the house to put upon it4 ,there was no money in the house1 the poulterer had cut off his credit1 and ,mrs4 ,whistler said she dared not send her husband1 for he would certainly punch the tradesman's head6 ,to think of ',arry meaning ,harry ,quilter1 the critic1 with whom he fiercely quarreled living in the temple ,i erected6 he said4 ,he has no use for it--doesn't know what to do with it4 ,if he had any feeling for the sympathy of things he would come to me and say3 ',here's your house1 ,whistler2 take it2 you know its meaning1 ,i don't4 ,take it and live in it4' ,but no1 he hasn't sense enough to see that4 ,he obstinately stays there in the way1 while ,i am living in this absurd fashion1 next door to myself4 99 99 99 99 99 ,after the secession from the ,royal ,society1 ,whistler strolled into the gallery one evening with some friends4 ,a group of admirers were gushing before a ,leighton canvas4 ,quite exquisite6 ,a gem--really a gem6 ,yes1 said ,whistler4 ,like a diamond in the sty4 ,when elected president of the ,society of ,british ,artists1 ,whistler naturally felt exultant4 ,carr1 he said1 jokingly1 to ,conryns ,carr1 the dramatist1 you haven't congratulated me yet4 ,no1 was the retort4 ,i'm waiting till the correspondence begins6 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,society did not possess a ,royal ,charter until ,mr4 ,whistler became president4 ,with some help from the ,prince of ,wales this was procured4 ,when the ,prince paid his first visit to the gallery1 ,whistler was there to welcome him4 ,i'm sure1 said the ,prince at the door1 ,i never heard of this place1 ,mr4 ,whistler1 until you brought it to my notice4 ,what is its history8 ,it has none1 your ,highness1 was the neat rejoinder4 ,its history dates from to-day6 ,when ,whistler left the ,white ,house1 at ,chelsea1 he put this legend over the door3 ',unless the ,lord build the house1 their labor is but vain that build it4' ,e4,w4 ,godwin1 ,p4,s4,a41 built this one4 99 99 99 99 99 ,justin ,mc,carthy1 the journalist and historian of ,our ,own ,times1 stayed away from the ,whistler dinner at the ,criterion because his friend ,mortimer ,menpes had been slighted4 ,he met ,whistler a few evenings later at a dinner to ,christie ,murray4 ,as they came together ,whistler remarked darkly3 ,you're a bold man and a philanthropist2 but remember1 ,damien died6 ,and he had1 just before1 among the lepers of ,molokai6 ,rather rough on the claimant of ,lemon ,yellow6 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,fine ,art ,society once billed ,whistler for incidentals to one of his exhibitions1 and thoughtfully included a pair of stockings worn by an attendant named ,cox4 ,i shall pay for nothing of ,cox's1 said the artist1 indignantly4 ,neither his socks1 nor his 'ose1 nor anything that is his4 99 99 99 99 99 ,one of his proofs1 sold by ,sotheby's in #ahhh--that of an early etching--brought a good price1 not on its merits1 but for this line by the artist1 written on the margin3 ,legs not by me1 but a fatuous addition by a general practitioner4 ,the legs were by ,dr4 ,seymour ,haden1 ,whistler's eminent brother-in-law4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the eccentric relationship between ,whistler and that self-destroyed genius1 ,oscar ,wilde1 has been much portrayed4 ,a characteristic meeting was thus described by a correspondent of the ,london ,literary ,world3 ,whistler and ,wilde were to be the lions at a literary reception4 ,unfortunately1 the lions came too early1 when the few previous arrivals were altogether too insignificant to be introduced to them4 ,so they had to talk to each other4 ,it was on a very warm ,sunday afternoon in the season1 and ,whistler1 by the by1 was wearing a white 'duck' waistcoat and trousers1 and a fabulously long frock-coat1 made1 ,i think1 of black alpaca1 and carrying a brass-tipped stick about four feet long in his right hand1 and a wonderful new paint-box1 of which he was proud1 under his left arm4 ,neither of the lions took any notice of what the other said4 ,finally1 ,wilde1 who had spent the previous summer in ,america1 began3 ',jimmy1 this time last year1 when ,i was in ,new ,york1 all we men were carrying fans4 ,it should be done here4' ,instead of replying1 ,whistler observed that he had just returned from ,paris1 and that he always came by the ,dieppe route1 because it gave you so much longer for painting sea effects4 ,whether ,oscar thought he was going to have an opportunity of scoring or what1 he was tempted to break through the contempt with which-he had treated ,whistler's other remarks4 ',and how many did you paint in four hours1 ,jimmy8' he asked1 with his most magnificent air of patronage4 ',i'm not sure1' said the irrepressible ,jimmy1 quite gravely1 'but ,i think four or five hundred4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,a ,london visitor at the ,lambs ,club recounted a new version of the notable enmity which followed the friendship that had existed between ,whistler and ,wilde4 ,the latter one day asked the artist's opinion upon a poem which he had written1 presenting a copy to be read4 ,whistler read it and was handing it back without comment4 ,well1 queried ,wilde1 do you perceive any worth8 ,it's worth its weight in gold1 replied ,whistler4 ,the poem was written on the very thinnest tissue-paper1 weighing practically nothing4 ,the coolness between the two men is said to have dated from that moment4 99 99 99 99 99 ,walking up to ,du ,maurier and ,wilde at the time the former was portraying the ,postlethwaites in ,punch1 ,whistler asked1 whimsically1 ,i say1 which of you invented the other1 eh8 99 99 99 99 99 ,when ,oscar ,wilde was married1 this ,whistler telegram met him at the door of ,st4 ,james's ,church1 ,sussex ,gardens3 ,fear ,i may not be able to reach you in time for ceremony--don't wait4 99 99 99 99 99 ,heaven6 said ,oscar once1 when the two were together at ,forbes-,robertson's and a pert flash fell from the artist's lips4 ,i wish ,i had said that6 ,never mind1 dear ,oscar--you will1 retorted ,whistler4 99 99 99 99 99 ,when ,lady ,archibald ,campbell sat for her portrait ,lord ,archibald was quite uncomfortable at the idea1 and made certain that it was a condescension1 not a commission4 ,the painting was duly completed1 received its due of scathing criticism1 and became famous4 ,at this the lady1 meeting the artist1 remarked3 ,i hear my portrait has been exhibited everywhere and become famous4 ,sh-sh-sh6 he said4 ,so it has1 my dear ,lady ,archibald1 but every discretion has been exercised that ,lord ,archibald could desire4 ,your name is not mentioned4 ,the portrait is known as ',the ,yellow ,buckskin4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,carlyle told ,whistler he liked his portrait because the painter had given him clean linen4 ,watts had made his collar green in a previous portrait4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sitting wearied ,carlyle4 ,one day as he left the studio he met little ,miss ,alexander tripping in for her turn1 and asked her name4 ,i am ,miss ,alexander1 she said1 and ,i am going to have my portrait painted4 ,puir lassie1 puir lassie1 murmured the old philosopher1 pityingly4 99 99 99 99 99 ,whistler's interest was aroused when the ,cyclopeans were building the ,savoy ,hotel4 ,hurry6 he said4 ,where are my things8 ,i must catch that now1 for it will never again be so beautiful4 99 99 99 99 99 ,his model once asked him3 ,where were you born8 ,i never was born1 my child2 ,i came from on high4 ,the model retorted3 ,now that shows how easily we deceive ourselves in this world1 for ,i should say you came from below6 99 99 99 99 99 ,invited once to dine with some eminences1 the dinner-hour found him busy with his brush and engrossed in his subject4 ,a friend who was to accompany him to the feast urged that it was frightfully late4 ,don't you think you had better stop8 he asked4 ,stop8 shrieked ,whistler4 ,stop when everything is going so beautifully8 ,go and stuff myself with food when ,i can paint like this8 ,never6 ,never6 ,besides1 they won't do anything until ,i get there4 ,they never do4 99 99 99 99 99 ,whistler was in a ,london shop one day when a customer came in who mistook him for a clerk4 ,i say1 this 'at doesn't fit6 ,neither does your coat1 observed the painter1 after eying him critically4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a young woman student protested under criticism1 ,mr4 ,whistler1 is there any reason why ,i shouldn't paint things as ,i see them8 ,well1 really1 there is no statute against it2 but the dreadful moment will be when you see things as you painted them6 ,britain's ,realm1 by ,john ,brett1 ,r4,a41 now in the ,national ,gallery at ,millbank1 made a stir when first exhibited at the ,academy4 ,it shows the sea4 ,whistler walked into a wave of adulation one day during the exhibition1 and1 affecting to knock with his knuckles1 said sardonically3 ,ha6 ,ha6 ,tin6 ,if you threw a stone on to this it would make a rumbling noise6 99 99 99 99 99 ,his early price for the use of one of his lithographs by a magazine was ten guineas4 ,later he charged twenty1 either sum being petty enough4 ,to one editor who tendered ten pounds he wrote3 ,guineas1 ,m4 le ,rdacteur2 guineas1 not pounds6 99 99 99 99 99 ,at a reception one evening in ,prince's ,hall he was introduced to ,henrietta ,rae1 whose painting ,psyche ,before the ,throne of ,venus had made her notable4 ,she had been described to him in advance as rather weighty in figure4 ,i don't think you're a bit too fat1 was his encouraging greeting4 99 99 99 99 99 ,why have you withered people and stung them all your life8 asked a lady4 ,my dear1 he said1 ,i will tell you a secret4 ,early in life ,i made the discovery that ,i was charming2 and if one is delightful1 one has to thrust the world away to keep from being bored to death4 99 99 99 99 99 ,during the ,boxer troubles1 when ,pekin was under siege to rescue the legations1 he remarked3 ,dear6 dear6 ,i hope they will save the palace4 ,all the ,englishmen in the world are not worth one blue china vase4 ,one evening at ,pennell's ,miss ,annulet ,andrews mentioned attending the ,royal ,society soire the evening before4 ,poor thing6 he said4 ,poor1 misguided child6 ,did you come all the way to ,london to consort with such--well1 what shall we call them8 ,why1 there isn't a fellow among them who had his h's five years ago6 99 99 99 99 99 ,you should be grateful to me1 said ,whistler to ,leyland1 after he had painted the ,peacock ,room in the latter's house4 ,i have made you famous4 ,my work will live when you are forgotten4 ,still1 perchance in the dim ages to come you may be remembered as the proprietor of the ,peacock ,room4 99 99 99 99 99 ,whistler's butterfly was the moth of the silkworm borrowed from ,hokusai4 ,otto ,h4 ,bacher thought the addition of a sting to the signature came from this incident at ,venice3 ,in #ahhj he found a scorpion and impaled it on his etching needle4 ,as the little creature writhed and struck1 ,whistler exclaimed3 ,look at the beggar now6 ,see him strike6 ,isn't he fine8 ,look at him6 ,look at him now6 ,see how hard he hits6 ,that's right--that's the way6 ,hit hard6 ,and do you see the poison that comes out when he strikes8 ,isn't he superb8 99 99 99 99 99 ,referring long after to his retirement from ,west ,point1 where he had been a cadet for three years1 the artist explained his fall by saying3 ,if silicon had been a gas1 ,i should have been a soldier6 99 99 99 99 99 ,he was always proud of his ,west ,point cadetship4 ,west ,point is ,america1 he would say4 ,julian ,alden ,weir1 son of ,whistler's instructor at the ,academy1 once dining with him in ,london1 chanced to remark that football had been introduced at the school4 ,good ,god6 cried ,whistler4 ,a ,west ,point cadet to be rolled in the mud by a ,harvard junior6 99 99 99 99 99 ,when a student at the ,point he had the habit of combing his long hair in class with his fingers1 which brought this frequent command from ,lieutenant ,caleb ,huse3 ,mr4 ,whistler1 go to your room and comb your hair6 99 99 99 99 99 ,examined on history at ,west ,point1 he failed to recall the date of the battle of ,buena ,vista4 ,suppose1 said the exasperated instructor1 you were to go out to dinner and the company began to talk of the ,mexican ,war1 and you1 a ,west ,point man1 were asked the date of the battle2 what would you do8 ,do8 was the reply4 ,why1 ,i should refuse to associate with people who could talk of such things at dinner6 99 99 99 99 99 ,he disliked the work of the riding class at ,west ,point1 and one day wished to exchange his heavy horse for a lighter animal4 ,the dragoon in charge called out3 ,oh1 don't swap1 don't you swap6 ,yours is a war-horse6 ,a war-horse6 exclaimed the little cadet4 ,that settles it4 ,i certainly don't want him6 ,yes1 you do1 sir1 insisted the dragoon4 ,he's a war-horse1 ,i tell you1 for he'd rather die than run6 99 99 99 99 99 ,of course you don't know what fear is1 observed ,mortimer ,menpes4 ,ah1 yes1 ,i do6 ,whistler answered4 ,i should hate1 for example1 to be standing opposite a man who was a better shot than ,i1 far away out in the forest1 in the bleak1 cold1 early morning4 ,fancy me1 the master1 standing out in the open as a target to be shot at4 ,pshaw6 ,it would be foolish and inartistic4 ,i never mind calling a man out2 but ,i always have the sense to know he is not likely to come4 99 99 99 99 99 ,mr4 ,howard ,mansfield relates that while in ,london in the summer of #aijj with ,mr4 ,whistler1 reference was one day made to ,west ,point4 ,he broke at once into enthusiastic praise of that institution1 declaring that there was no finer institution in the world1 and adding that next to it came the ,naval ,academy at ,annapolis4 ,then he went on to say3 ,what was it which really saved you in your late deplorable war with the politest nation of ,europe but the bearing of your naval gentlemen8 ,after the affair in that sea--what's its name8--off the island of ,cuba1 when dear old ,admiral ,cervera was fished up like a dollop of cotton out of an ink-pot and was received on one of your ships with all the honors due to his rank1 the officers all saluting and the crew manning the yards1 as it were--only they haven't any yards now--but lined up in quite the proper way--why1 it was splendid1 just splendid6 99 99 99 99 99 ,dining one night at a house where there were a number of his pictures about the room1 he could give attention to nothing but his own work4 ,when he left he begged that one painting be sent to his studio to be revarnished4 ,the unsuspecting hostess complied4 ,once delivered1 she could not get it back4 ,finally she wrote3 ,i can live no longer without my beautiful picture1 and ,i am sending to have it taken away4 ,isn't it appalling8 he cried to ,menpes4 ,just think of it6 ,ten years ago this woman bought my picture for a ridiculously small sum1 a mere bagatelle1 a few pounds2 she has had the privilege of living with this masterpiece for ten whole years1 and now she has the presumption to ask for it back again4 ,pshaw6 ,the thing's unspeakable6 99 99 99 99 99 ,what a series of accidents6 was his comment on a row of ,turners at the ,national ,gallery4 99 99 99 99 99 ,on another occasion1 when he arrived at his host's house two hours after the time set for dining1 he found the meal well under way4 ,how extraordinary6 he exclaimed to the amazed company4 ,really1 ,i should think you could have waited a bit4 ,why1 you're just like a lot of pigs with your eating6 99 99 99 99 99 ,sir ,john ,e4 ,millais said to ,whistler one day3 ,jimmy1 why don't you paint more pictures8 ,put out more canvases6 ,i know better1 was the shrewd reply4 ,the fool6 he muttered1 as he entered his studio4 ,he spreads himself on canvas on every possible occasion1 and1 do you know1 he called me ,jimmy6 ,mind you1 ,i don't know the fellow well at all4 99 99 99 99 99 ,his ,nocturne in ,blue and ,gold1 ,valparaiso1 was in the ,hill collection at ,brighton4 ,whistler made ,mr4 ,hill a visit which he thus described3 ,i was shown into the galleries1 and1 of course1 took a chair and sat looking at my beautiful ',nocturne'2 then1 as there was nothing else to do1 ,i went to sleep4 ,in this state ,mr4 ,hill found him6 ,this sleeping habit was common with him when the company or the goings-on failed to interest him4 ,on one occasion his sweet snore alarmed his neighbor1 who nudged him and whispered3 ,i say1 ,whistler1 you must not sleep here6 ,leave me alone6 commanded the artist1 crossly4 ,i've said all ,i wanted to4 ,i've no interest at all in what you and your friends have to say4 99 99 99 99 99 ,he once slumbered through a dinner where ,edwin ,a4 ,abbey was a fellow-guest4 ,the next morning he blandly asked ,mr4 ,chase3 ,what did ,abbey have to say last night8 ,anything worth while8 ,when ,dan ,smith was at the beginning of his career as an illustrator he was employed by an important lithographing house4 ,one day1 while making a large picture of ,antony and ,cleopatra in the barge scene1 which was to be used by ,kyrle ,bellew and ,mrs4 ,james ,brown ,potter as a poster for their joint starring tour1 ,whistler1 accompanied by a friend1 visited the studio3 ,whistler examined1 with evident interest and approval1 the canvas upon which the youthful artist was at work1 holding his glass to his eyes2 then1 looking quizzically over it1 remarked to his friend1 ,what a mercantile wretch it is6 99 99 99 99 99 ,whistler presented a copy of his edition of ,the ,gentle ,art of ,making ,enemies to ,theodore ,watts1 the ,worldling4 ,asked why he started the unlucky school in the ,latin ,quarter1 he answered3 ,it was for ,carmen ,rossi long his model1 poor little ,carmen1 who is a mere child and has no money1 and is saddled with the usual ,italian burden of a large1 disreputable family--banditti brothers1 a trifling husband1 and all the rest of it4 ,carmen was then thirty years old2 weight1 one hundred and ninety pounds4 ,but she once had been his child-model4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a ,scotch student in the class had worked out the face of an old peasant woman illuminated by a candle4 ,how beautifully you have painted the candle6 ,whistler commended4 ,good morning1 gentlemen6 99 99 99 99 99 ,one day1 when the pupils had been sketching from life1 he came upon the work of one which1 if it contained all of the truth1 did not contain all of the beautiful4 ,after gazing at it for some time ,whistler observed to the student3 ,ah1 well6 ,you can hardly expect me to teach you morals4 ,and he walked away4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a carelessly kept palette was an abhorrence to the painter4 ,he would inspect those used by his class1 and on the discovery of untidiness uttered a reproof like this3 ,my friends1 have you noticed the way in which a musician cares for his violin8 ,how beautiful it is8 ,how well kept8 ,how tenderly handled8 ,your palette is your instrument1 its colors the notes1 and upon it you play your symphonies6 99 99 99 99 99 ,the colloquies with the class were spirited1 sarcastic1 interesting4 ,here is a characteristic one3 ,question3 ,do you know what ,i mean when ,i say tone1 value1 light1 shade1 quality1 movement1 construction1 etc48 ,chorus3 ,oh1 yes1 ,mr4 ,whistler6 ,mr4 ,whistler3 ,i'm glad1 for it's more than ,i do myself6 99 99 99 99 99 ,he objected to smoking in the atelier1 partly because it obscured the light and partly because of its obfuscating qualities4 ,in ,paris a big ,englishman clouded the class-room with a copious discharge of smoke4 ,my dear sir1 said ,whistler1 gently1 ,i know you do not smoke to show disrespect for my request that students refrain from smoking on the days ,i come to them1 nor would you desire to infringe upon the rules of the atelier1 but--er--it seems to me--er--that when you are painting--er--you might possibly become so absorbed in your work as to--er--let your cigar go out6 ,visiting ,earl ,stetson ,crawford in his studio at ,paris1 he noted on the wall a photographic copy of the ,nicholson portrait of himself4 ,is that the best you have of me8 he asked4 ,not that it is not very beautiful and artistic and so on--but ,i say1 come now1 you don't think it quite does me justice1 do you8 99 99 99 99 99 ,when the class was formed1 so runs the tale1 ,whistler inquired of each pupil with whom he had studied before4 ,with ,julian1 said one4 ,couldn't have done better1 sir1 ,whistler answered4 ,with ,chase1 replied another4 ,couldn't have done better1 sir4 ,with ,mowbray1 answered a third4 ,couldn't have done better1 sir1 and so on4 ,he approached a student slightly deaf1 who stammered in reply1 ,i beg pardon8 ,couldn't have done better1 sir1 responded ,whistler1 placidly1 passing on to the next4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it suffices not1 ,messieurs1 he once observed to the class1 that a life spent among pictures makes a painter1 else the policeman in the ,national ,gallery might assert himself4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a pupil told him proudly she had studied with ,bouguereau4 ,bouguereau6 ,bouguereau6 ,who is ,bouguereau8 99 99 99 99 99 ,one young lady in the class offended him4 ,she received a polite note1 signed with a neat butterfly1 requesting her not to attend further4 ,it was worth being expelled to get the note1 she said4 ,whistler heard of the comment4 ,well1 they'll all have a note some day1 he observed4 ,his retirement soon followed4 99 99 99 99 99 ,h4 ,villiers ,barnett1 editor of the ,continental ,weekly1 when in the employ of the ,magazine of ,art visited the ,dowdeswell ,gallery at a press view of the ,venice pastels4 ,he alone of the critics developed some interest1 and soon found himself alone with ,whistler4 ,i beg your pardon1 said the latter1 but do you represent a religious journal8 ,no1 ,barnett replied1 jokingly1 mine is an out-and-out sporting paper6 ,oh1 said ,whistler1 that accounts for it4 ,accounts for what8 ,well1 you see1 said ,whistler1 with an exquisite sneer1 ,i have been watching you gentlemen of the press all morning4 ,you are the only one in the whole lot who seems to find anything here worth looking at1 and you have been taking such very serious interest that ,i was certain you must be representing some church paper4 ,mr4 ,whistler1 retorted ,barnett1 make your mind easy4 ,there is nothing ecclesiastical about me nor the publication ,i have the honor to represent2 but all the same1 for you this is the day of judgment6 ,i wish you good morning1 rejoined the painter1 pertly4 99 99 99 99 99 ,his artistic make-up of flat-brimmed hat1 lemon-colored vest1 curls1 eyeglass1 and beribboned cane sometimes upset the cockney crowd4 ,r4,a4,m4 ,stevenson1 cousin of ,robert ,louis1 was working in his studio one day when the bell rang violently4 ,he ran to the door just in time to rescue the symphony into which ,whistler had turned himself from a growling mob4 ,for ,god's sake1 ,stevenson1 said ,whistler1 save me from these howling brutes6 ,he went home in a cab with all his trimmings4 99 99 99 99 99 ,harper ,pennington has revealed to us the origin of the standing-room only joke4 ,it appears that there was hardly ever any furniture in ,whistler's house4 ,he was peculiarly parsimonious in the matter of chairs4 ,this led to a remark of ,corny ,grain's which became famous4 ,ah1 ,jimmy6 ,glad to see you playing to such a full house6 said ,dick 7,corny7 ,grain when shaking hands before a ,sunday luncheon1 while glaring around the studio with his large1 protruding eyes1 in search of something to sit on4 ,what do you mean8 asked ,whistler4 ,standing-room only1 replied the actor4 99 99 99 99 99 ,henry ,labouchere1 who first met ,whistler as a boy in ,washington in the fifties1 when he himself was an attach of the ,british ,legation1 took the credit for bringing ,whistler and his wife together4 ,his story was denied by ,mrs4 ,whistler's relatives1 but is interesting enough to be recorded4 ,i believe1 wrote ,mr4 ,labouchere in ,truth1 ,i was responsible for his marriage to the widow of ,mr4 ,godwin1 the architect4 ,she was a remarkably pretty woman and very agreeable1 and both she and he were thorough ,bohemians4 ,i was dining with them and some others one evening at ,earl's ,court4 ,they were obviously greatly attracted to each other1 and in a vague sort of way they thought of marrying1 so ,i took the matter in hand to bring things to a practical point4 ',jimmy1' ,i said1 'will you marry ,mrs4 ,godwin8' ',certainly4' ',mrs4 ,godwin1' ,i said1 'will you marry ,jimmy8' ',certainly1' she replied4 ',when8' ,i asked4 ',oh1 some day1' said ,whistler4 ',that won't do1' ,i said4 ',we must have a date4' ,so they both agreed that ,i should choose the day1 tell them what church to come to for the ceremony1 provide a clergyman1 and give the bride away4 ,i fixed an early date and got them the chaplain of the ,house of ,commons to perform the ceremony4 ,it took place a few days later4 ,after the ceremony was over we adjourned to ,whistler's studio1 where he had prepared a banquet4 ,the banquet was on the table1 but there were no chairs1 so we sat on packing-cases4 ,the happy pair1 when ,i left1 had not quite decided whether they would go that evening to ,paris or remain in the studio4 ,how unpractical they were was shown when ,i happened to meet the bride the day before the marriage in the street4 ',don't forget to-morrow1' ,i said4 ',no1' she replied2 ',i am just going to buy my trousseau4' ',a little late for that1 is it not8' ,i asked4 ',no1' she answered1 'for ,i am only going to buy a tooth-brush and a new sponge1 as one ought to have new ones when one marries4' ,however1 there never was a more successful marriage4 ,they adored each other1 and lived most happily together1 and when she died he was broken-hearted indeed4 ,he never recovered from the loss4 99 99 99 99 99 ,when ,frederick ,keppel1 the ,american print expert1 first called upon the artist at the ,tite ,street studio1 the famous portrait of ,sarasate1 black on black1 stood at the end of the long corridor that he used to form a vista for proper perspective of his work4 ,laying his hand on ,keppel's shoulder1 he said3 ,now1 isn't it beautiful8 ,it certainly is1 was the reply4 ,no1 said he2 but isn't it beautiful8 ,it is indeed1 said ,keppel4 ,this was too mild a form of agreement4 ,whistler raised his voice to a scream3 ,d---n it1 man6 he piped4 ,isn't it ,,beautiful8 ,adopting the emphasis and the exclamation1 ,mr4 ,keppel shouted3 ,d----n it1 it is6 ,this was satisfactory4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the proof-sheets of ,the ,gentle ,art1 ,whistler version1 had just arrived as ,mr4 ,keppel called4 ,read them aloud1 he commanded1 so ,i can hear how it sounds4 ,mr4 ,keppel started in1 but his elocution was not satisfactory4 ,stop6 ,whistler cried4 ,you are murdering it6 ,let me read it to you6 ,he read about two hours to his own keen delight1 but was finally interrupted by a servant announcing1 ,lady ----4 ,where is she8 asked the artist4 ,in her carriage at the door4 ,he went on reading until ,mr4 ,keppel suggested that he had forgotten the lady4 ,oh1 he said1 carelessly1 let her wait6 ,i'm mobbed with these people4 ,after another quarter-hour he condescended to go down and greet her shivering ladyship4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a little later during this visit a foreign artist called and was pleasantly received4 ,admiring a small painting1 the visitor said3 ,now1 that is one of your good ones4 ,don't look at it1 dear boy1 replied ,whistler1 airily2 it's not finished4 ,finished6 said the visitor4 ,why1 it's the most carefully finished picture of yours ,i've seen4 ,don't look at it1 insisted ,whistler4 ,you are doing an injustice to yourself1 you are doing an injustice to the picture1 and you're doing an injustice to me6 ,then1 theatrically3 ,stop6 ,i'll finish it now4 ,with that he picked a very small brush1 anointed1 its delicate point with paint1 and touched the picture in one spot with a speck of pigment4 ,now it's finished6 he exclaimed4 ,now you may look at it4 ,forgetting his umbrella1 the foreign gentleman called at the studio the next day to get it4 ,whistler was out1 but the visitor was much moved to find the finishing touch had been carefully wiped off6 99 99 99 99 99 ,mr4 ,keppel's personal relations with ,whistler ended when1 by an idle chance1 he sent a copy of ,the ,university of the ,state of ,new ,york ,bulletin1 ,bibliography1 ,no4 ,i1 a ,guide to the ,study of ,james ,abbott ,mc,neill ,whistler1 compiled by ,walter ,greenwood ,forsyth and ,joseph ,le ,roy ,harrison1 to ,joseph ,pennell1 and another to ,ernest ,brown1 in ,london4 ,mr4 ,keppel1 arriving in ,london the day of ,mrs4 ,whistler's funeral1 sent a note of condolence1 and1 receiving a mourning envelope sealed with a black butterfly1 opened it expecting a grateful acknowledgment4 ,instead1 it was a fierce1 rasping denunciation for the distribution of the pamphlet--a mere catalogue so far as it went4 ,i must not let the occasion of your being in town pass1 he wrote1 without acknowledging the gratuitous zeal with which you have done your best to further the circulation of one of the most malignant innuendos1 in the way of scurrilous half-assertions1 it has been my fate hitherto to meet4 ,mr4 ,brown very properly sent on to me the pamphlet you had promptly posted to him4 ,mr4 ,pennell1 also1 ,i find1 you had carefully supplied with a copy--and ,i have no doubt that1 with the untiring energy of the 'busy' one1 you have smartly placed the pretty work in the hands of many another before this4 99 99 99 99 99 ,mr4 ,keppel replied in kind1 but ,whistler never wrote him directly again4 ,some business letter of the former requiring a reply1 he summoned the house-porter1 who wrote under dictation1 beginning his crude epistle thus3 ,sir3--,mr4 ,whistler1 who is present1 orders me to write as follows4 ,roiled by this beyond measure1 ,mr4 ,keppel resorted to verse to relieve his feelings1 after which ,whistler twice sent verbal messages through friends that if he ever saw him again he would kill him6 99 99 99 99 99 ,john ,m4 ,cauldwell1 the ,united ,states ,commissioner for the ,department of ,art at the ,paris ,exposition of #aijj1 sent a circular letter to ,american artists in the city announcing his arrival and making appointments to discuss the hanging of their work4 ,whistler received one1 asking him to call at precisely four-thirty on the afternoon of the following ,thursday4 ,i congratulate you1 he replied4 ,personally1 ,i never have been able and never shall be able to be anywhere at precisely four-thirty4 99 99 99 99 99 ,parbleu6 ,this is a nice get-up to come and see me in1 to be sure6 was his greeting to a newspaper writer who called to tap him on art1 clad in a brown jacket1 blue trousers1 and decked with a red necktie4 ,i must request you to leave this place instantly6 ,these scribblers1 rag-smudges1 incroyable6 ,why1 it is perfectly preposterous6 ,did you ever hear such dissonance8 ,his tie is in ,g major1 and ,i am painting this symphony in ,e minor4 ,i will have to start it again4 ,take that roaring tie of yours off1 you miserable wretch6 ,remove it instantly6 ,the visitor removed the roar4 ,thank goodness6 said ,whistler4 ,my sight is perfectly deaf6 ,i am so sorry1 ,mr4 ,whistler1 apologized the scribe4 ,whistler1 sir8 ,whistler8 ,that's not my name6 he cried1 in a highly wrought voice4 ,i beg your pardon8 ,that is not my name4 ,i say1 you don't seem to know your own language4 ,w-h is pronounced ,wh-h-h--,wh-h-histler4 ,bah6 99 99 99 99 99 ,max ,beerbohm1 the caricaturist1 was rather clumsy with the ,gallic tongue4 ,whistler used to term it ,max ,beerbohm's ,limburger ,french4 ,the carefully cultivated and insistently displayed white lock played a part in many amusing incidents4 ,sir ,coutts ,lindsay's butler whispered to him excitedly one evening3 ,there's a gent downstairs says he's come to dinner1 wot's forgot his necktie and stuck a feather in his 'air4 ,another evening1 at the theater1 an usher said obligingly3 ,beg pardon1 sir1 but there's a white feather in your hair1 just on top4 99 99 99 99 99 ,raging characteristically once when in ,paris1 he earned this rebuke from ,degas1 the matchless draughtsman3 ,whistler1 you talk as if you were a man without talent4 99 99 99 99 99 ,some one gave ,henry ,irving a ,whistler etching for a ,christmas gift4 ,of course ,i was delighted1 he said1 for ,i was a great admirer of the artist as well as a personal friend of the man1 but when ,i started to hang the etching ,i was puzzled4 ,i couldn't for the life of me tell which was the top and which the bottom4 ,finally1 after reversing the picture half a dozen times and finding it looked equally well either way up1 ,i decided to try an experiment4 ,i invited ,whistler to dine with me and seated him opposite his picture4 ,during dinner he glanced at it from time to time2 between the soup and the fish he put up his eyeglass and squinted at it2 between the roast and the dessert he got up and walked over to take a closer view of it2 finally1 by the time we reached the coffee1 he had discovered what the trouble was4 ',why1 ,henry1' he said1 reproachfully1 'you've hung my etching upside down4' ',indeed6' ,i said4 ',well1 my friend1 it's taken you an hour to discover it6' ,the man in possession furnishes an amusing incident in the artist's career4 ,when the creditors at last landed a bailiff in the painter's ,chelsea mansion1 he tried to wear his hat in the drawing-room and smoke and spit all over the house4 ,but ,whistler1 in his own airy way1 soon settled that4 ,he went out into the hall1 and1 selecting a stick from his collection of canes1 he daintily knocked the man's hat off4 ,the bailiff was so surprised that he forgot to be angry1 and in a day or two he had been trained to wait at table4 ,but though he was now in possession and a favored household servant1 he could not obtain his money4 ,so he declared that if he was not paid he would have to put bills up outside the house announcing a sale4 ,and sure enough1 a few days after great posters were stuck up all over the front of the house announcing so many tables and so many chairs and so much old ,nankin ,china for sale on a given day4 ,whistler enjoyed the joke hugely1 and hastened to send out invitations to all his friends to a luncheon-party1 adding as a postscript3 ,you will know the house by the bills of sale stuck up outside4 ,and the bailiff proved an admirable butler and the party one of the merriest ever known4 ,as the guests were rising from the table a lady observed to the host3 ,your servants seem to be extremely attentive1 ,mr4 ,whistler1 and anxious to please you4 ,oh1 yes1 replied he2 ,i assure you they wouldn't leave me6 ,but the bailiff stayed on1 and the day of sale approached2 so ,whistler1 having been educated at ,west ,point1 determined to practise strategy4 ,some one had told him that a mixture of snuff and beer had the property of sending people off to sleep4 ,so he bought a big parcel of snuff and put the greater part of it into a gigantic tankard of beer1 which he sent out to the bailiff in the garden4 ,it was a very hot summer afternoon1 and the man eagerly welcomed his refreshment4 ,whistler was in his studio painting and soon forgot all about him4 ,in the evening he said to his servant1 ,where's the man8 ,the servant replied3 ,i don't know1 sir4 ,i suppose he must have gone away4 ,the next morning ,whistler got up very late and went out into the garden1 where he was astonished to see the bailiff sitting in precisely the same position as the day before4 ,the empty tankard was on the table beside him and his pipe had fallen from his hand upon the grass4 ,hello1 my sleeping beauty6 said ,whistler4 ,have you been there all night8 ,but the man made no answer1 and all the painter's efforts to rouse him were unavailing4 ,late in the afternoon1 however1 he awoke in the most natural way in the world1 exclaiming that it was dreadfully hot weather and that he must have been asleep over an hour4 ,whistler's strategy had been even more successful than he anticipated2 the bailiff had slept through the entire day appointed for the sale of the painter's household effects1 and was induced to go away in a very bewildered state of mind and with a small payment on account in his pocket4 99 99 99 99 99 ,lady de ,grey went once to the ,tite ,street studio for luncheon and chided ,whistler for his extravagance in having two man servants to wait on the table1 when he was always complaining of being hard up4 ,hush6 whispered ,whistler4 ,one of them is the man in possession1 and he has consented to act as footman for the day2 but he asks me to please settle up as soon as possible1 because he too has a man in possession at his own place and wants to get clear of him4 99 99 99 99 99 ,once at a garden party the rapt hostess rushed up to the artist and exclaimed3 ,oh1 ,mr4 ,whistler6 ,do help me out6 ,i have just bought a magnificent ,turner1 but ,lord----says it isn't genuine1 merely a clever imitation4 ,now ,i want you to look at it1 and if you say it is genuine1 as ,i know you will1 ,i shall be perfectly satisfied4 ,my dear lady1 replied ,whistler1 you expect a good deal of me4 ,the distinction between a real ,turner and an imitation ,turner is so extremely subtle4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a flippant reply to the secretary of a ,london club where ,whistler's account was past due produced this retort--and the money was paid3 ,,dear ,,mr4 ,,whistler3--,it is not a ,nocturne in ,purple or a ,symphony in ,blue and ,gray we are after1 but an ,arrangement in ,gold and ,silver4 99 99 99 99 99 ,at an exhibition at the ,academy of ,fine ,arts there was a portrait in subdued colors by ,whistler1 ,the ,little ,lady of ,soho4 ,before this picture ,secretary ,harrison ,s4 ,morris stood one day4 ,it is beautiful1 he observed1 and it reminds me of a story about ,whistler--not a very appropriate or poetical one1 perhaps4 ,but here it is1 anyhow4 ,whistler one summer day took a walk through the ,downs with three or four young men4 ,they stopped at an ale-house and called for beer4 ,tankards were set before them and they drank4 ,then ,whistler said to the host3 ',my man1 would you like to sell a great deal more beer than you do8' ',aye1 sir1 ,i would that6' ',then don't sell so much froth6' 99 99 99 99 99 ,when a ,french magazine located his birthplace in ,baltimore1 and the error traveled far1 ,whistler took no pains to correct it4 ,my dear cousin ,kate1 he said to ,mrs4 ,livermore1 if any one likes to think ,i was born in ,baltimore1 why should ,i deny it8 ,it is of no consequence to me4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a chance ,american introduced himself by saying3 ,you know1 ,mr4 ,whistler1 we were born at ,lowell1 and at very much the same time4 ,you are sixty-seven and ,i am sixty-eight4 ,very charming1 he replied4 ,and so you are sixty-eight and were born at ,lowell4 ,most interesting1 no doubt1 and as you please6 ,but ,i shall be born when and where ,i want1 and ,i do not choose to be born in ,lowell and ,i refuse to be sixty-seven6 99 99 99 99 99 ,don't be afraid1 said ,whistler to ,howard ,paul1 who recoiled from the presence of a huge dog because he did not like the look in the animal's eyes4 ,look at his tail--how it wags4 ,when a dog wags his tail he's in good humor4 ,that may be1 replied ,paul1 but observe the wild glitter in his eye6 ,i don't know which end to believe4 99 99 99 99 99 ,comyns ,carr met a foreign painter who had been known to breakfast with ,whistler at ,chelsea and asked him if he had seen him lately4 ,ah no1 not now so much1 was the reply4 ,he ask me a little while ago to breakfast1 and ,i go4 ,my cab-fare two shilling1 'arf crown4 ,i arrive4 ,very nice4 ,goldfish in bowl4 ,very pretty4 ,but breakfast6 ,one egg1 one toast1 no more6 ,ah1 no6 ,my cab-fare back1 two shilling1 'arf crown4 ,for me no more6 99 99 99 99 99 ,a4,g4 ,plowden1 the ,london police magistrate1 attended a private view at ,grosvenor ,gallery4 ,the first person he met was ,whistler4 ,he took ,plowden1 very amiably1 to his full-length portrait of ,lady ,archibald ,campbell1 where1 after sufficiently expressing his admiration1 ,plowden asked if there were any other pictures he ought to see4 ,other pictures6 cried ,whistler1 in a tone of horror4 ,other pictures6 ,there are no other pictures6 ,you are through6 99 99 99 99 99 ,dining at a ,paris restaurant in his early days1 ,mr4 ,whistler noted the struggle an elderly ,englishman was having to make himself understood4 ,he politely volunteered to interpret4 ,sir1 said the person addressed1 ,i assure you1 sir1 ,i can give my order without assistance6 ,can you indeed8 quoth ,whistler1 airily4 ,i fancied the contrary just now1 when ,i heard you desire the waiter to bring you a pair of stairs4 99 99 99 99 99 ,dining1 and dining well1 at ,george ,h4 ,boughton's house in ,london1 ,whistler was obliged to leave the table and go up-stairs to indite a note4 ,in a few moments a great noise revealed the fact that he had fallen down the flight4 ,who is your architect8 he asked1 when picked up4 ,the host told him ,norman ,shaw4 ,i might have known it1 said ,whistler4 ,the d----d teetotaler6 99 99 99 99 99 ,a young artist had brought ,whistler to view his maiden effort4 ,the two stood before the canvas for some moments in silence4 ,finally the junior asked1 timidly3 ,don't you think this painting of mine is a--er--a tolerable picture1 sir8 ,whistler's eyes twinkled4 ,what is your opinion of a tolerable egg8 he asked4 99 99 99 99 99 ,irish girls have the most beautiful hands1 he once wrote1 with long1 slender fingers and delightful articulations4 ,american girls' hands come next2 they are a little narrow and thin4 ,the hands of the ,english girls are red and coarse4 ,the ,german hand is broad and flat2 the ,spanish hand is full of big veins4 ,i always use ,irish models for the hands1 and ,i think ,irish eyes are also the most beautiful4 ,an ,american artist studying in ,paris1 like many others1 was too poor to have a perfect wardrobe4 ,strolling on the ,boulevard1 he heard a call and1 turning1 saw ,whistler hastening toward him1 waving his long black cane4 ,rather flattered1 he said1 ,so you recognized me from behind1 did you1 master8 ,yes1 said ,whistler1 with a wicked laugh2 ,i spied you through a hole in your coat4 99 99 99 99 99 ,do you think genius is hereditary8 asked an admiring lady one day4 ,i can't tell you1 madam1 ,whistler replied4 ,heaven has granted me no offspring4 99 99 99 99 99 ,whistler once took ,horne1 his framer1 to look at one of his paintings at the exhibition4 ,well1 ,horne1 he asked1 what do you think of it8 ,think of it8 he cried1 enthusiastically4 ,why1 sir1 it's perfect--perfect4 ,mr4 ---- has got one just like it4 ,what6 said the puzzled ,whistler4 ,a picture like this8 ,oh1 said ,horne1 ,i wasn't talking about the picture2 ,i was talking about the frame4 99 99 99 99 99 ,well1 ,mr4 ,whistler1 how are you getting on8 said an undesirable acquaintance in a ,paris restaurant4 ,i'm not1 said ,whistler1 emptying his glass4 ,i'm getting off4 99 99 99 99 99 ,miss ,pamela ,smith1 a designer in black and white1 while a crude draughtsman1 had a fine imagination4 ,whistler was asked to look over some of her work4 ,after careful examination he said3 ,she can't draw4 ,another look and a gruff ,she can't paint followed4 ,a third look and a long thought wound up with1 ,but she doesn't need to4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a lady who rejoiced in temperament once said gushingly to ,whistler3 ,it is wonderful what a difference there is between people4 ,yes1 he replied4 ,there is a great deal of difference between matches1 too1 if you will only look closely enough1 but they all make about the same blaze4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a certain gentleman whose portrait ,whistler had painted failed to appreciate the work1 and finally remarked1 ,after all1 ,mr4 ,whistler1 you can't call that a great work of art4 ,perhaps not1 replied the painter1 but then you can't call yourself a great work of nature6 99 99 99 99 99 ,the artist and a friend strolled along the ,thames ,embankment one wonderfully starry night4 ,whistler was in a discontented mood and found fault with everything4 ,the houses were ugly1 the river not what it might have been1 the lights hard and glaring4 ,the friend pointed out several things that appealed to him as beautiful1 but the master would not give in4 ,no1 he said1 nature is only sometimes beautiful--only sometimes--very1 very seldom indeed2 and to-night she is1 as so often1 positively ugly4 ,but the stars6 ,surely they are fine to-night1 urged the other4 ,whistler looked up at the sky4 ,yes1 he drawled1 they're not bad1 perhaps1 but1 my dear fellow1 there's too many of them4 ,a sitter asked him how it was possible to paint in the growing dusk1 as he often did4 ,the reply was3 ,as the light fades and the shadows deepen1 all the petty and exacting details vanish2 everything trivial disappears1 and ,i see things as they are1 in great1 strong masses2 the buttons are lost1 but the garment remains2 the garment is lost1 but the sitter remains2 the sitter is lost1 but the shadow remains2 the shadow is lost1 but the picture remains4 ,and that1 night cannot efface from the painter's imagination4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sir ,laurence ,alma-,tadema1 of the classic brush1 loved yellow1 a color which ,whistler had annexed unto himself4 ,sir ,laurence in employing the color in his decorations did not consider himself a plagiarist4 ,he had not seen ,whistler's4 ,this defense led to a war of words4 ,whistler broke out3 ,sly ,alma6 ,his ,romano-,dutch ,st4 ,john's wooden eye has never looked upon them1 and the fine jaundice of his flesh is none of the jaundice of my yellows4 ,to-de-ma-boom-de-ay6 99 99 99 99 99 ,seated in a stall at the ,west ,end ,theater one evening1 he was constantly irritated by his next neighbor--a lady--who not only went out between the acts1 but several times while the curtain was up4 ,the space between the run of seats was narrow1 and the annoyance as she squeezed past was considerable4 ,madam1 he said at last1 ,i trust ,i do not incommode you by keeping my seat6 99 99 99 99 99 ,he regarded the ,united ,states tariff on art as barbarous4 ,when are you coming to ,america8 he was asked4 ,when the tariff on art is removed4 ,the ,copley ,society asked his aid in making up their exhibition in ,boston4 ,he refused1 saying3 ,god bless me6 ,why should you hold an exhibition of pictures in ,america8 ,the people do not care for art6 ,how do you know8 ,you have not been there for many years4 ,how do ,i know8 ,why1 haven't you a law to keep out pictures and statues8 ,is it not in black and white that the works of the great masters must not enter ,america1 that they are not wanted8 ,a people that tolerate such a law have no love for art2 their protestation is mere pretense4 99 99 99 99 99 ,asked by a lady if a certain picture in a gallery was not indecent1 he replied3 ,no1 madam4 ,but your question is6 ,mark ,twain visited the studio and1 assuming an air of hopeless stupidity1 approached a nearly completed painting and said3 ,not at all bad1 ,mr4 ,whistler2 not at all bad4 ,only here in this corner1 he added1 reflectively1 with a motion as if to rub out a cloud effect1 if ,i were you ,i'd do away with that cloud6 ,gad1 sir6 cried the painter4 ,do be careful there6 ,don't you see the paint is not yet dry8 ,oh1 don't mind that1 said ,mark1 sweetly4 ,i am wearing gloves1 you see6 ,they got on after that4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in ,paris1 ,whistler and an ,english painter got into a turbulent talk over ,velasquez at a studio tea4 ,in the course of the argument ,whistler praised himself extravagantly4 ,it's a good thing we can't see ourselves as others see us1 sneered the ,briton4 ,isn't it1 though8 rejoined ,whistler1 gently4 ,i know in my case ,i should grow intolerably conceited4 99 99 99 99 99 ,financial necessities once caused the sale of ,whistler's choice furnishings4 ,some of the family1 returning to the house during his absence1 found the floor covered with chalk diagrams1 the largest of which was labeled3 ,this is the dining-table4 ,surrounding it were a number of small squares1 each marked3 ,this is a chair4 ,another square3 ,this is the sideboard4 99 99 99 99 99 ,cope ,whitehouse once described a boat-load of ,egyptians floating down the ,nile with the thermometer one hundred and twenty degrees in the shade1 and no shade4 ,and no thermometer1 interjected ,whistler4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a lady sitter brought a cat with her and placed it on her knee4 ,the cat was nervous and yowled continuously4 ,madam1 said the vexed artist1 will you have the cat in the foreground or in the back yard8 99 99 99 99 99 ,while painting one of his famous nocturnes a critic of considerable pretensions called4 ,good heavens1 ,whistler6 he cried1 what in the world are you splashing at8 ,i am teaching art to posterity1 ,whistler replied1 quietly4 ,oh6 said the critic1 visibly relieved4 ,i was afraid you were painting for the ,royal ,academy4 ,oh1 no1 answered ,whistler2 they do not want masterpieces there1 but some of their picture-frames are exquisite and really worth bus-fare to look at4 99 99 99 99 99 ,walking in the ,champs-,elyses in ,paris one morning1 ,whistler heard one ,englishman say to another3 ,see that chap over there8 ,what8 ,that chap with the long hair and spindle legs8 ,yes1 that's the one4 ,that's ,whistler1 the ,american1 who thinks he's the greatest painter on earth4 ,walking up to the pair1 ,whistler held out his hand and said gravely to the last speaker3 ,sir1 ,i beg your acceptance of these ten centimes4 ,go buy yourself a little hay6 99 99 99 99 99 ,sitting for a portrait was an ordeal4 ,many were quite upset after a siege in the studio4 ,one man annoyed the artist by saying at each dismissal3 ,how-about that ear1 ,mr4 ,whistler8 ,don't forget to finish that4 ,at the last session1 all being finished but this ear1 ,whistler said1 ,well1 ,i think ,i'm through2 now ,i'll sign it4 ,this he did in a very solemn and important way4 ,but my ear6 exclaimed the victim4 ,you're not going to leave it that way8 ,oh1 said ,whistler1 grimly1 you can put it in after you get home4 99 99 99 99 99 ,he occasionally contemplated visiting ,america in his late years1 but the dread of the journey was too much for him to overcome4 ,if ,i escape the ,atlantic1 he said1 ,i shall be wrecked by some reporter at the pier4 ,finally1 he definitely canceled his last proposed trip1 observing airily3 ,one cannot continuously disappoint a continent4 ,america1 he once said1 lightly1 is a country where ,i never can be a prophet4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sir ,rennell ,rodd recalled that at a breakfast ,waldo ,story gave at ,dieu-donn's in ,paris there was a great company1 including ,whistler4 ,every one there was by the way of having written a book or painted a picture1 or having in some way outraged the ,philistine1 with the exception of one young gentleman whose raison d'tre was not so apparent as his high collar and the glory of his attire4 ,he nevertheless intruded boldly into the talk and laid down his opinions very flatly4 ,he even went so far as to combat some dictum of the master's1 whereat that gentleman adjusted his glasses and1 looking pleasantly at the youth1 queried3 ,and whose son are you8 ,when ,dorothy ,menpes was a babe in the cradle a white feather lay across her infant brow4 ,the sight pleased ,whistler4 ,that child is going to develop into something great1 he prophesied1 for see1 she begins with a feather1 just like me4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in the last two years of his life ,mr4 ,whistler's disputes grew less frequent and his public flashes were few4 ,the ,morning ,post of ,london1 however1 provoked an admirable specimen of his best style1 which it printed under date of ,august #fth1 #aijb4 ,in its ,art and ,artists column the paper had made the following statement3 ,mr4 ,whistler is so young in spirit that his friends must have read with surprise the ,dutch physician's announcement that the present illness is due to 'advanced age4' ,in ,england sixty-seven is not exactly regarded as 'advanced age1' but even for the gay 'butterfly' time does not stand still1 and some who are unacquainted with the details of ,mr4 ,whistler's career1 though they know his work well1 will be surprised to learn that he was exhibiting at the ,academy forty-three years ago4 ,his contributions to the exhibition of #ahei were ',two ,etchings from ,nature1' and at intervals during the following fourteen or fifteen years ,mr4 ,whistler was represented at the ,academy by a number of works1 both paintings and etchings4 ,in #ahfc his contributions numbered seven in all1 and in #ahfe four4 ,among his ,academy pictures of #ahfe was the famous ',little ,white ,girl1' the painting that attracted so much attention at the ,paris ,exhibition of #aijj4 ,this picture--rejected at the ,salon of #ahfc--was inspired1 though the fact seems to have been forgotten of late1 by the following lines of ,swinburne3 ,come snow1 come wind or thunder ,high up in air1 ,i watch my face and wonder ,at my bright hair1 etc4 ,under date of ,august #c;d ,mr4 ,whistler sent from ,the ,hague this brisk reply3 ,i feel it no indiscretion to speak of my convalescence1 since you have given it official existence4 ,may ,i1 therefore1 acknowledge the tender little glow of health induced by reading1 as ,i sat here in the morning sun1 the flattering attention paid me by your gentleman of the ready wreath and quick biography8 ,i cannot1 as ,i look at my improving self with daily satisfaction1 really believe it all--still it has helped to do me good6--and it is with almost sorrow that ,i must beg you1 perhaps1 to put back into its pigeonhole for later on this present summary and replace it with something preparatory1 which1 doubtless1 you have also ready4 ,this will give you time1 however1 for some correction--if really it be worth while--but certainly the ,little ,white ,girl1 which was not rejected at the ,salon of '#fc1 was1 ,i am forced to say1 not inspired by the following lines of ,swinburne1 for the one simple reason that those lines were only written1 in my studio1 after the picture was painted4 ,and the writing of them was a rare and graceful tribute from the poet to the painter--a noble recognition of work by the production of a nobler one6 ,again1 of the many tales concerning the hanging at the ,academy of the well-known portrait of the artist's mother1 now at the ,luxembourg1 one is true--let us trust your gentleman may have time to find it out--that ,i may correct it4 ,i surely may always hereafter rely on the ,morning ,post to see that no vulgar ,woking joke reach me8 ,it is my marvelous privilege then to come back1 as who should say1 while the air is still warm with appreciation1 affection1 and regret1 and to learn in how little ,i had offended4 ,the continuing to wear my own hair and eyebrows1 after distinguished confrres and eminent persons had long ceased their habit1 has1 ,i gather1 clearly given pain4 ,this1 ,i see1 is much remarked on4 ,it is even found inconsiderate and unseemly in me1 as hinting at affectation4 ,i might beg you1 sir1 to find a pretty place for this1 that ,i would make my apology1 containing also promise1 in years to come1 to lose these outer signs of vexing presumption4 ,protesting1 with full enjoyment of its unmerited eulogy1 against your premature tablet1 ,i ask you again to contradict it1 and appeal to your own sense of kind sympathy when ,i tell you ,i learn that ,i have lurking in ,london still a friend--though for the life of me ,i cannot remember his name4 ,and ,i have1 sir1 the honor to be1 ,j4 ,,mcneill ,,whistler4 ,the last dispute that found its way to print came through the ,new ,york ,sun and ,will ,h4 ,low1 to whom ,mr4 ,whistler sought to convey a piece of his mind via the newspaper channel1 under date of ,may #hth1 #aijc1 ,this grew out of a complication in which ,mr4 ,low became involved with the ,hanging ,committee of the ,society of ,american ,artists over the placing in its exhibition of ,rosa ,corder and two marines by ,whistler borrowed from ,charles ,l4 ,freer1 of ,detroit1 on the condition that they be hung in a good position4 ,the position selected did not suit ,mr4 ,low1 and he withdrew the pictures4 ,mr4 ,whistler sent his remonstrance to the ,sun's ,london office1 from which it was cabled to ,new ,york and published on ,may #ith1 as follows3 ,i had waited for ,mr4 ,low to publish my reply to a letter from himself concerning the withdrawal of my pictures from the ,society of ,american ,artists4 ,this gentle opinion of my own upon the situation is1 ,i understand1 expert4 ,i therefore inclose it to you for publication4 ,i have the honor to be1 dear sir1 your obedient servant4 ,the remarks to ,mr4 ,low read3 ,i have just learned with distress that my canvases have been a trouble and a cause of thought to the gentlemen of the ,hanging ,committee6 ,pray present to them my compliments and my deep regrets4 ,i fear also that this is not the first time of simple and good-natured intrusion--looking in1 as who would say1 with beaming fellowship and crass camaraderie upon the highly finished table and well-seated guests--to be kindly and swiftly shuffled into some further respectable place--that all be well and hospitality endure4 ,promise1 then1 for me1 that ,i have learned and that 'this shall not occur again4' ,and1 above all1 do not allow a matter of colossal importance to ever interfere with the afternoon habit of peace and good will1 and the leaf of the mint so pleasantly associated with this society4 ,i could not be other than much affected by your warm and immediate demonstration1 but ,i should never forgive myself were the consequence of lasting vexation to your distinguished confrres4 ,,the ,,end